On June 23 Essmann and LaChiusa will test material from Jeffrey Essmann: The Usual Freak Show, which will play a three-week engagement at La Mama beginning Nov. 2. Show time at the Duplex is 7 PM.

Essmann told Playbill.com that the evening will include "'The Barbie Night Club,' in which I play an end-of-the-road Barbie doll. Think 'The Rose' or 'Lady Sings the Blues' -- with Michael John as Raggedy Andy on piano; Jean-Louis DeBris, my French existentialist cabaret singer, singing 'Rien' ('Nothing'), music by Michael John; and 'Johannes, Pyotr & Marge,' based on the fact that Brahms, Tchaikovsky and my mother all share the same birthday. [This was] originally done at the Humana Festival and now reconfigured as a performance monologue, with music by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, played by Michael John."

Jeffrey Essmann's New York shows include Artificial Reality (Drama Desk nomination) and Triplets in Uniform. He was also featured in a performance series at Steppenwolf and was a contributor to NPR. Essmann's Johannes, Pyotr & Marge was seen at the 2005 Humana Festival.

Michael John LaChiusa penned Send (who are you? I love you), Bernarda Alba, See What I Wanna See, The Highest Yellow, The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Lovers & Friends: (Chautauqua Variations), Little Fish, Hello Again, First Lady Suite, Break/Agnes/Eulogy for Mister Hamm and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. He received Tony nominations for Best Book of a Musical for Chronicle of a Death Foretold (with Graciela Daniele and Jim Lewis), Marie Christine and The Wild Party (with George C. Wolfe) and nominations for Original Score for Marie Christine and The Wild Party.

The Duplex is located in Manhattan at 61 Christopher Street at Seventh Avenue. There is a $15 cover and a two-drink minimum; call (212) 255-5438 for reservations.