“You’re !@#$% Hilarious.” -Steven Wright
“She’s !@#$% Hilarious!” -Mickey Dolenze
“Wow, you smell really good.” -Davy Jones, RIP
“Try to imagine a performer with Cline’s emotional, contralto voice, Marilyn Monroe’s looks and Mae West’s outrageous jokes. “-Times Square Chronicles, NYC
“Something mixed between Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop, and Kathy Griffin”- Scene Reports
“Incomparable Chanteuse Extraordinaire”- Telegram.com
“Short of having Frank Sinatra himself walk out onstage I couldn’t have asked for a more 1950s-era Vegas night out.- The Noise Magazine, Boston
“By the end of the night, Luparelli had pulled two pairs of maracas out of her cleavage; her corset must be like the Tardis.”- the Boston Phoenix
Scandalous chanteuse, off-color comic, and professional Marilyn Monroe impersonator Niki Luparelli has lurid stories to tell of her life in the entertainment trenches, and she’s set aside an evening for them at Oberon in Cambridge on Saturday, January 24th. The Worcester native, who rose to regional celebrity as one half of the neo-vaudeville comedy duo The Steamy Bohemians, tirelessly tours casinos, clubs, and concert halls across New England performing lounge and pop standards with her shimmering band The Gold Diggers. She also regularly produces salaciously spectacular tributes to pop- culture icons, shows that pair nearly naked women with dearly beloved songs. It’s been a winning combination in recent years: Niki covers hits while some the area’s most beguiling burlesque performers uncover flesh. So far, she’s brought us orgiastic celebrations of David Bowie, James Bond, Madonna, Prince, and Led Zeppelin. This time she’s bringing just herself, her naughty stories, and a selection of favorites from all her shows—Bowie, Bond, Madonna, Zepp, and of course Marilyn. She’ll be backed by a stripped-down version of The Gold Diggers—piano, sax, upright bass, and drums. “I love doing Marilyn,” Niki says. “When I’m in character, there’s definitely a deference. When you’re Marilyn, guys will do anything for you!”
And crazy adventures follow her around. “I was doing a 90-year-old’s birthday and he insisted I sit on his lap. Eventually I did, and I heard a thud from the other room. His wife had to be put on oxygen over the stress of seeing Marilyn on her husband’s lap.” Known not only for her sultry Monroe-like looks but also for her powerful Bette Midler vocal chords, her boozy Dean Martin sense of humor, and the quantity of odd objects she can pull from her ample cleavage, Niki never fails to bring a thousand watts of energy to every performance. Hear Niki’s Confessions, and do your own soul some good.
Notable dates