Drag performer Moon Baby is taking on the gargantuan task of lifting everybody’s holiday spirits with the 10th anniversary performance of their drag cabaret, “Christmas on the Moon, Baby,” on Dec. 22 at Johnny Brenda’s.
Moon Baby started their career as a folk singer in Pittsburgh before making a name for themselves as a drag queen in the same area before relocating to Philadelphia. We were about to question the connective tissue between folk and drag until we remembered that David Bowie started out as a folk singer before Ziggy Stardust erupted out of him.
But Moon Baby further elaborated on the folk singer to drag queen similarities.
“I think that the music is definitely at the forefront,” they said. “But really when you think about it, drag is kind of like a queer folk art. I think that it shares that similar heart muscle, like having a locality to it, something regional about it and it’s really community based as well.”
“Christmas on the Moon, Baby” started off as an entertaining escape hatch for queer audiences during the holidays but over the last decade, it has become more involved and elaborate both for the performers and their audiences.
“It has slowly just morphed and become bigger,” Moon Baby said. “It started as a way for the queer community of Pittsburgh to have a space to gather, and during the holidays, because it was in this era of politics becoming at the forefront of a lot of conversations and I think that back in 2015, a lot of queer people were dealing with harsh conversations that they were having with their families about politics. A lot of people decided they weren’t going to be traveling for the holidays. It started as this community event, and it’s slowly become more and more rehearsed. During the first ‘Christmas on the Moon, Baby,’ I think I rehearsed for an hour, so it’s definitely a little more.”
It’s safe to assume that with the incoming political regime, Moon Baby is going to have busy holiday schedules for at least the next four years.
“The first time that I did it in Philadelphia, there wasn’t really anything going on in the news that would make Christmas into like an emotional hot ticket time of year,” they said. “But still, I think that it just rings true for queer people that the holidays are sometimes a difficult time and the first time we did it in Philly, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Meanwhile, I’m singing like ridiculous parodies of Christmas classics. Sometimes I think for some people, it is a charged time of year. So, I think it’s really nice to provide that space.”
Moon Baby’s cabaret shows feature the musical talents of indie songwriter Jon David Russell, who Moon Baby credits with helping to bring all of their ideas to life on the cabaret stage.
“Jon, who I have worked with for every show, went out on a limb to find session players to play upright bass and stuff,” they said of the 10th anniversary shows. “He is kind of an archivist as far as the show goes. He has compared our last few years to see how we can change it; what worked and what didn’t. He does all of the logistics as far as the music goes. I’m very much just a singer. I’m not super versed in music, so he really provides that foundation for me.”
Moon Baby hopes the audiences will feel an equal amount of campy escapism and fight-the-power energy at this year’s holiday show.
“Of course, people go to drag shows and to nightlife spaces in general to escape their day,” they said. “I think we need to provide that space but at the end of the set, I want to make sure that there’s been a message. There are certainly Christmas songs that are political that we try to do, and I think there’s also just this baseline that by gathering as queer people we are making a political statement. We are providing space for conversations. So, I never try to be too heavy-handed because I do know that there is a level of escapism to nightlife, and I think that that should be protected. I also think that people should feel like they’re taking a load off when they come to a show.”
“Christmas on the Moon Baby” unwraps at 8 p.m. on Dec. 22 at Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave. For more information or to purchase tickets visit johnnybrendas.com.