Drag Queen Film Premiere at the Tropic Cinema
The premiere film screening of “Audience with the Queens” at the Tropic Cinema in Key West, Florida on wed. Feb 17th was absolutely fantastic. The weather was very brisk for Key West, it’s usually nice and warm during the winters here, but this year has been an extreme exception. I was freezing cold while heading to the theatre on my scooter. My beret pilled down over my ears, scarf wrapped around my neck, gloves on my hands, and my girlfriend hugging me on the back, we arrived with a little frost on our noses.
The STARS make an entrance to the Theatre
The place was buzzing with excitement, lots of people were lined up to get tickets, and there were many already inside the theatre. The drag queens led by the star, Sushi, made their grand entrance with the camera rolling. The other drag queens, Samantha, Gugi, Gassy and Deja’ all looked fabulous and had big smiles on their faces as they posed and made clever remarks to each other and to all within earshot. They are so witty, and the banter that goes on amongst them is really quite the show in itself.
The theatre manager told me the screening was SOLD OUT in advance, so all who were still in line to get tickets were very disappointed. The best part of that is the film “Audience with the Queens” is playing at the Theatre for the entire week so the ones who missed out on opening night will still be able to see the film.
The film profiles a very diverse group of drag queens who live and perform onstage here in Key West at the 801 Cabaret Club on Duval Street. The group is led by Sushi, the drag mother to many and the beauty and brains who makes the show go for these drag queens. Sushi makes the schedule and hosts many of the shows herself and she the one who has to give them hell If they screw up, or in some cases, get drunk and don’t show up! The film gives the audience some perspective on what a drag queen is and what they’re all about. They are an interesting subculture to explore and I know I’ve certainly learned much about them and in doing so have come to enjoy them very much !
The film stars make there appearance
The theatre GM asked me to speak for a few minutes before the screening and give my perspective on why and how I came to do this particular film. It is a good story, but that’s for another day. I spoke before the film screened and talked a little of how I came to get the idea for the documentary and how I got involved with this group of drag queens.
One of the “stars” of the film, Destiny, passed away during the making of the film. She’s still a very prominent part of the film. After her death we filmed her funeral but I haven’t yet added that footage to the film. It was a sad day but drag queens have a different perspective on how to have a funeral. Destiny’s dad was in attendance for the premiere, and in my remarks from the stage about the film, I dedicated the screening to “Destiny and her dad”. The only way I knew her dad was there was Destiny’s niece, who I met at the funeral, came up to me before the film started and told me. After the screening I made sure I met Destiny’s Dad and we had a nice conversation about his son. It was a very touching ending to a great evening.
The film screens at the Tropic for an entire week. Starting Feb 17th with two shows a day. I think I’ll end here and continue this a bit later
