It’s no secret that Market Theatre believes “the arts are for everyone”; that belief contributes to everything from educational scholarships to the shows we produce each season. Theatre is an ever-changing art form with innumerable styles and opportunities for stories about the people that we share this world with. So, what led the Market team to partner up with the renowned drag queen Delighted Tobehere and blur the lines of the art forms of both theatre and drag?
To start, Drew Whitley (Associate Artistic Director of Market Theatre) had his first real exposure to drag in 2019 at World Pride in NYC. Drew said, “I knew what drag was before this, but it was the first time I went to a drag show, saw drag artists up close, and saw the absolute joy that drag inspired.”
Later in 2019, Drew saw Delighted Tobehere for the first time with Noah Taylor (Executive Artistic Director), Carlie Taylor (Founder), and Rosie Thompson. It didn’t take long for Drew to discover a unique connection: Delighted is portrayed by Clay, the son of one of his dad’s colleagues. According to Drew, "We went up to Delighted after the performance, made the connection, and we've been friends since!"
Later, Noah and Drew revisited Cafe and Then Some in Greenville to see Delighted's new musical revue Hello, Daddy!. Noah commented that “the show nearly knocked me off my feet; it was a love letter to musical theatre, a culmination of Delighted's hard-earned and well-deserved success over years of performance, a live-singing tour de force, a standup routine, and a vulnerable, interrogating look at a very common pattern of trauma here in the South… It was transformative.” Noah, Drew, and Clay all agreed that the show would be a perfect fit for Market Theatre's 2022 season.
“The show was just as powerful for our audience as it had been for me months prior,” said Noah. “Delighted Tobehere is an artist with a message, a mission, and a voice that we knew needed to be back on the Market stage in 2023.”
On the heels of Kinky Boots, Market Theatre is thrilled to welcome Queen Delighted Tobehere back to the Market stage! Learn more about the creator and star of the upcoming show Drag 101 below.
What was your first exposure to drag culture?
My first exposure in a nightlife setting was in 2001 in Atlanta. My roommate invited me to go see a drag show there and we fell in love. The Armorettes are a camp (comedy) drag troupe that have raised over $2 million for HIV/AIDS charities. When I saw them, I realized how much fun I could have entertaining a crowd and raising money for a good cause.
Did you have someone who mentored you?
Oh, I believe in Frankendrag! I didn't have one mother like some; instead, I had MANY mentors. Some taught me about stage presence, some about wig maintenance, some about makeup, etc. This is a great way to learn techniques while still allowing you to create your own persona instead of being a cookie-cutter of someone else.
Photo by Will Crooks for Warehouse Theatre’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
I know that you were a nightlife entertainer and emcee for Pride events for many years. What was the turning point that led you to create your own original touring shows?
I have loved hosting Pride events, and still do! Though I had dabbled early on, it was after I moved to NYC that my solo show career took off and I transitioned from nightlife to cabaret shows! I was invited to be a part of a theatre in Puerto Vallarta that featured live singing drag queens. I created my first show, had a great first season, and then was asked back! From there I created a new show every year and then toured it around the country while I wrote the next one. Being sober, working on a stage instead of a bar gives me just one more degree of separation from a life that wasn't serving me well.
What was your process for creating Drag 101? How was it different from your other original works?
I believe that education is the best weapon against ignorance. Despite drag being a rather secretive society when it comes to protecting the identity of the person behind the makeup, I felt there was an opportunity to change some hearts and minds by pulling back the curtain. While some shows’ "journeys" are rather contrived, this one is transparent–watching the face and personality change right before your very eyes. I think the biggest difference between Drag 101 and my other shows is that it's more vulnerable. I reveal some of the traumas from my past and how drag brought out the resilience within me to not only live, but thrive.
What do you hope audiences take away from Drag 101?
Most folks will arrive with assumptions about drag; my hope is that they'll take away facts. Knowledge that can be used to correct others when they hear a false stereotype being spread. Ally is a verb, but it helps when the ally is given factual information to use in their daily lives.
You’re a seasoned artist who has performed all over the world. What brought you back to the Southeast, and what is it like performing here compared to other parts of the world?
While 2020 was fraught with struggles (and we can all agree on that), I had the added weight of my mom developing Alzheimer's. It has been progressing for a couple of years, and it was time for me to move home from NYC to be a part of her care team. That's why I'm back in my hometown of Greenville, SC. Regarding performing? It's just nice for people to know that I am not the one with the accent. It's nice to live where there's Dukes Mayo. It's a comfort to know that there's AC and sweet tea.
The Kinky Boots cast was so grateful to have you in the audience during this last weekend! As a drag performer with some roots in theatre–I know you just closed a run of The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Warehouse Theatre (Greenville, SC)–what was it like to see audiences embracing these stories?
Delighted Tobehere with Kinky Boots’s Lola/Simon (Caleb Jackson), Angel - Anita Joint (Dee Werts), Angel - Mahogany Simone Ross (Absalon Richardson), Angel - Jh’enni Zequa (Jonathan “Thor” Raines), and Charlie Price (Aaron Pennington). Photo by Delighted Tobehere.
THEY were grateful? I am the one who was grateful! Incredible talent sharing a valuable and timely story. So many mainstream shows/movies that have featured drag usually used it as a punchline guiding the audience to laugh AT the performer. In Kinky Boots, you're laughing WITH the queen. That's a major difference. Laughter breaks down walls, but what is most important is the message you send across the rubble while the walls are down. “Accept someone for who they are” is a brilliant message to send across the proverbial fourth wall into the audience. The Upstate is better off because of Market Theatre and the brave and inclusive work they're producing.
The cast and production team of Kinky Boots recognize that–at this very moment–there’s an incredible amount of censorship being proposed towards LGBTQIA+ people and the drag community. What do you find significant about theatres choosing shows such as Kinky Boots and Drag 101 for their current season?
Visibility matters. That's first and foremost. What's more interesting is how far in advance theatre's book their seasons. Producing Kinky Boots wasn't reactionary. It was visionary. It's leadership through the arts by simply holding a mirror to a community to show that the stories produced in theatres aren't about London or New York or Los Angeles, but rather Anderson, and Spartanburg, and Easley. Once we as a community realize that the LGBTQIA+ is everywhere, hopefully we'll have the numbers and energy to affect the change needed.
Catch Delighted Tobehere’s Drag 101 at Market Theatre on May 19-20, 2023! Reserve your tickets at markettheatre.org/tickets. Want to continue to be delighted? Follow her @QueenDelighted on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, and like her on Facebook!
