The Story Theatre: At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen Review
Terry Guest
The Story Theatre Presents AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN Review - The Life and Death of an Atlanta Drag Queen
TLDR: Starting at the end in front of an urn and altar, At The Wake Of A Dead Drag Queen feels like a celebratory eulogy come to life as we’re treated to the last performance of the drag queen Courtney Berringers. She tells us what happens in the last few months of her life complete with a complicated love story and drag performances.
Terry Guest
Ever Been To A Drag Funeral?
Underneath a stained glass window of a divine feminine figure is a simple, brass urn. A jeweled crown sits on a pillow in front of a photo of a drag queen and other family photos.
Courtney Berringers (Terry Guest) enters from the double purple curtains at the back of the stage and climbs up dressed in a black, sequin gown adorned with red roses. Her first lip sync performance of the evening is Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” while revealing a bright red evening gown underneath. She welcomes us to her show and even though this is her funeral because, yes, she is in fact dead, that is not going to stop her from doing things her way. She glides across the stage, walks up to audience members, points to her fabulous collection of gowns, and seems to be overall happy and cheerful.
Cue the record scratch moment. From the side, out pops another queen who firmly tells Courtney to tell the truth. This is our cue that while we’re meant to celebrate the glamorous and fabulous life of Courtney Berringers, there are things that she would rather gloss over or tell us half truths about, trying to keep things surface level. So here in At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, we're taken on a journey looking back at the past that brought us here and how each queen moves forward.
Story Theatre Celebrates The Art of Drag, Blackness, and Queerness
It's a hot summer night in Atlanta with the sound of cicadas chirping in the background. Out of drag, Courtney sits outside the club smoking a cigarette deep in thought. The new girl, Vickie Versailles (Paul Michael Thomson) strikes up a conversation and the rest is history. The two fall hard and fast in a whirlwind situationship (though this is 2004 so that particular relationship label hasn't even been created yet) where what starts as just a physical attraction grows into something deeper.
What drag show would be complete without nods to iconic women. Vickie dresses up in a full matching leopard print set including dress coat and gloves a la Shania Twain. As she performs her signature “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” Courney is handed a microphone and she narrates the structure of a good drag performance - the history, the choices, the gimmicks, the attitude. There’s so much more than just getting up there and mouthing the words.
Courtney pulls various glittering gowns from her dressing room rack as Vickie asks her questions to get to know her. Lights dim, and after some reluctance we crack open Courtney’s hard, outer shell. She tells us about her first time in drag, knowing what song she needed to perform. The first time her mother found out she performed. The reactions afterwards. The weight that comes with not only being Black, but being a Black, gay, drag queen in the South.
Paul Michael Thomson and Terry Guest
The Need To Be Vulnerable
Even though there are plenty of fun moments where Guest interacts with the crowd - joking with us, giving us a wink, or smiling coyly at us as she performs a lip sync number - at Thomson’s insistence, she needs to be vulnerable with us too. The two actors find the balance between having fun and being campy with those moments of feeling and reflection.
We feel the wide eyed naivete from Thomson as he begins performing as Vickie at the club.Then we feel the anxiety and worry emanating from her as she tries to get in touch with Courtney dialing her phone call after call.
Guest is an affable host for us during the show. Putting on her mask and doing what she loves, being glamorous and performing. But as Guest performs her last number, a Judy Garland classic, we feel our hearts break as her smile begins to falter and she can’t ignore what she’s been hiding anymore.
The After Party Thoughts
At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen is a mix of storytelling and other theatrical breakaway moments as we see the progression of a relationship combined with drag performances and diving into the history and different cultural backgrounds that shape both Courtney and Vickie.
At The Wake blends both light hearted joy and seriousness into a heartfelt show. We feel hope at their blossoming feelings, heartbreak when the inevitable comes, but ultimately are given a glimpse into the life of drag queens and growing up in the South. For those that love shows with drag and discuss social issues with a little tragic romance thrown in, this would be a good show for you.
RECOMMENDED
Paul Michael Thomson
When
Now through May 25, 2025
Where
Raven Theatre
6157 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60660
Runtime: 90min, no intermission
Tickets
$15+
Tickets can be purchased by calling (773) 338-2177 or through The Story Theatre website
Photos
David Hagen
Terry Guest
CAST
Terry Guest (Courtney Berringers/Anthony Knighton)
Paul Michael Thomson (Vickie Versailles/Hunter Grimes)
CREATIVE
Terry Guest (Playwright)
Mikael Burke (Director)
Alyssa Mohn (Scenic Design)
Racquel Postilgione (Costume Design)
Brenden Marble (Lighting Design)
Ethan Korvne (Sound Design, Original Composition)
Danyelle Monson (Choreographer)
Spencer Diaz Tootle (Prop Design)
Victoria Nassif (Intimacy Direction)
Stina Taylor (Technical Direction/Assistant Scenic Design)
Madeleine Shows (Assistant Costume Designer)
Olivia Sullam (Stage Manager)
Tessa Huber (Assistant Stage Manager)
Shelbi Weaver (Production Manager)
David Hagen (Director of Design)
Ayanna Bria Bakari (Wig Design)
Brenna DiStasio (Associate Director)
Brenna DiStasio and Ayanna Bria Bakari (Producers)