Sasha Velour is one of the most iconic and popular drag queens performing today. Her appearances on the way to winning season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2017 are the stuff of legend. Her final lip-synch performance of So Emotional by the legendary Whitney Huston was celebrated as one of “TV’s Best Musical Moments on Television” by Entertainment Weekly. After winning her season of Drag Race the gender-fluid star and visual artist went on to create her one-queen show, Smoke and Mirrors. This month the theatrical drag tour is coming to Toronto and with it comes the edgy, fashion driven and quirky mind of this celebrated queen.
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Velour is bringing Smoke & Mirrors to the Danforth Music Hall on Nov. 18 and 19. This evening of what she describes as “an effortless blend of drag, visual art and magic” is presented through a collection of thirteen lip-synch performances that range over a number of different genres. The queen, who is known for her use of props to help enhance her performance art, is taking it up a notch in Smoke and Mirrors. Velour excites the crowd as she vanishes into a poof of smoke, explodes into rose petals and even saws herself in half, during lip-synchs of iconic artists like Celine Dion and Annie Lennox.
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The queen hopes to RuVeal more than rose petals with her new show. These daring performances unmask the illusions of gender identity, fame, family and the ability to live and love in an over-the-top way. Staying on brand, Velour will be sporting her signature look; a bald head and wicked brow, with costumes designed by long-time collaborator Diego Montoya.
Critics have been raving about this show since it opened in Australia in January 2019. Paper Magazine said the “intensely personal production shows what a top-of-her-game queen Velour really is, both as an artist and as a storyteller.” This show will sell out, so head to thedanforth.com for tickets.
