If the name Bianca Del Rio doesn’t sound familiar, you probably aren’t privy to one of the more entertaining reality shows on TV, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Hosted by its legendary namesake, Drag Race is like American Idol-meets-America’s Next Top Model-meets-Project Runway — with drag queens. The competition show premiered on Logo in 2009, with a seventh season in the works this year (Cincinnati drag queen Penny Tration briefly appeared in the show’s fifth season).
Each season features drag queens from across the country competing in acting, singing and other challenges. Week by week, the queens face elimination on a runway and two are forced to “lip sync for their lives” before one is sent home. This background is necessary because season six Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio is not just another drag queen — she is, in the words of RuPaul, a drag superstar.
Bianca Del Rio (39-year-old Roy Haylock) entered the show, which aired last spring, with nearly two decades of drag experience under her belt. With a solid look and spitfire wit, she was a clear standout from the beginning. After a season full of wins and high marks, Bianca swept the competition and won the crown (plus a “sickening supply” of Colorevolution Cosmetics and $100,000).
For Friday’s Rolodex of Hate performance in the Queen City? “Expect the unexpected,” she says. “I go off the audience, which is great. A lot of the show is scripted, but one of my favorite sections is a question-and-answer with the audience. Because when I grew up I loved Carol Burnett, so it’s one of those things I enjoy doing. It’s interesting to hear what people have to ask you. So get ready for that!”
Bianca Del Rio performs Friday, Jan. 16. $20-$75. Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville, bogarts.com.
This article appears in Jan 7-14, 2015.
