With 2.4M TikTok followers and 457K followers on their hit show Gaydar, Anania has become the internet’s beloved queer history teacher, interviewing everyone from Chappell Roan to Sarah Kate Ellis, the President and CEO of GLAAD, while making LGBTQ+ education accessible, digestible, and funny. But her role as Heaven in the Sia and Honey Dijon-scored musical Saturday Church at New York Theatre Workshop reveals another dimension of their artistry: a triple threat, drag queen, and makeup artist who brings authenticity and humor to a character navigating chosen family, community, and survival. We sat down with Anania to discuss chosen family, juggling multiple hats, and why Heaven’s story matters right now.
Chloe Yang (CY): Heaven has such fun moments in the show. Was she the role you auditioned for? What was the audition process like?
Anania (A): Yes, she was. The process was an audition, callback, another callback, dance call, and then just waiting to hear back from them. I actually read for Heaven during the reading too, which was amazing. So I knew that I resonated a lot with the character coming into the room.
CY: How has the role evolved from that reading to now?
A: I mean, I think this is version seven, eight, or nine of the show. What we have now is really solid on the core topics of the show, such as acceptance, grief, and all the good stuff.
CY: Did you have input on how Heaven talks and develops?
A: The cool thing about Whitney White is that she’s always willing to hear what we have to say. Whitney and the music and writing teams were very open to suggestions, which was really nice in terms of letting me have a part in the room and getting a chance to create a character that is authentic to not only me, but authentic to the world we were building.
CY: What’s been most gratifying about playing Heaven? There’s that moment when Ebony says she got Heaven on her feet when she showed up “looking like a lost puppy,” and Heaven retorts, “I wasn’t lost.” How do you think about her backstory?
A: What’s really cool about her is that me and her would probably get along really well. We have a lot of things in common. In one of the drafts, it was mentioned that she had a hard time with her family, especially her mother, when she was living in the South. All of these things are very relatable to me.
When it comes to who she is in her day-to-day, I think she’s definitely one to use comedy as a way to cope and to navigate the world, especially with her intersections of being a Black queer woman. We never say in the show that we’re trans, which I really appreciate, because it’s just a matter of: Here are these women who are trying their hardest to make something good for their community. I think that’s part of the message, a core tenet.
CY: Are these characters based on real people from St. Luke in the Fields Church, which inspired the show?
A: I think there are archetypes that Damon Cardasis was running off of, but you’d have to ask him for specifics there. The coolest part about the script is that these people and the things they’re going through feel real—I mean, except for the dance floor Jesus. But it’s also a musical where none of the trans people are dying, and the gay people find love. It’s a feel-good musical in the way that it will work out in the end, and the first thing we need to do is accept and love each other.
CY: When Ulysses met Raymond, I was rooting for them but also bracing for tragedy. So relieved they ended up doing right by each other!
A: Think about how many straight pieces of media have a wedding at the end, or a kiss goodbye, or some kind of heterosexual thing that’s beaten down and used over and over again. It’s nice that we can see an example of that in a queer setting.
CY: What about Heaven pushed you outside your comfort zone?
A: She’s definitely much braver than I am in my day-to-day. I also think her fashion sense is very much more forward than I am, even though I try to keep up. There’s a certain willingness to speak her mind that I’m working on. I’m learning from her just from doing this role.
CY: What’s Heaven’s big dream in life?
A: We actually joke about this in the show a lot about how we don’t really talk about what Heaven’s doing or what she wants. She probably works part-time at a Wendy’s or something. I think we see in the show too that Heaven has a better affinity for running Saturday Church than Dijon does. So I think that’s the biggest dream she might have—that she’s able to carry on the legacy that Sasha started, that Ebony continues.
CY: I love how Heaven and Dijon contrast without being traditional foils.
A: I agree. Working with Caleb Quezon, it’s definitely more fun to see how they relate to each other and their wants and what they think of the situations at any given moment. We balance each other out very well.
CY: What’s it been like working with Whitney White?
A: Well, Whitney White is an actual icon. Even seeing her in the room, I was freaking out. My first exposure to her was seeing Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, and then when I saw her in person, I literally was gobsmacked and nervous to even start singing. So especially with Whitney, I was so honored to even be a part of something that had someone so prolific, talented, and smart in the theater craft of it all.
CY: Do you do your own makeup for the show?
A: There’s a makeup supervisor—she’s great. But I do my own makeup. I’m also a makeup artist outside of the show. Just my own drag, mostly, but I have also done other people’s makeup, especially for photo shoots and that kind of thing.
CY: Do you have a signature look?
A: I definitely like to switch it up all the time. I think it’s really cool to try different things within the art of transformation. But I have some staples. I love red blush, I love cat eyeliner, a full lash, that kind of stuff. People recognize me from my makeup with certain things. Especially when I’m in drag, I do a really bright white inner corner. But I haven’t been doing drag in a while, so I kind of miss that.
CY: How do you think about balancing theater and drag in your career?
A: I’m not able to do drag while I’m doing Saturday Church. So I’m taking a sabbatical, a hiatus from drag right now. But I think I will always want to do drag, I’ll always want to do theater, and there’s room to do both, and eventually I’ll probably be doing both on stage.
CY: Did you perform under a separate drag name?
A: I just go by Anania.
CY: How do you separate your stage presence from real life?
A: My stage presence is kind of just an extension of myself, so I don’t have that large of a separation. Some other people transform into drag creatures. I think of it the same way that I would approach doing theater, as a character for the night.
CY: What would Heaven do for Halloween?
A: I’m sure she would do something slutty, maybe Catwoman.
CY: Shoes were such a motif in the show. Are you a shoe collector? Has anyone gifted you meaningful shoes?
A: Honestly, I own a lot of shoes. I wouldn’t say I’m a connoisseur, but I remember getting a pair of heels for drag one time, and it really did make my day. It’s a testament to someone seeing me for who I am and what I want, which is really nice.
CY: I read about your Midwest upbringing—you mentioned you never came out to your parents? When did you start building your chosen family?
A: It is true—I don’t really talk to my parents that often. It’s been about meeting people who I knew would be considered family for the rest of my life. I think that’s where it started. And then especially in NYC, my direct community are people who are trying their best to become the best versions of themselves. I think the most beautiful part about having a found family is that we have to fight for it all the time. It’s not intrinsic—I mean, it’s intrinsic to want to build community, but we constantly choose each other, which I really appreciate.
CY: That resiliency and understanding—honestly, a lot of people don’t even have that with their original family.
A: And in Saturday Church, we see that very strongly. Dijon, Heaven, and Ebony—those girls have each other’s backs and that’s it. And then when Ulysses comes to join, and Raymond, I think it’s very natural for them to accept them for who they are and bring them into the family.
CY: On Gaydar, your looks are so thought-out! Traditionally hosts dress down to not outshine the star. How do you think about that balance? And where do you find the time and resources?
A: Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I think it’s just mostly fun for me, and I think it’s a good way to express myself. I always try to present myself in the best way that I can, especially online. I don’t have a lot of time or resources, so it’s just a matter of things I’ve accrued over the years. I’ve gotten styled one time for the show, and it’s been so helpful in terms of having different items and articles that I can put together. I think the most fun thing about fashion, at least for me, is the assembly. What can I put together in a cohesive way? That’s the thing I’m most excited about.
CY: How did Mutuals Media approach you about Gaydar, their first show? Did you already have a huge following before that?
A: I’d been doing it for four years before Mutuals reached out to me to become the host of their show. I had 2.3 million followers on TikTok, and I think I was at 180,000 to 185,000 on Instagram, and 90,000 on Twitter as well. Being a content creator before Gaydar did a good job of letting me diversify my audience.
CY: What about their pitch stood out to you?
A: I think it was a right place, right time thing. And also the concept was really creative and different, and I felt well-equipped to take it on.
CY: How do you and Amelia Montooth divide creative versus business responsibilities?
A: Amelia is the founder and CEO of Mutuals Media, and she does handle creative direction as well. We have a writer Brooke Finegold, editor Andrew Bourne, and producers Roman Papademetriou and Emmet Sandberg. It’s a very small team with really talented people. We’re all trying to make something that’s really good.
CY: You weave politics and queer history into everything. How do you balance education with entertainment?
A: It’s just a matter of keeping true to the message of the show. I think the thing that makes me a good host, and what I bring from my personal content into Gaydar, is my ability to educate and relate to people through comedy. We also have to realize that we’re not taught queer culture. So this is not a moment for us to be harsh on someone for not knowing what queer culture might be, but taking it to be a positive thing. If you didn’t know before, the audience probably didn’t know either—how do we move forward together and give people the chance to learn something new?
I think what’s really cool about Gaydar is that it teaches people that education and the political sphere doesn’t need to be dire or hard to come by, and that it’s okay for us to not know things and to change our minds with new given information.
CY: Do people recognize you on the street? How do you manage fame while staying chronically online and maintaining self-care?
A: When people recognize me on the street, 99% of the time it’s a really good experience. So I’m really proud of the bubble of supporters that I have. I will say it is a little jarring, just because it’s such a culture shock from how I grew up. I never expected to be known by so many people in this kind of capacity. So I’m very grateful for that opportunity. And it’s been nice to actually connect with people in real life, people who support me and have supported me for a long time.
CY: How do you actually juggle everything?
A: It’s really hard. I’m constantly trying to fight for balance. I’m also a Google Calendar warrior, so that’s kind of how I’ve been getting through—being extremely anal about where and when I need to be places. I’ve also just been really honest with myself and the people who are reaching out to me about what I have bandwidth for, and I’m getting really good at saying no.
CY: How has your approach to opportunities shifted since content creation? What can young theater professionals learn from that?
A: I think the only way out is through. I feel most prepared when I have experience in the field. Now it’s just a matter of not starting with a white canvas and actually making steps to do the things you want to do. That’s my biggest advice. Especially with content creation, I was so hungry to make it something that outlasts me. As soon as I saw myself growing a following, I really started to make a long-term plan about what this could lead to and how to get it there.
CY: What’s next after Saturday Church?
A: I have a lot of plans. Broadway has been my ultimate goal for so long now. I want to give myself an actual shot at that. I want to start my own late-night show. I want to make my own monthly drag show. I am in the works to have a monthly, or quarterly, live show as well—just things to immortalize and centralize my message.
Saturday Church is now playing at New York Theatre Workshop through October 24. On Instagram, you can follow @SaturdayChurchMusical for show updates, @anania00 for Anania’s journey, and @GaydarShow for new episodes every Monday and Friday.
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