Backstage.com – Reviewed by Neal Weaver
This “Drag Queen Romantic Comedy Musical,” written and directed by David LeBarron, with songs by Abby Travis, was conceived as a tribute to drag divas Misty Cologne and Sabrah Summers, who died in 2004. Its message is a plea for respect and recognition for drag performers, as human beings and artists. There’s no denying LeBarron’s sincerity, but the results can verge on the soap-operatic.
The plot is launched by the death of (fictional) drag diva extraordinaire Cherise, who was the founder and star of a drag show she led in her own theater. Cherise’s company is devastated by grief and loss, and by the hostility of his mother, Betty (played with startling conviction by Gordon Vandenberg), who hates and distrusts homosexuals in general and drag queens in particular. She has barred drag attire at the funeral and sold the theater.