Drag The Musical

[ChrisTyler1288]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 2:33pm

Did anyone hear any reports from the first preview? I'm a big fan of Alaska and this sounds like such a fun, campy, fluffy time. 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 7:29pm

Apparently Liza Minnelli is now one of the producers. 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 7:41pm

The satirical parody of Sunset's Nicole S. obvious marketing in preview 1 bloody dress and social media mirror pics with Nicole and various "producer/money scouts" is hilarious.  And perfectly correct

Updated On: 10/1/24 at 07:41 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 7:45pm

Matt Rogers said: "ApparentlyLiza Minnelli is now one of the producers."

 

https://playbill.com/article/liza-minnelli-joins-the-producing-team-for-drag-the-musical

 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 8:31pm

She lives in LA now so it is likely in name only.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 8:36pm

CoffeeBreak said: "She lives in LA now so it is likely in name only."

A little birdie told me…

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

She narrates some of the prologue/epilogue in the show.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 10/1/24 at 8:46pm

probably so from a closet audio her agent set up in LA

Like that he is doing this.  Also like that Drag is already doing a parody of Nicole and the people who put money into the show, even if necessary so they can POSSIBLY win a Tony. The UK producers had enough money for the transfer of full cast without US "support" money.

Updated On: 10/1/24 at 08:46 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 8:41am

I went last night on a rush ticket (rear orchestra O 104) and, while not perfect and in need of tightening, I’m hard pressed to think of a show that not only made me cackle like a fool, but was also surprisingly moving.

The plot basically starts as two rival drag clubs competing and struggling, and then it branches off into subplots of family conflict, finding yourself, and the external threat of gentrification. Yes, a bit unwieldy at times, but what I took away was that it borrowed elements from a lot of the “camp” classic movies - “Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert”, “Burlesque”, “The Birdcage”, “Too Wong Foo” and definitely some influence from the Aaron Spelling-“Dynasty” era. There’s also MANY musical theatre Easter eggs that had me heaving with laughter.

The performances were all unilaterally good - which I was a bit worried about with the Ru girls in the cast as script acting is not always the strongest suit for those performers - but they SLAYED. Particularly Alaska and Jan Sport being the two highlights. The songs are serviceable and plentiful - many are snippets that are about 1-2 minutes. Nick Adams and Joey McIntyre have some great scene work as brothers in conflict. 

The true highlight was the child actor who plays Joey’s son. During his number after his father and Alexis (Nick Adams) fight, I was visibly crying - which is not something I do often. It reminded me of me as a child and I think seeing that character of a young child who is misunderstood and withdrawn, and just wants to be himself; watching him be able to do that actually healed a little something in me. It felt like a truly genuine moment.

The makeup and costume team is also absolutely on FIRE. The makeup job they did on Nick Adams to make him a drag queen was so convincing that I forgot he was in the show until he started flexing and I was like OOOHHHHHH.

Could this have been a campy cash grab to put some Ru Girls and Joey McIntyre on a stage? Yes. But in reality, it’s a fully realized show that has more to offer than the title suggests. Get thee to New World Stages!

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 8:43am

Also, almost the entire cast stage doors on 49th, including Joey McIntyre and all the Ru girls.

It’s a full setup though - which I haven’t seen at NWS before. Usually, its always been just free range on the sidewalk.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 1:00pm

quizking101 said: "Also, almost the entire cast stage doors on 49th, including Joey McIntyre and all the Ru girls.

It’s a full setup though - which I haven’t seen at NWS before. Usually, its always been just free range on the sidewalk."

Were there a lot of people? Did they put up barricades? I've only seen a handful of shows at NWS and nothing I would have stage doored but I guess with Teeth as well, soon there might be more people waiting than normal.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 1:03pm

VintageSnarker said: "quizking101 said: "Also, almost the entire cast stage doors on 49th, including Joey McIntyre and all the Ru girls.

It’s a full setup though - which I haven’t seen at NWS before. Usually, its always been just free range on the sidewalk."

Were there a lot of people? Did they put up barricades? I've only seen a handful of shows at NWS and nothing I would have stage doored but I guess with Teeth as well, soon there might be more people waiting than normal."

I would say maybe about 75 people, but also quite a few were friends/family/producers. Just as many were also Gen X ladies who were just wanting to meet McIntyre and hauled out after.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 1:08pm

quizking101 said: "Also, almost the entire cast stage doors on 49th, including Joey McIntyre and all the Ru girls.

It’s a full setup though - which I haven’t seen at NWS before. Usually, its always been just free range on the sidewalk."

 

They did it for the revival of "RENT" when it first opened and I think they did it for a short time for "HEATHERS".

 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/6/24 at 6:35pm

I saw this hot mess last night. The sort of terrible reviews people are posting on the Joker thread belong here. This is quite a disaster. It’s basically a RuPaul Drag Race musical challenge stretched to 100 minutes. Every song sounds exactly the same. No melody of any kind. Don’t get me started on the lyrics that seem to have been put together by a 4th grader. And the book? Two drag bars in a war - one run by Alaska Thunderwhatever and the other by Nick Adams in drag. Ugh. The queens were forgetting lines but who cares because the less lines in this, the better. I will say that it looks like they spent a ton of money on this production. Although it looks hideous, the set is huge. I guess the lighting is okay. Unfortunately, it’s just a bad show. Witless, clueless, helpless. Proceed with caution. 

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/7/24 at 12:33pm

Gathering it is 1 Act. No intermission? 

[yyys]

Posted: 10/7/24 at 4:14pm

Correct. About 110 minutes when I saw it this past Saturday afternoon.

 

Lavieboheme3090 said: "Gathering it is 1 Act. No intermission?"

 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/7/24 at 5:59pm

yyys said: "Correct. About 110 minutes when I saw it this past Saturday afternoon.



Lavieboheme3090 said: "Gathering it is 1 Act. No intermission?"
 

Normally these things don't bother me -- but almost 2 hours with no intermission for a camp musical that would only benefit from an audience that has a few drinks in them is just plain ridiculous. Bring back the intermissions!! 

 

[raddersons]

Posted: 10/7/24 at 11:29pm

I don’t know how to judge this one. As a drag show it’s elevated and excellent and a blast. As a musical the writing is pretty horrible and probably around 20-30 minutes could be cut. The lyrics to one of the songs is literally “ooo lala ooo lala that’s so pretty that’s so pretty” about 50x. 

Lots of stellar performances though. Alaska, Nick, Lagoona, Jan, & J Elaine Marcos were all highlights for me. Luxx Noir London does not know a single thing about comedic timing, bless her heart.

FYI tonight a table Alaska sits at broke. She improvised some lines and staging around it and the audience was eating it up. 

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/8/24 at 9:10am

I was there last night as well, but I didn’t really start enjoying myself until about 20 minutes in. 
 

While there is probably no world where anyone the creative team is looking at this… Edit. Edit. Edit.

Kill some of those darling and get this down to 90 min. 
The show ran almost 2 hours last night, and we should be walking out by 9:30. 
 

I did enjoy myself,  but at a TDF price. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/8/24 at 1:22pm

So as someone who doesn't watch Drag Race or really care about the queens on it, would you recommend the show?  It seems like it's a mess but fun, but I don't know if the fun part would outweigh the mess given that I have no familiarity with the queens.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 10/8/24 at 2:30pm

Okay, so here's the deal: If you're looking for a  Shakespeare caliber book with a Sondheim caliber score, why are you buying tickets to Drag the Musical? If you're looking for a campy, ridiculously cheesy, over the top Rock of Ages meets Rocky Horror type of show, then this is the show you should be buying tickets to. Because what it is, is a fun, well staged, well performed little comedy show essentially. It won't win any awards, nor should it, but it's just a ridiculous fun evening.

Side note: At the performance I was at, there was a medical emergency that stopped the show midway through for around 15 minutes (thankfully everyone was fine). I will say, that pause killed the momentum in the show a bit. Obviously I'm not complaining about it and obviously they were 100% correct to stop the show--my point is, for those of you arguing that they should add an intermission, well, they sort of involuntarily did at this performance, and I'd say the show runs far smoother without one. So instead of adding an intermission, they should cut 10-15 minutes, which they could easily do.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/8/24 at 6:04pm

Broadway61004 said: "Okay, so here's the deal: If you're looking for a Shakespeare caliber book with a Sondheim caliber score, why are you buying tickets to Drag the Musical? If you're looking for a campy, ridiculously cheesy, over the top Rock of Ages meets Rocky Horror type of show, then this is the show you should be buying tickets to. Because what it is, is a fun, well staged, well performed little comedy show essentially. It won't win any awards, nor should it, but it's just a ridiculous fun evening.

Side note: At the performance I was at, there was a medical emergency that stopped the show midway through for around 15 minutes (thankfully everyone was fine). I will say, that pause killed the momentum in the show a bit. Obviously I'm not complaining about it and obviously they were 100% correct to stop the show--my point is, for those of you arguing that they should add an intermission, well, they sort of involuntarily did at this performance, and I'd say the show runs far smoother without one. So instead of adding an intermission, they should cut 10-15 minutes, which they could easily do."

I wasn’t looking for Shakespeare or Sondheim. I was looking for a campy, ridiculously cheesy, over the top type of show, and for me, it didn’t come close to delivering. The script is so awful and so are the songs. If this thing had to exist, it probably should have been a jukebox musical. That would at least have solved one of their many problems.