The Other Madonna

A few years later,Totten — who had moved to Chicago by then — decided to impersonate Madonna as part of a project in college. Gradually,she was approached for occasional look-alike work for celebrity-themed events and she decided to put on the trademark Madonna cone bra and give it a go. “It felt like playing ‘dress up’ for beer money. I had no idea that there was a whole industry out there,” says Totten,whose impersonation began being called ‘Madonna sightings’ by newspapers and TV channels,even as the paparazzi chased her down the street. As all this happened,Madonna was busy filming A League of Her Own in Chicago.

Everything went in Totten’s favour — the striking resemblance,the right accent,the moves and even the trademark gap between her teeth. She began singing at local bars,which was followed by world tours. Now,after 20 years of impersonating Madonna,Totten is all set to perform in seven Indian cities as part of Black Dog Sunday Evenings,the first one of which will be in The Westin,Gurgaon,on August 17. Later,she will perform in Goa,Bhubaneshwar,Kolkata,Vishakhapatnam,Guwahati and Hyderabad.

Totten’s admiration for Madonna not only existed because Madonna addressed desires and fantasies,and questioned the hegemonic theories of existence,but also because she came across as an intriguing songstress. “She allowed everything acerbic to work in her favour,” says Totten,who has two cover albums to her credit.

“There was no technology back then,so I wasn’t on YouTube but the fan following was massive and that soared my spirits,” says Totten,who has been to Goa earlier for a holiday. During her India trip,she will sing popular Madonna tracks — Holiday,Erotica,True Blue,Bedtime Stories and Express Yourself — with club twists.

But doesn’t she now want an identity of her own? “I am comfortable digging Madonna’s vault of music and bringing it to her fans. I have no aspirations to release my own songs,” says Totten,in her forties now . However,Totten has never met Madonna. “She knows I exist. Her management had hired me for a show once. Hopefully,we will perform together one day,” concludes Totten.