LAS VEGAS — Drag was “underground” when drag legend Frank Marino first headlined a show at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1985.
“People come to Las Vegas and go see strip shows like the Chippendales and Crazy Girls, and then they see a drag show,” Marino told USA TODAY.
As the longtime Sin City performer prepares to take his final bow at “Frank Marino’s Divas Drugs and Drinks” at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas before retiring on May 31, he reflected on nearly four decades of change in both his act and the city itself.
“You don’t notice the changes unless you look at the history, because we’ve done it gradually, but there’s been a big change in the way everything has been done on the show since the beginning,” Marino said.
From underground to “mainstream”
During the 41 years that Marino took to the stage in Las Vegas, drag rose from underground to household popularity. He said he feels he is “part of the history of drag and bringing drag into the mainstream.”
“People were coming in before me and opening the windows. We came in and threw the doors open, and I think people like RuPaul took it into the stratosphere,” Marino said. “There’s really a drag show on every street corner right now… there’s a drag run going on somewhere in your town.”
He noted that the show has evolved from relying on celebrity impersonations to now combining impersonations with original characters. Although Marino retired his signature Joan Rivers impression after her death, his “Frank Marino” character still carries on with his long-running alter ego.
For Marino, the key to staying relevant over the decades was the ability to reinvent the show.
“I try to make it interesting for myself, because I think if I’m on stage and interested in what I’m doing and what’s around me, they might be interested as well,” he said.
Changing city and audience
During his time as a headliner, Marino has performed at venues including the Riviera, the Imperial Palace (now the Link), the Tropicana, and the Westgate, according to a profile in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Two of the hotels have since been demolished. The Riviera site is now part of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall and surrounding parking garage, and the Tropicana has been cleared for use as the future home of the Las Vegas A’s.
Marino said because the way casinos make money has changed, so has the way the city does business with performers.
“Back then, you would come to Las Vegas and the hotel would pay you to put on a show and pay all the advertising costs…we would put on a show and they would make money on the casino floor,” Marino said. “Now we have multiple shows in hotels and it’s becoming more of a rental thing. A lot of shows are renting out (show) rooms and throwing the dice and gambling on themselves and trying to draw people in.”
He called the Las Vegas crowd “the hardest crowd to please.” The reason for this is that on any given night, the audience is a melting pot of tourists. Still, the audience has changed over the decades, he said.
“If you look outside, what used to be furs and gowns and jewelry is now fanny packs and flip-flops,” Marino said. “Sometimes I feel a little silly when I’m wearing a beautiful Bob Mackie dress that I wear on the show, but then the audience is very casual.”
But he said people who watch his shows continue to have high expectations, whether they’re wearing tuxedos or T-shirts.
“You have to be a smart person and well-educated to know a lot about what’s going on, especially pop culture, so you can meet the expectations of the audience,” he said.
What’s next for drag icons?
Marino said his next move will be as a Las Vegas content creator, drawing on his decades of experience on the Strip and around Las Vegas.
“I’ve lived as a tourist in Las Vegas for the past 41 years, so I really hope that I can give the knowledge and the joy and joy that I’ve gained from being here to someone who’s here on vacation and only had three days to experience what I’ve experienced for 41 years,” Marino said.
When asked what he would say to performers who want to follow in his footsteps in Sin City, he said he’s ready for a change.
“Nothing stays the same. If you think something is going to last forever, it isn’t,” Marino said. “Be prepared to take the blow, make a change, and make that change work for you.”
