Steph Peaks is hosting a drag show at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Chase Hudson)

Liverpool’s Astor Theatre has welcomed a wide array of performers to its stage over its 120-year history, from Rita MacNeil to the Royal Shakespeare Company to Mr. Dressup.

But this coming Saturday, a different kind of artist will sashay onto the Astor stage.

The Steph Peaks and Friends Drag Show will feature eight drag performers, some kings, some queens.

Out of drag, Steph Peaks is Chase Hudson, a 27-year-old pastry chef in Halifax. Hudson says they plan to deliver a show like no other. 

“I like to say expect the unexpected,” he said in a recent interview.

“We have 22 performances in the entire show. We have solos, we have duets, we have high-energy dance numbers, we have a couple of emotional slower ballads. We have a couple of live singers coming to the show.

“(A 19+ show) and a drag queen with a microphone? It can only go one way. I think going in with no expectations is probably the safest bet, but be prepared to leave wanting so much more.”

Hudson got his start in drag on Halloween four years ago. Living in his hometown of Annapolis Royal, he says doing drag was his way of coming out to friends and family.

“Instead of saying that I personally was gay, I decided drag was an easier pipeline to trickle that in. And then after that, I started doing solo shows in Annapolis,” he says. “I like to think that this was a shock to everybody around me. I’ve been told that not a single person has been surprised. … My mom wasn’t surprised, my grandparents weren’t surprised. I just sort of said, ‘OK, I’m gonna do a show.’

“My daycare teacher, she came to my first show, and she still says to this day that it makes the most sense to her because I would boss everybody around at daycare in the dressup closet and get everybody dressed up and choreograph numbers. Apparently, it’s been a long time coming.”

Hudson says he knows how lucky he is.

“Not everybody has their Mom coming to shows with shirts that say Mama Peaks on it. Doing this and having the reaction from family and friends and people I grew up with with open arms, it’s made it a lot more special than I ever thought it could have been.”

Those first shows to about a dozen people in his hometown quickly gained a larger following. And soon, Hudson as Steph Peaks was touring to Toronto, Ottawa, New Brunswick and P.E.I. Peaks has also played to thousands at Halifax Pride.

“Drag has gotten me out of my shell so much,” he says. “Chase isn’t the most confident person. And I know it sounds crazy because you think you put on a lot of makeup and a wig. Chase is still there, but there’s something about it for me that lets me escape the day-to-day stresses. It’s such an escape from being me that it makes me feel so me.”

Hudson says watching Drag Race, getting ideas online and “a lot of trial and error” helped him develop his character and her name, a play on what he does as a pastry chef, whipping cream to stiff peaks. He asked a friend in Calgary to help him with the name. They sent him six to eight bakery-themed options.

“When I was coming up with my character, I always said I didn’t want to be a carbon copy of somebody or something else.”

Steph Peaks will be hosting the show in Liverpool and performing, with seven other artists — Randi E. Rogenous, Brooke Rivers, Mike Hunt, Katanna Skin, Andrew Guinness, X and Halifax drag icon Elle Noir.

“Listen, listen, when you get a good show, you have to bring the top-tier performers down.”

While drag has become more mainstream in the past few years, it’s also come with some considerable backlash. When the Astor announced the show on Facebook, some comments were so bad that the theatre had to issue a statement confirming their support for the LGBTQ+ community, performers and audience.

“It’s scary because at the end of the day, the eight of us who are coming to do the show, we’re coming to do one thing only and that is to entertain and get a little attention for ourselves. And if that is threatening or makes some people uncomfortable, … the best thing I can say is if you don’t want to go, don’t buy a ticket.

“That night, there are going to be so many people in that theatre that are there to have fun and are there to show love, and support the queer community and support drag as an art form.”

And Hudson says there will be lots to love on the Astor stage on Saturday night, with lip-syncing and live-singing divas, and some real show stoppers. He’s had a preview of what awaits the audience, and he says he’s “gotten goosebumps, I have cried.

“There are some seriously emotional numbers that these people have dedicated to some important people in their lives. And then we have Mike, who is top-tier vocals – they could be on that stage the entire 22 performances and I would still enjoy the entire show. And then we have the chaos of Randi, chaos embodied in human form, and everybody else is bringing such different drag that I think no matter who’s on that stage, (the audience’s) eyes will be glued.

“I think people should look forward to a show that Liverpool has never seen yet. There are so many things cooking behind the scenes for this show that I think if you don’t come to the show, you’ll hear from a friend that it was otherworldly. There’s something about a drag show in a theatre setting where these artists can truly do whatever they want because they’re not limited to the venue size that make this show next level.”

The Steph Peaks and Friends Drag Show is at 7:30 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 27 at the Astor Theatre. Tickets are available through Ticketpro or at the Astor box office at 902-354-5250.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Astor Theatre, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Photo Credit: Ed Halverson

Astor Theatre management was hoping for a better start to 2022.

The popular Liverpool theatre has been effectively closed since the province announced restrictions just before Christmas to limit the spread of the omicron variant.

General Manager Jean Robinson-Dexter says safety measures such as checking for vaccination, masking, and having ushers escort patrons directly to their seats encouraged a good turnout at many of the shows before they were shut down.

“People told us that they felt safe, they felt welcome and so we will just continue to do that once we’re able to welcome folks back here,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The province announced those restrictions have been extended until the end of January and Robinson-Dexter is still unsure what will happen after that.

She’s been reaching out to promoters and performers scheduled to play in February to decide if they will go ahead with their dates with the risk of more potential restrictions cancelling those shows as well.

“We’re just, kind of in wait and see, hoping that we can reopen and I’m not expecting that it’s going to be at full capacity for a while.”

Astor theatre interior. Photo Ed Halverson

Opening for 50 to 100 people is not economically viable for the theatre or performers according to Robinson-Dexter.

She hopes the community understands that leaves the theatre in a precarious position.

The Astor receives annual grants to help cover some of the operating costs and the federal and provincial governments have come forward with more money to help the theatre weather the pandemic.

But it takes funding from multiple sources, including fundraising and ticket sales to keep the Astor afloat.

Robinson-Dexter says the theatre has just wrapped its annual December donation campaign, but she hasn’t seen the totals yet.

She looks forward to reopening the Astor as soon pandemic conditions permit because the theatre is more to the community than entertainment.

“And it’s so important for people, both, I think, for social connection, to get folks out in the community, seeing friends again, and just for their mental health and well-being,” said Robinson-Dexter. “Music can fill you up.”

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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