Review: SNOWFLAKE MIC & DRAGARET STAR Are a Double Dose of Fun at Club Cumming

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Wait a minute. Wait a minute, I'm not Bobby Patrick. I'm Stephen Mosher. But when Broadway World Cabaret's most festive LGBTQ+ correspondent goes out to Club Cumming to do a double-header of SNOWFLAKE MIC and DRAGARET, even this uptown boy is more than a little curious, so I asked Mr. P if I might tag along and snap some pics, maybe do double-duty on a story about the experience. After all, it's difficult to review something that changes with every performance; but it's easy to tell people about the great time you had while hanging out with a chum in a groovy bar on the Lower East Side.

And, boy, did we have fun.

The Snowflake Mic night is a comedy open mic that the club advertises as a safe space for female and LGBTQ+ performers with both established and up-and-coming comics wanting to try out new bits for their acts. There is a rotating cast of hosts, including James Tison, Gus Constantellis and Dylan Adler. Artists wishing to perform sign up on the Facebook Group, and the event takes place on the first Sunday of every month from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Dragaret Star is an all LIVE SINGING drag competition hosted by Michael Bradley Block and Lauren Ordair on Sundays from 9 pm til 11:59 pm. There are eight contestants working their way to the finish line.

Bobby and I hit the club on February 16th (I was a little late, running in from another show) and caught Bobby in the middle of watching SNOWFLAKE MIC, and when I walked in there was some funny sh*t happening on that stage...

SM: So, Bobby, what did you think of Snowflake Mic?

BP: Well, boss, I had a really good time listening to newbiekins of comedy try out material that ran the gamut from their own moms to being moms, from being homosexual to transexual to no sexual to all sexual.

SM: That sounds like a party I was at once.

BP: Why didn't I get an invitation? Anyway... to start off the evening, I found myself seated at a table with three of the fledglings, Basil and Maggie, two they/them/their besties who were showing their nerves about being on the list for the evening, and Amir, a stray straight trying his third attempt to be taken off the waiting list for some stage time.

SM: How does one get on the stage at Snowflake?

BP: As I understand it, there is a Facebook group where young hopefuls can apply for a three-minute time slot with preference given to LGBTQ+ comics, after which, there is the dreaded waiting list. Because Snowflake Mic is about combating the misogynistic, transphobic, BS in the comedy world, Amir found himself on the waiting list again, and, so, sat anxiously at our table, hoping his name would be called. His anxiety finally got relief this evening.

SM: I caught Amir. He was very funny, though his comedy was a bit above the room, stemming from his Iranian birth, with a lot of socio-political overtones. As his set continued, the audience really warmed up to him because he was super-funny - he even had some jokes that pushed the envelope enough to get gasps from the audience...that segued into laughter. What was the mood at your table during the two-hour evening?

BP: It moved back and forth from nervous tittering to rehearsals, as Maggie and Amir looked at sheets of notebook paper, going over their precious three minutes.

SM: I noticed when I came in that the attendance was a little lacking, but that the people who were there were really into the comedy, actually paying attention and listening to the artists.

BP: Yes, that's right, but the audience grew throughout the evening.

SM: How many comics made it up onto the stage?

BP: The comics were sectioned into four groups of four comics each, with a different professional comic performing five minutes of their own comedy between each group.

SM: Were there a lot of women comics?

BP: There was a wide cross-section of all genders represented.

SM: When being introduced, were the comics preferred pronouns announced?

BP: I think so, it's been a week, so my memory, you know...

SM: Who was hosting on the night you were there?

BP: The hilarious and adorable James Tison, a non-gender conforming comic who is sick and tired of transphobia, who, later in the program, took five minutes of his own that absolutely killed.

SM: What was your overall impression of Snowflake Mic? Is it something that you would recommend people check out?

BP: Well, first of all, Stephen, I don't do impressions. But, yes, if you are a fan of comedy and the gritty Lower East Side, Club Cumming's comedy cavalcade Snowflake Mic is for you. If you are a comic in need of a mic, the feel of the room, especially thanks to James, was welcoming and encouraging, both on the stage and in the audience. NOW, Stephen, why don't YOU give us your impressions of Dragaret?

SM: Well the only impression I do is of Jeanne Moreau in the movie Querelle, and nobody would get it.

BP: That's too gay, even for me. So, about Dragaret - I was there with you, would you agree that in this era of gender non-conformity, that there was an air of drag non-conformity in this competition?

SM: Yes, but we have reached a time when drag is at an all-time high when it comes to versatility. Since it's a live singing competition, Jubilee Rogue sang in her natural basso-profundo, while Michelle Shocked threw off her fur to reveal full body hair under her catsuit - there is a gender fluidity about both performances.

BP: What did you think of the format of the evening?

SM: I think it's good but it could use a little work. I liked Lauren Ordair a lot, she is a great host and her pianist, Nick Wilder is super talented and super cute. I love that it's a live singing competition, and while I appreciate the presence of judges Adam Feldman and Chandilier, I am afraid that the tipsy clientele was a bit bored during the judges' comments, especially after Lauren called for a five-minute break.

BP: Was there a particular challenge the queens were asked to meet on the night?

SM: It was Disney night so their looks or their acts had to be appropriate to the theme. There were Queens dressed as Belle and Ariel, Sequoia sang from Hercules and Jubillee, from The Lion King. The outfits and the acts were a lot of fun and you could tell that these are really sweet ladies.

BP: Tell our readers what the crowd was like.

SM: Well, except for the drunk girl who was swaying around in a circle right next to me, the patrons packed the room and were very into the show for the first half, but there were some issues when Lauren Ordair came back from the break, with people who had lost interest in favor of drinking.

BP: And what is Dragaret's endgame?

SM: The night I was there was night two, but it was the first night of actual competition with votes from the audience, each of whom gets one voting slip for every drink they buy. Every week the crowd puts in votes for the eight hopefuls and, at the end of two months of challenges and performances, the next Dragaret Star is given free press and their own Club Cumming solo show.

BP: So, Stephen darling, is this uber-queer night of drag frolicking worth a look?

SM: First of all, Bobby, I prefer dearest to darling, and secondly, you and I both know that we have, neither of us, ever had a bad night at Club Cumming. As far as Drageret goes, I had a swellegant time, I love a good drag show, a great drag hostess and super cute ginger pianist. The queens are all talented and pretty and, clearly, creative; so with Dragaret happening every Sunday and Snowflake Mic on alternating Sundays, your night is guaranteed to be fun, but I'd recommend people make it extra fun and do both shows like we did.

BP: It was a good time.

SM: Oh, I love that Liza Minnelli song.

BP: You so gay.

SM: Thanks for a fun night, Bobby Patrick.

For information on Club Cumming, Snowflake Mic, Dragaret and all the happenings at Club Cumming please visit their website

James Tison, Host of Snowflake Mic

Photos of Snowflake Mic by Bobby Patrick

Photos of Dragaret Star by Stephen Mosher

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