Meryl Streep celebrated in the play ‘Streep Tease’

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The L.A. stage hit “Streep Tease: An Evening of Meryl Streep Monologues Performed by an All-Male Cast” is as notable for what it is as for what it is not.

“It’s not a drag show,” creator-producer-performer Roy Cruz said recently at the Fairfax District’s Bang Comedy Theatre, where the 65-minute sensation is closing in on a yearlong run.

“It’s not an offensive show, it’s not a showcase, and it’s not in any way disrespectful or a parody,” added director Ezra Weisz.

“What it is,” said David Dean Bottrell, one of the show’s eight cast members, “is a comic valentine to a great artist.”

Dispelling any misconceptions has been key to properly promoting the production. Case in point: When Bottrell, who embodies Streep’s Karen Blixen — Danish accent and all — for a show-stopping six-minute summation of “Out of Africa,” told a fellow churchgoer about his part in the show, she immediately asked, “Do you wear her clothes?”

Cruz, a Filipino-born comedian and actor, hatched the idea for “Streep Tease” after re-creating Streep’s icy “Devil Wears Prada” fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly as part of his stand-up routine. “When I ran out of material, the ‘Prada’ monologue was always reliable,” he said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to turn those into an entire show?’ “

Last summer, Cruz did just that, enlisting actors and other performers to pick a favorite Streep movie monologue to reenact for one night only. Click here to read my full story on the hit show.

— Gary Goldstein

[For the record: The headline in an earlier version of this post misspelled Streep.]