Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Rare Grande Dame


Nobody does a better " Say something hair day" like Bassem Feghali, who is the most famous female impersonator in the Arab World. Yes, you heard right! A rare queen this week. Bassem Feghali is a genuinely talented Lebanese drag queen, who excels mostly in recreating legendary Arab female singers such as Sabaah, Fairouz, Samira Tawfik...but also more contemporary pop divas like Haifa Wehbe , Nawal El Zoghby, Elissa, Nancy Ajram and even the internationally acclaimed Latin star Shakira. Bassem also does an excellent impersonation of Lebanese yoga master Mariam Nour. Not only does Bassem Feghali dress and act like them for the purpose of entertaining the public, but he also skillfully adopts their exact voice timbre to create perfect doubles! His performances resemble more a full standup comedy show, rather than mere character impersonations; He jokes with the public, tells stories and makes up his own lyrics to spoof famous songs. On stage, Bassem Feghali is one outspoken unstoppable and hilariously funny entertainer. Once out of his lengendary flashy costumes, he re-becomes one simple timid man. Although homosexuality is not generally tolerated in the Arab World, still, drag queens are an integral part of Arabic pop culture. In many Egyptian movies for example, the leading male actors can be seen casually dressed in a female gender role for humor purposes, sometimes even for the full length of the film! Bassem Feghali usually performs his sketches at big clubs and theaters across the Arab World, and is often the stage crowd warmer of large music concerts. Feghali is also the guest star at televised Lebanese beauty pageants or award ceremonies In 2010, Bassem Feghali appeared in a special TV series on LBC called Kassakiss Antika (Stories of Antika), in which he embodies a fictional character called Antika Sursock. The Agatha Christie wanna-be author is from the old bourgeoisie of Ashrafieh; a class that has lost most of its fortune but is still holding onto its previous lifestyle. Bassem plays most of the other characters on the show, and impersonates famous Arab female celebrities as usual. And lets not discuss those fabulous ensembles!

14 comments:

  1. Rare indeed . . . fascinating!

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  2. She's faboosh!
    Though, looking at that first picture, all I could think was, "We're gonna need a special locker for that hat!"

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    1. your right Voilet, she will need the special locker.

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  3. I need those; hips,hats n hair....pleez

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    1. you'll be happy to know I spoke to Bassem. she is sending said items to you.

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    2. ...air kisses to you Mistress M xx.

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  4. WOW! I am shocked, She is stunning. I guess I wasn't expecting such glamour from the Arab world.

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  5. Bassem is gorgrous! It is intresting to read about her in your post and how drag is accepted. Wonders never cease.

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  6. Ok she is cool as hell! That head piece is amazing! Nice to know we have sisters cutting it up even in the Arab world!

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  7. She is a stunner! You so need a 60 minutes type show to feature a drag queen every week. How many queens do you know of?

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  8. Of course I had to run and check out Bassem Feghali's website. She is quite the stunner! Who knew?

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  9. They must worship her over there! She looks like a Goddess

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  10. I would to see her perform in P-Town sometime, she'd bring down the house for sure!

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!