Photos by Maria Baranova
I have been a fan and supporter of PNW legend Donnie for over 30 years, so I was grateful when I traveled to Portland in 2022 to see Make Me Gorgeous!, the new one-man show that he wrote and adapted from his book, Mr. Madam: The Life and Times of Kate/Kenneth Marlowe.
Former Portland actor turned Broadway star Wade McCollum was the show’s star, and he continued in the role when Donnie’s Triangle Productions brought it to off-Broadway this past November. The production has been a smash and has been extended not once but twice!
McCollum had to depart the role on January 28 to start rehearsals for the Broadway premiere of Water for Elephants. Replacing him with Darius Rose (aka Jackie Cox of Drag Race and Days of Our Lives fame) was a bold move that has paid off — the reviews are great. The show was extended again through March 24th.
I had a chance chat with Darius over Zoom, a few days ago. Below are excerpts of that conversation.
On Role of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe in Make Me Gorgeous!:
They were looking for a replacement for Wade. And so it all kind of happened pretty quickly, around New Year’s, but I was invited to come see the show. Then I met with Donnie, and I think his husband watches me on Days of Our Lives… It was a very quick rehearsal process, but we got it up and going.
My life in some ways is very similar to Kenny’s. I started drag at a pretty young age, in my twenties. And I’ve performed in a lot of the places that Kenny Marlowe performed in, a lot in the Midwest. And all the … cities we go to in the course of the play are all places I’ve been. So it’s kind of fun to retrace those steps, but in a historical way.
It’s really interesting to me to know that that drag … has been around for so long in this country, and was celebrated even in the early and mid-20th century when we often don’t really think about drag as an art form. But it existed. It existed before Paris Is Burning, before RuPaul’s Drag Race, before all of that. So it’s amazing to … relive and share some of that history.
…One thing that I think a lot of people connect to in this play is that Kenny, like many queer people then and still today, faced a lot of adversity. And what I found interesting in the piece is [that] it really uncovers how Kenny uses art in different ways to … push through and push past and grow, whether that’s … as a drag artist, a burlesque entertainer, a hairdresser, an author. These are all forms of art. And I think it’s beautiful that Kenny used art to … move through some of the pretty traumatic events that happened in his life.
And his … final act [was] becoming Kate Marlowe. … She lived a quieter life. And I think that it says something about how Kenny was … .running and searching… But she … withdrew a little bit from … the madness of all of Kenny’s adventures. So I think it’s a really interesting play in that way, because as an artist myself, I connect to that part of it a lot: using art as a way to move through the world and make sense of it.
On Jackie Cox:
Oh, well, Jackie’s a character and a creation of mine that is very near and dear to my heart. I’ve been performing as Jackie for over 13 years. In some ways, she’s like the best version of me. She always has a smile and a quick joke, and she’s very beautiful, of course. I’m probably a little more reserved out of drag, but pretty confident in my out-of-drag persona. I would just say that maybe she’s just the nicest version of me. Maybe that’s the best way to talk about her.
But it’s interesting, having now been on RuPaul’s Drag Race, where you see … the person behind the wig on that show … It all … becomes one thing for most people who know me, which is fine. I think part of the reason I’m billed as Darius Rose in this play is because you won’t really see Jackie in this piece. You’ll see maybe little, tiny bits and glimmers of her, but the Jackie Cox persona is not starring in Make Me Gorgeous!. So I think that that was important for me and Donnie to … bring up for the audience in that, yes, I am most famous as Jackie Cox, but you won’t quite see her in this play.
On Darius Rose:
Oh, gosh, well, they may know this or they may be able to tell this, but I love history. I love. I love. Especially the history of places and cities… I try to learn a little bit about each city I go to, because I think it’s so interesting … just knowing how things … that we interact with in our lives [have come to be], you know, whether that’s art or buildings … I think history is so powerful and informative, and it gives us a place of understanding of who we are.
[That’s] part of what really attracted me to Make Me Gorgeous!. But if you look around my apartment, there’s all these little historical things and knickknacks and stuff. … I wish more people learned more things about history, because I think it would help us understand each other.
On Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem:
I met Lisa Rinna before on Watch What Happens Live. So I wasn’t especially like nervous to meet her [again]. … Beyond Salem we filmed in 2021, so there was still a lot of COVID protocols. We had to all get to set like way early and … wait in line outside. I ended up waiting in line with her, because we had to each go in and get COVID tested. And we kind of broke the ice right away. She was so excited that I was there. Then I hung out in her dressing room a little bit.
She was very lovely. … Even though there were all these rules, she was like, you can come in, hang out in my dressing room in a mask (those were the rules). She was lovely to work with. I had a great time with her. And it was very cool that that one appearance has now spun off into my recurring character on Days. … I love to show up in Salem now and cause havoc.
I think Greg [Rikaart] is an incredible actor… Everything happens so fast on soaps, but even [on] that first appearance on Beyond Salem, Greg had the idea of us coming up with a backstory of how we knew each other. We … had already implied that we were maybe former lovers and stuff. So, I love working with Greg. I love playing with him, and I guess now he’s my enemy, which is fun too.
On Favorite Queens/Inspirations:
Jinkx [Monsoon] is such an inspiration to me, she and she and DeLa [BenDeLaCreme] have really inspired me to … push myself in terms of the theatricality of the drag that I do. I’m friends with both of them, and Nina West as well.
But I love all of these queens who … push the boundaries of what a drag queen can do. Shea Couleé is such an inspiration to me. [She acts], she’s really doing it all. There’s a lot of really amazing [alumni] of RuPaul’s Drag Race who are just out there and making names for [themselves]. Willam is another one who works consistently and incredibly. Alaska is another one who works incredibly. Bob the Drag Queen and I actually started drag around the same time in New York. She is such an incredible superstar. It’s so amazing to see her on tour with Madonna. How cool is that?
On Future Plans:
What’s next for me? I have a couple film things coming out this year. I’m very excited. One of them is called Identities, which is an amazing queer sci-fi short film that’s coming out, I think, soonish… and another project that was filmed as well. So I’m excited for those things to come. … Then we get back into the Jackie world of drag and touring and all of that stuff too, which is I’m very excited about.
On a Passion Project:
A passion project that I haven’t done… At some point, I do want to write a book. I think it might be a fictionalized version of some of my life. But it might not be. I don’t know. But I would like to write a book at some point. It’s probably a passion project of mine. That or open a drag diner. Or both. Why not both?
Presented by Triangle Productions!, the New York premiere of Make Me Gorgeous!, written and directed by Donnie, is now playing off-Broadway through March 24 at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s (308 W. 46th Street). For tickets and further information, visit GorgeousPlay.com.
