Vulture Festival - 05.19.18/05.20.18

Another year back at New York Magazine’s Vulture Festival! This year, I only made it to three panels, but enjoyed myself just as much as the jam-packed years.

Day One - Saturday, May 19th, 2018

Drag Race

Day 1 started earlier with a little morning drag featuring some of the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Michelle Visage. Hosted by Las Culturistas podcast hosts, Bowen Yang & Matt Rogers, we all got to fan-girl a little and take the “Drag Pledge of Allegiance” as started by none other than the Season 1 Winner, Bebe Zahara Benet!

Lots of funny antidotes; mostly how Yuhua insisted she still won Season 10, she was there the whole time! But it still seemed hard for her & Kalorie to get a word in with Bebe, Jinkx and Michelle taking up most of the panel! I also had a mild case of FOMO, since I never got to see Jinkx in her Off-Broadway show!

Getting Older with Younger

Um, we were all surprised when we got to watch the first episode of Season 5 before the panel started! We were ask to not say anything on social media and since it’s well past that point now…I think it’s safe for me to say here. The premiere will take Liza to the center of the #MeToo movement as she confronts an abuser in her signature strong, but silly way.

After the episode was over, the entire cast came out with Darren Starr to talk about what was in store for the characters; the continual Josh/Liza/Charles love triangle and how Liza’s secret may finally be out this season to everyone! I really enjoyed hearing stories from the cast and how the show has been such a great success and has fans all over; Peter Hermann said that even when he was overseas with his wife, Mariska Hargitay, fans were approaching him over her show (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).

Day Two - Sunday, May 20th, 2018

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Just one panel for day two, with none other than Jonathan Van Ness from Queer Eye! Now, while I may have been late to the game (I didn’t know he hosted two podcasts), I was present for this episode that would be recorded live. The guest wasn’t listed anywhere in the Vulture Festival program or social media channels, so I think we were all surprised when Justin Theroux came out!

It was wonderful hearing about their friendship and even more fun when JVN pointed to the audience; which included Tan France and Antoni Porowski! Then Tan & Antoni joined JVN & Justin on stage and hilarity ensued! You could honestly feel the joy that all of the Queer Eye guys feel for each other!

RuPaul's DragCon - 09.28.18/09.30.18

For the second year of RuPaul’s DragCon in NYC, a third date was added for fans to come and shop the marketplace and meet a few queens. Of course, I used this as an opportunity to take the day off work, sleep in and get ready for the fabulous weekend!

Friday, September 28th, 2018

The marketplace opened up on Friday afternoon and I gathered with my fellow DragRace & Drag Queen fans to see what queens we could meet and which ones would be selling the best merchandise. Although I missed my friend, Lae D. Boi, walking the runway (only VIP passes were allowed in), I would run into them later at Acid Betty’s booth.

I did make it in to see the North Shore High Talent Competition, judged by none other than Taylor Louderman & Grey Henson from Mean Girls on Broadway! Contestants performed to Regina’s “World Burn” from the show with all sorts of tricks and costumes. I don’t remember who won the contest, but it was a fun and entertaining show!

Then I lucked out, because Kalorie Karbdashian Williams was at her booth and I was wearing my custom Bow & Drape “Carb Dashian” t-shirt! She immediately wanted to take a photo with me and I wound up on her Instagram story! Some of the other queens already had long lines to meet them and for photo ops, while others like Alyssa Edwards and Detox had booths setup, they would only be there on Saturday and Sunday.

After walking through more of the marketplace, buying a fan that looked like a giant doughnut with sprinkles and posing for some photos (although my eyes were closed in some of them), I finally caught up with Lae D. Boi and took some pics.

I also found the Boy Butter booth, which has become a running gag with my friends. When Drag Race first started and was on Logo, there were tons of Boy Butter ads. Now, as the show has become more mainstream and on VH1, the commercials are full of Summer’s Eve and prescriptions for endometriosis. I gladly posed with the giant butter churn for a photo op!

All in all, the first “preview” day was a success, but I was anxious to get to some of the panels and listen to the queen’s stories about being on the show and life afterwards.

Saturday, September 29th, 2018

I got up semi-early on Saturday, so I could make it to Trixie & Katya’s panel; only to arrive at the Javits Center to find out the line was already full! (How, you might ask? Well, the VIP passes guaranteed you entry into any panel, so us “General Passes” never even had a chance.) Oh well.

I opted to attend the Broadway panel (natch) with Alexis Michelle and the cast of Frozen; John Riddle, Greg Hildreth, Patti Murin and Caissie Levy. While I learned a bit about Disney’s casting choices (gotta love the colorblind casting process), I was most amused when John showed the crowd his red high heels that he wore to the panel! (Maybe he can go onto Kinky Boots next?)

After a quick stop to RuPaul’s booth, where I picked up a RuPaul peanut butter chocolate bar, more enamel pins and some things for my friend, Joe; it was off to the “Queens Who Were Gone Too Soon” panel. This one was moderated by Jayne Mansfield and featured Yuhua Hamasaki, Kalorie Karbdashian Williams and Vanessa “Miss Vanjie” Mateo. Yuhua came out with her hair covering her face, like the creepy girl from The Ring, and kept talking about she was the “winner” of season 10, because she never got kicked off the show, but was the chair in the workroom, etc. The joke got stale, fast. I forgot what a deep voice that Vanjie had, but her stories about saying her name three times, while walking backwards made the audience erupt in laughter.

Afterwards, I thought I might as well go to Yuhua’s booth to try and meet her; and I actually beat her to her booth. Well, I got a photo, but she was surprisingly unfriendly and gave the same “I’m still the winner” schtick that she did at the panel. She didn’t even sign my photo. Disappointing.

As I was debating on going to another panel or heading home, I turned a corner and ran into two of my college friends from Nebraska! They were only in NYC for the weekend (they live in San Francisco) and were seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway before heading to London. NYC really is smaller than you think; or just the Drag Race fan // gay boy // fag hag intersection is that specific.

While there was a third day of DragCon, I ended opting out, since there wasn’t one panel that I really HAD to attend and because the Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market was also on Sunday! Due to the United Nations gathering the previous weekend, BCEFA was forced to reschedule the Flea Market to the same weekend as DragCon; so I made sure to get my fill on Friday and Saturday.

Sure, I had a little bit of FOMO, but the merchandise that I got at the Flea Market and the celebrities I got to see made up for that easily!

BroadwayCon - 01.26.18/01.28.18

It's hard to believe that BroadwayCon has only been in existence for three years (and, yes, I've been there for all three)! It's been fun watching this convention and community grow over the years, as I've seen other repeat offenders and made some new friends.

Day One - Friday, January 26th, 2018

After the line for RuPaul's DragCon wrapped around the block last Fall, I arrived at the Javits Center a little early. It was nice to have time to get through security, grab my bag of BroadwayCon gear and browse the Museum before heading to my first panel of the Con. There was Kevin Smith Kirkwood's "Angel" costume from Kinky Boots, a "CONNOR" cast from Dear Evan Hansen and many other props/memorabilia. 

I started with "Dancing Through Life: The Transition from Dancer to Choreographer" hosted by Howard Sherman and featuring Sergio Trujillo (On Your Feet!) and JoAnn M. Hunter (Thoroughly Modern Millie). As a fan of dance and choreography, it was interesting to hear Sergio and JoAnn's journeys from dancing in shows, picking up dance later in life and moving on to choreographing shows. My only disappointment, we didn't get to see them dance together!

After learning about dance, I walked down the hall to "The Broadway Ensemble Panel" with the hosts of one of my favorite podcasts, The Ensemblist - Nikka Graff Lanzarone and Mo Brady. The panel featured some of my favorite ensemble members - Thayne Jasperson (Newsies, Hamilton, SYTYCD), Ben Tyler Cook (Tuck Everlasting, Mean Girls) and some other ensemble members that were new to me - Grasan Kingsberry, Jennifer Foote and Vasthy Mompoint. I learned what it's like to "cover" a role as a swing (and how many parts that Jennifer and Vasthy have to know in their respective shows), to add their own stories to their characters and what they've learned from being in an ensemble and sometimes in the OBC, like Thayne, a few times over.

After two panels, I took a little break to get something to eat and walk around the BroadwayCon Marketplace. I found the Dear Evan Hansen booth, where you could post a photo to social media and it would generate a sticker to be added to the DEH mosaic. The equipment told the team where to put your photo on the mosaic, so it would make up Evan's signature striped blue polo. At first, I wasn't sure what I wanted to post; then it occurred to me to find a "nostalgic photo" and I found a pic of me climbing the tree in my childhood front yard. Hard to resist that adorable photo, right? The girl working the booth even commented that it was one of the best ones that she'd seen; "I climbed higher & higher, until the entire sun shines on my face!" (See the OG post on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emoleechen/status/956948849679126529.)

With some food in my belly, it was time for "Actors and Activism with Anthony Rapp and Ilana Levine." Along with Emily Skeggs, Arian Moayed, Britton Smith and Lisa Kron, the panel addressed what they as actors have been doing to help our current political/social climate. I enjoyed hearing about each actor's passions and causes; especially after seeing Emily in Fun Home and in the mini-series When We Rise. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming with the number of causes that need attention and help, but they emphasized that you should pick a few to devote your time to and impact them the best that you can. For me, that's Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and other programs through charities like Housing Works and God's Love We Deliver.

Then I was off to hear more about one of my favorite shows, Kinky Boots at "Everybody Say Yeah: Kinky Boots after 2,000 Performances." Here, BroadwayGirlNYC - Laura Heywood, sat down with four of the "Angels" from the show - Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Joey Taranto, Charlie Sutton and Kyle Post and current Charlie Price, Jake Shears from Scissor Sisters. Although, I've seen the show 5 times, I never get tired of it. I was fascinated hearing about each of the actor's auditions for their "Angel" role, their own drag queen names/personalities, the number of shows for Kinky Boots that they have been there for (KSK wins), coming back to the show and so many other stories. I was intrigued by Jake Shears and although I wasn't running to see him as Charlie, this panel convinced me to buy a ticket to see him, Kirstin (from Pentatonix) and Wayne Brady in a few months. Mostly, I really enjoyed learning how Charlie keeps his body in amazing shape for that boxing ring outfit and how Kyle can't do the split leap, so he just twirled his gum in his audition and Jerry Mitchell loved it! 

The day had seemingly flew by and now it was time for the Opening Ceremony! For the first time, there wasn't a big production number and various Broadway stars just came onto the stage and sang. Highlights for me: Betsy Wolfe (Falsettos, Waitress, The Last Five Years) and Billy Porter (in an amazing giant furry hat)!

Immediately following the Opening Ceremony was a reunion of the cast from In The Heights, as the show made it's Broadway Debut almost 10 years ago! Everyone was excited to see the cast, especially Lin-Manuel Miranda and the panel was hosted by his father, Luis Miranda. Even though I saw In The Heights when I first moved to NYC, I was blown away by the number of crossover from ITH into Hamilton and how Lin kept his friends involved in both projects, especially Javi and Chris Jackson. (That's friendship!) I realized that I probably saw most of the OG cast when I went to the show, but at the time my Broadway obsession was only starting to gestate; so I can't remember if I saw Joshua Henry or Mandy Gonzalez. (I can say that I did go to see Corbin Bleu though...as any good High School Musical fan would have done.)

My last panel for the evening was "Show Spotlight: CHICAGO - The Landmark Institution of Razzle Dazzle," featuring Kandi Burruss (The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Xscape member), Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwrith, William Ivey Long and hosted by Paige Davis (Trading Spaces and she played Roxie on Broadway). I loved hearing about the process of recreating Bob Fosse's work, recasting Roxie/Velma, each of the actor's journeys with the show and so much more. Even with not much of a "wow" factor in production on the small stage at the Ambassador, people keep coming back again and again to this show. They always are able to do so much with very little, speaking to the quality of the show!

By 7pm, I'd hit my limit at the Javits Center and headed on my way home to rest up for Day Two.

Day Two - Saturday, January 27th, 2018

My Day Two dilemma: to attend the BroadwayCon Feud (always a favorite) or "Fan Tan Tastic: Asian American Representation"!? Both were at 10am and either one I would be late for, due to L train problems getting into Manhattan. Ultimately, I knew I would get more out of the Asian American panel and it was one of my favorite experiences from last year; so that's where I went. Slightly embarrassed to show up late (how very un-Asian of me), I was still able to find a good seat in the second row. Again, the panel was hosted by Erin Quill (The Fairy Princess Diaries) and consisted of Shoba Narayan (The Great Comet), Telly Leung (Aladdin, In Transit, GLEE), Raymond J. Lee (Groundhog Day, Honeymoon in Vegas) and Ali Ewoldt (The Phantom of the Opera). Erin did a great job in sourcing the panel as there were actors representing various races: Indian, Chinese, Korean and Hapa. I learned about some of their struggles, the whole casting/race debacle that ultimately closed The Great Comet and Ali being the first Asian "Christine" in Phantom (maybe that will make me finally see that show). Erin always brings up great points in her discussions and I couldn't tweet my favorite statements fast enough! I hope this panel continues each year at BroadwayCon! We need more Asian faces on the Great White Way!

Newly energized from the Asian-American panel, I ran off to find a restroom before the Dear Evan Hansen panel and wouldn't you know, where I ended up was right by the green room for the MainStage panelists!? (Oh, hello Taylor Trensch & Noah Galvin!) Along with Steven Levenson (who wrote the book for DEH), they spoke with Dave Quinn about the show, replacing someone as highly praised as Ben Platt and what they were each going to bring to the role of Evan. I was lucky enough to see Noah last year and I couldn't wait until Feb. when I would get to see my #1 Broadway crush, Taylor, tackle the role.

After the panel, I went hustling back to the Marketplace to redeem my lottery ticket to get a photo with Anthony Rapp (OG Mark Cohen from RENT); who was in high demand as the creator of BroadwayCon and for coming forward to share his encounter with Kevin Spacey to the press. (Meanwhile, Britney Spears tickets for Madison Square Garden were going on sale...so, as I waited in line, I tried to no avail to find some seats!) When I finally made it up there, I mentioned to Anthony that it was wonderful to meet him, since I had missed my opportunity in college when he came to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; his response "Oh, that was a long time ago!" Thankfully, I befriended a girl in line by me, so she also took some photos...because after last year's debacle with Celia & Andrew Keenan-Bolger, I didn't want my only photo with him to be with my eyes closed!

Photo taken, I was off to find some food before going to see Theater People Live with Laura Benanti. No sooner had I grabbed a pizza and was wandering around, looking for a place to sit, did I see my friend Jered, who works for the Shubert Organization. He had an extra seat at his table, so I plopped myself down and we caught up while I inhaled my pizza. 

Feeling satisfied and thankful to not be on my feet for a bit, I headed back to the MainStage to see and hear Patrick Hinds (The host of Theater People and Broadway Backstory) chat with Ms. Laura Benanti. I got there a little early, so I caught the end of the BroadwayCon CosPlay competition; my favorite was the groundhog from Groundhog Day. Then it was time for the panel and they had such an easy rapport it was fun to just sit back and listen. They talked about her various roles, her new daughter, her relationship with her mother and the challenges of Broadway. I'm forever thankful that I got to meet her and talk to her when I worked at Madewell (and I may still have the receipt that says "Associate: Emily and Customer: Laura Benanti" on it...thanks, Nancy)!

Although I don't listen to the "Broadwaysted" podcast, I do love Sierra Boggess, so I figured it was a good enough place to head to next. The hosts, Kimberly Cooper Schmidt, Bryan Plofsky and Kevin Jaeger played all sorts of silly games with Sierra while drinking. We learned about her failed attempt to perform Phantom in France, injuring herself during a show, being a mermaid and so many other stories. Maybe this show will get added to my podcast list soon.

While figuring out what to do between sessions, I went back to the Museum and took some photos of items from Newsies and If/Then before going to the "Show Spotlight: The Band's Visit." Thankfully, I had just seen the show a few weeks earlier, so I could understand what the challenges were bringing this piece to Broadway and what it was like for these actors to get to play their own ethnicity on the stage for once and not be worried. Again, Laura Heywood, hosted with George Abud, Jonathan Raviv, Etai Benson and Sharone Sayegh.

I was pretty sure that I would have stayed for the Broadway Game Night, but my friend's birthday party beckoned and since she just moved into a beautifully renovated house in South Park Slope, I knew I needed to leave and make my way to Brooklyn. 

Day Three - Sunday, January 28th, 2018

Thankfully, the party didn't go too late and the first panel I wanted to see was at 11am! I found a good seat in the MainStage to listen to Julie James (from Sirius XM) chat with Lynn Ahrens (half of the composing/lyricist team for Once on This Island and Anastasia; Stephen Flaherty called in), Christy Altomare (Anastasia) and Hailey Kilgore (Once on This Island). They talked about what it's like to be a young woman on Broadway in a leading role, Hailey's Broadway Debut, working with Ahrens Flaherty and even treated us to a song! Another highlight, when Alex Newell (GLEE) came out and sang "Mama Will Provide" from Once on This Island! I might have gotten a few tears in my eyes during that number...

Then I was off to see the various kids from Fun Home in "Fun Home Kids," where the kids from the workshop, Public Theater, Broadway and Touring productions where there. Laura Heywood was back to moderate and ask questions of all the kids; including Sydney Lucas, Georgi James, Gabrielle Pizzolo, Zell Steele Morrow and Oscar Williams. Having seen the show on Broadway a few times only a few years ago, it was a bit astonishing how fast these kids have grown up and what they've been working on since the show closed.

I was just about to get settled in my next panel, when I got a text from my soon-to-be-Broadway bound friend, Connor, who was about to leave the venue. Since I hadn't seen him in months and he was about to head to Seattle for the out of town tryout for Ride the Cyclone, I left the panel and opted to catch up with him.

After the quick catch up, it was time to go line up for the BroadwayCon First Look at new shows for the next season and for the Closing Ceremony! It was cool hearing about new shows like The Prom, Children of a Lesser God and Getting the Band Back Together. They even offered a special $49/orchestra ticket deal for Getting the Band Back Together, so of course, I booked a ticket for this summer. 

Then it was time to wrap up and say farewell! Denee Benton (The Great Comet, unREAL) and Stephanie J. Block were some of my favorites that came out to wrap up BroadwayCon with Ben Cameron. Overall, another successful Con; even if the venue felt a little impersonal, nothing will ever surpass the feeling of the first year, blizzard and all.

RuPaul's DragCon - 09.09.17/09.10.17

I waited a little longer than normal to purchase my ticket to RuPaul's DragCon in NYC. I had a handful of friends going, but I didn't want to make a commitment until I knew what the programming would be. In hindsight, the wait for the panels was SO long that even just walking around the convention center floor was entertainment enough.

Day One - Saturday, September 9th, 2017

Who knew that so many people would come out for DragCon!? Organizers were saying that 25,000 people would be at the Javits Center over the two days of the convention! I was almost ready to give up when I saw that the line to get into the building wrapped down the block, around the corner and down by the expressway!

Luckily, my friend, Whitney met up with me in line and we gradually made our way into DragCon. (Oh wait, once we were inside the building, we had to go back downstairs and through security, then back upstairs to actually get into the exhibitors area! Whoa.)

I knew that I had plenty of time to explore the booths, but our first stop was Jeffree Starr, so Whitney could get some make-up. After wandering around a bit and getting my photo with a giant inflatable "squirrel friend", we split up, only to run into each other again at RuPaul's booth, where got some peanut butter chocolate bars, of course! Hanging above Ru's merchandise area were many of her costumes from various seasons of Drag Race. I never knew how tiny she really is! My hands down favorite, was the shiny, gold bodysuit. I love anything with a sparkle.

Many of the queens had merchandise booths; where you could buy a t-shirt, photo, enamel pin and get your photo taken with them. My first stop: the Asian queens! I got a few postcards and a photo with Ongina, but the line for Kimchi was nuts!

Then I made my way to my first panel, the Fashion Panel, with a few of my theater friends, who were in attendance. The panel was Detox, Isaac Mizrahi, Milk , Miss Fame and Naomi Smalls. It was moderated by Mickey Boardman from The Village Voice and was a blast. It was interesting hearing how each of the queens were inspired the fashion industry and how drag goes hand in hand with high fashion and pushing boundaries. It was a little bittersweet, since my Mom had always loved Isaac and she would have been so excited for me to get to be in the same room as him.

Post-panel and snacks, I tried to see Sasha Velour, but her line was nuts! So, I picked up a few merch items: pins, t-shirt, earrings and look book, before heading to Thorgy's booth. Her line was relatively short; about a 30-45 minute wait and since I'd been to many of her DragRace viewing parties at Metropolitan in Williamsburg, I knew I wanted to say "hi" to her and Ragamuffin! Her rainbow outfit completely complimented my Care Bears dress and she was very sweet and sincere.

I wrapped up my Day One with a panel about social awareness, which was supposed to be the only panel that Sasha was going to be at, but she couldn't make it. However, I did get to stare at Nico Tortorella (Younger) for the whole experience, which wasn't a bad swap out. The message about #FakeNews was interesting and how each of the public figures dealt with how they pass on information to their followers.

Day Two - Sunday, September 10th, 2017

When I got to the Javits Center for Day Two, it was off to a better start, since the wrap around the block line was gone. I was determined to try and meet Kimchi, but her line was already going to be at least an hour wait! I spotted Milk, lounging on a couch, in her Marc Jacobs Beauty sponsored booth, but avoided waiting in her line, too. On my way back around the center, I saw Jade Jolie's booth! Even more gorgeous in person, I jumped in line quickly to snap a photo with her, before wandering back to try and get a glimpse of Sasha. 

Little did I know, but I had walked right in behind Sasha Velour that morning! I didn't recognize her with her big, red, curly wig; since she's often bald. I was so close to her! I snuck a few photos and wandered off another way. I made a quick $5 donation to Jiggly Caliente to get a photo with her. If only I had been to see her show at Wet, before it closed! (I guess an Asian gay bar wasn't in as high demand these days...) 

I tried to spot Acid Betty, but her booth was pretty well covered and decorated in all sorts of treats, including a big pink inflatable doughnut. After missing out on food yesterday, I packed a light lunch, so ate my sandwich and chips before waiting to meet Alexis Michelle. Although New Yorkers seem to have very strong feelings about her, as a fellow "Theatre Queen," I knew I had to meet her in person before the Broadway Queens panel, later in the day. While I was waiting in line Farrah stopped by to say hello and we got to watch Alexis as the true diva that she is, controlling the angle of the photo and the lighting. Alexis was very courteous and patient with her line of fans, which I appreciated.

Again, I tried to see Kimchi, but just managed to get a candid photo. As, I was waiting in line to see the Broadway Queens panel, Cynthia Lee Fontaine walked by me, in a gorgeous floral dress. I was able to get a great seat for the panel, featuring Alexis Michelle, Ginger Minj, J. Elaine Marcos and the diva herself, Sheryl Lee Ralph. They talked about where their love of theatre began, what some of the favorite projects have been, but it was Sheryl who stole the show! The crowd was dying for her comments about "put a cork in it" and how to really sell yourself through performance. She also talked about the gay community and how everyone should remember to be respectful. My favorite quotes: "In real theatre, you don't get the opportunity to be late!...The only reason the curtain goes up late is because Barack &  Michelle had not arrived yet!"

All-in-all, a great way to end my first DragCon experience! Yes, it was way more overwhelming than BroadwayCon, but I would totally consider going again. Maybe next time around, I'll plan out more time to meet some of the queens...but hopefully, the organizers learned how to manage the lines better, since no one comes to these events to line up more than an hour in advance for panels!