There’s a new episode of The Switch available on WOW Presents Plus and you definitely don’t want to miss this week’s episode. With 5 queens left, this week they are getting down and dirty with a Moulin Rouge inspired challenge. Be sure to watch the episode so that you don’t miss a moment of the drama!
Fagabonds – A FIVE EPISODE WEB SERIES PREMIERING JUNE 4TH
Friends of WOW Matt LeGrande & Ben Simpkins drop five episodes of their new web series FAGAGBONDS. Three raucous young gays from diverse backgrounds explore dating, sex and friendship while navigating the beautiful and dirty streets of Los Angeles. Featuring a supporting cast of some of Los Angeles’ best up-and-coming comedians and performers, Fagabonds is an unapologetic peek into the contemporary queer scene of Los Angeles. Starring Matt LeGrande, Ben Simpkins, and Johnny Mendiola
Featuring Danielle Perez, Travis Cole, Zach Noe Towers, Steve Hernandez, Jared Goldstein, Jenell Randall, Richardson Jones, Robbie Bruens and Tara McGorry
Last night the LGBTQ and entertainment worlds collided in a major way with the series premiere of Ryan Murphy‘s Pose on FX. The show tells the story of LGBTQ community members in the late 1980s as they live their lives trying to fit the mold of the “American Dream” and make it big in the ball room scene of New York City. If you haven’t heard of it, check out the trailer here.
Before it premiered, I was excited for a plethora reasons. The main one being that a show about people of color in the LGBTQ community was airing on a major network… and not on the basis of flashy, stereotypical dramatic tv. The show aims to tell the stories of people that we haven’t seen on such a mainstream platform.
My biggest take away of the pilot episode is that I LOVE it! 
. Blanca is by far the greatest character. Honestly, I wish that every young LGTBQ person could have a Blanca in their life. Blanca isn’t doing what’s she’s doing solely for her own gratification and glory, she is doing it to help others.
The show truly tells real life stories and opens people’s eyes to the struggles, trials, and triumphs of so many LGBTQ people; especially transgender people. Not to mention the face that the cast consist of multiple transgender actors, actresses and soon to be gay icons.
One of the best things about this show is how it speaks on the problems the LGBTQ community still faces today. Pose showcases the history that has so greatly influenced our LGBTQ community and premiering at the beginning of Pride month is perfectly timed. This show makes me proud to be LGBTQ and proud to continue learning even more about the history of the LGBTQ community.
I cannot wait for next week’s episode and all this season has in store. If you haven’t already seen the pilot episode go watch now and tune in for the rest of the season!
Packing ain’t easy and traveling is hard, but get some tips from some of your favorite drag queens, like Mariah Balenciaga, Noami Smalls, Gia Gunn, Shangela, Derrick Barry and so many more. You better charge your phone and always be ready for a fun trip. If you don’t have a trip planned already plan one for RuPaul’s DragCon NYC and then you can get even more tips and fun moments with some of your favorite queens!
Get your VIP tickets for RuPaul’s DragCon NYC 2018 so that you can get your life from your favorite queens. And don’t forget to use the travel tips from these queens so you have a smooth trip from the ride to the airport to the moment you unpack back in your apartment.
GayStarNews is reporting that British drag performer Ruby Venezuela died Friday night following a period of illness. It’s believed she was in her mid-60s.
For those unacquainted with “phenomenal talent” that was Ruby Venezuela, she
was born Brian Pearce and raised in Plymouth, where he began his drag career. He relocated to London to work as a front window display artist at Harrods, but eventually left full-time to concentrate on cabaret.
Venezuela was best known for hosting shows at Madame Jo Jo’s in Soho in the 1980s and 1990s. Pearce became artistic director of the venue. He also performed abroad, including residencies in Vienna in the late 1970s and Amsterdam in the 00s, besides other international locations.
He also presided over her own Soho bar, Ruby’s on Gerrard Street, in the late 90s.
Read more about her life and legacy (including a fabulous run-in with Princess Diana) here.
(Photo: Facebook via GSN)
ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET, super-glam drag goddess Levonia Jenkins, is BACK with a brand new music video “Feeling My Fantasy” in which she dazzles New Yorkers with her stunty street looks and pithy gay rap. Watch the WOW Exclusive premiere below and PREPARE TO BE DAZZLED.
Levonia Jenkins took time off from the bicoastal summer tour of her half-woman show, Gender Fluids, to ride the F train and shoot the music video for her latest anthem, “Feeling My Fantasy.” Shot on location in Brooklyn and New York City, the music video brings Levonia back to her mass transit roots first visited upon in the music video for her debut cassingle, “So C#nt” – shot back in 2013. Check out the music video and Feel Your Fantasy!
After dates in Fire Island, San Francisco and NYC, Levonia returns to the Laurie Beechman Theater in Gender Fluids on Fridays, September 7th and 21st before bringing the show to the AllWays Lounge in New Orleans on Thursday, October 18th
It was just announced that Bushwig, the world’s largest queer drag and music festival, will be held at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn, September 8th & 9th, and will feature two stages with 23 hours of non-stop drag performances. Fabulous!
Get your tickets HERE.
Among the headliners this year: Sasha Velour, Alaska Thunderfuck, DJ Lady Bunny, Aja, Thorgy Thor, the Boulet Brothers, Pearl, Dida Ritz, Horrorchata, Merrie Cherry, Erika Klash, Untitled Queen and MORE.
The full list, via PAPER:
Music
Bottoms
Eartheater [Pan]
Macy Rodman
Just Dosha
Sateen
Dezi5
Will Sheridan
Mary: Cabaret
DJ
Wolfgang Tilmans – The Carry Nation – Ryan Smith [Wrecked] – JD Samson – Skyshaker [Qween Beat] – Michael Magnan – Justin Cudmore – Jacob Meehan [Buttons] – Lady Bunny – DiCap – Amber Valentine – VVICKY – Lemon Verbena – Mazurbate – Yas Mama – GAG – Protopapa – Uncle Larry
Drag
| Sasha Velour Alaska Thunderfuck Lady Bunny Aja Thorgy Thor Pearl Boulet Brothers Horrorchata Dida Ritz Scarlet Envy Merrie Cherry Untitled Queen Charlene Panthera Kat Wilderness Rify Royalty Miz Jade K James Emi Grate Ragamuffin Patti Spliff Marti Gould Cummings Tyler Ashley West Dakota Lucy Balls Daphne Always Lee Valone HaraJuku Lucky Stiff Magenta Salami Sisters Haus of Fem-Anon Miss Toto Sasha Kills Moon Baby Hystée Lauder Miss Malice Darlinda Just Darlinda Glace Chase Pierretta Viktori Neon Calypso Andro Gin Mini Horrorwitz Candy Sterling BeBe Deluxe Eileen Bothways Sweaty Eddie Virgil III Angelica Sundae Mikey Dallas Sookie Sterling Remy Black Soigne DiDi Disco Fox Squire Elle Emenopé SISISUPERSTAR Maxxx Pleasure Annie B. Frank Lady Simon Shiny Penny Jenn D’role Lebrian Papi Churro Mary Con Bella Moon Mahlae Balenciaga Jupiter Velvet Zoa Ebony Cox Jack Rabid Ali Beau Kelsey Dagger Gay Henry Shanita Bump Space Babe Ari Kiki Theydy Bedbug Flower Tortilla Vigor Mortis Erika Klash Stella Meltdown |
Pinwheel Sherry Poppins Vicky DeVille Miz Diamond Wigfall Tricia Lust Mandy Quinn Just JP Opulence Serena Tea Daphne Bohemien Chantal Cocorico Devo Monique Sophiella DaVinci Crystal Mesh Queen Robert Blake Deadly Adele Computer Dusty Moorehead-Malletti Sham Payne Tiffany Jones Mary Jane Styles Gogina Bambina Inventor Qhrist with a Q Mahal Kita Sandy Devastation Eve Deluxe Cream Victoria Salvadora Dalí Rhedd Rhumm Irregular Girl Charli Deville Aurora Gozmic Dottie Dangeffield Sherry Duvall-Covington Nicky Doll Veronica Viper Alice Cooter Bibingka Mama Victoria Precise Lasana Shabazz Desiree Dik Stella Marbles Juanita LaBanjee Vivien Gabor Civilization Paradox Rei Strawberry Yoya Vic Sin Saint The Sinner Gemma Bubblegum Violencia Exclamation Point Chris Tyler Cleo Berlin SOL Warhola Pop Ms. Ter God Complex Persephone Von Lips Esther Baby Love Cola Love Miss Taint Chutney Spears Pearl Harbor Dynasty Desiré Declyne Gary Carmichael Laé D. Boi Ellipsis Queen Grace Shush The Night Bus Baby Lame Freida Slaves Margo Marshall Barbs Yoko Fomo Geogia Tasda Fantasy Grandma |
HA! I love the fabulously named Fantasy Grandma, Theydy Bedbug, Flower Tortilla, Vigor Mortis, God Complex, Sain the Sinner, Ellipsis Queen, Shanita Bump, and Qhrist with a Q. Wish I was going!
LOCAL GIRL MAKES GOOD!
LA-based drag queen Vicky Vox is wowing the Brits in a new production of Little Shop of Horrors, playing – of all things – the crazed man-eating plant Audrey II.
The critics are gushing over her camptastic performance. Check out just a few of the raves below.
You’d be mad to miss this uplifting revival of Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Maria Aberg…
It’s like a witty botanical variant of the Rocky Horror Show but it has never soared, as it does here, into what looks like mad cross between the Day of the Triffids and RuPaul’s Drag Race….
… and prowling around in fishnets and skin-tight green spandex and growling out orders to “Feed me!” from glitter-encrusted lips, Vox is in complete, voluptuous command – a Mephistopheles who effortlessly exudes a filthy diva-style sense of danger.
Exuberant… savagely silly… the costume designs have to be seen to be believed…
…Here, Audrey II is no mere puppet (although at meal times there are plenty of green-clad stage hands waving tentacles). No, when she reaches full maturity, she is transformed into human shape – specifically the fierce and fabulous form of American drag queen Vicky Vox, who stalks the stage in killer heels, rainbow wig and skin-tight sequins, bellowing ‘Feed me’ in a voice like a Chicago house diva while spritzing her bits with a plant mister.
This gloriously fun, campy production is not to be missed…
Drag star Vicky Vox, best known in these parts for mega-viral parody “Boy is a Bottom”, delivers charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to the role of alien plant Audrey II – a clever casting choice that adds a wonderful new layer to the show. Really, it’s hard to think of anyone better suited to the role of man-eating plant than a drag queen.
A glitter ball of care-free cruelty…Performers crank up the craziness in ever more outlandish costumes in Maria Aberg’s even darker take on the cult musical…
No costume is too zany, no performance too quirky, no singing too brassy or loud. Jemima Rooper and Marc Antolin charm as hapless lovers Audrey and Seymour, and Alan Menken’s trademark love song Suddenly Seymour positively glows.
The plant stands tall. Very tall. I won’t give away the secret, but let’s just say this particular plant has immaculately manicured green fingers…
This production is like you’ve never seen it before — gloriously succulent and deliciously sinister…
The Open Air Theatre’s revival is a welcomed, giddy distraction to the ongoing tedium that goes by the name of Brexit and the production garnered a fair amount of buzz due to the casting of a Drag Queen as Audrey II (in the place of a traditional puppet), flying in American star Vicky Vox (a former member of pop group DWV) to do the honours. Unsurprisingly, nobody knows how to make an entrance or pull focus quite like a Drag Queen, with Vox confidently prowling around the stage and resembling the love child of TOWIE’s Gemma Collins and a bag of Skittles, and her voice is the perfect fit to play the man-eating plant. Does this new theatrical device pay off? And then some!
Major kudos to director Maria Aberg for delivering what feels like a genuinely fresh take: plants are made from various toilet and kitchen utensils; grey tower blocks are wheeled about by the town’s homeless in shopping trollies and dumpsters; each costume drags the world from monochrome to technicolour. The best choice is to make Audrey II a person rather than a puppet. Not that the production completely eschews the technical opportunities; Scutt and Max Humphries have produced some great creature moments. But having drag superstar Vicky Vox deliver bratty, poison ivy, venus fly-trap realness as the sentient plant allows Aberg to make the production more dynamic.
In a clever bit of casting by director Maria Arberg, the charismatic, omnivorous plant Audrey II is no longer a puppet, but is played by the deliciously watchable American drag queen Vicky Vox.
Vox (inset) seduces and menaces in equal parts, as she patrols the stage and demands to be fed, transforming the action from static street scenes to flamboyant spectacle. Marc Antolin fits the role of dweeby Seymour like a glove while Matt Willis (of Busted fame) is suitably maniacal as the evil dentist boyfriend. The narrators Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon steal the limelight in nearly every scene.
Little Shop of Horrors runs at the Open Air Theater in Regent’s Park, London, until September 15; buy tickets with GO London
It’s the longest running Public Access cable show in US history! ‘DeAundra Peek’s Teenage Music Club,’ which aired on Georgia Public Access Television from 1988-2004, is getting the retrospective it deserves at the Creative Space for Lease in Los Angeles SATURDAY NIGHT (August 18). For those of you who aren’t acquainted with the FunTon icon and her show, it famously featured…
… original music videos, community news, comedy sketches, recipes for “Hi Class” special-occasion cocktail snacks, and guest spots from the likes of Jayne County, RuPaul, and Lady Bunny.
Says Creative Space for Lease, who is hosting the two-night event:
DeAundra and her show are not only irreverent and wickedly funny but represent an important intersection in the histories of queer performance, DIY, and broadcast television.
DeAundra (played by Rosser Shymanski) is a naif sixteen-year-old broadcasting weekly from “the community room at Odum’s All-Doublewide Mobile Homes Court in Palmetto, Georgia.” “She’s sort of goofy and kind of stupid, you know, but sweet and good-hearted…She’s all about getting people all excited, and she’s so grateful for having a stage and having a Mee Maw who lets her express her god-given talent,” Shymanski has said of his character DeAundra.
More information about the show here. See you there!
DeAundra Peek footage courtesy of Dick Richards from THE AMERICAN MUSIC SHOW (one of the longest running cable access shows in the USA). Selections curated by Robert Coddington.
We are headed into the home stretch – it’s now less than a MONTH until DragCon NYC. Below, season 10 fan fave Blair St Clair FaceTimes with her idol Hairspray star Nikki Blonski and chat up their “Morning Makeover” panel where Blair will make Nikki’s dream come true by giving her a drag makeover. (via Broadway World)
Btw, do you have YOUR tickets yet? If not, get them HERE.
Violet, Miss Fame, and MILK aren’t the only RDR queens to be embraced by the fashion community, season 10 winner Sasha Velour is getting some major love from Opening Ceremony, collaborating with the hipster label for their upcoming Spring/Summer 2019 show.
Says Hornet:
Opening Ceremony designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon say the show, called ‘the Gift of Showz.’ will be “a live spectacle celebrating of the art of drag — both in New York and around the world.”
Intriguing.
Velour took to Instagram to say:
“So excited to announce I’m collaborating with @openingceremony for their New York Fashion Week showcase on September 9!” Velour posted on Instagram. “‘The Gift of Showz’ will be a celebration of the art (and fashion) of drag, featuring appearances and performances from special guests (you’re gonna flip!!), and the debut of Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2019 Collection. Stay tuned for video and photos galore, plus many more surprises”
“You’re going to flip”… is that hinting that Flip Wilson is going walk in the show? No wait. He died in 1998. Hmm. The star of Celebrity Flip Off Ali Wentworth? The inventor of the flip phone? Flipper stars Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood? Cutie-patpotie actor Ian Nelson who played Flip in the movie Freak Show? Oh, I give up. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
No word yet on whether Sasha had actual input into the collection or if she’s just walking.
We’re just days away from 3 of the greatest days of your life, filled with art, pop culture and all things drag! Yep, RuPaul’s Drag Race NYC 2018 is this weekend, September 28th, 29th and 30th! There’s so much happening that you don’t wanna miss and if you don’t believe me here are 5 things that will give you FOMO if you aren’t there! So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets right now!!!
Hundreds of Exhibitors with SICKENING merchandise
View this post on Instagram
The DragCon After Parties
View this post on Instagram
Exclusive DragCon NYC Merchandise
View this post on Instagram
RuPaul’s RuTalks
View this post on Instagram
And of course, some of your favorite queens will be there!
View this post on Instagram
An event designed to teach children about inclusion and diversity through literature has drawn the ire of local conservatives. Drag queen Harmonica Sunbeam had organized a Drag Queen Story Hour at the Port Jefferson Local Library in which she aimed to help students learn about love, acceptance, and tolerance by reading to children ages 4-8, making crafts with them, and taking photos. Unfortunately, the not-so-loving/accepting/tolerant right showed up holding signs such as “Honk to Oppose Drag Queen Story Hour,” and “Where Is Bible Story Hour?”
“I don’t think we should push this ideology and statements to a 4-year-old,” said Pastor Julio Carrion, of Port Jefferson. “But if they want to continue the conversation with an adult, I’m here now.”
Said counter protester Roland Hoffman, of Manorville:
“If they don’t want their children to be read to by a character—not even a transgender woman—by a drag queen which is a character, like Spiderman, then go away.”
via News 12, Long Island:
Employees at the library say they expected some backlash when they booked the event. They say some people who are against the event have been calling more than two weeks.
Despite the protests outside the library, children who took part in the event seemed to enjoy it.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” said 8-year-old, Rachel Robedeed.
Library officials say they considered the first event a success and plan on having more of the Drag Queen Story Hour in the future.
(via LongIslandChannel12)
A drag troupe comprised of performers with Down syndrome held a handful of underground events this summer around East London, promising “drag mayhem” during “extra Chromosome Drag night with our royal Queens and Kings.”
It was part of a project of the London-based Culture Device, which receives public funding from the Arts Council of England.
“I think it’s new for contemporary culture to include people with learning disabilities in avant-garde culture or in high culture – or in high fashion,” LGBT activist and event organizer Daniel Vais told ITV.
Vais now plans to take Drag Syndrome to a global audience, having had numerous clubs across the world already making offers to host the night.
“It’s quite new to everyone, but from what I see – it works really well, really, really well actually.”
Watch the teaser trailer below.
It was Ariana Grande night last week at San Francisco drag legend Heklina‘s weekly party “Mother,” and the star of the evening was a queen named Florida Man who bowled over the crowd with his brilliant Lady Voldemort performance. Yes, that would Lord Voldemort of Harry Potter fame… in drag.
“A few months ago I produced a Harry Potter tribute show called She Who Must Not Be Named and did my first number as Lady Voldemort. It was so fun and so absurd that I knew I wanted to bring the character back in wilder situations,” Florida Man told Teen Vogue. “So when the Ariana night popped up everything just clicked. It had to be ‘Dangerous Woman’ and it had to be a burlesque number.”
The clip of Florida Man’s performance has gone viral, racking up more than 20,000 likes and 8,000 retweets on Twitter.
“Part of what I’m doing with Lady Voldemort is reimagining a universe where the canon of Harry Potter is queerer and weirder, and I think that speaks to a lot of queer people and Harry Potter fans alike,” Florida says. “It’s also just ridiculous.”
LOVE IT! Watch the “Mother” performance below (and keep watch for the epic battle with “Hairy Otter” that ends in an hysterical makeup sash!)
Have you been booked for a Drag Queen Story Hour at your local library and HAVEN”T GOT AN IDEA of what to read? I mean: Dr Seuss has been DONE TO DEATH, and nobody cares about Amelia Bedelia anymore. Well, Mrs Kasha Davis is coming to the rescue. She’s written an absolutely MARVELOUS children’s book: Little Eddie P Wants to Be a Star. It’s all about a little boy (who may or may not be the young Mrs Davis) who dreams of being a QUEEN, who is teased for wearing an orange blouse to school, and disappoints his father when he says he wants to be a star when he grows up. Thankfully, he has a wonderful friend in a poodle named… wait for it… KASHA, who helps him through his many hardships. And you’ll be happy to know everything works out just fine in the end. There won’t be a dry eye in the audience.
Little Eddie P Wants to Be a Star is available now at KashaDavis.com
A children’s book loosely based on the childhood memories of Ed Popil AKA Mrs Kasha Davis.
Written by Ed Popil AKA Mrs Kasha Davis
Illustrated by Jason Dorofy
And at just $20 it’ll make FABULOUS stocking stuffers this holiday season!
It’s the perfect choice for kids of all ages!
Omgomgomg… Did you see it?! Are you gagged?! Are you still vibrating with excitement! This morning, the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 was ruvealed on Entertainment Weekly – and it was a shocker! So many fab fan favorites returning this winter…. And we got an amazing live stream with Trixie, Katya, and Detox. Watch that here:
So set your DVRs, hennies! Friday, December 14, 8PM Eastern! on VH1!
And if you missed out (which you did if you weren’t watching, hennies) we’ve got the full All Stars 4 cast list below. Starting with…
Naomi Smalls
Trinity The Tuck
Manila Luzon
Latrice Royale
Jasmine Masters
Monet X Change
Gia Gunn
Farrah Moan
Monique Heart
Valentina
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8 & 9 fan fave Cynthia Lee Fontaine dropped a music video today for her new single “Pegajosa” (which, I’m told, translates to “sticky” – HA!)
Writes the goddess on her Instagram:
Sky is the limit! Show your passion to the universe !!! I’m proud to announce my single “Pegajosa “ is available on @iTunes !!! Thank you for your love and support !!! Muy feliz de compartir con ustedes que mi nuevo sencillo musical “Pegajosa “ esta disponible en @itunes !! Descárgalo ya y disfruta de la pegajosamania !!! Los amo !! #rupaulsdragrace #pegajosa #happy #feliz#llenadevida #cucu #amor #miel #chicle#ugh
Watch the ultra-fabuloso video below, then add the song to your cardio/getting ready playlist here.
Violet, Miss Fame, and MILK aren’t the only RDR queens to be embraced by the fashion community, season 10 winner Sasha Velour is getting some major love from Opening Ceremony, collaborating with the hipster label for their upcoming Spring/Summer 2019 show.
Says Hornet:
Opening Ceremony designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon say the show, called ‘the Gift of Showz.’ will be “a live spectacle celebrating of the art of drag — both in New York and around the world.”
Intriguing.
Velour took to Instagram to say:
“So excited to announce I’m collaborating with @openingceremony for their New York Fashion Week showcase on September 9!” Velour posted on Instagram. “‘The Gift of Showz’ will be a celebration of the art (and fashion) of drag, featuring appearances and performances from special guests (you’re gonna flip!!), and the debut of Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2019 Collection. Stay tuned for video and photos galore, plus many more surprises”
“You’re going to flip”… is that hinting that Flip Wilson is going walk in the show? No wait. He died in 1998. Hmm. The star of Celebrity Flip Off Ali Wentworth? The inventor of the flip phone? Flipper stars Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood? Cutie-patpotie actor Ian Nelson who played Flip in the movie Freak Show? Oh, I give up. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
No word yet on whether Sasha had actual input into the collection or if she’s just walking.
We’re just days away from 3 of the greatest days of your life, filled with art, pop culture and all things drag! Yep, RuPaul’s Drag Race NYC 2018 is this weekend, September 28th, 29th and 30th! There’s so much happening that you don’t wanna miss and if you don’t believe me here are 5 things that will give you FOMO if you aren’t there! So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets right now!!!
Hundreds of Exhibitors with SICKENING merchandise
View this post on Instagram
The DragCon After Parties
View this post on Instagram
Exclusive DragCon NYC Merchandise
View this post on Instagram
RuPaul’s RuTalks
View this post on Instagram
And of course, some of your favorite queens will be there!
View this post on Instagram
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dat bussy dat must not be named