Martha D' Arthur: Martha Mia!

[Gary R. Beck]

Martha D' Arthur

Martha Mia!
November 17, 19, 21, 24 and 26 at 9:30pm

For the first time in Puerto Vallarta, award-winning international drag idol, Martha D, Arthur who won the Drag Idol UK competition in 2013 and was the hostess of the inaugural Austin International Drag Festival in 2015 brings her 'nice' humor to our community.  

She sashayed onto the stage with bold confidence, reflecting the vast experience she possesses from entertaining audiences all over England. "I am a Drag Queen Woman. I am a Diva." "Bohemian Rhapsody" never sounded so forceful and authoritative.

Martha's show, "Martha Mia!," includes many favorite songs from carefully chosen from stage, screen and music. She undertakes a rambunctious "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" evoking old memories of Bette Midler rendering this song from an electric wheelchair surrounded by 'mermaids'. No Andrews Sisters here. Her voice varies from a middle male range to low female, especially on ballads as "Get Here If You Can", from Brenda Russell. Struggle and persevere until you arrive to me. A richly dynamic song from "Les Misérables" glowed with the colored lights: "I Dreamed a Dream", a high point of this night. Just when everyone thought they were safe, Martha tackled Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" resulting in a moment not to be forgotten.

"I'm a people pleaser. I like to please everybody." Martha D'Arthur, also known as Tom Jenkins, practiced this life's purpose extremely well and now uses her position to make as many around her smile and be happy. It is a dynamic determination which oozes out over the room. No nastiness here. It is all about love.

The highlight of her shows is her Juke Box Drag, where the audience chooses songs from her wide-ranging repertoire of power ballads and cabaret classics. They applaud for their choice of the nominees and then Martha delivers the tune. This glamorous lady will delight you with her powerhouse vocals and since the viewers choose the songs, there is never the same show performed twice. "Halo" by Beyonce and "Sweet Transvestite" from "Rocky Horror Show", currently playing next door to sold-out performances, showed one again why Martha is a superstar across the Ocean and now on this Continent. Watch and listen to her and know you are in a very special place.

Her firm feminine vocals were beautiful in the front with "I Will Always Love You". She ended this evening appropriately with "Creep": "I'm a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here." But calls for an encore brought the promised Abba medley ending gloriously with "Thank You For the Music", which again expresses her determination in life and the listeners thanked her in return. She is a top pro but is not snooty and arrogant, just a really 'nice drag queen'.

Photos courtesy: one and two Ed Gill, three and four Tom Bernes.

Act II Entertainment  - Red Room Cabaret
Insurgentes 300 [corner of Basilio Badillo and Insurgentes], second floor 
Romantic Zone/SouthSide, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
322-222-1512                                                                           
Show info and tickets available online at www.act2pv.com                                
Box office opens the day of show at 4pm and there is a second box office across the street from Garbo on Púlpito. 
Email: act2entertainm...@gmail.com 

Gary R. Beck                              

Puerto Vallarta, JAL.      
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Puerto_Vallarta_OldTown_SouthSide 
                    
More of Beck's Best: Theater, Cabaret and More!: 
www.facebook.com/groups/PuertoVallartaShows