MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Interviews

NIKKI ADAMS

As a LGBT philanthropist, MC, and winner of multiple South-Florida pagents, as well as the star of lavish productions at The Copa for many years, few can match Nikki Adams.  But what could she turn into that no one knows about?

Where did you grow up?  In a small town called Jennerstown, in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  How long have you lived in South Florida?  For 41 years.  Why did you move here?  I had to get out of the small-town mentality.  What part of South Florida do you live in?  In the Hollywood area.  What do you like most about living here?  The weather.  What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone?  The Copa.  Where do you hang out in South Florida?  At home, because I get enough social activity through work.  What’s your claim-to-fame?  I’ve been a performer and community activist in South Florida for a long time, and I won the Miss Florida Pageant in 1981.

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What contribution to South Florida LGBT community are you proudest of?  Raising millions of dollars over the years for charities.  What’s the best gig you ever did, and why?  A New Year’s night at Ozone, when the audience crowd-surfed me from the stage, around the bar, and then back to the stage.  How did you come up with your name?  I was named by my drag mother—Tiny Tina—after a 60’s sci-fi actor—Nick Adams—who was blonde, with blue eyes.  How would you like to be remembered?  As alive!  Will you ever retire?  That’s doubtful.  What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked?  “Can I get change from that $5 that I tipped you?”

WITH HER PARENTS

What celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  All of the ones that I’ve met.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  Shopping sites.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  Paris.  And I’m going back for my fourth trip there in the spring, because I love that city.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  Patience.  What did you learn from your parents?  To love and to be loved.  What performer do you admire, and why?  Latrice Royale, because she’s made her way with grace and humility.

What’s your favorite movie?  Auntie Mame.  What drives you crazy?  Stupidity.  How would you feel if your pet was the master in heaven, and you were the pet?  I’d feel awesome!  I’d be fed to my content and I’d get belly rubs!!  Would you give a kidney to a relative or close friend?  Yes.  What’s your best characteristic?  Honesty.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  By relaxing with my pets.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  Adam Pascal.  Who do you admire, and why?  My dad.  He’s the smartest and most compassionate person that I know.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be, and why?  My mom, because I miss talking to her.  Where would you go in a time machine, and why?  To the future, when we elect a new president.

What would your last meal be?  A ribeye steak, asparagus with hollandaise, and chocolate cake.  What do you worry about?  Bills!  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why?  A piano, because it can play many notes at once.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  Neither—I’m a cougar!  Who depends on you?  My pets.  Who are you closest with?  My friend, Melissa.  What would your autobiography be called?  Live, Live, Live!  What music do you listen to when you’re upset?  Broadway music.  What’s on your bucket list?  To visit the Far East. What’s your greatest regret in life?  I have none.  I learn from my mistakes.  What’s something that you never told anyone else?  That I could easily be a recluse.  Where can we see you?  On Tuesdays, for Trivia Night at Smarty Pants.  And in a city near you!

MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Events

JOHN WATERS

John Waters debuted his new show, A Filthy World, in Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, to an almost sold-out crowd 

SHADE-O-METER RATING

OUTTA 5 WERKS: “10s ACROSS THE BOARD – LEGENDARY STATUS”

Who’s John Waters?  I think we all know who he is.  If you’re the one-in-a-million who doesn’t, look him up.  What’s Sunshine Cathedral?  It’s a predominately LGBT church/performing arts venue (yes, just like the original Ryman Auditorium, sans the LGBT part).  How was the venue?  For the most part, it looked like a modern church.  But there weren’t any wood pews (thank God).  The seats were comfortable.  The main décor on the stage were spotlight urns, which has sticks fanning out of them (very Blair Witch).  How was the parking?  Parking was available in various grass-lots, which only required a short walk to the venue.  Does the venue serve liquor?  I saw a few people with beer bottles in their hands, so there must be some type of cabaret license—probably for beer and wine only.  How were the drinks?  We didn’t get any.  Does the venue serve food?  Nope.  How much were the tickets?  $30.  Where were the seats?  Towards the back, but there really was no bad seat in the venue.  According to the website, it holds 450 people.  Was the show sold out?  Just about.  Who was the opening act?  Unless you count the one drag queen who sauntered up and down the aisle a few times as an “opening act,” there wasn’t any.

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How was the show?  To begin, Waters wasn’t quite the most natural or humanistic performer.  And for all intents and purposes, the show really was a scripted comedy show—it wasn’t simply him discussing his career.  Considering this, Waters wasn’t as proficient in this arena as, for example, Chris Rock or Gilbert Gottfried.  The show was loosely framed around several themes: Trump/politics (with Trump characterized as a “shithole in the White House” and an “orange anus”), a satirical look at what a “President Waters” administration would be like, the contradiction between being irreverent versus owning three houses, Hollywood directors and Hollywood itself, his film career (which took up half the show; Female Trouble probably got the loudest applause), and, finally, his desires for the future (i.e., open a store, have a fashion line, continue writing and touring).  As contained in Water’s films, he seemed to find the greatest glee in the off-beat and the absurdities of life.

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When John Waters delivered his gleefully subversive advice to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, the speech went viral, in part because it was so brilliantly on point about making a living as a creative person. Now we can all enjoy his sly wisdom in a manifesto that reminds us, no matter what field we choose, to embrace chaos, be nosy, and outrage our critics.

Some of the better lines in the show were: “Old chickens make good soup.  Hunting isn’t a sport if the animals aren’t trained to shoot back.  I was at a party, and they handed poppers to a young person, and they drank them.  I feel bad for drag queens today; who would want to be Melania Trump?  Wouldn’t Hairpie be a great title for a porn spoof of Hairspray?  We’re [me and my actors] all going to be buried in plots near Divine; it’ll be called Disgraceland.  The only way that kids can rebel today is to tell their parents that they don’t want a phone.  We have too many gays already; new ones should have to ‘audition’ on a reality show.  Can you imagine a scatological porn version of Schindler’s List called Shitler’s List?  Everything is so PC today; you can’t even call someone a ‘cocksucker’ anymore.”  Waters closed the formal part of the show with a kind of poetic discourse about how his dreams came true because of “you, the audience,” but he urged them to stay on the “other side of dreamland,” like in Fort Lauderdale, which always had—among other things—the best hustlers.

How was the crowd?  They laughed, but there wasn’t any on-the-floor guffawing going on or any displays of uncontrollable stitches.  What could have improved the show?  The venue needs to teach some of the ushers some manners.  The producer made a pre-show announcement that no video recording was allowed.  I tried to take a picture when Waters came on the stage, but I barely had the phone up before an usher slammed his hand down on my shoulder, informing that no video was allowed.  When I clarified that I wasn’t taking video, he said that “no pictures were allowed, either.”  That’s all fine and dandy, but you need to tell the audience that first.  Very rude behavior, if you ask me.

What was surprising about the show?  Waters did a Q&A for a good 20 minutes at the end, with the house lights up, and, although it wasn’t necessarily shocking that he did it, I certainly wasn’t expecting it.  It was during this section that the full personality—more or less—was on display, and what Waters might have previously lacked in performance acumen during the formal set, he made up for during this segment.  The Q&A was prefaced with, “I’ll answer anything.”  During it, he discussed how the internet has hooked up the world to the point where you can create anywhere, but there are still a few cities left that have “local color” (for example, Baltimore).  How his books sell better than his last film did.  How one of his favorite recent films was Mom and Dad.  How “no’s” are free, but you only need one “yes” to make it in show business.  How dogs have been sentenced to a lifetime of “human caresses.”  That after he met Clint Eastwood, the press coined the meeting as, “The Odd Couple.”  How Divine could make it today, since it’s even easier to make “underground” films now.  His thoughts on glory holes (he likes them).  And, lastly, Waters urged the audience to keep creating.  For, “It’s easy to shock.  But it’s much harder to make people laugh at what they’re uncomfortable with—that’s what I always tried to do.”

Sunshine Cathedral is located at 1480 Southwest 9th Ave., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.