Whiskers on Kittens
Be Bar’s Mike Watson is throwing a “birthday party extravaganza” at his club this Saturday night, Feb. 23, in honor of his own birthday. Which one? “I’m not telling you that!” he laughs, adding that he doesn’t usually even announce when his birthday is. (It was actually this past Wednesday, and Hearsay commends Le Watson for not looking a day over 72!) 
The extravaganza, taking place during the club’s monthly Be: Playboy party, will include Watson giving away, “Oprah-style,” some of “Mike’s Favorite Things.” Before the party, patrons who create bulletins on their MySpace pages will be entered to win Level 1 bottle service for the night — Level 1 being one of Watson’s favorites. ”Yeah, that’s definitely one,” he says. “But I have lots of favorite things.” Do the other favorite things include raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens? Or perhaps cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels? One thing’s for certain, it ain’t girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes. (Or is it? Hmmmm….)
Anywho, the party will be hosted by drag queen Ba’Naka. Ho Hefner will be there, too. But the biggest draw is a certain special Playmate — the one, the only Miss Amanda Lepore! Watson says the club’s VIP area was booked within hours of announcing the famous transsexual’s appearance. The one-time hairdresser and makeup artist is best known as a seen-but-rarely-heard New York club fixture. But she’s increasingly working to become the all-around entertainer she says she kinda, sorta wanted to be from the get-go, after she had a sex-change operation in high school.
“I kind of wanted to be an entertainer and everything, but I got preoccupied with looking pretty, being a pretty girl,” Lepore told Hearsay with a laugh. “And I got really good at it!” In addition to becoming a performer and a recording artist, Lepore is picking up some acting gigs. So God help the Academy when it comes time to nominate next year’s Oscars. She’s also increasingly selling merchandise, from t-shirts to her signature cherry-red lipstick (but, alas, no bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens), at her own website. And she says she’s getting increasingly involved in talking about transsexual rights. She’s been asked to lecture on the subject at Harvard next month, in fact, the very same ivy league university that l’il Rory Gilmore eschewed in favor of Yale!
At Be Bar, Lepore says she’ll perform songs from her forthcoming debut album, including, naturally, “My Pussy,” which is about as close to whiskers on kittens as the Lady Lepore gets. She says she’ll stick around afterwards to mingle with all the Playboy bunnies and have fun with some of Mike’s favorite things. Happy birthday, Mr. Watson, happy birthday.
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