Connecticut’s Loosey LaDuca, headlining ‘Celebrate Drag 2023’ at TheaterWorks, talks about her success post-‘Drag Race’

Drag has been a big deal in Connecticut for decades, but having had three queens from the state on the latest season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” raised its visibility to new heights.

With its two-night, three-part “Celebrate Drag 2003,” TheaterWorks Hartford offers three drag events in two days that pretty much cover the spectrum of what drag has come to mean in the mainstream: a catty, campy personality fresh from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a documentary about an inner-city drag scene and a couple of celebrity impersonators.

The celebration opens Thursday, Aug. 10 with a 7:30 p.m. show featuring Connecticut-based drag sensation Loosey LaDuca from the most recent season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” joined by supreme local queens Mia E Z’Lay, Ambrosia Black and Natalia Fierce.

Friday Aug. 11 has two separate events. At 2:30 p.m. there’s a screening of the 2016 film “Kiki,” a contemporary look at the decades-old dancing/voguing community in Harlem. Then at 7:30 p.m. there’s “The Judy and Barbra Show” with Summer Orlando and Barbra Joan Streetsand. They are part of a long line of drag artists who have been impersonating Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand since the 1960s (when Garland was still alive and Streisand’s career was just beginning).

Both of the 7:30 p.m. shows are hosted by Jamison Stern, who appeared in drag in two Connecticut theater shows: the musical “La Cage Aux Folles” at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2015 and “The Legend of Georgia McBride” at TheaterWorks in 2018. Both of those shows were directed by TheaterWorks’ producing artistic director Rob Ruggiero.

Loosey LaDuca didn’t win on “Drag Race,” where she was one of three Connecticut-based contestants in the show’s 15th season. She lasted until just before the finals. But she won one of the first challenges in the competition, held her own for weeks and became a fan favorite. Among the unexpected bonuses: a viral video of a song she wrote and performed on the show, “Let Loose,” went viral on TikTok.

“A lot of stuff can happen apart from the show,” DaLuca said in a phone interview Thursday morning. “You take everything you can from being on the show. The show is a platform that can take you to a new level, but I’ve been doing drag for 13 years. I’ve been very, very busy. I was in London, I’m about to go to Australia and I’ll be back in London again. I’ve joined the elite on Delta Sky Miles.”

She made sure to be in her home state of Connecticut in June for local Pride events, and is delighted to be sharing the TheaterWorks stage with some of her esteemed colleagues from the Connecticut drag scene.

“I still live in Connecticut. That confuses a lot of people who think I should move to New York or L.A. but I like Connecticut! I have friends and family here.”

She says the TheaterWorks show will be like “a mini-cabaret show – in a real sit-down theater, not in a bar – doing a few numbers with three dear friends. It’ll be a bit different from the other things I’ve been doing, where it can be one high-energy number and some meet-and-greets. I think TheaterWorks is likely choosing to do a show like this now because of what’s going on in the world, with drag bans and things like that.”

Did the “Drag Race” experience change her style?

“I’m making new stuff all the time. There are more eyes on you. I’m making new stuff to wear all the time. It’s changed my makeup too. I work with a lot of different designers. You do have to grow your look. Seeing yourself on TV is an exciting tool to have.”

She watched some of the “Drag Race” episodes at viewing parties at Chez Est, Hartford’s premiere drag performance space. “I made sure to be there for the episode when I had to go home. It was an incredible experience to be there among friends. It was a celebration of how far I’d come on the show.”

“Celebrate Drag 2023” takes place Aug. 10 and 11 at TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl St., Hartford. The Thursday night show with Loosey LaDuca et al. costs $35-$60. “The Judy and Barbra Show” is $25. The “Kiki” film screening asks for a $5 donation to benefit Q Plus, the local nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ youth. More information on “Celebrate Drag” is at twhartford.org.