Alexis Michelle, a downtown Manhattan-born drag star, recording artist and activist, is ready for her long-awaited debut at a downtown Manhattan institution.
Next week, the 39-year-old performer — and competitor on season 8 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” — will delight music lovers and drag fans alike when she performs June 27-28 at Joe’s Pub, the famed East Village venue known for its eclectic-cool programming.
While Michelle is certainly no stranger to the New York City stage — her resume includes shows at some of the city’s best-known cabaret venues such as Don’t Tell Mama and Café Carlyle — she says bringing her music to Joe’s Pub, a performance space within the Public Theater, feels like destiny.
“My inspiration to start doing a one-woman cabaret show was born from me seeing someone perform at Joe’s Pub,” Michelle told the Daily News, referring to Queens-born singer-songwriter Morley. “It could’ve been 20 years ago ... and I started to imagine (and) to dream what it would be like — what would my show be like there.”
Michelle, who attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School for the performing arts before receiving a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Michigan, first gained international recognition while competing on the ninth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which aired in 2017.
Since then, the camp-and-glam queen released her debut album, “Lovefool,” starred in the TLC makeover show “Dragnificient,” and was selected to appear in the current season of “Drag Race: All Stars.”
Now, about two decades after first dreaming of performing at Joe’s Pub, Michelle is finally getting ready to see that fantasy come to life with a combination of excitement and nervousness.
The show promises to highlight different sides of Alexis Michelle — the bubbly, smiley and sometimes overly emotional drag persona embodied by the nonbinary and fluid artist Alex Michaels.
“Whenever you come to one of my shows, you’re going to get something that feels somewhat theatrical. ... I bring that theatrical sensibility with me everywhere I go,” she said.
Michelle’s music selection for the Joe’s Pub shows will not be heavy on Broadway standards, however.
“It’s mostly selections from pop sensibility from the ‘60s and ‘70s like Dionne Warwick (and) Shirley Bassey. A little bit of some old Barbra (Streisand), downtown Greenwich Village music ... definitely a throwback vibe,” she said.
“This is me at my most me,” she explained. “You will get a dose of my mentality, my voice, my humor, my sexual appetite, you’re gonna get it all.”
And that includes her passion to use drag as a political act.
The ancient art form known for its humor and camp has now become a dangerous talking point used by conservative lawmakers and extreme-right personalities to further their anti-LGBTQ agenda.
Michelle and her fellow “Drag Race” cast members are helping to fight back against a spike in LGBTQ attacks by using their voices — and impossibly high stilettos and over-the-top wigs — to help raise funds for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Drag Defense Fund.
In late April, Michelle participated in a benefit with many of her New York City drag sisters and the cast of the Off-Broadway musical “Titanique” to raise around $15,000 for the cause.
“Drag has always been about activism,” she said. “And there have been times when it hasn’t been so urgent. But here we are in a time of urgency when drag is needed, not just to bring joy but to act as a voice for people.”
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