Meadville Drag Star Round Two Recap

By Cherry Falwell

Round two of Who Wants to be a Drag Star was held on Saturday, January 25th, at Meadville Council on the Arts in front of a sold-out audience. The open-stage drag competition featured five contestants: two drag kings and three drag queens, battling to win the night and their spot in the spring finale.

Each contestant gets five minutes of stage time to showcase their talent. "They can lipsync, sing live, do stand up, juggle, anything they want. I'm still waiting on someone to juggle," said Cherry Falwell, the host of the show. "Open stages are a great opportunity for newcomers to drag to get their names out there and to try things out on stage. It's how I started in Maryland." After they perform, contestants must go head to head in a surprise onstage challenge that they find out about at the same time as the audience.

Guest judges for round two included local drag royalty Debbie Does Drag and Alysin Wonderland, as well as an appearance by DJ Snarebear. They joined head judge Travis Smith on the judging panel.

Contestants Velvet Viper, Hydroxyzine, and Tiny Richard made up the top three and lip-synced for the win. Drag king Tiny Richard won round two and Hydroxyzine was given a wild card spot in the finale. The top performers from each round are invited to perform at bi-monthly drag shows held at Cussewago Creek Distillery.

Round three, the last round before the finale, will be held at Meadville Council on the Arts on March 8th. Featuring guest judges Rebecca Mae, Debbie Does Drag, and DJ Snarebear. Tickets are available now.