By Joseph Garaventa
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 24, 2006

The voice on the phone is instantly recognizable, despite the hoarseness. Dame Edna Everage, famous for having no shortage of attitude, is having problems with altitude. Appearing before 2,500 people nightly in Denver, she says, has taken a toll.

"It is ironic, isn't it, that I who have attained the dizzying heights of stardom have been made even dizzier by the Colorado air," she says. "I'm looking forward to being at sea level again in Washington. It reminds me of London and my home of Melbourne, which were also built on swamps."

Dame Edna -- Australian housewife, international celebrity, talk show host, guru, tough love practitioner and "glittering gigastar" -- is receiving Washingtonians at the National Theatre in "Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance!" It's her first state visit here in three years.

Anyone who has been in a Dame Edna audience knows that her shows are interactive. Much time is spent chatting with audience members -- those sitting in the orchestra, that is, not the "Les Miserables" in the balcony, whom she (affectionately?) calls her "Mizzies."

She has an amazing and often wicked capacity for recalling the details of audience responses and using those details as darts later in the show. Some lucky theatergoers are brought up onstage, sometimes for dinner, sometimes for couples counseling. She is especially proud of her success rate in helping couples work out problems.

"I've expanded my marriage counseling. I see troubled people, and I invite them onto the stage. You can't imagine the number of divorces that have resulted from my counseling."

So what does Dame Edna have in mind for the nation's capital this time? Is she expecting the Bushes to attend?

"I think all world leaders should be conscripted -- yes, conscripted -- to see my show. America is so divided right now. And if ever there was a healing show, it's mine. Actual healings have taken place. Cleaners have reported finding discarded artificial limbs under the seats after my shows.

"Theater is therapeutic, and this town could certainly use some therapy. So I'm inviting all the politicians to come. I'm throwing down a beaded pink gauntlet.

"I would love the president and first lady to attend, but they're going to have to pay full admission and sit with everyone else. No comps. I expect I will be invited to the White House, to advise the president. I would so like to help erase that look of cosmic bewilderment on his face."

Any fashion tips for the first lady?

"I wish she would let my son, Kenny, dress her. She could do with a bit more couture. Kenny designs all my clothes. And I was the one who finally got Barbara Bush out of polyester."

Dame Edna says that she often advises world leaders, but insists that she has no agenda.

"I'm apolitical, really. I'm a little bit like the boy in 'The Emperor's New Clothes.' I point a finger, although my finger is laden with jewels."

Dame Edna says she is looking forward to just "hanging out with friends in Georgetown" during her engagement.

"Of course, I am instantly recognized when I go out, so when I travel around Washington I wear a head scarf so that I won't be mobbed by fans. It's a particularly repulsive polyester, with pictures of dogs with their tongues hanging out. It was a gift to me from the queen. Frankly, I suspect she had it made for Camilla."

Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance! National Theatre 800-447-7400 Through March 5