Intro
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100. Luxx Noir London
Let’s confess: with every season of the aging Drag Race franchise, it gets harder and harder to permanently absorb the fabulousness of every cast member. But we think Jersey Girl Luxx (Season 15, 2023) will be one of the few to maintain rent controlled status in our brains, for a few reasons: that charming self-confidence which at first passed for delusion but was soon revealed to be the simple truth-telling that took her to the Top 3; her wonderfully weird humor and precise timing; her supermodel physicality; and her stunning design skills. For someone who broke through into drag stardom as a Covid-era social media star, Luxx ultimately proved herself to be a fascinating person to watch on the highest platforms. In 2024 she got to do something she didn’t have much of a chance to do before Worlds of Wonder swept her away–host and perform in a lot of local drag shows. And while she revealed she was surprisingly emotional about not actually winning her Drag Race season, she’s certainly seized every opportunity since; she’s been a hilarious standout in her Drag: The Musical live theater role that has her sharing the stage with stars in and out of drag, for one thing.
99. Venus Mystique
An absolute stunner in every way who took Philly’s drag scene by storm, Venus’ star power has risen substantially in New York in recent years as well. She’s the winner of Janelle No. 5’s November “Ultimate Diva All-Stars” pageant, and placed first alternate for Miss’d America 2025 in Atlantic City back in September, and was one of three co-hosts of “Balcon’s Angels” in Manhattan that ran for several weeks. While proving herself to be a treasured guest star and large show cast member, Ms. Mystique also has a very popular weekly showcase you can catch her in: “BBL” Thursdays at Playhouse with co-hosts Essa Noche and Mo’Riah.
98. Cacophony Daniels, Evita Loca, Paige Turner & Sutton Lee Seymour
First of all, how cool would it be if we could get these four broads on the stage together for one show! Alas, that will be next to impossible given their schedules that find one or more or *gasp* sometimes all of them hosting their own stage shows at desti-gay-tions like Provincetown, Puerto Vallarta, Carnival Cruises, etc. That is why you always have to check in with Thotyssey weekly, to see which of them will be in town for “Musical Mondays” at Rise Bar… although frankly you will be pleased with any of them (Paige also hosts Tuesday bingo there when she’s in town). They all possess the musical, comedy and fashion chops that inspire out-of-town venues to look for classic New York drag divas for bringing in the crowds.
97. The Carry Nation
We are all lucky to be living in The Carry Nation! Will Automagic and Nita Aviance formed the unstoppable DJ duo in the 1990s, and they’ve been sonically shepherding the children ever since. If you’re the sort that likes to hold up you phone banner with a pop request to a DJ who’s trying to cultivate a specific experience, then a Carry Nation night might not be for you. But if you want to lose yourself in a dream of beats and adrenaline, check the pair out at their popular monthly residency in Brooklyn’s Good Room. Will and Nita are not ones to settle into a routine, however–they played so many other places in town this year including “Battle Hymn” at RUMI, Nowadays, Paragon, Basement, Public Records and The Ice Palace–not to mention their annual “Get Wrecked & Carry” Pride party at Knockdown Center.
96. Jazmine
We have to admit that it took us way too many minutes to attempt to select the perfect photo for this entry before realizing that they were all breathtaking and we just had to pick one and move on. The petite Portuguese fashionista is definitely topping many lists of “most beautiful queen I know,” including fans of her “Balcon’s Angels” Manhattan show she co-starred in with Dahlia Sin and Venus Mystique. Lately Jazmine has also been regularly producing hit parties of her own at 3 Dollar Bill as well, and turned out a number on the Bushwig stage.
95. Dev Doee
Cherished in New York as a willowy and vibrant dance queen (and Glam winning Best Dance Performer), Dev is also game to wow us with other sides of her persona in her shows–take this Bushwig number involving a pickle jar, for instance, which no doubt contributed to her “Ms. Bushwig” crowning at the festival’s end. As the smart and gorgeous performer enters 2025 as an Entertainer of the Year Glam nominee, we can catch up with her at her shows: the sultry monthly “Dev’s Dolls” at VERS, “CXNT” at Hush (with Stasi, Beaujangless and Essence) and “The Fantasy Factory” at Boxers HK (with Mo’riah) plus several 3 Dollar Bill large cast shows throughout the year.
94. Horrorchata
These days mostly sans drag and going by DJ Chata, one of queer Brooklyn nightlife’s true mothers haunts the DJ booths of Metropolitan, 3 Dollar Bill and The Rosemont on a fairly regular basis. Chata is also, of course, the main producer and co-creator of the massive annual Bushwig drag festival, and presented another successful installment of that high profile undertaking this September.
93. Lana Ja’Rae
Tall and slender with the longest limbs you’ve ever seen, Luxx Noir London’s drag daughter is perfectly built for exciting, energetic and gorgeous drag performance. Owning New York as a cast member of “BBL” at Playhouse, “The Fantasy Factory” at Boxers HK and “The Ki” at The Rosemont plus several large cast Brooklyn gigs, she was the perfect RuGirl candidate. We’re two weeks into Drag Race Season 17 as of this writing, and girl is slaying the game.
92. Skye Walker
It’s quite a feat to be the loudest queen in New York, but the sky’s the limit for Skye Walker’s howl! Which is for the best, because she happens to be one of the funniest gals in the biz–wowing us with tales of raunch, video game geekiness and stoner logic while serving one of the largest drag comedy mix catalogs in town. See for yourself at Hardware, Rise and Pieces every week!
91. Fresco’s Grand Cantina
Opened as a second, larger location in Astoria by Fresco’s Cantina owners and married couple Brian Martinez and Adrian Suero in 2021, the Grand Cantina has become an important hub for queer community, drag shows and a delicious Mexican fusion menu. It’s the home of Catrina Lovelace and Hibiscus’ Glam winning brunch show “Chismosas With Mimosas” and several other hopping weekly / monthly shows and parties; your gay Astoria experience would not be complete without a stop at this thriving hotspot.
90. Jada Valenciaga
This musical theater writer and dancing drag extraordinaire hosts one of the city’s most intricately and laboriously staged weekly nightlife shows. Monster Bar’s Tuesday night “Curtains Up” showcases Jada and a cast of dancers’ and singers’ recreations of Broadway numbers and sometimes entire show-specific songbooks with great care and affection for the craft. Jada is also a cast member of the major drag revue “QUEEN” at Industry, and made her 54 Below singing debut in November. Perhaps most importantly, she “boxed” Grandma (sis Bootsie LeFaris) while dressed as a reindeer for a very special Christmas event at Red Eye.
89. Ruby Roo
Pieces’ general manager and bartender also happens to be an OG club kid turned pioneering Brooklyn drag queen with a dry wit and ginger demonic energy for days. Now primarily a Manhattan girl, Ruby hosts “Frisky Fridays” (formerly with Dusty Ray Bottoms and Brita Filter, currently with Lola Michele-Kiki) at Pieces as well as “Ruby Tuesdays” at sister bar Playhouse.
88. Mo’Riah
The lively dance diva was one of a cadre of queens (including Reese Havoc, Beaujangless and Hanukah Lewinsky) to take the stage for All Things Go’s NYC festival, performing Chappell Roan numbers in front of thousands of blissed out, interactive fans when Chappell herself had to back out last minute. Mo’Riah is also a part of many must-see weekly shows / parties in the city including “Queen 4 Queen” at Pieces,” “BBL” and the Saturday dance party at Playhouse, and “The Fantasy Factory” at Boxers HK.
87. Chicky Gorgina
After getting the attention of many as a digital performer in the pandemic-era Zoom edition of DJ Steve Sidewalk’s “Gay College Tuesdays,” the Venezuelan born Chicky is steadily on her way to becoming one of New York’s favorite drag hostesses thanks to her spicy humor, colorful looks and fun dance moves. Check her out at Rise Bar’s “Playground Sundays” (with Marti Cummings), Hardware’s “Rice & Beans” on Tuesdays (with Jasmine Rice LaBeija), and her longest running show “Hey, Gorg” on Saturdays (with real life partner-in-crime DJ Senobyte).
86. Jay Kay
The Brooklyn based drag artist and makeup wiz learned they were cast on Dragula (Season 5, 2023-2024) at the same general time their sister and frequent co-host Dawn learned she was on Drag Race. It was a wild and groundsbreaking season of Dragula for Jay, who certainly stirred a lot of shit (in the most entertaining way, of course) and wound up being the first contestant of the flagship show to return to the competition after being eliminated. Later back in Brooklyn, Jay formed glam-ghoul drag family the Outhaus with Miss Woman the Woman, Mx. Ology and Joi Ryder.
85. Holly Box-Springs
New York’s premiere “reveal queen” continues to serve you entertainment in layers! While it’s always fun to see how seamless and well-timed those costume reveals are, Holly is also a well-rounded entertainer, musical theater star and delightful human in general. See for yourself at her weekly shows at Hardware and Barracuda and her frequent brunches at Rise Bar and the Red Stache.
84. Wrecked NYC
Given DJs Ryan Smith’s and Ron Like Hell’s aversion to social media and even (*ahem*) interviews, it’s a testament to their great skills of music and scene curation that their monthly “Wrecked” dance party at Queens’ BASEMENT has proven to be one of the hottest tickets in this media-obsessed era. Often leading to lines at the door stretching around the block, “Wrecked” keeps it intensely simple: music first. It’s not specifically billed as a queer night, and yet the gworls who want to just dance and let loose without the bullshit distractions head down to BASEMENT in droves every month.
83. Essence
New York’s “Hot Cheeto Latina” and Glam winning Scene Queen is here to turn the party out, with looks and moves that will burn you to a crisp. Get a sense of the formidable Essence as part of Hush’s “CXNT” Thursday cast, giving you the “212” on Wednesday with Lady Doll Heirs at Hardware, and serving “Caramel Kiss’d” levels of sultry with Lexington Banks every Sunday at Pieces.
82. Kamilla Kockman
A fierce, fiery and funny representative of the Assassins drag squad, Kamilla turns it out with her sisters every week at Balcon, Hardware and Playhouse. She’s a solo killer also with balls blazing for a Boxers bingo night in Chelsea every Wednesday.
81. Zeta Jones
Bearing one of New York drag’s most bangin’ bods, Zeta is as excellent a seductress as she is a dance entertainer. After dabbling in YouTube stardom in 2023, Zeta is no doubt on her way to an even higher, sexier platform. Until then, check out Zeta’s moves at her solo shows at Rebar and Rise and her frequent brunches at Rise and The Red Stache, or as Atlas Social Club’s lone drag entertainer hosting their Saturday night party.
80. Senobyte
DJ, producer and co-creator (with John Marto) of consenting adult event brand SCUM NYC, Chicky Gorgina’s significant other Senobyte spins dance parties and supports drag shows at Pieces, Balcon, Rise and Hush.
79. Pissi Myles
Pissi is the best example of our favorite kind of drag queen: hilariously funny and twelve steps ahead of everyone else, knowing how to read the room, warm yet biting, a truly reliable professional who embraces silliness and spontaneity, a genuine fan of classic drag and a queen who drops comedy music videos that are actually good. We want to see her everywhere all the time, but we’ll settle for her actual gigs: Sunday night’s “Pig Roast” at Hardware, “Messy Mondays” at Rise, and monthly Fridays at Club Feathers in her native New Jersey.
78. The Cock
Allan Mannarelli opened the anything-goes East Village dive in 1998; it’s changed addresses a few times before landing at the current 93 2nd Ave, and its early parties with wildly shocking themes are mostly a thing of the past… but it remains New York’s most lurid and delightfully seedy gay cruising destination. The Cock’s not all just dark corners and groping hands, though–“Diet Cock” is monthly dance party there with a large roster of up-and-coming DJs that truly harkens back to a time when the EV was electric.
77. Alex Cohen
This girl is going places! A Jersey born actor / singer who broke into nightlife as a lighting designer at ill-fated nightclub The Q, Alex became a self-taught DJ and joined 2Face’s “Haus of Face.” He DJ’ed HEBRO’s “Jewbilee” in December, has a weekly presence at Balcon, Playhouse and It’s Him, and also produced a recurring drag brunch at The Meatball Shop. We’re definitely looking at big things for / from Alex in 2025.
76. FiFi DuBois
Equal parts Disney Princess, comedy clown, graceful dancer and pageant beauty (she’ll do multiple national and big time pageants a year, most recently Entertainer of the Year), FiFi is an essential New York drag experience. Catch her Sundays and select Thursdays at Monster, once or twice a month at Stonewall, and as part of the rotating cast of Industry Bar’s Thursday night dragstravaganza “QUEEN.”
75. Rify Royalty
Why choose between sexy trade and a gorgeous dame when you can have both in one body? Rify has been titillating the masses with that presentation for a while now, as both a guest performer and cast member in a number of Brooklyn shows. He / she also hosts Drag Race viewing parties at Metro (often alongside RuGirls), is a recurring featured performer for Ricardo Tavares’ “ConTEAnental” parties, co-hosts the Glam-nominated party “Trish” at 3 Dollar Bill, and produces “Darq Disqo” at Red Eye as well as several shows at C’mon Everybody.
74. Chaka Khanvict
For some queens, bingo is just another gig… and that’s fine. But veteran comedy lady Chaka elevates it to an art form: number and ball puns, audience interaction, improv, the excitement of prizes and well-timed numbers. Bingo fans can be very particular, and Sundays at Pieces with Chaka are packed every week. For a more show-centric Chaka experience, check out her weekly nights at Hardware and The Duplex.
73. Metropolitan & Macri Park
Still OG hubs for Brooklyn nightlife with a recent shift in management, one can easily travel between the two sister bars for an optimal night out. Metro’s infamous stage resembles a small school playground, and has hosted some of the greatest nightlife performers in the borough (and beyond). Macri is smaller and more intimate, although it’s currently the place to see Princess Bitch and BibleGirl turn it out twice a weekend. Both venues have great backyard patio spaces, with Metro famously offering up popular barbeque shows during the summer. These are everyone’s Williamsburg go-to queer destinations.
72. Essa Noche
The curvaceous Glam nominee for Entertainer of the Year can be found weekly as one of three hostesses of Playhouse Bar’s Thursday night “BBL.” Essa also hosts two recurring events at C’mon Everybody: the open set show “Open Set Ovah,” and themed “Spelling Bees.”
71. Nick Gaga
There aren’t so many drag queens who continue to do straight up impersonations these days, but this Russian born dance performer is a sharp student of Lady Gaga’s looks, moves and entire demeanor. She pours her heart out into recreations of her idol’s famous live stage shows knowing full well how important it is to get every detail right, and the Little Gay Monsters who come to see Nick’s shows at Playhouse and Balcon worship the effort. Nick is also an excellent photographer and videographer, making her an important asset to her Assassins sisterhood on many fronts.
70. Jacklynn Hyde
Manhattan’s wildest comedy queen continues her reign of side-splitting terror / humor around the clock: bingo brunch all weekend at The Dickens, co-hosting the long-running “Broadway Mondays” with Holly Box-Springs at Hardware, and “Tonight Tonight” twice a month with Sherry Poppins at VERS. And this just in: Ms. Hyde has returned to her roots with a new monthly at Astoria’s Albatross” “Crisis!”
69. Amanda Lepore
Ms. Lepore is the Forever It Girl of the party scene who will always have New York nightlife’s most famous face and body, but it must be said that she is also a renown burlesque star, fashion model, singer, balloon artist and weather forcaster. If you see Amanda vamping her way through the room you’re in, you know you’ve come to the right place.
68. 4West Lounge
Troy Berry and Brian Clark opened 4West in Harlem in 2021 as an intended safe and fun space for Black queer folks. It’s since become the homebase of the massively popular event brand Trappy Hour (Sundays and Thursdays), which draws partygoers from all over the city looking for good vibes and music… not to mention the occasional celebrity sighting.
67. Amanda Tori Meating
Amanda had quite recently returned to the City after a brief pandemic-era relocation to LA–and had just barely made her mark in the drag scene here with some wins at “Shequida’s Drag Wars”–when the ultimate drag competition, RuPaul’s Drag Race, came a-calling. It seemed shocking to fans and insiders alike at the time for such a newbie to be cast, but it didn’t take long to see what the production saw in her: a very engaging personality, an interesting backstory (that OnlyFans gig!), a fun rivalry with fellow contestant / supervillain Plane Jane and an out-of-the-box approach to the show’s challenges and runways. She did pretty well in the competition overall, too! Since returning to NYC once again, Amanda’s made several appearances all over town, flaunting a more cohesive look and, let’s be honest, one of the best drag names ever.
66. Suddenly Audrey
Combine a little stoner chic comedy with some gay geekiness and musical theatricality, and you Suddenly get this dynamic performer! Audrey’s been catching fans across the boroughs since pre-pandemic NYC, and eventually moved into event production alongside Dean Dante with the fan favorite kinkfest “Leather & Lace.” Since then she’s ventured into solo production via assembling large drag casts for 3 Dollar Bill shows, including the Pokemon-themed “Aud Ball.” She’s also a fixture of Astoria drag as Albatross’ Saturday night party hostess and the co-creator / producer / host of Icon’s “Pantheon” annual long form drag competition.
65. Jon Ali
The music journalist, playlist curator, DJ, event producer and eye catching social media specimen continues to be a powerful force in the scene, playing out the biggest shows and parties at venues like 3 Dollar Bill, The Rosemont, C’mon Everybody and Playhouse. This past June, Jon was also on a pretty elite lineup of DJs for Ladyfag’s major “Ladyland” Pride festival.
64. Leggoh JohVera
The creator, curator and emcee of New York’s biggest, best-known weekly ballroom event “OTA (“Open to All,” Mondays at 3 Dollar Bill), Leggoh is someone whom we must hold in complete awe. The prospect of being able to manage so many moving parts (contestants, houses, prizes, titles, categories, guest performers, icons and legends, media, celebrity cameos, drama)–even with the help of a loyal team–on a weekly basis seems so daunting. But Leggoh has been doing it for years, keeping an important tradition alive. And unlike other creators in the genre, he is not here for gatekeeping–JohVera truly believes that Ballroom is truly open to all who appreciate the life. Also, congrats to Leggoh on being a THEM 2024 Now Award honoree in Nightlife!
63. Pixie Aventura
A veteran queen of the Manhattan scene who can give us a fully choreographed large scale production number as easily as an intimate moment of drama, Pixie is undoubtedly one of New York’s best known and most celebrated queens. This past March saw her twelfth year as a Barracuda Bar resident entertainer, where she currently hosts “Pixie’s Big Adventure” on Sundays. She’s also the long-running co-hostess of “The Help” which has matched her with a few co-stars and venues; it’s current incarnation is with Kizha Carr, Wednesdays at Industry. In 2024 Pixie also hosted shows at The Pines Pavilion, Hardware and Balcon, and was booked for many upscale corporate gigs and gala events.
62. FLEX
Although it probably didn’t seem like much to the casual bargoer, POSH in Hell’s Kitchen was home for a wildly resolute community of regulars; when it closed after a failure to adhere to Covid regulations during post-lockdown, this community was devasted. Two years later, enter James Healey and Jason Wade Mann who opened FLEX in POSH’s place. Much like it’s predecessor, FLEX’s layout was deceptively low key (although the neon blue penis shooting pellets of blinking jizz towards the bathroom was an aesthetic standout). But giant cheap drinks, hot bartenders, a video jukebox and a manly atmosphere–all of which add up to a much-missed old school Chelsea vibe–were enough to bring back the POSH’ers and a whole new crowd as well. While newer spaces struggle to find their identity and audience in an oversaturated HK, FLEX is a rare and inspiring success story.
61. Xunami Muse
Xunami represented the Haus of Muse well on 2024’s Drag Race Season 16 with a wide array of high fashion and creative runways (Humpty Dumpty ate the most), beauty, poise, and a delightful disposition that won her “Miss Congeniality.” Since that season’s end she’s obviously been quite busy with gigs abroad, but popped up in a number of New York events throughout the year including a Pieces Bar “Queen 4 Queen” family reunion, a Halloween show at Le Poisson Rouge with Gottmik and Violet Chachki, and Bushwig.
60. Hibiscus
This famously fierce AF flower of New York drag has been serving cutting edge gymnastic cheerleader realness since 2015. These days, Hibiscus is flying high with co-star Catrina Lovelace for Fresco’s Glam winning “Chismosas with Mimosas” drag brunch shows; she’s also a cast member of Hush Bar’s weekly “H2HOE” and the prestigious “QUEEN” drag revue at Industry, and frequently turns out shows at Stonewall as well.
59. Animal
The Exley’s co-owner Jim Morrison Hevert opened this sleek crimson cocktail bar in Greenpoint in 2024, and it immediately became a hotspot for gays in search of no-nonsense DJ dance party excellence with a touch a sophistication. It takes a lot to get a Manhattan boy to the outer boroughs, but the fresh allure of Animal is drawing them in.
58. Lambda Lounge & Club Lambda
When gay, Black married couple Charles Hughes and Richard Solomon opened Lambda Lounge in Harlem in 2020 in part to showcase their own Lambda Vodka label, the timing couldn’t have been worse as Covid slammed the city. But the new venue played by the rules, survived, and on the other end of the pandemic, thrived as a hub for gay Black nightlife. In two years the pair opened a second, larger venue to even greater acclaim: the two-floor Club Lambda in East Williamsburg, which caters to a larger spectrum within the LGBTQ community. Club Lambda offers dance parties, mixers, ballroom events, live music and deeply sexy fetish events and seminars. Both spaces have different vibes, but attract similar levels of fabulousness.
57. Megami
“NYC’s Thique Geeky Goddess” and former Mx. Nerd has admitted that she was thinking of quitting drag altogether right before she was cast in Drag Race’s sixteenth season. At first it seemed like she was having a rough go… fellow contestants and fans at home mocked the “Protect Queer Drag” that she wielded in her talent show number (seems less funny now as we cringe through January political developments, doesn’t it?), and ultimately her constantly back-flipping co-star Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige sent her home fairly early via a lip sync to Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (even though Megami was appropriately emoting the songs lyrics while Mhi’ya was relying on her usual flips and dips). But off-screen while we watched, Megami leaned into the humor of her alleged missteps, using social media to poke fun at both the sign and “Flowers.” Then it turned out she was sitting on a secret, and really had the last laugh–Megami returned before the season’s end for a lip synch rematch with Mhi’ya, and sent her (and half the other cast) packing in the most satisfactorily decisive way. It was the Silky Nutmeg Ganache playbook played to perfection! Post-Drag Race, Megami’s shown that she is not, in fact, going anywhere, with several shows she hosted at 3 Dollar Bill and C’mon Everybody among other venues.
56. Chauncey Dandridge
The Stonewall resident DJ and Urban Bear rep has spread his wings quite far in recent years: recording new music with Disco Brother Van Hechter; DJ’ing the new incarnation of the “Polish” drag competition at Red Eye, where he also produces the monthly “Trifecta” live queer indie music showcase; starting the monthly “Neu-Stalgia” party at Phoenix Bar; and planting the seeds to turn his self-explanatory “Madonna Worship” brand into a globe-voguing event.
55. Baby Love
The powerhouse that is Ms. Love is the creator and producer of 3 Dollar Bill’s “Fagtasia,” the showcase that brings Broadway caliber production to Brooklyn complete with group choreography, elaborate set pieces and stunning costumes. It’s become one of the most exciting and hotly anticipated nightlife event series in recent memory, and audiences get to classically feast on large scale tributes to Wicked, Lord of the Rings, Shrek and more while still maintaining an edgy and authentic Brooklyn drag vibe. If you wanna see what a drag show is like where people on stage actually have to rehearse, gobble up a ticket for the next “Fagtasia” ASAP because they sell out fast.
54. Plasma
We were surprised as everyone else when we heard Plasma got on this past season on Drag Race–we had just booked her for a new weekly show! And our surprise wasn’t because of a lack of talent on her part; she’s the epitome of what we think of when we say “Manhattan Drag Excellence,” an amazing show host who is funny and sings and can move. But she still seemed so new to the scene! That turned out to be a pattern for Season 16, particularly among the large sect of New York-based queens in the cast. Anyway, Plasma’s starpower burned brightly on the show with two maxi-challenge wins before a sudden risky fashion misstep sent her home fairly early. No matter… this human Broadway glitterbomb proved her resourcefulness immediately upon season’s end and began presenting some amazing live shows (including “All That Plazz” at The Beechman) and music videos (her take on Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” the song which happened to be the source of the lip synch battle she lost, was masterfully done). Plasma’s career is just beginning to solidify, and we’re here for it!
53. Linux
Concerning the It Girl of NYC’s most fashion-forward factions of nightlife, it might be difficult for an outsider to understand the Fab Life of Linux; no worries, she a Glam-winning columnist who details her adventures in Interview and PAPER. These days aside from being one of Bartschland’s top tier hosts, Linux is producing parties all her own: the weekly “Paul’s Dolls” at Paul’s Casablanca and recurring “Clout 9” at Gabriela.
52. Monster
A major hub of the Christopher Street scene since the 1980’s, Monster Bar throbs with historic old school gay energy while still feeling as relevant ever. A friendly piano bar upstairs and deep dark disco downstairs, the venue continues to attract a variety of regulars and tourists alike. Currently managed by couple Luis Gomez and Dan Tobey who founded the twelve year-old Spunk troop of sexy male dancers (a major draw for Monster crowds and, interestingly, Pieces Bar down the street where Spunk Sundays still occurs). Besides Spunk, Monster today offers bingo, disco tea and evening dance parties, piano bar open mics, drag shows, and even recently revived their Miss Monster drag pageant.
51. Dawn
The fiercely creative Faun of Brooklyn drag was casting her spells on the kids at haunts like The Rosemont and C’mon Everybody since 2021. She seemed destined for Dragula stardom, but that honor actuallywent to her sis Jay Kay while Dawn herself wound up on the set of Drag Race Season 16. There, she performed well during the competition and shared her dreamy and nightmarish aesthetic with the world, but really won over fans with her playfully puckish talking head confessionals between challenges. Post-Drag Race, Dawn’s reclaimed her spot as an important New York performer (she turned it out at Bushwig in September), while getting in her share of globetrotting as well.
Intro
#500-451 | #450-401 | #400-351
#350-301 | #300-251 | #250-201
#200-151 | #150-101 | #100-51
#50-1 | Previous tHOTlists
Thotyssey 