The new season of RuPaul's Drag Race is set to air on Monday, January 30. To ready Nashville fans of the popular female impersonator reality competition series, PLAY Dance Bar (1519 Church Street) and Tribe Nashville (1517 Church) are welcoming back drag performer, The Princess, who's about to make his national TV debut as one of the contestants on Season 4 of LOGO's huge ratings hit. The Princess, whose real first name isAdam, returns to his onetime hometown to not only perform at PLAY Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28, but to also host a special Nashville Premiere Viewing Party of RuPaul's Drag Race at Tribe on Monday night.
I first saw The Princess perform back in 2005 or so, when he became the latest cast member at PLAY's popular weekend drag shows. I remember my initial reaction to seeing The Princess, who more often than not performs sans any wig, but instead sporting his own shaved head. My first thought was thatThe Princess seemed like some sort of an amalgamation of everyone from Madonna's energy and stage presence and Annie Lennox's androgyny and captivating gracewith hints of Fritz Lang's unforgettable still-futuristic robot woman in the now-classic 1927 sci-fi masterpiece, Metropolis....with a healthy dose of Grace Jones haute couture style and edginess thrown in for good measure!
When I found out Adam/The Princess was returning to PLAY for the weekend, I spoke with one of the club's co-owners, Keith Blaydes about the return of one of Nashville's favorite drag performers. Of his own thoughts when The Princess joined the cast, Keith remembered, "We always strive to have a well rounded cast at PLAY. Adam brought something new and fresh to Nashville. Over the four years that he was on the cast at PLAY, his amazing talent continued to grow. In the world of female impersonation, there are very talented performers and a lot of strong personalities. With our amazing cast, we could always count on Adam to not only put on a great performance, but also to be a great 'team player,".
The Princess was a regular member of PLAY's cast from Fall of 2005 through the Fall of 2009. In the years since, he has relocated to Chicago, where he doesn't perform drag. That's not to say he's given up performing...far from it. He just keeps those two worlds separate, opting to travel outside his current hometown to Nashville and other major cities for an occasional weekend gig. Since relocating, The Princess has been a frequent special guest at PLAY, and I've seen him continue to grown and amaze first-time audiences and longtime fans, myself included, with each and every return visit. Blaydes mirrored my thoughts when he said, "The Princess is always on the top of our list of performers to bring in as a special guest. Although Adam has been gone for over two years, his fan base loves him, and the younger crowd that didn't see him on cast have really voiced their approval and love to see him perform."
Blaydes, who is also co-owner of Tribe, conveniently located next door to PLAY, offered the following words of encouragement and support for The Princess' upcoming journey on RuPaul's Drag Race towards being named The Next Drag Superstar as Tribe prepares to host Monday night's Premiere Viewing Party, "All of us here at Tribe and PLAY are so excited about Adam being here for the Premiere of Season 4. Adam will always be considered "one of the family", and knowing how talented he is, we can't wait to see how he does on the show."
The Princess will join the cast of PLAY on Friday, January 27 with shows at 11pm and 1am, as well as three shows on Saturday, January 28 at 9:30pm, 11pm and 1am. PLAY is always 18 and up with proof of ID and a minimal cover charge.
Then on Monday, January 30,The Princess will host Tribe's viewing party as Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race premieres nationwide.
Co-hosting the event will be another local favorite drag persona, Suzy Wong aka restauranteur and former Top Chef reality favorite, Arnold Myint. Myint is chef and creator of Church Street's most popular eatery, Suzy Wong's House of Yum, located in the space adjacent to Tribe.
In addition to screening the premiere episode of RuPaul's Drag Race, appetizers will be provided by Suzy Wong's House of Yum and attendees will be treated to performances by The Princess, Suzy Wong and other members of PLAY's cast. The event is free and, for one night only, Tribe will forego their usual 21+ policy, admitting patrons 18 and up with proof of ID.
The evening is set to kick off at 7pm, Ru Paul's Drag Race Season 4 premiere episode will be shown on all screens at Tribe at 9/8c, then an all-new behind-the-scenes look at what went on backstage during the first week's challenges as Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked follows at 10:30/9:30c. If you can't make it out for the premiere episode, but want to join the fun the rest of the season, Tribe will be hosting weekly viewing parties each Monday night when new episodes are at 9/8c.
On the subject of RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 3 Runner-Up, Manila Luzon will be the special guest on Friday, February 10. For more information on PLAY and their upcoming special events, CLICK HERE. For the latest happenings at TRIBE, CLICK HERE. For details about SUZY WONG'S HOUSE OF YUM, CLICK HERE.
For a sneak peek at The Princess, CLICK HERE. To check out his competition, CLICK HERE to visit RuPaul's Drag Race's official page.
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