By now we’ve all heard the tale of how that little statue came to be known as “Oscar” (“He looks just like my uncle Oscar!”) and whether it’s true or not it’s just yet another testament to the fact that we love to make comparisons.
Today, in honor of the 83rd Academy Awards we bring you Cindy Murphy’s Oscar Doppleganger Diptychs starting with the most nominated of the bunch . . .
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HARVEY FIERSTEIN as Albin/Zaza (© John Lehrer)
Have you heard the news? This week Harvey Fierstein joined the cast of the musical he created in 1984 – La Cage Aux Folles . . . a musical I was so obsessed with in high school that I banked my birthday and Christmas presents so that I could see it not once but twice. I wanted to play the role of Albin so badly that I spent waaaaay too much time in front of my mirror pretending to be an over-the-hill 50 something man transforming himself into a glamorous showgirl via “A Little More Mascara” (when life is a real bitch again, and my old sense of humor has up and gone, it’s time for the big switch again – I put a little more mascara on). It felt perfectly natural back then, but I think I would laugh if I walked in on my 14 year old self pretending to be a world-weary french female impersonator.
Because unlike, say Mame, which is a role you can eventually grow up into, I always knew that no matter what happened I would NEVER, NEVER grow up into a man who could then play a woman. Sadly, I’m left with just being stuck as a woman. Most days, I’m okay with this.
But hey! Who says women can’t drag it up a little every now and then? So, this week, in honor of Harvey, La Cage, men who attempt drag, and women who do too – we bring you . . . non-gender-biased Drag Queen Doppleganger Diptychs:
If you missed my interview with Cindy Murphy last week take a second to catch up – she is one talented lady with a great eye and an even greater sense of humor. Which is why it’s only fitting that for the first official instiallment of what will be a biweekly event we focus on the Funny Ladies in her series.
Of course it also doesn’t hurt that one of those diptychs is me (ahem). Like Cindy said in her interview, “What I look for is not a perfect match but rather some element that is strong enough to create the effect of “twinning”. Sometimes it’s hair, sometimes it’s a smile. Usually a combo though of two elements.” So for my match Cindy found Fran Drescher because of “same smile, same wicked twinkle in the eyes”. Not to mention the fact that both Fran and I spent a night dancing on the hallowed floor of 2001 Odyssey. I, on the other hand, managed to tame my Brooklynese accent long ago, unless I’m driving and then we’re pretty much idendical on all fronts.
Cindy Murphy is her name - Doppelganger Diptychs are her game
Back in the ’90s when Ricki Lake had her talk show and was pretty much at the height of her career (if she only knew it then!) it was kinda unavoidable for me to be compared to her – especially since she was still riding the coattails of her Hairspray fame (You should see me do the Madison). Yup, during the mid-90s, working in mid-town Manhattan, hardly a day went by without someone randomly calling out “Hey, Ricki!” to me as I went about my day. Sure, the pleasingly plump curves had a little something to do with it, but there was more to it – I was friendly, bubbly – and just like Ricki I also looked good holding a microphone and nodding in a concerned fashion when asking questions such as “Now, what exactly is ‘the down-low’?”. Of course, it’s not like anyone actually thought I was Ricki Lake – they were just acknowledging the similarity. If there’s one thing people enjoy doing, it’s pointing out similarities.
Here’s where Cindy Murphy comes in. Cindy not only enjoys finding similarities between two people, but she’s got a great eye for it, and lately has been doing more and more of what she’s coined Doppelganger Diptychs. What started as something Cindy did to relax or switch gears during a stressful day became a bit of a phenomenon among her friends as more and more of them started asking her to find their very own doppelganger.
With such talent it’s only fair that Cindy get an even wider audience to enjoy her work, so The Happiest Medium will now be featuring Doppelganger Diptychs on a regular basis. Today, we sit down with Cindy to find out how it all started, where the name came from, and what she looks for to make that perfect match.
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