BY ANNE COLEMAN

In print | Published February 4, 2010

The squeals and roars emitted by the audience when Miss Martha Graham Cracker sauntered onto the stage last Friday belied the identity of the audience. The sounds we associate with boy band concerts and strip clubs blended into a gleeful cacophony by Philadelphia’s intellectual and artistic elite, along with the rest of Pig Iron Theatre Company’s devoted followers.

Miss Martha Graham Cracker, you see, is the enchanting alter ego of Pig Iron co-founder Dito van Reigersberg ’94, and her appearance that evening was in the service of the company as it convened for its annual fundraiser/cabaret.

This year’s benefit, “Hams Across America,” featured talents from all over Philly, including Curtis Institute trombonist Ryan Seay, Penn’s all-male dance ensemble Dhamaka and the cabaret singer with a cult-like following, Johnny Showcase (the alter ego of performer David Sweeney, who appeared in the Philly Fringe this fall under the direction of Swarthmore alumna Adrienne Mackey ’04).

One might think that a leading lady like Miss Martha would object to sharing the spotlight, but it was no matter. Not even fellow Pig Iron co-founder/Swarthmore professor/clown-extraordinaire Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel ’94, who emceed the evening in a get-up that was straight out of a Richard Simmons video, could hold the audience’s gaze if Martha was near.

Van Reigersberg is an uncommonly tall man when he is not wearing heels and Miss Martha is a peerless lady who never goes without heels, so even at first glance, this queen stands out from the crowd. That she fearlessly flaunts her arm and back hair in strappy dresses while stomping and gyrating with the best of them only makes her more fascinating.

Her most exceptional trait, however, is her popularity. Miss Martha Graham Cracker was selected by the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia to sing the closing number at its annual Barrymore awards ceremony in 2009, demonstrating just how much she is loved and accepted.

In the theater world, camp/drag performance is not a new phenomenon; there are long-standing traditions like the British pantomimes, which feature an archetypal character known primarily as “The Dame,” who is always played by a man in drag. By the 70s, artists like Ridiculous Theatrical Company founder Charles Ludlam turned camp into a recognized art form. In more recent years, shows like “La Cage Aux Folles” put drag queens on the docket for Tony and Olivier Awards. American audiences have become more welcoming, but drag is still a niche art — that is, unless you are RuPaul or Miss Martha Graham Cracker.

Martha’s acceptance can be credited in part to her connection with Pig Iron, since the company has garnered attention all over the country for its innovative work and process. The rest of the credit belongs to van Reigersberg, who has developed his character with such love and regard that she is nearly seamless.

Perhaps it is also experience which has made him such a master; once a month, usually on the second Thursday of the month, van Reigersberg dons Martha’s shockingly high platform boots and delights audiences at the Philadelphia creperie/cabaret L’Etage. Van Reigersberg combines a quick wit and Swarthmore education with the pop culture lexicon, ballet dancer training (the pseudonym is no coincidence) and a knack for storytelling in a madcap fashion that can only be described as genius.

Miss Martha Graham Cracker is a perfect drag diva, who can pop up from crawling to prancing with a grace that eludes most women in more modest heels and who can change from a wedding dress à la Madonna circa 1984 to a salmon pink chiffon number complete with a 1920’s coiffure without losing the slightest bit of credibility. It is rare to find someone who can so thoroughly inhabit not only the many unusual characters of his own sex (which include Federico Garcia Lorca and a blue alien) that he has played for Pig Iron shows but also the body of a bombshell, and it is worth a look.

The incomparable Miss Martha Graham Cracker will next appear at L’Etage on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 8:00 p.m. She is a siren who brings spunky rockers like Johnny Showcase to their knees (literally, since she had him proposing within seconds of joining him on stage) and brings audiences to their feet, and she never gives anything less than her all. Your time will be well spent.

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