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Let’s be honest, folks: there’s no cordial way talk about favorite drag performers in this city. There may not be full-fledged, wig-pulling, eye-scratching cat fights, but stating your favorites will undoubtedly lead to some derision from followers of other Bay stars. This is a city where each and every single person has their own favorite local pizza, cocktail, and dog-walker—you think a discussion about favorite drag stars is gonna be restrained? You sweet summer child. As such, I won’t poke the hornet’s nest that is naming one’s favorite local drag performers (I have a few), but rather shine a well-deserved spotlight on one who has made theater-going a joy for the last few years.
Obviously, the queen in question is Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, the showtune-belting diva who pulls off all the subtle art and over-the-top entertainment of which drag is capable. Yes, the alter ego of J. Conrad Frank is a staple at Oasis—where she brought down the house in D’Arcy Drollinger’s soap opera satire Bitch Slap!—but Skyy has also become a welcome regular presence at the New Conservatory Theatre Center. If you’re going to hand pick a local talent for a role written by Charles Busch, you can’t go wrong with Katya.
But if you want to see Katya at her absolute best, you should have seen her earlier this year in Ray of Light’s production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. That’s when we saw our divine local diva put both her polished pipes and deep pathos to work in the role of British drag mentor Loco Chanelle. Acting as both surrogate father and fairy godmother, Skyy gave one of the year’s best performances as the dramatized version of the eponymous lead’s real-life mentor. It’s a performance that not only speaks to Skyy’s skills as an entertainer, but also to the fact that drag and “proper” theater are twin siblings of Dionysus. Her uniqueness is a reminder of why it’s so hard to pick a local drag front-runner. Select a favorite if you must, but don’t think them worlds apart.
KATYA SMIRNOFF-SKYY official website here.
