AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Drag shows can smell a certain way.
JUSTIN HONARD: Drag smells like really delicious, expensive perfume, but it also smells like, you know, Jack Daniels.
RASCOE: And glue - drag queens need it to keep wigs in place. Justin Honard is an actor and musician. He's better known as the world-famous drag queen Alaska. And he's also the co-writer and co-star of "Drag: The Musical," which I saw in New York City last week.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WELCOME TO THE FISHTANK")
BOB THE DRAG QUEEN: (As character) Ladies, gentlemen, gentleladies, ladymen (ph), and everyone, especially everyone in between.
RASCOE: Sitting in the front row, I was amazed by the blend of smells and the confetti and all the sparkly outfits and the awesome dance numbers. What was most striking was how the musical spotlights the lived experience, with all its joy and struggle, of drag queens.
HONARD: I feel like the perception is, oh, it's rhinestones, and it's feathers, and it's fabulous. And it is that, but there's also a gritty, grimy side to drag. The toilet might be backed up, and, you know...
RASCOE: (Laughter).
HONARD: ...And there might be gum stuck underneath the table, and we wanted to capture that essence.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WIGS")
GINGER MINJ, JUJUBEE AND PEPPERMINT: (As characters, singing) Oh, I'm feeling sassy, filthy and trashy. I'm a punk rock debutante. Strike a pose. Flip the strobes. Ain't it delicious? Glamour is vicious. MAC Bouffant is what you want. Tease the top. Make it pop. Do you believe...
RASCOE: "Drag: The Musical" - you know, it really gets us behind the scenes of drag culture because the show is about kind of this rivalry between two drag houses, the Fish Tank and the Cathouse. How true to life is that sort of rivalry?
HONARD: It does exist because there are different types of drag. When I was first starting in Pittsburgh, we were kind of the freaky wacko drag queens who didn't really fit in with the elegant, like, pageant drag queens.
RASCOE: OK. And so the elegant pageant drag queens in the show - that's like the Cathouse. But the other one, the Fish Tank - you would say those are kind of, like, the weirdo freak...
HONARD: They're more sort of, like, rock and roll...
RASCOE: Rock and roll. Yeah.
HONARD: ...And individualistic...
RASCOE: OK.
HONARD: ...Whereas the Cathouse is like, no, this is how it's run. This is how it's supposed to be. You all have to look the same, you know.
RASCOE: Now, what drives your character, Kitty Galloway? She's a little catty. She's a little catty.
HONARD: She is. She's sort of like Joan Crawford, and she runs her drag club like the Navy. Like, every hair has to be in place, and every sequin has to be right. That's very much her vibe. She's very in control of everything.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "QUEEN KITTY")
HONARD: (As Kitty Galloway, singing) I'm the queen, the epitome of nobility. Cleopatra ain't got nothing on me. A ruler divine. The kingdom is mine. I'm on fire, cornucopian.
RASCOE: You know, it's interesting because at first, it could have seemed like Kitty Galloway, your character, is like the bad guy or bad gal in the story. But then comes along the IRS. And, you know, another thing that we hear in the show is drag is expensive.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DRAG IS EXPENSIVE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character, singing) Well, let me tell you, brother. Drag is expensive. You know it don't run cheap to be excessive. You got to spend that coin.
RASCOE: Talk to me about how money can be, like, a real villain in these drag stories.
HONARD: Totally. I mean, the song is called "Drag Is Expensive" 'cause we write our truth. You know, when I was first starting out in drag, I had to be really careful because I was like, oh, wait, like, this takes all my money.
RASCOE: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
HONARD: It is.
RASCOE: Yes.
HONARD: It is because there's a lot of stuff glued to yourself, and you have to keep buying stuff to do it. So yeah, it's a cautionary tale.
RASCOE: Save your money 'cause it can be a lot. How do you make it accessible for everyone?
HONARD: Well, to me, personally, I want to normalize wearing the same damn thing all the time. That's fine. I've been doing that a long time 'cause I want to be like a cartoon character. Like, Mickey Mouse never changes his clothes. Well, sometimes - and I also think wearing cheap stuff - like, I like wearing garbage bags.
RASCOE: OK.
HONARD: I think they're beautiful.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DRAG IS EXPENSIVE")
JOEY MCINTYRE: (As Tom) Some people never learn.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Oh, oh, oh. Drag is expensive.
RASCOE: What do you think makes drag so entertaining for people?
HONARD: Well, on the surface, drag is really fun to look at. But then if you go deeper - I mean, I hear from people that they feel empowered because you're seeing people who are being really exuberant about who they are, unafraid. So that power of, like, transformation and, like, becoming something that you imagine you can be - I feel like that can speak to literally anybody.
RASCOE: When you look at "RuPaul's Drag Race," you're one of the most successful and recognizable drag queens to emerge from "RuPaul's Drag Race."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE")
RUPAUL: The next queen to be inducted into the drag race hall of fame is...
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
RUPAUL: ...Alaska.
RASCOE: That clip is from 2016 from when you won "Drag Race All Stars 2." How have you changed as a performer since then?
HONARD: I mean, I've changed a lot as a person. When I was younger, it was sort of, like, all in the service of this thing.
RASCOE: OK.
HONARD: And so now I'm like, I feel really secure and happy with my family and my personal life and my life with my partner. And drag is just the cherry on top. I mean, it's a wonderful thing that I get to do and that I love very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M JUST BRENDAN")
JACK RODMAN: (As Brendan, singing) Am I strange? Did I mess up 'cause I like playing dress-up. I can't help it. I'm just Brendan.
RASCOE: I mean, I don't have to tell you that there are people out there who feel like drag is very controversial, or it has been controversial with people concerned about the children. There is a lot of vulgarity. There's sexual innuendo, or, you know, there's talk about, you know, drug use, alcohol, all of this thing. The musical does touch on this because there's, you know, a boy in it who's growing up.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M JUST BRENDAN")
RODMAN: (As Brendan, singing) And I'm just Brendan.
RASCOE: What message did you want this musical to get across about all of those concerns about drag?
HONARD: I mean, it's wild because we - when we started writing this, you know, eight years ago, we couldn't have predicted that children in proximity to drag would become, like, a hot-button issue. We just wanted to sort of speak to the truth of what it's like to be a young person and to not feel understood by your parents necessarily and not know how to, like, fully express yourself and then finding a place where you finally fit in.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M JUST BRENDAN")
RODMAN: (As Brendan, singing) Deep inside me, something's changed. My heart has broken out its cage to find out who I am.
HONARD: I don't think drag is controversial. Drag is a celebration of divine femininity. Anyone can partake in that. And I think it's like cinema or television. It's like, some of it's not appropriate for children.
RASCOE: Yeah. Like, some shows are.
HONARD: Some of it is.
RASCOE: Yeah. Some of it...
HONARD: Yeah.
RASCOE: ...You could do. So I want to ask you, now, you said that drag is for everyone. I am not someone who I feel very polished, but I do what I can with what I got (laughter). But I want to end by asking you, with your royal drag power, to bestow me a drag name. Oh, OK. Will you do me the honor?
HONARD: No, I love this.
RASCOE: OK.
HONARD: Did you have a - like, a pet growing up?
RASCOE: Buddy - my stepfather had a dog.
HONARD: OK, Buddy.
RASCOE: Buddy, yes.
HONARD: OK, amazing. And what street did you grow up on?
RASCOE: Oh, my goodness, Stratton Way (ph).
HONARD: And what is the last dessert that you ate?
RASCOE: Ooh. It would be caramel pecan cheesecake 'cause that's what I love.
(LAUGHTER)
HONARD: Buddy Caramel Stratton.
RASCOE: OK. Yes.
HONARD: I mean, this is a brilliant...
RASCOE: Yes. OK.
HONARD: ...Drag name.
RASCOE: (Laughter) OK, so, Buddy Caramel Stratton. I think I could live. I could do that.
HONARD: I like it.
RASCOE: I could do that. I could do that.
That's writer and actor Justin Honard, who's also the drag superstar Alaska. Their musical, "Drag: The Musical," is playing off-Broadway in New York. Thank you so much.
HONARD: Thank you so much.
RASCOE: And we want to note that Alaska's final performance is tonight. The role of Kitty Galloway will be taken over by another drag queen, Jimbo, beginning tomorrow.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT'S SO PRETTY")
RODMAN: (As Brendan, singing) It's so pretty.
NICK ADAMS: (As Alexis, singing) This could drag me down.
RODMAN: (As Brendan, singing) Ooh, look what I... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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