Delighted Tobehere is celebrating a milestone in her drag performance career.
“I turned 25 in drag years on February 22nd of this year,” Tobehere laughs. “So I am in the middle of a celebration year. It’s my silver jubilee, and I’m traveling all over the country with a brand new show called BDE, which stands for Big Delighted Energy.”
The BDE 25th anniversary cabaret comes to Bar Argon in Charlotte for a 6:00 p.m. presentation on Sunday, May 24.
But that’s not all: over the next several weeks she’ll take to the stage with shows at Central Virginia Pride in Lynchburg, Tidal Wave Weekend in Palm Springs, California and then a two-show presentation back in North Carolina at the Hendersonville Theater in Hendersonville.
“So this is going to be a heavy hitter for me over the next six weeks,” Tobehere explains.
“The show is effectively a greatest hits review. I’ll sing some of my favorite songs, lip sync a couple of numbers just because, there will be a Q&A segment, and I’ll share stories about my experiences of being a drag queen for a quarter of a century.”
Tobehere says she has specific numbers she’ll perform at the beginning and end but the rest she plans to play it as it goes.
“I would venture to say that you’re going to get some country music, as a tip of the hat to my time on America’s Got Talent. You’re going to get some Broadway from my experiences in the theatrical world. You’ll get some good old classics from Minelli and Sinatra, and you’re going to get a whole bunch of queerness along with a souffle of some serious heart.”
With the recent celebration of legendary pop icon Cher’s 80th birthday, Tobehere promises there will be some material from one of her favorite LGBTQ+ allies. “Absolutely,” she insists. “Cher means so much to so many. Talent, resilience, confidence and success in business. You can definitely expect some Cher.”
Tobehere makes no bones about her identity as a performing drag queen and his identity as a man named Clay Smith. “There’s so much more to me, so much more to all of us who do this, than just being a drag queen. I want everyone to learn that, and I hope some of what I do brings that message to our community.”
For the uninitiated, Smith/Tobehere is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, but lived and performed in Charlotte for several years before making a move back to the hometown. “There are so many things I like about it,” he offers. “But I also enjoy performing at different locations here, across the country and wherever I can and when it’s possible.”
At six-foot-four, Smith/Tobehere towers over practically everyone and he’s a commanding presence both in and out of drag. Surprisingly, despite the crowds he draws and the enjoyment he gets out of stage performance, it would seem his personality is a mix of intro- and extrovert.
“I love being an uncle to a niece and three nephews,” Smith told writer L’Monique King in the Qnotes column Our People last year. “I love that I don’t have any kids. I enjoy laughter and spending time with friends and groups no larger than five. Clay is a small group person. Even Delighted, in the busiest club or sold out theater, is not the one bumping elbows with everyone. She’s on stage with plenty of space around her. It’s my business to entertain crowds, but if you’d like to connect with me, please invite me to coffee.”
Smith/Tobehere confirms making audiences laugh is a special kind of reward. As for those many years of performance, he had this to say: “This is as much about a thank you to the people who have supported me for 25 years, as it is a check list of accolades. When people ask me, ‘why have you been performing for so long?’ My answer is because y’all keep coming. Y’all keep laughing. Y’all keep buying tickets and y’all keep cheering.”
For more information about Delighted Tobehere, visit the website https://www.imdelightedtobehere.com or check out social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
