The lowdown on Ginger Layne and her new show
RICH LOPEZ | Staff Writer
richlopezwrites@gmail.com
Michael B. Moore admits he’s no writer, but he is pushing full-steam ahead in creating his newest show, Last Call with Ginger Layne. As his alter ego drag queen, Moore is planning to deliver a little bit of Ellen, a little bit of Jimmy Fallon and a whole lot of sass in the “late night drag talk show you didn’t know you needed,” coming to the Pocket Sandwich Theatre at 11 p.m. on Aug. 27 and 28.
As Moore continued to work on his show hosting duties, he took some time to give Dallas Voice the tea on what audiences need to know and can expect.
New talk show, who dis? My name is Michael B. Moore. But my friends call me MBM, MnM or just “hey queen.” Now ,a lady never reveals her age, but I’m a he/him/his sitting pretty at 45 — but thanks to Botox I can pass for 28.”
Have we met before? Aside from last call at any bar in Oak Lawn, you may have seen Ginger onstage in some of Uptown Players’ Rose Room parody shows, such as Blanche in The Golden Girls,” Charlene in ReDesigning Women or Ginger Grant in Gilligan’s Fire Island. You older queens would have seen Ginger in that tiny little Rose Room of yesteryear or swinging on a pole at The Brick.”
One of a kind: I think what is unique about my drag is my infatuation with musical theater. It comes across a lot in my performances, my costume choices and definitely the soundtrack of my life.
Ginger is all fish — at least in her own mind. She is confident, clumsy and carefree. And Michael has an extreme zest for life. As a two-time cancer survivor, he doesn’t take anything too seriously.
When was your first time to … you know? I started doing drag on a dare when I was 18 years old. From that point on, the monster that is Ginger Layne was born. Back then, I was just a boy in a dress. We didn’t have YouTube, so I grabbed every fashion magazine and taught myself how to do make up.
Around the age of 30, while working for a cosmetic line, I went to hair school and discovered a new passion. Several years after working at the salon, my dear friend Coy Covington invited me to work alongside him on a musical. Now I am an associate wig and makeup designer for Uptown Players.
I’ve also been at my salon for almost 12 years and have no plans to leave.”
Living for the applause: I have not performed in front of a live audience in drag in several years. When the opportunity arose, I dropped everything to make this show happen. It’s something I didn’t know I wanted until it was presented to me.”
Survival mode: Having just undergone a stem cell transplant in summer 2019, surviving the first few months of COVID was a breeze. I had already been in quarantine for six months just when the lockdown started. I created a drag-based group on Facebook, which led to Facebook live drag shows once a month. It gave me something to do to keep the performance aspect alive, and also let me look a fool virtually. Plus, my mother was able to see me perform in drag, live for the first time — even if it was in my living room.
What’s the tea? I’ve known people at Pocket Sandwich for years. They approached me about doing a drag show, and I don’t quite see it as a venue for that. So we came up with the talk show concept with a live studio audience.
There will be some drag numbers, comedy, musical guests, a cooking segment and some audience participation. I’m still putting it all together and working with a writer to make the monologue more funny. I’m no writer, so this is all new to me. But I like this idea of bringing a different side to drag.
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Upcoming at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre
5400 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214-821-1860
pocketsandwich.com:
The theater will close its doors at its current location this December as it looks for a new home but continues with its season.
• Through Aug. 28: Drac in the Saddle
Again popcorn melodrama
• Sept. 3-25: You Can’t Take it With You
• Oct. 1-Nov. 13: Jack the Ripper Monster
of Whitechapel popcorn melodrama
• Nov. 26-Dec. 23: Ebenezer Scrooge