The most glamorous pageant in the state is underway at the Rose Room, upstairs at the S4 nightclub in Oak Lawn.
Dozens of drag queens, including the reigning Miss Gay Texas America, Dallas’ own Asia O’Hara, will vie for several crowns and the opportunity to represent Texas at the national female impersonator pageant in the fall. (O’Hara, a regular performer at the Rose Room, also currently holds the U.S. title.)
The long-running Texas pageant — its debut was in 1974 — honors past winners and awards competitors in five categories: solo talent, evening gown, on-stage interview, male interview (challenging contestants to channel both their masculine and feminine sides), and talent, which requires a grand production number.
We bring this up because A) The show should be a lot of fun, and B) In a year that’s seen Dallas’ LGBTQ community come together in response to a series of attacks on gay men in Oak Lawn, a spectacular statewide drag show at the Rose Room seems especially vital to efforts to take back the neighborhood.
Tickets for Wednesday’s second preliminary night are $10. The review show Thursday will cost $15, while the top 10 showcase and final crowning Friday will have a $20 cover.
