Bollywood and Vine

LEA DELARIA (“Delilah Leigh”) seems to have achieved overnight, international stardom with her Screen Actors Guild award-winning role as “Big Boo” in the hit Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. However, DeLaria’s multi-faceted career as a comedian, actress, and jazz musician has actually spanned decades. Lea holds the distinction of being the first openly gay comic on television in **America which led to countless television and film roles. Selected TV credits: Broad City, Baroness Von Sketch, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Awkward, Clarence, Californication, The Oblongs, One Life to Live, Law and Order: SVU, Will and Grace, Friends, & Matlock. Selected Film credits: Cars 3, Support The Girls, First Wives Club, Dear Dumb Diary, Edge of Seventeen, & Potato Dreams of America. Starring roles on Broadway include Night of the Iguana, POTUS, and On The Town for which she received a Drama Desk nomination. As a singer, she has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Chicago Symphony, Hollywood Bowl, The Royal Albert Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. Lea has five records on the Warner Jazz and Classics label.**

“Lea DeLaria is a musical comedy cyclone!” ~John Kenrick

“…a show-stopping vocal fervor that recalls Ethel Merman!” ~Charles Isherwood

“Ms. DeLaria makes an obliging captive of anyone watching her!” ~Ben Brantley

JACKIE HOFFMAN (“What's Her Name”) is a versatile actor and stand-up comedian. She was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in 2017 after her fantastic performance as “Mamacita” with Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon in Ryan Murphy’s FX Series, Feud. Also on TV, she most recently starred in the series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Only Murders in the Building, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Jackie’s film credits are extensive. To name a few: Adam Sandler’s You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, Glass Onion, Birdman, Garden State, Legally Blonde II, Kissing Jessica Stein, and Shiva Baby. Jackie played "Yente The Matchmaker” in the Yiddish stage production of ***Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Oscar-winner Joel Grey. Other notable stage credits include Broadway's Charlie and the Chocolate* Factory, The Addams Family, Xanadu, On The Town, and Hairspray for which she won the Theater World Award.**

Review of Feud:
“Watch out for veteran character comic Jackie Hoffman, stealing scenes with deadpan deviousness as [Joan] ***Crawford's German maid and confidante, Mamacita.” ~*The Hollywood Reporter**

BLAIR ST. CLAIR aka Andrew Bryson (“Devin”) is an actor, drag queen, and singer known for competing on the tenth season of the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, as well as the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Praised by PAPER Magazine as a “pop queen with huge ambition,” Blair St. Clair is breaking barriers and challenging expectations in the mainstream music world. In 2018, Blair made history as the first drag queen to have a debut album, Call My Life, debut at number one on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums Sales Chart.

Review of Blair St. Clair’s Call My Life
“[Blair’s] voice is an expressive and large instrument…[the album] reminds listeners of the kind of disco music that Donna Summer, Sylvester, Madonna, or Inner City would produce – music whose priorities were both the dance floor as well as the heart. Much of Blair St Clair’s narrative on RuPaul’s Drag Race was kindness, strength, and resilience. Her album creates a great soundtrack for that narrative.” ~An American In London

ANEESH SHETH (“Detective Kapoor”) is a singer, actress, producer, director, writer, and transgender activist. Born in Pune, India and relocating to the United States at an early age, she quickly found a passion for music. At 6 years old, she began studying piano and by middle school she had also picked up the flute and began vocal training. Having sung classically up through high school, she then attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for Musical Theatre. After receiving her BFA, she enjoyed touring with various musicals. including the Broadway National of A.R. Rahman's Bombay Dreams as “Sweetie.” Aneesh is probably best known, however, for her breakout performance in the stage musical, Southern Comfort. Aneesh made her TV network debut as a guest star on NBC's Thursday night sitcom, Outsourced, and has since appeared in Difficult People, High Maintenance, New Amsterdam, Insomnia, and Marvel's Jessica Jones on Netflix as “Gillian,” assistant to the titular character. Aneesh’s films include IFC's A Kid Like Jake, alongside Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), and First One In.

“Delightfully brash Aneesh Sheth! NYT Critics' Pick!” ~The New York Times

RYAN KNOWLES (“The Great Embalmo”) has starred in everything from musical comedy to children's television; from feature films to stand-up comedy. Most recently, he appeared on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical for which he received critical acclaim and a spot on the New York Times "Best Of Theatre 2019."

“For sheer solo star power, no one tops Ryan Knowles. The dexterity in his voice is astonishing, gliding from a twitter to wall-shattering thunder. His body contorts into countless postures of clownish arrogance without effort. His fluidity and precision make him captivating to watch.” Variety

“The Lightning Thief harbors a hilarious gem — or rather many, all courtesy of Ryan Knowles. Perched on long, angular legs, Knowles handles several parts in grand Looney Tunes style.” The New York Times

JOHN WATERS (in a Special Appearance as Himself)

About BOLLYWOOD AND VINE Waters says: “I’d pay to see this movie even if I weren’t in it.”

The iconic American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist who rose to fame in the early 1970s with his boundary-pushing movies, many of which starred the legendary drag queen, Divine.

In 1988, John wrote and directed the non-musical film Hairspray, which later became the Broadway musical phenomenon and, ultimately, found its way back to the screen as a movie musical starring John Travolta. John Waters has written and directed many other box office hits as well, including Cry-Baby with Johnny Depp, Serial Mom with Kathleen Turner, and Pink Flamingoes.

FACTOID: When his movie Polyester opened in theaters in 1981, John designed Odorama - "scratch-and-sniff" cards with spots numbered 1 through 10 which were distributed to audience members before the show. When a number flashed on the screen, viewers scratched and sniffed the appropriate spot. Smells included the scent of flowers, pizza, and dirty socks.

“All I know is I was born with a screw loose.” John Waters in PARIS REVIEW