^{Photo: David Belisle}

Review by Steve Desroches

Did you ever have a kooky aunt who, whenever you visited, made you take your shoes off and then your stockinged feet stuck to the linoleum for reasons unclear? Or maybe it was a grandmother or a friend’s mom, the kind that had a kitchen clock with a dangling, unplugged cord, that always read 2:17. Their houses were full of knicks-knacks like pink poodle figurines and Hummel knock offs with plastic plants coated with a thick layer of dust. But whoever they were, they sang gleefully as they made you a sandwich with white bread and thick layers of peanut butter, jelly, and Fluff batting their eyes heavy with turquoise eye shadow and ear lobes hanging low with earrings meant for circus animals. You felt cared for and understood, even if at the same time you wondered if there wasn’t some sort of Silence of the Lambs action going on in her basement.  That’s what a Dina Martina show feels like.

Now in her 21st season in Provincetown, Dina Martina continues to show that she is the master of the absurd with a show so sharp with rakish angles and misted with prismatic splashes it’s the stage show equivalent of a pop Picasso painting. Think Guernica meets New Wave. In her 2025 summer offering, Dina Martina: Now Living!, she manages to ride the knife’s edge between chaos and precision, perhaps the inner core of what is the genius of Dina Martina. The hilarity lies in the relentlessness of the comedy, akin to when a really sweet person is talking to you in a language you don’t speak, but it really doesn’t matter. The more they talk, the more you actually begin to understand. And if you already speak Dina Martinaese, you’ll be in heaven. Any long-time fan of Dina Martina will tell you part of the joy of her show, is sharing it with an audience that is a mix of devotees and newcomers. The initiated let out a laugh that is recognizable and contagious like when someone catches the spirit and begins to speak in tongues at one of those churches with snakes. But watching someone at a Dina Martina show for the first time is wonderful as you see them go from confused to blank to smiling to finally become a fervent follower. A pitch perfect combination of drag and performance art with a 1970s variety show garnish and 1980s pop topping, Dina Martina is comedy gold with a level of intelligence, artistry, and most of all, a spirit of fun that is a rarity in this world of live performance. We are very lucky to have her here in, as she says, our little ashtray of a town.

Dina Martina: Now Living! is at the Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial St., Wednesday through Sunday at 7 p.m. through September 13. Tickets ($40/$50) are available at the box office and online at onlyatthecrown.com.  For more information call 508.487.1430.