Since competing on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Blair St. Clair has forged her own unique career path in the notoriously difficult drag industry.
Instead of only performing at gay bars, selling merch, and wrestling for a spot at DragCon, Clair has proved her talent not only when it comes to fashion, styling, and makeup, but also music.
Just after her run on the show concluded in 2018, she released her debut Call My Life, which ended up topping one of Billboard‘s dance/electronic charts, proving that she was not just another drag queen. Since that success, Clair has continued to write, record, and release music, and now she’s taking her love of singing to crowds in a new direction.
As of February 2 and 3, Clair will officially become a cabaret star, as she is launching her very own show, Legally Blair, at New York City’s famed Green Room 42. We caught up with the multi-talented queen ahead of her show’s premiere to learn what fans can expect and what made her decide to go this route as she furthers her entertainment career.
Legally Blair poster: Blair St. Clair
How did this cabaret show come about?
Samantha Diane, my manager, and Camden Scifres, my agent, and I were talking about my career and what was next for Blair. We were discussing which shows to pitch me for in the 2023 calendar year since I’ve wanted to get back on stage in theater for years. After thinking about it more, we thought the best type of pitch would be to do my own show to tell the world who I am as an artist and an entertainer!
How long have you been working on this show?
I’ve been in the writing process with director Ben Rimalower since early November.
Tell me about the process of finalizing and rehearsing this show? How has your director Ben Rimalower helped you?
I’ve never worked on a new show in a workshop stage where pieces are being written, rewritten, scrapped, moved around, and arranged. This has been a new process for me in terms of being able to be flexible and adapt to the creative process. Ben has been such an incredible asset to this show from its conception. He’s helped bring some of my ideas to paper. I love working with someone who truly understands what I do and who I am as an artist.
What can fans expect from your first cabaret show?
Fans can expect to see me in all forms: goofy, fun, charismatic, and vulnerable. This show is completely live and is meant to entertain but also bring up points that are important to today. Sondheim said that the best theater tells true, current stories. I hope that people can relate to me and my story.
You have made a name for yourself as both a musician and drag artist, but cabaret is a bit different. How will this show hold on to what people know you for, but also change things up?
I found drag through musical theater. I was originally cast in La Cage Aux Folles when I was 19. That lent itself to developing who Blair is today. I’ve wanted to use my love of music, theater, and gender expression to get back to a place of storytelling. Cabaret is exactly that!
Do you ever perform out of drag, or is that part of your life reserved for your Blair St. Clair character?
I do perform out of drag. I’m a nonbinary actor. I see myself as both male and female presenting characters. I feel my most comfortable getting to play with femininity and connect most to the stories of your traditional “leading ladies,” but I also connect to characters that are male. I’m not playing Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, but I can see myself connected to roles like Evan Hansen, Pippin, and Seymour.
Now that you’ll be entering the cabaret/Broadway arena, what other ambitions do you have in this space?
Since I was little, my dream has been to perform on Broadway, and I know that will happen someday. When? I’m not sure, but life is about dreaming and manifesting those possibilities. I feel the most creative and alive when I step into the shoes of a character and get to live their life for a few hours each night.
What does the rest of 2023 bring for Blair St. Clair?
2022 was a year of taking risks. 2023 is off to the start of applying the lessons learned from those risks and making my dreams a reality. I’m excited to see what happens this year, but I hope that it’s filled with many productions and memories.
December 8 will be a big day for Cheyenne Jackson. That's when he'll take to the fabled stage at Carnegie Hall -- with his mother.
"This is a little scoop," he confides during a recent Zoom call. "My mom and my sister are going to join me on stage, and we're going to sing a trio. We haven't sung together in years. My mom, who's a retired widow living in Southern California, is going to get a gown on, get her hair done. It's going to be a family affair, and I'm so honored they're doing it. It's going to be so emotional."
The show, which Jackson says will feature "an incredible set list -- it's daunting, it's challenging," is deeply personal, reflecting "a lot of themes that come from my life."
For most seniors, the golden years mean retirement, relaxation, and a slower pace. André De Shields is not that kind of senior. The multi-hyphenate performer even coined his own term -- "wellderly" -- to describe "old people who are still kickin' ass."
De Shields is certainly walking the talk. He won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his electrifying turn as Hermes in the Broadway hit Hadestown, followed a year later by a Grammy for the cast recording. The actor has been a fixture on Broadway since his debut in the early seventies. After a few short-lived flops, he broke through as the title character in The Wiz and later starred in the now-legendary Ain't Misbehavin'.
Everyone is entitled their own opinion, but is everyone entitled to their opinion of your opinion? Furthermore, is your opinion a reflection of who you are in a greater scope as a person?
Those questions lie at the heart of Art, a starry play on Broadway that has been revived since its initial 1998 run, for which it won a Tony. Back then, it starred Alan Alda, Victor Garber, and Alfred Molina. Now, Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannavale, and James Corden step into the work from French playwright Yasmina Reza, translated from its original language by Christopher Hampton.
Even in our era of short-form entertainment, the 100-minute comedy feels much too long. It evolves around a trio of three longtime friends who debate a $300,000 painting. As Porky Pig so succinctly stated, "That's all, folks!" Much like an artist and their sycophants who believe that a pretentious artpiece is masterful, theatergoers will also delude themselves into thinking that they have witnessed a show of great import. In fairness, they aren't totally wrong. Art does have more to offer than what it offers at first blush.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.