Photo: José Guzmán Colón
Halloween Spooktacular Takes Over Red Room
by Steve Desroches
While Tammie Brown is not creepy or spooky, she’s definitely kooky and ooky, so it’s easy to see her as a sidekick to Joan Cusack in any future adaptations of The Addams Family. But there’s no need to wait for the expansion of a Hollywood franchise, as Brown has become a beloved fixture of the Provincetown performance scene and, as is tradition, she is returning to town after a summer run to present her annual Halloween Spooktacular.
To the uninitiated, seeing a Tammie Brown show can seem like a wild, stream-of-consciousness ramble, which is actually where the genius lies. The commitment to character and viewpoint is so consistent it quickly becomes apparent that there is a method to her madness, and Halloween is perhaps no better time to hang with Brown. When it comes to Halloween, Brown can’t think of where she’d rather be than Provincetown.
“I don’t like scary, gory Halloween,” says Brown. “I like autumnal Halloween. I enjoy the feeling of autumn. Dressing up and so much of Halloween is just my life all the time. But I love Provincetown in autumn. It feels like Halloween should.”
Brown was a wonderfully quirky standout on the very first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and has since toured the world, distinguishing herself with her unique brand of performance as the world of drag continues to be inundated with newbies with neither a specific style or substance all their own. It is in part what make Brown so perfect for Provincetown with its long history of the arts. Uncompromising, smart, and most of all, hilarious, a Brown show is a wild ride of non-sequiturs, head-cocking original songs, and messages dropped like Easter eggs throughout. A Tammie Brown show is like a pointillist painting, the longer you focus on the dots you’ll eventually see the big picture.
Brown is a keen observer with an encyclopedic mind and often speaks as if reading a thesaurus. She was supposed to have been born in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, but due to an amoeba outbreak in the city, doctors recommended to her parents they go elsewhere for her birth and thus she was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. However, she spent years living all over Mexico and thus the country and its many cultures left an indelible print on her life and artistry as well as perspectives on politics and the current state of affairs, which makes its way into her work.
Talking about Halloween, its role in gay and drag culture, shifts quickly to another holiday, Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. The Mexican holiday celebrated over November 1 and 2 has seen global attention, especially since Hollywood came calling with the 2015 James Bond film Spectre and the 2017 the Pixar/Disney film Coco, both centered around the holiday. Over the years Halloween and the Day of the Dead have begun to culturally bleed into one another on each side of the border. But Brown notes that within Mexico the Day of the Dead is native to the states of Oaxaca and Michoacán and the expansion of it throughout Mexico has often popped up in locations being gentrified as a tourist attraction.
“What bothers me is that its roots are in indigenous communities, and a religious practice is being gentrified,” says Brown. “It’s being commercialized in Mexico, in Puerto Vallarta, which is itself being gentrified such that locals can’t afford to live there anymore.”
Brown notes that Provincetown is being gentrified as well, but that here, there seems to be a commitment to the arts and culture that has long defined the town, and as such, she remains optimistic and hopeful that Provincetown can avoid similar fates of towns that end up becoming reenactments of their former creative selves. Following her pinball machine mind, Brown shifts to a place that she is very worried about: Texas. A proud Texan who for many years called Southern California home, Brown is back in her home state and has developed a new motto built on a popular phrase: “Don’t mess with Texas or Texas will mess with you.” It’s a spooky time in the Lone Star State, says Brown. Florida may be getting all the attention for its anti-LGBTQ laws and actions, but Texas is not far behind.
“I’m from Texas,” says Brown. “I’m a Texan with a California attitude. It’s just appalling what’s happening in Texas. I mean, the Christian fundamentalists have taken over the government. Did you know that it was in Austin where the Rocky Horror Picture Show took off in the 1970s? It was a flop when it came out, but it was in Austin where its popularity began. The ACLU, Texas has one of the biggest chapters in the country. Juneteenth came out of Texas. It’s so appalling what the governor is doing. Quite frankly I feel threatened. Governor Abbott is withholding funding to Houston and Austin until they get rid of their rainbow crosswalks. Christian fundamentalists run Texas. It’s troubling all around. I wouldn’t want to go to heaven if they’re going to be there. I don’t even believe in heaven, but if its real I’d rather go to hell. At least there you can choose your own vices.”
Tammie Brown’s Halloween Spooktacular is at Red Room, 258 Commercial St., Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets ($41.50/$51.50) are available at the door and online at redroom.club. Brown and Jackie Cox are hosting Possessed 6, Red Room’s Halloween party on Friday, October 31 starting at 10 p.m. Advanced tickets available at redroom.club.
