Justin Bond
Justin Bond is best known to many for his character ‘Kiki’ is which he performs along side his piano playing sidekick ‘Herb’ in the duo ‘Kiki and Herb’. He is the recipient of the 2007 Ethyl Eichelberger Award, a commissioning award created by Performance Space 122 and made possible with the generous support of the Gesso Foundation.1
Following a glitzy (and sold-out) run at this summer’s Spiegeltent, Weimar New York rallies for another wildly entertaining performance at Joe’s Pub. Host Justin Bond, himself fresh from a stint at Carnegie Hall with Kiki & Herb, recreates 1920s Berlin in downtown NYC, with help from avant-performance artist Taylor Mac, suave German torch-singer Daniel Isengart, and outspoken monologuist Penny Arcade.2
More about Justin Bond: Tony nominated performance artist Justin Bond is an Obie winner, Bessie winner and the 2007 Ethyl Eichelberger Award winner, and was recently named by Time Out London as one of England’s 50 Funniest People. His most recent solo show, Glamour Damage, had its world premiere at London’s Soho Theatre and was hailed by the Evening Standard as ?A glittering walk on the wild side.?3
Background for newbies: Kiki & Herb have been trawling the punk-cabaret-queer nightlife circuit before crack became whack. Performers Justin Bond (that’s Ms. Kiki DuRane to you) and Kenny Mellman (Herb) sparkle as a pair of over-the-cliff lounge singers — think Terry Schiavo of the Catskills — and run with it.4
There’s nothing tentative about Justin Bond when he’s rolling, either as cracked chanteuse Kiki DuRane or here in Lustre, a bumpy grabbag of a queer variety show in which he plies his drag trade minus a moniker. In this new dispensation, Bond’s hair is sleeker and costumes skimpier, but his bottomless deadpan and omnivorous pop stylings remain as sharp as his stilettos.5