Lady Bunny will perform in “A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour” Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at the Folly Theater. (Drag Queen Christmas 2019)
On Dec. 17, The Folly Theater will present “A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour” for the fourth year. The show (all ages welcome) features stars from the VH1, Emmy Award-winning reality show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” in a two-hour, full-stage production of holiday songs, costumes and dancing. And as always, according to co-founder Murray Hodgson, there will be “drag queen shenanigans.”
This year Nina West will host performers Shea Coulee, Thorgy Thjor on violin, Latrice Royale and the color guard team, Lady Bunny, Manila Luzon and Season 11 contestant Shuga Cain.
Kansas City is one of 34 cities on the national tour, which opens in Montclair, New Jersey, Nov. 19 and concludes in Tampa, Florida, Dec. 29. In the initial tour four years ago, just 12 cities were included.
James Maiden, the Folly’s marketing manager, is a big fan. “The crowd alone is the reason for excitement,” he said. “The high-energy show that the queens put on have patrons standing in the aisles and screaming their love for whatever queen is on stage.”
“I think the most important thing to remember about what Murray and Peter (the presenters) bring to KC with Drag Queen Christmas is an embrace of people’s individualities,” Maiden added. “As a member of the LGBT community, I love seeing so many younger LGBT+ individuals get excited to see someone they relate to being celebrated on stage.”
The Folly show will follow Arvest Bank’s Sept. 11 presentation of “WERQ THE WORLD,” the Official RuPaul’s Drag Race World Tour’s 2019 show, described by Isaac Oliver in the New York Times as “the largest drag production on the planet.”
But the Christmas show is special, attracting an audience Maiden describes as “warm and engaging and accepting of each other’s differences.” What could be more holiday-appropriate than that?
Murray & Peter Present: A Drag Queen Christmas at 8 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Folly Theater. For tickets, www.follytheater.org.
