The part of a RuGirl superstar’s drag family, New York’s Bea Effay is weaponized for slaying this season. [Cover photo: @jonas.fashionfiles / @juanjonas_files]
Thotyssey: Bea, hello! Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Are you celebrating at all?
Hi there! Happy Holidays. I’m staying in New York and keeping it chill this Thanksgiving, but I celebrated Friendsgiving with a whole bunch of my drag family last Friday. Apparently, some of NYC’s showgirls are secretly excellent cooks.
No doubt! Also, this past Tuesday you performed with Dev Doee at VERS… how did that go?
It was, in a word, “ovah.” Christmas drag is my guiltiest pleasure and last night, I thawed out my “That’s My Christmas Cookie” mix (an Ariana Grande megamix ft. CupcakKe). It’s easy to turn the party with good company – Dev Doee, Essa Noche, and Alicia Love are some of my faves.
Can you share a bit of your origin story with us: where are you from originally, and how did you begin as a stage performer?
I followed the age old “choir boy to musical theatre to drag queen” pipeline. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta to loving parents who embraced my early onset homosexuality. Dressing up and performing was always my instinct. As soon as I could walk and talk, I was singing on the hearth of our fireplace and asking my mom to tie scarves around my waist like skirts. I spent years cutting my teeth in youth theatre before getting my BFA in Musical Theatre from Wright State University.
It’s been a few years now, but were you aware of the whole “weaponizing their BFA” social media meme screed originating from what I believe was a drag performer back in the day, which was directed towards queens with theater backgrounds like Jan Sport and Rosé having an “unfair advantage” over queens without? It was a wild time, lol!
What we have in advantage, we lack in job security. I chose the name because it was literally the only way to guarantee that I could monetize my degree. Thank goodness that joke made its way to Twitter.
What was your introduction to the drag world?
As a Gen Z queen, it feels cliché to say that RuPaul’s Drag Race put me on… but it’s the truth. My middle school mind was blown when I discovered Season 6. I’m just now remembering that my straight brother binged it with me.
You carry on the tradition of well-rounded, Broadway influenced New York drag queens, much like Drag Race alum Plasma whose drag family you are now a part of! How did that relationship form?
I met Selma Nilla (and auntie Kiki Ball-Change) my very first weekend living in New York, and we connected immediately. The wit? The hair? The bevel!? I was hooked… and I just kept showing up. I started hanging around and got to know her friends including dooter, Plasma. I rooted for Plazz while watching Season 16, and could tell that we were cut from the same cloth. Selma and Plasma are two the quickest people that I know, and their energy is electric when they’re onstage together. They really took me under their wings while I discovered the New York scene, so joining the Famooter just made sense. We made our big announcement with a photoshoot themed around the musical Gypsy, which was a highlight of my year in drag.
A dynamic family indeed! What’s your favorite thing about drag, and what’s the most challenging?
My favorite thing about drag is combining my various artistic interests into one nice package. The most challenging parts of drag are affording it, cleaning it, and storing it.
We need teleportation invented stat! So on November 30th you’ll make a return trip to a prestigious Manhattan cabaret venue, 54 Below… this time as a guest for Marti Gould Cummings‘ “Big Broadway Brunch!” What can we expect this time around?
Yes! I love singing with a live pianist, and I’m thrilled to return to 54 Below. You can expect a very present yet carefully crafted amount of vibrato.
On December 12, you’ll be at Brooklyn’s 3 Dollar Bill for “Rain On Me,” a Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande tribute featuring a great drag cast! How’s that gonna go… and on the subject of Ms. Grande, any thoughts on Wicked For Good?
As much as I love Mother Monster, I’m really leaning into Miss Ponytail for “Rain On Me.” I’m leaving my pink dress and bubble gun at home and going full pop star with a brand new inter-yuh-lactic number. Reader, be sure to get your ticket.
I always knew that Ariana would make the perfect Glinda, and I’m thrilled to see the rest of the world on the same page. Splitting Wicked into two movies was the right call, and For Good is an excellent companion piece. Confession: I’m dying to do Cynthia’s “No Good Deed” in a drag roulette.
Then you’ll be returning to 3DB on January 15, when Kiki Ball-Change presents “Dolly-Palooza,” a drag tribute to the one and only Dolly Parton! Are you a lifelong Dolly fan?
I will always love Dolly. You can take the girl out of the south, but you can’t stop her from singing “Backwoods Barbie” in her vanity mirror.
What else is coming up for you?
You already plugged those upcoming gigs, thank you! The creative juices are flowing, and I’m having a ball putting new numbers together for each show.
Great! Okay, lastly: what’s on the top of your Christmas list this year?
Some nice perfume, a new over-bust corset, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Thanks, Bea!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Bea Effay’s upcoming appearances, and follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Thotyssey 