Arts & Entertainment

COVID-19 can’t keep Jackie Cox down

Drag performers keeping busy in digital realm

Published

6 years ago

April 25, 2020

Jackie Cox, gay news, Washington Blade — ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ season 12 contestant **Jackie Cox**. (Photo courtesy of VH1)

We’re navigating the current COVID-19 crisis as best we can—but each day forces us to admit how little we’ve learned from what pandemic-themed science fiction, countries with universal health care, and people who cut their own hair have been trying to tell us for years.

Yeah, everybody’s pretty much making it up as they go along—and in the case of entertainers displaced from shuttered clubs, bars, and theaters that are sources of income as well as community, stay-at-home drag queens are keeping the cobwebs off their wigs by entertaining fans in the digital realm.

The Blade recently reached out and touched one such indefatigable gal (via email), to get her take on innovation in this time of isolation.

Thanks to her presence as a contestant on the currently airing season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the whole world has been discovering what New York City has known for years: There’s nobody out there quite like Jackie Cox.

Born in Canada, the Star Trek-loving “Persian princess of drag” wears her nerdy nature, Iranian heritage, obsession with Disney, and love of ’80s/’90s pop culture as badges of honor. Pin those badges on a dress as pick-and-choose accessories, and they work just as well on the “Drag Race” runway as they have on the cabaret stages of New York City, where writer/performer Cox fashioned and refined the sharp, sassy, clever, campy, and occasionally political persona that’s put more than one smile on the hard-to-please faces of Mama Ru and Michelle Visage.

That persona changes slightly according to the hat Cox wears. As writer/star, she put her own spin on Barbara Eden’s iconic bottle-dweller, in the three-part “I Dream of Jackie” series, which followed the adventures of a magical genie who emerged from underneath the stage of Manhattan’s Laurie Beechman Theatre to find a chaotic and cynical world that was no match for her sweet, optimistic nature. Also at the Beechman, Cox appeared in a series of shows with The Hell’s Kitchenettes, an Andrew Sisters-like trio of singing waitresses whose wacky schemes to save their diner always backfire, but never fail to bring it back from the brink of disaster. And last year, also at the Beechman, Cox and frequent collaborator Chelsea Piers put the Romy and Michelle/Laverne & Shirley friendship dynamic into a blender, added some iconic songs from the ’80s/’90s, and created the tasty comedic smoothie that was “Jackie & Chelsea’s High School Reunion.”

The Blade: On April 18, you presented “The Jackie Cox Variety Show” as part of StageIt.com’s Digital Drag Fest series. What songs and segments did you serve fans, and how was the experience? Can we expect to see more of you on the Digital Drag Fest platform?

Jackie Cox: I’ve now done two editions of the “The Jackie Cox Variety Show,” with a new, politically minded version performed on April 21, as part of the campaign to “Drag Out The Vote,” and get the LGBTQ+ community registered to vote! Both versions keep a similar structure, in that it’s a variety show with different comedy segments and songs. I do a cooking segment, a faux-news segment, and recurring gags that happen throughout. It very much harkens back to that 1960s and 1970s variety show feel. I hope to continue doing them, and it’s a great creative space for me to try new ideas in this format. Visit stageit.com/digitaldragfest for the latest information on all their upcoming events.

Blade: Has this forced time away from public performance impacted your creativity, creative output, and approach to using online/social media as an expression of your artistry?

Cox: I think this time away from performing on stage has definitely given us a new frontier of what drag can be in the future, and live performance in general. Having the ability to connect with fans through live streaming platforms presents a lot of fun ways to creatively think outside the box. I’ve been finding myself actually able to engage with fans online in meaningful ways that I probably wouldn’t have been able to if I had been traveling and performing all over the country, as was originally planned.

Blade: Spoilers and gag orders aside, tell us everything you can/want, about part of “RDPR” Season 12?

Cox: Participating in this season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has truly been a dream come true. I learned so much about myself and about my drag from participating in the competition. Spoilers aside—I think from what the audience has already seen, this season is filled with so much talent, personality, and heart.

Blade: Have you had any notable virtual interactions with fans during this period of social distancing?

Cox: Well, the fans have CERTAINLY been vocal and I must say, I feel a bit behind in how the kids talk these days, but I’m learning. (Cool Aunt here.) That said, I’ve been trying to engage with fans as much as I can. I have had so many fans reach out saying they feel represented by who I am and what I’m doing on the show. I’ve also had fans who are either too far away, or otherwise would be unable to come see a live show, and are just so thrilled they get to see live drag from the comfort of their own homes.

Blade: How did you come to be involved in the April 25 Community Strong Identity panel (via witch.tv/popculturehero)? What can we expect?

Cox: I have known Randy Frank, the founding member of the Lambda Quadrant non-profit, which is putting on the event, for a number of years, since we originally connected through our love of “Star Trek.” (It’s not just the glasses—I really am a nerd!)

The panel will be moderated by Chase Masterson (from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) and Raymond Lister, in support of their “Pop Culture Her Coalition”—the first-ever organization to teach empathy, resilience, and real-life heroism over bullying, racism, misogyny, LGBTQ-bullying, cyberbullying, and other forms of hate, by using stories from TV, comics, and movies, which kids find relatable and accessible. In our panel (which includes “Drag Race” alums Silky Nutmeg Ganache and Pandora Boxx, among others), we will be discussing how we tackle these issues in our lives, and share our experiences.

Blade: Are there any other ways, now or upcoming, that fans can access you in the digital realm?

Cox: Yes! I’m @jackiecoxnyc across all social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook… even TikTok!), where I will post the latest information on any and all upcoming shows and appearances.

Blade: The all-clear is called and we’re allowed to gather in public again. What are the first things you’re going to do?

Cox: Definitely go have a good laugh and a margarita (and HUGS!) with friends at any of my favorite bars in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC! I miss salty rims!

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Sports

More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes medal at Olympics

Milan Cortina games ended Sunday

Published

7 hours ago

February 23, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Gay French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, left, is among the LGBTQ athletes who medaled at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Feb. 22, 2026. (Screenshot via NBC Sports/YouTube)

More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.

Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.

French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.

Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.

Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.

Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.

Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.

Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.

Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.

Theater

José Zayas brings ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ to GALA Hispanic Theatre

Gay Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca wrote masterpiece before 1936 execution

Published

1 day ago

February 22, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Luz Nicolás in ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre (Photo by Daniel Martinez)

‘The House of Bernarda Alba’
Through March 1
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St., N.W.
$27-$52
Galatheatre.org

In Federico García Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba,” now at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights, an impossibly oppressive domestic situation serves, in short, as an allegory for the repressive, patriarchal, and fascist atmosphere of 1930s Spain

The gay playwright completed his final and arguably best work in 1936, just months before he was executed by a right-wing firing squad. “Bernarda Alba” is set in the same year, sometime during a hot summer in rural Andalusia, the heart of “España profunda” (the deep Spain), where traditions are deeply rooted and mores seldom challenged.

At Bernarda’s house, the atmosphere, already stifling, is about to get worse.

On the day of her second husband’s funeral, Bernarda Alba (superbly played by Luz Nicolás), a sixtyish woman accustomed to calling the shots, gathers her five unmarried daughters (ages ranging from 20 to 39) and matter-of-factly explain what’s to happen next.

She says, “Through the eight years of mourning not a breeze shall enter this house. Consider the doors and windows as sealed with bricks. That’s how it was in my father’s house and my grandfather’s. Meanwhile, you can embroider your trousseaux.”

It’s not an altogether sunny plan. While Angustias (María del Mar Rodríguez), Bernarda’s daughter from her first marriage and heiress to a fortune, is betrothed to a much younger catch, Pepe el Romano, who never appears on stage, the remaining four stand little chance of finding suitable matches. Not only are they dowry-less, but no men, eligible or otherwise, are admitted into their mother’s house.

Lorca is a literary hero known for his mastery of both lyrical poetry and visceral drama; still, “Bernarda Alba’s” plotline might suit a telenovela. Despotic mother heads a house of adult daughters. Said daughters are churning with passions and jealousies. When sneaky Martirio (Giselle Gonzáles) steals the photo of Angustias’s fiancé all heck kicks off. Lots of infighting and high drama ensue. There’s even a batty grandmother (Alicia Kaplan) in the wings for bleak comic relief.

At GALA, the modern classic is lovingly staged by José Zayas. The New York-based out director has assembled a committed cast and creative team who’ve manifested an extraordinarily timely 90-minute production performed in Spanish with English subtitles easily ready seen on multiple screens.

In Lorca’s stage directions, he describes the set as an inner room in Bernarda’s house; it’s bright white with thick walls. At GALA, scenic designer Grisele Gonzáles continues the one-color theme with bright red walls and floor and closed doors. There are no props.

In the airless room, women sit on straight back chairs sewing. They think of men, still. Two are fixated on their oldest siter’s hunky betrothed. Only Magdelena (Anna Malavé), the one sister who truly mourns their dead father, has given up on marriage entirely.

The severity of the place is alleviated by men’s distant voices, Koki Lortkipanidze’s original music, movement (stir crazy sisters scratching walls), and even a precisely executed beatdown choreographed by Lorraine Ressegger-Slone.

In a short yet telling scene, Bernarda’s youngest daughter Adela (María Coral) proves she will serve as the rebellion to Bernarda’s dictatorship. Reluctant to mourn, Adela admires her reflection. She has traded her black togs for a seafoam green party dress. It’s a dreamily lit moment (compliments of lighting designer Hailey Laroe.)

But there’s no mistaking who’s in charge. Dressed in unflattering widow weeds, her face locked in a disapproving sneer, Bernarda rules with an iron fist; and despite ramrod posture, she uses a cane (though mostly as a weapon during one of her frequent rages.)

Bernarda’s countenance softens only when sharing a bit of gossip with Poncia, her longtime servant convincingly played by Evelyn Rosario Vega.

Nicolás has appeared in “Bernarda Alba” before, first as daughter Martirio in Madrid, and recently as the mother in an English language production at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh. And now in D.C. where her Bernarda is dictatorial, prone to violence, and scarily pro-patriarchy.

Words and phrases echo throughout Lorca’s play, all likely to signal a tightening oppression: “mourning,” “my house,” “honor,” and finally “silence.”

As a queer artist sympathetic to left wing causes, Lorca knew of what he wrote. He understood the provinces, the dangers of tyranny, and the dimming of democracy. Early in Spain’s Civil War, Lorca was dragged to the the woods and murdered by Franco’s thugs. Presumably buried in a mass grave, his remains have never been found.