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Patrick Ross said his career is more than sequins, feather boas, skin tight dresses or chicken cutlet chest enhancers — for him it’s theater.
His 20-year career as a female impersonator, or drag queen, has allowed him to travel and perform original acts. Ross said although he impersonates women such as Joan Rivers and Barbra Streisand, he has no desire to be an actual woman.
“The best part of drag is taking it off,” he said. “There’s different genres of gender bending and some of it is sexual identity and some of it is theater. That’s why I don’t have a drag name, I’m Patrick Ross always, because I’m an actor.”
During his Patrick Ross Comedy Hour, Ross hosts comedians, burlesque dancers and other drag queens. Ross is the emcee of the show and sashays around the stage swimming in various colored feather boas as he introduces the acts. During the introductions he impersonates women with strong personalities and has made a name for himself doing so.
“For me there are certain energies that speak to me and certain people that I look like,” he said. “That combination of who can you do and who do you feel, you know, where’s the magic for you and if you’re one of those.”
Ross is a native of Albuquerque who began his career performing in the city’s small bars when he was still a teenager. Because Albuquerque is a relatively small city with few other drag acts, particularly when compared with cities like Los Angeles and New York, Ross said he found success as a performer here.
He eventually moved to Las Vegas and was discovered while performing a one-man cabaret show in a small club. The producers of “La Cage Follies,” a show performed at a larger venue, offered Ross a chance to be in their show. From there, Ross said, he went on to perform and understudy at different casinos in various shows.
He now performs regularly in Albuquerque.
He said although mainstream audiences often have misconceptions about whether these impersonators really want to be women or change their sex, audiences are still fascinated by shows featuring the performers. Famous drag queens such as RuPaul can draw audiences of thousands. Ross said female impersonators draw the biggest crowds
“As an audience member they want to say ‘damn that looks just like that b****,’ and then you wanna go ‘damn that’s a dude.’ That’s the magic,” he said.
As a performer, Ross said he enjoys what he said drag does for its audience, that is, transcends barriers and allows people to let their guards down.
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“It breaks the walls down. If you can’t laugh at a gorgeous woman who’s a man making jokes, making fun of herself and having a party, then what can you laugh about?” he said. “I find it a magical art form and I find it eye opening, tantalizing, strange, wonderful and magical.”
