Some of today’s biggest drag stars are joining forces to bring a unique perspective of the life of pioneering drag icon Divine to the stage, with the world premiere of “Divine/Intervention” July 16-Aug. 2 at Voyeur.
Written by E. Dale Smith, based on an original concept by Mimi Imfurst (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) and directed by Braden Chapman (Imfurst’s alter ego), the play finds Glenn Milstead alone in his hotel room on the night of his untimely death as he struggles with his inner demons. Milstead had skyrocketed to stardom as drag queen Divine in John Waters’ cult-classic films “Pink Flamingos,” “Desperate Living” and “Hairspray.”
“It is definitely a dark piece,” Chapman said. “But it has tons and tons of humor in it. Divine’s story in and of itself is a sad story in the fact that he worked so hard for so long to have acceptance, not just as an actor. His family was always supportive in the beginning but they just didn’t really understand. They cut him out of their lives and he worked hard to get them back in his life and have that acceptance.”
That struggle is underscored by the play taking place the night before Divine’s death. Chapman noted that, while it was not widely known, Divine had been set for a reoccurring role on “Married … With Children.”
“Here was this mainstream network hit that wanted Divine as an actor and it was everything he ever wanted,” he said. “To have that and to die on the night before that was just so sad.”
To portray Divine’s inner turmoil, the play has two actors, Ryan Walter and Bobby Goodrich, simultaneously playing Milstead and Divine.
“What’s really cool about this production is we have two actors playing Divine, one in drag and one out of drag,” Chapman said. “The stage is split down the middle and they move in mirror images. I think it’s the first time it’s ever been done in a play, which is exciting. These two actors have been rehearsing for a while and they have to move in mirror image and mirror time. It’s a really incredible acting exercise to watch unfold on stage.”
Chapman said telling the story of such a widely known and revered drag icon has been a daunting task.
“We have always known the weight that Divine carried and the importance of getting her story right,” he said. “Divine was a person who in was in some ways larger than life but whose private life hasn’t really been explored. There’s been such pressure on ourselves to get it right and that’s why we’ve taken three years to develop this piece, to do a series of readings and make sure it was right before we put it out there in the public. Divine was a groundbreaker. Divine paved the way for contemporary drag queens to be viable in commercial art. She just broke down so many boundaries doing that. This play is the first time that a play or a movie explores the psyche of a working drag queen. Sure, we’ve all seen ‘The Birdcage’ or ‘Priscilla’ or ‘Too Wong Foo.’ We’ve all seen ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ This is really the first that dives into that private moment when you’re alone in the mirror covering up your face and who you are to become someone different — what goes through your mind when you are doing that. This is the first time we are able to do that.”
Chapman said “Divine/Intervention” was done without any input from Waters, but the cast and crew are hopeful he will catch one of the shows.
“We have not yet heard from John Waters,” he said. “We would love for him to come see the piece. We would love for him to be involved in the production. The invitation is always open, as frightening and scary as it may be.”
Given the gravitas of the story and performance, we wondered why a nightclub like Voyeur was chosen as the venue.
Chapman noted that, in some ways, a club was a more ideal setting for this story that a traditional theater.
“The play does take place in a series of dressing rooms and I think Voyeur lends itself to that club atmosphere,” he said. “The problem you see and hear a lot of times is, why can’t we have a reality show or documentary about drag queens? Well, it’s because the reality of a drag queen’s life is that it’s not glamorous. It’s the opposite of what we do. We are these glamorous creations but we have these rather ordinary lives and we are rather ordinary people once that comes off. It’s a different kind of interesting and I think that doing this show in a nightclub is kind of a metaphor for all that. You have this larger-than-life creation of Divine but at the end of the day, she was just a working drag queen who was working the clubs.”
Another important decision Chapman made was to direct the production, rather than appear on stage.
“The idea was that I would play Divine,” he said. “It became very clear to me as the person whose idea this whole thing was that I had more to offer as a director. My background is in directing. I have a degree in it and I think that comes through in the production that I put on. I just thought with this piece I had more to offer as a director than an actor. I feel like this piece is so important for the world to see and hear, not just as drag queens, but to tell Divine’s story as well.”
sbgProductions & Faux Real Entertainment present “Divine/Intervention” Thursday-Sunday July 16-Aug. 2 at Voyeur Nightclub, 1221 St. James St. For more information or tickets, call 800-838-3006 or visit www.TheDivinePlay.com.