When you mention the words, Pride, Pittsburgh and Entertainment in the same sentence, the first thing most people think of is the mix of events including the Pride in the Street event that happens on the Saturday evening prior to the Sunday Pride events. In 2013 however, Pittsburgh has an alternative event they can consider during the Pride weekend!
It was recently announced that Cattivo, the gay bar in the Lawrenceville area of the city will be hosing Jujubee, one of the beloved Allstar performers from RuPaul’s Drag Race on Friday June 14th. Both VIP and regular admission seats are available.
Some would think it risky to have a big name TV personality (well as far as Logo TV goes, Jujubee is big) in and competing with what is often booked as the gay party of the year, but as I’ve asked a number of different people of all ages about this, it seems like there are quite a few folks who want to see something other than the Delta Foundation’s events. Having choices is a good thing, and everyone benefits with more choices of things to do. This is another indication that Pittsburgh is growing into a wonderfully diverse city with many options for everyone.
I’ve loved drag since the days when I was a very young gay boy in Columbus Ohio. I came out at 18, and there, one could go to the bars at that age. Between 18 and 21, you could only drink 3.2% beer, but still, the bar was the center of gay life in the mid 70’s. Columbus had a small dive bar named Tiny’s that was down near the old Court House, where drag was performed all the time, but everyone would go there after the bars closed for breakfast, served by the Queens who would perform in between serving tables.
As a kid into theater, dance and performance of most any kind, I loved drag! I loved the “bigness” of it and the humor involved. It was both serious and wacky- sometimes at the same time. And for a very brief period of time, I worked on a character named “The Incomparable Tommi” who, as a female impersonator, sang rather than lipsynced. Oh, to be young again! Haha!
RuPaul’s Drag Race has brought new attention to Drag, which has grown and evolved in exciting ways. At one time, it may have been the form of gay entertainment, where today there are lesbian, gay, bi, trans and gender nonconforming entertainers in all sorts of mediums and venues. Still Drag is poignant and meaningful in the ways it uses Gender, to express power, roles, and and ideas. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Jujubee!
