After a sold-out performance in August, the ladies are back for an encore of Three Tall Queens on October 7 at 9:30 PM at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, starring Chandilier, Lauren Ordair and Whendy Whaxwood. The show is an evening of drag storytelling based on the life of Lindsey Kay, written by Justin McDevitt and directed by Lindsey Kay and Justin McDevitt.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) celebrates Three Tall Queens playwright Justin McDevitt (JM) with Six Questions!
NiteLife Exchange (NLE): How did you come to write Three Tall Queens?
JM: The show originated after a few late night conversations with a woman named Lindsey while she sat at the upstairs bar of The Duplex, where I’ve bartended the past seven years. She would tell me stories about getting trapped in quicksand, pushed out of a moving vehicle and shot at an H&M in between ordering chocolate martinis and Grand Marnier. After a few months of telling her I’d like to write her one woman show, she said, “yes.” It was about a week later when she told me she didn’t want to be in it. And that’s when we got the idea to cast three drag queens (because one was obviously not enough) as Lindsey. Edward Albee is an idol of mine, so I hope it’s okay I modeled the cabaret after his play Three Tall Women.
NLE: What was the writing process like for this show?
JM: Lindsey and I met over the course of several weeks where I would interview her, based off a list of twenty stories she scribbled on a piece of paper one night at The Duplex. From the seven hours of interview, I created a script running just about an hour. In the show, the three queens take turns telling Lindsey’s stories from their own different perspective (A is bitter, B is caring, C is entirely too young).
NLE: How is the show different from your other playwrighting work?
JM: At NYU I studied theatre as it related to depression and mental health. Any time I could bring Blanche DuBois into the conversation, I would. I’ve always existed in the world of Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill and Albee. My writing focuses on the dark underbelly of American life, or, as Chandilier describes it, “Gay ?lth.” This show is a unique challenge because it was the ?rst time I got to write from the perspective of a queer woman.
NLE: Why drag queens?
JM: Without spoiling the show, drag plays such an integral role in Lindsey’s life. And because the stories are so over-the-top, we needed performers who could really do the material justice. Luckily, I live and work with some very talented drag queens, so casting Chandilier, Lauren Ordair and Whendy Whaxwood was the easiest part. I’m also thrilled to get to show people a different side of drag than what is portrayed on television. Drag queens are storytellers and activists, they are clowns who want to spread a simple message of goodness through spectacle and humor. Drag is more than death drops, wig reveals and three thousand dollar gowns.
NLE: How does working with drag queens differ from actors?
JM: They’re much scarier. At a drag show, the queen is her own costumer, writer, director, makeup artist and stage manager. It is so intimidating being in a room with these three queens where I am tasked with directing them. We go back into rehearsal on Monday and I’m still a little terri?ed.
NLE: You had a sold out performance in August. What made you want to put up Three Tall Queens again?
JM: Lindsey’s story packs more of a punch than even I appreciated. In writing the show, my entire focus was getting the voice right. I had to consolidate seven hours of words into sixty minutes of theatre. I didn’t pull back to think big picture implications. When I watched the audience at the August show I was so blown away and humbled by the way they related to Lindsey’s story. I knew we had to do it again. I hope our October show is just the beginning of what we do together.
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