RuPaul's Drag Race Live is a
concert residency featuring several past competitors from the
television series of the same name and its franchise. The performances are held every weeknight at
the Flamingo Showroom and co-produced by Voss Events and
World of Wonder. The residency showcased a various comedy, dance numbers, lip-syncs, and original music directed by
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
and choreographed by
Jamal Sims.
The cast opened the concert residency on January 30, 2020, but due to
the COVID-19 pandemic affecting
live entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and Home video, home video company. It was considered one of the largest Major film studio#Min ...
, performances were put on an indefinite hiatus until 2021.
History
2019–2020: Development and cancellation
The concert residency was originally announced at
RuPaul's DragCon NYC on September 8, 2019, and unveiled two rotating casts from the reality competition television series of the same name. The first rotating cast featured
Asia O'Hara
Antwan Mason Lee (born July 7, 1982), better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
,
Derrick Barry,
Kameron Michaels,
Naomi Smalls,
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, and
Yvie Oddly, with
Aquaria,
Coco Montrese
Coco Montrese (born July 2, 1974) is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards ...
,
Eureka O'Hara,
India Ferrah,
Kahanna Montrese,
Kim Chi, and
Shannel as the second rotating cast.
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
was appointed as director with
Jamal Sims as choreographer for the residency; Ryan Grainger acted as assistant choreographer and dance captain for
the Pit Crew. The concert was revealed to place at the
Flamingo Showroom, where it formerly housed the eleven-year run of the
Donny and Marie Osmond concert residency. The variety musical is co-produced by Voss Events and
World of Wonder. Ticket pre-sale access commenced on September 10, followed by the general ticket sale three days later, via
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Ente ...
.
The residency opened with its first rotating cast on January 30, 2020, with the scheduled performance set to last through next year. Soon the concert residency ran until March 15, placed on hiatus due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
affecting
live entertainment
Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and Home video, home video company. It was considered one of the largest Major film studio#Min ...
.
2021–present: Rescheduled and newcomers
Rescheduled performances from the residency were later announced on July 12, 2021. The same first rotating cast resumed at the Flamingo Showroom on August 5. The next year, newcomers Eureka O'Hara,
Jaida Essence Hall,
Plastique Tiara, and
Trinity K. Bonet joined the cast of the residency concert.
Latrice Royale and
Kennedy Davenport were announced as the new additions to the performing cast;
Jorgeous is also set to perform in the upcoming year.
The variety concert later marked their 300th show on October 6, 2022.
Deja Skye and
Daya Betty later joined as new cast members for the concert residency on April 21, 2023. Before the cast performed their 500th show,
Bosco,
Lawrence Chaney
Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a British Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2), second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag q ...
,
Nicky Doll, and
Pangina Heals were introduced for the live residency on May 31.
The residency cast celebrated its 700th mark in March 2024.
Production
The live production incorporates an insular plot such as the format of the drag reality competition, with the performers portraying a character competing for the crown. It starts with the host of the performance announcing the "mini-challenge" and "maxi-challenge" to shake up the crowd. Throughout the show, RuPaul makes an appearance from pre-recorded video clips. At the end of the concert, the audience has the opportunity to act out as judges and choose the winner of the "final
lip-sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements ...
battle" using the majority applause.
Andy Walmsley, an English production designer, created and ranked the residency's
scenery as number one showcasing its "ambitious creative energy" for the cast. In the interview with the ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area.
The ''Review-Journal' ...
'', Walmsley "channelled
isinner drag queen and designed a truly over-the-top,
..glitzy-cartoonish,
ndyou-go-girl-design."
In April 2024, Derrick Barry mentioned to her fellow castmate, Trinity K. Bonet, that they both "didn't mesh well together" and made "your dream job a nightmare" at the residency. Trinity replied back in an
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
post that she understood why they "won't reply" about her return on the show. Given Derrick's comments, everyone knew she had "severe arthritis" in both legs which made it difficult to work, and ended up quitting.
Members
Here are all 40
Drag Race queens who have been part of the cast of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Live''. Including 36 queens from the
American version, as well as 4 international queens, one from the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
version, one from the
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
version, as well as the hosts of
Drag Race France and
Drag Race Thailand.
* ''
Alexis Mateo''
* ''
Aquaria''
* ''
Asia O'Hara
Antwan Mason Lee (born July 7, 1982), better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
''
* ''
Bosco''
* ''
Coco Montrese
Coco Montrese (born July 2, 1974) is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards ...
''
* ''
Daya Betty''
* ''
Deja Skye''
* ''
Derrick Barry''
* ''
Eureka!''
* ''
Ginger Minj''
* ''
India Ferrah''
* ''
Jaida Essence Hall''
* ''
Jasmine Kennedie
Jasmine Kennedie (born May 22, 1999) is an American Drag (clothing), drag performer most known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race season 14, season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''.
Early life
Kennedie was raised in Binghamton, New York and Morganto ...
''
* ''
Jimbo''
* ''
Jorgeous''
* ''
Kahanna Montrese''
* ''
Kameron Michaels''
* ''
Kennedy Davenport''
* ''
Kim Chi''
* ''
Kylie Sonique Love''
* ''
Latrice Royale''
* ''
Lawrence Chaney
Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a British Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2), second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag q ...
''
* ''
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
''
* ''
Morphine Love Dion''
* ''
Naomi Smalls''
* ''
Nicky Doll''
* ''
Nymphia Wind''
* ''
Pangina Heals''
* ''
Plane Jane''
* ''
Plastique Tiara''
* ''
Ra'Jah O'Hara''
* ''
Sapphira Cristál''
* ''
Shannel''
* ''
Rosé
A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...
''
* ''
Roxxxy Andrews''
* ''
Silky Nutmeg Ganache''
* ''
Trinity K. Bonet''
* ''
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo''
* ''
Yara Sofia''
* ''
Yvie Oddly''
Critical reception
Brock Radke of the ''
Las Vegas Sun'' witnessed the audience screaming "support and the cumulative result of all this exuberance is a jubilant, victorious vibe
..in this venue." The performers are "wildly charismatic" with Naomi Smalls bringing "over-the-top glamour", Kameron Michaels' "unbelievable athleticism and undeniable presence", and Derrick Barry's "peerless portrayal of
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
could be its own show." Radke also adds that Asia O'Hara presents the residency "with charm and grace" which amazes the audience with laughs. Radke sees the concert as exciting and successful, he also hopes it picks up more momentum.
Original music
Many of the performances use various songs from its
franchise or RuPaul's
discography
Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
. A soundtrack extended play was released on January 27, 2020. This featured four original songs co-written by RuPaul, Tom Campbell, and
Leland, with
Gabe Lopez as producer. Three out of the four songs were performed as a
medley in the
semifinal episode of the
twelfth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''.
Television and media
A docuseries based on the concert residency was announced in July 2020. During
the fifth season finale of ''
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, ...
'', an extended preview aired showcasing the six-part documentary. ''
RuPaul's Drag Race: Vegas Revue'' later premiered through
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
on August 21, the first episode was dedicated to
Chi Chi DeVayne, a former contestant of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' who later died in the same month.
The
fourteenth-season reunion and the finale of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' were filmed at the same venue with the rotating cast performing "Losing is the New Winning" alongside the contestants. In the same episode, RuPaul was awarded the
key to the city of Las Vegas with April 22 being officially RuPaul Day. The finale filming took place "a few weeks ago" and lasting under five hours.
The production company announced another
six-part documentary in October 2023 and set to premiere in the upcoming year. The docuseries premiered through
WOW Presents Plus on April 17, 2024. During the
sixteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'',
an episode showcased the contestants giving makeovers to the Pit Crew members of the residency concert.
Footnotes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{Portal bar, LGBTQ, Music, Nevada
2020 concert residencies
2021 concert residencies
2022 concert residencies
2023 concert residencies
2024 concert residencies
2025 concert residencies
Concert residencies in the Las Vegas Valley
Drag events in the United States
Flamingo Las Vegas
Las Vegas shows
LGBTQ culture in Nevada
LGBTQ events in Nevada
RuPaul's Drag Race
Variety shows