The gentle, sassy PG-style humor of the beloved 1990s sitcom “The Nanny” transforms into an R-rated riot in the “The Nanny Live!” parody onstage at Oasis, San Francisco’s premiere drag club.
From the same folks who created hilarious sendups of “Sex and the City,” “Star Trek” and more, “The Nanny Live!” onstage through Nov. 30, features uniformly terrific drag artists as the iconic characters in the New York-set show about a Jewish fashionista from Queens who gets a gig tending to a posh British theater producer’s three kids.
Evian, as title character Fran Fine, nicely captures originator Fran Drescher’s truly distinctive voice and mannerisms, but amazingly and even better, fits like a glove into her myriad (and there wonderfully are many!) glam, skin-tight outfits.
Paige Turner’s costumes, from Fran’s glistening red sequined gown to her mother Sylvia’s and grandmother Yetta’s wacky jackets, are to die for, as are the perfectly over-the-top wigs by Laundra Tyme and Loma Prietta.
Equally over the top is Michael Phillis, playing widower Maxwell Sheffield with a gusto perhaps not displayed by Charles Shaughnessy on TV. Phillis, too, is largely responsible for this wild affair, boasting directorial and adaptation credits. (Unlike some Oasis productions that have followed the TV scripts closely, “The Nanny” is a bona fide adaptation that mashes up scenes and elements from various first-season episodes and has characters gleefully cursing and very frequently breaking the fourth wall.)
Exceptional performances also are turned in by Polly Amber Ross, pitch-perfect as Sheffield’s business partner, the sardonic C.C., and Vanilla Meringue as Fran’s tell-it-like-it-is mom, Sylvia. Longtime “Nanny” fans will delight in their spot-on impressions of Lauren Lane and Renée Taylor, who originated the characters on TV.
Mudd the Two Spirit, as Niles, the sharp-witted butler, sadly doesn’t get quite enough to do, but the Sheffield kids—the excellent Cal Cadian as little Gracie, Jota Mercury as son Brighton, and Edie Eve as teen Maggie—are a hoot. Note: It would be a crime not to mention Maggie’s rip-roaring topless scene.
Rounding out the cast are Loma Prietta as Yetta, Marine Lay’Her as Sheffield’s Nanny Mueller, and Sky Russell as sort-of love interest Swing.
While lovers of the comedy about the “flashy girl from Flushing/the lady in red when everybody else is wearing tan” will revel in “The Nanny Live!,” those less familiar with the show also are likely to get a kick out of the colorful, brash high jinks at Oasis.
“The Nanny Live!” continues through Nov. 30 at Oasis, 298 11th St., San Francisco. Tickets are $35-$53 at sfoasis.com.
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