Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert – Bob the Drag Queen
What if Harriet Tubman came back and wanted to tell her story on stage?
That’s the speculative premise behind Bob the Drag Queen’s “Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert” — a sharp, funny and surprisingly moving blend of historical fiction, Broadway fantasy and queer redemption.
Set in a near-future America where a handful of historical figures have inexplicably returned, the novel follows Harriet as she prepares to mount a musical about her life. To do so, she enlists Darnell Williams, a once-successful hip-hop producer whose career cratered after he was publicly outed.
Nearly 15 years later, he’s still broken, skeptical and unsure why one of America’s most legendary badasses has summoned him to a studio. But Harriet helps him push past his imposter syndrome, and the scars of years spent hiding his true self, to build something meaningful for both of them.
The story toggles between Harriet’s no-nonsense determination to reclaim her narrative and Darnell’s internal struggle to forgive, heal and create. Part Two, which dives into Darnell’s backstory, lands at just the right moment and adds emotional depth and momentum. The setup may be speculative fiction, but the themes of identity, legacy and healing are grounded in truth.
Bob borrows freely from the “Hamilton” playbook, but “Live in Concert” isn’t a copy, it’s something uniquely its own. Harriet is funny, furious and powerful, and the inclusion of the four “Freemen” (her backup performers) allows Bob to explore lesser-known parts of Tubman’s life and legend — including the Combahee River Raid, the logistics of her Underground Railroad missions and interactions with historical figures like Frederick Douglass and John Brown – and the role Quakers played in abolitionism.
Fans of “We’re Here” will recognize Bob’s gift for empathy. His characters are fully lived-in, especially as they wrestle with religion, repression and the weight of history. The audiobook — narrated by the author — is a standout. His timing, humor and dramatic range carry the emotional arcs beautifully, and the production includes two original songs, “Queen of the Underground” and “Now I See,” both genuinely great and available on streaming.
While the book isn’t YA (there’s some profanity and graphic depictions of violence), it still has that kind of accessible historical fiction energy, giving readers a compelling entry point into Tubman’s story without dumbing anything down. You can tell Bob did the work, and you can also tell this was a labor of love.
If I have one critique, it’s that the novel sometimes feels like two separate stories — Harriet’s history and Darnell’s personal reckoning — stitched together. Since they resonate thematically, the connection mostly works.
This is such a creative, well-executed concept that I genuinely hope it becomes a full-blown musical. If that happens, Cynthia Erivo — already Oscar-nominated for playing Harriet and fully capable of doing this role justice — should absolutely step into the lead.
This is an impressive debut and a compelling listen, equal parts joyful, defiant, educational and deeply queer. I’ve always been a fan of Bob the Drag Queen, but this shows he has many more layers than we’ve seen before. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Harriet Tubman deserves all the flowers, and this is one hell of a bouquet.
Rating (story): 4/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Format: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: July 11 – July 13, 2025
Multi-tasking: Good to go. The author’s writing and narration are crisp and easy to follow, and he does a good job of injecting humor and backstory to keep the pacing tight.
