The idea of New York City lives on in fewer and fewer physical spaces. As another luxury high-rise goes up, another place with history, grit, and personality disappears. But when Alan Cumming opened Club Cumming in 2017, he pushed back against that erosion — and somehow, he succeeded.
Club Cumming was born from a makeshift gathering in Cumming’s backstage dressing room during his Broadway days. That energy eventually evolved into a permanent home. Nearly a decade later, the club is still thriving.
Taking over the former space of Eastern Bloc — the beloved East Village dance club — Club Cumming feels both entirely of the moment and like a relic of a New York that refuses to disappear.
From the outside, the venue is unassuming. Inside, chandeliers hang overhead, murals of nightlife legends line the walls, and a tiny stage hosts burlesque performers, drag queens, drag kings, Broadway belters on their nights off, and all manner of downtown oddballs. It’s a bizarre bazaar of New York characters and performance traditions.
Now, a new six-part docuseries on WOW Presents Plus, Club Cumming, spotlights the club’s fierce commitment to queerness — and the performers, regulars, and owners who make it what it is: singular, communal, and irresistibly fun.
Cunning Stunt is one of those performers. The drag king proudly created “Manhattan’s only drag king revue, Manhattan’s only drag king bingo, and Manhattan’s only drag king competition here at Club Cumming.”
“The club is packed because people are so eager to see how the show captures a place that means so much to so many of us,” Stunt told me at a recent premiere party for the series.
“This bar is special because it’s tiny, intimate, and deeply communal. It gives people a place to let go of the stress of their day, the stress of the world around them, and the weight of the political climate we’re living through. Here, all of that can fall away. You get to be with people you love, dance, support queer art, and really live inside it.”
Daphne Always, another regular performer and host, echoed that sentiment. Time Out New York once described her as “the exceedingly charming star chanteuse and Club Cumming cult favorite.”
“This is one of the most special places to be,” Always told me. “It’s welcoming, there’s no ego. It’s a space for total creative, queer expression and freedom, where artists can do whatever they want.”
Of course, there’s occasionally a little ego — this is still New York. The club is also known for its celebrity drop-ins. Cumming himself is often there, sometimes with famous friends in tow.
On one memorable night, Emma Stone, Billie Jean King, and Paul McCartney joined in to sing “Part of Your World” after I performed “Poor Unfortunate Souls” onstage — one of those surreal, only-in-New-York moments.
The club has also found new energy through Cumming’s role as host of The Traitors. Watch parties at the bar draw packed crowds, often with stars from the show in attendance.
Though Cumming missed the docuseries premiere due to rehearsals, his presence in the series reinforces his commitment to using the space as an incubator for the kind of quintessential queerness that remains vital to New York City. He continues to leverage his platform to elevate not just the club, but the artists and community that sustain it.
“It’s home,” Always said. “This place really incubated me, and in many ways, I grew up here. I’m excited for this show to offer people a glimpse into how special it can be to come out and find real community in an actual, physical place in New York City — making art with gorgeous, queer people.”
Club Cumming is streaming on WOW Presents Plus.
