TDF Stages

A pair of campy musical comedies, The Big Gay Jamboree and Drag: The Musical, join a gleefully gay season

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Queer theatre by and for queer folks has been around almost since the Greeks were getting their freak on. But there's been a decidedly mainstream resurgence of the genre of late, notably Cole Escola's unhinged, ahistorical hit about Abraham Lincoln's cabaret-obsessed wife Oh, Mary! and a revival of Cats set on NYC's Ballroom scene.

Now two campy new musical comedies have arrived Off Broadway to slay 'em in the aisles: Drag: The Musical at New World Stages about two competing drag clubs locked in a bitchy battle, and The Big Gay Jamboree at the Orpheum Theatre, a raunchy spoof of classic musicals.

Why are these gay riots having such a moment?

According to Alaska Thunderfuck, a RuPaul's Drag Race alum and cowriter and star of Drag: The Musical, it's "because queer people are just really funny and beautiful to look at." Then she drops the gaiety and goes deeper: "The backlash against queer culture has made us want to fight more and be more out there," she says. "We want to be more evident and apparent."

It's telling that these shows are peaking in popularity in the months leading up to yet another vitriolic and divisive election that has put the queer community—especially trans and gender nonconforming folks—under a microscope. That's why Alaska decided to trade the microscope for the spotlight, reclaiming an identity she doesn't often advertise.

Alaska Thunderfuck is the drag alter ego of Justin Andrew Honard. While Alaska headlines Drag: The Musical, Honard is credited with writing it. It's not a name Alaska often uses in her art, but this time felt different.

"Alaska, the drag persona, has done a lot of the work and gets a lot of the credit," she says. "But I also wanted to give some credit to the sensitive person who lives underneath all of that, because that's who put in the years of work that you didn't see."

And it did take years to get these shows to New York. Drag: The Musical began seven years ago as a concept album that was finally released in 2022 and quickly turned into a stage show that premiered at Hollywood's Bourbon Room.

The Big Gay Jamboree goes back even further. The musical satire was co-created by queer comedian Marla Mindelle of Titanique fame, songwriter Philip Drennen and writer Jonathan Parks-Ramage, BFFs who met while getting their BFAs at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. "We all went to college together for musical theatre, or as we call it, gay sleepaway camp," says Parks-Ramage. Even though it's a stage send-up, the project initially began as a screenplay as the co-creators tried—and failed—to break into Hollywood.

But they caught the eye of a certain celebrity producer, Oscar-nominated actor Margot Robbie, whose production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, had optioned the script before it died in development hell. Later, when Robbie attended Titanique, she was floored by Mindelle's talent as a performer and asked what else she was working on. Suddenly, The Big Gay Jamboree was back on the agenda, this time as an Off-Broadway show. It's a lesson in patience, luck and waiting for the right moment. "Do not give up because one day Margot Robbie might descend from heaven and decide to help you 10 years after you wrote your original screenplay," jokes Parks-Ramage.

Alaska also found herself a celebrity producing partner when approaching Liza Minnelli with a pitch to narrate the animated prologue. "We wanted a really iconic, recognizable voice for this voiceover part," Alaska recalls. "And Liza was into it, but she was like, 'I wanna do more.'" So, they lengthened the monologue, and Minnelli came on as a producer.

It's galvanizing to have a gay legend in your corner, and Alaska credits a supportive team for getting Drag: The Musical on its heels. The original idea came from cowriter Tomas Costanza, one of Alaska's longtime collaborators; Ashley Gordon completes the trio. "Tomas was like, 'Do you wanna write a musical?' And I was like, 'Sure, that'll be easy!'" says Alaska, laughing.

Costanza, who is also the show band's guitarist, serves as what Alaska calls "the token straight man"—they bounced the gayest jokes off him to gauge which would land with a straight audience, a demographic Alaska is intent on capturing while also satisfying her most ardent followers. "We want the show to make sense to people who have a lot of knowledge of drag and gay culture," she says. "But we also want to reach people who don't know that world. We don't want anything to be too over anybody's head. You can bring your family," there's some salty language and sex humor but nothing that will scandalize most tweens—there's even a 10-year-old character in the show. "You can come with your gay friends. I think anyone can find it enjoyable."

But the show still has a silly, queer sensibility. "As a drag queen and as an entertainer, I have always leaned into: It's gotta be stupid, it's gotta be funny," she says while acknowledging that there's plenty of heart, too—an element that scared her a bit. "The risk was going into this and being like, 'We do want to actually touch the heart chakra," she says. "That's like a really risky thing, because that's not what the audience expects of me."

Parks-Ramage and company are less concerned about bringing tears to their audience's eyes—unless they're crying with laughter. "Audiences are hungry to just have fun and let loose and not feel so serious all the time at the theatre," he explains. "The stupider the better. But I will also say, it does take a lot of smarts to make stupid work." He credits his comedic partnership with Mindelle for allowing the show to get as deranged as it does. "We share the same demented gay clown brain," he says.

Thankfully, the show's producers are all in on the gay chaos. "What has been amazing is they're like, 'Just go for it, sweetie,'" he says. "We are speaking directly to our community. It's not some watered-down version that's trying to quote, unquote appeal to the masses." That said, he's noticed that even those who don't catch every Real Housewives reference are gagging, including his father. "My 70-year-old straight dad saw it the other night and he was screaming with laughter," says Parks-Ramage. "And I was like, 'Okay, great. We've crossed over. Straight dads are laughing at anal jokes. We've won!'"

Still, at the heart of these shows is a shared queer experience. Whether it's a tenderly depicted queer awakening, a tucking gag, or an Andy Cohen cameo, there are plenty of in-jokes for those who've come out. "We're finding ways to poke fun at and celebrate gay culture," says Parks-Ramage. "There's a lot of fun in speaking that common language."

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for The Big Gay Jamboree and Drag: The Musical. Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Both shows are frequently available at our TKTS Discount Booths.