Winner of “Ru Paul’s Drag Race,” Season Six, and named ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’ just two-and-a-half months ago, Cherry Grove and New Orleans’ own Bianca Del Rio returned here, for the first time since her victory, for a midnight show at Cherry’s on August 3, making do for costuming after an airline lost her luggage and exclaiming, to those who packed the bar, “I’m excited to be here, because I haven’t been here all summer!”
Bianca made Grove icons Bella and China targets of her barbs and razzed, as well, her guests who had participated in the Miss Cherry’s Pageant earlier, including new Miss Cherry’s Tina Burner (“I’m counting on you”) and Miss Cherry Lane Honey Davenport, who brought her backup dancers, and contenders Miss Sutton Lee Seymour (“Life of the Party,” from “The Wild Party,” with frenetic interpolated dialogue) and Alexis Michelle (“Ladies Who Lunch,” from “Company”).
The climax of Bianca’s show was a lip-synch contest, in which Wanda Sykes was one of the contestants. Competitors had to lip-synch to Lady Gaga (“Born this Way”), Beyoncé (“Who runs the world? Girls”), Miley Cyrus (“There’s a party in the USA”), and Sykes’ assignment, Cher (“Life after Love”)—and the audience declared Wanda Sykes the winner!