Dressing Up and Getting Down

The show, put on by the Queer Network for Change, included both student and professional drag queens and kings.

The performance is just one of the many activities being held during the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Celebration Week. Other events include speakouts in the Pit, a hate crimes vigil and other performances by the QNC.

Jamie Sohn, the event's emcee and co-organizer, said the main goal of the event was to entertain. "We just want to get the campus involved," said Sohn, a senior history major. "It isn't just for radical organizations. It's for everyone."

A series of male and female performers graced the stage, dressed in outrageously short dresses and high heels, as well as sharp-looking three-piece suits.

The crowd began chanting the performers' names as Sohn introduced them. One drag queen, Heidi Myself, bombarded the stage in a short, black satin dress with a feathered hemline.

The crowd shouted, "We love you Heidi" as he entered the stage, and they screamed at the tops of their lungs for more when his performance came to an end.

Drag king Dick LaPenga danced across the stage to "Billie Jean" as a Michael Jackson impersonator. She had everything -- the single black glove, the red hat, even the moonwalking and crotch-grabbing. The crowd clapped in unison as she went into the audience and mounted the chairs with her arms in the air.

Ms. Honey Brown lip-synched a spicy rendition of "Rollin' on the River," ran out into the audience and kicked off his shoes, which he conscientiously retrieved after his performance. He also grabbed several unexpecting audience members and twirled them around while the rest of the fans cheered and danced in their seats.

The professional performers evoked the most cheering and laughter from the audience. In fact, Ms. Raven Simone gathered quite a few one-dollar bills from audience members and even got a kiss from an admiring fan.

But before the fan made it back to his seat, Ms. Raven Simone grabbed him and took him backstage as the audience screamed and hooted. The kidnapped fan came back five minutes later with his hands innocently in the air. The crowd laughed hysterically.

Many audience members said they loved every minute of the show. "It was the funniest thing I have ever seen," said freshman Meredith Evans. "This is my first drag show, and I didn't know what to expect. But it was hilarious."

The performers said they enjoyed themselves as well. Ms. Honey Brown lost his wig and his dress at one point and just laughed it off.

Sohn said this event was designed to entertain everyone, despite being an activity of the LGBT Celebration Week. "It's not a gay thing or a straight thing," Sohn said. "It's an everybody thing."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.