The Glamorous Life

It would seem that Tommie Strangie, the hilariously hirsute queen on the scene better known as Shelley Novak, was putting on the New Times during our last interview. The one wherein he declared he was retiring from the drag scene, and painted a tragic picture of Dorian Gray in drag. Flash-forward a year and she’s baaaaaack! This Monday night, the 16th annual Shelley Novak Awards will be held at (duh) Score. We had to ask: What on earth brought Novak back? “I never really went away; I retired like Cher! I tried to find someone who wanted to take up the mantle of the awards show, but I realized that it was something only I could do. It’s my baby!” Novak explains. She says 2009 has ushered in a kind of drag renaissance: “The queens came out of the woodwork this year! I guess it’s like cutting down a forest: You wait five years and it grows back bigger and better. There are a lot of new, wild queens on the scene, thanks to Girls Gone Wild, MTV, and bad parenting. There’s a whole new slew who are finally 21, and they’ll be showing up at the awards this year.” So expect to see some beautifully beat-up faces, lithe young bodies, fresh new categories, and outrageous live performances at the stroke of midnight. Dare we say it? It’s gonna be fierce.
Tue., Feb. 24, midnight, 2009