The other side of Drag, behind the glitter and glam

 By Portia Cook

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When I walked into the R Bar and Lounge one Friday night for my first drag show, I thought I knew what to expect. Like many of us, I had preconceived ideas that fueled my expectations of what drag would and should be. I pictured the world of drag only as lavish, well-groomed gay men dressed as women, lip-syncing to Cher and Madonna. I never really thought about the world of drag or the entertainers outside of the performance itself. While there were female-impersonating performers in elaborate outfits, I found the world of drag was more than just entertainment. To my surprise, it was not all glitter and glamor like we see on stage. That night, I stepped into the real world of drag, and everything I thought I knew was utterly shattered.

 

Behind the scenes

After packing a large suitcase with costumes, wigs, high-heels, fake breasts, butt pads, and an array of costume accessories, drag queen Khloe Katz began his one-in-a-half-hour trip from Denver to Fort Collins to host his show “Yess Queen” at RBar in Old Town. Before the drag show started, I was invited to go behind the scenes to check out the dressing area and interview Katz. Like Ru Paul’s Drag Race, I pictured an area with bright bulb lights around mirrors, costume racks filled with fabulous outfits, and of course, all the hair and makeup accessories. I was wrong. Instead, on my way to the main dressing area, I found myself walking down a dark set of concrete stairs through a creepy underground dungeon. I almost felt as if I were in a scene from a horror film and began preparing myself to fight off a knife-wielding attacker. As I walked through a maze of storage boxes, I finally found myself in a makeshift dressing room, far from the one I had seen on TV. The space with exposed pipes and wires was small, poorly lit, and cold. Storage boxes were used as chairs; suitcases were in place of costume racks, and there was no elaborate makeup mirror setup. As I stood on spilled glitter, broken hangers, and what appeared to be an old, ratted wig, I realized that the world of drag looked much different than I imagined.

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Kats was ready to meet me, so I went back upstairs and was pointed in the direction of a room behind a curtain. I was sure this would be the lavish dressing room I imagined, and they must have kept it aside for the show’s host. I was wrong again. To my surprise, when I opened the curtain, I found myself standing in a kitchen storage area face to face with a half-naked Khloe Katz. There were pots, pans, and a sink to my right, a food freezer to my left, and a mop bucket and fake boobs on the floor. It was now very evident that the world of drag was not the glitz and glam we see on stage. After showing me her wig and bedazzled hat, I made myself comfortable. Kats finished changing, and we spoke about his life in drag.

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The host of the show

Khloe Katz, born a male, started as a drag queen in a small Nebraska town at 19. After dabbling in a small entertainment scene, he was determined to make a name for himself in the big city and moved to Denver, Colorado, in late 2009. Embraced by Denver’s drag scene, Katz secured a residency at a local club and began hosting and producing shows across Colorado. But like in the kitchen dressing room, it wasn’t always glitz and glamour for Katz. “Everyone goes through highs and lows in their career, and I was no different,” said Katz. As a true performer, Katz is good at saving face on stage, her audience never knowing that, at times, he struggles to be a drag entertainer in many ways. In the past, Katz found himself managing the death of his father-in-law, his mother’s paralyzation, and his father’s brain cancer recovery, all while trying to continue to be the best performer possible. “Things happen, and you have to keep going. With a show almost every weekend, you must process or delay very quickly to be the performer everyone thinks you are.” Katz’s love life has, at times, suffered too. “Most people don’t want to date a drag queen because they have personal hang-ups or are concerned with how society might view them. So, it gets quite lonely.”

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In 2019, Katz retired from drag to focus on personal development and came out of retirement during Covid and back into the drag scene as if he had never left.

Today, Katz specializes in female impersonation and comedy and hosts various shows across Colorado, including “Yass Queen” and an all-ages drag brunch at RBar in Fort Collins.

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Yass Queen

After my kitchen connection with Kats, I found my seat and got ready for the show. It was a full house, drinks were being poured, and everyone was singing along to “Baby got back” by Sir Mix-a-lot. As I looked around, I wondered how many people shared some of the same preconceived ideas about drag that I did before going behind the scenes and talking with Katz. I wondered how many people knew that there was more to drag than we were about to see. And then it was time. The music switched to an electronic beat, and I heard the same voice from the kitchen.” Everybody, welcome to the show, the rules of the game are really quite simple, so if you can pull yourself away from Grinder for two seconds, listen up.” Kats, dressed in a skin-tight little black dress, neon pink high heels, diamonds, and a half-blonde, half-black shoulder-length wig, took to the stage. I was in awe!

 

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Set after set, the audience was met with female impersonating queens of varying sexual orientations and gender identities. They all wore the most elaborate costumes, wigs, and makeup. I was not wrong when I expected these queens to come out and slay. From their different looks to their stage presence and how they engaged the audience, they played their part well. I wasn’t surprised.

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As the night went on, we all became lost in an alternate world of music, performance, raunchy jokes, and many laughs. For a moment, whatever Khloe was going through was forgotten. Whatever we all were going through was forgotten.

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Katz said, “I have a mission to make 100 million people smile, that is what brings me the most joy.”

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And smile we did.

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