Lady Bunny Keeps Things Raunchy for the Holidays

EDGE: What do you love most about doing a holiday show?

Lady Bunny: One thing that I really like is that since I've been performing, I'm 61 now and have been a drag queen for about 35 years. I love that I have older and new younger fans. The newer fans love the Drag Race gossip, and the older fans don't keep up with it and have no idea what I am talking about. They'll know some of the names but that is it. So, I love working in my version of a "Twisted Night Before Christmas," and that is always scandalous. I'm also doing something new this year, a 10-minute mini version of Scrooge in which I play Scrooge and some very pitiful Ghosts of Christmas past, present and Future. The holidays are about brining everyone together and that is what I love most about doing a holiday show.

EDGE: Could you tell us a bit about your version of the "'Twas the Night Before Christmas?"

Lady Bunny: Ill do better than that. I will read you some of it:

Was the night before Christmas and all through my den, Hunter Biden was hitting the crack pipe again.

But at least she's no longer the world's worst Mattel because that Barbie movie was three hours of hell.
That's just a taste.

EDGE: Which Christmas movie would you remake with an all-drag cast?

Lady Bunny: "Christmas in Connecticut." I'd love to do the Barbara Stanwick role, but I don't care if there are any other drag queens in it. I think she's kind of underappreciated. She's not like Marilyn Monroe in terms of legacy, but she had the goods, and she wasn't as gorgeous as Raquel Welch or Marilyn Monroe, but she could play gorgeous and make you think that she was gorgeous. That's talent and the kind of talent I wish I had.

EDGE: For many in the LGBTQ+ community, the holidays can be difficult. What is your message for them?

Lady Bunny: Find your people. The overused expression is find your chosen family. In other words, if your real family doesn't see you or approve of you, then obviously you have to cut them loose as hard as it can be for you. I have many friends in that same boat, but you need to do it for your own mental health and success. So, find your own people and celebrate with them.

EDGE: What can attendees expect from your show?

Lady Bunny: I often hear people say that their face hurts from laughing so much. For this show, I'm trying some new stuff. I can't guarantee that it's all going to be winners, but I hope some will laugh. I will be singing the standards that I do every year. They're quite ridiculous and quite dirty. I have 30 Christmas songs in this show. I'm doing a medley of Christmas songs that I actually like. I will be singing them as they were written, which is new for me. Many will probably be surprised that it is not a polite Christmas show. It's a raunchy and bottom-of-the-barrel kind of show with a lot of low humor.

EDGE: What are you looking forward to most about 2024?

Lady Bunny: I am looking forward to a ceasefire in Gaza, which 80% of Democrats support, but which our Democratic president does not. I am from the South, and I grew up in a religious environment, even though I'm not. We used to talk a lot about the Prince of Peace, which is another name for Jesus. I don't hear anybody talking about the Prince of Peace anymore and that's one of the great things from the Christian religion is to value peace. So, I hope for peace in 2024. This world needs it.

There are two performances left of Lady Bunny in "A Very Blue Xmas," in New York City at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. For more details, follow this link. She moves to Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles on December 20, with two shows at Oscars in Palm Springs on December 21, another in San Francisco's Oasis on Deccember 23, and finally at Hamburger Mary's in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on December 30. For more on Lady Bunny, //www.ladybunny.net/visit her website.