Categories: Interviews (Film)

Interview: Eureka O’Hara (‘We’re Here’) and costume designer Patryq Howell on how drag is a family effort [VIDEO]

Published by
Share

On HBO’s We’re Here (think To Wong Foo meets Queer Eye), three queens of Drag Race royalty – Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka – descend on Smalltown USA to give one or more of its denizens not just a makeover but so much more.

Interview: Shangela and costume designer Diego Montoya talk out and proud examples of visibility in HBO’s ‘We’re Here’ [VIDEO]

Each week of the 6-episode series, which is available to stream on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and on HBO via HBO Max, finds the queens and their teams turning shy boys, devastated moms, local queens and strong allies into confident performers. Working with the community and families, they bring joy and love and empathy as they set upon creating a one-night only drag show experience of a lifetime.

Interview: Bob the Drag Queen and costume designer Domino of HBO’s ‘We’re Here’ on drag as a patchwork of all that you are [VIDEO]

In my final interview in the We’re Here series featuring Shangela and Bob with their designers, I spoke to Eureka O’Hara (aka David Huggard) and their designer Patryq Howell about the challenges and rewards of working with an incredible range of small town folks trying to expand their horizons like straight cis guy Clifton, work through the devastating trauma of suicide like mother and daughter Jasmine and Stacey and repair deep wounds like mom conservative mom turned ally Erica.

Through our conversation we touch on the importance of visibility, on the 7-year collaboration between Eureka and Patryq (whose 30-year career has been a lifelong work with queens across the country) and how drag doesn’t show who are you, it reveals who you are.

(Jakes Giles Netter / HBO)
(Jakes Giles Netter / HBO)
(Jakes Giles Netter / HBO)
(Jakes Giles Netter / HBO)
(Jakes Giles Netter / HBO)
Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

View Comments

Recent Posts

2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November)

The Gotham Awards came in strong for four of the already top contending supporting actors… Read More

November 21, 2024

Director Watch Podcast Ep. 72 – ‘Three Colours: Blue’ (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt… Read More

November 21, 2024

2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced feature films eligible for consideration… Read More

November 21, 2024

Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives

BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship new talent initiative supported by Netflix, offering a… Read More

November 21, 2024

Interview: Saoirse Ronan on Addiction, Recovery, and ‘The Outrun’ [VIDEO]

Addiction is a universal struggle and one oft explored in film and television. The Outrun,… Read More

November 21, 2024

Hans Zimmer, ‘Emilia Pérez,’ Diane Warren Top 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards

Triple was the buzz word of the 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards where Hans… Read More

November 21, 2024

This website uses cookies.