“I hope it runs forever”: Nick Adams on the journey and success of Drag: The Musical

Nick Adams discusses his role as Alexis Gillmore in Drag: The Musical, the show’s inclusive celebration of drag and its powerful themes of “reconciliation, chosen family, and acceptance”.

WORDS BY SAM DAMSHENAS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TROY HALLAHAN

After earning acclaim as Adam/Felicia in the original Broadway production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Nick Adams is back, back, back again for another round of “camp drag excellence” in Drag: The Musical. Written by Alaska, alongside Ashley Gordon and Tomas Costanza, this off-Broadway eleganza follows two feuding drag queens (and former lovers) who open rival drag clubs and vie for supremacy, all while struggling to keep their businesses afloat.

As “pop star, rockstar and superhero” muscle queen Alexis Gillmore, Adams is “surrounded by titans of the drag world” such as the aforementioned Drag Race All Stars 2 champion as his nemesis Kitty Galloway (with Jimbo to succeed in January!), Jan Sport as Savannah St. James, Jujubee as The Tigress, Lagoona Blue as Tuna Turner and Luxx Noir London as Popcorn.

For Adams, Drag: The Musical is a “more elevated version of Broadway drag than I’ve done before, and it feels special to carry that legacy forward”. He tells GAY TIMES: “Returning to be part of the theatrical fabric of drag in New York is a big deal for me—it feels meaningful to represent it again.” More importantly, the actor says the musical shows that drag is “truly for everyone” with a cast that includes a “bearded queen, AFAB queen and a drag king”: “We might not check every box, but we represent every form of drag, which I think is really important and hasn’t been done before.”

As Drag: The Musical transitions from LA to off-Broadway in NYC, Nick Adams sat down with GAY TIMES to discuss the musical’s newfound success, its themes of “reconciliation, chosen family, and acceptance” and the cast and crew’s hopes for its future.

How have these past few weeks been for Drag: The Musical now that it’s hit off-Broadway?

It’s been incredible. Honestly, the audience reaction has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. While the show was a huge hit in LA, that’s not necessarily a traditional theatrical audience. We hoped it would resonate the same way in New York, but we weren’t sure with a more traditional theater crowd. It’s far surpassed my expectations, and I’m thrilled that people are loving it as much as we do. The word of mouth has been amazing—people telling their friends, ‘You’ve got to see this!’ That’s really been our biggest sales asset.

From Liza Minelli now as producer to your appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, it feels like the production has never been bigger. How does it feel that Drag: The Musical is finally being recognised on a mainstream scale?

Yeah, I mean, it’s not lost on me. I’ve been part of many projects over the past 10 years that never made it this far—things you try to bring to New York but either don’t succeed, lose money, or the timing just isn’t right. The success we’re experiencing now has been incredible, especially since I’ve been on the other side of it and have had my share of flops. That perspective has given me more gratitude for the moment, and I’ve learned to really enjoy it. With this show, I didn’t tie any expectations to the outcome. I started with it as a studio album and just let it unfold, thinking, ‘Who knows if this will become anything?’ But it just kept growing. I’ve had so much fun doing it and love the people involved, so I kept coming back. With each production before New York, I thought, ‘If this is the last time, I’m just grateful it’s happening.’ Not holding onto expectations gave me the freedom to be more present in the process. Honestly, it’s been the highlight of my career, and I can’t believe it’s being celebrated like this. I’m grateful.

 

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For those who are unaware of Drag: The Musical and your character, can you give me a brief overview of Alexis Gillmore and her journey in the show?

She owns the Fish Tank, the most successful drag club in our city in Drag: The Musical. She’s rivals with Kitty Galloway, played by Alaska Thunderfuck, who owns the Cat House, the rival club across the street. We’re ex-lovers who split up and opened these clubs, so there’s a lot of animosity between us—and between the drag queens who work at each club. They’re fierce competitors, fighting to be the most successful. However, both clubs fall into financial trouble for different reasons. Alexis is a pop star, rockstar, and superhero performer who puts on amazing shows. While they don’t charge high admission, all the money they make goes back into the performances. She’s not great with her bills and hasn’t paid the IRS, which causes a lot of problems. She’s a bit mercurial, and I based her on several recognizable women to craft her character. But at her core, she has a huge heart and loves her girls deeply, sometimes to a fault, as all the money they make goes back into giving them whatever they need to feel the fantasy and put on a great show. She also has an estranged brother, played by Joey McIntyre, who’s an accountant. When things get desperate, they call on his services to try to get them.

It’s about family coming together, reconciliation, chosen family, and acceptance—all set in this crazy, hyper world of camp drag excellence. I love Alexis. Alaska and I were talking about it in an interview last week, and she said, when I came on board, ‘We were like oh my god. We started writing it in your voice and crafting songs specifically for you.’ As an actor, it’s the greatest gift to be part of the creative process and originate something. People always ask me what my dream role is, and I say it’s to originate again because you get to start from scratch. It’s been a gift to collaborate with the team on this and really discover Alexis, even working with Marco, who did our costumes. Being part of that creative process from the beginning means you leave your stamp on it forever.

Alexis is amazing and beautiful. I’m doing my own makeup for this production, which is wild because I never thought I’d be any good at it. Aurora Sexton, our designer, had done my makeup for the earlier productions, but now I’ve learned the skill myself. Doing makeup is its own art-form, and I’m on stage with the best in the business, so I can’t look bad. It’s been a joy to learn from everyone in the dressing room before the show. So, to sum it up, it’s a campy romp with a big heart underneath it all.

This isn’t the first time you’ve played a drag queen on stage. You were Felicia in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and that was thirteen years ago, right?

We opened thirteen years ago—it’s been a long time. In Priscilla, we wore masks, so I never learned how to do makeup. They made beautiful molds of our faces because sometimes we had just thirteen seconds for a costume change. The ingenious idea was to use masks that matched our costumes, so we’d take them off, wipe our lifts, and go on stage as Adam instead of Felicia. It was a practical yet genius way to handle the quick changes. I didn’t need to learn makeup back then, but it’s been a long time since I had to step into a pair of heels!

So what was it like for you to step into that world again?

I was excited, but also unsure—it’s been so long, I wondered if I was still any good at it. But then I quickly remembered how much fun I have and how my skillset naturally lends itself to the world of drag. This is a more elevated version of Broadway drag than I’ve done before, and it feels special to carry that legacy forward. Returning to be part of the theatrical fabric of drag in New York is a big deal for me—it feels meaningful to represent it again.

Thirteen years ago was a very different time for drag in the mainstream. How has the rise of drag in popular culture, as well as working with legends such as Alaska, Jujubee and Luxx Noir London, influenced how you perform as a drag queen?

Being surrounded by titans of the drag world has completely shaped my approach. Watching them, learning from them, and sharing the stage and dressing room with them has fully informed who Alexis is. I can’t imagine a world where only actors are playing these roles—it’s crucial to me that the cast includes drag queens who do it all: they sing, dance, and act. It’s a tough role to fill, but they’ve found the perfect group to do it. Drag has changed so much in the last twelve or thirteen years. On the show, we say ‘drag is for everyone,’ which is represented by both the audience and the queens on stage.

In the traditional sense, drag was about female illusion, but that idea feels outdated now. A decade ago, it was about ‘passing’ as a woman, but today, drag is more about creating an alter ego, a powerful superhero energy, with an element of androgyny. In the show, I don’t hide my body—I don’t wear padding—so you get me as I am, but with outrageous costumes by Marco Marco. We play with the balance of femininity and strength. Our cast includes a bearded queen, an AFAB queen, and a drag king, which shows that drag is truly for everyone. We might not check every box, but we represent every form of drag, which I think is really important and hasn’t been done before.

Is Alexis a muscle queen in the show? Is that her persona?

There are references to it in both the score and the script. For example, Alaska makes a joke about my character’s biceps, questioning how she can consider herself a drag queen. It’s all part of the fun, but also highlights the point that anyone can do anything. It shows that I can feel both feminine and masculine, and anyone can do drag if they want to. The muscle aspect is part of Alexis’ energy—her physicality ties into her relationship with her family and upbringing, which we explore in the show. It informs her physique and performance style, which isn’t too far from my own. I always try to bring my personal experiences to a role, as any actor would.

 

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Drag: The Musical started off small in LA, and now it’s hit off-Broadway. What are your hopes for its future?

I hope it runs forever. I hope we continue to be successful and that people keep coming to see us. Recently, there’s been a trend of successful shows starting off-Broadway in New York and transferring, and off-Broadway has really taken on new energy in the last couple of years with shows like Titanique and Oh, Mary!. There’s more excitement and attention surrounding off-Broadway now than in the past decade—there’s a fresh pulse to it. Audiences are noticing that cool things are happening off-Broadway, and I’m excited to be part of that this season.

There are also a lot of queer stories being told in the city, which is especially important right now given the climate in America. We need it more than ever. Of course, I’d love to see us go even further—transfer to Broadway, hit the West End, go on a national tour, or even play Vegas. The possibilities are endless because drag speaks to everyone. Whether you’re in the queer community or not, there’s something so accessible and entertaining about it. The show is a laugh riot, a campy extravaganza, but there’s also a beautiful heart at its core. People are often surprised by that when they come, so I hope we keep elevating and soaring.

This would be huge in London. Huge.

I think so too. We’ve had producers from the UK come to see it, and they’ve said, ‘We need to do this.’ I really believe it could be a huge hit. So I’m crossing my fingers. I’ve been to London, but I’ve never worked there, and it’s always been a dream to do something there. This is the project I’d love to make my first. Hopefully, it happens.

Drag: The Musical is playing off-Broadway at New World Stages in New York City. Visit here for ticket information.

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