Drag & Trans Performers Give The Real Queer Sex and The City Re-boot We All Wanted
And just like that, drag queens saved my life. Not that my life was in danger, besides the general impending doom that exists in the world today around queer and trans people. What I mean to say is, last night drag performers made me full-body cackle for two hours straight and it was the purest joy I have experienced in a long time.
Sue Casa (@sue_casa – Carrie), D’Arcy Drollinger (@darcydrollinger – Samantha), Vanilla Meringue (@vanillameringue – Miranda), and Steven LeMay (@chezlemay – Charlotte) take the stage of the internationally known Oasis for two hours of non-stop drama, shade, sex, and cosmopolitans. Running for a limited time (June 15th to July 8th), Sex and The City – LIVE! follows the messy yet divine lives of your favorite girls of New York.
Admittedly, I have never watched a single episode of the HBO series, which obviously did not sway me to attend such an intriguing event. I don’t regret it for a second. I was placed thoughtfully in a front-row seat to enjoy the spectacular performances of every character, which allowed me to notice the tiny details that go into such a special production. Sue Casa, who plays Carrie, the columnist who somehow manages to live in a Brownstone in the Upper East Side capitalizes on the character’s love for fashion.
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Taking every moment possible to show off her costume changes, (which I lost count of), each accompanied by a kitschy handbag, high heels for days, and sometimes a god-awful belt that not even a mugger wants to steal. Charlotte York (played by Steven LeMay), the conservative prude of the group, had me mesmerized by the exaggerated facial expressions that lingered on just short of no longer being hilarious.
As soon as I came home from the show, I had to google images of the actual character making facial expressions which made me laugh about the show even more. As I’m sure you all know, Miranda is an attorney and comes to help Carrie after being mugged by bringing her a pair of shoes…. horseshoes to be specific. A roaring laugh flooded the Oasis audience, if you know, you know.
D’Arcy Drollinger who plays the deliciously slutty Samantha Jones is an icon. Not only in this role but as San Francisco’s Drag Laureate (the first ever in the world). I felt enchanted by her presence on the stage, completely under a spell, as she slowly lifted her index finger and placed it into her mouth, rounding her lips around it only then to proceed to make a phone call accompanied by a loud dialing tone. It’s comical. It’s art. It’s Samantha fucking Jones.
I can’t forget to mention as some of you may be wondering – yes, all of the boyfriends are there. Mr Big, Aiden, Steve, Sam Jones (who I wouldn’t necessarily call a boyfriend, but more like a stalker). It was clear through my conversations with audience members that many had feelings and opinions about these relationships, which I always find interesting! These are fictional people, people! I love the commitment though. They are exaggerated doofuses who don’t know how good they have it with these ladies. No wonder this show is so relatable to so many.
If you are like me, in that you are miserable about the state of the world and also have never seen the show itself, I can tell you this confidently: it doesn’t matter, so treat yourself. This is a show you do not want to sleep on, people. It was shared by cast members that this was put together in ten days to which I responded by dropping my jaw.
The music, the stage setups, the costuming, the ACTING – the lines are word for word from episodes (confirmed this by speaking with various audience members) but VERY queer’ed up for us gays and straight white ladies who love the gays. It is truly special, and in a time of such fog, literally and figuratively speaking here, drag performers and trans people especially need these beacons of light. Support drag and trans performers and queer spaces like Oasis by showing the fuck up for this. They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, and trends come and go, but DRAG QUEENS never go out of style.
Link for tickets: eventbrite.com/e/sex-and-the-city-live-tickets-634208503707
Instagram for cast members/venue:
Sue Casa (@sue_casa – Carrie)
D’Arcy Drollinger (@darcydrollinger – Samantha)
Vanilla Meringue (@vanillameringue – Miranda)
Steven LeMay (@chezlemay – Charlotte)
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