Kiki and Herb
Encyclopedia
Kiki and Herb are an American
drag
cabaret
duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay
, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."
Although Bond and Mellman are only in their late thirties and early forties, their characters are, according to their elaborate fictional biographies, more than seventy years old.
Their act alternates between musical numbers and long, seemingly inebriated monologue
s by Kiki. The musical numbers, often medleys, draw on an enormous range of popular music
, from Broadway musicals to Nirvana
and from Britney Spears
to REO Speedwagon
. They have also covered songs by Suicidal Tendencies
, The Mountain Goats
and Butt Trumpet
.
Although both performers live in New York City
, the pair have performed in American cities from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
, as well as in Europe.
In 1995-1996 Kiki and Herb appeared regularly at "Cowgirl Hall of Fame" in Greenwich Village, where they honed their show and built their fanbase. Among the devotees was John Cameron Mitchell
(who later included Justin in his 2006 movie, Shortbus
).
In 1998, the duo appeared at the first Gay Shame
event, held at DUMBA
in Brooklyn, and appear briefly in the short documentary film made by Scott Berry of the event entitled Gay Shame '98.
In 1999, they performed weekly in Have Another at the Fez and received their first New York Times review.
In 2000, they released their first album, a Christmas
record called Do You Hear What We Hear?
It is currently out of print.
In 2001, they received an Obie Award
for their show Kiki and Herb: Jesus Wept.
In 2004, Kiki and Herb gave a "farewell" performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall
.
The one-night-only show was titled Kiki and Herb Will Die for You and featured a number of celebrities, including Sandra Bernhard
, Isaac Mizrahi
, Jake Shears
, Michael Cavadias, and Rufus Wainwright
. The show was recorded, and released as a two-disc album, titled Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall
.
After the performance, the duo took a break and worked on other projects; Bond moved to London
to study scenography
, while Mellman worked in New York.
In the early summer of 2006, Bond and Mellman announced that Kiki and Herb would make their Broadway
debut in August. After a handful of preview performances at the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, the show, titled Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway, debuted for a four-week run at the Helen Hayes Theatre
on August 11. Reviews were mostly favorable, including a glowing assessment by Ben Brantley
of the New York Times.
The duo began a run of Sunday-night shows at Joe's Pub
in New York City in January 2007, and toured the United States in the Spring and Summer of 2007. The tour was entitled The Year of Magical Drinking.
On May 15, 2007, Kiki and Herb: Alive on Broadway was nominated for a Tony Award
for "Best Special Theatrical Event" and was predicted to win by the New York Observer. However, the show lost to Jay Johnson
: The Two and Only.
In 2007, they toured around the world, returning to New York on December 12, 2007 for their return to Carnegie Hall: A Christmas-themed show entitled "Kiki and Herb: The Second Coming."
In January 2008, they released their first DVD: A recording of a 2007 performance at New York City's The Knitting Factory, entitled Kiki and Herb: Live at the Knitting Factory. In addition to the performance, the DVD also contains clips from performances by Bond and Mellman in 1993, 1999, and 2005.
Their last show was at Perez Hilton's 30th Birthday party
page and their official website. However, in "Alive on Broadway," they introduced the notion that the fictional backstory may be meta-fictional
—Kiki spoke of the duo actually being thousands of years old, implying that her previous stories were, at least in part, lies told by the character. Since the Broadway show, Bond and Mellman have consistently included this twist in their shows' monologues—Kiki will talk about knowing Jesus
"in the Biblical sense," hanging around with Marie Antoinette
, and even romancing a young Adolf Hitler
.
What follows is a loose synopsis of the pre-"Alive on Broadway" account of Kiki and Herb's backstory.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer. Mellman portrays her gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, male piano accompanist, known only as "Herb."
Although Bond and Mellman are only in their late thirties and early forties, their characters are, according to their elaborate fictional biographies, more than seventy years old.
First wave: 1989 - 2004
Bond and Mellman began performing together in 1989, and created the characters of Kiki and Herb in the early 1990s in San Francisco.Their act alternates between musical numbers and long, seemingly inebriated monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s by Kiki. The musical numbers, often medleys, draw on an enormous range of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, from Broadway musicals to Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and from Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
to REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
. They have also covered songs by Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
, The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
and Butt Trumpet
Butt Trumpet
Butt Trumpet was a Los Angeles punk band that was known more for its crass lyrics and deliberately offensive style than its music. The group featured two bassists among its members...
.
Although both performers live in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the pair have performed in American cities from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, as well as in Europe.
In 1995-1996 Kiki and Herb appeared regularly at "Cowgirl Hall of Fame" in Greenwich Village, where they honed their show and built their fanbase. Among the devotees was John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell is an American writer, actor, and director. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus and Rabbit Hole.- Early life:...
(who later included Justin in his 2006 movie, Shortbus
Shortbus
Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
).
In 1998, the duo appeared at the first Gay Shame
Gay shame
Gay Shame is a movement from within the LGBT and queer communities described as a radical alternative to gay mainstreaming and directly posits an alternative view of traditional "gay pride" events and activities which have become increasingly commercialized with corporate sponsors and "safer"...
event, held at DUMBA
Dumba
DUMBA was a collective living space and anarchist, queer, all-ages community center and venue in Brooklyn, New York.DUMBA became a radical cultural nexus point around which the Queercore movement flourished and an independent film scene developed...
in Brooklyn, and appear briefly in the short documentary film made by Scott Berry of the event entitled Gay Shame '98.
In 1999, they performed weekly in Have Another at the Fez and received their first New York Times review.
In 2000, they released their first album, a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
record called Do You Hear What We Hear?
Do You Hear What We Hear? (Kiki and Herb album)
-Track listing:#"Opening Medley: Sleigh Ride / Make Yourself Comfortable / Creep / Dancing Queen / You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart / Oh Happy Day / We Wish You a Merry Christmas" – 10:08#"Frosty the Snowman" – 2:03#"Exit Music " – 4:08...
It is currently out of print.
In 2001, they received an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for their show Kiki and Herb: Jesus Wept.
In 2004, Kiki and Herb gave a "farewell" performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
The one-night-only show was titled Kiki and Herb Will Die for You and featured a number of celebrities, including Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...
, Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi is an American TV presenter, fashion designer, and was the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Early life:...
, Jake Shears
Jake Shears
Jake Shears is the lead male vocalist for the American music group Scissor Sisters.-Early life and education:...
, Michael Cavadias, and Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
. The show was recorded, and released as a two-disc album, titled Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall
Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall
-Track listing:Act One / Disc One#"Close to it All" – 2:01#Medley: "Note to Self: Don't Die / Flamingo / When Doves Cry" – 5:23#"Opening Remarks" – 2:32#"Why" – 4:05#"Hoochie Coochie" – 4:35#"Sex Bomb" – 3:11...
.
After the performance, the duo took a break and worked on other projects; Bond moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to study scenography
Scenography
-Usage:Whilst also aligned with the professional practice of the scenographer, it is important to distinguish the individual elements that comprise the 'design' of a performance event from the term 'scenography' which is as an artistic perspective concerning the visual, experiential and spatial...
, while Mellman worked in New York.
Second coming: 2004 - present
Their retirement didn't last long, however. In 2005, the duo reunited for a tour of select U.S. cities titled The Resurrection Tour. A European tour followed, as well as two short documentary films about the duo that screened at a few film festivals: Kiki and Herb Reloaded and Kiki and Herb on the Rocks.In the early summer of 2006, Bond and Mellman announced that Kiki and Herb would make their Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in August. After a handful of preview performances at the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, the show, titled Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway, debuted for a four-week run at the Helen Hayes Theatre
Helen Hayes Theatre
Helen Hayes Theatre with 597 seats is the smallest Broadway theatre and is located at 240 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan....
on August 11. Reviews were mostly favorable, including a glowing assessment by Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
of the New York Times.
The duo began a run of Sunday-night shows at Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
in New York City in January 2007, and toured the United States in the Spring and Summer of 2007. The tour was entitled The Year of Magical Drinking.
On May 15, 2007, Kiki and Herb: Alive on Broadway was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for "Best Special Theatrical Event" and was predicted to win by the New York Observer. However, the show lost to Jay Johnson
Jay Johnson (ventriloquist)
Jay Johnson is a ventriloquist best known for his role on the television show Soap. He played Chuck Campbell, a ventriloquist who believed his puppet Bob was real and demanded everyone treat Bob as human...
: The Two and Only.
In 2007, they toured around the world, returning to New York on December 12, 2007 for their return to Carnegie Hall: A Christmas-themed show entitled "Kiki and Herb: The Second Coming."
In January 2008, they released their first DVD: A recording of a 2007 performance at New York City's The Knitting Factory, entitled Kiki and Herb: Live at the Knitting Factory. In addition to the performance, the DVD also contains clips from performances by Bond and Mellman in 1993, 1999, and 2005.
Their last show was at Perez Hilton's 30th Birthday party
Fictional biography
For years, Bond and Mellman maintained a meticulous backstory for their characters, one made official on the Kiki and Herb MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page and their official website. However, in "Alive on Broadway," they introduced the notion that the fictional backstory may be meta-fictional
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
—Kiki spoke of the duo actually being thousands of years old, implying that her previous stories were, at least in part, lies told by the character. Since the Broadway show, Bond and Mellman have consistently included this twist in their shows' monologues—Kiki will talk about knowing Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
"in the Biblical sense," hanging around with Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, and even romancing a young Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
What follows is a loose synopsis of the pre-"Alive on Broadway" account of Kiki and Herb's backstory.
Real-life discography
- 2000, Do You Hear What We Hear?Do You Hear What We Hear? (Kiki and Herb album)-Track listing:#"Opening Medley: Sleigh Ride / Make Yourself Comfortable / Creep / Dancing Queen / You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart / Oh Happy Day / We Wish You a Merry Christmas" – 10:08#"Frosty the Snowman" – 2:03#"Exit Music " – 4:08...
- 2001, Sleater-KinneySleater-KinneySleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
's "I'm Not Waiting", Calling All Kings & QueensCalling All Kings & QueensCalling All Kings & Queens is a sampler album of alternative rock songs by artists on the San Francisco, California based lesbian-feminist independent record label, Mr. Lady Records...
sampler album track on Mr. Lady RecordsMr. Lady RecordsMr. Lady Records was a San Francisco-based lesbian-feminist independent record label and video art distributor. Artists on the label included Le Tigre and The Butchies. OutSmart magazine noted that Mr... - 2004, Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie HallKiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall-Track listing:Act One / Disc One#"Close to it All" – 2:01#Medley: "Note to Self: Don't Die / Flamingo / When Doves Cry" – 5:23#"Opening Remarks" – 2:32#"Why" – 4:05#"Hoochie Coochie" – 4:35#"Sex Bomb" – 3:11...
- 2008, Kiki and Herb: Live at the Knitting Factory (DVD)