RuPaul’s Drag Race star Miz Cracker is bursting into venues across Australia this month, including a stop at Connections Nightclub during the PrideFEST season here in Western Australia.
A stand-out competitor in the drag reality series’ tenth season, Miz Cracker has been touring the world since her on-screen run in 2018 with her debut show It’s Time. Now, Cracker is ruminating on what it means to be an American Woman in her hilarious new feature length show.
We caught up with the New York City queen for a chat about the American women in her life, as she tells us about her plans for one of the most American celebrations there is – Halloween.
“I sort of put my head together with a bunch of people and say ‘Alright, what are our favourite things? Let’s be those things!”
“I collect images throughout the year that are inspiring and creepy and odd to me and make them into my own collage for Halloween. It’s one of my favourite times of the year!”
Though ‘American’ is not the key word in the title for Miz Cracker’s new show, which dives into the intersection of women and the LGBTIQ+ community and explores how gay men and drag queens can better allies to women.
“I am all over the world, all the time, and I thought I was just a person, but it turns out I’m an American. That means having a bunch of assumptions about what you deserve and what you’re going to get, and American Woman is all about unlearning that. Realising that not everyone gets what they have a right to.”
“[American Woman] is about this character, this privileged person going out in the world and realising that there’s a lot that needs to be changed for a lot of people, and the focus is on women everywhere.”
After spending some time on the international circuit, Cracker explains that it became apparent that most of the fans attending her shows and supporting her work were women, and that she wanted to do something to give back to them.
“I owe everything that I have to women. My Drag Race audition tape was made by a woman, my manager is a woman, my co-pilot and road assistant and PR person; they’re women, the person that makes my commercials for my merchandise and everything that’s coming up; a woman. I was raised primarily by my mother and my sister, all my friends throughout junior high and high school and college, people I came out to – they we’re all women.
“I sort of looked out in the audience one day… and saw that 75% of the audience is women, and I’m like how can I ignore women when I owe them so much and all around the world women are crying out for fair treatment?”
“I’m not mansplaining feminism to women, that’s not the point. The point is me thinking about what I can do to be a better ally, and thinking alongside everybody. I’m not offering solution or telling people what to think or need to do. It’s just struggling with the mess of trying to get better, and we can all do that together and laugh and have fun.”
Cracker set out to explore the lateral hostilities that can be found within the community, looking to queer history and her own relationships to examine how dynamics have changed among LGBTIQ+ folks.
“There was a time where gay bars were safe spaces where gay men could be themselves and they needed to protect those spaces and preserve them just for themselves because they had nothing.”
“Now we’re in a time where cis gay men have a lot more power, in the United States anyway, and this show is about saying if you’re a cis gay, or a drag queen with power and a platform and a voice, maybe it’s time to use it for the people who have helped get you where you are, which is primarily women. From Marsha P. Johnson to the girl that took you to prom.”
The subject matter is serious, but Cracker sets out to tackle the subject with humour in the feature-length drag extravaganza.
“Comedy is a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down! There’s stand-up comedy, stories from my life, high-energy dance numbers… yes, the topics we’re covering are really touchy and difficult but it’s really a celebration more than anything else. I want people to know that, yeah, they’re going to walk away thinking but they’re also going to walk away happy and laughing and wanting more!”
Cracker’s tour brings her to Perth during PrideFEST season, smack bang in the middle of this year’s celebrations. When asked if she remembers her first Pride celebrations, Cracker wasn’t reaching for specifics;
“I remember it being a mess! If I can take advantage of the mess and people being emotionally dilated and jump in there and open some hearts that’d be great.”
Though she’s on the road with American Woman, Miz Cracker is also making weekly appearances on YouTube recapping episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK for Logo in their new series High Tea.
I asked Cracker if she thought some of the humour was being lost in translation between the UK queens and international audiences.
“It’s a shitstorm, but I love it! There’s misunderstandings between the judges and the cast, the audience doesn’t necessarily understand everything the drag queens are saying, but it means everyone is on their toes again, and it hasn’t been that way on Drag Race for a long time.”
“Yes, there are flaws, but I would rather see a fascinating mess than a polished, slick product!”
Four queens have already been eliminated from the reality spin-off’s UK season, but Miz Cracker is staying mum on who she’d like to see make it to the top.
“I will say…I love a queen that has a lot to offer, but struggles. I love a queen that struggles because I’ve been there and I just identify so hard.”
American Woman will be at Connections Nightclub on Saturday 16th November. For tickets and more information, head to itdevents.com
Leigh Andrew Hill
