Alaska Thunderfuck Announces ‘DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording),’ Out May 13
Read About It At Entertainment Weekly HERE
Album Teaser Video HERE
Today, via Entertainment Weekly, drag legend, singer, songwriter and performer Alaska Thunderfuck announces the premiere recording of“DRAG: The Musical.” PEG Records and Killingsworth Recording Company have partnered with Craft Recordings/Concord Theatricals to release “DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)” on May 13.The first single off the new album, “Drag is Expensive,” can be streamed on all digital platforms beginning May 6 HERE.
Co-written and conceived with Alaska’s longtime musical collaborators, certified platinum songwriter/producer Tomas Costanza and celebrity song stylist Ashley Gordon, as well as directed by the Emmy-nominated Spencer Liff, “DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)” tells the story of two rival drag bars that go head-to-head for survival amidst financial troubles (additional synopsis details HERE). With a cast of characters that combine hilarity, heart and fabulosity, “DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)” is an inspiring and entertaining listen from beginning to end.
A touch of “Kinky Boots” with a dash of “La Cage aux Folles” and a sprinkle of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the original album “DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)” is brought to life by an all-star cast of drag, theater, and LGBTQ+ icons including Alaska, Nick Adams, Michelle Visage, Max von Essen, Bob The Drag Queen, Peppermint, Monét X Change, Jujubee, Fortune Feimster, Margaret Cho, Ginger Minj, Divina De Campo, Lagoona Bloo, Jamie Torcellini and Jack Rodman.
With plans already in the works to adapt the album into a live stage show later this year, “DRAG: The Musical” is set to further break the artform of drag into the theater world and inspire audiences around the world to embrace their inner queen.
“At its core, the musical is inspired by the family bond that drag queens have together. And just like family, we may not always get along, but we find a way to support one another and love one another,” said Alaska. “I want to bring people into the world of Drag. It's a world that might not always be glamorous and sparkly. In fact, at times it can be slimy and disgusting. But I love it and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.”
“My creative inspirations behind ‘DRAG: The Musical’ are the the flair of ‘Kinky Boots,’ the imagination of ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’ the campiness of ‘Rocky Horror,’ the soul of ‘RENT,’ the comedy of ‘The Birdcage’ and the music of Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’ all sprinkled in with the attitude of The Sex Pistols,” said Tomas Costanza of the inspiration behind the project.
Ashley Gordon added, “This is a musical for every ‘weirdo’ who has ever had a dream. It’s an endearing story about the power of blood AND chosen family. Most of all, it’s an over-the-top love letter to all things DRAG! Tomas, Alaska and I have written songs together as a team for years, so it was natural for us to start telling the musical’s story by writing songs first. Over the course of six years we’ve fine-tuned and broken plot bones, which was sometimes painful as first-time musical writers, but we’d always end up with something even better in the end. We went through this process until we had a musical that we would happily pay top dollar to see ourselves.”
Track Listing for ‘DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)’
- Welcome to the Fishtank
- She’s All That
- Cathouse Fever
- Queen Kitty
- The Accounting Song
- Drag is Expensive
- Wigs
- Gay As Hell
- Gloria Shmidt
- Out of Your League
- Mirian Mintz
- She’s Such a Bitch
- It’s So Pretty
- I’m Just Brendan
- We Need Money
- I Don’t Like You But I Love You
- Girls Like Us
- Jerry’s Dead
- Two Bitches Are Better Than One
- Real Queens
- Welcome to the Catfish
- Brendan Is My Name
- Get It Together
Cast for ‘‘DRAG: The Musical (The Studio Recording)’’
- Alaska Thunderfuck - Kitty Galloway
- Bob The Drag Queen - The Master of Ceremonies
- Divina De Campo - Popcorn Reilly
- Fortune Feimster - Gloria Schmidt
- Ginger Minj - Puss Puss Dubois
- Jack Rodman - Brendan Hutchinson
- Jamie Torcellini - Drunk Jerry
- Jujubee - The Tigress
- Lagoona Bloo - Tuna Turner
- Margaret Cho - Miriam Mintz
- Max Von Essen - Tom Hutchinson
- Michelle Visage - Dixie Coxworth
- Monét X Change - Goldie Vandersnatch
- Nick Adams - Alexis Gillmore
- Peppermint - Savannah St. James
ABOUT ALASKA THUNDERFUCK
A bizarre cosmic collision propelled Alaska to Earth...and onto the fifth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race," where she finished in the final 3 before returning and taking the crown as winner of season two of "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars." She has released three chart-topping studio albums, "Anus," "Poundcake" and "Vagina" (available on iTunes), been a cast member of VH1's hit reality series "Scared Famous," released a young adult novel titled "Alaska Thunderfun and the Inner Space Odyssey" (part of the "Sickening Adventures" fiction series, available everywhere books are sold online), stars as Hattie in the short horror film "The Quiet Room" directed by Sam Wineman and toured the globe spreading her otherworldly message of love, kindness and gender nonconformity. Alaska also co-hosts the wildly popular Race Chaser podcast with Willam and her Youtube videos boast over 60 million views with 15 million views alone (and counting) for 2017's "The T." She has over 1.7 million insta followers and over 1.1 million twitter & FB followers. Her message to humankind? "If you're not wearing nails, you are not doing drag."
ABOUT TOMAS COSTANZA
Tomas Costanza is a certified-platinum record producer/songwriter and owner of the Killingsworth Recording Company. Costanza has co-written and produced twelve Billboard #1 albums, composed music for multiple TV shows and licensed over 1000 song placements. Synch credits include brands such as Apple, Galaxy, Ford, Google, Amazon, Target, TJ Maxx, Zillow and Tropicana as well as promos for NBC, ABC, CBS, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, AGT, Marvel, WWE and Call of Duty. Scoring credits include networks such as CBS, Comedy Central, Disney, Viceland, and Discovery as well as TV shows such as Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin, Huangʼs World, Hood Adjacent with James Davis, The Henry Ford Innovation Nation, Lucky Dog and Hidden Heroes.
ABOUT ASHLEY GORDON
Ashley Gordon is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, vocal producer, and ramen connoisseur. She was raised by her loving grandparents in Long Island, New York. The sounds of Ray Charles, Elvis, and Billy Joel filled the halls of her childhood home. Ashley has been published by PULSE Recordings since 2016, focusing her creative energy towards sync artist development. Notable song placements include Burt’s Bee’s, Doritos, Revlon, Clorox, Freeform, ABC, NBC, CBS, Starz, Hulu, Netflix, and many more. Beyond sync, Ashley has landed over twelve #1 albums on the iTunes charts with RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty Alaska Thunderfxck, Trixie Mattel, and KATYA to name a few. She also co-wrote a song entitled “Holy Ground”, produced by Justin Tranter for The Voice contestant DeSz. It served as her finale song and debut single (Republic). Ashley was invited to speak as an expert in vocal production and songwriting on CBS’ all-female leadership in STEM showcase, Mission Unstoppable. Produced by Geena Davis in partnership with Litton Entertainment, the show encourages young women ages 7-14 to explore STEM-centric careers.
ABOUT CONCORD
Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing, theatrical performance rights and narrative content. Headquartered in Nashville with additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin and Miami, Concord also has staff in Toronto, Tokyo and Melbourne. The Company’s catalog consists of nearly 900,000 songs, composed works, plays, musicals and active recordings which are licensed in virtually every country and territory worldwide.
ABOUT CONCORD THEATRICALS
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Kitt & Yorkey, Ken Ludwig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firmproviding truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class producing. www.concordtheatricals.com
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most storied collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Our repertoire includes iconic artists such as Joan Baez, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, Nine Inch Nails, Thelonious Monk, Otis Redding, R.E.M. and Traveling Wilburys, to name just a few. Being caretakers for the heritage of countless landmark recordings is a responsibility we don’t take lightly. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Concord Theatricals, Concord, Fantasy, Milestone, Nitro, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Vanguard and Vee-Jay Records, among many others.
About PEG
Producer Entertainment Group (PEG) is a full-service artist management firm, record label and production company proudly representing many of the world’s top drag queens and LGBTQ+ talent. They oversee all aspects of their clients’ careers including development, recording, filming, retail and global touring. PEG is also a major stakeholder in OUTtvUSA, a premium streaming service. PEG artists frequently appear in all areas of mainstream entertainment including television, film, commercial, music, publishing and more. PEG Records is a member label of Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance.
For more information on “DRAG: The Musical,”
please reach out to Josh Page at Shore Fire Media.
For more information on Alaska, please reach out to Ken Phillips.