Add Latina Kiki Melendez to the list of funny straight women gay men love
LATIN LAUGHS: Kiki Melendez and the Hot Tamales Tour, The House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., Aug. 2. 7:30 p.m. $20.
 |
| CHOS AND GRIFFINS AND MELENDEZES, OH MY!: Kiki makes kicky comedy caliente. |
Latina comic Kiki Melendez has no free time. Within hours of arriving in Dallas for her show this weekend, she began working the press circuit, going from radio station to TV appearances while taking recommendations for restaurants. No doubt she loves it.
"I have the worst job. It is not easy," Melendez says.
Melendez is in town to deliver her "Hot Tamales Live" comedy show of funny ladies. But don’t call it the Latina version of the Redneck Comedy Tour. Melendez has built this variety show for the past seven years as a platform for showcasing comediennes regardless of background.
"I didn’t want to do reverse discrimination. If I just did Latina women, other women would not get the opportunities. All women comics — Latina, Asian, lesbian, Jewish, anyone from every background — need a launching pad," she says.
One former Tamale did get launched into superstardom: Melendez created the original show with Eva Longoria who found big time fame with "Desperate Housewives."
Like a certain D-list redhead comic, Melendez also loves her gays. It’s no surprise she says they are her biggest fans. Which begs the question: what is it with gay men and funny women?
"Women with gay men and comedy is a natural thing," she says. "I think gay men love strong vocal women and that’s me. Plus, I think most gay men are very close to their mom, which fosters that admiration and worship even."
During some chatter about the Dallas gayborhood and LaDuni as a primo dining spot, she took another call. It was Longoria discussing Melendez’s San Antonio visit.
So much for taking a break.
FROM THE SLOPES TO THE SANDWICH
 |
Comedians Marisa Diotalevi and Sherry Etzel have been cutting up North Texas audiences for years — Diotalevi in her one-woman show "The Consummate Woman," Etzel as part of the 4 Out of 5 Doctors comedy troupe, among many plays each. But it wasn’t until they went to Colorado for Telluride Gay Ski Week earlier this year that they teamed up as The Flannel Twins.
Apparently, the experiment worked — although in the Texas heat, flannel’s out, even for lesbians. The toothsome twosome are pairing up again, and you don’t need to head for the Rockies to see them.
Girls Gone Weird!!! is their new comedy show, playing late-night this weekend at the Pocket Sandwich Theater. (It won’t be just girls going weird, either — Gary Floyd will be making a guest appearance.)
With deep roots in improv, musical theater and sketch comedy, both are known for a wry satiric edge to their humor. Gone weird? You don’t know the half of it.
— Arnold Wayne Jones
Pocket Sandwich Theater, 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane. July 31 and Aug. 1 at 11:15 p.m. $10. 214-821-1860.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 31, 2009.