“In a time when a man has
only to put on a dress to get an osacar nominationor
recording contract... Joey is a rare commodity.”
-Time Out, London
“...a buccaneer of bohemain New
York style.” -The New Yorker Magazine
“Diva Indeed!” -Attitude,
London, May 1996
“Cafe Society of the 90’s
-Tama Janowitz
“with drag performers becoming
such a drag, strutting out-sized divas with... a vile
attitude clogging up soho, it’s a relief to find
an altogether more divine creature in town!” –Code,
London May 1996
“...Cross-dressing has come down
off its platforms...and club-scene fixture Joey Arias
is a softer and more spontaneous coed option for those
who’ve grown weary of mainstream drag’s brassy,
often bitchy veneer.” –Vivian Barad, New York
Magazine
“The aptly titled Strange Fruit
has jaded Performance habitue’s leaping to their
feet to salute the incomparable Joey Arais as he channels
Billie Holiday in what is her most theatrical and moving
set ever. Joey is joined by Raven-O abd Afrodite who sing
a lush back-up, and the band reefer Madness ( Ben Allison,
Frank Kimbrough, Jeff Ballard and JOhn Mckenna) is pure
jazz heaven.” –PAPER magazine, may 1994
“Arais does Billie doing the
Beatles and manages to infuse the lyrics of ” Hard
Day’s Night“ with every dram of the jazz singer’s
eerie melancholy.” –Guy Trebay, Village Voice,
February 20,1996
