Madame Still Kicking After All These Years

The world of fame is full of diva catfights: Britney versus Christina, Angelina versus Jennifer.

Madame versus... Miss Piggy?

"I saw her [Miss Piggy] on The View," says Madame of her swine sister in the small family of famous puppets. "There was no lipstick on that pig. She looked awful!"

It's been a while, but time hasn't erased Madame's sense of humor, dampened her sense of style ("I'm up in my New York City penthouse, just finished a caviar sandwich," she says by phone), or quenched her thirst for fame. Twenty years after the death of puppeteer Wayland Flowers from AIDS, his most famous creation is finally back on the road with It's Madame with an E, her comeback tour with new costar Rick Skye.

Madame will bring her act to Comedy Connection Rhode Island with a benefit for AIDS Care Ocean State on March 27 - which has been officially minted "Madame's Day" in Providence by openly gay Mayor David Cicilline. And if Madame has it her way, she'll soon be booting simple barnyard Muppets off the guest couch and reclaiming the iconic status she held as a cabaret superstar - and one-time talk show host herself - during the '70s and '80s.

"I'd love to go on that show [The View]," says Madame, rattling off some her publicity goals. "I want to cook with Paula Dean, I have so many tricks I can do with a stick of butter. And I love that wonderful little Ellen [DeGeneres]. Maybe I could be on once a week as a correspondent."

Madame is certainly never short on words, especially when it comes to her beloved LGBT audiences. Bay Windows spoke with Madame to get the scoop on her long awaited comeback.

Madame! It's nice to hear that you're out of the steamer trunk and back on the road.

I'm loving it! I didn't know how much I missed my audiences, and I have to tell you that people have been so wonderful. Many of them remember seeing me years ago and didn't think they'd ever see me again. But I needed to take several years off after losing my friend Wayland. I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I just sat in my home in the Hollywood Hills, being served breakfast in bed. ... No one can ever take Wayland's place, but I found a new right hand man [Rick Skye]. He wrote me a new show that tells my whole life story, from Vaudeville to the movie days, all the way to TV.

A lot has changed in the world since we last saw you, though. What do you think of life in 2009?

I like it. I think we've lost a little elegance, but I do like the freedom that people have. It's so much nicer. I used to have to talk in code all the time, now I can say everything. ... The audiences are sometimes different. Sometimes it's all neat gentlemen. And other times they bring ladies with them.

The gay community is certainly one of your primary audiences, that is for sure.

Well I love them the most, you know. They're just so loyal to me. Just give them any old, glamorous dame and they're yours! They've been so good to me. Though you can't just say the gay people anymore, can you? It's the LGBT. I love the gay bacon lettuce and tomato people.

Do you take your LGBT with mayo?

"You can't just say the gay people anymore, can you? It's the LGBT. I love the gay bacon lettuce and tomato people."

You can't get it without, can you? Although now so many [in the gay community] are paired off, and celibate and whatnot. That wasn't the case years ago when I was in Provincetown. There were not baby strollers everywhere.

Now back in 1982, you had your own syndicated show Madame's Place where you entertained more than a few famous folks on the guest couch. Who in today's entertainment industry would you want to interview?

Well, I like the Jon Stewart approach, where they don't have to be celebrities. I think there are so many people out there who have talent, and I should be the glue that holds it all together. Show them how to cook, or talk about sex - a real entertaining kind of show. I love men, drinking, and entertaining, and I love entertaining men who have been drinking.

We have a name for that now: is Madame a "cougar"?

I invented it! I started in the crib. No, no. Everyone says, "Are you into younger men?" I say, "No, they're into me." That's how I like it. I think I'm ready for two at a time.

Still as ribald as ever, I see. But what is it like doing a show now without Wayland?

People ask me this all the time, and the reason it [the new show] is working is because it doesn't feel very different. It feels very much the same. You can't replace a friend like Wayland; when we met we knew we would go into show business together. ... But this guy [Rick Skye]... he gets my humor, too. I asked him to write me a show... it's my life story so that new fans get to know where I came from.

But I imagine you must see a lot of older audience members who remember your work in the '70s and '80s?

Oh, they come in droves. I'm so happy, because they don't leave disappointed! I would hate to ruin their memory [of me] at this late date.

Any upcoming shows you're particularly excited for, places where you're eager to get back?

We're going to Chicago, where I'll be hosting International Mr. Leather 2009. I have to come up with some leather jokes. I think it will be a lot like going to England, a lot of chaps walking about. ... And certainly [I'm excited for] the Providence show, which is an AIDS benefit. ... It's a cause that's always been very close to me because of Wayland, though Wayland certainly wasn't the only one. I lost a lot of friends [to AIDS]. A lot of the young kids don't realize, though I'm glad they didn't have to live through it [the AIDS epidemic]. When I go out onstage now, I do the shows for those friends I lost. Even if I'm tired some night, I say, "My friends aren't here, but I'm still going."

Still going strong!

I think of myself as a Granny Winehouse. I have a bit in my show where I talk about Studio 54 and all those days I think everyone missed when they were a fetus. But right now I'm trying to live in the moment, because I want to cheer people up with this economic crisis going. Luckily, I didn't invest in anything; my money was all spent at Tiffany's, so I have all my money around my neck. I invest in diamonds, because they don't break. But really, we've been sold out. I tell people, empty out that 401K, take the 30 dollars you have left and come see me. Everyone is enjoying it; they come up to me and say, "Oh Madame, we needed a laugh." It's good to be back!

Madame will appear on Friday, March 27 at the Comedy Connection Rhode Island (39 Warren Ave., East Providence). Shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets $30, with a percentage of sales to benefit AIDS Care Ocean State. For more info, visit madameandme.com.