ValleyGirls

The word diva evokes a number of celebrity prima donnas: Jennifer Lopez, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Clay Aiken. It’s not supposed to be an endearing term—it's a near epithet for a fussy, self-possessed woman whose backstage rider demands room-temperature Evian for her dog and white couches with tuberose Diptyque candles so she can lounge in style for the three minutes between encores. Somehow, this somewhat derogatory term has become something to aspire to, likely because the term diva also carries with it the assumption of some great talent (excepting, of course, Lopez and Aiken). I suppose most of these legendary divas don't mind being called a bitch as long as people think they're brilliant, darling. And so, I'm going to assume that The Uptown Players' annual fundraiser Broadway Our Way--this time taking the form of Valley of the Divas--is less about who is the biggest monster and more about which Dallas theater star can belt out the tunes with the biggest, sassiest bravado. Players will take songs from a number of Broadway hits and give them their all as part of a fundraiser that pits male stars against the females to see who is the biggest, um, personality. It promises plenty of flair, flourish and attitude and will run between Friday through January 20 at the KD Studio Theater, 2600 N. Stemmons Freeway. Visit uptownplayers.org for tickets, which start at $40.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Jan. 11. Continues through Jan. 20, 2008