Before there was Edie, there was an eight-year-old growing up in Portland, Ore. who loved to twirl and kick. By the time she turned 17, Edie was dancing with Ballet Oregon, which led to a series of long-term stints with regional ballet companies all over the country.

Broadway beckoned with a role in a revival of The Threepenny Opera alongside Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming and then a gig hosting the Cirque du Soleil production “Zoomanity” in Las Vegas, where the “Mistress of Sensuality” appeared in more than 5,600 shows. This summer at the Art House in Provincetown, Edie is starring in a hybrid cabaret and game show she created called “Are You Smarter Than a Drag Queen?” She says she’s “having a blast” interacting with her audiences.

 

Q: Given the title of your show, can you say who is the smartest drag queen in Provincetown?

The season’s not over yet! It’s funny, because every time I’m barking outside — “Come see my new show, ‘Are You Smarter Than a Drag Queen?’ — 99 percent of people say, “I’m not!” And I say, “We have to find out! It’s a game. There’s always a different outcome.” But drag queens can be very intimidating; they’re tall and sparkly, everything’s big and exaggerated, so you assume there’s power there.

 

Q: This business of barking — standing on the street and encouraging people to come to the show — do you like it, or is it a necessary evil?

 It is so evil. You have to do it unless you’ve been here 20 years or are television famous. You really have to fight because there’s so many shows every night. I was gone for 15 years with Cirque du Soleil. So, I had to start over with a new generation. I would say 90 percent of my audience is barked in. Sometimes that curtain opens and I see people I interacted with an hour before. It’s a special feeling.

 

Q: Your first time on stage: forget about it or cherish the memory?

It was in a tiny little place called Universal Grill in the West Village in New York City. It was underground, they did no advertising, and it was packed every night. We were drinking cosmopolitans. It was so fabulous. There was a record player on the bar, and someone put on the theme to Star Trek. I was in drag because it was Halloween, and all of a sudden, I started lip-synching, and they turned the light from the disco ball on me, and I’m singing like I’m in an opera house and everyone’s cheering. So, the owner says, “You’ve got to do a weekly gig here!” I caved. It was such a turning point. Edie got me to Broadway. Edie got me to Cirque du Soleil.

 

Q: Who’s your biggest source of inspiration as a performer?

I didn’t know a lot of drag queens growing up. It was all the boys in the ballet doing drag at a Halloween party. I didn’t want to do it. But when I finally kind of surrendered to it, my inspiration was Broadway dancer Ann Reinking. Her body, her style, her elegance — it drove me crazy. I got to work with her in a ballet, Sondheim Suite. It was magical. I also loved Barbra Streisand’s silliness in her movies. And the ultimate diva, Liza Minnelli.

 

Q: Fill in the blank: as a drag artist I can ______ better than anybody.

 Wriggle.

 

Edie’s Are You Smarter Than a Drag Queen? runs at the Art House (214 Commercial St., Provincetown) through Oct. 10.