Jan 26, 2007  |  By: AMY CAVANAUGH  | COMMENTS     

For Richard Skipper, 45, performing as Broadway star Carol Channing is more than just another role. Skipper, who is gay, feels a genuine connection with Channing, who is 85 and a long-time gay favorite.

“We’re both Aquarians, and there are so many similarities between us,” Skipper says, “I’m [almost] exactly half her age, and we have the same sensibilities when it comes to people and performing.”

On Sunday, Jan. 29, Skipper brings his Channing tribute back to Washington in time for her birthday on Jan. 31, for a double engagement at the National Theatre. He has performed at many local venues and says Washington is one of his favorite places to perform.

Skipper, who hails from Conway, S.C., and now lives just outside New York City in Rockland County, has spent 20 years performing as Channing, and for the past 10, it’s been his full-time job.

“As a kid I used to mimic different voices, mimic everything on TV,” Skipper says. “I was introduced to Carol on an episode of ‘The Lucy Show’ and I used to mimic Lucille’s version of Carol.”

One night after he moved to New York City in 1979 at age 18, Skipper says, “I got up in a piano bar and performed as Carol, just singing, and the audience response was very good. Over the years at various functions, I used to perform as Carol.”

In 1994, he was able to perform for Channing herself, who gave the show her stamp of approval.

“She loved it, she gave me her endorsement on it, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Skipper says.

ATTENDED BY A combination of Channing and Skipper fans, as well as curiosity seekers, each of Skipper’s shows is unique. He has more than 50 of Channing’s songs in his repertoire, and for every performance, he selects a different set of songs. The audience also shapes each show.

“Before [the show] begins we pass out question cards to the audience where they can write a question to ask during the show,” Skipper says. “I don’t see them before the show starts, and throughout the show I answer questions.”

Audience questions range from “Who’s your favorite leading man?” to “How do you feel about Barbra Streisand getting the film version of ‘Hello, Dolly!’?” Skipper says that he has never been stumped on a question.

“I really have studied her life and career,” he says, “I’ve had people ask me questions, and they practically fall out of their seat when I know the answer.”

Skipper was outraged at the media response to a recent Channing interview. In an interview for the Nov. 10 issue of Ohio’s Gay People’s Chronicle, Channing was reported to have made a less-than-flattering remark about her gay fans, basing her alleged homophobic remarks on the Bible.

Skipper defends Channing, saying, “She’s very hurt, very upset that those comments were made. I’m an openly gay man. … How could I go out and do what I do if she had a prejudice?”

In art and real life, Skipper’s relationship to Channing is one of adoration.

“What I have done with my approach to Carol Channing is try to get into her heart and soul,” he says. “I’ve spent a lot of time watching interviews, reading interviews. She’s a bigger than life personality, and I don’t need to embellish it … I show the human side of who Carol Channing is — that’s the goal of every performance.”