Ross Mathews on his Paramount show, why he loves the Long Island Rail Road, more

Ross Mathews has always been a people person, even as a kid growing up in a small farm town in Washington.

"My mom's friends would come over and sit around drinking wine, and I’d hide under the table so I could hear all the gossip," he said.

That same spirit of gossip, cocktails and friendship will be on full display during Mathews' "I Gotchu, Gurl!" tour, which launches at The Paramount in Huntington on May 11. While the show is all about the "special relationship" between gay men and their female best friends, he promises that husbands and boyfriends in the audience will also find plenty to laugh at.

Former West Coaster Mathews, 43, now calls the North Shore home since his marriage last year to Wellinthon García, director of curriculum and instruction for the Elmont Union Free School District. During his Zoom chat with Newsday's Daniel Bubbeo, Mathews talked about the Paramount show, his co-hosting gig on "The Drew Barrymore Show," and why he loves the Long Island Rail Road.

Your show sounds like a stand-up comedy/talk show/game show mashup. Is that about right?

It’s stand-up for sure. I'm out there for about 45 minutes doing standup. And I love going into the audience, so that’s why I call it stand-up and so much more. The audience can ask me anything. … And then we play games and really get people up on their feet. I want it to be interactive. I want to be able to shut the door and just have fun again. Remember fun?

What sort of games do you play?

The whole point of “I Gotchu, Gurl!” is how we’ve got each other’s backs. I’m all about engaging with the audience. So I might say I'm looking for a really embarrassing sex story, who’s got one? It could change every night with what I’m looking for, but I want people who've really got the goods. They have to earn their way to come up to the stage. Then I talk with them and get to know them. And then they compete for a little prize. On "RuPaul’s Drag Race" [on which he's a judge], our contestants lip sync for their lives; here there might be some lip-syncing for your drink and there might be some pop-culture trivia.

How did the gig on 'The Drew Barrymore Show' come about?

It was while I was dating my now husband. We met in January 2020 and then the world shut down because of COVID. I was on the West Coast, he was on Long Island, and we sort of dated via Zoom the whole summer. I decided to come visit him in October and Drew had just launched her show in September alone in a studio — her and a crew and a camera. They asked me to pop in for a day while I was here in town. And I did. It was a tough time. I had lost my mom during COVID. Drew was starting that show solo. And when I came in for a day, it was like she and I found each other. We didn’t know each other, but it really felt like family right away. … They asked me back the next day, and then asked if I’d stay for the next week. I said I’ll need a hotel room, and then I just sort of never left.

Congratulations on your marriage. Is it true that when you met your husband, he had no idea who you were?

He did not know who I was. Eventually I told him what I did, and he was like “Oh, wait a minute, I think I’ve seen you somewhere.” It wasn’t like he was fangirling for me. One of the reasons I love him is because he’s so smart, and he has this amazing career. But he doesn’t know pop culture. One time we went out to dinner with Rosie O’Donnell, my friend forever, and after dinner, he said, "She doesn’t look like she did on her sitcom." And I said, "You mean talk show?" And he was like “Roxanne.” I was like, "Oh my God, there’s so much wrong with that."

What other projects are you working on?

I’m working on a cookbook right now. That’s how I lost my weight by figuring our how to keep flavor but be healthy about it. That’s what I call my Ross-ipes. I do them on my Instagram and now I've partnered with a bunch of companies making Ross-ipes for them. … "Drag Race All Stars 8" is about to start airing and season 4 of "The Drew Barrymore Show" starts in September. … I think in August I’m going to take a vacation somewhere.

The Hamptons, perhaps?

I’m learning bit by bit the geography of Long Island. We drove out to the furthest east tip of Orient one day just because I saw it on the map and I said I need to see it. And I looked at the ocean and said “Now I’ve seen it.” We’ve been to the Hamptons. I haven’t been to Fire Island yet, so we’re going to go to Fire Island. … And I love taking the LIRR from my station to the city and then I walk from Penn Station to work.

You may be the only person on Long Island who's ever said 'I love taking the LIRR.'

(Laughs.) We don’t have that on the West Coast. So when my husband told me you can take a train into the city, it was like he told me I could hover into the city on a hovercraft. Now I’ve got the [LIRR] app, and it’s boop, bop, boop, and I show my ticket. That made me feel like, OK, now I’m a Long Islander.