Derry Queen takes the stage in a laced leather corset and a black skirt. He begins performing a traditional lip sync to Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.” And then things turn sour. An edited sound bite of Anderson Cooper declares that “Derry is a top,” a term in gay culture that, well, you can look it up, and Derry runs from the stage in shame. “I’m not a top!” he protests as Britney Spears’s “Piece of Me” plays him off and performers posing as paparazzi snap photos of him. The piece plays well to a sold-out audience packed shoulder to shoulder. Two men circle Derry and lift him over their heads as fake blood runs from his mouth. He’s met with a standing ovation.
Chicago’s pageant-drag roots have grown outward to intertwine with comedy and Internet culture. Costumes are still campy, but it’s no longer a beauty contest as much as a “who can do it all” contest. Queens must stay relevant, look amazing, have an individual stage persona, and sing and dance. They take on difficult tasks, such as LO-TI-ON‘s re-creation of the Boston Dynamic robot dog (by moving back and forth with another performer, Cody Cartagena, inside a cardboard cylinder spray-painted silver). Leaning on well-known pop culture references eases some of the pressure of trying to connect with an audience. The performance may flop, but at least everyone will enjoy it.
“With the Internet now you see drag queens being a part of a viral sensation, at least in the queer community,” says Derry. “It might not necessarily reach everyone, but the comedy that people are doing now is reaching more people because it’s on the Internet.”
Sat 6/22, 5 PM, Bughouse Theater, 1910 W. Irving Park, facebook.com, pay what you can.
