By Taylor Reynolds –

The Chez Est in Hartford, CT was home to the first competition of its kind, the Mx. Chez Comedy Legend, a new annual comedy competition that evaluates the contestants on three categories: talent, reading, and fashion. For those that don’t know the lingo, reading means roasting or teasing their judges or fellow contestants, an homage to the reading challenges that are done on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The competition was spearheaded and hosted by Connecticut’s self-proclaimed drag clown, Enigma Jones. The contestants consisted of a lineup of Connecticut’s funniest local talents: Rory Roux Lay, Frizzie Borden, Ethel DeLuxe, Ivanna, Gorganna Queen, Indica Fontaine and Sativa Sarandon, Boxa Crayonz and Daddius Rex.

Sitting on the judges’ panel were three of CT’s comedy queens, Mia E. Z’Lay, Kiki Lucia and Giganta Smalls. The room was packed and exuded excitement. The night began with the talent portion of the competition. Frizzie Borden illustrated her take on Death that portrayed the Grim Reaper as being a tiresome nine-to-five job. Her reveal of the exact same black robe beneath her original robe also had the room in stitches, and if you know Frizzie, you know that both robes were fully stoned. Frizzie’s drag mother and judge Giganta Smalls commented, “I thought you were really so good at being yourself, this is THE Frizzie number,” between giggles.

Ivanna came out on stage and started tap dancing like Shirley Temple while the infamous track ‘Throat Goat’ by Kim Petras boomed in the background. She served the crowd a dirty side of Shirley that included outfit reveals, wig reveals, and lollipops flying literally everywhere. Ethel DeLuxe wowed the audience by doing something completely unexpected with her stand-up routine filled with jokes about her fellow queens and drag family members. Boxa Crayonz stunned us all with her modern dance skills to a hilarious Super Mario Bros. mix.  

Another standout in the talent category was Indica Fontaine and Sativa Sarandon’s skit portraying Lady Gaga and Nancy Reagan, back from the grave, who have been putting humans in Chromatica Oreos. The skit was ended with a mash-up of the song ‘Kill the Lights’ by Alex Newell. However, it was a parody which swapped the words with “kill the whites” to imply it was their special ingredient. It was as chaotic as it sounds but hilarious. According to Giganta, “No one can radicalize Nancy Reagan like you can,” speaking to Sativa, and Kiki told the crowd, “I don’t even know what the f*ck just happened, but it was so entertaining.”

The next part of the evening was the reading challenge that was packed with funny jokes and roasts about others who had attended the event. Rory kicked off this category mentioning the new Barbie movie and how even though she enjoyed all the representation being shown, she felt there was still some lacking. Rory explained, “I was a little upset I didn’t get to see myself represented. Where was Alcoholic Tranny Barbie? Fortunately, though, she’s with us tonight, Ethel DeLuxe, how are you doing?” and then the room roared. Another highlight of the reading portion of the night was Frizzie Borden when she pointed out “Enigma was a professional clown, but her act was a little less Bozo, and little more John Wayne Gacy,” comparing her to the infamous American serial killer, as Enigma Jones was in head-to-toe drag clown attire standing right next to her.

Another entertainer who took the reading challenge very seriously was Ivanna. She was quick to remind everyone that this is a roast and it’s going to be offensive. While true, she sent the crowd into hysterics immediately by thanking them all for coming to “the anything-but-beauty pageant.” She went on to say that she learned on vacation that Enigma has sleep apnea because “this motherf*cker snores so f*cking loud, she woke Helen Keller.” And to close out the reading portion of the night, Daddius Rex, despite not knowing the contestants that he was about to read very well, had some amazingly funny content up his sleeve. While the delivery was a little quiet, the laughter rang loud.

The last category of the night highlighted the contestant’s fashion skills. The first look to showcase was created by Rory Roux Lay herself. Rory affixed a mannequin head to hang between her legs and made her arms into feet and feet into hands, to give the illusion that she was walking upside down. Frizzie’s outfit was made completely from what looked like knitting yarn, finished with knitting needles accessorized in her hair. An incredibly stunning outfit made by Gorganna Queen herself that hit the runway gave everyone an entire DeLorean moment when she came out in a larger-than-life sparkling silver dress perfected with LED lights and a license plate on her bum.

Standing out in the fashion category was the daring runway performed by Indica Fontaine and Sativa Sarandon as they rocked big folding fans and attached to the backs of their skirts, were typography illustrating bold, potentially-controversial statements. Indica and Sativa were joined by their most loyal drag pup, Leo, in leash and collar. While up on the stage, an audio recording of the pair played in the background that stated, “The losers and the freaks win everything, anyway.”

To close out the night, the judges and host performed a comedic routine, while backstage decisions were being made as to who would be the top two contestants. Mia could easily have won ‘corniest judge’ because the outfit she was wearing was printed entirely with corn cobs. Kiki showed love to the famous RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant BenDeLaCreme number where she was wearing extremely long tassel pasties. Giganta’s routine included the famous monologue from the movie ‘In & Out’ right after the scene where Emily is denied marriage. Enigma finished off the night with an entertaining skit about the Macy’s Day Parade balloons deflating all over the city, even crashing into fellow entertainer Perry Winkle in the crowd, earning many laughs.

After all the numbers were tallied, the top two were announced: Frizzie Borden and the duo Indica Fontaine and Sativa Sarandon! While everyone did an astounding job at Mx. Chez Comedy Legend, the winner was announced as comedy couple Indica and Sativa! They won a cash prize of $500, the reigning title of Mx. Comedy Legend 2023, as well as a sash and trophy.

Click here to check out all the photos in the events gallery from Mx. Chez Comedy Legend 2023, at the Chez Est in Hartford, CT.