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Darcelle XV Showplace and Wildfang are attempting to break a Guinness World Record—and we’re along for the ride!

by Mercury Arts Crew

Happy, Drag-A-Thon, Portland! TODAY IS THE DAY. Starting at 4 pm, a force of drag artists onstage at Darcelle XV Showplace—aided by the planning and logistics power of gender-nonconforming clothing line Wildfang—begin a marathon of continuous musical, dance, and comedy performances, nonstop for 48-hours, until they break the world record for longest drag performance.

And the Mercury’s Arts and Culture crew (Suzette Smith, Andrew Jankowski, Janey Wong, Wm. Steven Humphrey, Courtney Vaughn, and Taylor Griggs) will be along for the ride. We’ll be in the theater every hour on the hour, updating with reports, photos, and video from inside the sold out shows!

Tues July 11, 3:50 am

A Drag-A-Thon miracle occurs soon after I complain on the blog: Performer names start making their way off the stage. Kourtni Capri straight-up introduces herself to her waves of adoring, dollar-offering fans. And one of the emcees notes the powerhouse of energy and surprise splits Lavender Haze has been bringing for hours.

Lavender has consistently brought so much energy into our 3 am disco dream: pic.twitter.com/yGXltGdRlF

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

This current group of performers has presented us with a terrific variety of styles—Cassie Nova and Kourtni Capri keeping it classy in sequin gowns, Sugar Pill changing personas with every single number, and Lavender Haze bringing straight-up athletics.

Not only is Kourtni Capri’s singing devastatingly pretty to listen to, but she also speaks briefly about a fear of being unable to read books to her son, if anti-drag bans continue to overrun people’s rights.

Get pumped for an infusion of energy, folks! I’m about to turn this blog over to Andrew Jankowski. Actually, I’m probably going to take a nap and hold off on updates for a couple hours, but you can watch through Andrew’s eyes by following him on Twitter here. Then you’ll get a nice amount of his written coverage first thing in the morning.

Tues July 11, 2:30 am

Kimber K Shade joined Punkie in hosting duties for a minute, and it was nice to have her (and her outfit) around. But then they both left and were replaced by “the wives” AKA Eden Dawn’s husband Ashod Simonian (with whom she co-authored The Portland Book of Dates) and Emma Mcilroy’s wife Amy Taylor.

It’s pretty frustrating that the emcees do a good job introducing themselves and yet the queens, around whom this event is structured, are wearing a ton of different costumes and it’s sort of impossible to keep everyone straight. Could a cranky reporter get some damn, hyped-up performer introductions?

It’s almost three in the morning, and I am not bringing the same energy as the person screaming “Yes sis!” directly behind me—and I am aware that I am in the wrong. -SUZETTE SMITH

Tues July 11, 1:45 am

Saint Syndrome continues to astound, with a rendition of “Jolene” where she has changed the lyrics to something along the lines of: “Drag queen, drag queen / sometimes the best wife is the groom’s best man.”

Between numbers and during the corralled chaos of the audience change, Punkie Johnson keeps doing this bit that I like, walking around and asking audience members if they’re queer. It’s simultaneously putting people on the spot and welcoming them in. Now that it’s past one in the morning, there’s free pizza and energy drinks. People in the back are being tattooed with Darcelle’s glorious visage.

Oops, I wasn’t paying attention to a queen singing Celine Dion, and the song morphed into “W.A.P.” – SUZETTE SMITH

I wasn’t paying attention to a queen singing Celine Dion, and then the song morphed into “W.A.P.” Let this be a lesson to me. pic.twitter.com/qzeXuoGNwn

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

Tues July 11, 12:45 am

When you put together a TEAM WITH A SPECIFIC SET OF SKILLS (blogging) it is inevitable that one of them will get sick. Therefore, while I did not intend to be back for another shift of Drag-A-Thon so soon, I do not mind. Some might even say I enjoy it. 

As I reenter Darcelle XV Showplace, a performer is nearly stripped, wearing only hose, holding herself tenderly to the Kesha’s “This Is Me.” Crowds never know what to do with awe-inspiring moments of vulnerability, so they simply hoot like this were some lascivious near-nudity. Clearly, I have returned a shade more judgmental.

That said, she is followed by Saint Syndrome, who eats a cup of yogurt whilst performing—stealing my heart with the surrealism of it. 

Saint Syndrome is the kind of drag Portland needs: pic.twitter.com/D4tsZTac6d

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

The Oregonian‘s Destiny Johnson is sharing the press booth, wearing a sign around her neck that reads “I’m a journalist here for 24 hours.” She’s wiping up sunscreen, and I pretend to be surprised by this news, like I didn’t just hand Taylor a plastic bag to keep her stuff in. -SUZETTE SMITH

Tues July 11, 12:00 am

The things occurring in my field of vision have been a blur during the past hour. The crowd at Darcelle’s has seen artists impersonate the gay icons Elsa (Frozen), Scar (The Lion King), and Cruella De Vil; we’ve watched John Cameron Mitchell tell us his drag name (Hell of a Bottom Carter); and I’ve spilled a bottle of Trader Joe’s spray sunscreen all over my backpack and myself, which took me away from the happenings onstage for a bit. 

We’ve got an Elsa, and the crowd is going wild. pic.twitter.com/HH4TTCHN2S

— Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) July 11, 2023

I must say, it’s very interesting to witness so many different performers, emcees, and audiences cycle out of the venue. I’ve never experienced an event like this! Shoutout to the bartenders who have been here all night—I hope they are being tipped very well. 

I will be heading out shortly and passing the baton back to the tireless Suzette Smith. This has been very fun, so stay tuned as the Mercury enters day two of Drag-A-Thon coverage and Wildfang and Darcelle XV Showplace take another step toward beating the world record for longest drag performance. They’re gonna do it! TTYL! -TAYLOR GRIGGS

Mon July 10, 11:05 pm

You know when you go into a movie theater when it’s still light out and leave the theater to a dark world beyond your comprehension? That’s kind of how it feels to be inside Darcelle XV Showplace right now. Time has no meaning here, and it’s literally not even midnight yet. I straight up cannot imagine what it’s going to be like for the people covering this event at 4 am. 

I guess there’s just something so fever dream-like about seeing Rukaiyah Adams and John Cameron Mitchell (whose role in the TV show Shrill makes it hard for me to conceive of him as anyone other than the editor of a Portland alt-weekly much like the one I’m gainfully employed at) shooting the shit onstage after a performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” that brought the crowd to its knees. I will never be able to publish a run-on sentence that unwieldy on this website ever again, so soak it in. 

Anyway, Darcelle’s is the center of the universe right now. There is nothing going on beyond these hallowed halls.-TAYLOR GRIGGS

The house may have been brought down, folks. pic.twitter.com/VXtgyxKUFm

— Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) July 11, 2023

Mon July 10, 10:15 pm

The last hour (and ten minutes, sorry) has gone by much quicker than the first hour of my shift at Drag-A-Thon—I guess I’m just settling into the very luxurious press booth they’ve given us. I swear, a person could fall asleep in one of these things! And if I was going to be here for very much longer, that person would most definitely be me.

It’s hard to keep up with these performances, which are all flowing very easily into each other. The queens are all amazing: I need to shout out Johnny Nuriel in particular for some incredible hula hoop work, but everyone has been on their a-games. 

Johnny of Izhonny is doing some VERY impressive stuff with a hula hoop. pic.twitter.com/v6oUZabf8r

— Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) July 11, 2023

The emcees are rotating through, too, giving us some great quotes from people like Portland visionary Rukaiyah Adams (who currently leads the 1803 Fund), who says “all the haters of drag can suck it.” And that’s that on that! -TAYLOR GRIGGS

Mon July 10, 9:05 pm

My first hour at Drag-A-Thon has been a whirlwind. When I walked in, Izhonny (Isaiah Esquire and Johnny Nuriel) were performing their first high-energy medley. They’ve been on stage multiple different times since then, together and separately. Isaiah got the whole crowd dancing with Party Up (“White people love this song,” they said) and Johnny gave Tim Curry a run for his money with a fabulous Rocky Horror Picture Show performance.

Marvelous Frank-n-Furter performance with live vocals. Was trying to get this audience member to play Brad at the beginning of this clip (he has the glasses for it) but he didn’t know the words. 😭 get this man to the Clinton St Theater’s RHPS immediately pic.twitter.com/xU5UyO8YeK

— Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) July 11, 2023

Another queen STUNNED with her rendition of “I Am What I Am” from the La Cage Aux Folles, which was the first Broadway musical to focus on a gay relationship when it opened in the 80s. 

Ok truly stunning rendition of “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles. Crowd went wild when she took out a pride flag at the end. Not a dry eye in the house! pic.twitter.com/Tfg2etuGsm

— Taylor Griggs (@taylorjgriggs) July 11, 2023

Some other highlights so far: someone told emcee Fred Armisen to ride a bike when he complained about parking on Alberta; City Cast Portland’s Claudia Meza had an arm wrestling competition with an audience member (I think she lost, but wasn’t sore about it); I ate a really delicious cheeseburger that only cost $12, which is a steal in my opinion, especially because it came with onion rings. -TAYLOR GRIGGS

Mon July 10, 8:20 pm

It’s a wild proposal, to tear yourself away from the combined glamour of Izhonny: Isaiah Esquire and Johnny Nuriel. The only reason I am able to do so is because my replacement Taylor Griggs is here and I have a sandwich at home. Follow Taylor for updates here. And of course HERE—WITHIN THE LIVEBLOG. -SUZETTE SMITH

Then Izhonny’s Isaiah Esquire performed this before breaking out into “Hot in Herre.” pic.twitter.com/8BzAb0G2ya

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

Mon July 10, 7:25 pm

Moments of brilliance are flying fast across the stage. While trying to upload a photo of Cameron Esposito and Punkie Johnson in enormous, wigs, I miss recording Peppermint as she makes the entire crowd chant “put a dolla in my titty” during her performance of “Dolla’ In My Titty.”

There are some show tune numbers rolling out, which one could argue are even more drag standard tunes than pop songs about heartbreak.

I’m grateful for the innovation of a queen who begins her number with a monologue from Erin Brockovich, and then filled with horror as the track skips and repeats three times—forcing her to repeat the speech. Since there’s a time limit she isn’t able to finish the lip sync singing portion of her performance.

When drag is an Erin Brockovich monologue: pic.twitter.com/xfkXmaLOpc

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

Due to the rules laid down by the Gunniess World Records people, the room needs to always have a certain number of audience members, so the ushers tap people on the shoulder to let them leave, then bring in a replacement. It’s a coralled chaos. At one point Cameron Esposito comes out and tells the audience to leave, then recants, and asks if they are—in fact—the new audience. -SUZETTE SMITH

Mon July 10, 6:30 pm

Cameron Esposito delivers some funny material about looking at Jason Momoa’s use of a scrunchie in a his personal fashion paving the way for their own little topknot hairdo. Then Beach Pace announces that the clock organizers bought to track the attempt’s minutes and hours doesn’t go high enough to properly track the Drag-A-Thon. So they change it over to tell the time. It also, somewhat hilariously, occasionally tells the temperature in celsius. 

The evening’s first real ballad unfolds, a lip sync to Miley Cyru’s “When I Look at You.”

This feels like the first true BALLAD of the night: pic.twitter.com/h48y6oedme

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

Peppermint takes the stage to perform a lip sync to “Age of Aquarius” and the room stands to clap and cheer. After the lip sync she takes a microphone from backstage and performs her own song “Shady Phone.” We have entered the age of Miss Peppermint. -SUZETTE SMITH

Mon July 10, 5:30 pm

The great difficulty of Drag-A-Thon has revealed itself, and it is the difficulty of tearing your eyes away from the stage long enough to legibly type. 

It’s not really possible to keep track of the performers hitting the stage—because of Guinness World Record-imposed time limit, each performance is about as long as the actual song the being performed. Four minutes of high-energy Robyn and then they’re gone, and you’re Cinderella’s prince, thinking: I’ll find her by her fabulous shoes.

I’m fairly sure Poison Waters has already performed three times, but I tell people apart by their hairstyles, so I never really stood a chance. 

CEO Emma Mcilroy retakes the stage and says the 48-hour Drag-A-Thon will have over 60 performers and over 60 emcees in total. Following Punkie Johnson, Hillsboro City Councilor Member Beach Pace and Comedian Cameron Esposito are now currently dual emcee hosts. -SUZETTE SMITH

“The great difficulty of Drag-A-Thon has revealed itself, and it is the problem of tearing your eyes away from the stage long enough to legibly type,” I type, and then they start playing Robyn “Dancing on My Own.” pic.twitter.com/rK6cxvS2xr

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 11, 2023

Mon July 10, 4:30 pm

It’s a packed house at Drag-A-Thon. Unsurprisingly a number of audience members are wearing Wildfang brand pattern suits.

After Wildfang CEO Emma Mcilroy and Portland podcast host Eden Dawn open the festivities, a large digital clock starts whirring forward with encouraging speed. The Drag-A-Thon opens with Poison Waters lip syncing to “A Lil’ Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place” by Dolly Parton. Darcelle XV Showplace house staff join her on stage. 

As foreshadowing for the evening to come, the staff performers stop their respective promenades through the crowd at Poison’s pantomime of pointing at her wristwatch. The Guinness World Records folks are holding performers to strict time constraints. 

Further mother behavior shows up as Poison leaves the stage. She pauses and offers a PSA: “Please don’t throw money on the stage. It’s dangerous for the performers. The bowl is right there! Thank you!” -SUZETTE SMITH

The Drag-A-Thon opens with Poison Waters lip syncing to “A Lil’ Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place” by Dolly Parton. Darcelle XV Showplace house staff join her on stage: pic.twitter.com/s0IS93EO16

— Suzette Smith (@suzettesmith) July 10, 2023

The current drag artist performance record currently stands at 36 hours, 36 minutes, and 40 seconds, set at a 2017 event in Australia. If all goes according to plan, the artists performing at Darcelle’s will crash through the previous record at around 4:36 am on the morning of Wednesday July 12. However, as a feat of strength, they plan to keep the mascara flowing for another 11 hours, staking Portland claim as the Guinness World Record holder for 48 consecutive hours of drag.

Related: Wildfang and Darcelle XV Showplace Will Attempt to Set a New Guinness World Record

It’s important to note that Drag-A-Thon is not all gender bending and falling glitter. The marathon is a statement—standing up to the Tennessee drag ban and other anti-drag bills in US states. With ticket sales and other donations, Drag-A-Thon hopes to raise $250,000 for the Trevor Project, so the organization can continue to fight harmful, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Drag-A-Thon is also welcoming drag artists from other states and paying them to perform, such as Eureka O’Hara: a RuPaul’s Drag Race alum and a drag queen from Johnson City, Tennessee. While Wildfang representatives stressed they won’t be taking one cent of the door, the performers will be paid. And tipped! (Bring your dollars, Portland!).

There’s no schedule yet released for Drag-A-Thon, so every ticket was a bit of a gamble, but here’s the current list of performers and emcees who have signed up to appear onstage for the event:

The latest poster and line-up for Drag-A-Thon. – COURTESY OF DRAG-A-THON.