This young Quarantine Queen with a true Broadway pedigree is a rapidly rising star of New York drag, and this weekend she’ll make her solo show debut. Let’s keep it cosmic with Jupiter Gallaxxi!
Thotyssey: Hello Jupiter! How is mid-May treating you so far?
Jupiter Gallaxxi: Pretty well! We finally have nice weather here, so I’m enjoying being outdoors. And drag is finally starting to fully feel alive again in the city!
You’re part of a crew of queens who arrived on the scene during lockdown, making your own opportunities with socially distanced outdoor shows and some digital programming. You must have an entirely unique perspective on being a queen in NY these days!
Yes! After performing in Brooklyn on and off for a year and a half, my first real big breakthrough in the drag scene was online digital shows in quarantine. I feel really grateful that we were able to provide safe entertainment during that time, and when bars reopened with socially distanced performances. In this time, I have made so many incredible friends and sisters. I’m so glad that now things are becoming safer, and we’re seeing so many performers finally getting to perform again… and even new queens who found drag during quarantine and now are pursuing it!
Where are you from originally, and did you have any background or early interest in performing, the arts, etc?
I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina! And I started dancing around age three, out of my parents desperation to find something to do with all my energy, lol! I became obsessed, and never stopped. Dance led into me doing musical theater and I’ve been doing both ever since! I made my Broadway debut when I was 12 in the Broadway revival of Godspell with the “Godspell cast of 2032.” And of course, as many other queens, I started drag when I played Angel in a community theater production of RENT when I was 14, lol.
You’re a true Broadway babe! What was that big Broadway Godspell experience like?
It was incredible, and really taught me how to be professional at a young age; it set me up and gave me a career! In the summer of 2018, I did a production of Newsies at the North Carolina Theater, and from 2019-2020 at the the White Plains Performing Arts Center. That was right before the pandemic, and obviously since the pandemic working in the theater industry has not been an option.
The theater shutdowns due to Covid were obviously quite devastating to Broadway, and recent protests against Actor Equity in Times Square have also made their mark. Will the industry rebound?
I do think it will rebound. We as artists refuse to let our livelihoods and passions be ruined or stopped by capitalism BS–and countless problems the theater industry has ingrained into it. But I don’t think it can ever be the same again; it can’t be, because the way it was wasn’t working for all of us.
So when did you become Jupiter?
Around spring 2019–I went to World Pride in drag, and that’s the day I officially got the name Jupiter!
Lucia Fuchsia is your drag mom. How did that come about?
While I was doing shows with her when bars first reopened, we became good friends. She helped me refine my drag, and navigate the scene.
And you were a finalist in the first cycle of the “Fabulous Mx. Metal” drag competition, which Lucia co-hosts with Chase Runaway at Now & Then.
That was definitely a fun experience! I loved having to push myself to create a totally different concept and look. Each week was a challenge, but I feel like I grew and surprised myself. I also got to do things in drag that I hadn’t gotten to show people before, such as singing and dancing on pointe.
How might you describe your drag aesthetic and performing style now, for the uninitiated?
I’d consider my aesthetic to be a little goth, a little pop, and a little high fashion. Basically, if The Craft met Thierry Mugler, sprinkled with inspiration from 90s Britney Spears–that’s what Jupiter looks like in my head, lol! And I’d say my performance style is high energy, full of theatrics and dancing. I like to leave it all on the floor for the audience!
Love that! So, this Sunday we can see you give a special “Unhinged” performance at the City Reliquary in Brooklyn. Tell us more!
Yes! I’m so excited to be hosting my own show for the first time! When I came up with “Unhinged,” I wanted it to be a show where people could go see creative, unexpected, high energy performances. And that’s exactly what they will get with this incredible cast! This Sunday with me, we have Tank and The Taurex, along with several special guests!
Anything else coming up for you?
Yes, I’m also a part of the Drag Divas Brunch cast at 3 Dollar Bill, every Saturday!
OMG, fun!
We’re in for a great weekend of shows! Last question: what’s your favorite makeup product right now?
I love the Sugarpill liquid lipstick in Sub-Zero–it’s this shimmery blue, and I’m obsessed!
Thanks, Jupiter!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Jupiter Gallaxxi’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram.
Thotyssey 