The word “travesty,” etymologically, is about what people wear. In the 1600s, it meant to dress in disguise, or more specifically, to cross-dress. Only in the 19th century did the word take on its now primary meaning: “a debased, distorted, or grossly inferior imitation.”
Drag and performance artist Sasha Velour’s work often takes on layers of historical meaning, and in her new show, “Travesty,” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre through April 19, the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner and star of the HBO reality show “We’re Here” takes her audience through the history of a fictional drag theater called the Travesty.
