It's a cold Sunday night in the middle of January, and the smell of hairspray and Coty air-spun powder fills the air. The hyperpop sounds of Charli XCX and Kesha provide the soundtrack, as fabulous kings and queens get dressed in extravagant costumes, perfect their makeup, and gossip among themselves.
No, this isn’t a scene from the "werk room" in the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race; it's the backstage of Drag Discovery, a local drag competition at Lush Lounge and Theatre. At Lush, kings and queens from the Twin Cities have performed against each other every Sunday this month, and will continue to through the February 9 finale, when the best of each week will put on the ultimate showdown for a cash prize of $500.
"I was inspired to start doing drag when I went to a show with my partner at the time, and I just fell in love with the art form," says drag king Izzy Handsome, who has been performing drag since 2023, before taking the stage. "Literally, the next day, I said, ‘Hey babe, what if I wanted to do drag?’"
As in Drag Race, each Drag Discovery performer faces a live critique after their act. While Michelle Visage and RuPaul had previous engagements, these artists are critiqued by a different local drag mentor each week, and the shows are hosted by drag king Dick Von Dyke and queen Luna Muse.
"Open stages are super important to me because they're a huge way that I got my start! So I love drag as a community of shared knowledge," Dick Von Dyke says. "I say open stage, instead of amateur night, intentionally, because feedback helps everyone, not just amateurs. To structure a show with live feedback on the mic is to package the gift of knowledge in hopes of, as Dolly Levi put it, spreading it like manure, to encourage young things to grow."
Unlike Drag Race, Drag Discovery welcomes many drag kings on its stage, something the popular reality TV show has never done in a season of the show, drawing many critiques within the community.
Drag king Rod Temptation, who was in the top two during the January 12 Drag Discovery show, has been performing for a little under a year, and says the Twin Cities has a strong community of kings, including a group of artists who go by Kings and Things.
"We have a little group chat that we talk in, so it's more of a community," Temptation says. "I've made a few friends, and it's really cool to be able to just talk to somebody, compliment their drag, or get some advice. We kind of have each other's back in that way."
Performances on the Lush stage range from musical theatre to classic rock to burlesque. Whether it's voguing down the catwalk, or doing effortless, gymnastic-level flips into full splits, every performer who hits the stage radiates energy, despite the fear that can come from receiving live judgements onstage.
"It's nerve-racking because this is my first performance in drag ever and my second performance taking my clothes off onstage," drag queen Angelina D.Vine says, before hitting the stage with their burlesque piece. "I am definitely looking forward to the critique as a way that I can continue to grow and improve my drag from my baby steps here."
Having their drag critiqued onstage might rattle some of these performers, but the idea of performing in front of the audience doesn't appear to phase them. "I feel like the one time I was performing in a similar capacity, I didn't notice the audience," D.Vine says. "I was too busy thinking about, 'I wanna hit my marks, and I'm having fun on this stage.' I didn't really think about who's looking at me."
Many outside of the community still associate the drag scene with old-school Beyonce and Britney Spears impersonators, who hone in on the idea of achieving the “female illusion” with extravagant costumes, extensive padding and glamorous makeup. Queens that are still influenced by this concept include Shannel, Ginger Minj, and Kennedy Davenport.
Local mentor Domita Sanchez, who has been doing drag for over a decade, says the scene has evolved, joining the broader movement at the start of the "new wave" of drag.
"There's a whole bunch of different types of drag, which I think is so cool, because if you want to do drag, do it; you just gotta be creative and be yourself," Sanchez says. "As I age, I still love going to drag shows and watching and learning from everybody. I feel like I have a presence in the community that I'm able to just help elevate the drag performances because I wanna come to drag shows when I'm done with drag."
This new era of drag has introduced the world to innovative queens such as Sasha Velour, Jinx Monsoon, and Bob the Drag Queen. One of the most exciting parts of Drag Discovery is the discovery angle; for many of the artists, it marks the first time they perform drag onstage.
"I was always interested in makeup because I was always jealous of the girls because they got to wear all the makeup, all the funny clothes and like all sorts of different clothes," says drag queen Almost Cupid, right before making her debut on the Drag Discovery stage. "Then I saw Drag Race, and I was like, 'OK, I didn't know that it could be like that.’ I didn't know that drag could be all fun and clownery."
Almost Cupid took the stage for the first time in a high-fashion editorial look she crafted by hand, including the star headpiece made of cardboard, felt, and embroidery thread. She took over a month to source material, cut, and sew a look that would have gagged RuPaul himself.
Conservative critics have attempted—and so far, thankfully, failed—to criminalize drag performances in states including Montana, Texas, and Florida. While these bans have been either blocked by the courts or labeled unconstitutional, the sentiment of hate toward this art form is growing. And with a new presidential administration actively trying to erase the transgender community, these drag performances feel more radical and necessary than ever.
Here in the Twin Cities, competitions like Drag Discovery keep the art of drag alive. “I think it's wholesome to see how many folks' families come out to these shows, as my mom didn't come to a drag show till I'd been performing for a decade,” Dick Von Dyke says. “That family love inspires me to keep going. Maybe even as bleak as things seem, we drag entertainers [can] make a positive impact after all.”
Drag Discovery
When: Sundays through February 2 at 7 p.m., with the finale on February 9 at 6 p.m.
Where: Lush Lounge and Theatre, 990 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis
Tickets: No cover. Tips are always appreciated.
