Asia O’Hara aims to help LGBTQ+ audiences find community with ‘Werq the World’
The queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race are coming to the Hard Rock Orlando on July 9 as part of the 2022 “Werq the World” tour, which kicks off just a day earlier in Ft. Lauderdale. This year’s stage production features several notable cast members from the TV show including Kameron Michaels, Rose, Vanessa Vanjie, Yvie Oddly and finalists from the upcoming 14th season of the show.
Host Asia O’Hara, who just finished the international leg of the tour, is excited to bring the tour to Central Florida.
“There are so many details of the show that are just jaw-dropping. And it’s the best type of show because unlike [other] types of shows, this is literally eight different creative entities that all have their own number, their own moment in the show,” O’Hara said.
“It’s one of the few places where you could do that with eight different artists and also it’s just, we put a lot of time and lots of energy, a lot of money into this tour into the sets, the gags, the costumes, the choreography, it really is the greatest live drag show ever.”
O’Hara has been a fixture of the RuPaul’s Drag Race touring shows over the years and even though she’s excited to get out on the road, the touring life can get tough.
“You have to definitely make time for yourself,” she said. “I’m a Cancer. So I’m a nester and I like routine and consistency. I wake up maybe around eight or nine, go inside the venue, find my dressing room or play some music. I’ll do a little bit of sightseeing, find a cool coffee shop or vintage shop, [and] then come back and start getting ready for the show.”
“Werq the World” will play several dates in Florida and throughout the South, which has been a hotbed of controversy in the wake of anti-LGBTQ legislation including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation and a recent push to ban kids and teens from drag shows altogether.
“I think the greatest thing about touring anywhere in the South, and [especially] Florida, is coming from the South,” O’Hara said. “I know the feeling of feeling like there’s nobody else like you or you may have a small circle of friends that have the same belief system as you but still feeling somewhat isolated. And when you go to these shows, sold-out shows in these huge theaters, these huge arenas and you find yourself sitting in the middle of the audience, surrounded by all of these people from
your community.It’s really reassuring.”
O’Hara said as someone from Texas, she feels like sometimes the diversity of southern states isn’t always highlighted.
“I get asked often [as
someone] from the South, how I deal with the culture where I’m from, and honestly, I think we highlight the good, the bad and the ugly, but there are a lot of great people, a lot of queer people, a lot of trans
people, people of color, women, a lot of marginalized people in the South that have a voice. What you see on the news about those particular areas is not all the best a city or the state have to offer.”
Tickets for “Werq the World” are now available at vossevents.com/werq-theworld-tour.