By Denny Patterson

Get ready to wish upon a drag star!

New York City’s most recognizable blonde bombshell Paige Turner is inviting audiences to join her as she makes her South Florida debut with a magical new show titled The Wonderful World of Drag, playing at Sunshine Cathedral November 8, 2024. Hop on and take a ride with Turner through her Magic Queendom in this live singing parody fantasia celebrating 100 years of “DIZNEE,” where she will take on a whole new world of classic songs from all your favorites, like Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, and more. 

Turner took some time to talk more about her upcoming engagement with OutClique. 

Denny Patterson: Thank you for taking some time to chat with me, Paige! How excited are you to make your South Florida debut at Sunshine Cathedral?

Paige Turner: To be completely honest, I was a little nervous at first because of all the drag controversy, and I’m performing the Friday after the election. I was like, what have I done? (Laughs). But that has dissipated, and I’m excited. I kept seeing things for Sunshine Cathedral, and I was like, what is this place? Then it turned out that almost every other singer, entertainer, drag queen, and cabaret performer I have ever associated myself with either knew or heard of Sunshine Cathedral. A big goal of mine is to branch out to new places, so I reached out. They responded saying, oh my gosh, we totally know who you are! We’ll totally book you! I was invited to come in September, but I was booked, and then they were booked in October, so we landed on a November date. 

Denny Patterson: You are performing a show called The Wonderful World of Drag. What can we expect?

Paige Turner: It’s a Disney with a Z parody show, and it’s basically how Disney and drag go hand in hand, as well as how one can be inspired by Disney characters and dressing up. Even if you’re not the biggest Disney fan, there is something about expressing yourself and finding yourself within that magic that makes you fall in love with it. The show is written for everybody, and it’s very lighthearted. I don’t want to make people cry, but I definitely love doing something emotional, which you wouldn’t think a drag queen would do. The biggest takeaway for me has been people saying they like the message of the show, which means more to me than anything. There’s always a message in Disney, so I’m like, how can I do it? 

Denny Patterson: You premiered the show in Provincetown. Is it safe to assume that it’s been received well so far?

Paige Turner: It’s been pretty amazing. I’ve done epic Disney shows in the past, but they’ve had other queens and dancers involved. I was like, how am I going to do this by myself? The best part is when someone’s like, I didn’t know how you were going to pull that off or I didn’t know the show was going to be that way. When people do Disney shows, a lot of the time, they get on stage and they’re like, remember The Little Mermaid? Remember this and that? The audience is like, yes, we remember, and then we all go into a sing-along. I wanted to do something more clever. I do shows I would want to see myself, invite people in, and hope they get on board!

Denny Patterson: What do you always hope audiences take away from a Paige Turner production?

Paige Turner: I always want to spark joy. My whole aesthetic is naughty but nice, and I’m pretty tawdry. It’s not vulgar, and I really want people to have an experience and be on a ride. And as we all know, Disney is quite a ride! This show is a ride where you get to know more about me. When I first started doing drag, it was very much, oh, I have to be this character. I definitely am a character, but my heart is always the same on stage as it is in real life. It’s just amplified. I want people to feel something, and I love when they’re like, I’ve never laughed so hard or I can’t believe you said that. When each person says something different, I’m checking off all the boxes. I have always been about the experience, and with The Wonderful World of Drag, I want audiences to unlock their inner child. 

Denny Patterson: Have you always had a passion for entertaining?

Paige Turner: Like every other gay boy, unfortunately, yes (laughs). It bit me at a young age. I say in the show how I dressed up at a young age as Peter Pan and was convinced I could fly and wouldn’t age at all. This is the most truthful show I’ve ever done as far as storytelling. 

Denny Patterson: And how did your journey with drag begin? 

Paige Turner: I call it a happy accident. This December will be 15 years since I started doing drag full-time. I am a musical theater performer, and I have always loved clowns. People are usually scared of clowns, but collected clown stuffed animals, statues – I was circus obsessed. I then saw a clown at a fair my mother was working at. I was hanging out there all day, which I didn’t mind. Who wouldn’t want to hang out at a fair all day? I saw this clown, followed him, and when he came out, he had his wig and shoes on top of a duffel bag. He still had some makeup on, but as he walked through the crowd, and even though his stuff was sticking out, no one knew who he was. I knew the secret, and I thought it was the coolest thing. I always wanted to do a short story film about this. Playing the MC in Cabaret was the lost musical I did, and that’s a very draggy character, but I decided to try full-on drag when I got back. I did, and I had that Hannah Montana rock moment of this alter ego. There was a confidence that I did not have as a gay boy performer, so drag really helped me embrace my queerness and feel great about it.

Denny Patterson: While doing my research for this interview, I read that you have been featured numerous times on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, even portraying Mary Poppins for Dame Julie Andrews. What was that experience like?

Paige Turner: That was insane! Watch What Happens Live is a very quick show, and it’s such a whirlwind. I usually always had something else right after it, but I wasn’t going to miss seeing Julie Andrews! My favorite movie is Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it’s the reason why I went into theater. Then Mary Poppins is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies, and Whoopi Goldberg was the other guest that night. Like, what?  I didn’t talk too much to Julie, but she did turn to me during the commercial break and goes, wherever did you get your fabulous costume? I turned back and go, Amazon Prime! I say this joke in the show because I’m pretty sure Julie Andrews has no idea what that is. She was very protected by an entourage, very prim and proper, and then she was ushered off. We did pictures and everything with her, but there was no quality time. Then I was like, wait, Whoopi Goldberg is being ignored! So, I knock on her dressing room door being like, hey, can I come say hi? She’s like, get it here! It was an unbelievable,  gay boy explosion. It was one of those thrills where you’re like, oh my God, the opportunities that come in drag, even if you haven’t been on RuPaul’s Drag Race. There are still countless opportunities that can happen with a drag career. 

Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?

Paige Turner: Just that I’ll be touring The Wonderful World of Drag with bookings all the way through May, before I go back to P-Town. I’ll also be touring a new Christmas show, so be on the lookout for that!