Nine Questions

Dana Cianciotto

Dana Cianciotto created Musical Mayhem Cabaret, a musical comedy troupe, in Phoenix in 2011, but the concept traveled south when she moved back to Tucson last May. The group performs the second and third Wednesdays of every month at New Moon Tucson, 915 W. Prince Road. For more info, visit musicalmayhemcabaret.weebly.com.

What was the first concert you attended?

Boyz II Men. My mother won tickets on 93.7.

What are you listening to these days?

A little bit of everything. I also perform as a drag king so I'm always looking for new music to perform to.

What was the first album you owned?

A Broadway musical called Into the Woods.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone seem to love that you just don't get?

Nicki Minaj ... is just a mystery to me. I don't understand at all what the pull of that woman is.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Honestly, Marilyn Manson. I saw him once before at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, and he put on such an awesome show.

Musically speaking, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I don't wanna say that show tunes are a guilty pleasure, but I'm definitely the kind of person that drives down Speedway with my windows down and my show tunes playing.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?

"I Did It All for You," from a musical called Songs for a New World. That's the somber answer, but I'd want, like, "If I Had a Million Dollars" and silly things played at my funeral. Make people get up and dance!

What band or artist changed your life and how?

Melissa Etheridge. When I was a teenager, there weren't really any popular "out" musicians, celebrities or anything back in the mid-'90s. I was struggling to figure out whether I was a lesbian or not and when she came out it was really nice to have somebody that made you feel that you weren't alone.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

We'll go with Rent, but it's gotta be the original Broadway cast, not the movie version!