D'Arcy Drollinger's Delirious Nod to Naughty Movies

On Thursday April 21, drag multi-talent D'Arcy Drollinger brings his show "Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls" to Oasis. It promises to be a mad send-up of Russ Meyer's most notorious films, and of Paul Verhoeven's equally raunchy (and equally silly) "Showgirls," which attempted to revive the non-hardcore X-rated genre.

Fifty years ago, filmmaker Russ Meyer was the king of T & A: Tits and Ass cinema. Throughout the 1960s, during the era which preceded XXX hardcore sex films, Meyer titillated a primarily straight male audience with "nudie" classics such as "Wild Gals of the Naked West" (1962), "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965), and "Vixen" (1968). Meyer's work became best known for the large endowments of his leading ladies, and his often over-the-top films made him a fortune. They also became camp classics, which guaranteed their future appeal to gay men.

Eyebrows were raised across Hollywood when, in 1970, Meyer signed with 20th Century Fox, which was the independent filmmaker's first foray into the big leagues. John Schlesinger's searing X-rated drama "Midnight Cowboy" had just won a Best Picture Oscar, so the Fox suits decided to take a chance and see what they could get out of consistent moneymaker Meyer.

They probably weren't expecting the hilariously raunchy Hollywood horror story which Meyer called "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls."

"You have to wonder what Fox thought when they gave the green light to have Russ Meyer direct a film," drag multi-talent D'Arcy Drollinger said in an interview. "He was a porn director. They were asking for it."

Drollinger acknowledges that X-rated films which are made outside of the hardcore genre often try so hard to be "shocking," they often become hilarious.

" 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' is such a unique film," he said. "It was written by movie critic Roger Ebert and Meyer. This in and of itself is a crazy and beautiful collaboration. But the fact that Fox dumped over a million dollars into it, which was a lot of money for the time, transforms what should have been a trashy, low budget film into a candy-coated masterpiece."

Drollinger admits to being "obsessed" with the film, which he describes as "this ridiculous melodrama about an all-girl rock band falling apart after their quick rise to fame, interlaced with sex scenes and musical numbers, all wrapped up in a sparkly bow."

And how does 1995's "Showgirls" fit into all of this?

"Both films had completely over-the-top melodramatic scripts that in many ways felt like they were written for a female audience," Drollinger explained. "Both included gratuitous sex scenes obviously geared towards straight men. Both were given very large budgets and X ratings. I'm not sure who they thought their audience was for either film, but both became instant cult classics with devout gay followings."

Drollinger likened both films to the notorious Joan Crawford biopic "Mommie Dearest" (1981), another camp classic which is adored by gay men.

"The attraction from the gay audience is the camp value," he explained. "And it's the unintentional camp that makes these kinds of films so riveting."

Drollinger first wrote the show in 1997 and performed it right up the street from Oasis, where it ran for more than a year. In 2003 the show was mounted in New York City.

"Now, in its third incarnation, I'm also directing and producing," said Drollinger. "In the past we were always subjected to the club's availability and limited resources. This time around, I own the club. The results are a somewhat more polished, refined version of the show."

As Drollinger describes the show, it begins to sound like an homage to Russ Meyer's entire career, and not just to "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" or "Showgirls." Though lines from the films may be sprinkled throughout his show's script, he points out that is an original work, featuring a five-piece band performing original songs.

" 'Above and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Showgirls' follows Super Vixen, a struggling, all-girl rock band with big dreams, big boobs, big hair and big everything else," he said. "The audience can expect my brand of ridiculous. This was very much the predecessor to my shows 'Shit and Champagne' and 'Temple of Poon.' Audiences can also expect flashy costumes, a kick-ass band, and an amazing cast of singers."

Drollinger added that the show is "immersive theater," with actors as part of the audience. "You'll feel like you've been transported back to your '80s rock concert fantasy... or nightmare!" he said.

In addition to Drollinger, the cast of includes John Paul Gonzalez, Nancy French, Jane D'Oh, Bobby Barnaby, Manuel Caneri, Lavale-William Davis and Melinda Campero. Peter Fogel (Whoa Nellies, "Club Inferno") is the music director.

"This is our first musical that we are doing at Oasis," Drollinger said. "If things go well, and they have so far, this could open up so many exciting possibilities."

"Above and Beyond The Valley of the Dolls" opens at Oasis on Thursday, April 21 at 7pm. Performances will run every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through May 14. 398 11th St. 21+. 2-drink minimum. $25-35, or $250 for a VIP table. www.sfoasis.com