Will Wilmington's Peppermint win $100,000?

Do you want to know who won the ninth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race"?

You'll have to watch just like the finalists themselves.

The finale with four finalists was filmed in Los Angeles last week, but even finalists like Wilmington native Peppermint doesn't know who won – and she was there.   

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Multiple endings were filmed with each finalist "winning," but it won't be real until 8 p.m. Friday when the show unveils who really won the program, which airs weekly on VH1 and Logo TV.

"It's kind of weird because everyone goes through the motions of each different possibility," says Peppermint, who grew up in The Flats near Seventh and Woodlawn streets. "They film so many endings – you have to pretend for every different possible winner."  

The current season of the reality competition program has been winnowing the 14-person field since its ratings-smashing March debut and now only four remain, including Peppermint.

If she wins, the Wilmington High School graduate will take home $100,000 and a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics from the show, which has seen a ratings surge this season.

"I'm on pins and needles," says Peppermint, who lives in New York where she regularly performs at clubs across the city. "Friday is already the longest day of my life."

Even though Peppermint will be in New York watching the finale with her fellow finalists due to program obligations, her mother Joanna Moore Collins and other family and friends will be at Crimson Moon Tavern (1909 W. Sixth St., Wilmington) starting at 7:30 p.m. for a watch party and drag show. There is a $5 cover.

"They'll be sending good vibes through the television screen," says Peppermint, 37, who is the show's first contestant to identify herself as transgender at the start of a season.

Over the past three months while the show has aired, Peppermint has been touring the country performing and meeting her fan base, which has grown thanks to her national television exposure.

"I get stopped in airports a lot. Wherever there are young people and women – so pretty much everywhere," she says.

It's through those club performances and social media interactions that she has seen the impact that her example has had on other transgender people – folks who traditionally have not seen themselves represented in popular culture, even though strides have been made in recent years.

"A lot of people have expressed newfound revelations about their own identity and a lot have told me that they came out after watching the show or hearing my story," she says. "Even more than that – there are performers who are also trans that have a newfound courage." 

After going to New York after high school for theater training at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Peppermint has forged a career performing at clubs. In addition to her stage show, she's released her own music (2009's "Hardcore Glamour") and appeared on television shows such as "Ugly Betty" and "CSI: NY."

Peppermint will release her second album, "Black Pepper," on Friday to coincide with the finale. The EP, released on her own Hardcore Glamour label, will be available on iTunes and other online music sellers.

Last week, Peppermint was accompanied to Los Angeles for the finale by her mom, a retired University of Delaware administrative academic adviser who still lives in Wilmington.

Collins has been watching dutifully each week no matter where she is. If she was in her Wilmington home, she'd watch it there. If she was somewhere else like the YMCA, you know what was on the TV: Peppermint and "RuPaul's Drag Race."

During the finale taping, Collins sat alongside Peppermint's friend and transgender actress Trace Lysette, who plays Shea on Amazon Studios' "Transparent."

"It was very exciting," Collins says of being on set at the Alex Theatre. "It really was wonderful. I was treated like a celebrity."

Now there's only one thing left to wait for: whether RuPaul will fork over a celebrity-sized paycheck to Peppermint in front of more than a million viewers.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU WATCH

What: "RuPaul's Drag Race" viewing party

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. (The show begins at 8 p.m.)

Where: Crimson Moon Tavern, 1909 W. Sixth St., Wilmington

Cost: $5