Sherry Vine on New Variety Show and Upcoming Digital Performance

With 30 years of touring, performing, and entertaining mass audiences under her sequined belt, Sherry Vine has rightfully earned the title of “Drag Legend.”

On May 25, she will return to glittering TV screens across the globe with The Sherry Vine Variety Show, which will be available exclusively on the OUTtv Apple TV Channel.

Inspired by the great variety show legends of the 1970s, Vine and director John Mark invigorate and re-imagine the classic, TV variety show standard with raucous comedy, show-stopped musical numbers, hilarious sketches, and more. The Sherry Vine Variety Show will also feature iconic special guests like Alec Mapa and Candis Cayne, and some of the world’s top drag superstars including Bianca Del Rio, Peppermint, and Alaska Thunderfuck.

Vine took some time to chat more about the series with OFM. She also talked about how comedy has been a major influence on her life and career, and her upcoming, May 23 performance with Jackie Beat for PEG Presents: Digital Drag Fest 2021.

Hi, Sherry! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. What can viewers expect from your new series, The Sherry Vine Variety Show?
I think with The Sherry Vine Variety Show, there is literally something for everyone. I think the younger people, who are fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will get a chance to see some of their favorite drag queens doing something that they have never seen them do before. I think for gay men my age, they will be like, ‘Oh my God; this is so Carol Burnett.’ It is so Sonny-and-Cher, old-school, 1970s variety show. I am certainly not taking credit for inventing the genre at all; it is clearly a rip off of Carol Burnett [laughs].

However, I do not think there is anything like it with drag right now, and there is so much drag out there. We’re Here with Bob, Eureka, and Shangela on HBO, Trixie and Katya, there is a lot of drag content now more than ever, but I think this is really different than anything out there. I hope people will appreciate that. There will be musical numbers, dancing, sketch comedy, interviews; it has it all.

Is bringing in the drag concept what inspired you to move forward and create this project?
Yes. This is literally my 30-year anniversary of drag, and I love performing and drag as much today as I did 30 years ago. If I didn’t, I would not do it, but I love it. Everything that I want to do, I look at it from the angle of, I will be the leading lady. I would love to do A Streetcar Named Desire; I want to be Blanche.

You say you were obsessed with Carol Burnett and the variety shows of the 70s as a kid. Why do you think they were so influential on you?
My mom will tell this story; I don’t even really remember, but she is like, ‘You were probably 3 or 4 years old watching The Carol Burnett Show and pointing to the TV being like, that is what I want to do.’ I did not necessarily know that I would be performing in drag, but I knew I was going to be a comedic performer. That is all I ever knew; there was never a plan B. Once I discovered drag, I was like, ‘Oh! I can wear those Bob Mackie outfits!’ I wanted to be Carol Burnett, not Harvey Korman. I wanted to be Cher; I never wanted to be Sonny. I just think it was the combination of, obviously the costumes, but also how both Carol Burnett and Cher would play all these different characters.

Harvey Korman, Sonny, they were, of course, hilarious, but they were always just kind of like a version of themselves. Cher would be, like, gorgeous Cher, and then she would be Laverne; she would be doing West Side Story. So, that is really what I have always been drawn to, and I reference so much of those 1970s variety shows when I was creating this. It opens with the musical number. We could not do the Q&A, I really wanted to do the Carol Burnett audience Q&A, but because of COVID, we could not have a live audience. So, next season, but the interviews and sketches are all there.

What do you hope viewers take away from The Sherry Vine Variety Show?
Several things. I would love it if people were like, ‘Oh my God, I have never seen anything quite like this.’ Of course, if anyone is familiar with Carol Burnett, they will be like, that bitch is just totally doing Carol Burnett, but in drag. I want people to be like, ‘I have never seen Bob the Drag Queen do that before.’ Also, I want people to laugh. Maybe for a half hour, they can forget about all the crazy shit going on in the world. Certainly, I am not saying that I am saving the world or anything like that, but if it can make people laugh for a half hour, then I have done my job.

We can also see you alongside Jackie Beat on May 23 for Digital Drag Fest 2021. What can you tell us about that?
It’s just going to be two old men in wigs singing songs about dick and poop! Pretty much the standard Sherry and Jackie show! [Laughs]. I am excited because we have not done a show together in a couple months. I do feel like the digital stuff might, hopefully, be winding down. I say that, but a good thing is, I get a lot of messages from people in Europe, Australia, whatever saying, please don’t stop doing these because even when we are done with COVID, we can enjoy the shows. So, maybe once in a while, but we probably will not do one of these again this summer.

I am excited. We got some new parodies, some new duets—anytime I do anything with Jackie, after 30 years, there are always surprises, and you never know what is going to happen. She is in every episode of the variety show. She and Bianca are the only two people who are regulars, and Jackie wrote stuff and helped me a lot. She has always been my partner in crime.

How long have you and Jackie known each other, and what do you enjoy the most about working with her?
I had literally been doing drag for a month when I met her, and she had been doing it for just one or two years. [Whispers] She’s older than me! What I love about her is, we know each other so well. I can see where she is going five steps ahead of where she went. We really play well off each other, and no one is faster wit wise than Jackie. So, she keeps me on my toes. Sometimes, I have to say, ‘I’m going to be the straight man,’ because I cannot keep up with her right now, which is fine. We are on the same page 89 percent of the time. What I love the most about our friendship is, we are so close that we can scream and yell at each other, then in the next minute be like, ‘Where are we going to have lunch?’

It was heartbreaking that so many Pride events were canceled last year due to the pandemic. How have you been holding up during these difficult times?
Honestly, I cannot complain. I have been really lucky to be able to evolve quickly and start doing shows. I was surprised at how many people actually watched and tipped. So, I was very lucky. I would say, for the first nine months, it was fun to be like, I’m in my living room performing barefoot and in boy underwear. It was great. Then it kind of hit a wall. When I had my first live audience show the other week, I had to stop for a minute after hearing the applause. I forgot what that sounded like, and it gave me chills. Yeah, this is what I missed.

What does Pride personally mean to you?
Pride means many different things. On one hand, it is easy to take it for granted if you live in New York City or Los Angeles. It’s a party. So, I think it is important to remember other countries and cities, even in the United States, other places where it is still political activism. I was at a Pride event in Warsaw, Poland years ago, and it was so scary because there were so many anti-gay protestors. More than people who were there to support. They were throwing Molotov cocktails, and I went back to the hotel. No, I am not going to that.

A drag queen friend of mine from Berlin, Gloria, she was like, ‘No, bitch. This is what it’s about. It is not about the Coca Cola float; it’s about being political. This is important.’ I was like, ‘OK, you are right.’ I went and marched. I think it is important to remember that. Pride is about celebrating, of course, but it is also about remembering. I am of an age where I lost tons of friends. So, remembering and celebrating them, and it is also about political activism.

What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform?
My goal is to just keep entertaining. Performing is the only thing that makes me happy. I kind of let go of ever having a boyfriend; I am fine dying alone. As long as I can still perform, I am fine with that. It is the only thing that makes me happy, and I have a million projects I want to do. Literally, a million. I am already thinking about Season Two of the variety show before Season One has even premiered. Like I said, I would honestly love to do something like A Streetcar Named Desire, Three Sisters—something classical theatre, but with all drag. There is a whole list of things that I want to do. I will never stop performing.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention our plug?
Certainly, the variety show is a big one because I really want people to watch it. I think they will be surprised and love it, and hopefully, it will be a big hit. I do have some live shows starting to pop up, and all of that is on my website.

To stay up-to-date with Vine, follow her on Instagram or visit her official website. Click here for more information and tickets for Digital Drag Fest 2021.

Photos Courtesy of Stephen Love Menendez and Just Lax NYC Photography