The Culture Vulture Angel

The Big Gay Cabaret

Jai Rodriguez may not be familiar to some people, but to certain populations he’s known as that handsome, youthful, multi-talented actor/singer who’s earned fame working very hard in all of the arts. As a result, Mr. Rodriguez has become a household name. In a cabaret show filled with biographical tidbits, personal confessions, celebrity gossip, songs from Broadway and the pop charts and a whole lot of laughs and charm, Jai Rodriguez tells all.

 Mercury Theater’s Venus Cabaret Theater just kicked off a series of monthly concerts called The Big Gay Cabaret. Beginning in March, the plush nightclub venue, attached to Chicago’s Mercury Theater, will feature a different gay pop entertainer for one weekend a month through June. Hosted by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” celebrity, Ginger Minj, the series promises to delight Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community by celebrating all aspects of the queer community. There promises to be singers, drag performers, comedians, musicians and much more.

In this first concert of the series, Jai Rodriguez kicks off the cabarets with charisma and gusto. He’s mainly known as the Culture Vulture from the 2003 Bravo TV series, “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy.” A member of the original Fab Five, along with cast mates Ted Allen, Carson Kresseley, Kyan Douglas and Thom Filicia, Jai would advise supposedly “straight” men (however he corrects that rumor) on the best in books, theater, films, music and etiquette. He even co-authored a best-selling book based on the TV series. Mr. Rodriguez confesses that that big break gave him the exposure that being an actor on Broadway wasn’t able to do. He’s since gone on to become a reality television celebrity, which has led to more acting gigs on TV, films and in Broadway and regional theater. 

As audiences who attend this show will learn, Jai Rodriguez is of proud Puerto Rican and Italian descent. He grew up in his grandmother’s home in New York City, raised by his single mother as a conservative Evangelical Christian. From age 11, Jai sang with a gospel choir until he discovered his true calling, when he attended Long Island’s High School for the Arts. There he cut his teeth doing the plays and musicals that would spark his passion and, very soon, launch his career.

Through a series of serendipitous events, Jai met an agent who sent him on an audition for a certain Broadway musical that he’d attended so many times that he knew it by heart. RENT was so much a part of the young actor’s fabric that he won the role of Angel over dozens of other seasoned, professional actors. As he confesses in his performance, Jai chose to create the role in the newly-formed Toronto production of the musical, rather than work as a Angel’s understudy on Broadway. This led to his coming out as gay, as well as other theatrical roles and, eventually, to television.

In 2003, Jai created the title role in a new Off-Broadway musical entitled ZANNA, DON’T! It was a musical fairy tale set in a parallel universe where homosexuality was the norm and heterosexuality was taboo. Jai played a magical matchmaker who brought couples together, but is surprised to find himself attracted to one of the high school boys. This role led to several other theatrical productions, including a revival of RENT. But soon he would gain fame as the Culture Vulture on “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy,” and with that part Jai’s career would really take off. 

The actor joined the cast of THE PRODUCERS on Broadway and was also in the film version. He had a cameo role in the Lady Gaga/Beyonce music video of “Telephone.” Among many television guest starring roles, Jai eventually won the part of Geoffrey on “Malibu Country.” Mr. Rodriguez was also seen in the all-gay mainstream film, “Bros.” 

Currently he still works on TV, as a singer, has even recorded a single and performs as a cabaret artist around the country, mainly in New York, Florida and California. Returning to Chicago after an early appearance on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” Jai Rodriguez, the Culture Vulture Angel, is absolutely delightful as the first headliner of the Windy City’s “Big Gay Cabaret.”      

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented March 15-17 by Mercury Theater at the Venus Cabaret Theater, 3745 N. Southport, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the door, by calling the box office at 773-360-7365 or by going to www.mercurytheaterchicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.