By Bart Greenberg***“This was the gayest night on the Upper East Side in years!” So commented one attendee while departing the 92nd Street Y after attending (the rather unwieldly titled) XYZ Presents Paramount+ RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. While that claim might not be totally accurate, it was certainly a gay and flamboyant occasion as the eight contestants on the upcoming (May 20, 2022) competition gathered on the stage in the Kaufmann Concert Hall to be interviewed by Tony Award-winner Ben Platt. The actor has done several previous events for the space, and has also been a guest judge on the television
series, so with experience in both worlds, he seemed an ideal candidate for the job (he admitted on stage this was the gayest program he was involved in). And an excellent job he did, well-prepared and possessed of enough authority to keep things moving smoothly, while not restraining the ladies’ exuberance. And only occasionally slipping into a fan-boy attitude.
The newest contest in the ongoing series from the RuPaul production factory of course has its own twist: each drag queen included has won a previous crown, so it is truly a royal collection. In order of their appearance on stage, they were: The Vivienne (UK Season 1), Raja (Season 3), Jinkx Monsoon (Season 5), Monét X Change (All Stars 4), Trinity the Tuck (All Stars 4), Yvie Oddly (Season 11), Jaida Essence Hall (Season 12), and Shea Couleé (All Stars 5). Clad in garb that ranged from streetwear to glamour to camp, they offered a great deal of individuality in style and personality and yet demonstrated a great deal of respect and inclusivity for each other.
Platt first asked the contestants why they chose to return for another competition. The responses ranged from “we had something to prove” (Yvie Oddly) to “I just wanted to have some fun” (Monét X Change) to “for the money” (a general consensus). They were also eager to work with the champions they hadn’t met before. There were also personal reflections prompted by the host’s individual questions. Monét X Change sang the praises of New York City and how it had expanded her boundaries while Trinity the Tuck observed “We should keep evolving because that’s the point.”
Jaida Essence Hall was paid tribute to for being able to triumph in a season produced under the most restricted of conditions because of the pandemic, including receiving a standing ovation from the audience. Shea Couleé noted that competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race required each queen to display a wide range of talents as if they were entered in a high school talent show and Raja concurred, saying that it forced each of them to be more than their category they were locked in such as “pageant queen” and “comedy queen.”
On a lighter note, asked what she did when she won her season, Jinkx Monsoon declared she had taken all her friends to the Cheesecake Factory. Returning to a more serious response, Jinkx summed up the importance of drag for all the assembled: “To do drag is a choice. No reason to do this other than I wanted to. The second I stopped putting my boy drag on, I became myself.”
The fabulous drag queens by turns charmed, amused and moved the audience. The time sped by quickly and the audience would have clearly stayed for more schedule permitting. It seemed clear that a large part of the ensembled will watching RuPaul’s All Stars when it premieres later this month on Paramount+.
