Drag Race: The queens give drag makeovers to school teachers in episode 13

Drag Race: The queens give drag makeovers to school teachers in episode 13

by | Mar 25, 2023 | Gay Lifestyle


The final five queens delivered sickening makeovers during the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15. 

Spoilers ahead

For this week’s maxi-challenge, the queens were asked to team up with five inspirational educators to deliver twin makeovers.  

“Today it’s your turn to change the lives of some good teachers with the miracle of drag,” Ru revealed.

“Please give a warm Drag Race welcome to five hardworking teachers who are about to become your students.

“For this week’s maxi-challenge, you need to transform these fearless educators into flawless glamazons.”

After Mrs Marsh-Banks, Ms Reyes, Mrs Wallace, Mrs Mahoney, and Ms Tang introduced themselves, Ru tasked mini-challenger Loosey LaDuca with pairing the queens with their teachers. 

The Connecticut-based queen then assigned Mistress Isabelle Brooks with Ms Tang (Madam Thang), Anetra with Mrs Mahoney, Sasha Colby with Mrs Marsh-Banks (Ferocity Colby), and Luxx Noir London with Ms Reyes (Asia Azul) – which left her Mrs Wallace (LaLa LaDuca).

With their teams selected, Ru reminded the queens that the judges’ panel would be looking for “a strong family” resemblance. 

MTV

MTV

After Ru exited the workroom, the queens and their drag pupils flocked to their respective corners to brainstorm runway ideas. 

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the queens to bond with their educator counterparts, who each were open to anything and everything. 

While prepping their content, Mistress and Ms Tang bonded over being Latina and queer. 

“When I was a teenager, I would have gagged if I even had a teacher who was able to be themselves,” the Texas-based queen gushed. 

“I’m sure that even if your students don’t say it, I’m sure they look up to you so much. And, like, they see someone who is like them, or maybe they feel that way, and they are not allowed to be like that at home.” 

MTV

MTV

Mistress’ admission evoked an emotional response from Ms Tang, who opened up about the importance of creating a safe space for her students. 

“The moment when a student tells me that they feel safe in my classroom, it’s all worth it,” she added. 

While most of the queens established personal and professional relationships with their teachers, Luxx appeared to only be in business mode with Ms Reyes. 

Halfway through their runway preparation, Ru returned to the workroom to check in on the teams. 

However, things got messy when Ru asked Loosey how she felt about her fellow queens selecting her to go home.

“I didn’t give a shit. I was surprised, but I just took that in stride,” she revealed. 

Before the queens and their draguates called it a day, Ru dropped a shocking twist. 

“Oh and one more extra thing. Queens, you need to prepare your draguates for their final exam, a lip sync for your life,” Ru revealed. 

MTV

MTV

Even though the twist proved to be a slight wrench in their runway plans, each pair navigated the news gracefully during their walkthrough. 

The next day, the teams returned to the runway to paint their faces and get ready for the upcoming maxi-challenge. 

While Luxx and Ms Reyes got ready, the two shared a heartfelt moment after the New Jersey queen revealed the pushback she faced from her parents.

When asked if they were really religious, Luxx replied: “They aren’t religious really, at all, which was the surprising part of why I got so much backlash.” 

MTV

MTV

Luxx went on to reveal that while her parents weren’t religious, they did use certain hateful talking points to diminish her queer identity. 

In response, Ms Reyes revealed that she stopped going to her catholic church due to similar behaviour.  

“It’s like, you know what? If you can’t accept my children for who they are … and I haven’t gone back because of that,” Ms Reyes explained.

MTV

MTV

With their faces beat, hair laid and looks secure, the queens and their students headed to the runway for their twin makeover debuts. 

Following their iconic presentations, the judges’ panel – which included pop star Hayley Kiyoko – delivered their critiques. 

MTV

MTV

While Sasha, Mistress, and Anetra shined with their twin makeovers, Luxx and Loosey’s work left the judges wanting more. 

After the teacher draguates performed a sickening and wholesome lip-sync to Champion, Ru crowned Anetra as the maxi-challenge winner, resulting in Loosey and Luxx lip-syncing for their lives. 

To the beat of Hayley’s For The Girls, the queens delivered a high-energy performance that featured dips, flips, comedy and floor-heavy choreography. 

MTV

MTV

Ultimately, Ru asked Luxx to stay in the competition and Loosey to sashay away. 

“I feel a little slighted. I have always delivered, and I deserve to be in the finale. I’m trying not to be angry that the other girls get to experience the rest of the journey, and I don’t,” Loosey said in her exit confessional.

“I shouldn’t have been in the bottom in this challenge. I executed everything. Mistress put her girl in a stretch dress. I know that I’m a superstar and I think that I’m one of the most unique people in this competition. I can’t say the same for everyone.”

Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15, the queens will be starring in a remix of Ru’s hit track Blame It on the Edit.  

MTV

MTV

Here’s how fans reacted to the latest episode of Drag Race:

 

New episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15, along with Untucked, air weekly and exclusively on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus, in the UK and internationally on Saturdays at 2:00am.





Source link

The Cherry Fund’s Broadway-Inspired Party Weekend

The Cherry Fund’s Broadway-Inspired Party Weekend

by | Mar 25, 2023 | Gay Lifestyle


Cherry's Moodio 54 -- File photo: Yaro Vargas
Cherry’s Moodio 54 — File photo: Yaro Vargas

“I took a step away from Cherry for a few years because I was focusing on my own life at the time,” says Sean Morris, a past board member for the volunteer-run, nonprofit entity that for well over two decades has made a name for itself throwing benefit dance parties. Morris, a renowned D.C. nightlife promoter and DJ, is back on the board of the Cherry Fund, serving as operations manager, helping to guide next weekend’s annual benefit.

“After last year, seeing the kind of backlash that happened in the community, I wanted to be involved again,” Morris says. “I have some expertise in the nightlife world. It’s going to be important to use the tools that we have in place to make sure that we deliver the weekend the way that we intend to.”

That didn’t happen last year. Cherry’s return from the pandemic, organized as a 25th-anniversary affair, faltered from “a series of unfortunate events, kind of all combined into one,” as Adrian Weselin puts it.

Weselin is the new president of The Cherry Fund, currently transitioning into that volunteer role from the outgoing, longtime president, Allen Sexton.

He’s committed to helping Cherry going forward, and has the experience to back it up. “My background is marketing and business consulting and working specifically in operations management,” Weselin says.

“There were some hurdles last year, some unforeseen things that occurred,” he says. “We have addressed those things in order to try to ensure they do not happen again this year.” Essentially, almost every hurdle encountered last year — whether with the last-minute cancellation of the Friday night after-hours or excessive wait times to get into the Saturday night main event, as well as to utilize the venue’s coat check — was rooted either in an operational breakdown or a communications failure, or both.

Gay Man Gives His Republican Family an Ultimatum in Viral Email
Trending

Gay Man Gives His Republican Family an Ultimatum in Viral Email



“Moving forward for this year, we have gone to a digital ticketing system,” Weselin says. This will allow for accurate, real-time tracking of occupancy and capacity for each party. Additionally, says Weselin, Cherry has “gone with venues specifically that have the experience and are able to provide the proper support staff necessary to ensure that our patrons do receive their [checked] items within a reasonable, timely manner.”

“We’ve been a lot more direct and upfront with the venues this year,” adds Morris, “to make sure that they have a full understanding [and] putting requirements in place for minimum staffing to help.”

Cherry's Moodio 54 -- File photo: Yaro Vargas
Cherry’s Moodio 54 — File photo: Yaro Vargas

In planning for this year’s Cherry weekend, Weselin says the idea was, “Let’s focus on doing what we are known for doing well, scaling the [entertainment] lineup a little bit, but still delivering the quality that people have come to enjoy.” What they’ve come up with is a weekend centered around the theme of Broadway musicals — a theme guiding a series of six parties in a more creative and cohesive way than ever.

“That was something that we tried to strive for this year,” Weselin says. “Having a whole broad theme and then sub-chapters that kind of correlate to the main overarching theme.”

The weekend starts with a party Friday night, March 31, at Hook Hall organized around the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch with headlining DJs Micky Friedmann from Berlin and GSP from Greece and, for the first time, encompassing both the venue’s large, vaulted ceiling indoor space and its outdoor terrace.

Republican Comments on Gay Man’s Racy Instagram Photos
Trending

Republican Comments on Gay Man’s Racy Instagram Photos

The next night, April 1, at Echostage brings a Moulin Rouge-themed bacchanal with DJs Las Bibas from Vizcaya (Brazil) and Orel Sabag (Israel), plus performer Zeta Jones, followed by an After-Hours at Flash with DJs Calagna and Eddie Martinez haunted by The Phantom of the Opera. The weekend closes Sunday evening, April 2, with a party at Ultrabar organized around Hairspray with DJs Nina Flowers and Mohammad.



In between Phantom and Hairspray, Sunday also offers an afternoon party at Soundcheck, an escape to The Wizard of Oz to see the wonderful wizard better known as Cherry veteran DJ Tom Stephan — but only for those who buy “an all-access VIP pass. You cannot buy tickets to that specifically, that is the perk of buying the VIP pass,” explains Weselin.

On Saturday afternoon, Soundcheck will serve as the annual birthday bash hosted by Dr. Moody Mustafa and featuring DJ Joe Gauthreaux, a party with a theme playing off the good doctor’s name that is the one non-musical exception to the weekend: “The Handmood’s Tale.”

“We’re the only party that’s happening in D.C. that is actually giving money [to charity],” Weselin says. “It’s entirely nonprofit, so we’re not making anything off of this. And I think that’s important to highlight and keep in mind — Cherry is mission-based.”


That also speaks to a more fundamental point, one going beyond the clear — and critical — need for improved guest relations and patron satisfaction at this year’s Cherry. Cherry is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise money by producing dance parties and then donating proceeds to charity. Because they didn’t clear the hurdles raised by last year’s issues, which resulted in refunds to ticketholders of Friday night’s party and a fair number of Saturday night’s as well, Cherry wasn’t able to give back. Or at least, they haven’t yet.

Republican Asks Lesbian Lawmaker if She’s a “Pedophile”
Trending

Republican Asks Lesbian Lawmaker if She’s a “Pedophile”

“There’s been a lot of discussion with attorneys and with our vendors and whatnot,” says Morris, “just because we did have to issue so many refunds last year. And so, as of right now, we have not given back for last year. We’re still reviewing that.”

Over the course of its 25 years, Cherry has raised and donated an impressive sum — more than $1.3 million to charity. There have been other years when the organization’s expenses matched or exceeded revenue and thus also prevented it from giving back and doing good. Morris and Weselin are both determined to see that that doesn’t happen in 2023.

“We’re hoping to be able to give something this year,” says Morris. “But we’ve got to push the mission and really get ticket sales [up] so that we can ensure that we’ll be giving back.”

“We have the opportunity,” adds Weselin, “to bring [the organization] into a 2.0 status to kind of streamline some things, to make things a little bit more efficient. That will allow us to grow in a strategic way that can help bring exposure to those [nonprofit] entities that don’t have the resources and provide support to them. That’s what’s really important.”

Cherry Fund’s Broadway: The 2023 Musical weekend is Friday, March 31, through Sunday, April 2. An all-access “skip-the-line” VIP Pass, including the Oz party, is $340, while a Weekend Pass excluding Oz is $280. Tickets for individual parties range from $50 to $85. Visit www.cherrydc.com.

 





Source link