Cerda is a playwright and artistic director for Hell In a Handbag Productions; but his public profile is irrepressibly and irrevocably bewigged. Now in his fifties, he’s at something of a performance peak, having grown into his preferred roles: parodies of the middle-aged grande dames of golden age Hollywood—in particular Joan Crawford, whom he has portrayed in a number of productions, including a completely deranged holiday offering, “Christmas Dearest.” At this point the identification is so complete that even when he’s out of drag, the strikingly handsome Cerda can be said to have “Resting Joan Face.” The key to his success is in the way he conveys his characters’ dignity—or rather, their unshakable belief in their dignity, when to the rest of us it’s been hilariously, humiliatingly stripped away. Bravo—or rather, brava.
