I read the other reviews and they seem to be very positive. The audience was mostly straight old white people and bachelorette parties, so perhaps their understanding and expectation of what drag is is different to mine. I can see how you might enjoy it if your view of drag is a few f bombs here and there and some obvious sexual humor.
Or maybe Mama was having a bad day. Maybe it was because there wasn't much of an audience. But this queen's hosting fell flat and missed the mark throughout. It was unoriginal, unfunny, and awkward. I would not go back nor recommend it.
The first red flag was her trite diatribe about refugees. For the record, I wholeheartedly agree with taking in Syrian or any other refugees. But her political commentary was neither smart, nor funny, nor original. Instead it was a rehashing of common cliches such as "this nation was built on immigrants" that came across as more of a rant than anything.
Okay, next. Benefit of the doubt. Maybe she's just fired up because we're turning people away. Maybe she is an advocate for the tired, the poor, and the huddle masses and she just got carried away and forgot she was supposed to be serving entertainment. I'll give her a free pass on that.
She segued into an anecdote about her father. This started off with a recounting of a phone call she'd had with him over the holidays, and descended into her ranting and raving about how her father should "be a man, grow some balls, and look me in the eye" instead of being a "whiny little bitch." The phrase "be a man" when you're a drag queen is weird: shouldn't drag queens have some sense of the problematic elements of this phrase, given their understanding of gender fluidity and roles? But back to the rant: it went on and I felt like she should be talking to her therapist, rather than a group of people who had come here to see drag but instead got a one-sided, unfunny, boring, really awkward rant about what she thought of her father. Honey I just wanna see you read audience members and do some drag. Shit was getting weird. I felt uncomfortable. Also, I wanted to LAUGH. Read me to filth, but don't bore me with what you should be sharing with your therapist.
Then there was a song about a "she" that was actually a "he", sung live, about a man who was surprised that the sex worker he paid was a "he" and not "she". I didn't pay 100% attention to the lyrics, and I might be overly politically correct here, but am I the only one who was reminded of the murder of transgender women because a straight male found thought, "What the fuck - you're a DUDE?!"
The traditional drag performances were okay. Nothing out of the ordinary. Some impressive dancing, glamorous costumes, etc. One of the queens didn't know her words so if she were lip syncing for her life, she would have sashayed away.
Shock value: well if you think a vibrator and a turkey baster are funny and that makes you giggle, then this is the place for you. If, however, you're used to more inventive drag, then skip this and watch Rupaul's Drag Race, because even their mini challenges are more exciting than this.
The food was awful. Bland, no variety. But I guess you get what you pay for ($13 for all you can eat). I ordered off the menu and said I was vegan and they buttered my toast. But maybe they're a restaurant that doesn't know what vegan means. I recognize this is nothing to do with the drag show but then again it is, unless you don't eat.
Sorry Mama. I tried. read more