Circus of the Stars

It's like American Idol, but gayer

Starting January 10, a new talent show comes to town. “Circus of the Stars” is the brain child of Brandon Barlieb of Philly Dragopolis and Tabu as an alternative to the usual dance parties and drag shows. Instead, the talent competition – hosted by Nathan Walk of Mrs. P fame – runs every Tuesday for five weeks featuring up to six performers who’ll vie for the winning title.

“So far we have singers, comedians, drag performers, a guitarist, a band and celebrity impersonators,” says Bartlieb.

There’s also a bit of audience participation. Folks who see the show will have the opportunity to vote in three ways. “At the end of each performance, the talent will be judged by our esteemed panel of judges on a scale of one to 10,” explains Bartlieb. “At the end of the show, we will ask for audience applause for their favorites. Then we will post a poll on our Facebook page and let the online world vote for the contestants for 24 hours.”

The winners will be announced on Facebook every Thursday by 5 p.m. The votes will be determined by the judges (50 percent), audience (25 percent) and online (25 percent). “The top two performers will then perform again in our finale show on February 7 for a winner-takes-all prize of $500,” he says. “As well as performances by local Philly performers, just to make it more interesting, Nathan and I will pick one contestant from the previous weeks as our wild card.”

The judges include:

Broadway Diva : Diana Dharling (our Simon Cowell)

Local Gay Activist : Dan Mangini (our Paula Abdul)

Lesbian Comedian : Di Hargrove (our Randy Jackson)

Circus of the Stars, Jan. 10, Tabu, 200 S. 12th St., 215-964-9675.