Overview
Courtney Berringers would like to welcome you to her wake! But—make no mistake—this ain’t your grandma’s funeral. AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN is an imaginative one-act play that uses magical realism, mythology, drama, and drag to tell the story of a pair of drag queens living (and dying) in rural Georgia in 2004. From African Gods and Goddesses to Trina and Whitney Houston, AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN explores identity, illness, and the celebration of Black, queer life in the rural south. Come party at the wake. Bring your own heels!
Casting & Production
Casting
ANTHONY KNIGHTON / COURTNEY BERRINGERS
Young, poor, Black. Scorpio. Divas include (but are not limited to) Whitney, Judy, Diana.
HUNTER GRIMES / VICKIE VERSAILLES
Young, poor, white. Libra. Divas include (but are not limited to) Bernadette, Shania, Baby Spice.
Setting
Place
The play oscillates between the afterworld and the memory of a dingy gay bar in Albany, Georgia.
Time
2004
Reviews
“This is no somber, black-clad tale of trauma and mourning. AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN is a sequin-studded, rose petal-raining ode to joy.”
—Chicago Sun Times
“AT THE WAKE OF A DEAD DRAG QUEEN, is alternately moving, hilarious, inspiring and involving.”
—Sarasota Herald Tribune
