Introducing Vicious Pryce, the Denver drag king sensation, who brings a unique and thrilling experience to every performance. With a style that is dark, twisted, and often anti-religious, Vicious Pryce’s shows are unlike any other in the drag world. This drag king pushes boundaries and challenges societal norms, using horror and shock value to captivate audiences and leave them wanting more. From the elaborate costumes to the intricate makeup, Vicious Pryce’s attention to detail is unmatched. So if you’re looking for an unforgettable and exhilarating drag experience, look no further than Vicious Pryce.
Vicious Pryce is the winner of the 2023 Mr. Eggplant competition, where 8 of Denver’s finest drag kings came to take the throne of best. You may have seen the burlesque alter ego, Siouxsie Cupcakes at any number of shows. He was also the winner of a round on WEIRDO!!! Check out his Instagram for booking info and performances.
Interview with Viscious Price: The Eggplant Drag King
GayDenver: How would you describe Vicious Pryce? Do you have a style of drag?
Vicious Pryce: He’s born out of love…of a marriage between punk, rap, and horror. I like dark themes laced with humor. I want to show the parts of humanity we don’t like to look at. Viscous is my way of poking fun or highlighting the absurdity of religion and society. He likes to stick it to the man.
GayDenver: How do you identify?
Vicious Pryce: I identify as a pansexual woman but I love playing with gender.
GayDenver: Tell us about yourself. Where are you from, that whole jazz?
Vicious Price: I was born and raised here. I grew up mostly in Conifer which is up in the mountains and then moved to Summit county in the last few years of high school. I always did like theater tech stuff, but I was always more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person. I went to the Art Institute of Colorado for video production and started kind of getting more used to being in front of the camera and all that kind of stuff. My database of video editing is 15 years old.
GayDenver: How long have you been doing drag?
Vicious Price: When Weirdo was at Gladys and I went to that show and immediately fell in love. Eventually, I got up the balls to compete. I was doing burlesque for 4 years before that. I was already comfortable on stage and I had always wanted to do drag. I never felt like I could until I was going to the WEIRDO shows. This was my opportunity. I get to be celebrated for being different, you know, not doing lambs and Lady Gaga. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I’m stranger than that.
GayDenver: What did you think of the Mr. Eggplant competition? What made it different? What made it significant?
Vicious Price: I don’t feel like the drag community values drag kings. I feel like we are often written off as being low-effort or don’t have to try as hard as drag queens. Drag kings have to go to every stage and almost prove themselves more than anyone else does. I’ve seen judges give kings low scores simply because they were kings. That’s happened to me before! It wasn’t always just because they didn’t like the act, it was too predictable.
My dressing up as a man may not be as inherently glamorous doesn’t mean it can’t be or that I don’t put just as much effort into my transformations. Every drag persona is a caricature with subtle and obvious traits. I can be full of an artistic story and be aboveboard.
That’s why I love Dustin Schlong and all the amazing work he’s been doing for this community. The Mr. Eggplant pageant was a win for this community. It proved that drag kings can draw a crowd by themselves.
GayDenver: Can you talk about your Mr. Eggplant act and the inspiration behind it?
Vicious Price: One of the performers that were in my Mr. Eggplant act, I also did a burlesque act with her. In that act, I was Jesus as a sub and she was a priest that was a dog. The producer gave us the initial idea of what if the Holy Ghost was seducing Mary. The idea sprang to life. I wanted the Holy Ghost to be a f-boy and make it douchey. Having a simp Joseph in the corner just really sold the absurdity of everything.
GayDenver: What does drag mean to you?
Vicious Price: For me, drag is a way to play with dealing with death through art, or celebrating types of death and aspects of life. When I was 16, I became extremely depressed, to the point where I made a suicide attempt. I’ve gotten better since then but Vicious was a safe fun way for me to explore that.
With Vicious I can make it what I want it to be. I can make it dark, ironic, entertaining, or humorous. I call myself the ‘Undead Drag King of Denver’ because the core intent behind my acts is often very dark but with very light and funny twists and executions. It’s been amazing, I’ve had a lot of fun.
With my burlesque, I never had a clear idea of who Soiuxsie was or wasn’t—as like a character or performer. With Vicious, however, I jumped, went straight in, and knew exactly what I wanted to do. I’ve known how to bring him into every kind of performance that I’ve done.
GayDenver: If you could put anything on a billboard what would it be?
Vicious Price: “F the government and eat the rich”
GayDenver: Anything you would like to say to the readers?
Vicious Price: I guess I would just tell people representation matters. Especially as white people, we need to give space to other people. I think that’s a huge point on which I live and stand as a producer and a performer. Whether that means you have multiple genders in your show or that means you have different races or ethnicities in your shows. We are such an amazing and diverse community, we can do better.
Read our interview with Mr. Eggplant’s creator: Dustin Schlong. Dustin is a huge proponent of the Denver drag king scene.
Author: Jeff Wilson
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