Interview: Drag Race Star Mrs. Kasha Davis is Breaking Down Her Theatre Roots

Mrs. Kasha Davis is having a breakdown and she wants you to know about it. When the beloved drag queen stormed the stage in the penultimate episode of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8, she arrived which a message: there's always time for kindness.

Since her All Stars Variety show experience, she released a music video for her song, appropriatey titled "Breakdown", which speaks to recent hateful, homophobic legislation targeting the drag and LGBTQIA+ community, specifically as it relates to her popular Drag Story Hour children’s reading program, Imagination Station. 

Below, Mrs. Kasha Davis checks in with BroadwayWorld to chat about the message of the song, her hopes for the future of Imagination Station, and her rich relationship with theatre.

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We need to start by talking about "Breakdown." What was the creative process like in putting it together? 

"Breakdown" came to me when we were asked to prepare for the variety show, and they said, "You've got one minute!" I thought, "What the heck can I pack into one minute?" Everything! I wanted to show something different in terms of my look; I wanted to do a completely different song. My catchphrase was originally, "There's always time for a cocktail." But now I'm Miss Drag Story Hour and I thought, "I really want to get mad," because of where the world was at the time in regards to school shootings, Black Lives Matter... I'm just getting so frustrated with how things become politicized and how there's so much celebration of hate.

Then we started having protests and issues with regard to Story Hour and I thought about how this whole blanket frustration and anger is all based on politics. And so I thought to myself, "How can I create a song that 'breaks it down?'" It's me, breaking down, ripping off my wig, and being frustrated about our trans brothers and sisters. Drag is not a crime! Womens reproductive choices are no one else's business! I wanted it all in there, but I also wanted to end with a solution. So often we have these frustrations and we just end up yelling at each other. While there is a place for that, what is the solution? And to me, ending the video with Story Hour, and sharing what my parents taught me about being kind and to respect and celebrate one another is truly what the solution is. 

I think that is my favorite part of the song- that contrast. 

Well thank you. And in the video, I celebrate community. I celebrate not just my Drag Race sisters, but I wanna show the hardworking kings and queens and trans brothers and sisters that are working in our community, which mirrors every community across the country that are out there performing. It's not just about Drag Racers. 

What did it feel like actually getting to perform it on the stage in front of everyone? 

Oh, I was thrilled. Obviously the production value of RuPaul's Drag Race is stellar. You've got the lights, and you've got the dancers... I have to give kudos to them because we all utilized the same group of dancers. And they're like, 1, 2, 3, done! My gosh, I've been working on this thing for months! 

I feel like you are a very inherently theatrical in your drag, and yet you're not shouting it from the rafters. Is it fair to say?

That is. I appreciate that you noticed that! I went to college with a scholarship for theatre at Marywood University. I thought, "This is it!" I got the lead roles in high school. I was 'Teyve' [laughs] at the age of 16! So there I went from that small town theatre education to being forced to learn everything... not just playing the role onstage, but learning tech and doing it all. It was a wonderful education. They brought in marvelous people- Lauri Peters was the original Liesl in The Sound of Music and she was one of my directors. She brought a bunch of us to New York City and we learned the Meisner method from her. 

Then they told me that I needed to learn to dance, so I joined the local ballet company. Because it was such a small town and I was male, I got to play all the roles. So I've been in Swan Lake, the Nutcracker...

That's amazing!

I have a very, very, very strong passion. My original passion was theater. Then drag happened and I said, "I'm not interested". I saw Pandora Boxx and Darien Lake on stage and they were pretty, and it was great. I was not uninterested, but I was not seeing it for myself.

Then I saw a character who was doing a cabaret show, Miss Richfield 1981. She is doing live singing, and she's got a story, and she has a message, and she's interacting with the audience!  And these were the stars. Lady Bunny, Coco Peru, Miss Richfield, Varla Jean Merman, these theatrical cabaret-based queens. And I was like, "That is what I wanna do."

And I'm sure that growing up in Scranton, that wasn't such a long ride from New York City...

No, just a couple hours away. Ironically, my high school trip was to see two different shows:  La Cage [Aux Folles] was my first Broadway show!  I remember coming out being like, "I don't understand! I don't understand!" And then the next one was 42nd Street and I saw Jerry Orbach in it. And I got to play that role in college!

Incredible!

My father said that I couldn't make a career with theater, so he had me double major with business, which obviously served me well because now I know how to run Mrs. Kasha Davis. 

I still participate in theater though. I played Frank in Rocky Horror [Show] recently here in Rochester, and I'll be playing Barry in The Prom.

That's such a good part for you!

Seriously! I saw The Prom on Broadway at least four times. And the one time I was there, they were like, "Even Mrs. Kasha Davis... " because they knew I was there so much! When Barry sang "Barry Is Going to Prom"  and he says like, "Look, Mom!"  I mean, I'm getting teary-eyed now thinking about myself singing that. My mom is in heaven and she was a big fan of seeing me on stage. That's gonna be special.

Do you still see a lot of Broadway shows?

Oh yes. Well, I'm an obsessed Tina Turner fan. I went to multiple performances of Tina in London and on Broadway. I love the celebration of her spirituality and I loved the celebration of women. How strong she had to be and how she relied on other women and how she was mistreated, but she just kept going.

And of course I just recently had the privilege of seeing Jinkx Monsoon in Chicago. It was so good. And just to see her and know her journey... I know how important it was for her and for all of us in the queer community to see someone being celebrated and coming from Drag Race. It gives those of us who have those goals and aspirations... I mean, there's, there's gotta be a roll out there somewhere from Mrs.Kasha Davis!

We've gotta get you on Broadway! Would you consider that if the right thing came along?

Are you kidding me?! Of course! And watching Jinkx made me realize like it's possible. 

What's next for you?

The contracts are being signed for a production company to sell my children's television show called Imagination Station. Maybe this is what's gonna be on Broadway! We have filmed four episodes. It stars myself and Mrs. And Mr. Davis. The way you want to picture this television show is: Mrs. Doubtfire hosting Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. 

That sounds like it's got Broadway written all over it!

That's the joy of my life that I am hoping to bring for one specific purpose- that it wasn't there for me when I was a child and if there's anything I can do in this lifetime to hopefully, provide hope and positivity for not just the queer community, but for parents and people wondering, "Can I be myself?"  Yes you can. You have every right to shine your light.

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