Meghan Murphy at the Woman’s Club (6/23/2022)

The Twin Cities Pride Festival kicked off its weekend celebration with the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis hosting Meghan Murphy and her Big Red Show.  The show had a summer-start feel as the host, Kevin Winge, sported his finest seersucker suit and invited the crowd to return on Saturday night and enjoy the Pride Festival’s fireworks display from the rooftop of the Woman’s Club.

Winge then introduced Monica West to the stage. West a female impersonator for 36 years strutted and sashayed to “Le Jazz Hot” before grabbing the mike and working the crowd like a seasoned standup comic.  She was hilarious, searching the crowd for any straight men to rib and jest before moving into a short bio of how she arrived at this stage.  It was funny and touching and after 36 years in the biz, with 16 years as emcee at the Gay 90’s, she told the crowd that she was onto a new adventure with hopes of opening Roxy’s Cabaret just down the street.  “Soon,” she said.

West then invited her “new best friend” onto the stage and Meghan Murphy with her Big Red dress and Big Red hair appeared with her three-piece band to start off the set with Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” 

A proclaimed gaycon, Murphy is based out of Chicago but has been all over the world with a killer voice and an expansive musical portfolio, ranging from musical genres of pop, jazz and blues to folk, soul and show tunes.

Murphy’s own website describes her as a “… combination of Lucille Ball, Bonnie Raitt, Rita Hayworth and Etta Jones.”  The Chicago Sun Times describes her as a “… sparkling redhead with a dynamic voice.”  What she brought to the Woman’s Club was buoyant enthusiasm by channeling the spirits of her three favorite divas, “Judy, Barbara and Bette.” 

Like West, Murphy also gave a brief bio by changing the lyrics to Reba McEntire’s “Fancy.”  She even did a leg split to the salty “Everybody’s Girl” from the musical, Steel Pier, then provided a hilarious rendition of “Long John Blues.” 

photo courtesy of Woman’s Club Facebook

Like the best of cabaret shows, there was plenty of burlesque ribaldry to keep the audience howling with either laughter or shock.  Even after the subdued “Make You Feel My Love” from Bob Dylan, Murphy immediately said, “Enough of that sappy Sh–!”

Murphy was there to have a good time and thankful to be in Minneapolis at the Woman’s Club to help kick off the 50^th Anniversary of the Pride Festival.

“Happy to be in front of an audience,” she said, after Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.”  “It was a rough couple of years.  Well you know… You were there.”

Murphy had no intention on dwelling on the subject.  Based on her song selections, she wanted to a positive feeling of empowerment to emanate.  Even when singing Otis Redding’s wistful “Dock of the Bay”, you couldn’t help think that even if she was sitting on a pier all by herself, she was going to belt-out the words for all to hear.