photo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert
Bianca Leigh ...........................................................................................

Three popular singers made seasonal returns to Cherry Grove on June 14. Lovely Bianca Leigh served as our singing dinner hostess for the year's second Dining with the Divas evening, at Cherry's, and Miss Fire Island 2006 Epiphany sang there afterwards. Later, across the way, Shequida made her initial 2010 appearance at the Ice Palace.

Assisted by DJ Dustin, Bianca, in terrific voice and wearing a slinky blue and black gown and a flower in her hair, seduced us with "Whatever Lola Wants," from "Damn Yankees," and "Big Spender," from "Sweet Charity." She capped "The Blues in the Night" with a long-sustained final note and swung us with "Le Jazz Hot," from "Victor/Victoria," with that rangy ascending run at the end.

Bianca confided that she's been rehearsing for the forthcoming musical version of "Tales of the City," playing, not Anna Madrigal, but historic, homophobic arch villain Anita Bryant! She then saluted illustrious forebear Frank Sinatra, with "Fly Me to the Moon," and louche contemporary Amy Winehouse, with the Billie Holiday-like "I Told You I Was Trouble," and invited Porsche onstage for an impromptu and mellifluous duet of "Miss Celie's Blues," from the film "The Color Purple."

Bianca became poor, demented Norma Desmond, from "Sunset Boulevard," with an exceptionally dulcetly sung "With One Look," and gently queried, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Bianca turned tough with "These Boots Are Made for Walking," the Nancy Sinatra song, and strutted her stuff in "Broadway Baby," from "Follies." Her next, romantic numbers were "Crazy," the Patsy Cline hit, and "La Vie en Rose," Edith Piaf's song, in French.

Our diva took us to the Lower East Side of long ago with "Sam, You Made the Pants too Long;" continued with country-Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man;" and took leave of us with "Hit Me with Your Best Shot." Bianca will return to Cherry's in July and August and, in New York City, will appear on Thursdays, from June 24 to August 5, in a show she wrote, "A Night in the Tombs," presented by Theatre Askew at the Bowery Poetry Club.

With Manny as DJ, bright-voiced Epiphany, opting for a "California to New York transplant/golddigger" theme, began with "Why Don't You Do Right?" the Peggy Lee song, and "Private Dancer," in Tina Turner mode. Turning to Lily Allen's music, she sang "The Fear," part of it out on the dock.

Epiphany became 'the little mermaid,' yearning to become "Part of Your World," and sang both Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's parts in "Telephone." She borrowed the voice of Eartha Kitt for "Champagne Taste (beer-bottle pocket)," and concluded by singing Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," in tribute to her favorite city," and "Wig in a Box (I put on some makeup)," from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and had us, the audience, sing some of it.

A great deal of energetic dancing marked Shequida's show, for which Chuck McTague served as DJ. After a musical prelude that included some of "O Fortuna," from "Carmina Burana," and "Dies Irae," from Verdi's "Requiem," Shequida, just back from Italy, opened with a dramatic production number, assisted by four male dancers. Jiggly Caliente joined Shequida for "Telephone" and, big but agile, had her own solo, asking, "Why don't you love me?" complete with a split and a cartwheel. Shequida hosted a dance contest and sang us her own version of "Private Dancer," as "Tranny Singer."