‘Talent’ performers parlaying exposure

Last summer's season of "America's Got Talent" became a two-way street for Las Vegas entertainment.

It gave Las Vegas female impersonator Derrick Barry a chance to break off from "An Evening at La Cage" even before he knew it would close. "I feel like I got more press than anyone from that show," he says of his Britney Spears impression. "America was ready to see a new face for female impersonation."

Barry already was a working Vegas trouper. That in itself seemed a far-away dream for his fellow contestant Queen Emily, a semiprofessional singer from Stockton, Calif., whose aspirations had been postponed by the needs of her daughters and nephews.

But Emily (David) is now closing out the Las Vegas run of "Menopause The Musical" through April 5, and she is the first person ever to receive special billing in any production around the country.

"I felt like I was the true winner of the competition," she says. "I may not have won, but I did get to get in a show in Vegas, which no other contestant did."

Barry had extra good luck and timing in that the real Spears made a comeback instead of sliding further into the tabloid ghetto. The manager of reigning drag queen Amanda Lepore is booking Barry into clubs around the country, following Spears' "Circus" tour with after-parties.

These gains might seem modest compared to the previous year's big winner's putting his name on the Terry Fator Theatre at The Mirage. But Barry and David both parlayed their national exposure into promising futures the show itself didn't deliver; a live "Talent" tour never got beyond one date at the MGM Grand last October.

When David was contractually released of her obligation to "Talent" at the end of last year, she was free to pursue a future that looks so bright she turned down two years of steady work in Cirque du Soleil's upcoming Elvis musical at CityCenter.

"My daughters are ladies now, and I'm ready to go out and not be tied down anymore. I've done that," she says of the chance to record music instead.

Both admit to worrying their brief window of fame would slam shut before they could get through. Barry figures he had a year, before "Got Talent" returns this summer.

And both maintain a cosmic view of the big TV break. Spears' comeback is "the universe telling me I'm in the right place at the right time," Barry says. "Even people who have a lot more fame to their name are having a hard time getting booked right now."

Queen Emily says she was concerned the buzz would die and she would be forgotten. "But it hasn't, and I don't believe it will. Because there is a time for everything. There is a time to go through everything I was going through with my family, and now it's time for me to shine!" she says with a laugh.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.