This Halloween season, drag royalty is taking over central New Jersey as Night of the Living Drag: Camp Slayaway arrives at the historic State Theatre in New Brunswick. Hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7 winner Violet Chachki, the ’80s slasher-inspired production drops audiences into a campy tale where a summer of fun takes a deadly turn.
Among the stellar lineup — which includes Jaida Essence Hall, Raja, Nicole Paige Brooks, and Salina EsTitties — is world-renowned performer, choreographer, musician, and all-around LGBTQIA+ icon Laganja Estranja.
For Laganja, merging horror and drag culture is a natural match. “Horror is actually one of my favorite genres,” Laganja shared. “I’ve always enjoyed being scared. Although, admittedly, I will say now that I am in my 30s, I don’t really love to go to haunted houses anymore. I’d much prefer to be in a theater and scared that way.”
She sees a deep cultural connection between the two art forms: “I just think there’s a lot of parallels between queer community and the horror community. I think horror is deeply queer in its existence and from its birthplace. So, yeah, I think it’s a perfect crossover.”
Renowned the world over for her gravity-defying splits, drops, and technical precision, Laganja approaches choreography through a strong narrative lens. A U.S. Presidential Scholar in The Arts holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance and choreography from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), she brings formal artistic rigor to every number. Having recently choreographed Jawbreaker: The Musical in Los Angeles with inspiration from the 1999 cult film, she notes, “For me, I think choreography is always motivated by the story, regardless of whether it’s a dance performance, a drag performance, or something like a musical.”
On this tour, she is set to deliver a custom solo act inspired by DC Comics’ Poison Ivy. “I have my own single, ‘Poison Ivy,’ but also it is a plant commonly found on camp grounds. So, I felt like that was a perfect way for me to highlight my music but also still be on theme.” Visual and musical influences for the act span several decades.
“I’m going to be pulling a lot of inspiration from Uma Thurman. Her performance as Poison Ivy (in 1997’s Batman and Robin) is one of my favorites,” Laganja shared. “A lot of my references come from 1920s, 1930s Busby Berkeley. We’re definitely doing a section in my number that is a throwback piece, also going to be giving you a little Britney Spears.”
Bringing this production to New Brunswick’s State Theatre is particularly meaningful for Laganja. Having grown up in dance and musical theater, performing on historic stages helps elevate her art beyond traditional club venues.
“I love nightclubs, don’t get me wrong, but I am 37 and performing at midnight on sticky floors with drunk patrons is not really my favorite, especially as someone who’s sober. So, I’m so happy to be in the theater. Theater is where I grew up. It’s my background. It’s my history.”
Reflecting on her career trajectory since launching to stardom on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6, Laganja acknowledges both incredible growth and ongoing industry challenges. Named one of the “Most Powerful Drag Queens in America” by New York Magazine, she has built a massive global following while maintaining her reputation for intense physical stunts. “I think the support has grown and that’s definitely something that has really changed,” she noted. “But I would be lying if I didn’t say that a lot of the struggles that I faced back then I still face now. It is a really hard job and we make it look easy, trying to organize the mix, trying to get the costumes, working with a limited budget.”
As a prominent transgender woman, artist and cannabis activist, her ultimate goal remains inspiring audiences—especially young LGBTQIA+ fans attending in college towns like New Brunswick. “I really became an artist to inspire others,” she reflected. “As a queer child, someone who didn’t fit in, when I first got into musical theater, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m home. I found my people.’ And it really has allowed me to become the best version of myself.”
Looking ahead to the New Brunswick show, her message to fans is clear: “What I hope my performance will inspire is for people to be free. I think, as a trans woman, it is something I speak on often, the rewards I’ve received from just being my true authentic self. So, I hope to inspire people in that way, whether they’re gender non-conforming or trans or gay, to just lean in more to themselves and to trust their gut.”
Above all, she wants to offer a moment of pure theatrical joy: “I hope when someone comes to a show like this that they’re able to sort of escape their life for a moment and be elevated in a magical place where they can just really have a good time and get scared, and feel like they are transported through our art.”
Night of the Living Drag: Camp Slayaway, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. For tickets, including VIP options, click here.
