Jun 6, 2019
Dennis visits the stuck-in-time rehearsal space in North Hollywood called The Madilyn Clarke studios to chat with Mary Birdsong who is stepping into the role of Melania in the musical review The Trump Family Special, which plays as part of the L.A. Fringe Festival starting June 7th. Mary talks about her how the show came to her, her take on Melania, her facility for developing voices and characters, loving to sing and her hope that one day Melania will just crack and tell all. Mary talks about her incredible Instagram feed, which is like a one-woman show and features "face-swapping" technology that allows her to play people like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Robert Mueller and a dirty doily she saw on the sidewalk. She talks about working with Adam Makay on the show Succession, being a series regular on Reno 9-11, getting cast as Mona in the Tales of the City musical because Armistead Maupin saw one of her YouTube videos and appearing on Broadway in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Of the latter, she recalls the thrill of having her mother come to opening night and then chat up Tom Hanks at the afterparty. Other topics include: getting sober, her gig from hell singing at a Macy's cosmetic counter and giving out truffles, rocking out to Pat Benatar, being in a girl group that ended up on Star Search, saving her money, buying her first new car, her new pilot Hot Mess and, of course, how irresistible Anderson Cooper is when he giggles. www.trumpfamilyspecial.com