In Pittsburgh Newsweekly, March 17, 1999
Best Of Issue
by Lissa Brennan

BEST MAMA SINCE VICKI LAWRENCE--SHARON SPELL

Cabaret has been redefined in Pittsburgh due to the efforts of a handful of unflagging performers. Most notable is MAMA, the invention of Sharon Spell, who mixes sharp Southern wit with smooth croons and belts to generate a blend of cosmopolitan and country-fried that brings the house down at the Zenith Tea Room week after week. And this MAMA's family is made up of drag queens and performance artists, who make for a much peppier holiday dinner than stereotypical red-necked dimwits and their equally hackneyed gum-crackin' wives.

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