Author: Evan Tribelhorn
Hi everyone! Welcome back to Drag Me, a monthly column in which I explore all things drag and drag-adjacent. This quarter, I thought I’d focus on highlighting some of my favorite styles of drag and some of my favorite queens! This isn’t to put anyone in a box or to section off what drag is limited to, but more of an exploration of what’s possible within the art of drag. This month I thought I’d start with one of my favorites: camp! I’ve always loved campy queens for how extreme they are and their ability to take anything and make it so over the top you can’t help but laugh. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite campy queens and why I love them so.
Miss Coco Peru
You might recognize Miss Coco Peru from her ever popular YouTube channel and her obsession with Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer Tea, but she’s been in the business for over 25 years. She began with small one-woman shows in NYC, and eventually landed multiple roles in cult films such as Girls Will be Girls and To Wong Foo…. Her sense of humor is honest and surprisingly intense but that is what makes me love her. She isn’t afraid to tell personal stories, and some of my favorite videos of hers are when she goes on adventures to K-Mart or Cost Plus. Nothing will ever be more iconic to me than her dire search for panettone every Christmas.
Bob the Drag Queen
This is a queen you know will be hilarious by name alone. Bob the Drag Queen is the winner of season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and (to me) rightfully so. Time and time again she was able to prove that her sense of humor and explosive personality was why she deserved the crown. Not only did she shine on the show, but she’s done extremely well after the fact, hosting multiple one-woman shows including Suspiciously Large Woman which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. She also spent time on The Trixie and Katya Show on Viceland, which is some of my favorite work of hers, showcasing that she is hilarious even outside of the more strict structures we’ve seen her in before.
BenDeLaCreme
Lastly we have Seattle’s own BenDeLaCreme! If you want a definition for what camp looks like in the drag scene look no further than DeLa and her myriad of shows she puts on locally and around the globe. Regrettably I wasn’t able to see her one-woman show Inferno A Go-Go, but I had the chance to see her Halloween production The Terror of Gaylord Manor starring her and Major Scales. It was genuinely one of the best drag shows I’ve ever been to, containing everything from a werewolf-themed burlesque number to larger than life puppeteering. If you have a chance to see one of her shows in Seattle while you’re here, absolutely make time for yourself to go.
EVAN TRIBELHORN | feet haw | KXSU Arts Reporter