Ross Matthews on his Paramount show, why he loves the Long Island Railroad, and more

Ross Mathews was always a sociable guy, even as a kid, growing up in a small Washington farm town.

“My mom’s friends would come over and sit around drinking and I would 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 in Matthews’ “I Got It, Girl!” The tour kicks off May 11 at the Paramount Hotel in Huntington. While the show is about the “special relationship” between gay men and their best female friends, he assures that the husbands and boyfriends in the audience will find plenty of laughs too.

Former West Coaster Mathews, 43, now calls the North Shore home since marrying Elmont Union Free School District director of curriculum and instruction Wellinthon García last year. In a Zoom chat with Newsday’s Daniel Bubbeo, Matthews talked about the Paramount show, his co-hosting role on “The Drew Barrymore Show” , and why he loves the Long Island Railroad.

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

It was definitely standing. I stood there for about 45 minutes. I love being in the audience, so I call it stand-up comedy and all that. Viewers can ask me any question. …and then we play games and really get people on their feet. I want it to be interactive. I want to be able to close the door and have fun again. Remember fun?

What type of game do you play?

The point of “I Gotchu, Gurl!” This is how we have each other’s support. I just want to interact with the audience. So I might say I’m looking for a really embarrassing sex story, who has that? It might change nightly with what I’m looking for, but I want people who actually get the goods. They have to rely on their own efforts to get on the stage. Then I talk to them and get to know them. Then they compete for a small prize. About “RuPaul’s Drag Race” [on which he’s a judge]our contestants lip-sync for life; here, your drink might have a little lip-syncing and a little pop culture trivia.

How did the cast of “The Drew Barrymore Show” come about?

That’s when I was dating my now husband. We met in January 2020 before the world shut down due to COVID. I’m on the West Coast, he’s on Long Island, and we’ve been dating over Zoom all summer. I decided to see him in October, and Drew had just launched her show in September alone in a studio—with a crew and a camera. When I’m in town, they let me play for the day. I did it. It was a tough time. I lost my mom during COVID. Drew started that show. When I come in one day, it’s like she and I have found each other. We don’t know each other but it feels like family. …they asked me again the next day, and then asked if I would stay next week. I said I needed a hotel room and I never left.

Congratulations on your marriage. When you met your husband, did he really not know who you were?

He doesn’t know who I am. Finally I told him what I did and he was like “oh wait, I think I’ve seen you somewhere.” It wasn’t like he was hooking me up. One of the reasons I love him is because he’s so smart and he’s had such a great career. But he doesn’t understand pop culture. We went out to dinner one time with my forever friend Rosie O’Donnell, and after dinner, he said, “She doesn’t look like she does on a sitcom.” I said, “You mean stand-up?” And he was like “Roxanne.” I was like, “Oh my god, there’s so much wrong with this.”

What other projects are you working on?

I am currently working on a cookbook. This is how I lost weight by figuring out how to keep the flavor but keep it healthy. This is what I call Ross-ipes. I make them on my instagram and now I’ve worked with a lot of companies to make Ross-ipes for them. … “Drag Race All Stars 8” is on the air, and “The Drew Barrymore Show” Season 4 kicks off in September. …I think I’ll be going on vacation somewhere in August.

Maybe the Hamptons?

I’m learning the geography of Long Island little by little. One day we drove to the easternmost point of the Orient, and since I saw it on a map, I said I needed to see it. 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 Fire Island. …I like to take the LIRR from my station to downtown, then I walk from Penn Station to work.

You might be the only person on Long Island who has said “I love riding the LIRR.”

(Laughs.) We don’t have any on the West Coast. So when my husband told me you could take the train into town, it was like he was telling me I could take the hovercraft into town.now i got [LIRR] App, it’s boop, bop, boop, I show my ticket. It made me think, okay, now I’m from Long Island.