By Sandi Masori
LA JOLLA, California — Walking up to the La Jolla Playhouse you may notice the explosion of pink sparkly decor. If you’re a magpie like me, it will make your inner 10-year-old sing. The sparkles continue when Velour begins and Sasha Velour comes out swinging from a harness in a fantastically sparkly holographic bodysuit. What’s all the glitz and glamour about? Well, it’s drag. Not a drag but drag as in drag queens and kings.
Award-winning Jewish drag artist Sasha Velour stars in this autobiographical production which mixes projection art, home videos, aerial tricks, lip syncing and storytelling as she weaves together the story of three women; her mother, herself, and a drag queen named Pinke.
Projection designer Cosette “Ettie”” Pin really outdid herself with using literally every surface on the stage as a screen for projection, including some very targeted talking mannequin heads. I can only imagine how much trial and error it took to get the heads placed exactly so that the moving lips would be perfectly centered.
For most of the show it’s just Sasha onstage, in various glamorous and over-the-top costumes, either story telling or lip syncing. There was a bit too much lip syncing I think, as it did get old after a while, but there’s a great scene where she’s lip syncing to various lines from movies as phones ring. It’s high energy and keeps you on your toes. I also really liked the story telling where she shares the history of drag, and her personal history in drag. She’s beautiful, glamorous and captivating. However, it does at times feel as though, as my son put it, you’re scrolling through someone’s Instagram looking at random looks and songs.
In the second half of the show, some more drag queens and a drag king are introduced. Jewish drag king Ezra Reaves, who goes by Oliver Garden in the show, (and lists his pronouns as they/he) is phenomenal! I really wanted to see more of them. His energy and stage charisma are off the charts, and unlike the other performers, I’m pretty sure that he is actually singing rather than lip syncing. I was really hoping that we would get an encore performance from him or that he would get another solo.
Rounding out the Jewish connection we have director and co-writer Moises Kaufman who was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President Barak Obama.
There’s a lot to like in this show, but there’s also a feeling of “where is this going?” I would have liked more storytelling and less lip syncing, though I understand that lip syncing is a major part of drag shows.
Velour: A Drag Spectacular! Runs through September 8.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World
The last sentence of Sandi’s story said that she understood that lip syncing is a major part of drag shows. So she did do her homework!
When reviewing a performance within a community one is not a part of, it’s important to research and respect the culture, even if it’s new or foreign. The show was promoted as a drag show, and the curtain speech confirmed it. Lip syncing is a major part of drag shows, comprising about 99% of the performance, so saying “There was a bit too much lip syncing” shows ignorance. A typical drag show involves multiple lip-sync numbers with no underlying story, but this show had a unique throughline story. Saying “I would have liked more storytelling and less lip syncing” essentially means that drag shows aren’t your thing, and that’s okay. As a cisgender heterosexual woman, this may not be for you, and that’s fine. But as a guest in this space, it’s essential to show respect and understanding of our culture.