Since its inception, Max’s has had a bold premise: Three real-life drag queens sashay out onto the streets across small-town America to coach ordinary people to perform in drag onstage, and hopefully foster some enlightenment and community along the way. For season four, the series underwent a complete overhaul, seeing the departure of the former trinity of alums — Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela and Eureka O’Hara — for the fresh new faces of Jaida Essence Hall, Sasha Velour, Priyanka and Latrice Royale. caught up with the queenly quartet about their respective journeys on the show and the importance of visibly existing as queer people in conservative towns.
I immediately connected with the show, the drag performances that I would see clips of. That’s what I’m obsessed with, drag numbers that hint at your personal story but turn it into this work of entertainment that can bring people close and hopefully change hearts and minds. I saw some performances on the show that looked like my style, with projections and certain kinds of reveals, so I felt like it was beckoning to me.
And then it was Bob the Drag Queen who called me up last year and was like, “Would you want to do ? Because I already gave them your name.” I love a good cry. I watch people win contests on YouTube just to feel some joy in my life — like, Oprah giving [someone] a car — and sobbing, so definitely gave me that feeling of, “We can all make it, we can all feel good,” which is what I love .
