Meet: Drag Brunch Divas

Her yellow hair piled high and pink dress shimmering, “Amaya Sexton” struts down the stairs, hips swaying to Fergie. She spins in her heels, flaring out a satin cape as her long eyelashes brush against rouged cheeks. She glides through the long tables of cheering audience members who sip mimosas and curl loose dollar bills between their fingers. Leaning over, she clutches the money in ring-covered hands while kissing the sides of laughing faces.

It’s not your traditional weekend brunch.

Metro Nightclub & Restaurant, the venerable Mass Ave gay bar, has been serving up breakfast and a show at monthly drag brunches since January. The cast includes members of MASSterpiece Revue, the bar’s in-house troupe, as well as a few special guests, like sassy local queen “Pat Yo Weave” (who might leave some lipstick on your chest).

The cushioned seats fill up almost instantly when the doors open at noon on the second Saturday of every month, but that doesn’t stop more guests from crowding in and ordering glasses of something bubbly before lining up at the buffet. Don’t worry—you’ll burn off most of the eggs, bacon, and biscuits while dancing along to the busty, lip-syncing queens. A small platform below the stairs can’t contain the energy of these ladies: The whole bar’s a stage, so make sure to allow space for their leg kicks and hair whips.

This isn’t a scene for the shy. The later the day grows, the fiercer the dancing and the raunchier the moves. Some performers even warm up to sitting on laps or unbuttoning shirts. After watching a boisterous production number featuring a three-woman medley of Top 40 hits, be ready to hear some smack talk about who really nailed the Nicki Minaj sections. This might be a good time to go back for seconds.