a&e features
From Gaga hit maker to drag star
Gay producer left the pop world behind to discover his inner woman in Cary NoKey
Cary NoKey’s act is ‘a little ‘Rock of Ages’ to ‘Cabaret’ to ‘42nd Street’ says visionary Rob Fusari. (Photo courtesy Project Publicity)
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Battle of the Seasons
2015 Condragulations Tour
with special guest Cary NoKey
March 8
815 V St., N.W.
$35-65 (VIP)
8 p.m.
It’s almost a show business cliché that often what looks like the best of times in a career from the outside can be some of the darkest times for the entertainer.
That was the case with Rob Fusari, the New Jersey native who found himself one of the most sought-after R&B/pop producers around the turn of the century. His credits are impressive — “No No No” and “Bootylicious” for Destiny’s Child, “Wild Wild West” for Will Smith as well as co-writer and producer for five cuts on Lady Gaga’s smash debut “The Fame” album from 2008, which he co-executive produced.
Yet oddly it took the 37-year-old turning within and discovering his drag alter ego Cary NoKey to find artistic satisfaction. He’ll be in Washington next week to open the “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons” tour and filled us in by phone from Cincinnati — where the tour happened to be at the time — on how it all unfolded. His comments have been slightly edited for length.
WASHINGTON BLADE: How did Cary NoKey emerge?
ROB FUSARI: It was about two years ago this month, actually, and it basically came out of a dark time creatively and emotionally after the Gaga record, “The Fame.” I felt I kind of peaked my career as a producer and had this pinnacle moment so in the years following, I was searching for what my next chapter would be, where I was supposed to be creatively and as a person. I thought the move was to try and find and develop another artist but I was finding it really difficult to identify who that person might be despite the thousands of artists I was looking at. It started to become very, very frustrating. … I just couldn’t seem to get that magic going with anyone. … I eventually recorded a vocal of my own one night in the studio on my birthday. I left early and went out for a few hours and when I got back, a group of friends were listening to it and … that’s kind of when Cary NoKey started. It was just one of those moments where it felt like everything I was searching for was right there in front of me somehow but I didn’t see it because I didn’t think of myself as a performer. It started unfolding and progressing in a very natural way.
BLADE: Had you always been interested in drag?
FUSARI: I grew up raised by a mom with very feminine qualities who kind of always treated me as the daughter she never had. Eventually I started to embrace that side of myself and it became almost like a car I could jump into and I just became OK with expressing my fashion sense and some other things I’d been suppressing and some things I was a little fearful of. It became this vehicle in which I found I could express myself in other ways.
BLADE: You said it was frustrating that you couldn’t find another great artist to work with but didn’t you realize a Gaga-caliber success story was maybe one in a million? How realistic was it to try to catch that kind of lightening in a bottle again?
FUSARI: No, because I’d spent a good 10 years in the business by that point and I had hundreds and hundreds of unsigned artists reaching out to me every day, so I had my pick of the litter so to speak. I said if I can’t find the next thing, nobody can. … I met some really strong ones, some really good artists but there’s something else a superstar has that nobody else has that you can’t explain it. This lightening bolt that goes through you that I just couldn’t find.
BLADE: You’ve produced A-list artists and now you’re performing yourself. What the public sees is much different, I’m sure, from what you see. What’s the biggest misconception?
FUSARI: The whole overnight sensation concept is so misleading because it’s an overnight sensation that takes years and years to get to. … I always say to artists, if you’re not willing to give up your life for this, it’s not gonna happen. There’s no in between. I don’t think people really understand the sacrifice, and it’s massive, that people make … The dingy clubs you have to play and having to be on all the time. People watch the Grammys and see the award and the parties and it’s like watching a movie. I’m here to tell you, it’s the opposite. Sure, there are those moments, of course, but what you have to give up and what you have to do to get there is everything.
BLADE: Your single is called “American Dream,” which is a rather serious song. Did you need Cary to tell that story or did she unlock some kind of artistic freedom in you?
FUSARI: Freedom comes in different ways. The freedom you get from your country comes at a very hefty price and I think we all know that, be it taxes, be it culture — it comes with a price. The freedom that drag queens and transgender people have is totally different. … They have a certain peace, a freedom and they’re living their dream that has nothing to do with what our country told us the dream was. It’s almost like we got fooled a bit with the white picket fence … which has really become the exception today. I’m not bashing the country, I love this country, but it’s built on some fallacies and weak ground that needs to be dealt with. … I felt I wasn’t living my own dream and who I am as Cary NoKey until I was able to let Rob Fusari and even Gaga go. I still get asked questions about it and that’s fine, but that chapter of my life has ended and thank God, because it wasn’t the best chapter to be honest. It might have been one of the worst.
BLADE: Where was the dissatisfaction coming from?
FUSARI: I’m not trying to bash Gaga, but sometimes the shit you have to eat to get to a certain place is not worth it. I can’t change history but I wonder now, was it worth it? It’s not about the money. I’d give the money back in a heartbeat. It’s about integrity, about character about feeling good about yourself and being part of something. The people who work with Cary NoKey, they’re going to stay on board because when the time comes and there’s success, they’ll have a reason to stay on board. You gotta treat people fairly. You gotta look to everyone who helped you along the way. I’m not going to just kick people off the roof.
BLADE: You felt Gaga did that?
FUSARI: Absolutely
BLADE: Was there any talk of working with her on her follow-up?
FUSARI: Absolutely not. I could never have done that anyway. I could never put my creative art and soul into somebody who kicks people off the roof.
BLADE: What would you say to her if you were with her in an elevator today?
FUSARI: Get off.
BLADE: You did a track with Whitney Houston. Did you work it up then send it to her people or were you in the studio together with her?
FUSARI: No, we cut the vocal together in the studio for “Love That Man.” (from the 2002 “Just Whitney” album)
BLADE: What was she like to work with?
FUSARI: To be honest, it wasn’t the best. She wasn’t sober so it was difficult at times. She was battling addiction and she was with Bobby, who was just a nightmare.
BLADE: How did it come about that you are on the “Drag Race” tour?
FUSARI: We were playing out in (New York) a lot and it ended up that we had landed the spot opening for Adore Delano at the Gramercy Theatre. We were thrilled. I love the Gramercy and Adore and we were just thrilled. It was a great fit. All the “Drag Race” folks were there and the executives and creative folks and they asked if we were interested in joining the tour next year, so we said yes. A lot of times things like this are said and it doesn’t come to fruition, it’s just part of the business, but we just finished the Macy Gray tour and right after that, we were ready and it just worked out.
BLADE: What are the queens like on tour?
FUSARI: It’s a blast, I’m so happy. They’re so nice and so classy. They’re pros. You’d think it would be a lot of backstage mayhem and chaos and drama on the bus and so on, but it’s actually really the opposite. Everybody’s really on their game and really pro. I’m really impressed.
BLADE: Do you feel like an outsider since they’re all vets of the show?
FUSARI: It’s weird, I don’t. They’ve accepted me and we definitely hit it off.
BLADE: Are you a gay man who does drag? How do you identify?
FUSARI: It goes so many different ways. It goes sideways, it goes inside out, it changes from day to day and I explore all different sides of it. That’s really the only way I can explain it. Do I want to go full drag tomorrow? Of course, I would do it. Do I want to have a sex change? No, it’s not something I’m looking to do. If somebody wanted to call me a cross dresser, I don’t think I am but you could probably say that about me and I don’t have a problem with it. … The wires just all cross for me in so many different directions.
BLADE: What do you actually do in the show?
FUSARI: It’s basically a way to open the show with something different. It’s more serious, though it can be playful at times. … We keep it simple. I do about a 20-minute set and sing about seven songs and I have a dancer with me. We do some covers but in a very Cary NoKey kind of way. … I do (Gaga hit) “Paparazzi” because it’s a song I wrote and I’m proud of but people get to hear it in more of its original version. Some of it’s very aggressive, almost like Kurt Cobain, but then it’s also kind of Joel Grey-“Cabaret” too. It spans a lot. … I know it’s hard to sit through 20 minutes of new music you don’t know, so we mix it up.
Rob Fusari says discovering his drag alter ego was his own kind of ‘American Dream.’ (Photo courtesy Project Publicity)
a&e features
Award-winning D.C. chef reaching new culinary heights
Anthony Jones of Marcus DC competing on ‘Top Chef’
In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started.
Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock).
Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.
Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.
Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.
Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.
Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.
“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.
While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”
Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”
Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”
“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”
Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”
Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”
Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”
Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”
Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”
Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
a&e features
D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events
Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap
Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website.
Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.
Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite.
Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website.
Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website.
CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.
Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.
The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River.
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