Kevin McHale is regaling me with tales of being mistaken for Hall of Fame Boston Celtics baller Kevin McHale.

“During the Glee days especially, pre-Uber and all of that, you’d have drivers picking you up if you flew in from out of town,” says the actor and singer. “And almost every single time, the look, how disappointed they were when they saw me coming down the escalator. You get in the car, and they had moved up the passenger seat so my 6’10” legs could fit. I’m 5’7″, so it’s not really the same thing.”

Of course, to millions of Glee fans, McHale is eternally unmistakable as New Directions show choir member Artie Abrams. Sitting face-to-face with him, virtually, he is at ease, thoughtful, self-deprecating, and blessed with baby blues that genuinely sparkle.

There’s also that voice, recognizable from six seasons, several live tours, and volumes upon volumes of hit Glee cast covers. (Catch McHale’s soulful solo turns on “For Once in My Life” and “P.Y.T.,” among others.) Since the show wrapped, he has continued to flex his pipes, alongside fellow Glee alum and bestie Jenna Ushkowitz on the musical kids show The AlphaBeatZ, as well as in his own music.

In 2019, McHale released Boy, a pop-R&B EP featuring the singles “James Dean” and “Help Me Now,” both tracks accompanied by provocative music videos co-starring Johnny Sibilly and Nolan Gould, respectively. The boldly queer visuals, directed by Justin Horne, followed McHale’s public coming out as gay a year prior, and signaled he would also be using his voice as an advocate.

“I think it was really helpful during Glee, because that show turned into sort of a political thing, where we got to campaign for the Obama re-election campaign,” McHale says. “Some of us got to go to swing states and talk to volunteers and college students. And I think that really ignited something in most of us. Every year since, if I’m able to…I try to somehow get in there just to help.”

The actor plans to swing through a few swing states once he’s wrapped his next flex, a co-starring role in the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Joining a winning lineup led by Beanie Feldstein, Noah Galvin, Taran Killam, and Bonnie Milligan, McHale plays middle schooler William Barfée, known for his “Magic Foot” spelling method.

“William Barfée and I have a big thing in common where we have chronic sinus issues,” says McHale. “He can only breathe out of one nostril. Luckily, I don’t have that exact affliction.” McHale seems especially to appreciate that Barfée is a kid who speaks his mind.

“He’s that kid in school who can’t help but be himself, doesn’t have the social graces that other people have. He just likes what he likes. He speaks loudly about it. I think he’s not the popular kid, so as a defense mechanism, he’s sort of abrasive. And through the show, we see him become a little more open and human. And he’s so much fun to get to play.”

McHale, based in L.A. with actor boyfriend Austin P. McKenzie, has been having a lot of fun onstage lately, including a delightful run on the 2022 season of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race. McHale’s sassy Chic-Li-Fay ran a strong race, but ultimately was taken down — along with every other contestant, from Loretta Devine to Jenna Ushkowitz — by drag superstar Poppy Love, a.k.a. Backstreet Boy AJ McLean.

While fans await the return of Chic-Li-Fay, McHale is preparing to hit the Kennedy Center stage, and then jump into the hectic 2024 campaign. “So happy to do whatever I can,” he says, leaving me with one more McHale tale.

“I got to talk to the real Kevin McHale on a phone interview once,” he says. “He said his mom saw the guide info for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that Kevin McHale was going to be on. She got all excited, and she turned it on, and it was me and not him. And I was like, ‘Okay. So at least it’s happening to both of us.’ That makes me feel great.”

METRO WEEKLY: So I’m sitting here with Chic-Li-Fay. I’ve watched a lot of Drag Race, and I really enjoyed that season. You had a great cast on there with you. How did you make it to the main stage of Drag Race?

KEVIN McHALE: The hell if I know. I did get asked, and then to be honest, I was a little scared. Because I felt like doing drag, you need to take it very seriously. I didn’t want to show up and just be like, “Oh, this’ll be fun and easy.” Drag performers are some of the best performers, and the amount of shit they have to go through and the things they have to be good at, I didn’t necessarily feel like I was there, like I was able to give that. And then my boyfriend was like, “If you don’t do this, I’m breaking up with you.”

But then I took too long to respond and they were like, “We no longer have any room.” And so I was like, all right, that’s on me. Because I was trying to really think about it deeply. I think I was taking it maybe too seriously. And then I think somebody dropped out at the last minute, two days before they started, and they called me and I was like, “Yes. Absolutely. Put me in, Coach.” And it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever, ever, ever had.

MW: Chic-Li-Fay won two challenges and made it to the final four. You guys started out that season doing a Masked Singer kind of thing until identities out of drag were revealed in episode six. At that point you know you’re competing against an original Dreamgirl and a Backstreet Boy and Taylor Dayne. You’ve obviously performed a lot onstage, but that had to be a little bit intimidating.

McHALE: The first show sitting next to a Dreamgirl — like an OG Dreamgirl [Loretta Devine] — I was like, I don’t care what happens, the three hours I’m in this makeup chair next to her, the Queen. I was also like, how did they trick her into doing this? She’s a legend, and the whole day I was just sort of silent and stunned, because I got to sit right next to her when we were getting ready at 6 a.m. I just remember her getting up after getting her makeup done and she’s like, “Baby, this drag life is not for me.” [Laughs.] It’s like, I know!

These ladies work hard. But it was fun. I think I was, one, so grateful that Jenna, from Glee, and I, we’re best friends, we got to do it together. That was the biggest perk out of all of it. And then also growing up, watching AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys, probably one of the biggest influences on me as a performer growing up. And that was very scary to me. Because I know how good he is onstage doing the type of music we would be doing. And he is so good in heels — I have no idea how.

MW: Got some practice somewhere.

McHALE: I got used to the corset. I got used to the wig and the makeup. I never got used to the heels. And AJ could sprint in those things. Didn’t matter how skinny or tall they were.

MW: AJ’s Poppy Love was a really great drag queen, who of course won the season. Did you feel like you or anybody else got robbed?

McHALE: Michelle [Visage] did tell me I was robbed, and so I have that. I have that. No, I don’t think anybody was robbed. I just think it was such a good lesson for us. I don’t think we really cared who won, because, it sounds trite, but something happens to you when you get into drag. And something happened to all of us, regardless of how many episodes we were there. To see the liberation within all of us…

I was bummed I didn’t make it to the final, but I also knew. I was like, I can do the reality show math here, and [drag coach] Brooke Lynn Hytes has two people in the final four. She’s not going to have two people in the final. And my story arc had already happened, and her other person, that story arc was on the ascension. So I was like, I can do the reality math, I know it’s me.

MW: I wasn’t reading it on that level.

McHALE: Oh, you could feel it. I’ve done another “celebrity reality,” which is also why I was hesitant to do Drag Race. I didn’t want to do another one of those things, but it’s drag, you have to do it.

I don’t think any of those things are necessarily rigged, you just know how it goes, right? There’s a story. Even if nobody’s pulling strings, you just feel the energy of what’s going to happen. So I fully knew I was going to go. I was like, “Brooke Lynn, I think I’m going.” She’s like, “You might.” [Laughs.]

MW: I loved Mark Indelicato as Thirsty von Trap, but I probably would’ve gone for Chic-Li-Fay. I’m just saying.

McHALE: I appreciate it.

MW: Especially after “Bitch Better Have my Money.” I loved your “Bitch Better Have My Money.”

McHALE: Proudest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve never been prouder of anything I’ve ever done in my life. When I was thinking about what I wanted to be as a drag queen, that is it. That kind of music, that style of performance and camp and choreography, that to me was the summation of everything I could have dreamt of. And the fact that because I did sign on so late, my first sort of fitting, we had to talk through all of these things, about what kind of music do you want to do? And I think I had heard, if I made it to week three, what the theme would be. And one of the people behind the scenes that helped us create the performances, I was like, “Look, just give me a pole. Let me be happy.” Week three, I knew it was something with money and I was like, “Bitch Better Have my Money.” And then separately, she’s like, “I’ve always wanted to see if somebody would be up to doing a Girl Scout thing and no one’s ever wanted to do it.” I was like, “Yes, say no more. I’m in. Let’s absolutely do that.” So that was my favorite thing.

MW: That concept really worked. And RuPaul was literally laughing her head off at that, so that was good.

McHALE: Which was so surreal. We did not meet any of the judges beforehand. The first time I’m seeing them is when I’m performing, and because you’re onstage in front of all these people and the lights are on, the cameras are on, I felt like I was just watching another episode of Drag Race, it was so out of body. I was like, I don’t know if I’m present or not, but I’m just staring mouth agape at RuPaul. “Is this happening? Is she talking to me?” It felt very surreal.

MW: You got to do this with Jenna. I was curious, can you think of any other Glee cast who would be great at doing drag?

McHALE: Oh, so many. Almost everyone. It was sort of the perfect pipeline, Glee to Drag Race. Jenna and I one day were sitting backstage, and we both have pretty terrible nerves when it comes to performing, and I just remember leaning over and being like, “Are you nervous?” She’s like, “No, are you?” I was like, “No.” We’re used to lip-syncing on camera. We don’t have to sing live, so that’s fine, because what’s there to get nervous about? So I think anybody could. I think Chris Colfer would be great. I think Darren Criss would be great. Any of the women. Amber [Riley] and Heather could do that in their sleep. Heather would be remarkable. I would love to see Heather Morris do it.

MW: That’s a little bit of a cheat, having Heather Morris.

McHALE: Yeah. Fully. You could give her a shake-and-go wig and some makeup, and she’d be ready to go. She doesn’t need much, she’s ready.

MW: Now, I’m surprised to hear you say that you get really nervous performing.

McHALE: I do, yeah. It depends on the capacity, on tour for Glee or anything like that, not so much. You’re with all these people. When you’re with a bunch of people, and as things get going on the road like that, not really. But when you have a one-off… It’s usually when it’s related to singing, I’m more nervous. Or auditioning, terrible nerves, that sort of thing.

But I’m used to it at this point. If you can harness it, which normally I do, and use it to your advantage, as opposed to letting it defeat you, then it’s fine. Because sometimes it’s a little scary if I don’t get nervous, then I’m sort of questioning whether or not I’m going to have the energy. Because normally that slight anxiety propels you to really focus all of that into hopefully something good.

MW: Speaking of hopefully something good, I was at Kennedy Center last night to see Clue: Live on Stage.

McHALE: Oh, my God. How was it?

MW: It was a gas. And on the back of the Playbill is the ad for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee featuring all of your headshots.

McHALE: That’s the first time I’ve seen that. How cool.

MW: How much time do you have to rehearse?

McHALE: We start rehearsal on Monday for I think about 12 days before we get to the Kennedy Center. So it’s going to be fast, it’s going to be quick. I do think an advantage we have is that this type of show, where it’s just a bunch of grown-ass adults playing 12-year-olds, is crazy high-energy, slightly chaotic — like controlled chaos — fun. And, as you saw that cast, I don’t know how, I feel like I snuck in. I don’t know how they let me in, but I’m grateful because it’s a bunch of pros. And I’m padded with all these people who are so good, and I’m just going to ride their coattails and learn from them and follow their lead, because they know what to do.

MW: Have you played the Kennedy Center before?

McHALE: No, I’ve never even been.

MW: What about D.C.?

McHALE: I love D.C. This will be my third time in D.C. this year, for some reason. I’ve been there more than any other place in the U.S. this year, other than L.A. I love it. I have a lot of good friends there. I try to get there as much as possible. It’s so much fun for me to go there. I love the mix of politics and there’s a great gay scene. Everyone I’ve met there has just been so welcoming and warm.

I love L.A. I’ve lived in L.A. for 20 years. But it is nice, and I imagine people who live in D.C. and work in politics and things, they feel like L.A. people who work in entertainment feel: it’s all everybody talks about, so you’re a little sick of it. But for someone like me, I don’t ever get to really engage with people who really know what’s going on about politics. So for me, it’s fun to go there and engage with people about those things.

MW: Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. Those are conversations you can have here.

McHALE: Every place has its thing. I think no matter what city you live in, there’s going to be that thing. You’re like, ugh, everybody does this. And so I am used to it here, but it is nice to sort of drop in and get to experience other things there.

MW: You’ve been a vocal advocate, putting your money where your mouth is, standing up for different charities, even just pursuing certain roles. I read that you were cast a while ago to play Keith Haring in Radiant Baby, which sounds like something I would love to see. And I’m sorry that it didn’t happen, and I’m wondering what happened? And why would you want to do Keith Haring’s story?

McHALE: For that I got asked to do a workshop for this musical, that they had been working on for a long time, actually. I think they had picked it up and put it down a couple of times. And it was the end of 2021 or end of 2020, whenever Omicron happened. I was in New York.

MW: Oh, ’21.

McHALE: Yeah. And I blame SantaCon in New York for the spread of Omicron. And the workshop got shut down three quarters of the way through. And I don’t really know what happened. It might be something with — from what I’ve heard, I haven’t heard officially — I think something might’ve happened with the rights for the Keith Haring estate, things like that. So I’m not totally sure. I was just really excited about getting more into doing theater and musical theater. The show they wrote, it was like 98% sung. It was almost like an opera. It wasn’t operatic music, but the entirety of it was basically sung, and it was really challenging. Got to meet some incredible people doing it.

I think the Keith Haring story is a complicated one. There’s a lot there. And I think dissecting it in a way that we know to look at it now in 2024, where he was not a perfect character, not a perfect person. In hindsight, it’s easy to look back and try to make these imperfect humans seem otherworldly because of their talent. But I think it makes for a better story to do the opposite. Show that, yeah, he’s super successful, and we all know his art and he impacted pop culture in a gigantic way.

He was not perfect. He’d started to do a lot of good once he found out he had HIV/AIDS. But before that, there’s a lot of questions, especially with the type of art he was doing and how that impacted, like, graffiti. It was predominantly Black artists doing graffiti, and then you have this white kid coming in there and becoming really famous for doing something that was predominantly done by Black artists.

It’s like, let’s dig into that. And so those things are interesting to me. The show wasn’t exactly that, but I think if another one happens, it would be really cool to just sort of be like, “Nobody’s perfect.” You’re not going to get the perfect story, so give us the messiness of it. The music was great. I think their intentions behind it were great, but I think these things happen all the time, where they come up and they go away, and rights get taken away and all that. So who knows?

MW: I hope Radiant Baby comes back sometime. This summer I was in Munich and there was a show of Warhol and Haring together. I’d never seen anybody show them together, which is so obvious. I don’t think people talk enough about Keith Haring.

McHALE: And also Warhol’s impact on Keith Haring, where the commodification of art like that was so frowned upon. And Warhol took Keith Haring and Basquiat under his wing being like, “Who cares? Make your money, sell it to everybody.” It’s like when you buy a red car and all of a sudden you see all the red cars on the streets. You would go into Urban Outfitters and there would just be Keith Haring things everywhere. It’s really wild, the impact. And I think he would probably just be flabbergasted by it, in 2024, that his stuff is still everywhere.

MW: What I was getting to before I slid into the Keith Haring question, and especially because you’re wearing your “Vote like you meme it” hat, is that you’ve been really vocal about your politics and specific politicians. I think some people appreciate when there are advocates with a platform, using it that way. A lot of people are going to say, “I don’t want to hear what any celebrity has to say about anything.” How do you respond to people who don’t want to hear it?

McHALE: They don’t have to listen. I think we’re all equal citizens. Everybody has a right to speak up. And I don’t care whoever speaks up, say whatever you want. I don’t have to necessarily listen or take it in. I think, you do you.

I think Pharrell recently said he doesn’t necessarily love when public figures [speak on politics]. I’m like, cool. But then he’s also allowed to say that, and I love Pharrell. And so I think that’s the beauty of a democracy, while we still have it, is everybody can choose to be active or inactive in the way they want. And whether that is saying things publicly or whether that’s saying nothing at all, or whether that’s talking to your family and friends, it’s choose your own adventure. And you’re going to be affected by politics regardless if you’re engaged or not.

And so I do enjoy it. I do enjoy challenging myself, challenging others. And I try to stay informed as best as I can. Things change every second, and it’s messy and it’s imperfect and it’s like, well, I’m going to do what I can for the people that I think are best for the country, and everybody is capable of doing whatever they want, whatever that looks like for them.

MW: Will you try to do anything or reach out to anybody while you’re in D.C.?

McHALE: I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to have a lot of free time in D.C. I would love to. I sort of think I’m just going to be living at the Kennedy Center for a little bit, but I think post-show I might try to get to some of the swing states to do some door-knocking, get out the vote, early voting, because that’s starting really soon.

MW: I think people don’t think enough about what you were saying earlier. One aspect of being on a show like Glee, gaining fame or a platform and then turning it towards politics, it isn’t just that, “Oh, people are listening, let me pull out my megaphone.” But you actually were doing these events and seeing these things firsthand, and you had an opportunity to actually be educated in that kind of advocacy, which is an opportunity that came through that show. I don’t know, people hold that against somebody. It’s weird.

McHALE: That’s exactly right. I also think it’s one of those things that some people are exposed to it, and then take a liking to it, and they like the grassroots organization and those sorts of things. I think I’m one of those people.

Other people don’t want to be so engaged, which is like what I was talking about before. You get to participate and choose how you want to participate in your democracy. And I think about someone like Kerry Washington, who, obviously, is a gigantic movie and TV star, but the amount of real time she dedicates to this. She’s on every surrogate phone call for the Harris campaign. I was at an event this week, she was there as one of the co-hosts. I’m like, how do you have [time]? She has two kids, also is working. Someone like that where it’s easy to say like, “Ugh, she’s just an actor, shut up.” No. She is out there. She’s going to every single swing state.

We get out of our bubbles, and you see the kids that are volunteering for free.99, while they have a full course load in college, who are volunteering for these campaigns, because they’re the ones that are going to be really affected by the policies of the coming administrations.

I don’t necessarily think anything that I’m going to say is going to influence anyone, but I think it’s strength in numbers, where I’m just another citizen and I’m just another cog in the wheel to try to get us over the finish line.

And I look at someone like Kerry Washington, who is just phenomenal. She’s so educated in this. It’s not like she’s just making these things up and wants to be seen. It’s exactly the opposite. It’s unglamorous work. And someone like her has really set an example of how to do this seriously, take it seriously, and support the people that can actually affect change. She’s not trying to run for office, but she’s trying to link up all different generations, and figure out how to get creative, how to activate people.

And there’s a lot of people like her. So I think it’s easy just to say, oh, they’re an athlete, they’re an actor, they’re a singer, whatever it may be. But some of these people like Kerry know what they’re talking about. If Kamala wins, Kerry Washington needs to get some sort of award or something, because I don’t think people know what she’s doing. It is nuts.

MW: Would you ever consider running for office?

McHALE: I never even finished college. So I don’t know.

MW: Some of the ones who finished college are…

McHALE: I know. It’s brutal. I think anybody that can do it and withstand it, there is no break. You are immediately pissing off 50% of people just by existing. So I don’t know how people do it. I really do not. Some people are better than others about not getting caught up in the bait.

So I don’t know if I could do it. My parents really want me to, because I love talking politics. We have family group chat, we talk about politics every single day. But that’s a lot. I enjoy meeting people, I like talking to people, but there’s no break. I also like to sit in a room in quiet, and stare at a wall for a while.

MW: The family politics chats, are they contentious? Or are you guys generally in agreement?

McHALE: We’re always in agreement. It’s also sometimes me reeling in the parents. I’m like, you’re so far in the left direction that you’re a little… I’m like, there is such a thing as too far that now people don’t want to hear your point. So we got to figure out how to talk about this in a civilized way. You know, the older you get, your filter just becomes non-existent.

MW: Yeah, I’m fast-tracking the old person no-filter.

McHALE: When I turned 30, it was overnight. I was like, “Oh, oh no, I no longer care what people think.”

MW: “I can just say it.”

McHALE: Yeah. I’m like, okay. And every year, the dial gets turned up just a little bit. I’m like, whatever.

MW: Well that’s perfect for this next question. Where do you stand on Gleeks these days? As it relates to this viral video I love of Miriam Margolyes telling Harry Potter people to “Move on, it was for kids, and it was 20 years ago!” If you haven’t seen it, it is really funny.

McHALE: Oh, I’ve seen it. I love her. She’s beyond a national treasure for the U.K. She’s an international treasure.

MW: So, are you there, or is the Glee fan base totally reasonable and fun?

McHALE: No, I’m not where Miriam is at all. Love me some Gleeks. We have new Gleeks. It’s been happening with a lot of shows, where since the pandemic and TikTok, new generations of people have found our show, which is really cool and baffling. But really enjoying that. I feel so positive about the show.

Yeah, it was not perfect. Storylines could be messy. But I feel like it did so much good for pop culture and society, and I love being a part of it. So if people still like it, that is great. Are Gleeks perfect? No, sometimes they say some crazy shit. But every fanbase does, and I think that’s just because they care and they’re still into it. And it’s great. People hope to be a part of something that is still talked about this many years after the fact. I am honored to be just a small part of something that still means something to some sector of society.

MW: Have you worked with any of the Putnam County cast before?

McHALE: I haven’t, no. I’ve only even ever met… I know I met Beanie once in passing at a movie theater with Ben Platt.

MW: Did you see her Funny Girl?

McHALE: I didn’t see Funny Girl.

MW: Did you see the other Funny Girl [Glee‘s Lea Michele]?

McHALE: I did not.

MW: Okay.

McHALE: I didn’t get a chance to see either. I’m sure it was great, both versions. And we know Lea can do it. She did it on the show, she can do anything. No, I’m excited. I think they’re all so talented. And my boyfriend is a musical theater person and he’s done Broadway, so he’s also been educating me on some of the people I may not know. And he’s like, “Oh, get ready. You’re going to love her voice,” or “love his voice.” And all this. So I’m a fan of singers, I’m a fan of talent. I’m just so excited to get to see all these people do what they do best, and I’ll remember to also participate, but I know I’m just going to be sort of sitting there the first day of rehearsal going, “Oh my God, they’re so good.”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee runs October 11 to 20 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $69 to $285. Call 202-467-4600, or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Follow Kevin McHale on X at @druidDUDE.