A king doin’ his thing, Hugh Mann Race is giving his brothers and sisters a whole new platform to shine upon. [Cover photo: @mcpphoto.png]
Thotyssey: Hi Hugh, thanks for chatting today! How are things?
Hugh Mann Race: Going well; thank goodness spring is finally starting for us all.
You’ve already done a bunch of shows this year. Have you had a favorite 2025 gig so far?
Oh, that’s so tough! If I had to pick one, I think my favorite was being Koko Momo’s very special neighbor this March at “Koko Momo City.” Such a fun show and crowd, and of course I love working with Koko.
How might you describe Hugh as a king?
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been much of a “looks king.” But that’s something I’ve been working on recently–moving in a bigger, bolder, campier direction. I feel like performance is where I really live; a Hugh number is going to be theatrical, it’s gonna be silly, and it’s gonna be hot. I’m a fat trans guy who’s full of existential dread, and I’m going to bring that and my specific sense of humor to everything I do.
Can you tell us a bit of your origin story: where’s your original hometown, do you have a performance background, and how ultimately did you discover drag?
I grew up on the East Coast (Long Island to Pennsylvania) and my grandparents are born and bred New Yorkers, so I spent a lot of time in and around the City growing up. I’m the oldest of six kids (which I think is something most people can sense within seconds of meeting me), and my parents put every single one of us into competitive Irish dancing. I liked it even if I wasn’t as good as my sisters, and I also did a bit of theater for fun in high school.
When I graduated college, I did a lot of work as a stage manager and in tech theater. And when I could, I went to drag shows and felt very envious of the people performing. But I didn’t think drag was even an option for me because I felt that some people are born artists and others (me) just aren’t. It took me a while to realize that was bullshit, and at about the same time I discovered some really cool kings and went, “well, I actually think I could do this too.”
What were some of your earliest performances like in NYC?
I can’t pretend I remember the actual performances super well, since I was so nervous I basically blacked out during them. But my first ever performance was at an open set to “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” where I was a guy who’d survived an explosion, but was a bit horny about it. And another early one that I still do sometimes was me as a birdwatcher who gets sucked into a bird cult. So lots of weird narratives, but I was always surprised how receptive people seemed to be about them even early on.
Indeed! I believe I recall seeing you do that bird number at the weekly Monday Metropolitan open set, back when Maddelynn Hatter was hosting.
I did perform it there, that’s so wild!
The community of things and kings was just starting to grow and thrive at that point. Do you find that that community remains tight today?
There’s both a lot of closeness within the kings and things community, and also like any part of the drag scene, there are niches and pockets that are closer than others. There’s a real awareness that kings and things aren’t treated the same by show producers or audiences at large, and a lot of people have worked really hard to carve out spaces for us. And at the same time, the group of kings and things we have performing right now is so rich and diverse and interesting, that I hesitate to lump us all together as one homogenous group.
By the way, have you heard about Murray Hill’s upcoming televised drag king competition, which I’m guessing will have a similar format to RuPaul’s Drag Race? Would that be something you’d be interested in taking part in?
I have, and I didn’t end up applying for this round of it–in no small part because I wanted to see how this first season goes. I’m excited to see it when it airs, though… and who knows, maybe Hugh will get a TV crown one day. Or lose spectacularly, which also feels fun.
In the meantime, you’ve got some fierce New York shows to do! We can see you at All Night Skate on Wednesday as a guest for Alex the Meh’s Bob’s Burgers tribute show. Are you a longtime fan of Burgers… and what character will you be bringing to life?
For better or worse, I’ve seen every episode of Bob’s Burgers; I tend to watch episodes of it before I go to sleep at night. And I will be playing everyone’s favorite long-winded handyman, Teddy. We’ll see how many of his lines I can get into my mix!
Then you and Chevy Lace are going to be hosting an open stage platform of your own on May 4th: “Jizz at The Cantina” at Club Cumming, which has interestingly evolved into a strong Manhattan venue for good king drag! What can you tell us about this show, as far as how it got started and what we can expect?
Like all great ideas, the name came first. Chevy and I had discovered the Star Wars disco album and as we were listening to it, the name came to me as if a message from the Beyond. The two of us have always wanted to produce together, and once we had the name the show concept fell into place pretty much immediately. We wanted to do it at Club Cumming because Chevy used to produce a show called “Villain Edit” there, and it felt like the perfect place for a spacey drag show.
The show itself is going to be a great mix of incredible open set talent and some really exciting booked cast. Everyone will be bringing their outer space best, and I’m so excited to see aliens absolutely serving. We can’t wait to blast off with everyone!
Have great shows! Let’s end with a favorite closer of mine: what’s the most essential item in your drag bag?
Deodorant and a bottle of water… I won’t leave the house without either.
Adieu, Hugh!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Hugh Mann Race’s upcoming appearances, and hollow him on Instagram.
Thotyssey 
