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Known for her wisteria-colored hair, cat-eye spectacles, regal composure and biting wit, Australian comedy goddess Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries) has been entertaining audiences for nearly a half-century. But sadly, the empress of satire is calling it quits; this year, she embarks on Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye: The Farewell Tour (1/15–1/18. The Moore Theatre; stgpresents.org). Her final traipse through America starts in Seattle—don your sparkliest gown and don’t miss it.

LOCATION: Across the pond, via telephone
DAME EDNA’S DRINK: Tea, naturally

Nancy Guppy: Why did you choose Seattle as the first stop on the U.S. leg of your final tour?  
Dame Edna: I don’t want to hear a hint of an inferiority complex in your voice, Nancy! “Why not?” is my reply.    

NG: What can we expect to see in Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye?       
DE: Let me phrase this differently, Nancy. What can you expect to feel? You will feel at one with the universe. You will feel some sense of symmetry in your life. I’ve never claimed to be a healer, but when they clean the theater after my shows, it’s amazing what they find under the seats—artificial limbs, teeth, the list goes on.

NG: Is there anything that makes you irrationally angry?    
DE: I do become terse with audience members sometimes when they aren’t dressed properly. But I never hurt anyone’s feelings. And I’m proud to say that no one has ever asked for their money back.  

NG: I know you had a long and loving relationship with Norm before he passed away. What’s the secret to a happy marriage?
DE: Without any question it’s having an invalid husband. My husband was bedridden, and that really, I think, put the seal on our happiness.  

NG: With your touring schedule slowing down, will you be spending more time with the queen?       
DE: Oh yes, when I’m in London, she insists I stay at Buckingham Palace. If you look at the turret in the upper right-hand corner, you’ll see a small light. That is my bathroom. And there’s a little kitchen and a little sitting area, and I go in there and the queen shuffles up wearing an old bathrobe and mules, and she sits down and I make her a cup of coffee, and we just chew the fat.     

NG: Is there one glorious moment in your glorious career that stands out?       
DE: I think the big moment for me was, after many years of being a megastar, I did a show in New York and I won the Tony. I felt extremely proud and I shed a tear of joy and I thought to myself, “What a gift I have, and I must continue to give it away as often as I can, particularly in the world where it’s most needed: Seattle.”      

Nancy Guppy showcases Seattle artists on her show, Art Zone (seattlechannel.org/artzone).