In this puzzle, solvers first determine the "names" clued by each script piece. Each script piece is accompanied by an enumeration, and the names are ordered alphabetically.
SCRIPT PIECES | "NAME" | EXPLANATION |
---|---|---|
This queen has the same name as one of the singers in tonight's playlist, although the song she chose is not sung by her. (5) | ADELE | ADELE is one of the song artists. |
This redheaded queen is known to be quite the doll although she's often described as being scruffy or tattered. (3) | ANN | Raggedy ANN is a well-known doll. |
She might be seen hanging out with her friends Nancy and George. (4) | BESS | Nancy Drew's two best friends are George and BESS. |
This queen bee is known to be a killer when fighting on the streets, especially in her red beret and green leotard. (5) | CAMMY | CAMMY is a character from Street Fighter whose nickname is "Killer Bee" and wears a green leotard and a red beret. |
Despite being a drag queen, she is known to literally drag things in, is famous for her pajamas, and often avoids inquisitiveness as it's known to be quite lethal for her. (3) | CAT | "Look what the CAT dragged in", "the CAT's pajamas", and "curiosity killed the CAT" are all idioms that contain the word CAT. |
Her family is (archaically) famous for growing brassicas like brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli; who also sung that lipsync song referenced for another queen. (4) | COLE | A COLE is any brassica, especially, brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli. |
This queen took inspiration from an actress who played the mother of a boy who famously goes on an adventure with an alien. (3) | DEE | DEE Wallace played Mary Taylor, the mother of Elliott Taylor, in the movie E.T. |
This queen was partly inspired by another queen who lipsynced to a song about an "everlasting love" on a show she didn't win. (4) | DIDA | DIDA Ritz famously lipsynced to "This Will Be", a song by Natalie Cole, on RuPaul's Drag Race season 4, where she placed 6th. |
Her favorite drink is one you can get from Moe, the bartender. (4) | DUFF | The beer in The Simpsons is DUFF and is served by the bartender in the series, Moe. |
This Enchanted queen, or should I say "princess", will obey your every word. (4) | ELLA | ELLA Enchanted was a movie about a princess whose "power" was to be very obedient. |
She says that if anyone were to play her in a movie about her, she would choose either Anya Taylor-Joy or Kate Beckinsale. (4) | EMMA | Bronte's EMMA was played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Kate Beckinsale in two different movies. |
This Old English queen is particularly fond of giants, particularly one that Tolkien had made more verdant. (3) | ENT | ENT in Old English translates to "giant", which is a term that Tolkien used as the name of his tree creatures in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. |
She's been described as having a force that draws you in, and others say she consistently earns a thousand dollars each night. (1) | G | G is short for the force of gravity, and for grand. |
Although she can't travel, she can definitely entertain guests or house a parasite (4). | HOST | To HOST is to entertain guests and a parasite requires a HOST to live. |
This queen was inspired by a famous Black journalist and activist who co-founded the NAACP. (3) | IDA | IDA B. Wells was a Black journalist, and a civil rights and women's rights activist who co-founded the NAACP. |
She took a long break from posting her videos on the internet after losing her Marbles. (5) | JENNA | Refers to once-active and popular YouTuber JENNA Marbles |
When she's not performing here, she works as a Nurse at a Center where strange, yet portable monsters are treated. (3) | JOY | Nurse JOY is the attendant in Pokémon Centers in the Pokémon series |
This queen is known to give shelter to others especially when it's windy. (3) | LEE | A LEE is the side of something that provides shelter, especially from the wind. |
This queen always manages to get people moving westward to see her show "Night After Night". (3) | MAE | MAE West starred in the film Night After Night. |
Don't walk in on her as she's dressing, otherwise you'll have egg on your face, in short. (4) | MAYO | MAYO, short for mayonnaise, is a type of dressing made with raw eggs. |
When this queen walks down the streets of Madrid, the people on the street call her "honey". (4) | MIEL | Honey in Spanish is MIEL. |
This legendary Hyrulean princess is often linked to a specific kind of cap. (6) | MINISH | The MINISH Cap is a game title from The Legend of Zelda. |
She bears no relation to a famous Julianne, Mandy, or Roger. (5) | MOORE | The three famous people in the clue can share the same last name: Julianne MOORE, Mandy MOORE, and Roger MOORE. |
It may look like she took inspiration from one of the letters of the modern Filipino alphabet, but her name is not pronounced in the same way. (2) | NG | NG is a two-character digraph in the Filipino alphabet, pronounced "nga", but it's also a common last name of Chinese descent that is pronounced closer to "ing". |
This queen is known to serve "Italian grandmother" realness. (5) | NONNA | NONNA is Italian for "grandmother". |
This sporty queen was inspired by a Hall of Famer who first played in Boston, moved to Chicago after a decade, then retired a couple of years later. (3) | ORR | Bobby ORR played for the Boston Bruins for ten years, the Chicago Blackhawks for two years, and was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. |
In one of her former jobs, she straight up judged aspiring pop stars every week in a cold hearted way. (5) | PAULA | PAULA Abdul sung "Straight Up" and "Cold Hearted" and judged contestants on American Idol in earlier seasons. |
The name this brunette queen uses in The Office is the same name she uses when she performs and in real life. (7) | PHYLLIS | The character PHYLLIS in The Office is also the real first name of the actor who plays her. Angela is another character that fits that description, but is blonde. |
She loved this Hawaiian staple food so much she named herself after it. (3) | POI | POI is a traditional staple food in Hawaiian cuisine. |
Often seen encircled by her trade, Mark, this queen is known to also enjoy the three fundamentals of learning. (1) | R | A registered trademark symbol is the letter R in a circle, and the three fundamentals of learning are also known as the three R's: reading, writing, and arithmetic. |
This queen might shoyu her shio love for a specific dish that you can't miso out. (5) | RAMEN | Shoyu, shio, and miso are flavours of RAMEN. |
This queen is known to be of hope, light, or creation. (3) | RAY | RAY of hope, RAY of light, RAY of creation. |
She gives "space witch" realness and is often seen fighting a group of colourful teenagers in disguise. (4) | RITA | RITA Repulsa was a space witch and a villain in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers season 1. |
Contrary to popular belief, she does not come from multiple fishy-sounding families of western deer that only have males. (8) | ROEBUCKS | ROEBUCKS are Eurasian Roe Deer, "roe" are fish eggs, and "bucks" are male deer. |
She likes showing a bit of leg, but only the front part. (4) | SHIN | The front part of a leg is a SHIN. |
In one incident, someone literally slayed at the club and despite that she asked the DJ to "not kill the groove" or she'd commit arson. (6) | SOPHIE | The chorus of SOPHIE Ellis-Bexter song "Murder on the Dance Floor" goes "There's murder on the dance floor, you better not kill the groove, DJ, gonna burn this god damn house right down". |
This queen will be "rooting for you" and angrily ask you to "be quiet" and "take responsibility for yourself". (4) | TYRA | TYRA Banks' infamous "Be Quiet, Tiffany!" speech from Cycle 4 of America's Next Top Model included the lines "We were rooting for you, we were all rooting for you, how dare you!" and "Take responsibility for yourself!" |
"There is a queen in China" who wears "a coat" to honor her family who have been stuck in "purgatory" since the "Byzantium" era. (5) | YEATS | "There Is a Queen in China", "A Coat", "Purgatory", and "Byzantium" are all works by WB YEATS. |
Following identifying all of the names from the script pieces, solvers must then put them together to form full drag queen-like names that are also puns.
Along with the associated years, these full names form a new set of clues that lead to titles of singles released by the artists in the playlist.
ENDS OF EACH SCRIPT (ORDERED BY LAST NAME) | FULL DRAG NAME | PUN |
---|---|---|
Performing a song from 2017, please welcome to the stage (7 6 4)! | PHYLLIS SOPHIE COLE | Philosophical |
Performing a song from 2014, please welcome to the stage (5 4)! | ADELE EMMA | A Dilemma |
Performing a song from 2017, please welcome to the stage (5 5 1)! | NONNA PAULA G | Non-apology |
Performing a song from 2010, please welcome to the stage (3 3 4)! | MAE CAT HOST | Make a toast |
Performing a song from 2011, please welcome to the stage (4 3-5)! | RITA LEE-YEATS | Retaliates |
Performing a song from 2001, please welcome to the stage (4 4)! | ELLA MAYO | LMAO |
Performing a song from 2001, please welcome to the stage (3 6-2)! | DEE MINISH-NG | Diminishing |
Performing a song from 2001, please welcome to the stage (4 4 1 5)! | TYRA DUFF R MOORE | Tired of armor |
Performing a song from 2017, please welcome to the stage (3 3 3-4)! | ANN JOY ORR-MIEL | Enjoy your meal |
Performing a song from 2000, please welcome to the stage (4 3 3-3)! | BESS IDA POI-ENT | Beside the point |
Performing a song from 2008, please welcome to the stage (5 5)! | CAMMY RAMEN | Cameramen |
Performing a song from 2020, please welcome to the stage (4 8)! | DIDA ROEBUCKS | Did aerobics |
Performing a song from 2016, please welcome to the stage (5 3 4)! | JENNA RAY SHIN | Generation |
Indexing into each single's title by the number of tips earned divided by 10 yields a letter in the final answer, VALLICELLIANA, a library in Rome.
TRACK LIST | TIPS EARNED | DRAG QUEEN NAME | PUN | SINGLE TITLE | INDEX | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Britney Spears | 20 | TYRA DUFF R MOORE | Tired of armor | OVERPROTECTED | V |
2 | Beyonce | 50 | JENNA RAY SHIN | Generation | FORMATION | A |
3 | Ariana Grande | 50 | ADELE EMMA | A Dilemma | PROBLEM | L |
4 | Adele | 110 | RITA LEE-YEATS | Retaliates | TURNING TABLES | L |
5 | P!nk | 30 | MAE CAT HOST | Make a toast | RAISE YOUR GLASS | I |
6 | Dua Lipa | 60 | DIDA ROEBUCKS | Did aerobics | PHYSICAL | C |
7 | Katy Perry | 70 | ANN JOY ORR-MIEL | Enjoy your meal | BON APPETIT | E |
8 | Alicia Keys | 40 | DEE MINISH-NG | Diminishing | FALLIN' | L |
9 | Kelly Clarkson | 100 | PHYLLIS SOPHIE COLE | Philosophical | MEANING OF LIFE | L |
10 | Jennifer Lopez | 50 | ELLA MAYO | LMAO | AIN'T IT FUNNY | I |
11 | Janet Jackson | 90 | BESS IDA POI-ENT | Beside the point | DOESN'T REALLY MATTER | A |
12 | Demi Lovato | 60 | NONNA PAULA G | Non-apology | SORRY, NOT SORRY | N |
13 | Lady Gaga | 40 | CAMMY RAMEN | Cameramen | PAPARAZZI | A |