I’m giving you a break from Heroes talk. Last night was one of the funniest nights I’ve had in ages. I saw Eddie Izzard Stripped US tour.

Some of you may be familiar with Eddie’s Executive Transvestite look. He’s quite the eye-catcher. He’s well known for his long eyelashes, magenta lips, carefully coifed hair and high heels. He broke into the US almost ten years ago with the Emmy winning ‘Dress to Kill’. That’s not to say he’s only been around for ten years, cause he hasn’t, that was just the first time most of the US thought, “Whoa. Who is this guy? He’s great!”

Last night he was on. There was a simple desert backdrop. He bounded onto the stage wearing a red lined black tailcoat, black tee, jeans, and a pair of converse. The makeup was subtle with an emphasis on the eyes. The opening joke was perfect for hooking the local audience. The show was filled with his typical stream-of-consciousness jokes and digression. It was wonderful. A little dancing. A little technology. And a short encore to finish the evening. Eddie was on stage for almost 180 minutes without an intermission or an opening act. Stamina, my friends.

Heh, Teehee. There was this table and it was a surprise! Hahahahaa. You had to be there, sorry.

Eddie Izzard has not just made his mark as a fantastic sexy comedian but as a strong dramatic actor too. He has starred in stage productions, Hollywood blockbusters, and currently co-stars with Minnie Driver in FXs “The Riches”. If you haven’t watched “The Riches” yet I encourage you to give it a try. It’s dark. There are many layers and many gray actions. Right and wrong are constantly warring for a middle ground. He portrays the father to a family in hiding…from its family. They’re travelers who want out but don’t know quite how to accomplish the exit.

I was originally drawn to Eddie Izzard for his wit. His look was a bonus. The first time I saw him out of costume he wore tight pleather pants, platform heels, and a brightly colored chengosam. His lips were vivid and his eyes were mesmerizing with their thick black liner and long lashes. He is a master at committing to a style and making it work. He makes the clothes work for him. They are a way to express himself, but they are not him. Make sense?

In a recent interview with William Smith, Eddie talked about being known as a transvestite, “I refuse to use the word ‘drag’ because I’m just wearing a dress — it’s not a costume.” While the transvestite is Eddie, he doesn’t want people to only see him as a bloke in a dress.

I want you to feel that confident when you step out. Whether you’re in your street clothes, business suit, or Jane Jetson costume…believe you make those clothes look good. It’s all you.

Tags: Eddie Izzard, stripped, the riches, transvestite

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.