Upon entering 2/57 Willis Street, we are shown two rows of seats in front of a projector screen. Once seated, video appears on the screen as Piper Blaster: Dairy Queen introduces herself with a song. The mood is immediately lively as we are shown Piper’s local area in Te Awamutu. The video combines with real life as Piper Blaster emerges from behind the audience, continuing the song. What follows is a entertaining hour of songs, stories, videos, and a fabulous queen.

Piper sings many familiar tunes and plays the piano beautifully. Most of the tunes are familiar and range from Dolly Parton to The Little Mermaid, all with her own unique spin on them of course. She has a beautiful, strong singing voice that is a joy to listen to. Further vocal training may be helpful to further elevate her voice and take it to the next level. Piper’s great quality is her presence, she draws the audience in throughout the show with her magnetic personality.

When Piper Blaster needs to change, the audience is shown videos. These include her past performances and her auditions for RuPaul’s drag race (Spoiler: she definitely deserved to get in.)

A particular highlight is when the Queen talks about her past career as a chef and challenges herself to ice and decorate a sponge cake in 5 minutes to the tune of the song ‘Vogue’by Madonna. The segment itself is amazing, but what happens next is especially clever. Piper Blaster’s assistant proceeds to serve the cake to volunteers from the audience while the Queen gets changed and the audience watches a video. This is a brilliant transition that keeps the audience engaged with the video as well as each other (and the cake, of course). The cake itself tastes amazing and soon Piper re-emerges and the show continues. This master plan is the perfect way to entertain the audience during a longer transition.

The original wigs and costumes created by Piper Blaster are a testament to her talent. Elegant, opulent and gorgeous, each costume and wig does this Queen’s beauty justice. Her costumes in particular are astounding.

While the chaos of the show can be fun, it might be helpful to bring in an outside perspective to advise and possibly provide a bit of direction for the show as a whole so that the chaos is more organised.

Piper Blaster: Dairy Queen is a fantastic show and Piper is amazing. The way she can engage the audience and keep us laughing is beautiful. She brings a wonderful mix of rural charm and opulence. I hope to see her perform in Wellington again soon.

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