20 June 1-7, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The War on Drag South Florida restaurants that host drag shows feel singled out by new law. BY LAINE DOSS I t’s Friday evening at Lips (1421 E. Oak- land Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). The entertainment venue, which specialized in drag dinner shows, brunches, and bingo, has been around for a decade and a half. This evening, the room’s disco balls can’t compete with the dozens of women in sequined dressed and rhinestone tiaras cele- brating birthdays and bachelorettes drinking frozen cosmopolitans and eating chicken marsala. The lights dim and Amanda Austin, in a platinum wig and red caftan, lip-synchs to “This is Me.” The song from the movie The Greatest Showman, with its “Take me for who I am” message, is the perfect anthem for drag. The audience shows its approval by mak- ing it rain dollar bills. Later, Austin will bring each birthday celebrant onstage for a picture and a cupcake with a candle and then admire each bachelorette’s “bling” while making a few “blow job on your honeymoon” jokes and mildly upselling cocktails. (“Remember, the more you drink, the more like a woman I’ll look.”) At the end of the show, the audience gathers at the photo booth for complimen- tary snaps before spilling out into the night, giggling and singing. Drag has been around for centuries. Shake- speare’s plays were initially acted only by men, meaning the first Juliet and Lady Macbeth were men. In the 1950s, comedian Milton Berle brought drag into American households via television, and in 1996, Nathan Lane and Robin Williams portrayed co-owners of a Mi- ami Beach nightclub that featured drag perfor- mances in The Birdcage. In that movie, the two teach a conservative politician to accept their lifestyle and even try on drag for himself. Recently, in a backward version of life imi- tating art, conservative politicians have waged war on drag in Florida and elsewhere. Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the Protection of Children Bill (SB 1438), which allows the state to “fine, suspend, or revoke the license of any public lodging es- tablishment or public food service establish- ment if the establishment admits a child to an adult live performance.” Though the law does not define an “adult live performance,” own- ers of restaurants and bars that host drag shows feel they are targets. Ana Navarro, political pundit and cohost of ABC television’s The View, explains the im- plications of this law. “It means drag shows now have the burden of making sure nobody under the age of 18 goes through the door,” she tells New Times. They need extra staff and security at the door. It means that if any parent chooses brings a minor, the drag show can be penalized.” A longtime ally of the LGBTQ community, Navarro wonders why parents aren’t also held accountable for their children. “If a mi- nor at a drag show is such an evil thing, why didn’t DeSantis propose a law penalizing par- ents who freely choose to take their kids to performances? Isn’t it the parents who have responsibility for their kids? Going after par- ents wouldn’t serve his political purposes, though. It’s all about his manufactured cul- ture war targeting LGBTQ, whether it’s books, drag queens, or Mickey Mouse.” Restaurateurs who host drag shows have good reason to feel singled out in a state rife with casinos, strip clubs, and risqué revues. In July 2022, DeSantis filed an administra- tive complaint against R House (2727 NW Second Ave., Miami), stating, “The nature of the performances de- scribed above, partic- ularly when conducted in the pres- ence of young chil- dren, corrupts the public morals and out- rages the sense of pub- lic decency.” R House responded with a lawsuit and could not com- ment on the status of the negotiations. A few days ago, Hamburger Mary’s in Or- lando filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Florida, asking that the law be temporarily stopped. “In addition to the loss of [custom- ers] canceling, the establishment has had to ban children from the family-friendly perfor- mances because they simply cannot take the chance that their business or liquor licenses would be suspended for hosting a drag show where children attend,” the suit alleges. This week, the Human Rights Campaign issued a travel advisory for Florida, outlining “the devastating impacts of laws that are hos- tile to the LGBTQ community,” though fall- ing short of suggesting people not visit the Sunshine State. These current events have put a damper on South Florida’s drag community. Restaurants and bars that rely on drag shows for the lion’s share of their business have changed their rules. Restaurants that of- fered family-friendly daytime brunches are now adults-only, requiring the confirmation of being 18 and over to secure an online reser- vation. When asked to comment on the cur- rent climate, all of the restaurateurs and managers contacted by New Times declined to speak about the current climate, fearing possible retaliation by both the State of Flor- ida and individuals. What they did want to share was that drag shows are simply meant to provide entertain- ment by a group of highly skilled and talented performers dedicated to their art form. Palace Bar owner Thomas Donall likens the shows at his iconic Ocean Drive venue (1052 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach) to pure en- ergy. “There’s such creativity in the clothes, the songs, the makeup, and the music. It’s truly fun in the sun of Florida.” Owen Bale, who owns Wynwood’s R House with his husband, Rocco Carulli, de- scribes the intense behind-the-scenes work required to stage the restaurant’s drag shows. “There are so many aspects to being a drag queen. They have to learn amazing makeup artistry. They have to learn to sew. The queens sit together for hours and sew.” For the performers, Bale adds, it’s not all “sparkle and bangles,” to borrow a phrase from “I Am What I Am” from the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles. “To be a drag queen in this world is not easy socially, but they do it because they’re highly passionate people who love to perform.” Michael Dean, who portrays Cher at Lips in Fort Lauderdale, wants to celebrate the art form that is drag. “It’s a celebration of the di- vas we love and are inspired by. It’s all about the art form. It’s not meant to do anything other than entertain. It lets people escape for a while.” Ana Navarro has attended Miami drag shows accompanied by A-Listers like Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Billy Porter, and Whoopi Goldberg. Last week, Navarro took her hus- band (former chairman of the Florida Repub- lican Party) Al Cárdenas, to a drag brunch. “Drag performers are artists who put a lot of time and effort into their looks and acts,” she says. “When I’m at a drag show, I sing, I dance, I laugh, I clap, and I drink margaritas. What is there not to love? If being exposed to drag turned you gay, I’d be Liberace.” Navarro has a suggestion for those who seek to have an amazing day or evening out and be an ally to the LGBTQ community. “If you want to support drag, show up, take your friends, spend money, host your celebrations there, and post about it so as to amplify the message.” [email protected] ▼ Café R House photo R House in Wynwood is known for its electric drag brunches. “IF BEING EXPOSED TO DRAG TURNED YOU GAY, I’D BE LIBERACE.”