“I’ve got the biggest tits so I should get a solo for each one – that was in my contract,” laughs Jon. “I haven’t done drag before but I think if I was a woman, given my size, I would have a fantastic rack. What’s the point unless you’ve got very high heels, an enormous wig, big boobs and a hip flask shoved down your bra?”
Written by John Livings, Bugle Boys will blend comedy and cabaret like no other. Bringing together three impeccable performers, the show is an epic collaborative piece. “It’s all very well to get dressed up as women and pretend to be The Andrew Sisters, but we sing the songs, we actually do sing the harmonies,” Jon explains. “Mark Jones wrote the arrangements, I play the soprano part, that was what Maxene originally did, she was the high voice – LaVerne [Dessmann] was the low voice and Patty [Dalton] was the middle voice.”
“The largest performance in the show is of course Michael, who plays Patty; she’s kind of the straight guy though. Maxene is a fat drunk, she sings really well and for some reason, even though she drinks gallons of brandy and rum during the show, she still manages to sing pitch perfect and get all the dance moves right. The other character, LaVerne, is a total slut – so Patty’s got a nymphomaniac sister and a dipsomaniac sister.”
Debuting their show late last year, the trio are more than acquainted with the preparation it takes to transform into the Bugle Boys. Gaining a sheer appreciation for the art, they have had their fair share of challenges. “You don’t realise how hard it is to make yourself look female when you’re actually not,” he laughs. “You’ve got to get rid of the beard line and I’m no spring chicken, so you’ve got to try to get rid of the eye bags and hide your eyebrows.”
“It took me ages to learn how to do high-heels. How women walk and run in them…I just don’t get it. I wear the highest ones of the show, there’s no point being as magnificent as Maxene is and then putting her in flats. I’m also learning how to put on pantyhose – three pairs because I don’t want to shave my legs.”
Nevertheless, the multi-skilled entertainer has found solace in his eccentric character, removing the boundaries of gender, sexuality, age and well, common decency. “For a couple of hours a day I get to be this outrageous woman. It is rather liberating,” he says. “You become ageless too. She’s a way of expressing myself that I don’t usually get to. I get to be rude and nasty, she’s mean and selfish – but in a fun way of course.”
Remaining forever faithful to the original songs, the Bugle Boys use dynamic dance routines and physical expression to make the show their own. “Musically, we leave them the same. In fact, they’re incredibly close to the original arrangements,” Jon insists. “The main way we re-interpret them is more of a visual thing –how we do it, not what we do. Of course we take the music very seriously, but the rest of it is, well it’s a comedy festival for god sakes – it’s supposed to be funny. It’s purely for entertainment and play.”
By Phoebe Robertson
Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, CBD
Dates: March 25 – April 17 (running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)
Times: 5.30pm (Sundays 4.30pm)
Tickets: $30
