Hello, Alaska! You just performed at the Ice Palace on Fire Island. How did that go?
It was amazing. Cherry Grove is my favorite place on planet Earth. I think there’s a special, precious magic there that is so unique and feeds my soul and my spirit and it’s always very hard to leave. We had a great time singing lesbian anthems at the Ice Palace.
Have you been keeping up with “Drag Race Global All-Stars?” If so, how are you liking it so far? Is it too much of an Alyssa lovefest, lol?
I’m loving Alyssa’s Drag Race!But honestly, she’s amazing. And if people are tuning in just for Alyssa, they get to know all of the other girls a little bit more, which is a bonus because they’re all brilliant. It’s fun.
Is competing on a full season of “Drag Race” something you miss at all or something you might ever consider doing again?
If RuPaul called me, I would go. That wasn’t always the case, but I’m open to it because it’s my favorite show and there is no other experience like it. However, I don’t think it’ll ever happen. I think it’s more likely that I would go into outer space than ever be back on Drag Race.
You have so much great music out there. I’ve always wondered when you started writing and recording… and if the process of writing pop/rock songs is very different than writing music for the stage?
When I first started drag, I was inspired by wacko artists like Jer Ber Jones and Squeaky Blonde and I always wanted to have my own music to perform. So I recorded songs here and there. I would always think, “What would work well in a gay nightclub?” and usually, the answer was loud lyrics that were easy to understand and were kind of funny or cunty. So I find that still holds true.
“Drag: The Musical,” the show you created (along with Tomas Costanza, Ashley Gordon and director/choreographer Spencer Liff) and starred in that had a well-received run in L.A., is coming to New York’s New World Stages at the end of September! What does it mean for you to have a show of your making running in the musical theater capital of the world?
It’s so major. I’m very excited because I’m really proud of it. I’m also scared shitless. But that’s normal, right?
Can you tell us a bit about the genesis of “Drag”? What inspired it and how long has the process been of developing and workshopping it to the point where we’ll see it at New World Stages?
We’ve been working on the show for over seven years. Each time we put the show on its feet, it gets better and better, and the brilliant people who are involved bring it to life in new ways. I’m excited to see this latest iteration because I think it’s going to be fucking amazing.
“Drag: The Musical” is a fun take on an almost Shakespearean theme: two drag houses at war! As an alum of the famous House of Haunt or just in your general observations, have you known drag families that were in conflict with each other?
It’s always a thing. There are always longstanding conflicts or rivalries between queens in the drag world. And the story gets twisted and grows and gets blown out of proportion over the years. The show is centered around a drama like that. But it’s also a story about finding more about your authentic self through the power of drag. So it’s cunty, shady and fierce, but you also might cry.
The rest of the cast is a great mix of multitalented non-drag stage performers, as well as Drag Race alums Jujubee and New York’s own Jan Sport, plus another New York queen: the amazing Lagoona Bloo! As far as the drag cast goes, did you have these girls in mind for a long time before you cast them?
When we first started, we had to find drag queens who could act, dance, be funny, look fierce and sing their faces off. So Jan and Juju and Lagoona were our first choices, and I was astonished that they said yes to being in this new, unknown show and get paid very little money for a shit ton of work. And they brought the show to life in ways I never could have imagined. And they’re still with us, being sickening and singing their pussies off. I love them.
J. Elaine Marcos, who has a number of Broadway credits in her resume including A Chorus Line and Miss Saigon, is also in the cast. What’s it like working with her?
She’s a genius. She’s easily the funniest person of the millennium. And so kind and also hot. I love her.
And of course… New Kids on the Block superstar Joey McIntyre (also a theater vet himself) is featured as well. You’re definitely too young to remember New Kids mania, but can you totally see that teen idol star power in him?
Oh, mama, my sister had a Joey McIntyre poster in her room growing up, so I’m aware of the power of the New Kids. Joey has been so amazing helping us find the character of Tom. He’s a really great actor and he’s shown us that New Kids fans are as fiercely dedicated as Drag Race fans.
Do you have a favorite moment or song from the show?
I actually love a newer song in the show that we wrote for Joey’s character. He plays the lone straight guy in a world full of drag queens, and the song is called “Straight Man” and it’s so good. I love singing it, which makes no sense but somehow does.
Drag and theater have mixed well before: La Cage, Kinky Boots, Priscilla, Some Like it Hot, etc. And many drag queens were born from struggling acting careers. Do you feel a strong similarity between the arts of musical theater and drag?
It certainly makes sense. I studied theater in my early life, but when I was in my early 20s, the last thing I wanted to do was have head shots and go on auditions because I was more interested in smoking cigarettes and binge drinking. So I chose drag instead–a career where I could drink at work. But the sensibility of the theater has always stayed with me. And now, I don’t drink at work or smoke cigarettes anymore, but I still find the fusion between drag and classic theater to be thrilling and fierce.
You’re gonna be really busy with this show over the next few months, but do you plan to pass the time in any other particular way here? Museums, bar shows, other Broadway shows, glory holes, etc?
At New World, our off day is Tuesday, so I have a feeling those Tuesdays will be when I can see other shows happening on and off Broadway because there is a lot of cool shit happening right now. I also will be eating Chipotle a lot.
Aside from the girls in your cast, do you have any other NYC queens you stan?
I love Shequida. She’s so talented and hilarious and also beautiful. And I love Izzy Uncut. And Busted.
What will the status be of “Race Chaser,” the super popular podcast you co-host with Willam, during “Drag’s” run?
We’ll still be doing the pod, because we have a mission to discuss, dissect and disseminate information about every single episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race. So, stay tuned.
Is there anything else you wanna say about Drag: The Musical or any other future projects, tours, music etc?
Come see the show. I’m really proud of it. You can get tickets at DragTheMusical.com. Go now. I’ll wait.
And finally, which album has given you more life this summer: Brat or Pink Pony Club?
I think both can be true at the same time. I can wear a pink cowboy hat with fishnets that I tore on the lawn chair outside.
