It's (Half) Greek
To Nadia Weinberg ... 74

The Man Behind
The Documentary

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

D

EDNA:

HOUSEWIFE,
MEGASTAR,
CHANTEUSE,
SWAMI AND

YIDDISHE
MAYDELE?

ame Edna Everage learned
only recently that's she's
"part Jewish," and she'd
"just love to talk about it
over a plate of brisket" at any local
delicatessen.
Dame Edna — who says she's
been "longing" to visit the Motor
City for quite a while — doesn't
look or sound Jewish. During a
recent interview, she was dressed
in her "lovely shmatas," as she
refers to her colorful stage
outfits, and she converses
warmly in a lingering accent
from her native Australia.
But she certainly wants
everyone to know about her
"newfound" religion:
"Judaism and its many won-
derful aspects."
Rapidly gaining popularity in
the United States for her hilari-
ous one-woman comedy show,
Dame Edna will visit Detroit's Music
Hall for eight performances March 20-
25. It's part of a 14-city "Royal Tour"
for the Dame, who has become some-
what of an international entertainment
phenomenon. A nine-month Broadway
run that garnered a special Tony Award
and three other major theatrical awards
preceded the tour.
"Wherever I go in the world, I nurse
a spooky little hope that one day I'll be
able to squeeze Detroit into my tight
schedule, and this time it's going to
happen," she intones with a bit of sar-
castic wit. The "theatrically deprived
folk in Detroit" will get a glimpse of
her in the flesh.
Although she'll never admit it, Dame
Edna is the creation of veteran
Australian actor Barry Humphries. She
describes herself as a housewife, megas-
tar, investigative journalist, social
anthropologist, talk-show host, children's
book illustrator, chanteuse, swami,
adviser to British royalty on their marital
problems, spin doctor and icon.
Humphries has so successfully
implanted the Dame Edna character in
the minds of audiences, they're pretty
much convinced he's really a she.
While Humphries is 67, Dame Edna
claims she's "on the wrong side of 50."
Humphries has been married four
'times; Dame - Edna is a widow with
three children.

DAME on page 70

