Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Barrett.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first discovered my love for drag & developed the character of Regina Blake-DuBois five years ago in April of 2014. My roommate at the time & I had been watching season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race together, & decided that we could totally do what they were doing.
Cut ahead a year, my roommate had quit, and I was still working amateur nights around the city, just trying to become a better entertainer & build my craft. However, it wasn’t until I entered local competition Dessie’s Drag Race (a ten-week bar show hosted at Michael’s Outpost at the time) that I really began to turn a hobby into a career.
After those ten weeks of competition, I emerged as the winner! Part of that prize package was a four-week-long run of a drag show of our own design. That’s where The Broad’s Way finally entered the picture. When the show first began, it was one of two shows in the city that regularly showcased both drag performers AND live singers on one stage, and it was slow-going at first.
After those first four weeks, the Show Producer at Michael’s, Leon Kaplan, decided to extend our run an additional month, then another month after that. Each month I continued to learn & grow as a show director and continued to build an audience that was interested in the show. But just after three months, Leon decided to make The Broad’s Way the permanent show on Monday nights!
Since then, I’ve assembled a rotating cast of drag performers and live singers that have put their heart & soul into the show as much as I have. Local actors Wesley Whitson & Amanda Marie Parker have worked with the show for almost a year an half now. Drag Queen Roofie DuBois was added to our show on our one year anniversary in April of 2018, and Carmina Vavra was added on New Year’s Eve of 2018.
Lastly, we added six additional singers that make up a group known as the Broadway Babies, who perform as special guests during our regular shows & occasionally host fully live-sung cabaret nights (even I get up and sing on those nights!) This new group is made up of Taelon Stonecipher, Lauren Salazar, Marcus Hooks, Ronna Mansfield, Seth Cunningham, and Chelsea Lerner.
All of these people have come together in a way that I couldn’t have imagined when I first came up with The Broad’s Way. Thanks to the work of these amazing performers, The Broad’s Way won the Drag Award for Best Show in Houston, in 2018, and we’ve consistently been growing since then.
In fact, earlier in 2019, our featured cast embarked on a small tour through DFW, and we are currently beginning to schedule future work in Austin, San Antonio, and Galveston.
The Broad’s Way has blossomed into something that others have come to love as much as I have, and I couldn’t appreciate it more.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth isn’t the best way to describe it. First of all, while I was starting to develop my drag persona (and while Leon & I were trying to build The Broad’s Way during its formative months) I was still a full-time student. It wasn’t until after graduating that I could really take the proper time to focus on my craft & the show to develop the best product possible. But the show fluctuated.
Sometimes we were performing for a packed house, and sometimes we were performing for six people scattered around the bar. Sometimes we had nights filled with amazing performances & stunning art, and sometimes we had singers butcher their notes, & drag entertainers struggle to remember their words while their wigs were flying off.
Sometimes personal dramas got mixed in with professional work. But there was never a struggle that was insurmountable, to me, my cast, or our creative team. The entire group was & is dedicated to the success of the show, and that kept us focused on always improving it. Each struggle was a learning opportunity to make an even better Broad’s Way.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Like I mentioned before, The Broad’s Way is one of Houston’s only shows that includes both drag performers AND live singers in one space. However, the thing that makes the show entirely unique is that it is Houston’s only Broadway Revue. No other performance venue has a regular show completely dedicated to the art of musical theater.
My particular rolls at the show include show director (booking the shows, creating flyers & marketing each week, and creating the line-up for each show), show host (catch me on the microphone every Monday at 9 pm at Michael’s Outpost!) and performer. I’ve been told that the things that set me apart are my impeccable lip-sync skills and my quick wit while hosting. Want to see just how quick it is? Come out, tip me a few dollars, and you’ll find out!!
As for what I’m most proud of as a company, it’s very simple. I never thought the show would become as important to others as it has. This includes not only the cast but the audience as well. Our show has become a safe space for all kinds of people to come, relax, and enjoy art & musical theatre together as a group.
Knowing that a small idea I randomly came up with almost three years ago has become such a big part of the lives of others is the thing that makes me proud. Not the accolades, not the attention, but the people. Without them, there wouldn’t have been a point of putting a show on after all.
What were you like growing up?
When I was growing up in Plano, TX, I was nothing like the flashy, colorful queen I am now. I come from a very close family. We would spend our weekends in East Texas, and our Sundays at church.
During the week, I was an active Boy Scout (and am still a proud Eagle Scout), church choir member, youth leader & representative on our church council, and whenever I got the chance, an actor. I was constantly active as a kid, and having to bounce between all of my extracurricular activities was both a gift and a curse.
Growing up the way I did gave me the work ethic & passion I have now. My time as a Scout taught me about leadership & management, which I now use at The Broad’s Way as well as in my day job working with the Houston Grand Opera. My time in choir & theater gave me a love for performing & helped me feel natural in front of audiences, which I now do every Monday night.
My time with my family has brought us all closer together, and I’m happy to say that my mom, dad, & sister are some of my biggest supporters. I know that my childhood was different than most, and I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.
Pricing:
- Since we’re still a drag show, bring out your $1s, $5s, $10s, and $20s to tip our performers with! The more you tip, the more they perform!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1419 Richmond Avenue, Houston TX, 77006
- Email: TheBroadsWayHTX@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_broads_way/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBroadsWayHouston/
Image Credit:
Corby Shafer, Miranda Madole
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