A multi-hyphenate drag performer is bringing a new musical to life at Theatre Network's Roxy Theatre, something they said is a step forward for the validation of their art.
"I think this is the biggest thing that I've personally worked on," Zachary Parsons-Lozinski, a.k.a. Lilith Fair, told Taproot. "I don't think drag queens are often given big opportunities in the theatre world. To be given the opportunity to be in a world-debut musical at a theatre with a history of excellence, like the Roxy, I am not taking this for granted."
With Bells On! The Musical is based on Darrin Hagen's (of Guys in Disguise) play With Bells On!, with music and lyrics by Tommy Newman and book by Newman and Devanand Janki, who also directs. It's about a chance meeting in a broken elevator on Christmas Eve between a suicidal accountant named Ted (Thomas Jones) and a seven-foot tall drag queen named Natasha (Lilith Fair).
Parsons-Lozinski saw the debut of the source material at the original Roxy location. Casting in With Bells On follows their Sterling Awards win for their role in Hagen's The Pansy Cabaret. (Parsons-Lozinski uses he/they pronouns as a civilian, and she/her pronouns in drag.)
This is also the singer-dancer-playwright-comedian's tenth anniversary of debuting Lilith Fair, and they have ratcheted up professional success in the role in recent years.
"I think the thing I'm most proud of is that for the last four years, coming out of a pandemic and lockdowns, drag has been my full-time job," they said. "I haven't had to subsidize my income by waiting tables or working at a coffee shop. To be this weirdo, sex positive, punk rock, brat, drag queen making a living in what is traditionally known as the most conservative province in the country — I feel very rock and roll."
Parsons-Lozinski, who hails from Edmonton but has lived in Calgary since 2019, said that though the show takes place in a confined setting with just two actors, it never feels small. "The music is so expansive, as far as genre and tone," they said. "We are taken on a pretty big journey, despite the fact that we're really just in one space for so long."
Like with The Pansy Cabaret, Parsons-Lozinski is delighted to play a three-dimensional character in the musical, rather than a drag caricature. They said the lack of roles like these have been a factor in creating their own shows.
"Most of the time, if you want to do theatre in drag and not have the drag be the joke, I think it's necessary for authentic voice to be utilized in the process of creation," they said. "I think there are a lot of ideas about what drag is, but what is often missing from those stories is that … there's a whole community aspect to it. There's a whole cultural aspect to it, and that is often missing from scripts written by people who don't really understand that quality of the art form."
Lilith Fair (née Zachary Parsons-Lozinski) stars in With Bells On! The Musical at Theatre Network's Roxy Theatre from Dec. 5 to 23. (Supplied)
The most recent original Lilith production is Millennial Sex Witch, a show packed with high-octane, sometimes bizarre cabaret numbers. During its run at the Roxy, Lilith also gave impassioned speeches about the harm caused by disinformation about queer people and grooming, something Drag.Jpeg is also concerned with dispelling. Prior to that, Lilith debuted The House that F*cks at the 2022 Edmonton Fringe before eventually taking it to the SoHo Playhouse.
Many folks' main exposure to drag is through the hyper successful RuPaul's Drag Race and its franchises across the globe. Parsons-Lozinski has applied to four out of five seasons of the Canadian version with no luck. They declined to apply for season five, which is currently airing and features the first Edmonton performer to make it to the show, Melinda Verga.
"I would never say never to it, but I feel like on my own I am carving out my own lane as a Canadian drag superstar in my own right," they said. "Not to be so fucking full of myself, but I'm very happy with the career that I'm creating for myself."
With Bells On! The Musical runs at the Roxy from Dec. 5 to 23, with Mondays off. It's recommended for attendees 16+.