Audience members who dress as The Merm will be entitled to free admission to the 8 PM performance on Jan. 16. Those who bring a "Merm-mento" — a picture, a CD or anything related to the Broadway star — will only be charged $19.08 admission (Merman was born in 1908). Following the performance Marge Champion and Donald Saddler will judge a Merman costume parade. (Those interested in dressing up/impersonating Merman at the Jan. 16 performance can register to do so by e-mailing [email protected] or by simply showing up in costume.)

In The Big Voice: God or Merman, which officially opened Nov. 30 at the new Off-Broadway space The Actors Temple Theatre, co-stars and co-creators Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin find salvation in musical theatre.

Brochu and Schalchlin, according to press notes, "musicalize their relationship and hilariously prove that showbiz is as much a calling as the priesthood. This high energy, razzle-dazzle show chronicles the lives of a Baptist from Arkansas and a Catholic from Brooklyn who find eternal salvation in the temple of musical theatre." The biographical musical "traces the couple's meeting aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, Steve's struggle with AIDS, the production of their hit Off-Broadway musical The Last Session, their separation and their reconciliation. It's a comedy about a 'gay marriage' between two men created by the couple themselves."

The Big Voice plays Tuesday-Thursday evenings at 8 PM, Wednesdays at 3 PM, Saturdays at 3 and 8 PM and Sundays at 3 and 7 PM. Tickets may be purchased by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com.

The Actors Temple Theatre is located in Manhattan at 339 West 47th Street.

For more information visit www.thebigvoice.com.