photo credit: Staffby Mike Pingel
This past Tuesday was another exciting night at Hamburger Mary’s in West Hollywood. I was about to see their fabulous drag show, the Dream Girl’s Revue and interview the beautiful and talented Ingenue after she finished her duties as the show’s emcee. Not only is she one of West Hollywood’s leading drag divas, but Ingenue also stars in an all new, campy web soap entitled “Roads to Keystone,” currently on YouTube and at www.RoadsToKeystone.com.
In today’s shaky political climate, there is no need to flee to Canada when you are one click away from the escapism in Keystone, Canada, the fictional home of this all-male web soap. Set across Lake Ontario from Port Charles, New York (home of “General Hospital”), our neighbors to the north serve up shots of high camp and melodrama with a chaser of half-naked hunks and heavy drinkers.
Expect big hair, big costumes, and big drama as Roads To Keystone celebrates and exaggerates soaps of yesteryear. It mixes two parts Downton Abbey with a splash of The Carol Burnett Show. Ingenue herself plays the role of Annie Lester, an agoraphobic amnesiac who is desperate to remember her past. Superstar-in-the-making Brad Ulbrich plays dual roles as hunky hero Alec Sedgewick and hunky hillbilly Vernon Kestel.
Roads to Keystone has also nabbed a nomination for “Best Make-up” in the prestigious 8th annual Indie Series Awards.
Last week after the Dreamgirls Revue at Hamburger Mary’s, Ingenue and her hot co-star Brad Ulbrich sat down with yours truly for a Q&A:
Mike: You were wonderful tonight in The DREAMGIRLS Revue. What makes you happiest when performing?
Ingenue: “The audience gives me energy. I love making people feel good, giving them a break from their normal lives. Some girls can do ballads or serious numbers. Audiences don’t like that from me. They want me to do comedy with upbeat, pop music and I love that.”
Mike: What is special about performing at West Hollywood’s Hamburger Mary’s?
Ingenue: “Hamburger Mary’s – WeHo is just simply a blast! It’s light-hearted with birthdays, bachelorette parties, and people in the mood to party. It’s my fave!”
Brad Ulbrich and Ingenue /photo credit: StaffMike: Was it difficult to work with shirtless hunk, Brad Ulbrich?
Ingenue: No. When you see that well-built beefcake in front of you in a towel, oiled up or wearing the skimpiest Daisy Dukes; you know it’s show time. I act better when Brad’s naked so, as the star, I’m demanding more nudity from him. Do you think the viewers will be offended?
Mike: Back to Brad Ulbrich – Did you demand in your contract to have him shirtless in each scene?
Ingenue: “It was understood when Brad was asked to play the hero and the country bumpkin on the show that he would be shirtless, take lots of showers, work in a towel, or just wear undies. It’s exaggerated soap opera, and he’s a hunk who is also a damn good actor. In costume fittings, he is known to say, “Can we cut the sleeves off or get a small instead of a medium?”
Mike: When you are out and about in West Hollywood, what are your favorite places?
Ingenue: “The Chapel or The Abbey. Micky’s is fun too for the GO-GO snacks. For a stiff drink, it’s Motherlode!”
I caught up Brad Ulbrich, Ingenue’s co-star who spilled some juicy dirt:
photo credit: StaffMike: How was it working with your co-star, Ingenue?
Brad: “We can’t take each other seriously, especially when we are supposed to be flirting with each other. There are scenes where she disrobes me, and then we will look at each other longingly, and we film all the way to the point before we loose it and they have to call cut.”
Mike: Did you have to sleep with anyone to get into the new season?
Brad: “I slept with a lot of people, I’m not sure what it got me.”
Mike: I heard your contract said you had to be shirtless
Brad: I don’t know what to sign it, I was just told to sign it. We were role playing; I had a blindfold and a muzzle. She said nod you head for yes or shake your head for no. When I signed the contract, it was not signing with a pen more like drawing blood and leaking it on the contract.
For More on Ingenue:
For more info on Roads to Keystone:
Hamburger Mary’s
8288 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
Phone number (323) 654-3800
