Wichita State grad, local stage veteran to compete on new season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’
A Wichita State University graduate and veteran of many Wichita stages, will appear on the new season of the hit show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” when it premieres on Friday.
Or rather his alter ego — the pink-haired drag queen Rosé — will.
Ross McCorkell, a 31-year-old performer from New York City, is one of 13 contestants who will compete on the 13th season of the show, an Emmy-winning VH-1 staple that sets out to find “America’s next drag superstar.” It premieres at 7 p.m. on Friday.
But before he was Rosé, McCorkell was a well-known Wichita performer who earned rave reviews from Wichita Eagle Theatre critic Bob Curtright and from his fellow thespians.
McCorkell, 31, is Scottish born, but he was enrolled in the WSU School of Performing Arts by 2008. A story published in the Eagle in 2012 said he was set to graduate in December of that year.
While at WSU, he appeared in many productions, including 2008’s “Waltzing in Heaven,” a bluegrass/country musical about the 1970 plane crash that killed half of the Wichita State football team, and 2012’s “She Loves Me.”
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In his free time, he performed with other local theater groups, and in 2011, Curtright praised his turn in Crown Uptown Professional Dinner Theatre’s production of “White Christmas,” in which McCorkell played Phil.
“McCorkell is the sidekick, but he’s such a terrific dancer with a solid voice and grin that he steals attention even when performing in ensemble,” Curtright wrote.
Sometime after graduation, McCorkell made his way to New York City, where he hoped to appear on Broadway, Rosé tells the cameras during an interview for the new “Drag Race” season.
That didn’t happen, but he got into drag performing and joined a trio called Stephanie’s Child. The group appeared on Season 14 of “America’s Got Talent” in 2019, when members verbally sparred with judge Simon Cowell.
Stephanie’s Child also performed on the Season 13 finale of “The Voice,” which aired in 2017.
In an interview for “Drag Race,” Rosé says that she chose her drag name because she loves rosé wine and the color pink, and she described her style as camp but glamorous.
She detailed how she got her start in drag later than most performers and found success fast. She made the show after only her second time auditioning.
“I came up really quickly in the scene, and I think there are misconceptions that I don’t deserve what I achieved,” she says.
Wayne Bryan, the producing director of MTW, said he clearly remembers directing McCorkell when he was a Wichita actor. Bryan was the director of two shows McCorkell appeared in at WSU — “She Loves Me” and “Carnival” in 2011 — and McCorkell also was a member of the company for MTW’s 2011 summer season.
McCorkell was a “triple threat,” Bryan said, because he could act, sing and dance. No matter the role he gave him, McCorkell pulled it off with ease.
Though Bryan never saw McCorkell perform in drag, he said he’s sure he’d be good at that, too. He’s looking forward to watching the season.
“He was able to turn on the showbiz and had extraordinary showmanship, and that certainly is a part of successful drag performance,” Bryan said.
To celebrate McCorkell, Crown Uptown Theatre at 3207 E. Douglas is hosting weekly watch parties throughout this season of the show, starting on Friday. The venue is calling the event “Queens at the Crown” Reservations are required for the watch parties but admission is free. Only 90 people will be admitted each week. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the show airs at 7 p.m. Reserve a spot at www.crownuptown.com.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Wichita State grad, local stage veteran to compete on new season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’."
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