EDGE Interview: See Why 'Everybody Loves Jujubee'

EDGE: Who comes to your shows in small, more conservative places?

Jujubee: You always know in small towns the audience is going to be great because they really want to be there. I remember doing a gig in the South for a few hundred people. It was their Pride. There was one family with generations of people there and only one identified with being queer. They all came out for the one gay kid. Hate exists but love overrules it. For some reason, hate speaks louder than love does, but I think love always overrules hate.

EDGE: Are you friends with Ru Paul? Do you hang out at all?

Jujubee: I don't think anybody hangs out with RuPaul. She's busy working all the time. I did make her pull my finger once and I farted. She looked at me and said, "you bitch" and just started laughing. She's a funny lady. They served beans that day. I couldn't help myself. I guess I can lie and say we have dinners every Sunday together. Just kidding. LOL. She wishes.

EDGE: What is your life like away from the "Drag Race" spotlight?

Jujubee: I garden a lot. I bought my house a couple years ago and I cut down four trees. The neighbors all went wild until I planted 38 new trees. And only 3 died. Gardening is a place where I don't have to think about anything and I get to put down roots into the earth and they're going to stay. I like to think they're there for me, but they won't be fabulous for a long time. Maybe I'm teaching them to be fabulous. I talk to them all the time.

I love watching the birds, relaxing and meditating, enjoying the flowers. I think the whole thing makes my neighbors very curious about me. They're older and pretty conservative. Once I added the landscape I wasn't so foreign to them. My landscaping isn't just helping me to relax and meditate. It's also brought up the value of their homes. I've looked, honey, and their property values have gone up! They should thank Juju.

EDGE: Do people recognize you out of drag?

Jujubee: It's very different when I'm out of drag. If they recognize me in drag, I have to turn it on. That's what they expect. But when I'm in the market or something I just present myself as I am. They usually just want to say hello and maybe get a picture. I'm always happy to do the picture.

EDGE: Being on "Drag Race," you are part of a very unique club. Is there any sort of sisterhood of "Drag Race" alums?

Jujubee: There is. I think there's probably little cliques of it among the queens who shared the same season. But like the world knows, I've been on so many seasons I'm connected to so many of these bitches. I have many, many very good friends. Raven and I send each other cat vids and dog vids all the time. We shared this important experience, 3 weeks without the world, it's pretty special. We had no idea what it was going to be. I think now the queens, especially the ones who've never done it before, come in with a different mindset. We thought we were going to compete and go back to work. Now they know they can make money out of it, so they're trying to max what they can do in a year. They plan out their little catchphrases and their merchandise. It's really smart.

EDGE: You have 1.1M Instagram followers. How did that happen?

Jujubee: I don't know why. I just post pictures of cats. It's pretty random and I like it like that. Maybe that's why people gravitate toward me. I don't curate my social media to anything but who I am and what I do. I'm a pretty vulnerable person so I've allowed myself to open up in that sense. There's really nothing to hide anymore. Why? There's no reason to.

EDGE: Do you ever get any haters online?

Jujubee: I'm always just like, 'mom you don't have to say that.' Sometimes with the haters I actually get a little curious and look at what they've said to other people. It's almost always hate, so it's not about me. I know they've probably not gone to therapy. I think most haters are only that way on the internet. They would never come up to me and say things in person.

EDGE: You recently had a big birthday. How did you celebrate?

Jujubee: June 21st was my 40th. It was the first day of summer, summer solstice and the strawberry full moon. So, like a crazy person, I laid out all my crystals in the garden. They're still out there. I forgot all about them. Another full moon has happened since so I guess they're all charged up.

I came to Ptown for my 40th and I swam in the ocean. My boyfriend and friends got me a Carvel ice cream cake, which is something I've always wanted but we were too poor. I waited 40 years for it. They didn't even know I wanted that. It was great. People spend all this time traveling thousands of miles to celebrate. I got to spend time with people I love in a place that I love.

EDGE: What can we expect from your new show, "Everybody Loves Jujubee?"

Jujubee: It's going to be a silly, fun show. I don't take things too seriously. I'm going to tell stories, sing live with my music partner, Tony Ni on piano. People are going to love him more than they love me. We may have to change the name of the show to Everybody loves Tony Ni.

EDGE: Anything special for Ptown?

Jujubee: No. (Laughs) I never glue my wig down. For the first time you're going to get a fully glued down drag queen so you won't have to look at my sideburns all night. It's not the happiest type of music, it's really based on my experiences as a gay, feminine, left-handed Laotian. But I think people will relate and there'll be plenty of laughs. It's going to be fun.

EDGE: "Drag: The Musical" is coming to Off-Broadway.

Jujubee: Yes! It's coming in the fall to New World Stages in Hell's Kitchen. It's an historic building. I think "RENT" played there. It's a musical about two rival drag houses across the street from each other. It's not just about drag queens being snarky. There are real life situations within the show. It's a beautiful script.

What I love about it is that it's all new. Everything in it was written for this show. It's quintessential musical theater. There's singing and some dancing; I don't dance but I pretend I can. There's a lot of musicals about queens, but this has drag queens who are actually acting. We know how to do drag. I guess you could call us Method actors. We live the life, sweetie pie. You're going to love it. It'll make you cry.

EDGE: When you look back at your life so far, what are you most proud of?

Jujubee: Honestly, I think I am most proud of my house. I've worked really hard and the reason I was able to purchase my house was drag. Because of RuPaul, I was able to travel the world, save money and buy a house. We grew up poor. My biggest dream was to own a house because we never owned one. And now It's mine. A place to call home.

EDGE: If you could go back and change anything, what would that be?

Jujubee: I don't know if I live a life of regrets. I think the only answer is that I wouldn't. I sit in a place of stillness and solitude and I believe that I'm exactly who I am right now because of everything that has happened.

"Everybody Loves Jujubee" is at The Art House, 214 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA. July 31 – August 3. For more information, visit The Art House website.

For more on Jujubee, visit www.jujubeeonline.com.