Sashay Your Way to DRAG: The Musical Off-Broadway

Produced by Liza Minelli? Starring Alaska Thunderf*ck and other talented queens? We knew we were in for a divatastic night! Photos by Matthew Murphy.

It’s everywhere! Drag is on TV; it’s in the news; it’s at your local bar and possibly even your local library or bookstore if you’re lucky enough to have a drag queen story hour near you. And now, it’s Live on Off-Broadway as a rock ‘n’ roll musical, DRAG: The Musical. This sold-out show is terrific fun, and it’s worth traveling to see or getting tickets on your trip to New York City, especially if you’re planning on a visit for the Holidays.

Directed and choreographed by Spencer Liff (So You Think You Can Dance, Falsettos, Hedwig and the Angry inch) and with a live band, DRAG: The Musical is boisterous, bedazzled fun bursting with toe-tapping tunes and more wigs than you can poke a stick at. It has truckloads of LGBTQ in-jokes, but it’s not so queer as to exclude your straight friends and family—especially if they enjoyed musicals in the vein of Kinky Boots or The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

DRAG: The Musical is also more than just a drag show. It’s a narrative, with singing (book, music and lyrics by Tomas Costanza, Justin Andrew Honard, and Ashley Gordon)—and there is absolutely no lip-synching allowed! It tells the story of two viciously competing Drag Houses—the Fish Tank, and the Cat House—both trying to stay afloat financially (because “Drag Is Expensive,” as one of the show’s best songs informs us). Why the enmity between the two houses? Lead queens Kitty (Alaska Thunderfuck) and Alexis (Nick Adams) were once lovers, but no one knows why they broke up! Can the queens save their venues and bury the hatchet?

The cast is absolutely fantastic, and each player gives it their all, with several playing double and triple roles (we’re looking at you, J. Elaine Marcos). There are some standout surprises (Remi Tuckman was up as Kitty’s 10-year-old nephew the night I attended, and he is a pure delight); Liisi LaFontaine (Dreamgirls) is lovely as a female drag queen and boy, can she belt; and Eddie Korbich is wild-card-wonderful as Drunk Jerry, that older gay wino who hangs around but happens to have a big backstory. Shoutout also to Joey McIntyre, who does a solid job playing Kitty’s estranged hetero bro—he even gets his own Pearl Jam-esque rock number.

But the show, of course, belongs to the queens. Alaska Thunderfuck as Kitty Galloway (through 1/11/25), Nick Adams as Alexis Gilmore, Lagoona Bloo as Tuna Turner, Jan Sport as Savannah St. James, Jujubee as The Tigress, Luxx Noir London as Popcorn, and Nick Laughlin as a bearded Puss Puss Dubois (my favorite)…all of them are fabulous, all of them can sing, and all of them have the moves.

They receive admirable support from a very able ensemble, which includes Cameron Mitchell Bell, Teddy Wilson Jr., Nicholas Kraft, Christine Shepard, and Kodiak Thompson, and all work to elevate the show to Broadway level. The band for DRAG: The Musical rocks it out and features Andrew Orbison (conductor and keyboard), Ariel Bellvalaire (guitar), Tyler Connaghan (guitar), and Jasmine Guevara (drums). We loved the rock chicks and it is refreshing to see our cisgender sisters welcomed by the queens.

DRAG: The Musical is produced by a big bunch of folks: Tomas Costanza, Scott Prisand, Matthew Weaver, Paolo & Jodie Coppola, Aron & Gabe Alves-Tomko, Nicholas Kaiser, Willette & Manny Klausner Tristan Schukraft, Janet Billig Rich, Hillary Weaver, Producer Entertainment Group, Jackie Huba, 1145 Ventures, Peter Crawford/Pieter Van Meeuwen, Bruce Robert Harris/Jack W. Batman, Drama Club,  Concord Theatricals, Rob Kolson, Sarina Neer, Liesl Wilke, Daitch/Busch. Kudos to them. But flowers must go to Liza Minnelli, who also backed the project! Gay icon Liza also provides gorgeous voice-over narration for the fractured fairytale element of the story. It’s just adorable.

The night I saw it the house was absolutely packed to the rafters, so you know it’s a smash. Audiences always vote with their feet, so grab a ticket before word really gets out that this is a hit. It’s so much fun. Remember when the gays were famous for knowing how to have fun? DRAG: The Musical is bringing that back into style.

DRAG: The Musical is now playing at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, New York City.). Tickets are on sale at dragthemusical.com, telecharge.com, or by phone at (212) 239-6200. Tickets start at $47.