The Drama Queen: Angela DiCarlo's Mad World

Our downtown diva with a love for all things theatre introduces us to the realm of plays, musicals and thespians who make magic happen on stage By Kiara Downey This week I had the splendid opportunity to chat with the multi-talented East Village marvel, Angela DiCarlo. DiCarlo, whose gift for makeup design led her from Des Moines, Iowa to Manhattan, has created outrageous and unpredictable stage shows here in New York for the past 10 years. She's a singer, a writer, and a producer who frequently lights up the stages of Joe's Pub, Feinstein's, and the Wild Project. This gorgeous downtown denizen positively froths with bawdy delight. Whether she's bringing a ruthless gossip columnist to life or belting out raunchy tunes at "The Mad World of Miss Hathaway," this lady is a queen of theatre scene. She and I convened at the bustling 7A restaurant and dished on drama and what it takes to be a lauded lady performer in the hottest hood in the city. As soon as Ms. Di Carlo walked into the café I knew I'd found a kindred spirit. With a shock of gorgeous red hair, a daring leopard print jacket, and eyebrows drawn in a Joan Crawford arch, she glamorized the crowded room. For anyone who watches "Mad Men," this girl looks like a sassy sister of the show's secretary Joan Harris, who is played by Christina Hendricks. In fact, it was at the suggestion of Di Carlo's friend and one-time producer David Conrad Brouillard that she first penned a few satirical songs for the spoof of that show about midtown, martini-drinking bad boys. "I'm a cabaret artist and I had worked in other group projects such as 'Lady, Lady, Lady' at the Zipper Room," she told me. "But I put this show together on my own. It was David who gave me the idea." When I gushed about the show's delicious getups, DiCarlo admitted, "Most of the costumes come from my personal collection. Well, mine and my husband's." Now, almost two years after bringing "The Mad World" to life, DiCarlo has just wrapped her 8th iteration of the show (titled "I'll Be Horny for Christmas") and she's gathered a  sumptuous gaggle of talent to play her crazy characters. From FischerSpooner's Casey Spooner and Adam Dugas ("Chaos and Candy") to David Ilku ("The Dueling Bankheads") and Mike Albo ("Unitard"), the cast of the 2012 holiday episode brought seasoned stage chops to the creatures she'd invented. "I'm so lucky to work with all of these people. David Ilku is a New York legend and Mike Albo is just fabulous. The whole cast is amazing." Albo, who was once a downtown Dazzle Dancer and is now a celebrated writer and soloist, wandered around the set as a vapid hippy and sang a song about hallucinogenic drugs, and I guffawed at just about every word Ilku said and sang. He and DiCarlo presented a joyous series of one-liners in a scene reminiscent of television's Hee-Haw, and his voice impressed everyone in the audience. When she finished her lunch, DiCarlo (who still does makeup for stars such as Kristen Wiig and Zach Galifianakis) reapplied a coat of bright coral lipstick and dashed out to prepare for that night's production. It's a shame you missed this recent "Mad World," but don't fret ? DiCarlo and her wild crew will be back with more in May.