The Passion of the Crawford, billed as "an evening of extravagant illusion featuring John Epperson as Lypsinka as Joan Crawford," begins its run at the Empire Plush Room in San Francisco May 10. The limited engagement of the performance, which utilizes Crawford's own words, will play through May 21.

In The Passion of the Crawford Epperson, according to press notes, re-creates two of Crawford's favorite works of literature: "'Desiderata,' the classic poetic declaration of what is essential to one's life and how to live peacefully and, just to prove that she hasn’t lost her touch, a 'dramatic interpretation' of a text about the importance of caring for our children, written especially for her. [The show] also offers a live interview – one of her last public appearances - in which Miss Crawford shares with her fans the exciting details of her fabulous career, her life and her loves."

John Epperson began his career 20 years ago as a rehearsal pianist for American Ballet Theatre. Since that time he has become best known as the drag star Lypsinka. As Lypsinka, the performer has made star turns in I Could Go On Lip-Synching (Off-Broadway) followed by The Fabulous Lypsinka Show, Lypsinka! Now It Can Be Lip-Synched, Lypsinka! A Day in the Life, Lypsinka Must Be Destroyed!, The Boxed Set and, most recently, As I Lay Lyp-Synching. Lypsinka has also appeared in the films "Wigstock: The Movie," "Vampire's Kiss," "Witch Hunt" and the HBO film of "Angels in America." Epperson also penned the recent Off-Broadway comedy My Deah.

The late film star Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her performance in "Mildred Pierce." She was also nominated for her work in "Possessed" and "Sudden Fear."

The Empire Plush Room is located at 940 Sutter Street in San Francisco, CA. For reservations call (415) 885-2800.