{"id":29505,"date":"2025-11-05T14:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/29505\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T14:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:00:15","slug":"nyc-exhibit-honors-the-legends-behind-the-drag-queens-of-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/29505\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC exhibit honors the legends behind \u2018The Drag Queens of New York\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirty years ago, the art of drag<\/a>, while becoming more visible, was not yet the household phenomenon that it is today, as author Julian Fleisher calls it, \u201cthe Drag-Industrial Complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other than some works that could be found in research libraries, there were no comprehensive books that summed up the drag domain for the rest of the world, but Fleisher remedied that, creating \u201cThe Drag Queens of New York: An Illustrated Field Guide.\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

While trying to find a way to realize his \u201cdream of becoming a nightclub singer,\u201d he worked as \u201ca waiter, writer, retoucher, actor, SAT tutor and as a personal assistant to the truly psychotic wife of an aging writer whom I revered,\u201d but still wasn\u2019t earning enough. Then, he was offered a deal that seemed too good to refuse: $20,000 to write a book about the \u201cedgy\u201d scene that he had immersed himself in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just moved to the East Village in the early 90s,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd I was loving it a lot. I felt like I had finally found my neighborhood and my people. You know, all the other misfits and weirdos.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seemed like a fortune, until he realized that it would have to stretch over the two years needed to research and write the thing, with unexpected expenses popping up, such as cover charges, interns, travel, and Lou Reed extracting $500 for the usage of four lines from \u201cWalk on the Wild Side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"All of the interviews for the book were done on cassette tapesPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Photographer Brooke Williams (right) chatting with some fansPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"HRH Princess Diandra, still royalPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Miss Chicklet hasn\u2019t done drsg since 2001, but hasn\u2019t forgotten how to strike a posePhoto by Bob Krasner<\/p>\n

The first thing he did was \u201cto introduce myself to a lot of the drag queens that I had already started following, and then I started approaching them about the book,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a wide range of reactions. Some queens were certainly excited, while a couple others had sort of heard it all before. Some said no,\u201d Fleisher recalls. \u201cThis was the 90s, so drag was kind of having a moment. I think a lot of people were kind of circling around, looking for an angle, looking for a way to talk about or write about the drag queens that were showing up on MTV.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, there was a mix of disbelief and interest. It took me a long time, I think, to prove to them that I was for real,\u201d he continues. \u201cI got a P.O. box and I made a letterhead on my computer so that it would seem like this was legit.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a scene that had found its home in Downtown Manhattan, with much of it centered in the East Village, Fleisher noted that \u201cthe drag scene in New York was feeding the energy of New York nightlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also very much for the people in the room on that night, you know, whether you were at the Boy Bar or the Pyramid or Jackie 60 or any one of the other places where drag was typically happening,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was a sense that this was just for us, just on that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing the book was another challenge, as Fleisher had to go past his previous writing experience (self-help books and books on grammar and vocabulary) to complement the subject.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it came to \u2018The Drag Queens of New York,\u2019 I had to sort of develop a new voice that would somehow be appropriate to the subject matter,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t want it to be dry. I wanted it to be playful and silly at times, and also smart and funny. Like the subject, you know. I think most writers will tell you they\u2019re trying to make their writing somehow reflect the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Miss Understood with a photo by Joshua Kessler that they posed in for OUT magazine in 1996Photo by Bob Krasner \"\"The gang\u2019s partly here: Standing, Brooke Williams, Perfidia, Princess Diandra, Miss Understood, Miss Chicklet. Front, Flloyd and Julian FleisherPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Photographer Eva Mueller and singer\/songwriter Stephanie Marie got into the spirit of the showPhoto by Bob Krasner<\/p>\n

Integral to the project is the photography of Brooke Williams, whose straightforward images captured the performers perfectly.\n<\/p>\n

One of the subjects, Linda Simpson, had some thoughts about how it turned out: \u201cBy the time Julian\u2019s book came out, the downtown NYC scene had been getting quite a bit of press coverage, but his investigation was much more substantial and insightful. It was very validating for our drag shenanigans to be treated as groundbreaking and culturally significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its import is currently being celebrated at the Howl! Archive gallery, with an expansive show that sports new prints lining the walls, related ephemera in vitrines, previously unpublished images and the original questionnaires that Fleisher\u2019s subjects filled out at the beginning of the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most interesting part of the exhibit for me is what\u2019s happened to the thirty or so drag queens profiled in the book,\u201d muses Simpson. \u201cSadly, some have died. Others have hung up their wig and heels forever. But I think most of us are still performing in one way or another. The big question is, which one of us will outlast us all?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miss Chicklet also considered the passing of time, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how old my contemporaries look! I still look and feel fresh. I\u2019ve only aged five years in the last 30.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Perfidia, now and thenPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Julian Fleisher going over the Drag Queen Family TreePhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Linda Simpson, then and nowPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Actress\/writer Molly Ringwald chatting with photographer Steven MenendezPhoto by Bob Krasner<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the book is now out of print and can only be found on various online sellers. Fleisher doesn\u2019t have high hopes for a reprint, although he does own all the rights.\n<\/p>\n

Looking back on it now, he remembers the publishing end of things to be a \u201creally unpleasant experience. My editor did very little editing and made me feel badly about the project. On the writing end, though, it was fascinating and getting to know all these drag queens was great, and I\u2019m still friends with most of them, and I\u2019m still delighted to see them still working.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the book itself, he wishes that he could have spent more time on it. How would he describe it, we asked, if he were someone else picking it up for the first time?\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a loving tribute to a scene that was colorful, defiant, sexy, and essential,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a catalog of legends who carried the torch of art through a dark, dark time \u2014 by that, I\u2019m referring to the AIDS crisis. I think it\u2019s playful but elevated, it\u2019s smart and funny at the same time. I really tried hard to tell the stories of this amazing scene. Drag used to be an antidote to popular culture. Now it is popular culture, and that\u2019s a very fundamental difference.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Info about the exhibit, which runs through Nov. 30, is available at howlarts.org\/event\/the-drag-queens-of-new-york-30th-anniversary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Nov. 7, a presentation of videos from the era will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Howl! Archive Gallery. On Saturday, Nov. 15, from 4-7 p.m., Fleisher will conduct a walkthrough of the show, featuring speakers and additional videos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thirty years ago, the art of drag, while becoming more visible, was not yet the household phenomenon that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[18254,18255,18256,18257,18258,18259,18260,18261,18262,18263,18264,9,24,18265,18266,63,122,124,123,18267,18268],"class_list":["post-29505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-1990s-drag-queens","tag-aids-era-creativity","tag-brooke-williams-photography","tag-cultural-preservation","tag-downtown-manhattan-art-scene","tag-drag-history","tag-east-village-culture","tag-howl-archive-gallery","tag-julian-fleisher","tag-lgbtq-history","tag-linda-simpson","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-exhibitions","tag-new-york-nightlife","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-queer-performance-art","tag-the-drag-queens-of-new-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}