Rose Room

One Night Backstage at Texas’s Legendary Rose Room | Eater

"An upstairs drag venue operating in its current form for nearly four decades, this venerable stage has launched numerous RuPaul’s Drag Race stars — including Shangela LaQuifa Wadley, Asia O’Hara, Kennedy Davenport, and Alyssa Edwards — while sustaining a tight-knit, permanent cast that features Jenna Skyy and show director Cassie Nova alongside other local performers. Backstage is intimate and ritualized, with compact makeup tables, wig lockers, a bedazzled crown belonging to the director, quick pre-show shots, and meticulous costume and makeup prep that treat performing as an endurance sport. Shows run late, mix campy lip-sync numbers and comic hosting with heartfelt community solidarity, and draw raucous, engaged audiences who shower performers with dollar bills; the room also serves as a frontline cultural space as its performers organize and testify against legislation they view as threatening their jobs, safety, and the tradition of local drag even as mainstream attention reshapes the art form." - Amy McCarthy