Truth be told: my life changed forever in the summer after sixth grade. I spent a lot of time in my hometown library, exploring the world outside small-town Wisconsin, and I was especially fascinated by ‘80s horror, shock, and gore. Now, you might think a twelve-year-old had no right to be reading some of these paperbacks, but my local librarian disagreed.

“Have you read this one?” she asked, holding up a book. “I think you’d really like it.”

The book was Danny Peary’s Cult Movies (1981), a love letter to the 100 most popular underground films ever made. It’s a good thing my parents never censored anything I read or watched, because the rest of the summer was spent tracking down battered VHS rentals of every film in the book all over Milwaukee. That list included Pink Flamingos, which featured Mink Stole and Divine in a rivalry for the title of Filthiest Person Alive.

“Cult Movies,” and its two sequels, became my mind-altering roadmap to the cinematic underworld. Little did I know that a Catholic schoolboy named Joshua Grannell (now Peaches Christ) was doing the same exact thing at his hometown library.

Flash forward a few decades, and I’m spending a starstruck afternoon with Mink Stole and Peaches Christ ahead of their upcoming Madison visit. Life really does come at you fast.

On Friday, February 27, the Idol Worship tour rolls into the Atwood Theater for an intimate cabaret show celebrating their chaotic, heartwarming, and hilarious 25-year friendship. Part interview, part concert, and part love letter to Mink’s cinematic legacy, Idol Worship is a reflection on fame, fandom, and our endless obsession with celebrities.

Mink, you may have been the first person in cinema history to scream “I Hate the Supreme Court” out your window. Every time there’s a dystopian new ruling from the Roberts Court, your scene is shared again in worldwide memes. How does it feel to see that?

Mink Stole: Honestly, I wish I could monetize the meme! Peggy Gravel hated the Supreme Court, but Peggy hated everything. I had nothing personal against the Supreme Court of those days. They were the ones who passed Roe vs. Wade.  By comparison, today’s Supreme Court is hateworthy.

There is something to be said about screaming out of your window. It can make you feel very happy and whole. I highly recommend it.

Who were your idols growing up?

Peaches Christ: I was attracted to horror from a very early age. I was born this way. Everything I loved was spooky, macabre, and queer before I ever knew what queer was.  I had a lot of icons: Elvira, Alfred Hitchcock, John Waters, the Dreamlanders, and more. I spent a lot of time in the library. The book Shock Value changed my life. Through my obsession with John Waters, I learned about his obsessions: Russ Meyer, Herschel Gordon Lewis, Ted B. Mikels, Andy Warhol and the Factory Girls. And I was completely fascinated.

Mink Stole: I didn’t have any idols as a kid. I had nuns. I wanted to be Snow White, or Dorothy Gale, or maybe the Evil Queen. As I got older, they were Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, and Joan Crawford… they always played these unapologetically strong characters. They were inspiring.

When did you first realize, ‘I’m a celebrity?’

Mink Stole: I was not a celebrity.

Peaches Christ: I beg to differ. You wrote a column, Think Mink, in the Baltimore city paper for years! As a young person, I was sneaking into Baltimore and looking for Mink Stole. Seriously, my friends and I would go into the city hoping for a Mink Stole sighting. We never, ever got one – probably because you were living in L.A. We saw John but never saw Mink.

Mink Stole: OK look, in Baltimore, in the world that I lived in, I was not a celebrity. Divine was a celebrity, but I didn’t chase that life. After Pink Flamingos, I kept Connie Marble’s red hair for a little while, but keeping up with that image was such exhausting work that I went back to my normal hair color. I was working with John Waters, who wanted to be famous, and he took me along for the ride. I was very lucky.

Peaches Christ: I didn’t grow up thinking I would be a celebrity, or that anything I did in drag would even be notable. Drag was so underground and so transgressive back then aside from RuPaul and Divine. Young people did not pursue a career in drag. For most people, it was just a very expensive hobby. I lost more money than I made for years and years. I just wanted to have fun with my friends. By putting one foot in front of the other, I got to do amazing things entirely by accident. I saw San Francisco as a bridge to an industry career in New York or Los Angeles, and here I am, thirty years later.

For me, it was the Roast of Peaches Christ. What a surreal experience: Coco Peru, Cassandra (Elvira) Peterson, a surprise appearance by John Waters, and of course, Mink! I’m a kid who grew up with their pictures hanging in my locker. They were my gods. We might be friends now, but I truly worshipped these people. However, Mink was very cruel to me that night.

Mink Stole: I talked about you being fat. So what?

Over 25+ years of Midnight Mass, you’ve had the privilege of meeting many of your idols. Peaches, who was your biggest get, and who’s the one who got away? 

Peaches Christ: Mink was absolutely my biggest get ever. Twenty-five years ago, I had the audacity to invite her to my show. She could have easily said no, but she said yes. Because of her, I was able to go continue celebrating my idols with the audiences who love them.  If she would have said no, I would probably have quit Midnight Mass and become a banker.

Mink Stole: If I said no, she would have said ‘fuck her’ and moved on.

Peaches Christ: Wrong! I would have just kept on sending letters.

Peaches Christ:  Paul Reubens was someone who got away. He was closeted, so he wasn’t comfortable being honored at a Peaches Christ event, even though we knew each other. How sad that he couldn’t get his flowers from an audience who loved him.

Peaches Christ: After 20 years of running Night of 1000 Showgirls, we ended our annual screenings in 2017.  For several years, the Castro Theater has been closed for restoration. On April 2, we’re bringing the Castro Theater back to life with its first movie event in years:  SHOWGIRLS, featuring special guest Gina Gershon. Crystal Connors is my goddess, and now Gina won’t be another one who got away. (No offense to Nomi Malone, but I invited Elizabeth Berkely for 15 years!)

How does it feel to see people worship reality show stars?

Mink Stole: I don’t watch reality shows. I saw the first season of Real Housewives of Atlanta and enjoyed it, but those shows depend so much on conflict. Conflict makes for good TV, I guess, but it’s so unpleasant.

Peaches Christ: The whole genre has become a celebration of unpleasantness. People need to remember they are watching television. “Reality” should only be used in quotes. I much prefer the Great British Bake Off where the worst thing that can happen is your cake falls. Everyone is so lovely to each other on that show. I’d rather watch documentaries, where I can learn something good about humanity, rather than just watching it implode.

What should fans expect from Idol Worship?

Peaches Christ: It’s very, very casual and very, very spontaneous. It’s an escape from the outside world. It’s like we’re inviting people into our parlor for the evening. No two shows are alike. Our repertoire is constantly changing. Even if you’ve seen us together before, you haven’t seen this.

Mink Stole: We surprise each other. We know where we’re going, but the road always veers off in different directions. And it always starts with me saying, ‘I don’t know if I ever told you this…”

Peaches Christ: ….and it’s something I have never heard before! Mink has stories that don’t fit into your typical comedy show. The fans always find Mink’s nuggets interesting, even if she does not. I see our shows as spiritual gatherings. The passion of the audience is so intoxicating, especially in places like Madison, Columbus, Rochester, Providence. And everyone is so grateful to see us in their hometowns.

Mink Stole:  Sometimes we’ll retire a story we’re tired of telling, but trust me, there are 20 more stories to replace that one.

Peaches Christ: Maybe even 200.

Rapid-fire lightning round:

Best “guilty pleasure” you’re streaming right now?

Mink Stole: Sister Boniface. It is awful! Absolutely irredeemable. The scripts are terrible. It looks like it was made in someone’s backyard. And yet, I’m fascinated by it, and my husband tolerates my fascination. I do not recommend it.

Peaches Christ: I Heart LA. I hate them so much! I can’t believe how much I hate them. I’m hate-watching it for sure. My husband does not tolerate my fascination. He won’t watch it with me, because he hates my reactions.

First celebrity crush?

Peaches Christ: Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. “People are People” was the bees’ knees.

Mink Stole: George Maharis on Route 66. My friend and I wrote to him, and he wrote back, but my friend kept the letter! I wonder if she still has it. I haven’t spoken to her in years.

Cult movie quote you just can’t stop saying?

Mink Stole: “Last summer, when I was at band camp…”

Peaches Christ: “Hey lady, have some chips!” “One beer with lunch is hardly drinking!” And probably one thousand more.  It’s funny, because most people will stare at you blankly, but there is always one person in the room who gets it.

Cheese curds: deep fried or squeaky?

Peaches Christ: “Fried, obviously. Anything deep fried. Anything!”

Mink Stole: “I have no opinion on cheese curds. None.”

Idol Worship lands at the Atwood Music Hall Friday, February 27 at 8 p.m. VIP seating and post-show meet and greets are available for purchase. Get tickets while they last at the Atwood Music Hall website.