Beyoncé Versus Tamarie
This Friday, beloved Houston actress/writer/director Tamarie Cooper’s new musical revue, A Very Tamarie Christmas(“guaranteed to be the first Christmas special you’ll see all year”) opens at The Catastrophic Theatre, where Cooper is the associate director. Cooper’s been staging the revue, which has developed a cult following in Houston, most summers since 1996.
That’s the same year, incidentally, that her fellow Houstonian Beyoncé Knowles helped launch Destiny’s Child. And as it happens, Queen Bey will also be in town Friday night with hubby Jay-Z for their blockbuster concert at Minute Maid Park. The coincidence got us thinking about other similarities between the two women. Weren’t they both multi-talented child performers? Didn’t they both go to HSPVA? Aren’t they both pretty awesome? (Yes, yes, and yes.) We decided to investigate the hidden connections between these two hometown divas.
AGE
Beyoncé: 32
Tamarie: 43
ARTISTIC TRAINING
Beyoncé: Dance, singing
Tamarie: Dance, theater
DAUGHTER NAMED AFTER PLANT
Beyoncé: Blue Ivy
Tamarie: Rose
HUSBAND
Beyoncé: Jay-Z
Tamarie: Zach Elkins, a custom furniture designer
ALTER EGO
Beyoncé: Sasha Fierce
Tamarie: “Tamarie Cooper”
RELIGION
Beyoncé: Christian, and also the inspiration for the Atlanta-based National Church of Bey
Tamarie: “Jewish, but nonpracticing.”
LAUNCHPAD TO FAME
Beyoncé: Destiny’s Child, founded in 1996
Tamarie: Infernal Bridegroom Productions, founded in 1993
GREATEST DRAMATIC ROLE
Beyoncé: Etta James in the 2008 film Cadillac Records
Tamarie: Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s one-woman play Happy Days
GREATEST COMEDIC ROLE
Beyoncé: Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember
Tamarie: Herself
LITERARY COLLABORATION
Beyoncé: O. Henry Prize–winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi. (“Flawless,” from Beyoncé’s most recent album, includes an excerpt from Adichi’s TED talk “We Should All Be Feminists.)
Tamarie: Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. (Parks wrote and directedF***ing A for Infernal Bridegroom Productions.)
ACCOLADE
Beyoncé: “Artist of the Decade” (The London Observer)
Tamarie: “One of Houston’s loveliest performers” (Houston Press)
FAVORITE MOVIE
Beyoncé: A Star is Born
Tamarie: It’s a Wonderful Life
FAVORITE TV SHOW
Beyoncé: Jersey Shore
Tamarie: Girls
COINAGE
Beyoncé: Bootylicious (it's in the OED!)
Tamarie: Tamalalia (the original name of her annual musical revue)
QUIRK
Beyoncé: Constantly videotapes herself
Tamarie: Doesn’t know how to drive
ON HOUSTON
Beyoncé: “Frenchy’s, boudin in the parking lot / Hold up, Texas trill / H-town going down, man.” (“Bow Down/I Been On”)
Tamarie: “I’m in Houston, and I have heard comments over the years like 'Why don’t you go to New York.' You don't have to go to New York or LA to be a successful performer. I’ve been lucky that Houston has been accepting of my talent. There are fewer fish in this sea. And, if you create something good and find people you want to work with, then with that 'if you build it they will come' sort of thing, people will come. I must acknowledge that with Houston I have been very fortunate."