Review: What Makes the Iconic RuPaul Tick?

What becomes a drag legend most? In the case of RuPaul, easily the most famous drag queen in herstory, it is to take off those towering wigs and couture gowns and just be themselves, as they did when they took the stage of Boston's Orpheum Theatre this past Friday night. They began by saying they had taken a walk that afternoon around the Boston Common and Newbury Street, and noted two things: It is cold, very cold, and the city is old, very old. Looking around the theater – a somewhat dilapidated relic of the vaudeville era – they joked, "Isn't this theater where George Washington shot Abraham Lincoln?"

What came next was their trademark laugh, which continued even after it quieted in the theater. No one finds a joke funnier than RuPaul, and her laugh points out how important humor is in their life. Later in the show, they explained why they laugh at the silliest and dumbest things (and if you watch "RuPaul's Drag Race" you will understand how true this is), recalling their high school drama teacher who told them not to take life too seriously because it happens so fast and is over so quickly.

It is one of the life lessons RuPaul makes in the show, which was something of a cross between a personal appearance and a self-help lecture. They are on tour to promote their autobiography, "The House of Hidden Meanings," which, when published a year ago, immediately went to the top of New York Times Bestseller list. Dressed simply in a black, sequined sports coat and trousers accented by a scarf, RuPaul has unmistakable charisma that was immediately apparent with their rapport with the audience, some of whom they addressed personally after having met them at an earlier meet-and-greet session. That bond made the appearance feel less like a new-age sermon than a conversation with an old friend.

As the host of a show that promotes the value of drag – something at odds with the current administration, which recently banned drag performers from the Kennedy Center – you might think they would be a firebrand on the issue. But RuPaul eschews politics (and has been roundly criticized for doing so). To their credit, they were quite open about it, saying they haven't read the newspaper since November, and only looks at the New York Times to play Wordle.

Rather, the purpose of their show is more subjective, bringing to mind the famous tagline that ends each episode of "Drag Race": "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" They dedicated a good portion of the appearance to doing just that: Embracing their inner child, the five-year-old whose photo they keep on their smartphone. They describe their relationship with their mother as complicated, but loving. She wasn't terribly warm; her nickname around the neighborhood was Mean Miss Charles, and later in life she had significant emotional issues. But she tried to help that five-year-old by explaining that they needed to guard against being overly sensitive, which they admit they still are. They also said that before each performance they address stage fright by remembering when they performed to make their mother laugh in their living room, which was about as safe a place as there ever was in their life.

They also addressed their equally challenging relationship with their father, who became far more distant after their parents divorced when RuPaul was seven. They recalled how abandoned they felt when their dad didn't show for an assigned weekend he was supposed to have with his children. They took it personally, but realized later in life that hurt was misplaced, and put it in terms of their famous mantra, saying that if their dad couldn't love himself, how could he love his son?

To their credit, RuPaul kept the show from becoming insights gained from years of therapy. Instead, they impart life experiences in a convivial, and often hilarious, way. Joking with the audience, they asked them to extend the list of four syllable words RuPaul keeps on their phone for when they play word games. "Cunnilingus," someone shouted, at which RuPaul stopped and slowly said: "Cun-ni-lin-gus. Oh, yes. That's four." And when someone else shouted "Motherfucker," they responded, "That works, too." They talked about their love of Dirty Charades, and how changing a movie title can take the dark meaning out of it. They could never watch "12 Years a Slave," but would happily watch "12 Years a Slut." Even a family movie such as "Meet Me in St. Louis" could get dirtied up to become "Eat Me in St. Louis." On a more serious note, they discussed how important living in the moment is, citing how exhilarating it was for them to have risen at 5 am a few days ago to ride their bike around lower Manhattan. It is an experience any urban bicyclist can relate to.

Towards the end of the hour-long gig, they brought singer Ruth Pointer out of the audience to briefly talk about her career as one of the Pointer Sisters. She received one of the biggest laughs of the night when she recalled how she once smoked crack on a plane. Like RuPaul, Pointer is many years sober, and both thanked 12-step programs for their survival, with RuPaul saying that if they hadn't become sober, they would never be the success they are today. RuPaul ended the show with an upbeat audience Q&A that steadfastly avoided anything controversial, because otherwise it would have been easy to see them respond with another famous Ru-ism: "I ain't gotta explain nothing to nobody."

For upcoming dates on "RuPaul: The House of Hidden Meanings" tour, click here.