Life Goes On Tour
By Denny Patterson
June 4, 2023
Parker Playhouse | www.ParkerPlayhouse.com
Large and in charge, chunky yet funky, Latrice Royale is celebrating 30 years as the bold and beautiful drag artist we all know and love.
As one of the most prolific queens to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Royale knows that it is crucial to use her platform for good. In her brand-new solo tour titled Life Goes On, which will stop at the Parker Playhouse on June 4, 2023, Royale weaves in the importance of supporting the art of drag along with her own life experiences. Letting nothing stand in her way, it’s a story of resilience, heart, soul, and determination.
Audiences are in for an evening full of comedy, music, and narratives, and OutClique caught up with Royale ahead of her Fort Lauderdale performance.
Denny Patterson: You are on the road with a brand-new show called Life Goes On, which celebrates your 30-year mark in the drag business. How does it feel to hit that milestone?
Latrice Royale: It’s amazing! Who would have thought I’d be doing this for 30 years later? Something that started as a dare, and now it’s my livelihood. It’s my life.
Denny Patterson: What can audiences expect from this production?
Latrice Royale: This show is so necessary right now. It’s always a labor of love when I put on my one-woman shows, but especially in the political climate that we’re in right now, it is so necessary.I had no idea how it would be received until I did my first show in Oklahoma City, where they literally beat the walls and were screaming. We had to hold for the opening song because I was receiving all the ovation! It was just amazing, and it was very special.
Denny Patterson: Is there anything in particular you hope audiences take away from it?
Latrice Royale: Always with a Latrice Royale experience, my goal is to always uplift and inspire you to be your greatest and best self. I didn’t know how wounded our people are, and they need a glimpse of hope and a better tomorrow. The show gives them that, and I’m very, very happy to be doing it with my husband.
Denny Patterson: That was my next question. Is Christopher joining you on the tour?
Latrice Royale: One hundred percent! He’s my musical director, and we will be joined by two other band members. Christopher has been very instrumental, pun intended (laughs), in helping me develop the show. He’s been my sounding board and has encouraged me to try out new music, venture out of my comfort zone, and expand my repertoire. All the things that make a great artist, and he’s been very supportive in that process.
Denny Patterson: What’s the secret to having a professional working relationship with your significant other?
Latrice Royale: Knowing what hat you have on at what time. It’s very important to know the dynamic and know that you are separating your business and marriage, and sometimes that gets a little gray, but you have to work through the gray because maintaining those boundaries and clear lines is absolutely fundamental in making it work. It’s hard enough managing just our normal emotions, but when you couple that with business, you must take a step back. So, it’s important to make sure you know what hat you have on.
Denny Patterson: After all these years, how would you say Latrice Royale is still evolving?
Latrice Royale: My motto is always evolving, and it’s important because that’s how you say in the business for 30 years! You have to evolve. You can’t do the same thing all the time and think that’s going to be it. The great thing about me is that I have this extensive catalog that I can draw inspiration and pull from, which I wouldn’t have had the courage to try in my earlier years. Now, I am not fearful of that, and I’m able to take chances, try new things, venture out on different avenues, and take my craft seriously. It’s important and I’m always trying to improve. Like, I have a vocal coach now. I can’t keep taking people’s money and sound horrible!
Denny Patterson: Your last stop on a tour is Fort Lauderdale. Is that because this is where home is?
Latrice Royale: It’s home, baby, and I want it to be so dynamic because it is home and where I started. Now that there are literally two or three generations that have come since I’ve started, it’s going to bring it all full circle. I just want my hometown to come, support me, blow it out, and have the most wonderful, fantastic evening.
Denny Patterson: That performance is scheduled for June 4, 2023. Will you be going into Pride festivities after the tour wraps up?
Latrice Royale: Right now, I don’t have a lot of Pride engagements, because I want to take a break after this tour. This is the glory of being able to work hard, play hard. I’m going to be able to take a moment, and I may do a few Pride events, but mostly it’s going recouping and enjoying the fruits of my labor.
Denny Patterson: Of course, you became one of the world’s most beloved drag queens after competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race. What are your thoughts about the show becoming so mainstream now?
Latrice Royale: Good and bad comes with everything, right? On the positive, we were trying to be seen, visual, and visible to the masses, and now we have it. You have to be careful with what you ask for because now they see us, and now we’re getting pushed back. Now, they’re trying to end what we do and call it all the nasty things. So, with anything, you have to have balance. I love the fact that we are global. Drag is everywhere, we are on award shows, we are getting Emmy Awards, and that’s such an accomplishment. I’m very proud and happy. I didn’t know if I’d ever see the day where that would happen. However, we now have a responsibility to make our art and craft knowledgeable to the people who are ignorant, and there are a lot of those. With anything, I lead with love first. I’m trying to come from a place of love, so you can understand how you don’t understand. I’m glad that we are where we are, but we have much more work to do.
Denny Patterson: Would you ever consider competing again?
Latrice Royale: Oh, hell no! (Laughs). That book is closed, done. They can bring me back as a lip sync assassin or a judge, but baby, I don’t have anything else to prove to anyone.
Denny Patterson: What is the best motherly advice you can offer to a newcomer queen?
Latrice Royale: You know, there were a lot of newcomers this past season, and I just want there to be a safe space for all the new kids coming up. Be yourself, but have something to offer to the world, and have something that’s valuable and different. Don’t just do it because it’s kitschy and trendy to be a drag queen. What are you offering and what are you doing for it? Have something that’s solid and tangible.
Denny Patterson: Is there a Drag Race girl you would love to work with but haven’t had a chance to yet?
Latrice Royale: Oh, that’s a good question. There are my girls from more recent seasons that I haven’t worked with yet, like Kornbread and LaLa Ri. I want to be in the same room with both of them at the same time. To me, that would be a kiki for life! I’ve always seen the girls in passing, but we haven’t had a moment to really get to know each other.
Denny Patterson: Last year, you spent a good amount of time in Las Vegas as part of the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race LIVE! at the Flamingo Hotel. What was that experience like for you?
Latrice Royale: That was amazing! I had so much fun doing that show, and to be received in the way that I was received was also pretty astounding. For me, the best part of working RuPaul’s Drag Race LIVE! were the antics backstage. We were so hateful to each other in those dressing rooms, and I loved every minute of it. It was good old fashioned drag, because you got me, Coco Montrese, Alexis Mateo, Roxxxy Andrews, and baby, it was on and popping! The kiki backstage was real, and it reminded me of what’s been missing. Unfortunately, we can’t carry on like that on Drag Race because everybody gets offended. Honestly, Mistress Isabelle Brooks would have a blast with that show. She will read you the house down boots, but it’s all in love and kiki, and maybe hint of truth (laughs).
Denny Patterson: You also had two successful runs on London’s West End Stage in Death Drop. Would you like to do more Broadway in your lifetime?
Latrice Royale: Oh, absolutely. Getting my feet wet on the West End was such a joy because I wanted to find out if the passion would line up with the experience, and it 100 percent did. I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do this, and it was a dual role, so I was really stretching myself, but it was the best experience until I got COVID. This is how this came about. The last two weeks in my first run, the entire cast got COVID and we shut down. I was the last one to get it, so while everybody else was slowly getting back into work, I was literally on my couch feeling like this was the end. But then a full circle came around. Jujubee had Queen of the Universe obligations, so she had to leave the last two weeks of the second run. So, guess who they called back? I got to do my last two weeks, my big bow, and it was wonderful.
Denny Patterson: What are some other future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?
Latrice Royale: Like I said, I’m always evolving, and my biggest goals are to be on the big screen and Broadway. In the meantime, I’m doing the work in between to get to where I need to be, and I think everything happens in its time. I’ve been here for 30 years, and I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon!
