Meet the Philly drag king competing in season 2 of ‘King of Drag’

Philadelphia’s drag scene returns to the TV spotlight this fall in season 2 of the reality competition show, King of Drag. For a second year in a row, the show has cast a Philly drag king: The new contestant is Cyrus K. Stratton.

The West Philly performer, whose offstage name is Simone Lawrence, follows drag king Henlo Bullfrog, who competed in last year’s inaugural season and landed in third place.

King of Drag premiered in 2025 on the LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry as the first show of its kind for drag kings following the yearslong success of RuPaul’s Drag Race and its many spin-offs. (Drag Race has also turned its attention to drag queens representing Philly recently, like Sapphira Cristal and Mandy Mango.)

The second season premieres on Sept. 20 with actor-comedian Cameron Esposito serving as host and competition judges including Our Flag Means Death actor Vico Ortiz, Drag Race alum Gottmik, and King of Drag cocreator Damian Pelliccione. A total of 10 contestants will face off in weekly challenges showcasing drag artistry, performance, and originality across eight episodes.

By day, Lawrence is a painter and art therapist. Originally from California’s Bay Area, she began performing drag while attending graduate school for psychology in Madison, Wisc. Typically an introvert who shied away from the spotlight, Lawrence found that drag provided a chance to explore and embrace her queerness.

“I’m a pretty quiet and shy person by nature, but stepping on stage, I felt empowered … just trying on a beard or a mustache gives you permission to play with gender, to wear what you want and look how you want,” said Lawrence, 35, who studied art therapy at Drexel University. “The stage was a space to feel liberated as a queer person. I think it gave me the opportunity to reclaim space or to take up space.”

She moved to Philadelphia about five years ago and has appeared on local stages with performances inspired by historic Black male artists like Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Barry White. She took up the name Stratton in honor of the drag king who first inspired her in Wisconsin, Kingston Stratton.

Cyrus Stratton has since become a fixture in the Philly drag community, working with Henlo Bullfrog to recruit and train amateur drag kings and producing all-drag king shows around the city. In an effort to build community with fellow Black drag kings in the city, Stratton combined his passion for painting and drag to create the 2024 exhibit “The Coronation” at Prism Arts Philadelphia; it featured portraits of local drag kings including Mister Right, Sir Suavey, and Mo Betta.

“I have seen the king scene grow since I’ve been here — prominent kings in Philadelphia take bigger stages and are more respected, accepted, and celebrated by the wider community,” said Lawrence. “For example, Fabrika [the drag performance space in Fishtown] only ever had [Drag Race] girls or the most prominent queens, and [last year] I was the first drag king to perform on that stage and sort of infiltrate that space.”

Appearing on King of Drag was an intense and stressful experience, but Lawrence believes the friendship she found while competing was worth it. She worked with a team of 10 designers from Philadelphia to prepare her outfits, songs, and choreography for the show.

As the premiere date nears, Lawrence is a bit nervous for all the attention, but she recognizes the power in representing Black drag kings on a national platform. She’s also excited to have Philly’s drag community supporting the show: Center City’s Franky Bradley’s bar will host weekly watch parties as the season progresses, so fans can see Stratton on screen and in person.

“People are still learning what it means to be a drag king and why people do kinging. It’s about challenging different stereotypes and archetypes of manhood and masculinity,” said Lawrence. “It’s just so important for so many of us [to have] an opportunity to maybe dismantle masculinity and dismantle the patriarchy, and give people sort of a new interpretation of what masculinity could be.”

‘King of Drag’ season 2 premieres Sept. 20 on Revry.