Legendary drag icon Lady Bunny is touring the country once again and this time, she’s taking her biggest swing yet.
In her brand-new musical comedy extravaganza, Bunny Butchers Broadway!, the outrageously funny performer takes her knife (and mic) to Broadway’s most beloved hits, slicing and dicing classics from Wicked, Dreamgirls, Mamma Mia!, Beauty and the Beast and more with her signature dirty wit and fearless social commentary.
A self-professed theater queen before she ever donned a wig, Bunny grew up performing in community productions. “My father worked at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and when the university needed a child in shows like Oliver, Gypsy, or even Shakespeare, they’d cast me!” she recalls. “In The Winter’s Tale, I played Prince Mamillius, who died in the first act. I HATED that!”
Drag would eventually give her the freedom to create her own characters. That freedom now fuels Bunny Butchers Broadway!, a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud blend of musical parody, stand-up, and biting cultural critique.
With all-new lyrics and twisted reimaginings, Bunny transforms “Beauty and the Beast” into “Pussy and the Yeast,” “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” into “Don’t Cry for Me, I’m On Tina,” and she even finds room for an original “tribute” song to Elon Musk.
“This show isn’t political,” Bunny insists, “but I have to poke fun when a billionaire can buy their way into the White House and cut social services for the rest of us non-billionaires.”
The show is not for children. It includes tributes to legends like Liza Minnelli and Cher (“I couldn’t resist turning “Liza With a Z” into a song about pronouns!”) and a drag queen roll call of fan favorites from RuPaul’s Drag Race in her “Drag Update” medley. “With so many RuGirls now nationally known, I’ve got plenty to joke about,” Bunny teases.
Despite the chaos, Bunny Butchers Broadway! isn’t entirely without theme. “Mainly, it’s about how jealous I am of Jinkx Monsoon‘s success in Oh Mary! and Chicago,” Bunny quips. “But it was typecasting for Jinkx to play Mama Morton. She was always having trouble with Roxxxy… Andrews!”
The show also promises jaw-dropping costumes designed by David Dalrymple, the fashion visionary behind looks for RuPaul and Bette Midler. “David’s been dressing me since the ’80s,” Bunny says. “He’s created all five of my looks in this show, and honey, they are spectacular.”
With her sharp tongue, bawdy humor, and affection for the Great White Way, Lady Bunny proves once again that no topic—or showtune—is safe. In between parodies of songs from Cabaret, 9 to 5, The Cher Show, Frozen, and The Greatest Showman, Bunny skewers everything from Ozempic culture (“Right now, I’m not on Ozempic to lose weight. I’m taking it to save money on food!”) to the state of queer nightlife.
“I’m very glad that comedy clubs are booking drag acts now,” she says. “Some beloved gay venues are closing, but the rise of drag in comedy spaces means we hams still have a home.”
Bunny Butchers Broadway! will play select cities nationwide this fall, including at Laugh Factory Hollywood in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 19.
As for her next act? Bunny jokes, “If Broadway producers come calling, I think I could pull off The Elephant Man! But until then, I’ll be doing what I do best: making audiences laugh, cringe, and clutch their pearls.”
