WHO'S NEXT 2010: Dallas Dubois

Don’t let the name fool you—drag ingénue Dallas DuBois is a New Yorker born and bred. The 23-year-old has been a performer almost since she could walk, and has done regional theater, Off-Broadway shows and television spots under her boy name, Daniel Logan. It wasn’t until the summer of 2008, though, that Dallas was born. “I had some Halloween stuff with me on Fire Island and some friends encouraged me to get dressed up,” says DuBois. “I was a hot mess, but I thought I looked beautiful!” Her current, more evolved look, she says, is a mix of old and new Hollywood. “Lindsay Lohan meets Ava Gardner or Marilyn Monroe.”

DuBois first started appearing with Regine at Urge’s Ass Wednesdays before taking over Evolve’s Friday-night party, which she’s renamed “Drinking Does Dallas,” in 2008. “It’s mostly lip-synching pop and Broadway show tunes,” she explains. “I also do ‘drag suicide,’ where an audience member can choose a song for me to cover—and I have to do it, even if I don’t know it.” Starting January 5, she’s also taking the reins at a new biweekly Broadway-based show with full choreography at Boots & Saddle.

The Energizer Bunny of the scene, DuBois is also cooking up a monthly theme party with good friends Celso and Moe. “It’s going to be classic fantasy—anything goes. It’s for everyone, whether you’re in the ‘scene’ or not,” she says. Then there’s Queens of Drag, an in-production reality series she’s starring in alongside New York divas like Sherry Vine, Acid Betty, Peppermint and Hedda Lettuce. “I’ve been through hell and back with some of those bitches!” DuBois jokes.

The achievement DuBois is most proud of, though, is founding the theater group Pure Imagination and the nonprofit charity Broadway to Benefit, both of which educate kids about HIV and AIDS. HIV-positive herself, DuBois says, “Being a drag queen lets you catch people’s eye. [AIDS education]… is part of what I hope to achieve with my pseudo-celebrity.” As for being possibly the only queen who’s open about her HIV status, DuBois simply says, “You need to be comfortable with who you are.”

Counting Ariel Sinclair and Sherry Vine among her friends and mentors, DuBois hopes to have a long and prosperous professional life. “I want a career like Joey Arias or Justin Bond, with many different facets. I don’t want people to expect just one thing from me.” Long live the queen. —Dan Avery

Visit TheQueensOfDrag.blogspot.com for more info.