The Wigged-out Times of the Kinsey Sicks
By Robert Leone
In the thrilling world of queer showbusiness, the stage is often littered with trash, flash, rhinestones and rouge. But if you’re hungering for glitter that gleams, polka dots that pop, and giant hair bows big enough to smother a cat, there’s only one act at the top of the compost heap and that is The Kinsey Sicks. Their once-in-a-lifetime blend of bawdy humor, biting social and political commentary, and vocal perfection have left audiences stunned, horrified, catatonic, and ravenous for more—all at the same time!
But how did it happen? When did it start? And will it ever end? We were able to talk with three of the founding mothers of the Kinseys as they kick off their 30th anniversary tour and are thrilled to share some of those highlights with you here.
It all began in an earlier century, 1993 to be exact, when a group of friends, dressed as the Andrew Sisters, went to a Bette Midler concert in San Francisco. Singing was the last thing on their minds! But it wasn’t long before the boys morphed into America’s Favorite Dragapella® Beautyshop Quartet. Off Broadway, Las Vegas, film, concert DVDs, and performances across the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia were all in the cards. They’ve been called “The Hottest Ticket in Town” by The New York Times, “Outrageousness tinged with outrage…hilarious… a piercing cry from the heart” by The Washington Post, “Inventive…Riotously Funny…Sublime” by Variety. And let’s not forget that KQED San Francisco named them “The Royal Shakespeare Company of Drag Performance”. It just doesn’t get any better, or queerer, than that!
Cast changes, costume changes and musical numbers have come and gone, but the spirit of the Kinseys remains–big hearted, MAGA-Republican averse and true to social justice, political justice and just plain justice for all. And who better to bring that spirit to life than Rachel, Winnie and Trixie?
Enjoy this photo taken VERY early in the Kinsey careers (1994, I believe), on a San Francisco cable car.
Ben Schatz (Rachel)
What was your favorite thing about being onstage with the Kinsey Sicks?
For me, it was the comedy and never knowing what was going to happen and being confident that we could make comedic gold of it. The mistakes, the awful incidents—I felt so alive in responding to them. I remember one show where the fire alarms went off and I said to the audience, very calmly— “relax, we’re all going to die” and people stayed. This was a mistake, but nonetheless…
Where did you get the idea of combining social and political commentary, music, drag and comedy?
To me, drag was always political. There was always a fierceness and purpose to it— always in your face and always meant to make certain people uncomfortable. I did my last exam at law school in drag—this was back in 1985. I see the world in social justice terms and drag has always been about challenging the status quo.
How did the character of Rachel come about?
Rachel was everything I hoped I was not. I love Rachel. I miss Rachel. The opportunity to be completely inappropriate and loved for it. Who gets that opportunity? She is a reflection of my own discomfort, my own social inadequacy and I think that many people would just like to say to a roomful of people— “eat me!”
What did it feel like to you after a great performance?
It was a combination of the best drug and feeling fully and completely alive.
One of the original Kinseys, Jerry Freidman (Vaselina), is no longer with us. What are your memories of Jerry?
Jerry was one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known. Beautiful both inside and out, which is not always the case with gay men. He had a great sense of humor and always had the ability to make me laugh onstage.
Thirty years is quite a milestone in any career. How did you keep the flame alive?
The Kinseys represent food groups that don’t go together. If you think about acapella, standup comedy, and drag—they don’t mix. We had something to offer that no one else did, and we managed to make it work. I loved it so much I was not willing to let the realities of finances and performing interfere with the continuation of my dream. For decades there were no other out performing groups that were making a living doing it—we were it. And by out, I mean in their content. The fact that we made it was a miracle. We got rich in terms of happiness and joy and meaning.
How did you manage to transform yourself from a Harvard-trained civil rights lawyer operating at the highest levels of the Federal government to Rachel, star of stage, screen and a basement theatre in San Francisco?
I was the first attorney to work full time nationally on AIDS-related impact legislation. It was not a respectable place to be. But for me it was all part of the same trajectory. What can I do to shake things up as much as I can? I wanted to be a troublemaker pushing things from the outside. It’s been a through line for me. Also, it made a good story and got us lots of PR.
Although no longer performing as Rachel you are still very much involved with the group as a writer. What else are you working on these days?
I just finished the first draft of a book about my remarkable Communist Grandmother, Sophie Saroff who was a great inspiration to me. Among other things she was instrumental in starting the first racially-integrated resort in the United States, Camp Unity, that was ultimately killed by McCarthyism.
What is your favorite curse word?
MAGA
Irwin Keller (Winnie)
What was your favorite thing about being onstage?
I loved that relationship with the audience and also, I loved never being entirely certain what was going to happen next, which was often the case with the Kinsey Sicks. Anything could happen at any moment, and I enjoyed that. We had complete confidence that whatever happened we could make something sublimely funny out of it.
You’ve had quite a varied career including being the director of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of the San Francisco Bay Area and author of Chicago’s gay rights ordinance that was passed into law in 1989; your time as Winnie with the Kinsey Sicks and current rabbinical duties with a congregation in Sonoma County. What prompted these seismic career shifts?
Not as seismic as it looks. I wanted to be a rabbi first, but back then rabbinical seminaries weren’t accepting openly gay students, that was in 1982. When the AIDS pandemic hit I got swept into activism and that made me think I could be of greater use by getting a law degree. There was a way in which that legal advocacy work wasn’t enough for the times we were in. There was a need to bust out and make people laugh which gave rise to the Kinsey Sicks. I think what we offered in those early years was a kind of ministry—and I know that people will roll their eyes at this. It was an opportunity for gay people to feel that they were being seen and empowered and supported. Later on, when I had the chance to become a rabbi, it wasn’t as big a leap as you might think.
If you had to do it all over again…?
Everybody has regrets but I also value the person I am as a result of the mistakes, and the humiliations, the striving and the failing and the succeeding. The loves and the losses. I would do it all.
Do you miss performing as Winnie?
Yes. If the Kinseys asked me to do a walk on I would. I loved her and I got to play her for 21 years and I have a lot of gratitude around it.
Tell me about your new book.
Shechinah at the Art Institute: Words, Worry, Wonder is a collection of memoir, poetry, and essays. Very Jewish, very queer. Writing it allowed me to touch back into the Kinsey years and explore how they shaped and were shaped by my life. Oh, and my Kinsey training requires me to mention it’s a perfect holiday gift.
What is your favorite curse word?
Feh
Thoughts on the longevity of the group.
The group would not have existed without the NCTC years. It was such a durable, consistent opportunity to try new things and create new material and find out what this was all about. If someone had said that in thirty years the group would still be running I think we would have laughed.
Maurice Kelly (Trixie)
Favorite thing about being onstage with the Kinseys?
From an artistry point of view, it was that moment when our voices really clicked and we got that pure musicality that gives you a tingle down your spine. It never gets old when it happens. I wouldn’t say that my time in the Kinsey Sicks was a religious experience but when we were fully in sync, that was bliss. Also, hearing the crowd respond and you knew it wasn’t just you—that was frickin amazing.
Full disclosure.
Trixie was a heavy sweater. Onstage she dripped and would often short circuit her microphone, we would just play with it. Trixie, you’re making rude noises again!
Preparation before the show.
We’d do this kind of fun trash talk to get us into our personas and then take that energy to the stage.
Your favorite curse word.
I’m going to a Shakespearian place on this one-Codswallop
What did it mean to be in the Kinseys during the toughest part of the AIDS pandemic and all that went with it?
I don’t think I realized how important it was until after the fact. We were messing with peoples’ minds because a lot of our material was political. The Kinseys did not let you go to the despair place. We were funny and fabulous and did it with the right spirit.
What keeps you busy these days?
I’m a project manager with the Levi Strauss Corporation here in San Francisco and that was true even during my time as Trixie.
If you had to do it all over again?
Maybe I would have worn a slightly better outfit for our first public performance. It was hooker drag!
Enjoy celebrating The Kinsey Sicks in their 30th anniversary tour, Deep Inside Tonight!, playing Dec 4 – Jan 5th at NCTC.