New York City, meet the A-Rod and David Wright of the drag world.
Hometown heroines Dwayne Milan and Jiggly Caliente bring out the bats (er, strike that) on Season 4 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” in which drag artists compete for a $100,000 prize and the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar.
RuPaul, chatting with us at last week’s premiere party at the Patricia Field boutique, called them fierce, New York-style competitors. “If you’ve ever taken the A train, you know that you have to fight to get uptown. These kids come into the race with that power and knowledge.”
Milan, a veteran of the downtown club scene and former ensemble member of Broadway’s “Hairspray,” is a sleek, polished performer. Queens-raised Caliente, Miss Universo Latina Plus 2009, says she’s “a pretty laid-back chick — but push me to the wall, and I will attack you like a rabid beast.”
RuPaul describes the New York drag scene as “gritty with a wink.” “There’s a real toughness to it that some people may think of as abrasive — but, you know, that’s New York.” Looking to get into the scene? Ru advises: “Put your ear to the concrete and find out what’s happening. … There’s always something popping up that didn’t even exist last week.”
And if you’d rather observe than participate, check out Caliente and Milan, who will be perform Wednesday nights at the Hot Mess show at XL, hosted by Wigstock founder Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio, starting Feb. 8.
