Those attending RuPaul’s DragCon NYC (Sept. 6-8 at the Javits Center) will be steeping themselves in a delicious brew of the best and brightest queens from the RuPaul’s Drag Race pantheon. Live performances, meet-and-greets, and an exhibit hall packed with tempting merch await—but the Con celebrates more than the present state of drag artistry. One […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | As legend has it, the extraterrestrial entity-cum-enigmatic entertainer known as Alaska (or, more formally, Alaska Thunderf*ck 5000) fell to Earth in March 1996, when “a bizarre cosmic collision” shot her spaceship into a remote part of America’s 49th state. That vast, rugged, often inhospitable landscape—and the pioneer spirit of those who […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | “I’ll be showing up and showing out, like I always do,” promised recent RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) contestant Plastique Tiara, of her upcoming area appearance as a newly minted “Ru Girl.” The Vietnam-born, Dallas, Texas-based glamour gal, whose “cheap but luxurious” stage name was inspired by the My Little Pony character […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | The walls of a new coffeehouse located on a marquee corner of Chelsea are providing patrons with a window into the world of LGBTQ+ activism, as documented by the disciplined, discerning, empathetic eye of Donna Aceto. The lead photographer for AIDS Walk New York (as well as Los Angeles and San […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | “The show must, and will, go on,” says RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty, Latrice Royale—specifically, in response to news that her clothing, wigs, and performance accouterments are nowhere to be found, and it’s perilously close to showtime. But besides saving her bacon in that specific situation, this tried and true trooper’s mantra […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER Lewd, crude, loud and proud, fast on her feet and politically opinionated (not a fan of Trump), legendary drag queen and one-time longtime New York City resident Jackie Beat retreats from her Los Angeles abode to grace Gotham with her pithy presence, for one show only, come Thurs., Aug. 15—when the storied […]
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BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Tips from community members, pitches from publicists, and press releases from elected officials: It was just another interesting day at the office on Friday, July 26—and then, we came across an email with the subject line “Inclusion of your Website in the Library of Congress Web Archives.” It read, in part: […]
PHOTOS, INTERVIEWS, CONTEXT BY MIKA TURBERVILLE (they/them) | Though I’m somewhat new to this city and the people who call this place home, I have managed to meet so many friendly faces from all walks of life—and every letter of the queer alphabet. Together, we make up a beautiful amalgamation of love, support, androgyny, fluidity, […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | A fast friendship and onstage collaboration that began in 1993 during a performance at the Meatpacking District nightspot Bar d’O has blossomed into a current production in which the scandals of original sin are front and center on the lobes, and loins, of legendary drag artists Joey Arias and Sherry Vine. […]