Person of Interest BenDeLaCreme, drag queen

BenDeLaCreme, photographed out of drag at the 2015 Genius Awards at the Moore Theatre. Photo by Kelly O

After being a fan favorite on RuPaul's Drag Race, you took over the world. Where'd you go?

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That's true. A lot of people don't know that I own the world now. Turns out I'm a lot better at drag than I am at world leadership. OOPS. So far, I've done shows in Australia, the UK, Canada, here—basically anywhere I didn't have to learn a language. I had never really had the opportunity to travel before, and it's been FASCINATING. Especially through the lens of drag. Because of the bookings I get and the crowds I attract, I IMMEDIATELY get to see the queer underbelly of every city I visit. It's the only way to travel.

Tell me about your new solo show, Cosmos, which runs October 22 to 24 at Odd Fellows West Hall.

Cosmos is basically a cabaret in which DeLa is faced with the task of explaining all of science (astrophysics, quantum mechanics, evolution, etc.) in the span of an hour. It's probably never really occurred to her before that the universe extends beyond her press-ons, but she's got a ship of the imagination and a talking martini glass named Neil DeGlasse Tyson, so she's gonna be okay.

People make art for all kinds of reasons. Why do you do it?

There's just some weird, overly emotional Tex Avery character inside of me that needs to express itself through sequins and puns. It needs to take the ludicrous, overwhelming, horrifying stuff in the world and add glitter and innuendo and push it through a Play-Doh Fun Factory until it makes more sense. And that feels like my truest form of communication. Explaining it in words like this seems confusing. If I could answer your question in the form of a cabaret act, it'd be super clear.