The legendary Murray Hill celebrates the release of his debut memoir with a special night of drag king antics.
Saturday October 10, 2026 at The Cutting Room
Icon MURRAY HILL rounds up some of America's favorite drag kings for a one-night-only special live event — THE KINGS IN NEW YORK! The guys will be serving up a no-holds-barred show packed with wild, steamy, shocking, and hilarious gender-defying performances — all in celebration of the long awaited release of Murray Hill’s debut memoir SHOWBIZ! MY LIFE AS A MIDDLE-AGED MAN from Simon & Schuster Gallery Books. KINGS IN NEW YORK will feature performances by Auckland, New Zealand's K. James; the legendary Mo B. Dick (John Waters' "Pecker"), former Mr. Bushwig Myster E Mel Kiki, and 2021 Entertainer of the Year at the Silver Tusk Burlesque Awards Uncle Freak* with DJ Half 'N Half (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Murray Hill).
THE KINGS IN NEW YORK will be presented Saturday, October 10 at The Cutting Room (44 E. 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016). Doors open at 6:30pm / show at 7pm. Tickets are $23 for general admission; $53 for general admission seating with a book and a meet-and-greet/signing; and $75 for Gold Circle VIP tickets that include reserved seating in the first two rows plus expedited m-&-g/signing. A limited number of books will also be available for purchase from Hive Mind Books of Brooklyn, NY at the event. Please note, there is an additional $25 food/drink minimum at all ticketing levels. Tickets are available at www.SpinCycleNYC.com
In his powerful debut memoir, SHOWBIZ! MY LIFE AS A MIDDLE-AGED MAN, beloved comedian Murray Hill (Somebody Somewhere) opens up for the first time about how a painful past led to an unwavering commitment to spread joy—one rimshot at a time. Warm, fearless, and laugh-out-loud funny, Showbiz! is Murray Hill’s story of survival, reinvention, and finding joy against the odds. Because when life hands you trauma, you turn it into a tight five. That’s Showbiz!
MURRAY HILL (aka Mister Showbiz) is a one-man entertainment machine: comedian, host, actor, writer, producer, and walking time capsule of classic showbiz charm. Television audiences know him as the lovable Fred Rococo on HBO’s award-winning Somebody Somewhere. NBC News selected him as one of modern history's 30 most iconic and influential drag performers, and he’s been included in New York magazine’s Fifty Most Iconic Gender Benders of All Time. His campaign for Mayor of New York in 1996 was inducted into the New York Historical Society. He was just awarded the Trailblazer Award from Queerty.His forthcoming memoir, Showbiz! My Life As a Middle-Aged Man will be released by Simon & Schuster Gallery Books on October 6 (now available for preorder at mistershowbiz.com). IG @murrayhill
K. JAMES is an award-winning transmasculine drag king who has been performing in New York City for 18 years. He has been a member of the renowned Brooklyn drag collective, Switch n' Play, since early 2008. He is featured alongside his fellow collective members in the feature-length documentary “A Night at Switch n’ Play,” which celebrated its world premiere at Toronto’s Inside Out Film Festival in 2019. He is also a featured cast member in Sasha Velour’s drag revue, NightGowns, appearing in NightGowns: the series as well as NightGowns: the Musical. Known for his suave stage presence and impeccable lip sync, he explores iconic masculine images through a queer and trans lens, inspiring sexual — and transsexual — awakenings every time he hits the stage. He was the winner of the very first Brooklyn Nightlife Award for Drag King of the Year in 2016, and he has performed at Lincoln Center, Bushwig, the Brooklyn Museum, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and New York Live Arts.
MO B. DICK, performer, producer, historian, has been a shape shifter in the global drag king community. This protuberant pioneer has been the subject of books, documentaries, periodicals, podcasts and more on drag kings. He’s been featured in John Waters film Pecker, the documentary Venus Boyz, The Drag King Book, Story Corps, NPR, The New York Times, and his website DragKingHistory.com is being archived in The U.S. Library of Congress.
MYSTER E MEL KIKI is a non binary Latinx drag king born in NYC raised in Jersey but you can find him slaying any and all stages. Former Mr. Bushwig giving you all the feels with the lip syncs and occasional live vocals. Proud member of the Haus of Kiki. He can be found throughout Jersey, Queens, Brooklyn and NYC (and anywhere else literally anywhere, he loves to travel!). If you’d like to follow him on this journey you may follow on Instagram @myster_e_mel
Hailing from the motherland, Uganda East Africa and now proudly based in Brooklyn, UNCLE FREAK has been breaking hearts one borough at a time. A trailblazing Drag King, he's the 2021 White Elephant Silver Tusk Entertainer of the Year, ranked #239 on Thotyssey's Top 300 NYC Performers, and has been featured in VICE, THEM, VOGUE and recognized by *BET* as one of the Top 40 Queer Nightlife Producers. Uncle Freak is a champion of Black, POC and queer artistry, curating electrifying variety shows that celebrate the incredible talent of Drag Kings in New York City and beyond. Follow him at @unclefreak2020
*lineup subject to change