‘Bosom Buddies’ Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake Are Bringing Sisterhood to the NYC Stage
Pairings have always been a fantastic part of RuPaul’s Drag Race. And whether queens are paired up in the workroom for mini-challenges or on the mainstage for a twin challenge (like the Season 7 challenge that had the queens physically walking the runway together), putting two queens together for a teamup you may not have expected always seems to double the fabulosity. Now, with their Bosom Buddies show playing New York City in March, Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake — both alumnae of Drag Race — are the latest pairing we’re fawning over.
The two queens may have been on different seasons of Drag Race, but their partnership in the Bosom Buddies show — and off-stage, too — shows a friendship that goes way beyond the runway.
I sat down for a chat with Kasha and Darienne to chat about Bosom Buddies, the upcoming season of Drag Race All Stars and what it’s like joining forces onstage in such a politically charged time.
You ladies are going on tour together with your Bosom Buddies show, and it’s an unexpected yet beyond perfect pairing!
Darienne Lake: Yes, it’s definitely what we are, the “Bosom Buddies”! We have been friends for such a long time, so it’s natural, really. Mrs. Kasha Davis is definitely the optimistic and happy person, and I am the salty one, so you definitely get your sweet and savory with us.
Coming from two different season of Drag Race, you’re bringing unique perspectives to the show.
Darienne: Exactly. And just like two bosoms, one is slightly larger than the other!
So what can everyone expect from this Bosom Buddies show?
Mrs. Kasha Davis: Well, as Darienne said, it’s very much a little history lesson of our friendship. We have known each other for quite a while, and I actually started out as a fan of Darienne back at the drag bar where both Darienne and Pandora Boxx performed. We tell some stories and sing some songs about friendship and some things that have happened during the years.
What are your favorite and least things about working with each other?
Darienne: I think my favorite thing is that we really do know each other so well. We can pick up on each others’ signals, when we are irritating the other person, things like that. It’s so symbiotic, she can say one word and it will trigger a memory for me and it will lead us to telling one of our really humorous and outrageous stories of something that we did in the past that we should be ashamed of. But we’re not.
Kasha: Darienne is right, it’s definitely the yin and the yang, a good cop/bad cop kind of thing, and sometimes you’d be surprised who the good cop and the bad cop actually is! I get portrayed as a nice sweet lady but can be a raving bitch, too! We really temper each other.
You two are some of the smartest, funniest queens to come out of Drag Race. Is it challenging to stay funny in the political (and ultra politically correct) climate we’re currently in?
Darienne: There are definitely challenges, and there are things you don’t want to joke about now that you definitely used to. That being said, you’re able to find new humor in that as well. It’s challenging, but we both are educated and able to evolve.
Kasha: Here’s the thing; we have evolved, but we are old. So we get the old lady pass. If we say something outrageous, we can say, “We used to be able to joke about that when we were young, don’t mind us!”
With Drag Race All Stars kicking off, and with the show on VH1 now, do you think drag is officially mainstream? Any thoughts on either of you making a return to the workroom yourselves?
Darienne: I personally think drag has gone mainstream. As for us being on All Stars, I think we’re holding out until they increase the prize money so it’s really worth our while! I mean, poor Season 2 winner Tyra Sanchez got, like, $50 and an eyewear campaign, right? Then the next year I think Raja got $75,000.
Kasha: You know, it’s funny, drag is such a mainstream thing now, and there’s a star for everyone. There are the superstars like the Katyas and the Adores, and there are niche characters like us, but I’m looking forward to Darienne winning the next season of All Stars. It’s time we had a plus-size winner!
What inspires you both to keep going, doing fresh and inventive things?
Darienne: What inspires me is that I am hateful and alone and no one is going to take care of me, so I better work! Otherwise I am setting up a GoFundMe for my homeless ass. Basically, drugs inspire me — lots of psychedelics. As a child I was always creating things, and now I get to play make-believe for a living. That’s what inspires me.
Kasha: I think first and foremost I get to show you that old people can still do it! As a child it was my dream to just be myself. If I can provide that for other kids who are trying to figure out their way, whoever they may be, and to be that example, that is the gift.
