Interview: Lea DeLaria's BRUNCH IS GAY Is Becoming an Institution at 54 Below

Ever since May, Lea DeLaria (Orange Is the New Black), has been hosting a brand new monthly brunch series at 54 Below. At each edition of Brunch Is Gay, DeLaria brings out a new stellar guest from her treasure trove of diverse and varied contacts, and sings a completely new setlist centered around that month’s ever-changing theme. The songs and performances are always varied, over-the-top in the best way imaginable, excellently sung, and most importantly of all, gay. The series is a perfect fit for the irresistibly charismatic comedian, actress and singer known for multiple decades of work in TV, film, theater and cabaret.

We spoke about the next edition of Brunch Is Gay, on Sunday August 11th at 1 pm with special guest, Tony Award-winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda), and DeLaria’s plans for the future of the series.

How has your brunch series been going at 54 Below?

It's been going really, really, really, really well. People are coming, which I always love. People are showing up. They're ready to have fun. The guests are so much fun. Everybody's really digging [it]. [There’s] a lot of repeaters because it's a different show every month. Ben Vereen came yesterday, which made me so happy. So I couldn't miss the opportunity, and I asked him if he wanted to join me as a guest, and he said yes. So I'm going to start working on that. [Laughs]

It's really fun because I do so many different things as I think people know, so I know lots of people [in all those different genres] who are really fun.

And I've been able to tap my queerness, my jazz-ness, my Broadway-ness and comedy-ness, and have been getting really fun guests. So I'm very excited about the show.

Do you want to tell me about your August guest?

My guest for August is Gabriel Ebert, who won a Tony for Matilda and was most recently in Tom and Sally at The Public Theater. Gabe and I did Prometheus Bound together at A.R.T. [in 2010]. They did a musical version of that with this incredible cast. That's where I met Gabe, and we have just been really good friends ever since. I try to go to all of his openings. He comes to all of my openings.

It's going to be really fun. It's going to be Cole Porter; that's the theme. Gabe plays piano, he plays different instruments, so he'll be bringing that up on stage with him. And every month I do duets with whoever the guest is. Like yesterday was Janice Siegel, so we did “Down for Doubles,” which is a great jazz tune. And then, a great Richard Rodgers tune from By Jupiter called “Ev’rything I’ve Got Belongs to You.”

Do you have a favorite moment from the series so far?

When I had Alexis Michelle on for the Mother's Day show, we did the lesbian duet from Rent... so me and a drag queen [laughs]. And I said, “I think you guys know this song.” And I was like, let's see how long it takes you to get it.

And literally, one chord. The band went bummm, and everybody started cheering. It was hilarious. They knew exactly what it was. That was really fun. I did enjoy that.

I'm a very ad lib comic, if you know what I mean... I'm very in the moment. And yesterday, out of the blue, I said to the audience, “Would you like to learn how to scat?” So I taught the audience how to scat yesterday. And it was very, very, very funny. Everyone loved it.

So yeah, I think that's probably the most fun of it all, is how very loose it is. You know, people are just having a good time.

What are your long-term plans for Brunch Is Gay?

The long-term plan is to continue doing it, the second Sunday of every month at 54 Below. 54 Below is doing a brunch series now. Every Sunday, they have different brunch shows, as I understand it. They have a gospel brunch, they have the drag brunch and they have the Broadway brunch. And then they have Brunch Is Gay, me.

So that's my plan, to just keep doing exactly what I'm doing. It works. I always find if something works, you don't fuck with it, you know what I mean? Just don't mess with it. So, the plan seems to be working, and I'll just continue to have different guests.

The themes are sometimes like... for example, the holidays are coming up, so I've got to do a Halloween show. I'm going to do a Thanksgiving show, I'm going to do a Christmas show. And those months it's just the way to go, you know what I mean? But other months will have different themes, like, for example, the Cole Porter in August. But I've got Jackie Hoffman [Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock] for the Halloween brunch and that one's going to be crazy. I just have to say it. It's going to be crazy.

Any hint on what the craziness entails?

Well, I think anybody who's seen Jackie and [me] on stage knows that we don't... We ran out of f-cks to give when Sonny was with Cher. We'll say anything. And then when the two of us get together on stage, oh, good Lord, we'll say anything. Because we're both comics and we're trying to make each other laugh. You know what I mean?

So yeah, it's going to be crazy. And of course, I do all sorts of crazy music. Like, I’ll be doing a version of “Bela Lugosi Is Dead,” but it'll be a jazz version of it for that show. So, it's always stuff like that.

What's been the most rewarding part of the series for you so far?

Oh, I think just being able to create something different every month. That feeds my creative energy. So to me, that's probably the most rewarding thing.

Also just being me. Being onstage very visibly, being as butch as I am and unapologetically me, especially in this day and age, to show people that you can be who you are. You know what I mean? That's really very rewarding for me as well.

Is there anything else that you want to add about the brunch show?

Yeah, that brunch is gay, and everyone should come. And if you look, I try to get my guests, like, three months in advance so you can look and see who you want. And, yeah, I mean, that's it. Come to the show. Daytime drink, enjoy, laugh, listen to some great music. What else are you going to need, you know? Perfect Sunday.

Do you have anything else coming up that you want to plug?

Let's see. I have a movie that's coming out on Hulu, I believe, in August. It's called Holy Irresistible. And I'm currently on Girls5eva.

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Tickets to Brunch Is Gay from August 11th through the end of the year are available on 54 Below's website.

Learn more about where to find and follow Lea DeLaria on her website at LeaDeLaria.com.

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