Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
02/28/97
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Queen of the night; Not your everyday drag act, Miss Richfield 1981 has earned the alter-ego of Russ King a cult following and high- profile gigs with her suburban schtick of a wash-and-wear gal: the beauty queen next-door who believes in God and hot rollers.(VARIETY)
Article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Article date: February 28, 1997
Author: Gale, Elaine
"Careful!" exclaimed Miss Richfield when I almost sat on the silver taffeta ruffle of her new dress, its sequined bodice molded to her slim frame and its spaghetti straps loosely resting on her freckled shoulders.
She moved her gold Eiffel Tower-shaped backpack and shimmied her tutu-adorned posterior over to make room. "This dress was $20 in the basement of Banks'," she confided. "Under $25 and machine-washable. That's my rule."
She can afford to be fussy about her washables. Quick as a flutter of her long, fake lashes, "Miss Richfield 1981" has become a cabaret cult figure and a notable comedic persona, popular among gays and straights alike for her shtick as a suburban girl-next-door, beauty queen, do-gooder and fiscal conservative. She believes in God, hot rollers, Aqua Net and, most important, the "friendly citizens and responsible merchants of Richfield."
Since Miss Richfield made her debut as hostess of the "La Femme" drag show at the Gay 90's in Minneapolis last February, she has skyrocketed beyond 15 minutes of fame to two months' worth of sold-out one-woman shows ("From Rags to Richfield") at the Bryant-Lake Bowl.
She also landed the high-profile gig as emcee of Hollywood 10, the biggest Academy Awards night party sanctioned by the Academy outside of Los Angeles.
Russ King, the man behind the makeup, is surprised but pleased by the hubbub. "The ascent into being well-known scares me," he said. "What if the descent is as quick?"
King, communications director for the Minnesota AIDS Project, performed on a dare at The Gay 90's more than a year ago and has ended up with about 40 drag outfits and 30-odd pairs of heels. "I was going to go to [the University of] St. Thomas for my MBA and then all of this happened," he said.
King, who grew up in Richfield, worked a panoply of jobs to put himself through college at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for three years, then at Bemidji State University, where he studied communication. King's first claim to fame was placing second in the National Gay Rodeo Association's 1992 country-Western dance competition; now he two-steps in drag. "The only way you can do humor is to use material familiar to you," he said.
Karl Reichert, director of public affairs for the Minnesota Orchestra, has known King since their college days in Bemidji. "He was always the life of the party in college," said Reichert, who said he believes Miss Richfield's popularity is a testament not only to King's talent but also the recent willingness of mainstream culture to embrace camp. "People really identify with her," he said. "She's not a character just dealing with the gay community."
Miss Richfield's popularity has been buoyed by the familiarity of her character. "People are always coming up to me and saying that I remind them of a relative or a neighbor," King said.
Both sides now
King had never been to a drag show before last winter. "It never interested me. I thought it was stereotyping negative representations of being gay," he said. A friend told him to lighten up, and he eventually started to look at drag shows differently. "I don't know where I crossed the line," he said, laughing.
King is barely recognizable out of drag. He seems much, well, larger as Miss Richfield. He chalks that up to a 6-inch bouffant wig and 4-inch heels.
Reichert said King faces a challenge, as his popularity spreads, to separate his identity as a man from Miss Richfield's as a woman. "I've hung out with both," Reichert said.
"You'd never believe it, but in real life, he's not a Chatty Cathy, he's kind of quiet," said Hollywood 10 producer Scott Mayer.
King said he can get lonely when people don't want to talk to him unless he's in character. "I've had experiences where people will respond really well to her but not to me. On a personal level that's hard, but on a professional level, I guess that's success."
Charm and generosity are among the qualities King shares with his alter ego. He accepts no fees for charity appearances, including the AIDS Walk and playing hostess for a Human Rights Campaign fund-raiser. His gigs have ranged from dancing on the roof of the Lava Lounge, a trendy clothing store, during last summer's Uptown Art Fair to performing in a feminist revue at Walker Art Center.
Full-figured background
Part of what makes her more than a mere drag queen is the energy with which King has fleshed out Miss Richfield as a character:
Her fictitious bio is as compelling as her costumes.
She's a bingo-caller at the Fred Babcock VFW hall in Richfield, employed as a switchboard operator at the Richfield Post Office and lives in a 30-year-old trailer. Her boyfriend of 17 years, Elwood, is a former mechanic enrolled in cosmetology school. After winning her pageant title, she received a power lawn mower from Lyndale Hardware and a bus trip to Warroad, Minn., to tour the Marvin Windows factory.
"It's more challenging to be comical in a clean sort of way, to portray innocence and simplistic humor," said King.
On a recent Friday night, the crowd at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ate her up, including 94-year-old audience member Ida Altrowitz, who stayed after the show to shake her hand. "She was great. She's so funny," Altrowitz said.
Miss Richfield's panache onstage comes across with her chatty quick-quips. "When you have a pretty face, it doesn't matter how you wear your hair," she said, patting her $19 black wig that's "back-combed to Jesus." "Now, can I please have a pink gel?" she asked entreatingly in the direction of the sound booth.
During the show - in which she sings, lip-syncs, is a ventriloquist and game-show host - Miss Richfield has four costume changes: from her pink taffeta to a blue gown topped with an oversized gold moon slung askew to frame her face; to a towel and bathing cap; to a graduation gown, and to a cowgirl ensemble with a white guitar with rainbow strings and "Hooked on Yodel" written on the back.
This is a low-maintenance drag queen who eschews fake nails and fake breasts, although her total look has improved since King's first brush with blush. Miss R. takes a few inches off her tummy by pouring herself into three pairs of tights. "I'm faint by the end of the show," she said, "but that way I don't have to bother with shaving my legs."
This singular character was born while King was hanging out with pals from Edina and Kenwood, who would occasionally poke fun at his quick and sassy attitude by saying, "You got a question? Ask Miss Richfield." King developed the persona from watching some of Madeline Kahn's movies, but mainly by listening to recordings of '50s nightclub comic Frances Faye, known for her self-deprecating humor.
Apparently her fame hasn't spread quite as far as her hometown in the first-ring suburbs. Martin Kirsch, mayor of Richfield for the past six years, hadn't heard of Miss Richfield 1981; he said he was too busy to check out her show and seemed less than enthusiastic about a drag queen being a de facto promoter of the city. "We've had good public relations up to this point," he said. "I don't know how well that lends itself."
Reichert thinks Miss Richfield's humor about her hometown is laced with enough irony so people will understand that King isn't dissing the suburb, but rather, using his character as a role model for tolerance and fun.
While it lasts, King plans to enjoy the ride. He's also exploring doing stand-up comedy as Russ King without the shield of an alternate persona in costume.
Said Reichert: "I think we're all looking for a voice to express ourselves, and he's found that."
I asked Miss Richfield her dress size. "I'm a perfect 10, of course!" she said. When she stole away to the restroom to check her foundation, I peeked at the tag of the pink taffeta ensemble for the opening monologue - size 14.
Every girl has her secrets.
Queen of the night; Not your everyday drag act, Miss Richfield 1981 has earned the alter-ego of Russ King a cult following and high- profile gigs with her suburban schtick of a wash-and-wear gal: the beauty queen next-door who believes in God and hot rollers.(VARIETY)
Article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Article date: February 28, 1997
Author: Gale, Elaine
"Careful!" exclaimed Miss Richfield when I almost sat on the silver taffeta ruffle of her new dress, its sequined bodice molded to her slim frame and its spaghetti straps loosely resting on her freckled shoulders.
She moved her gold Eiffel Tower-shaped backpack and shimmied her tutu-adorned posterior over to make room. "This dress was $20 in the basement of Banks'," she confided. "Under $25 and machine-washable. That's my rule."
She can afford to be fussy about her washables. Quick as a flutter of her long, fake lashes, "Miss Richfield 1981" has become a cabaret cult figure and a notable comedic persona, popular among gays and straights alike for her shtick as a suburban girl-next-door, beauty queen, do-gooder and fiscal conservative. She believes in God, hot rollers, Aqua Net and, most important, the "friendly citizens and responsible merchants of Richfield."
Since Miss Richfield made her debut as hostess of the "La Femme" drag show at the Gay 90's in Minneapolis last February, she has skyrocketed beyond 15 minutes of fame to two months' worth of sold-out one-woman shows ("From Rags to Richfield") at the Bryant-Lake Bowl.
She also landed the high-profile gig as emcee of Hollywood 10, the biggest Academy Awards night party sanctioned by the Academy outside of Los Angeles.
Russ King, the man behind the makeup, is surprised but pleased by the hubbub. "The ascent into being well-known scares me," he said. "What if the descent is as quick?"
King, communications director for the Minnesota AIDS Project, performed on a dare at The Gay 90's more than a year ago and has ended up with about 40 drag outfits and 30-odd pairs of heels. "I was going to go to [the University of] St. Thomas for my MBA and then all of this happened," he said.
King, who grew up in Richfield, worked a panoply of jobs to put himself through college at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for three years, then at Bemidji State University, where he studied communication. King's first claim to fame was placing second in the National Gay Rodeo Association's 1992 country-Western dance competition; now he two-steps in drag. "The only way you can do humor is to use material familiar to you," he said.
Karl Reichert, director of public affairs for the Minnesota Orchestra, has known King since their college days in Bemidji. "He was always the life of the party in college," said Reichert, who said he believes Miss Richfield's popularity is a testament not only to King's talent but also the recent willingness of mainstream culture to embrace camp. "People really identify with her," he said. "She's not a character just dealing with the gay community."
Miss Richfield's popularity has been buoyed by the familiarity of her character. "People are always coming up to me and saying that I remind them of a relative or a neighbor," King said.
Both sides now
King had never been to a drag show before last winter. "It never interested me. I thought it was stereotyping negative representations of being gay," he said. A friend told him to lighten up, and he eventually started to look at drag shows differently. "I don't know where I crossed the line," he said, laughing.
King is barely recognizable out of drag. He seems much, well, larger as Miss Richfield. He chalks that up to a 6-inch bouffant wig and 4-inch heels.
Reichert said King faces a challenge, as his popularity spreads, to separate his identity as a man from Miss Richfield's as a woman. "I've hung out with both," Reichert said.
"You'd never believe it, but in real life, he's not a Chatty Cathy, he's kind of quiet," said Hollywood 10 producer Scott Mayer.
King said he can get lonely when people don't want to talk to him unless he's in character. "I've had experiences where people will respond really well to her but not to me. On a personal level that's hard, but on a professional level, I guess that's success."
Charm and generosity are among the qualities King shares with his alter ego. He accepts no fees for charity appearances, including the AIDS Walk and playing hostess for a Human Rights Campaign fund-raiser. His gigs have ranged from dancing on the roof of the Lava Lounge, a trendy clothing store, during last summer's Uptown Art Fair to performing in a feminist revue at Walker Art Center.
Full-figured background
Part of what makes her more than a mere drag queen is the energy with which King has fleshed out Miss Richfield as a character:
Her fictitious bio is as compelling as her costumes.
She's a bingo-caller at the Fred Babcock VFW hall in Richfield, employed as a switchboard operator at the Richfield Post Office and lives in a 30-year-old trailer. Her boyfriend of 17 years, Elwood, is a former mechanic enrolled in cosmetology school. After winning her pageant title, she received a power lawn mower from Lyndale Hardware and a bus trip to Warroad, Minn., to tour the Marvin Windows factory.
"It's more challenging to be comical in a clean sort of way, to portray innocence and simplistic humor," said King.
On a recent Friday night, the crowd at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ate her up, including 94-year-old audience member Ida Altrowitz, who stayed after the show to shake her hand. "She was great. She's so funny," Altrowitz said.
Miss Richfield's panache onstage comes across with her chatty quick-quips. "When you have a pretty face, it doesn't matter how you wear your hair," she said, patting her $19 black wig that's "back-combed to Jesus." "Now, can I please have a pink gel?" she asked entreatingly in the direction of the sound booth.
During the show - in which she sings, lip-syncs, is a ventriloquist and game-show host - Miss Richfield has four costume changes: from her pink taffeta to a blue gown topped with an oversized gold moon slung askew to frame her face; to a towel and bathing cap; to a graduation gown, and to a cowgirl ensemble with a white guitar with rainbow strings and "Hooked on Yodel" written on the back.
This is a low-maintenance drag queen who eschews fake nails and fake breasts, although her total look has improved since King's first brush with blush. Miss R. takes a few inches off her tummy by pouring herself into three pairs of tights. "I'm faint by the end of the show," she said, "but that way I don't have to bother with shaving my legs."
This singular character was born while King was hanging out with pals from Edina and Kenwood, who would occasionally poke fun at his quick and sassy attitude by saying, "You got a question? Ask Miss Richfield." King developed the persona from watching some of Madeline Kahn's movies, but mainly by listening to recordings of '50s nightclub comic Frances Faye, known for her self-deprecating humor.
Apparently her fame hasn't spread quite as far as her hometown in the first-ring suburbs. Martin Kirsch, mayor of Richfield for the past six years, hadn't heard of Miss Richfield 1981; he said he was too busy to check out her show and seemed less than enthusiastic about a drag queen being a de facto promoter of the city. "We've had good public relations up to this point," he said. "I don't know how well that lends itself."
Reichert thinks Miss Richfield's humor about her hometown is laced with enough irony so people will understand that King isn't dissing the suburb, but rather, using his character as a role model for tolerance and fun.
While it lasts, King plans to enjoy the ride. He's also exploring doing stand-up comedy as Russ King without the shield of an alternate persona in costume.
Said Reichert: "I think we're all looking for a voice to express ourselves, and he's found that."
I asked Miss Richfield her dress size. "I'm a perfect 10, of course!" she said. When she stole away to the restroom to check her foundation, I peeked at the tag of the pink taffeta ensemble for the opening monologue - size 14.
Every girl has her secrets.