Helda Lettuce Slides Onto Your Screens In New Boy Butter Commercial By Michael Stever
Posted: 14th May 2010 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: Relationships
(Left to Right) Brian Geldin, Michael Stever and Ben Sander at BigVisionEmptyWallet.com Launch Party on May 1, 2010.
Directed and produced by filmmaker Michael Stever, Boy Butter’s new commercial is definitely one not to be missed, thanks to Hedda Lettuce, New York City’s premiere drag-debutant and six-time Drag Queen of the Year Award-Winner.
Showcasing Hedda Lettuce in that trademark green wig, the advert sees her singing a somewhat racy patriotic tune in front of the American flag whilst declaring just how much she approves of Boy Butter. And if that’s not all enough to get you watching you’ll get to see something which was a first for Stever – the blowing up of his very first drag queen, something he jokingly says sees as a real milestone in this career:
“Now I know I’ve arrived. Hedda kept me in stitches throughout the shoot with her impeccable comic timing, and I’m extremely glad to have had this opportunity to add this colorful commercial for Boy Butter to my production repertoire.”
Well known on the New York City circuit, Hedda Lettuce has performed in classic cabaret venues such as Caroline’s on Broadway, FEZ and her classic movie night at the Clearview Chelsea, as well as working on Comedy Central, MTV and HBO, and in a handful of Off-Broadway plays, whilst Stever has most recently documented the now historic George A. Romero family reunion at the Saturday Nightmares Horror Expo (coming soon to DVD on Amazon.com) at the landmark Jersey City Loews where he interviewed stage and screen star Adrienne Barbeau, actor John Amplas and filmmaker Roy Frumkus.
Stever also shot and edited the recent Actors Fund benefit reading of Valley of the Dolls. On May 1, he appeared with actor Ben Sander (The Brini Maxwell Show) at the Launch Party of the new website, BigVisionEmptyWallet.com, and he’ll be returning to The Drama Desk Awards on May 23 as the ceremony’s official cameraman for the second year in a row.
Among the many highlights of Stever’s productive 2009 were his filming of legendary stage and screen star Debbie Reynolds’ induction into the Friars Club, a “making of” featurette on composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” and the 2009 audition reel for “America’s Got Talent” aerial violinist/soprano Janice Martin, just to name a few. Earlier in 2009, Stever was invited to lend his voice and lens to the precedent-setting ‘Defying Inequality’ Broadway Concert where he interviewed Lynda Carter, Gavin Creel, Jonathan Groff, Tamara Tunie and more. In addition to working with these incredible performers, Stever also created, filmed and edited industrial promos for ABLE Rigging Contractors’ brand new website, which he’ll continue to do throughout 2010. He also recently wrapped a shoot of a staged reading of Broadway veteran, recording star, and TV/film performer Billy Porter’s new play, “The Untitled Sex Project.”
Stever’s short film, “Ghosts Of Zion & Michael Nyman,” was recently featured at the independent film website, ShootingPeople.org. He is currently developing “Ghosts of Zion” into his first feature-length film. Having worked successfully as an actor for nearly twenty years, Stever is now merging the perfect union of industry smarts and technical savvy as a full-time freelance cameraman, filmmaker and writer shooting and editing mini-DV projects all over New York City. For nearly three years, he worked as Unit Production Manager on the critically acclaimed documentary, “Broadway: The Golden Age” and its two sequels. Recent clients include Broadway vets Mary Bond Davis as well as Judy McLane at West Bank Cafe’s Laurie Beechman Theatre, the Screen Actors Guild’s BookPals group, Barnes & Noble and PlayBill magazine columnist Ellis Nassour. He is also the official cameraman for The Brini Maxwell Show podcasts. And he also recently directed and edited the DVD seminar, “How to Get and Keep an Agent” for Actors Connection, which is now available on Amazon.com.
Photo Credit: Deneka Peniston
