Well, almost Imelda Marcos anyway.
She’s J. Elaine Marcos, born in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, whose father, Rogelio Marcos, hails from Laoag, Ilocos Norte; her mother, Esther, is from Anao, Tarlac.
"My father is a distant relative of the Marcoses," Elaine says in an interview with STARweek. "But I don’t really know Imelda Marcos personally. So, it’s not like I can pick up the phone and call or text her.
"I don’t even know if she would actually appreciate my impersonation of her," says the sultry actress, who also appeared on Broadway’s "Sweet Charity," "Wonderful Town, "Flower Drum Song" and "Miss Saigon," and was part of the national tours of "A Chorus Line" and "Jesus Christ Superstar."
In "The Wedding Singer"–based on the 1998 Adam Sandler hit movie set in the 1980s–Elaine is the only Asian in a remarkable ensemble of performers, and she is seen on stage most of the time.
But it is towards the last part of the Tony-nominated show, which takes place in a Las Vegas chapel, when Elaine steals the thunder by showing up as Imelda Marcos, trying to stop the wedding of the musical’s lead actress to the wrong guy.
As the former Philippine First Lady–wearing a long purple gown, her hair coiffed like that of Madam Meldy and clutching a Ferragamo shoe box–she is joined by impersonators of other 80s icons like Tina Turner, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
"People do like it and laugh, but I don’t think it’s for the same reason they laugh when they see Mr. T or Tina Turner," Elaine says of the audience’s reaction to her impersonation. I think they laugh more at the accent, the hair and the princess-like dress."
But it’s not an instant thing. "I think some people don’t get that I am Imelda right away. There is always a pause...and a moment of enlightenment that I am holding a shoe box and that I am the First Lady known for the 3,000 pair of shoes. Usually, I see the audience whisper ‘Who is she?’ to their neighbor."
"Let’s face it, Imelda is an icon," she points out. "In fact, the director and casting producer can’t think of any other Asian icon in the 80s other than Imelda. And honestly, if it wasn’t for that, who knows if I would be doing the show at all. It’s not easy for an Asian female to be on a Broadway show."
Elaine, a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy of New York, auditioned for "The Wedding Singer" by belting "The Greatest Love of All"–"in my best Filipino karaoke version."
"I had already worked for the director (John Rando) in another show, and I just thought I should do what I do best–make them laugh and distract them from my voice," she shares. "Not that I can’t sing, but I’m not Aretha Franklin."
And how did she prepare for the Imelda role?
"I did read some Marcos books and watched the documentary about her," she tells STARweek. "But since the role requires someone to impersonate a person that no one really knows in depth, I had to exaggerate and come up with some ideas of my own."
"I know some Filipinos might be offended by the accent, but you can’t please everyone," she shrugs, referring to the Filipino song she delivers so fast even this writer could not comprehend it. "Look, if anyone should be offended, it should be me, right? I’m a Filipino and a Marcos at that."
"Even when my parents came to see the show, they didn’t really understand what I was singing in Tagalog, but the idea of a foreign language seems to be the joke anyway," she says. "I must admit, it’s musical theater and I ham it up as much as I can."
Elaine is also an upcoming stand- up comedian and was in fact featured in an improv comedy night at Joe’s Pub on Lafayette Street in Manhattan last July in a show called "Don’t Quit Your Night Job."
"She can be seen performing stand-up comedy if given a mic and at least five minutes," says her Playbill credit, where she acknowledged "Alex and my family" with "Salamat."
"I’m a working actress, a working artist, and I love every minute of it," she says. "It’s my life."