Bernadette: Miss Peters, if ur nasty! (w/ Daniel Rafinejad)

Hey Divas! It's been a minute but we're back baby! Max Jenkins (Dead to Me, High Maintenance, Special, literally what show HASN'T he been on?) joined me for a chat about Idina Menzel, as he's currently treading the boards in MCC's Which Way to the Stage? But that quickly got swept aside to chat about the one, the only, the controversial: Lea Michele! From her Broadway roots in Ragtime to her star turn in Spring Awakening to the super nova of Glee there. are. stories.  We cover it all. Max is a mensch and I'm so grateful to have him on the pod!

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Theme Music by Tom McGovern
Cover Art by José C. Hernandez-Ruíz

Reminder Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, Trans Lives Matter, Ableism is Bulls***, drink water and stay safe!

Divas! Welcome to the pod, the inimitable, the hilarious, and the oh so sweet: Daniel Rafinejad! And this week we're talking about the Child-like Empress herself: Bernadette Peters! We discuss her many iconic stage career, starting from when she was three years old, Then her hey day in 1970's cinema, all the way up to her current work in tv and animal activism. Also, fun fact: Danny lives across the street from Miss Peters! Also, did you know she and Steve Martin dated?!? Come worship with us!

Hi Divas! This week we have the amazingly talented Eleri Ward on the pod! Be sure to give her amazing album A Perfect Little Death a listen, you MT queers won't regret it. This week we're talking about the queen of Broadway and the silver screen, two time Tony Award winner and star the cinematic event of the year 2000, Center Stage, the one, the only: Donna Murphy! We gush over her amazing performance as Fosca in Passion all the way to her turn in the Bourne Legacy. Of course we go into the Red Dress Sondheim Concert of it all. She has this amazing grace, beauty, and strength in everything she does. Dare we say, goddess like poise, a la the Greek deity, Athena????? Also, Eleri is the first guest who has a tried and true "follow for follow" with their diva! Donna, if you're listening, we'd love to have you on! Come worship with us!

Hi Bootylicious Divas! This week we welcome the one, the only, the star of the Pitch Perfect franchise, Shelley Regner! And we're discussing the Queen Bey herself: Beyonce! Shelley and I met doing a musical yeeeeeears ago, and decided we were stuck with each other. And now here we are, talking about THE diva of divas. Truly, where to begin? She is a goddess. She's a queen. She's a mononym. Constantly reinventing herself as any diva should, we get into what it would be like to meet her multiple times in this ep. And question, is there anything to fault her on? I have something, but don't fact check me, listeners! We dissect her Super Bowl performances, Coachella, the genre defying and defining Lemonade.  And only after we stopped recording did I realize we didn't even get into Ivy Park! Come worship with us!
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Also, our new music was composed by the wicked-ly talented Tom McGovern (@tommcgovern27)
Our cover art by the same terrific Jose C. Hernandez-Ruíz (@j.c.art)
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Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, Pride is a year round revolution, and Ableism is bull$hit.
Wash your hands and stay safe!

Welcome to Season Two, Divas!
We're bringing it to you every runway this season with a flamboyance of new divas, starting with the one, the only: Dolly Parton! And who better to discuss Our Patron Saint of 2020, than Diva Worship's number one fan: Martino Garavaglia (@martinomars). We bounce around a lot on this episode, both of us showing off our excitement and ADHD. We discuss Marty's shrine to Dolly all the way to his bicep tattoo of her. She just makes the world make sense! Marty then dives into some tricky territory with the Mother of Moderna and one of her restaurants, but rest assured, she's a Saint for a reason. You know her, you love her, get into this amazing episode. Come worship with us!
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Also, our new music was composed by the wicked-ly talented Tom McGovern (@tommcgovern27)
Our cover art by the same terrific Jose C. Hernandez-Ruíz (@j.c.art)
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Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, Pride is a year round revolution, and Ableism is bull$hit.
Wash your hands and stay safe!

It's the holiday season, Divas! And what better way to celebrate than with the Empress of December herself, Mariah Carey! Our certified expert on all things Lambily is the one the only Kat Vetrano. This is a doozy of an episode and I hope you enjoy!

Hi Divas! Get ready for a hilarious episode as Daniel Illig (@sf.bby) and I dive into the one, the only, Elaine Stritch. Daniel is a diva expert himself and we reminisce about running into each other waiting for Audra McDonald's autograph. And don't worry, there is a ton of diva cross talk and comparisons in this ep. According to Daniel, Elaine is 80% chainsaw, 40% whiskey, 50% white linen t-shirts, and 100% her. She kind of has "scary grandma energy" and we love it. Daniel allays his quarantine blues by listening to her album, ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY. And her stories on that album? Come on! She spans mythology with her memories of Brando, Ethel Merman, and Sondheim. Though her vocal chops are not the nicest to listen to she has an immense gift for story telling, as heard in her multiple iconic recordings: "Ladies Who Lunch" and the aforementioned "At Liberty" to name a couple. We round the bend discussing questionable artistic choices. And finish up by dishing on her GOLDEN GIRLS audition flub and her onstage orgasm in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF. You read that right, folks: ELAINE STRITCH HAD AN ORGASM ONSTAGE. Come worship with us!
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Instagram/Twitter/Venmo: @allenstarby
Instagram: @divaworship

Hi Divas! This week, Allen chats with author and screenwriter Isaac Oliver (@mrisaacoliver) to discuss possibly the greatest singer of our time: Whitney Houston. We open the interview with Allen gushing about Isaac's time writing for HBO's High Maintenance and Netflix's GLOW. Then Isaac reminisces about making carpet angels in his childhood bedroom while listening to "I Will Alway Love You" on repeat. It's the perfect pop ballad. We then get right into the meat of it all by discussing Robyn Crawford erasure and Whitney's probably fluid sexuality. Isaac then shares Whitney's most divatastic performances: "Why Does It Hurt So Bad?" at the MTV Movie awards, "IWALY" at Divas Live, and her mash up of "I Loves You Porgy/ And I am Telling You/ I Have Nothing." Not to mention her iconic Star Spangled Banner. We also discuss the dichotomy of The Bodyguard: terrible movie, but incredible soundtrack... well, Side A, at least. We will never have another like her. The conversation then dives into her relationship with Bobby Brown, and her complicated monetary relationships with her family. She had everyone on payroll! Isaac believes she was a divine being who should have been protected, and let's face it, we all agree. Finally we close out the interview with Isaac professing his care and thanking Whitney for all she did. He'd also love to give her some Brené Brown books. Come worship with us!

Welcome to LEGEND WORSHIP this week! Get ready for an exciting Queer history lesson with reigning Miss Hell's Kitchen, and NYC's premiere Judy impersonator: Gloria Swansong (@gloria_swansong)! She teaches us about Lypsinka, Jim Bailey, and the legend that is Judy Garland. Gloria's pick for peak Judy is Meet Me in St. Louis, and not Wizard of Oz, surprising us all! Where do you start with someone so mythological as her? Gloria recommends the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" from the Judy Garland show. You will be changed. We then dive into some questionable artistic choices regarding race and the institutionalized racism that led Judy to those choices. If people want to cancel her, Gloria asks, "how can you cancel someone who's dead?" Lol. Gloria then expounds on the connection, or lack thereof, between Judy's death and the Stonewall Riots. But if she was still alive, Gloria, and all of us, would love to see her on Broadway. One of her many unfulfilled dreams. Can you imagine her as Harold Hill? We love to see it! Or a Judy-Lizzo Collab. Can you imagine? We can. Come worship with us!

IG/Facebook: @gloria_swansong
IG/Twitter/Venmo: @allenstarby
IG: @divaworship

Black Lives Matter.
Black Trans Lives Matter.
Ableism is Bullshit.

Drink Water.
Wear a mask.
Vote for Biden/Harris 2020!

Alright divas, this week Allen interviews current Las Vegas teacher and former costume designer to the stars, Joe Kennedy (@josephak13) and we talk about the Queen of Pop herself: Madonna! Get ready, because Joe is an expert, and has been since his mom played "Papa Don't Preach" on repeat while she was pregnant with him. A diva of divas, she has 300 million records sold, $1.2 billion in concert sales, and she's even banned from Hamilton. Can you even?? Joe reminds us to watch Madonna: Truth of Dare, the behind the scenes documentary of the Blond Ambition Tour. She took risks putting queer culture front and center. She was the first person banned from MTV because of it. And excommunicated from the Catholic Church! JP2 was not having it. Madonna is a beautiful contradiction in her music videos of being saintly and slutty. We love to see it. And never forget she went to U Mich on a dance scholarship. Step ball changed her way to the top! Joe then dives deep into her international influences and asks her to be a bit more thoughtful in her artistic choices. Is it appropriation or is it appreciation? Finally, Joe defends Madge's acting - she's got a limited range but isn't dead behind the eyes, okay, Lupone!? Lastly, Joe thanks Madonna for all she's done for the community. Come worship with us!

IG/Twitter/Venmo: @allenstarby
IG: @divaworship

Black Lives Matter
Trans Lives Matter
Ableism is Bullshit.
We are on stolen land.

Vote for Biden/ Kamala!