by Steve Desroches
Hitting the stage in Marie Antoinette meets Katy Perry drag, Raja is met with a chorus of “werk” and “yas, queen” from the audience assembled at the Post Office Cabaret, which itself resembles a blend of the front row of a tent at New York’s Fashion Week and the line for a hot dog in Lopes Square. It’s classic Provincetown that someone in traditional shorts and a newly purchased Cape Cod t-shirt tourist garb would be seated next to someone in this season’s Comme des Garçons. Anywhere else this might be a clash of cultures, but in Provincetown it’s a perfect blend. And at Raja’s summer show, Lush Life, on a gorgeous early August night it’s a clarion call to the assemblage to, of course, be your authentic self, but at least while you’re in her presence allow yourself to be ensconced in glamour.
Raja is the fashionista queen who won season three of RuPaul’s Drag Race and who can command a stage with a look, for real. As a makeup artist in Los Angeles to stars like Dita von Teese, Pamela Anderson, Paulina Porizkova, Iman, Tyra Banks, Adam Lambert, Iggy Azalea, Twiggy, and RuPaul herself, Raja can beat a face for the gods. But her hallmark is high fashion, and is one of the few look queens that can turn that into a stage show presenting Lush Life as an intimate evening inside the genie bottle of her life. With a penchant for the cushy and the kush, she’s a Haight-Ashbury, haute couture kind of queen. And how rapidly vape pens shot up in the air when asked if anyone’s found any good indica lately reveals that so, too is her fan base.
From the very beginning Raja makes it clear that with all the ugliness and hate in our world today her purpose is to put everyone in a good mood. Lush Life reveals a lust for life as the Post Office Cabaret becomes Raja’s dreamy salon. The whole affair is inspired by the classic jazz standard song “Lush Life” by Billy Strayhorn, and most recently recorded by Lady Gaga, of which Raja does a beautiful lip synch performance.
Provincetown is true north for drag queens, with performers of all stripes and sequins feeling its gravitational pull and striving to become one of its constellations. Within the cabaret spaces that line Commercial Street each performer seeks to distinguish themselves not for the hipster buzzwords of the day like “sticky content” or “influencer,” but for a commitment to craft and the pursuit of authenticity. Raja presents what she does best, using her talents and herself as a canvas with which not just to create a stunning look, but whole new worlds. She’s a living work of art and Lush Life is a peek into the life of someone who’s dedicated herself to making the world a more beautiful place.
Raja presents Lush Life at the Post Office Cabaret, 303 Commercial St., Provincetown, at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday until a special closing show on Sunday, September 8. Tickets ($30/$40) are available at the box office and online at postofficecabaret.com. For more information call 508.487.0006.
