Gotta love Kornbread!
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 Miss Congeniality winner Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté shared a heartwarming story about how the Hairspray musical helped her understand her gender identity.
The original Hairspray musical was created by John Waters as a film in 1988. The movie was then adapted into a Broadway production that opened in 2002 and won eight Tony Awards the following year.
This week, a very particular memory was unlocked after Jeté recently watched fellow Drag Race alum Nina West perform in the musical as the character of Edna Turnblad. This touring production of Hairspray is currently playing in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre.
Jeté wrote in a tweet:
“People ask me, ‘When did you realize your gender identity?’ And I could never give a solid answer until now. I got to see Nina [West] in Hairspray tonight as Edna (flawless) and it unlocked a joyous moment in my life I was forced to suppress as a kid!”
Jeté continued:
“9th grade was the first time Tevin put on a dress in front of a crowd to perform. We danced to ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat,’ and I had the section Edna sang. That day was the day where I felt I was more than just a queer kid. And that was the first day I ever felt 100% COMFORTABLE.”
“I spent my life hating myself for not having the courage to love who I was. I trained myself to push that away. Fast forward to now…” the Drag Race star noted. “Hairspray was my origin story in discovering a part of me that didn’t deserve to be hidden!
“I’ve been in a very dark place lately, but tonight I learned to love myself more. Love what I do completely,” Jeté wrote. “Suppressed memories aren’t all bad, but suppressing your happy place can hurt. I wore a red 60s dress. And tonight, Nina as Edna, did. That coincidence woke me. Thank you.”
She went on: “After the performance, I kept it on as long as I could knowing that I’d be going home without it and without being able to express this new found joy I discovered even if it felt right. That was the last day I felt free. I forgot about this memory until last night.”
“[Nina West’s] art resonated to a part of me that I neglected to love. Edna taught me who I was in 9th grade. RuPaul’s Drag Race taught me to love the trans woman I am,” she explained. “Seeing a fellow Drag Race sister perform and unlock such a memory for me really completed the puzzle of ‘WHO AM I.’”
Jeté concluded with a tweet encouraging other people to go see West in this production of Hairspray, writing:
“[Hairspray] is in LA for 3 weeks. And I’m going as many times as I possibly can! Everyone should go! For me it unlocked such grand memory. Our stories may not be the same but the message they displayed tonight IS CURRENT AND REAL AND WELL DONE.”
Hairspray is playing at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles from May 2 to May 21, 2023.
