The films of director Tim Burton have inspired several adaptations. Choreographer Matthew Bourne created a ballet from Edward Scissorhands. Concert versions of The Nightmare Before Christmas have found Danny Elfman taking the stage again. Disneyland converts the Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday inspired by the same film.
So it was inevitable that a parody of his films would soon follow. Peaches Christ, one of the best-known drag queens out of San Francisco, has regularly done parodies of major films. 9 to 5, The Witches of Eastwick, The Silence of the Lambs and Grey Gardens are just a few of the films that have found themselves in her creative crosshairs. Now Burton’s Beetlejuice is getting the Peaches Christ drag treatment. The show is being performed Saturday night at The Montalban Theatre in Hollywood and it stars the season six winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bianca Del Rio.
I spoke to Bianca (whose real name is Roy Haylock), who had just returned from doing shows in Australia, about her participation in the show.
With all your own projects going on all over the world, what most inspired you to be part of Sheetlejuice?
The main reason is I adore Peaches Christ. I’ve known of Peaches pre-internet days. I knew of Peaches, Jackie Beat, Coco Peru and Lady Bunny from back in the day because they would tour and travel. I was a huge fan for many years. It wasn’t until Drag Race that our worlds collided. We were at some benefit or comedy show in San Francisco and met for the first time. She’s been doing these amazing shows and asked if I would be interested. She asked about Baby Jane, which was our first collaboration. And then Beetlejuice. Jinkx Monsoon [Season 5 Winner] thought Beetlejuice would be a great fit. I asked, “Why do you think I’d be right?†She said, “It’s a hateful old ghost that scares the fuck out of everybody.†Peaches thought it was a great idea.
 As a character, however, Betelgeuse is not a mean as you, the “Queen of Mean†with a “Rolodex of Hate†can be.
I think the fabulous thing, the way it works well for me, is Peaches writes and gets the whole script together. By the time I get to it, we don’t have much time to make the magic happen. I work best under pressure and she caters each show to each person’s personality. We’re dealing with the storyline of the film, but despite the fact I’m being Betelgeuse, I’m probably the last ghost you’d want. Everyone’s camp level is even higher than usual. I’m not just chewing scenery. I don’t have to; they are helping me eat it. It’s like Beetlejuice on steroids with heels. It’s Peaches’ brilliant mind to take something so loved by people and make them love it even more.
What do you get out of being in a show like that that is different than what you get from your own shows?
What’s become my normal routine is traveling by myself and doing my own show, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I started in theatre, but by doing solo shows I miss out on performing with other people. I will never be cast as Mother Theresa or Maria in West Side Story. It’s knowing your strengths and lending it to a script of a really funny situation. All the pressure isn’t on me this time. It’s like going home and working with people who make it fun for me. It keeps it spicy.
Since you are known for your sharp wit and forked tongue, I’m assuming that’s where some of the parody component comes in?
What’s funny and it’s something that I think being a now 42-year-old drag queen and having worked in bars from twenty until 37-38 when Drag Race happened, you are in a bar and you are doing a bingo in the afternoon on a Monday where no one gives a shit you are there. We are talking 1996-1997 when doing drag was taboo. It was challenging and that’s where the quips and the hate came through. It was me trying to get through 2 hours of fucking bingo or some ass contest. When you are fearless it kind of helps. I was too dumb and young to realize what I was doing.
Because of the way Drag Race is presented, you are going to get recognized whether you are in drag or not. What challenges do you deal with in having enough time between being Bianca and being Roy?
I think people expect and want everything and in a world of social media even if you are posting something about your own life, they have to correct me. They know more about me than I know sometimes. If I’m at an airport and someone comes up and says, “Read me†I think, “Do you know how stupid you sound? I don’t know you. I will take a picture but are you really that fucking crazy? Luckily by just being honest with them it works out well. I think because I don’t believe the insanity of it, that it helps me in general. It’s physically impossible to be on all the time. But out of those awkward situations some of the best material comes.
Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita) said, “Satire is a lesson, parody is a game.†If you were to apply his comparison to drag and life, what would it be?
Oh wow. I would say that drag is a lesson and life is a game for me. With drag I can control it and with drag I have an instant reaction with people. There’s something about being in a wig. Out of it I’m a hateful fag. With it, I’m hysterical. It’s fascinating the interest people have in you and since Drag Race, the interest straight people have. In the 90s even the gays hated drag queens. Drag Race changed it. I think that life for me has just been a little different, but I think I have it figured out. At least the drag thing. I don’t have Louis Vuitton luggage. I don’t live in a penthouse. I’m working harder now more than ever. Life is what catches you and says, “What the fuck is going on?†That kind of stuff I find more challenging.