Lea DeLaria: Not Necessarily Love Songs

Riotous laughter reverberated throughout The Appel Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center where Lea DeLaria, the "fabulously controversial" comedic actress and jazz musician, played before an audience of theater aristocrats, fat cats, fans and fellow artists; no small feat considering the unconventional showgirl is a boundary-pushing diesel dyke with the voice of a Valkyrie.

Twenty-two years ago, the standup comic made history when she became "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" during her 1993 appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show." That valiant "up yours" to the homophobic F.C.C. censors at the time only expanded her portfolio, surprising since it was so over-the-top: "I'm a big dyke!" she proclaimed.

However, contemporary audiences have come to worship the Illinois-bred butch funny woman. Her turn as Carrie "Big Boo" Black, the power lesbian inmate at Litchfield, a woman's federal penitentiary and correctional facility in Netflix's crime comedy-drama "Orange Is the New Black," has been raved about by critics and fans alike.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the triple-threat talent headlined Lea DeLaria: "Not Necessarily Love Songs," a rollicking a one-woman show overlooking Central Park at Columbus Circle that deserved the deluxe PBS live broadcast special that some of her peers were tapped for.

Brazen, hilarious, foul and heartwarming, the dyke with mike turned out some festive tunes and surprises. For starters, she enthralled the audience in a stirring rendition of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's "Down With Love" before belting out a bebop version of Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love," leading everyone to raise suspicious since she noted that she was unlucky in the romance department.

But with musical director/arranger Jeremy Siskind at the helm leading his band of melodic marauders, love (even under the guise of steaming hot sex) was in the air: Australian trumpeter Mat Jodrell, cool cat guitarist Sheryl Bailey, wallflower saxophonist Lucas Pino, finger-snapping bass player Dylan Shamat and hiccup drumming percussionist Kenny Wollesen, played like their lives were on the line.

Later, it was discovered that DeLaria's bad luck in that department may be changing for the better. Just before introducing "I've Got Your Number" from the 1962 Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman classic "Little Me," she dedicated the tune to a special lady in the house.

Nearly 24 hours she posted to Facebook, DeLaria, 56, made an announcement that she had proposed to her fashion editor girlfriend and that they were now engaged. This happened following the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 25, 2015, where the cast celebrated their win for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the Weinstein Company & Netflix's 2015 SAG Awards after party held at Sunset Tower in Los Angeles.

"Yes bitches, I am engaged," the 56-year-old wrote on Facebook. "Despite their concerns about the patriarchal confines of marriage, actor/singer Lea DeLaria & editrix Chelsea Fairless of Brooklyn, New York are pleased to announce their engagement," she continued. "No date has been set for the impending nuptials but it's safe to say that it will be the event of the season, or a total s--t show."

The number was charming and given that it reminded this critic of her days as Hildy Esterhazy in the 1998 Broadway revival of "On the Town" where she aced the screwball come hither tune "Come Up to My Place," it added a certain je ne sais quoi to the evening. It also helps that Fairless was in the audience, beaming in a sparkling metallic gold number. Laura Prepon, her castmate on the Netflix series, was also in the crowd with the character's signature raven-haired mane.

There were other highlights of the night: A bossa nova version of Kander & Ebb's "All That Jazz," a modal jazz styling of Sondheim's gothic horror anthem "The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd" and a downbeat rendition of Giorgio Moroder and Deborah Harry's new wave classic "Call Me" from the "American Gigolo" soundtrack.

Not to mention, DeLaria received an assist from legendary jazz vocalist Janis Siegel (of The Manhattan Transfer) on a titillating cover of Rodgers and Hart's "Everything I've Got Belongs to You." Siegel later returned in a sing-off that ended in an impromptu scat battle royale between the very composed horn-inspired vocals of jazz legend and the cartoonish and bursting DeLaria.

But the night closed on the best note when DeLaria -- who performed in the 2011 American Repertory Theater production of Serj Tankian and "Prometheus Bound" alongside two-time Tony Award nominee Gavin Creel, Tony winners Celina Carvajal (Lena Hall) and Gabriel Ebert -- was joined by the show's music supervisor Debra Barsha and a choir of young singers.

Around the time the third season of the hit Netflix series debuts, she'll drop her fifth studio jazz recording, "House of David: DeLaria plus Bowie equals Jazz." As you may have guessed, all the tracks are jazz covers of David Bowie tunes, so it was only fitting that they'd go to church on "Modern Love" from Bowie's 1983 "Let's Dance" album. People were on their feet, DeLaria reached out her arms as if she were preaching gospel and for a moment of glory, the audience was licking her heels...

That actually happened for one DeLaria fan. All in a days' work.

"Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series" runs through March 28 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 3 Columbus Circle. For information or tickets, call 212-258-9800 or visit http://americansongbook.org/events/lea-delaria