- 4 weeks ago
From Broadway blockbusters to Off-Broadway gems, drag queens have been bringing glamour, comedy, and serious vocal fire to the stage. We’re spotlighting the most dazzling theater performances from some of the fiercest queens in the business, with roles in hit productions like Chicago, Hairspray, Cabaret, Moulin Rouge! and more. Which scene-stealing turn had you cheering loudest?
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00:00I've waited my whole life to be seen as a salty, middle-aged woman, and it's the greatest privilege to
00:07get to play one.
00:09Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most dazzling theater performances by our favorite
00:15drag queens.
00:16Some spoilers to come.
00:18It's so much fun just being with people that are, like me, very, very talented and humble.
00:25Number 10, Bob the Drag Queen, Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
00:29Company, this is your Places call. Places, please, for the top of the show. Places, please.
00:34You heard it.
00:36All right. It's showtime.
00:38This winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 has gone on to star in various media, including film, TV, podcasts,
00:46and web series.
00:47And, of course, this diva has trod the boards as Belize in Angels of America, and is set to play
00:52King Herod in the West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.
00:55For his Broadway debut, however, he played Harold Ziedler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical, based on the Baz Luhrmann film
01:01of the same title.
01:02I don't know why you walk, yeah, I get it.
01:05Hey, come on!
01:15Bob plays the emcee with stylish aplomb, high energy, and infectious sassiness.
01:21It's a performance which fits Bob's showmanship and style to a T.
01:25This queen can work it.
01:41Hey, there's a new girl in town. Let's get to business.
01:48Broadway just hit our stage.
01:49Also known as Dwayne Milan, this fabulous queen was also a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, joining the show in
01:56Season 4.
01:57Since then, he has gone beyond lip-syncing and landed multiple stage roles.
02:01He was in the ensemble in Hairspray and Motown the Musical in 2007, and performed as a swing in the
02:072023 revival of Sweeney Todd.
02:10For needness, he deserves a nod.
02:12The Sweeney Todd.
02:15The demon father of Heath Street.
02:17He and his fellow cast members of the off-Broadway revival of Smokey Joe's Cafe even received an honor at
02:23the Chita Rivera Awards for dance and choreography.
02:27Milan was, in fact, the first contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race to land a role on Broadway.
02:32Kudos.
02:32No, I won't shed a tear.
02:37Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
02:43Number 8. Peppermint. Rent.
02:45Sugary, sweet confection.
02:48Bad for your teeth.
02:49Spicy, red-hot chocolatey.
02:50I'm minty fresh, but it ain't for free.
02:53Cut the track.
02:53Whatever you're doing right now, take that and run with it.
02:56She is glamorous, graceful, and talented.
02:59Peppermint was a ninth-season contestant of RuPaul's Drag Race, and went on to dazzle the world even further as
03:05a singer-songwriter, and, of course, a stage actor.
03:08She became the first out trans woman to originate a lead role on Broadway, performing as Pythio in the 2018
03:15musical Head Over Heels.
03:17Our nation made strong by brilliance design.
03:20Arcadian swear.
03:21Our beat is divine.
03:23She also starred in a transparent musical as a divine divina.
03:27And, of course, she performed in Rent as Angel early in her career.
03:31From the sound of her and Shane Elks' cover of I'll Cover You, she must have made a lovely angel
03:36indeed.
03:36I've longed to discover something as true as this is.
03:45Number 7. Bianca Del Rio.
03:47Everybody's talking about Jamie.
03:51Everyone's a work of art, Jamie New.
03:53But you are a master.
03:57This sharp and savage RuPaul's Drag Race contestant has been everywhere.
04:01A Cuban-American powerhouse, Del Rio has been performing in theater since 1998, starring in Cabaret, Grease, and Rent.
04:10After his triumph in Drag Race Season 6, Del Rio made his West End debut in Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
04:16I had seen the show with Michelle Visage in it, who you know, I know from RuPaul's Drag Race, and
04:21I'd come to see it and I just fell in love with it.
04:23I thought it was just an amazing piece of theater.
04:25I thought, as a gay man, I could relate to the story.
04:28Not so much as Jamie, because I wasn't a child who wanted to be a drag queen, but I definitely
04:33could relate to the older Bitter Queen.
04:34As this is a musical about a 16-year-old British schoolboy who becomes a drag queen, this casting choice
04:40was very apropos.
04:42Del Rio plays ex-drag queen Hugo, once the fabulous Loco Chanel, who plays fairy godmother to Jamie's Cinderella.
04:48Now, this is a star turn.
04:50Bianca's incredible.
04:52She brings so much more, like she brings out Loco, and yeah, you really feel that banter between her and
04:57the drag queens, I love it.
04:58Now that Faye, Bianca, and Leighton are in it, it's elevated it even more.
05:02I didn't think that could happen, but it is incredible.
05:05Discover more stage queens when you sashay onto Ms. Mojo's 24-7 live stream.
05:10Scan the QR code on screen to join us live for non-stop pop culture fun.
05:15Hey, life's online and I'm looking fine, I've gotta get those likes, sis.
05:19Number 6.
05:21Latrice Royale, Little Shop of Horrors.
05:23Feed me!
05:27This RuPaul's Drag Race contestant has been many things, including an ordained minister.
05:32But she has not had a long record of being in theater, making her West End debut in 2020 in
05:38Death Drop.
05:38Soon, however, she landed a big role as the bloodthirsty Audrey II in a 2024 production of Little Shop of
05:45Horrors.
05:45Eight, sometimes nine times a week.
05:49That's right, people.
05:50We did nine shows because they were all selling out so fast, so we had to add the shows.
05:58Just so you know!
06:00The murderous plant is usually a puppet, with the performer merely singing the role offstage.
06:04This production, however, made the role a more visible one to showcase all of Royale's flair.
06:10Royale's turn as Audrey II was iconic, and what must be the best line delivery yet.
06:15You're a plant.
06:16You're an inanimate object.
06:18This is looking inanimate to you, b****!
06:19I mean, come on.
06:28If I can talk, and I can move, who's to say I can't do anything?
06:31I won't.
06:33We love to see it.
06:34Number 5.
06:36Alaska.
06:36Drag the Musical.
06:37I'm the queen, the epitome of nobility, and Cleopatra ain't got nothing on me.
06:46Initially part of a drag troupe and later starring in RuPaul's Drag Race, this queen has a gilded trajectory, landing
06:53roles in film, TV, and web series.
06:55Alaska also landed some juicy musical theater drag roles, including as Dr. Frankenfurter in the Rocky Horror Show.
07:02She was also in Head Over Heels, and played Mary Todd Lincoln in the U.S. national tour of O
07:07'Mary in 2026.
07:09I want on my gravestone that I was the first person to play O'Mary in Las Vegas.
07:17Because I will be!
07:18That's fast.
07:19I'm going to be the first!
07:21That's like being the first person on the moon.
07:24That's insane!
07:25Her performance skills, however, can be best shown in 2024's Drag the Musical, playing Kitty Galloway.
07:31Her Queen Kitty is regal, droll, and exhibits excellent showmanship.
07:43Number 4.
07:44Rosé, Titanic.
07:46When I was 15, my dad took me, he took me to see like four Broadway musicals, and it's just
07:54like we saw a different show every night, and it made me see my dream.
07:57Like fine champagne, this queen never disappoints.
08:01Beginning his drag career in 2017, Rosé competed on RuPaul's Drag Race's 13th season, going on to land roles in
08:08web series, television, and music videos.
08:11In 2022, he began to land theater roles as well.
08:14He played Victor Garber in the off-Broadway musical parody Titanic, a fun lampoon of James Cameron's film.
08:20One solo, I drove all night, says it all.
08:31He has since gone on to play Glinda in an LGBTQIA plus production of The Wizard of Oz.
08:36We hope he'll be getting more theater roles in the future.
08:39This is just an article, these are just photos, but like, I mean, I, all, every single one of them
08:45I can see.
08:49There's something about knowing that 1,500 people are watching you and laughing with you and just enjoying what you're
08:58putting out, and like, the more the audience enjoys it, the more I have fun.
09:03This three-time Marsha had their Broadway debut in 2018 in the hit musical Kinky Boots, going on to play
09:09Angel in an off-Broadway run.
09:11They were also part of the ensemble in Hello Dolly's U.S. National Tour.
09:15And we'll be chugging right along until the world ends.
09:23Afterwards, they competed in season 15 of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2023.
09:28Soon, however, they were back, playing the MC in the 2025 Broadway revival of Cabaret.
09:33Marsha sounds fantastic, giving a sincere ring to this iconically sinister role.
09:38Also, the amount of prep work to become the MC was astonishing.
09:42I just really wanted to make it different than myself.
09:46So, the fact that people that know me are, like, surprised by, like, where I'm able to go, like, that's
09:52very cool for me.
09:53Number 2. Nina West, Hairspray.
09:56I wasn't really intending on moving to Columbus, Ohio.
10:00I was gonna go to New York City and chase the dream of being an actor on Broadway.
10:04And I graduated in 2001, May of 2001, and I was gonna move to New York.
10:09And then 9-11 happened in September, and it changed my whole path.
10:14Queer activist, actor, singer, songwriter, and, of course, drag queen, West has done anything and everything.
10:21Starting her drag career in 2001, she won Miss Congeniality in the 11th season of RuPaul's Drag Race.
10:27Theater-wise, however, she is really only just beginning.
10:30Celebrating black voices, celebrating queer voices, celebrating drag in a really subversive way, you know?
10:38It was all very, like, powerful and camp and fun, like, you know?
10:44In 2021, West landed the role of Tracy's mother, Edna Turnblad, traditionally a drag role, in the national tour of
10:51Hairspray.
10:51Her performance of You're Timeless to Me, a love duet with Christopher Swan as Wilbur, is a sheer delight.
10:57We hope to see her in larger roles in the future.
11:00You'll always hit the spot, big shot, you're timeless to me.
11:06Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:10Olivia Lux, Kinky Boots.
11:12This diva puts the kink in Kinky Boots.
11:14I have found it, found it, found it, found it, found it, you'll see me.
11:23Willem, Titanic.
11:25She's Titanic in the role.
11:27Well, this is the first time I've ever been this versatile.
11:29But, um, I think that my goal every night is to make the gays happy and the straights uncomfortable and
11:36then re-comfortable.
11:37Okay?
11:38Yeah.
11:38And are you feeling you succeed every night?
11:40Fully, yeah.
11:41Yeah.
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12:08Number 1.
12:10Jinx Monsoon, Chicago.
12:12The system works.
12:14The system called reciprocity.
12:24Few drag queens are as dedicated to the theater as this one.
12:27A RuPaul's Drag Race alum from season 5, Monsoon is the first and only queen to win two crowns in
12:33the franchise.
12:34Her theater career stretches from 2010, with Monsoon making her Broadway debut in 2023 in Chicago as Mama Morton.
12:41I love this character.
12:43She's an entertainment agent.
12:46And the jail is her day job.
12:49So in those ways, I'm like, I know this character and I really enjoy playing her.
12:55Since then, she has played an achingly sincere Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors.
13:00She also starred as Ruth in Pirates, the Penzance musical in 2025.
13:04Her Mary Todd Lincoln in 2026's Oh Mary is also worth checking out.
13:09What a talent.
13:11When you're good to mama, mama's good.
13:17Oh yeah.
13:23Which other fabulous drag queen wowed you with their thespian skill?
13:26Let us know in the comments down below.