Daphne Rubin Vegas
As Magenta is the Rocky Horror Show she’s so good it’s scary. Sexy Daphne Rubin Vegas may be back on Broadway, but Hollywood is still calling. So the costar of Flawless and Wild Things has gone bi-coastal with her new film Skeleton Woman. The dancing, singing, acting diva talked to us (briefly) about life after RENT, spending the day in bed with De Niro, her new Frank N’ Furter, and her transformation from waif to Victory Goddess.
IFQ: Feeling fabulous today?
DRV: I’m feeling good.
IFQ: I understand you’re a whirling dervish these days.
DRV: It’s crazy, I’m everywhere. I’m drinking a Red Bull right now.
IFQ: Is that stuff great or what?
DRV: I love it. My friends all think I’m nuts. They say it’s the Devil’s drink, but I kinda like it. In Brazil they have a thing called Juardana this is very similar. It’s a rush.
IFQ: Were you one of those dreamers who always knew you’d be performing or did you just fall into this?
DRV: I always dreamed of it. I thought everyone did. In fact I really started my artistic path loving to draw and paint. I remember playing the piano too. Both those things were shot down by teachers, actually.
IFQ: Really?
DRV: Really. “You’ll never be a fine artist” is what those (experiences) seemed to be saying, but you can never give up. That’s the lesson. Keith Haring was a great example, and thank God for him. Artists starve and then they die but they aren’t defeated. So it taught me that.
IFQ: I guess the Jonathan Larson experience taught you that too.
DRV: Yeah. ‘No day but today’, Right?
IFQ: What did you take from that experience, being in that show with that cast?
DRV: It was a life-changing experience. Transformative. To each and every one of us in very specific ways. Even to this day I’m sorta wondering , “What really happened?” you know what I mean? Everybody left (the show) a different person than when we began. Most of us remain very close. Actually, Jesse (L. Martin) and I just shot a film last week.
IFQ: Which film?
DRV: It’s called Jake’s Awakening and he plays a down and out artist who is using broken glass and other found objects to create this passionate, sad art. He’s struggling, kinda stuck in life. I play a goddess who descends and gives him this transformative experience that awakens him.
IFQ: I’m sorry; did you say ‘goddess’?
DRV: Yeah, I play the Goddess of Victory. So, of course we fall in love, which is unacceptable to the other gods so she has to return to the Olympian world. It’s been great to work with people I really love who are so talented.
IFQ: You mean like Robert De Niro? What was it like working with him?
DRV: It was enchanting. His legendary status precedes him. It was really interesting watching how people treated him. You’re very aware that you have to relax because nothing’s gonna work if you’re all freaked out.
IFQ: Did you call him ‘Bobby’?
DRV: Yeah, it’s interesting to see how white-hot success in some small way affects everything around you. From the people at the corner store who suddenly recognize you, to friends and family.
IFQ: To people who come to see your shows for the 10th time.
DRV: I’m in Rocky Horror right now, and it’s a similar experience just because it’s the kind of show that people come back to and like to feel a part of.
IFQ: Rocky Horror is the archetypal cult material, isn’t it? I remember sneaking into the movie as a teen.
DRV: With your toast and your rice and your toilet paper?
IFQ: You can’t really do all that when you’re sneaking in. How’s the show going?
DRV: It’s going good. It’s going through changes, we have a new Frank N’ Furter. Terence Mann is coming in so that’s very exciting, although we miss Tow Hewitt very much. But that’s the theater.
IFQ: Talk to me about Skeleton Woman.
DRV: Skeleton Woman was one of those experiences where it’s just guerilla filmmaking. Which is very exciting, often quite frustrating, but one of those fabulous experiences.
IFQ: They came to you with the script?
DRV: I was in San Francisco because I’d opened RENT there and the director, Judy came and saw it and approached me with this script. Vivi (Letsou) is Greek and she has this incredible mastery of storytelling. It’s funny that I’m playing all these mythical, spiritual creatures. It’s sort of like Picasso’s blue period.
IFQ: What about the character struck you as new?
DRV: Well, I’d never played a lesbian with a brain tumor before. I loved working in San Francisco. And I loved the story because it’s about a person who is essentially a gypsy, someone who follows her heart.