Ever Been To A Drag Show? (That's Drag QUEENS! Not Drag Races.)

If so, do you have a favorite performer you can recommend? Which city?

They scared me. Bigger than life. Loud. Over-the-top. Oh my god.

I was scared enough sneaking in (underage) to Gainesville's "Melody Club"... but I learned to love them.

My favorites are anyone who does Cher, Bette, Babs, Judy, and Diana Ross.

-- Allen

Love those!
Where have they all gone?

There are a lot of younger drag queens that are a bit disappointing. Someone needs to tell them that...

1) KNOW THE WORDS TO THE SONG
2) Spinning around and around is NOT dancing. Please choreograph SOMETHING.

I know... I know... everyone has to start somewhere. I'm sorry. I'll try to keep my mouth shut.

-- Allen

Isn't that a big part of the show???

I just LOVE IT whenever I get to see someone do a good Tina Turner impersonation.

-- Allen

Tina, what an inspiration.
God I miss them too!
I do miss the Bette impersonations. Bette is my favorite (clipped speech/cigarette)! There were more classic female icons back then that were unique. What do we have today–Madonna?
We need guidance!

The outtakes in the Croatian bar (w/Yitzak) on Drag night.
"Ba-bara Stri-sand!"
Why did they cut that bit?

whatever happend to miss diane adams and erica fox?

C L, the owner was a real fixture. made a truly horrendous drag queen!

want to see a real honey? she also went to college at UF, but didn't have her drag thing going then....

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I introduce.......

Miss Deaundra Peek

http://www.bettyjack.com/funtone/experience/




edit for spelling

and the drag queen shows were wonderful...this was back in the early 70s, tho...so Im telling my age..
!!

several in Colo. Spgs (mainly because I knew the owners or some of the performers.

it has been a while, though, so couldn't really recommend any
(don't know if finocchio's is still open in SF)

The club is called Club One.

They usually do a Rocky Horror showing for Halloween too, which I hear is a blast.

There are Cabaret shows at the "Savannah Pride" every year too.

Sorry for the edits. Sloppy grammer on my part.

Second only to Rupaul. (And maybe Noxema Jackson... aka Wesley Snipes)

Always fun.

PM me for details

who is the actual king of drag kings. Has an friggin' amazing performance with a billion costume changes and really cool soul/hip-hop music. Mmmm... Dred.

Edit: I suddenly just realized that you maybe wanted only drag queen recommendations. Oops ;-)

My partner's ex-- he does a great job as Vivica--(stress ont he second syllable-- ViVEEca)

Did a great job of Linda Eder's Big Time, and Lara Fabian's Adagio.

They want me to do one for the next show-- Will come in as Truly Delish (Truly Scrumptious' illegitimate sister) and do "Bring on the Men" from Jekyll & Hyde.

Tim was Judy and Steve was Barbra. Tim did double-duty as Patsy Cline and Steve did a decent Reba Mcintyre. -- What a great time. I'm sitting here with the biggest grin on my face just thinking about it.

I miss them.

-- Allen

She was a gangly wickedly funny tongued comedian--not at all a beauty. When I was underage I snuck (sic) into a bar and she and I talked all night and drank and took amphetamines. She was VERY intelligent. I recently read that Tanya and a friend are the reason Miss America contestants now do some "shoe event." I read that they used to stand on New York Ave, and when the contestants drove by they screamed "show us your shoes." And that eventually the contestants started to wear the outrageous shoes so they could hold them up for Tanya when they drove by. (I am not familiar with the contest, or the shoe event; but, yearly, the wild shoe event is shown on the local news. (Thanks for the fun memory.)

edited to add: I just did a seach and found this about "Tonya Treetop," I had misspelled her name in the title:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/legacy/053102LEGACY_M31.html

people on the planet. Hell, they led Stonewall, didn't they? How bold is that?
Being a woman, I always loved being in a women's restroom in a gay bar and all the queens come in at once (some ghetto any–bar in some small town). They amaze me.
No favorite perfomers though; we don't get the A-list queens here in anytown, USA.

I also have a tape of the episode of Saturday Night Live where Eric Idle helped them do a skit about Drag Net. Actually, I don't think it's that funny.

but it was a riot.

when she did her honky tonk act.

I also recommend:
Lady Chablis
Samantha Hunter
Miss Otis Regrets

all four can be found on the Savannah/Atlanta/Charleston circuit

Don't remember names but amazing talent.

... and, then there are the nationally-known ...


Charles Pierce does a flawless Bette Davis ............



Charles Pierce as Bette Davis on Joan Crawford:

"Dead you know ... and, she won't let us forget it."

Charles Pierce as Bette Davis on Bette Davis:

"I shall never forget my films ... and, I'll never let YOU forget my films ... especially the stinkers ... Beyond the Forest ... I was Rosa Moline ... a midnight girl in a nine o'clock town with five o'clock shadow ... oh, I was a mess, I really was ... crawling crawling to Chicago ... with Periphrenitis... a Greek I picked up in a bar ... not bad ...

What a dump!

Zigfields is one of my favorite spots... every once and awhile.

-- Allen

He had her nailed.
I wish he would have done a Baby Jane, wow!!

fyi

If you're game.

-- Allen

:loveya:

I might be visiting LA and Santa Barbara sometime after Xmas if you want to meet up sometime.

-- Allen

Charles Pierce (1926 - 1999)
Born July 14, 1926 in Watertown, New York
Died May 31, 1999, North Hollywood, California.

http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/cpierce.html

Many years ago, I attended my brother-in-law's media awards evening in which he had hired two really convincing (and hilarious) drag queens to present the awards. Several guys hit on them, not realizing the truth. One of them got sick enough of the guy yelling "show us your tits!" that (s)he finally pulled one out and threw it at him.

I don't know of too many drag queens who will put up with too much crap from anybody. I wonder why that is?

-- Allen

Unexpected bold brashness from every corner.

but they were great shows.

I'm gonna have to find my way into a few sometime in the not so distant future to see if the new kids can put on a show like the old ones did.

I hope so. Just looking good doesn't cut it.

From 1983-94, I attended 548 RHPS screenings in three different states. During my decade-plus in the cult, I managed to play every role in the Rocky Horror Revue at one time or another--including Frank-N-Furter in full regalia, baby!

And before you ask: no, I don't have any pictures. Sorry....

There was a restaurant that was screening it every Sat. nite here in CT last summer. It was the first time I had seen it since 1980 something or other...they showed it on the back of the building outside. It was cool! It had really evolved as far as participation since when I saw it in a theater in '79...

n/t

attended my first Ms Gay Mississippi Pageant...and what a fete that was! Just remembering makes my.......uh, never mind

Maybe a Mint Julep will help. Or some Lemon Verbena water spritzed on your neck will help cool you down.

-- Allen

Ya fruitcake! Haven't seen a good show since one of the last time I was in New Orleans. Decadence Day about 4 years ago the entire Quarter turned into a giant Drag Show and a VERY naughty one at that. If you've never been, you really should treat yourself to next years celebration!

... experiencing New Orleans' Mardi Gras. (Only... Fantasy Fest is in October... but pretty darn fun!)

-- Allen

was a microcosm of every drag queen/ gonna be a star/ tragicomedic soapopera lives of the performers play and movie you've ever seen. It's heyday was in the 70's when things were a bit looser. Whichis how I found myself there.

I ran a very hot singles bar on "the boulevard" --Ventura Blvd. for you uninitiated non Valley non LA Non So Cal or out of staters. It wasn't a singles bar per se because this was before the concept actually took hold; but it's just that among baby boomers during that time everybody was single. Or wished they were. Or acted like it. Well, a couple of really hot hot babes who knew one of my waitresses came in and it turned out that they were drag queens, but DAMN! they looked REALLY good! Didn't we all then. When I found out the 411 on these girls, I insisted that they never pay for a drink in my place again as they were one of those "straws that stirs the drink" you are always in search of to maximize the bargoing experience for your clientele. It was delicious to watch a local lothario attempt to take onone of these girls. One thing led to another and I found myself at their bar one evening, and the cognoscenti of Studio City were all there. Porn queens and kings who lived in the glass stilt houses sparkling on the close hillsides, gangsters and their molls who worked the teamster docks at the studios. Producers and directors from MTM which was a studio right down the street owned by Mary Tyler Moore; Joe was there, but not Rhoda. Actors from whatever production just wrapped on the streets around there, it could have been any of a dozen TV shows. Add the glitterati and the other queens of the scene. A kick ass bar band, replete with horns. The nightly review included Marilyn, Judy, and the closest thing to the Village People I have seen in that genre.

And the freakiest thing of all was those who slept over at my place and greeted my ultra straight neighbors the next morning, because by the light of day a post party drag queen can look pretty smudged, you know? For Sale signs went up the following weekend. I never did know if it was a coincidence.Funny thing was, a professional librarian (!) bought the place, but he was totally cool.

So yeah, I saw a drag show. And it only started about 3:30 AM in the parking lot.

I used to be a habitue of gay bars when I lived in CA and saw many lovely drag queens. My brother and sister have been to Wigstock, though.

Woohoo!

Portland, Oregon.

Has her own theater and does a full on burlesque show every weekend. Last time I went was for a bachelor party... f-ing hilarious. the groom went onstage with her, kinda drunk and started hamming it up a bit.

Note to straight guys: NEVER try to upstage a diva - even when she's 70.

One of the nicest humans on the planet. She's been around for years and has always been politically active and outspoken. And always the first to make fun of herself. Started a burlesque drag club in Portland 36 years ago (not an easy feat) and is still one of the most popular shows in town. You have to hand it to a 70 year old drag queen. Always puts on a fun show with a big cast. The best thing about the club is that it is a very accepting, mixed crowd. I haven't been to Portland in way too long, but next time I'm there, I'll definitely stop in and see how the old gal is doing.

her club was still doing great when I left Portland, and she has consistently been right there for all the political and charitable causes.

:wow:

I used to go to the Sweet Gum Head in Atlanta in the 70's. The shows were wonderful. My favorite drag queen was Brandy Alexander, who used to make occasional pit stops from somewhere else in the South.

Two friends (and former business partners) of mine were loft mates of Jackie Beat. Jackie was once named by a local alternative paper as the best drag queen in NYC (before he moved to the West Coast). My friends say Jackie's shows are a riot. They have tried to get me to go to The Fez whenever he is in town. But I'm older now and I can't stay awake past 10 p.m.

Besides, I woke Jackie up on more than one occasion by playing with the dog outside his room at 1 p.m. He (she during the shows) singles people out in the audience. I fear that payback would be a bitch.

Ms. Jackie Beat

It was great fun. Balloons, tinsel, lights... it was like a gay prom! All the drag queens were TALL!!!

Saw her in SF in the mid 90s at somebody's Juice Joint.

Funny, funny, funny. One, er, person show, lip-synching to a terribly funny mix of old show tunes and social commentary.

... I think Lipsynca made an appearance there. It was a great docu-movie.

Didn't Lipsynca also appear in one or two George Michael videos?

-- Allen

Miss Richfield is something of a local celebrity in the Twin Cities. She's more of a comedian/perfomer than a singer, but a hoot!

Under a Big Top. No double entendre's there!

I've seen them about four times, and I'd go see them again in a heartbeat. The humor works because they are superb dancers, and the more you know about the history and personalities of the dance world, the funnier they are. Their version of "Swan Lake" is hilarious even if you don't know much about ballet.

and had a wonderful time. :D Though not enough to have any personal faves. I used to like the Liza impersonators though. I have no idea why I'm attached to her, but I am. I never really learned to dance until I spent time in a gay bar when I was in college. It was THE best dance club in town.

nobody really well known.
I had an interesting experience recently though... I went out drinking with some straight friends at a VFW (LOL) out in blue collar suburbia. They had a band playing boring covers....then, right in the middle of the second set the lead singer stepped out and came back in after a few minutes in full drag! He was really very good... didn't take any shit... sang two songs.... went back and changed into his regular cloths. It was very unexpected.

... or not.

I'm just saying...

That's a pretty cool story.

-- Allen

I'd stick with not LOL

But what is the entertainment in seeing a man pretend to be a famous woman? I don't get it. Somebody enlighten me.

Either you get it or you don't

Some folks like it, but I don't.

Nothing wrong with drag races... I just don't happen to like them.

-- Allen

BUT... have you ever seen Drag Queens RACING?? That's funny!

The first time I got to go to a 'gay' bar, I just wanted to meet some nice, cute guy. I was what, 19? But then the lights dimmed and the drag performers went into their acts. *Everyone* else seemed to really enjoy the performances, but I was utterly dumbfounded. I kept asking, "WHY aren't GUYS on the stage??" I was/am not bi, and looking at someone dressed up as a woman was the last thing on my agenda that night.

Over the years, people have tried to explain this to me, but it's like trying to understand that 2 + 2 = 6...