By Michael Barbieri****Raja is an intoxicating performer… and maybe just a teeny bit intoxicated too! In her show Lush Life, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, she painted herself as quite the lush—but in reality, she came across as sophisticated, self-assured and very much in command of her performance.
Raja, also known as Raja Gemini, is the fabulous creation of Sutan Amrull, a drag performer and makeup artist, best known as the winner of Season 3 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Amrull was also the primary makeup artist on nine cycles of Tyra Banks’ reality show, “America’s Next Top Model.” His clients include Tyra Banks, Paulina Porizkova, Twiggy, Iman, Adam Lambert and of course, RuPaul. Raja regularly presents the weekly YouTube series “RuPaul’s Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView” and has even appeared on “The Simpsons.” In June 2019, Raja was one of 37 queens featured on the cover of New York magazine.
Raja’s show began with a slightly tongue-in-cheek video clip: a grandiose series of images featuring the diva herself surrounded by a bevy of stylists prepping her for a photo shoot. Her gowns, hair and makeup were ultra-glamorous and she looked stunning! The video included a couple of projected quotes, including one from Vanessa Hudgens: “I’m SO into vogueing right now!” which not only got big laughs from the crowd, but served as a perfect lead-in to Raja’s opening number, “Vogue” (Madonna, Shep Pettibone). Looking fab in a sparkling, beaded, belted mini and cream colored thigh-high boots, she entered from the back of the house and sang the Madonna hit in an imperfect, yet wonderfully expressive baritone. And she drank from a glass of wine throughout the song!
She perched on a stool and welcomed us, saying this was her third attempt at doing a live show—something she finds scary. She believes, however, that if something scares you, you should do it, so here we were! She also mentioned that she might forget her lyrics occasionally, saying, “but if I do… fuck it! If you want to see a Jinkx Monsoon show, do that!” She spoke about the strange times in which we live—mass shootings, divisive politics, rampant racism and homophobia on the rise. And how does she cope with all that negativity? Wine! Lots and lots of wine—a habit she developed watching Hoda and Kathie Lee. But tonight, she said, we would forget the troubles of the world and just have fun. She then launched into her next number, a balls-to-the-wall rocker by AC/DC, called “Big Balls” (Bon Scott, Angus & Malcolm Young). Once again, I was impressed with her live singing ability, her vocals having gained strength and confidence as she relaxed into the evening.
A quick costume change was covered by another video, this one focusing on her life at home in L.A., a life she absolutely loves. She returned to the stage dressed in a gorgeous Norma Desmond-esque black and silver sequined robe trimmed with ostrich plumes on the collar and sleeves. Lip syncing to Lady Gaga’s recording of “Lush Life” (Billy Strayhorn), there was a mesmerizing “faded diva” quality to her performance. This was no mere lip sync; she acted the part beautifully! Her gestures, body language and facial expressions were sad and beautiful—a perfect representation of this classic song. Brava!
Not only does Raja love her wine (as a matter of fact, she polished off a bottle of white wine during the show), but she also loves smoking weed. This confession was the ideal lead-in to her next song, “Smoke Two Joints” (Chris Kay, Michael Kay), which was a hit for the band Sublime. She even proved how much she enjoys pot by taking a toke from a vape pen handed to her by an audience member!
Again, Raja was painting a portrait of herself, in her words, as “an extra slutty alcoholic,” but although she drank and smoked onstage, her performance never suffered. Yes, she was a bit of a mess, but she was a wonderful, glamorous, entertaining mess and everything she did in her show worked. The evening had a very stream-of-consciousness feel to it, and her audience, myself included, loved every minute of it!
Before going into her closing number—a slight parody of “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons), dedicated to Tyra Banks, she spoke again of how nervous she was to be performing live. She told us that doing live shows was outside her comfort zone and that New York audiences, in particular, tend to intimidate her. 
But honestly, she had nothing to fear. Her performance was so laid back, poised and soignée, it felt like she was simply entertaining a group of friends in the parlor of her penthouse! To my mind, Raja seemed like the kind of girl you’d love to hang out with and, oh, I don’t know, share a glass of wine!
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