Photos by Shaun Vadella
Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 6 winner, Bianca Del Rio is back in the PNW this April and she is looking forward to this and she says the [PNW] audience is the best. She told me about this past week via Zoom, “Well, I have to say, it’s usually the audiences. I mean, you guys get wild. I’ve been lucky enough, as you had mentioned earlier, for me to come in and do a couple of theatrical productions. I’ve also, with Peaches Christ, I’ve also done National Treasures with my group of old gals, some drag legends. Not me, I was just the host. And then I’ve been, this is my sixth world tour that I’ve traveled in, so I’ve been there quite a few times, and I have to say, the audiences are always the best. They get my sick sense of humor, which means I will always return.”
“Dead Inside” follows the massive success of Bianca’s two most recent comedy tours, “Unsanitized,”
during which she performed to sold out audiences in 99 cities across 27 countries, and “It’s Jester Joke,”
making history as the first drag queen to headline Wembley Arena and Carnegie Hall, selling out both
venues.
On her Show:
“My current show is Dead Inside and we’ve been all over North America and Canada currently. And I’m headed your way, which I’m looking forward to. We just cover most topics, basic things that are happening in pop culture, my life, what it’s like to be me. But also, the script changes nightly for me. I have a loose outline of what I deal with. But there’s so much happening in the world from invaders in Will and Jada Smith’s house to Kate Middleton missing. All of this becomes a hot topic for me while we’re doing the show. So it’s always evolving as we go. So by the time I get to Seattle, who knows what’s gonna be thrown in the mix.”
On ‘Hurricane Bianca’ 3:
“Well, you know what’s crazy is we did the first one literally almost 10 years ago and it was one of those things where I thought, okay this is great. A friend of mine, Matt Kugelman, a brilliant director, was interested in doing something way before I even did RuPaul’s Drag Race. It was like, okay great, we’re going to make this happen. We did and that was it. I thought we would wrap it up with a bow and be done. And then he’s like, we’ve got a part two. I’m like, oh, OK, let’s make this happen. And then we were working on a third, which is still in limbo, because last year the writer’s strike happened, which kind of halted all things for me, of course, I already had the tour planned and ready to roll. It looks like 2025 I’ll be able to film it I’m not sure when it’ll be out because I’ll be on the road with this show until then. So, we’re just trying to figure it out, but the writer’s strike totally shifted all the things when I had availability; you know how that goes. It’s on the back burner, and we’re hoping to pick it up in 2025.
On Working with Rachel Dratch:
“Oh, my God. Let me tell you, there is nobody funnier than Rachel Dratch, one of the loveliest, funniest people to work with. I mean, a total pro. And I mean, sometimes the outtakes are better than the movie. We have so much footage of us tackling and cracking each other up. I love her dearly, and what an honor to get to work with her.”
On Future All-Stars:
“Well, they asked me to do that version of all the stars and it was. Uh, I can’t remember if it was right before the pandemic or during the pandemic. I can’t remember the timing because we film it. They film it so early in advance. And for me, it was a different ball of the wax. Now, Jinkx is a dear friend of mine, and I love Jinkx tremendously and one of the most talented people and a rightful winner on both times she attempted the show. But I have to say that Jinkx was also in her twenties when she did the show the first time and then in her thirties, when she did it for All-Stars. I was in my late 30s when I did it the first time and it was one of those things where I was in a place where I thought, listen, I appreciate and respect the platform that has given me so much, you know, drag race. But the crazy thing is for me, it was like, you know, would you go back to high school? I came out unscathed and I follow this rule of you don’t rob the same bank twice. Yes. So, it was a wonderful experience for me. And, you know, I was 37, 38 at the time. And so that was 10 years ago for me, it’s like what the platform has given me is for me to get to travel and to do my own shows. And it just seemed fitting to let someone else have the opportunity to be in the show. I’m not saying by any means that because I wasn’t there, Jinx won. I mean that, you know, there’s enough winners that exist now because the franchise is so big that I thought, let someone else have the opportunity. It didn’t seem like it was the right fit for me at that moment: In the future, who knows? But at that time, it was one of those things where I said, you know what, I’m happy with what I’ve got. And I had other things already planned. I said, I’ll pass this time.”
Future Plans:
“Well, as I was saying, I’m going to be on the road with this until 2025, where we are currently in America and Canada, going back and forth, our routing is pretty insane. And then I’m about to announce the UK Europe dates, and then it’s Asia, then it’s Australia. And you know, I’m looking at Antarctica. You know, why not? The penguins need entertainment too, so that could be next on the list. But I will be traveling with this show until 2025. So, this is kind of consuming my life at the moment. There is a secret project which hasn’t been announced yet, so that’ll be out soon. But in the meantime, it’s literally stretching myself all over the globe, spreading my hate to the masses.”
Bianca’s Best advice for Alter-Ego, Roy Haylock:
“Don’t take yourself too fucking seriously. I think that we all kind of lose, we all kind of lose our minds. I guess social media has made us all social media warriors, has made us all experts. And for me, I lived at a time where there was no social media. I don’t feel threatened or feel the need to write out everything about my life or to give an opinion on every damn thing. But I also don’t take anything too seriously. 49-year-old man in a wig. It’s like, let’s be realistic here. We’ve got bigger problems. You know, we’ve got we’ve got an 80-year-old man in a wig running for president. That’s the problem we have to have a different outlook on everything and just not to take it too seriously. I mean, that’s the bottom line for me.”
Coming to a Town Near You, Click Link for Tickets:
April 14-Spokane, WA @ Bing Crosby Theater
April 15-Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
April 16-Eugene, OR @ Mcdonald Theatre
April 17-Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
April 19-Sacramento, CA @ Crest Theatre