Photos: Epic Theatre Company Presents AMERICAN DRAG

American Drag written and directed by Epic's Artistic Director Kevin Broccoli. The continuation of Epic's hit 2015 play American Strippers, this time around, Olympus has fallen and the gods are trying to get the band back together for one more shot at controlling the Universe with the help of some iconic drag queens.

"First off, if you didn't catch American Strippers, you'll still be able to enjoy American Drag," says Broccoli, putting sequel fears to rest, "This play really is its own story, in the same spirit of the first. It's also part of the newly created Epic Universe, so there are little gifts for people who saw Lizzie Borden, Lizzie Borden, but this show stands on its own just fine."

After the collapse of their mythological home in Greece, the gods have been banished to America, and when they get there, they find themselves trapped in the bodies of mortal women. When the god Pan decides it's time to create a new American religion, they partner with Zeus to gather their cosmic family back together, only to find out about a drag competition that would help spread their message all across the world. That leads them to recruit some famous American women, revived from the dead and now residing in the bodies of human men who dress as women, to put together one amazing show in the hope of rescuing the American spirit while avoiding a Big Bad of Epic proportions.

"Gender has become such a huge part of the national conversation," says Broccoli, "We wanted to include something in our season that really throws any traditional conventions about gender out the window. It's also very exciting to us that we get to produce a show that celebrates the art of drag and how vital it's become to the culture."

The large ensemble cast features some Epic favorites, including three of the actresses in Epic's smash production of The Revolutionists.

"Betsy Rinaldi is playing Betsy Ross," says Broccoli, "But in the play, Betsy Ross is a dead woman who's been brought back to life as a man who then performs as a drag queen. So we have a woman, playing a historical dead woman, in the body of a man, who dresses as a woman. For people who thoughtLizzie Borden was strange-you ain't seen nothing yet."

American Drag is being performed at Theater 82, located at 82 Rolfe Square, where Epic is the Resident Theater Company from April 12th - 27th.

For tickets, go to http://www.artists-exchange.org/events.html

Photo Credit: Samantha Gaus