Varla Jean Merman Will Bring STAND BY YOUR DRAG to TheaterWorks Hartford

TheaterWorks Hartford will present international drag superstar and petty criminal Varla Jean Merman in her hit comedy cabaret Stand By Your Drag. This gut-busting show, co-written by TheaterWorks favorite Jacques Lamarre (I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; Christmas on the Rocks) with additional material by Ricky Graham, will offer a double-shot of ditzy fun for two performances on Sunday, April 28 at 4pm and 7pm at TheaterWorks at 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford. 

It’s been a year since Varla Jean Merman’s earth-shaking, knee-breaking “Tic-Taccident” found her flat on her back with her legs in the air. Since that time, our daffy diva has worked hard to get back on stage. Now with drag bans, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and a skyrocketing bar tab, America is conspiring to knock Varla off her lucite heels AGAIN! Join this show-biz survivor as she takes a stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of non-skid breath mints.

Tickets are $35 to $45 for the 4pm performance and $35 and $60 (with VIP post-show meet and greet) for the 7pm performance (limited availability)> Tickets can be purchased by visiting twhartford.org or by phone at 860–527–7838. The performance is recommended for ages 18 and over. 

Varla Jean Merman (aka Jeffery Roberson Loe) starred in the musical Lucky Guy opposite Leslie Jordan in New York at the Little Shubert Theatre, prompting The New York Times to rave, “If Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman had stood in front of the right pair of funhouse mirrors, they might have resembled Ms. Merman and Mr. Jordan in stature as well as comedic talent.” 

Jeffery has starred in the films Hush Up, Sweet Charlotte, Girls Will Be Girls, Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads, and most recently, Big Easy Queens. Jeffery played the role of Mary Sunshine on Broadway in the revival of Chicago and in the First National Touring Company. In 2010, he won Boston’s Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance in Phantom of the Oprah.

His 26 one-woman shows have sold out cabaret venues across the globe, as well as filling international concert halls including the Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall. 

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