The greatest thing you’ll ever learn on Broadway is the power of persistence. Just ask Bob the Drag Queen, the RuPaul’s Drag Race winner who is fulfilling his dream of headlining on the Great White Way. He’s now starring as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical — though his path to playing the “Spectacular, Spectacular” owner of a Parisian cabaret, where a composer falls in love with a courtesan to a soundtrack of modern jukebox hits, was unconventional.
“I moved to New York City to be on Broadway. I auditioned for a lot of shows and got a lot of nos,” Bob says. “No one told me that to be on Broadway you have to be able to sing and dance really well, so I was shocked when I was not the best singer or the best dancer, and I wasn’t getting cast.”
Bob eventually discovered that “another way to get on Broadway is to have a great personality,” he adds, chuckling. “And I didn’t have that either.”
“So I found the third way,” Bob declares with a smirk. “Which is to be on reality TV and get stunt cast!” The Traitors star adds, “If it works for NeNe Leakes — who’s been in two Broadway shows — it can work for me.”
Between being a drag performer in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, sashaying onto RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8 and being crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, cohosting three seasons of HBO’s We’re Here, emceeing Madonna’s history-making Celebration Tour around the world, and competing in the third season of Peacock’s The Traitors, Bob has been booked and busy. The Out100 honoree has also starred in numerous TV shows, built up a fierce discography of original music, launched the first-ever podcast from a pair of RuGirls — Sibling Rivalry alongside Monét X Change — and published a novel, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, that made him a New York Times best-selling author. This year, he’s cohosting The Traitors Official Podcast with former nemesis Boston Rob to recap weekly episodes of the Emmy-winning Peacock reality competition.
Bob the Drag QueenAvery Brunkus
Ten years after winning Drag Race season 8, Bob’s Broadway dreams have materialized with Moulin Rouge! The Musical for an eight-week limited engagement at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Taking over the role from Robert Petkoff, Bob enters an iconic lineage of Broadway Zidlers that started with Danny Burstein’s Tony-winning performance, was further queerified by Boy George in the role, and was injected with even more humor by Wayne Brady.
It feels absurd that Bob the Drag Queen has never starred in a Broadway show, but it is true. “This is Broadway, you know? Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Patti LuPone. … This is where the greats go,” Bob gushes. “This is a big moment for me.”
Also true? Zidler owns the Moulin Rouge and acts as an emcee in the venue — a role that synthesizes skills that Bob has honed in his career. “I studied at the feet of Peppermint, Sherry Vine, Bianca Del Rio, Harmonica Sunbeam, and Hedda Lettuce. Queens who I saw taking the crowd on a journey,” Bob says. “I take a lot of pride in being a tastemaker in the New York City nightlife scene. My print is on the New York City drag scene for at least the next 20 years.”
Bob praises trans trailblazer Peppermint — his personal friend — for becoming the first trans actress to originate a principal role in a Broadway musical (Head Over Heels) and go on to star in several musicals over the years, paving the way for other theater queens from Drag Race to find their own way in the industry. In recent years, there’s been an influx of RuGirls in Broadway shows, notably Jinkx Monsoon’s mind-blowing success in shows like Chicago, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, and Oh, Mary!
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Would Bob be interested in playing Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s Tony-winning play? “Yeah, I would love to be in a show like Oh, Mary!, though I think I’d be better as Abraham Lincoln,” Bob notes. “I’ve got to say: Not putting me opposite Jinkx Monsoon in Oh, Mary! was a big mistake.”
Just like finding a “third way” to debut on Broadway, this interviewer accidentally stumbled upon a third reason — and a hilarious one, at that — that the role of Harold Zidler feels like the perfect next chapter in Bob’s career. When asked about the character’s significant differences in the musical when compared to Jim Broadbent’s original portrayal in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film starring Nicole Kidman (Satine) and Ewan McGregor (Christian), Bob confesses that he’s never seen the movie.
“Would you believe I had not seen the movie before I was cast?” Bob remarks. “I’ve seen the play twice before I saw the movie.” After acknowledging how beloved the original film is and how it’s felt like an inescapable must-watch movie even for non-fans of musical films, this interviewer kindly circled back to the unanswered question: What did Bob think of Harold Zidler in the movie?
“OK, I haven’t watched it yet!” Bob confesses with a laugh. To be clear, however, Bob promises he will rectify this soon. “I want to make a meal of it,” he explains, “so me and my friends are going to watch Moulin Rouge!, the movie, finally.”
Movie homework or not, Bob is absolutely ready to walk into Moulin Rouge! The Musical purse first.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is now playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. Learn more at moulinrougemusical.com.
This article is part of OUT’s Jan-Feb 2026 print issue, which hits newsstands January 27. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.
