In Maxie’s high heels, emerging drag queen finds her theater footing
The first time she laid eyes on the SexBomb Girls—all fierce and captivating as they strutted in their cute little outfits on the noontime show “Eat Bulaga!”—she knew right then that one day, she’d be just as fabulous a performer onstage.
“They were my gay awakening,” said Jamila Rivera, an emerging drag queen from Naga City and the star of the new musical “Dalaga na Si Maxie”—her first outing in a mainstream stage production.
Alone in her room, in front of the television, she would dance like her favorite member, Rochelle Pangilinan, cranking that “spaghetti pababa at pataas.” “While I watched them, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Gusto ko ‘yan! Gusto kong mag-boots, gusto kong mag-crop top!’” she told Lifestyle. “I wanted to do whatever they did.”
That was only the beginning. As she grew up, and with every passing year, she discovered new role models who ignited her interest in music. There was Beyoncé, whom she “absolutely loves,” and Regine Velasquez, whose popular ballads she would later perform as an aspiring singer.
While Rivera was happy honing her talent and gaining experience by singing at various events, she felt she had more to give—that maybe she was meant for something bigger. In college, as a communications student at the Ateneo de Naga University, she heard the call of theater. She heeded it, eventually becoming a member of the school organization Dulaang Agabaab.
“My passion for theater was a more recent discovery. I became fascinated by the actors. I wanted to try it. I wanted to maximize everything I could do onstage,” said Rivera, 25.
Before she knew it, she was immersed in this newfound world. “I realized there’s more to performing than I ever imagined. Theater is about telling narratives and staying faithful to them. That inspired me and made me think that this is what I wanted to do,” she said.
Transformative
Perhaps it was her affinity for truth and the transformative power of storytelling that inevitably led her to drag—the colors, the spectacle, the unapologetic celebration of self. In 2023, she began by helping organize drag events. Soon after, she became an opening act. The following year, with the support of her drag sisters, Jamila stepped into the spotlight for the first time at a Pride event organized by Bicol Drag PH.
Rivera was never short on faith in her artistry. But in assuming her drag persona and its trappings—dramatic makeup, flowing locks, dazzling costumes—she unleashed a kind of confidence previously unknown to her: raw, unshakable, radiating from within.
“I didn’t feel this kind of confidence when I was performing prior to drag. It’s like I’m in my own world. I feel like myself,” said Rivera, who stood out not for riotous skits or campy theatrics, but for the power of her singing voice.
And that sense of joy and wonder, Rivera said, conjured up pictures of her younger self in front of the television, spellbound by the SexBomb Girls. “It’s the feeling I’ve been looking for since I was a kid and saw them for the first time—the feeling came back.”
In J+ Productions and Peta Plus’ “Dalaga na Si Maxie,” Rivera sees her two worlds collide. The new musical—which builds on the legacy of the trailblazing LGBTQ+ indie film “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” (2005)—leans into the flair and bombast of drag, as it ushers Maxie Oh into a “glitter-filled, heartbreak-prone, and fabulously complicated world.”
The story takes place five years after Maxie’s coming of age in “Maxie the Musical” (2013). Now, she must navigate the complexities of love and identity, all while finding her shine on the drag stage—an arc that mirrors Rivera’s own reality as a young hopeful who flew to Manila to chase her dreams and find her place in the industry she had long yearned to be part of.
“I auditioned without a particular role in mind. But once at the Peta Theater, I realized that Maxie had yet to be cast. They were looking for someone who could really sing. ‘Hala, parang keri ko ‘yun!’ I thought,” Rivera recalled.
Happy coincidence
She didn’t overthink it. Buoyed by the support of her drag sisters, she opened her mouth and let her voice out—Velasquez’s version of “Araw Gabi.” She got the role.
“Nilakasan ko loob ko and just did what I believe I’m good at,” she said. “Of course, my contest piece was a Regine song. And I was surprised to learn that in the musical, Maxie also sings ‘Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka’—another Regine classic. It was such a happy coincidence, just like how Maxie and I are both still on the road to self-discovery.”
“Dalaga na Si Maxie,” running until June 22 at Illumination Studio in Makati City, is directed by Melvin Lee and written by Julia Icawat Enriquez and Mikaundre Gozum Santos, with musical direction and original songs by JJ Pimpinio. Equal parts drag, musical, and call to action, the show blurs the line between stage and audience, creating an intimate, interactive space celebrating queer joy, radical love, and the subversion of societal norms.
“Paandar. Palaban. Pasabog.” That’s what the show promises. “The musical is so much fun, and it’s more fun working with such amazing talents,” said Rivera, who’s joined by fellow drag queens Zymba Ding, Corazon, Mrs. Tan, Winter Sheason Nicole, and actors Jem Manicad, Gerhard Krystoppher, and Gabriel Villaruel.
That the show opened during Pride Month isn’t lost on Rivera. Playing Maxie, and everything she represents, isn’t just a privilege but a responsibility. “It’s our duty to tell of children like Maxie who must dream against all odds,” she said.
By the time the show closes, she hopes to have inspired not only queer youth but every young person with a dream. And may the echoes of those dreams reach the hearts of their parents and those around them. “That’s what they need. The world is already cruel enough. It’s up to us to build safe spaces where our children can grow and thrive on their journeys,” she said.
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