Wig Schnitz: Trixie & Katya Live wows Portland

Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 19, 2022

Drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova rocked Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Friday, March 18.

Trixie and Katya Live is a combination of video skits and onstage wit. It showed that although they made their name in a basement in front of a green sheet, these ladies can hold a crowd with the traditional drag tools of lip-synched power ballads and gratuitous costume changes.

The story, slim as it is, is of the “Hey kids, let’s put on a show” variety. Switching perspective between backstage and the spotlight, the pair appear on tour, anxious under the thumb of their fictional Swedish fintech sponsor Klarma. It’s a riff on their real-life travails with monetizer Klarna.

Hilarity ensues as the pair battle over who has the talent, who has the drive to succeed. They also are being pursued by gangsters. Their manager, Jackie, deadly in neck brace and crutches, almost steals the show with her timing and delivery, although no one would begrudge the girls for forgetting their lines and breaking character to scold the crowd or just laugh.

Stay for the climax, when Katya gets her moment, uninterrupted.

The mostly unmasked Portland crowd was on its feet at the end, giving the whole cast a warm hand on their exit, as the show continues to Seattle.