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Promotional art for Altered Boy
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

Altered Boy

Darienne Lake

Comedy Dynamics · 2023 · 76 min

Deadpan drag storytelling built on Catholic guilt and upstate gay bars.

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Released , on Comedy Dynamics.

Darienne Lake treats the stage like the smoking patio of an upstate gay bar. The material runs on deadpan confessions about Catholic altar boy duty, getting overlooked as a middle child, and the physical realities of aging in heavy contour.

Taped at Warsaw in Brooklyn during the 2022 Tribeca Festival and directed by Brian Volk-Weiss, the hour arrived on digital platforms in April 2023 via Comedy Dynamics. It dropped just weeks before Lake returned to television for the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.

Rather than machine-gun club setups, Lake leans into loose autobiographical storytelling. She tracks her start in drag across early-nineties Rochester, details the physical indignities of attempting a marathon, and recounts dating disasters in Puerto Vallarta.

Notable bits & set list

1 bit

  1. Being the middle child in a large Catholic family

    Lake details being the middle child of five siblings ('Boy, boy, me, girl, girl') and quips that she is 'what you call the transitional child.'

How it plays

Tone
Humorous, outlandish, uplifting, hopeful, and cathartic.
On stage
Charismatic drag queen persona delivering personal memoir and candid autobiographical anecdotes with camp aesthetic and sharp wit.
Pace
Steady energy, fast pace, calm and low-key delivery.
About
Growing up as a middle child in a large Catholic family, Coming out at an early age as a drag queen, Finding chosen family and life purpose, Sex and below-the-belt humor, Body image and obesity, Self revelation and resilience

What the critics said

Opinions were mixed; reviews noted an emphasis on 1990s-style below-the-belt jokes and weight-related material alongside sharp situational wit.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedydynamics.com, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com, justwatch.com, syracuse.com, goodwatch.app, primevideo.com.

Backstory

The first of six stand-up comedy specials from RuPaul's Drag Race alumni released as part of a collaboration between Comedy Dynamics and Tribeca.

Details

Released
Runtime
76 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics
Director
Brian Volk-Weiss
Topics

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