Review: BIANCA DEL RIO: 'IT'S JESTER JOKE' at Admiralspalast Berlin

Picking up the mantle of legendary insult comics Joan Rivers and Don Rickles, (among others) Roy Haylock, as his drag alter-ego, Bianca Del Rio has created a new form of entertainment -- a drag queen comedy show that has almost NOTHING to do with drag, and EVERYTHING to do with a singularly brilliant comic mind.

Since bursting into the public consciousness as the 6th season winner of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Mr. Haylock has in 5 short years pulled off a hat trick that even the great RuPaul took nearly 30 years to accomplish... he has made his "drag" irrelevant. I suspect that Mr. Haylock is only still appearing as Bianca Del Rio because that's how audiences first got to know him. He neither lipsynchs, "death-drops," changes costume, or even spends a great deal of time discussing his appearance on "Drag Race."

The Admiralspalast in Berlin was sold out to the rafters. The sense of excitement coursing through the very young, very mixed crowd was palpable. From the moment "Bianca" appeared, a rush of energy coursed through the crowd that did not let up for the next 90 minutes. Mr. Haylock is an equal-opportunity, non-politically-correct, potty-mouthed, x-rated comic. Religion, Politics, Jews, Blacks, Gays, Lesbians, People with Down's Syndrone -- you name it, "Bianca" insulted them all...brilliantly.

Mr. Haylock's timing is impeccable. His vocal inflections and mimicry show a mastery of joke-telling that is a textbook example of how to wring every drop of humor out of every single line. Seesawing between convulsive laughter and shock, the Berlin audience (this critic included) could only sit slack-jawed in admiration of the brilliance of the comic onstage. A bare stage with only minimal lighting and microphone was all Mr. Haylock needed to command the undivided attention of his audience for over 90 minutes.

"It's Jester Joke" is a forward-looking show written to capitalize on the audience's expectations, but then move them exactly where Mr. Haylock wants them... into the palm of his hand. Due to Mr. Haylock's singular comic genius, "Bianca" has now become one of the biggest touring attractions in the world of comedy, routinely filling arenas larger than 10,000 people -- an accomplishment unheard of in the world of drag entertainment. This is not because he is (in his own words) "a clown in a dress," but rather because he is a world-class entertainer. Period. That said, I can imagine that in the very near future, Roy Haylock will be filling arenas on his own, without "Bianca."

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