Back at the turn of the century, the national drag-king scene was gaining a foothold with names such as Mo B. Dick, Club Casanova, and Ken Vegas defining an exciting, emergent culture. Players on the circuit, aware of Austin’s happy-go-lucky ease with gender-queer and love of camp, made their way to Texas to air their art. Make no mistake: For all the amateurish antics drag kings may exhibit and for how politically driven or pop-culturally derivative their milieu may seem, what they practice first and foremost is art.
Anyhoo, this here is too little space to go into the whole spirit-gum wad of history that explains what makes local drag-king troupe Kings N Things what it is today. Suffice it to say, this gang of male-impersonating gender-benders has grown. Sure, sometimes their bits are as cringe-worthy as junior high plays, and sometimes they thinly skate on that nerve residing between high art and unintended dadaism, but no more and no less than any of the other woman-powered, gender-role-challenging movements that emerged around that same turn of the century, such as the burlesque and Roller Derby scenes that still thrive and thrill Austin audiences every week.
This week, the Kings resurrect a successful venture they debuted last year:
Drag Kings: The Musical. Last year, all the shows sold out. There is nothing to indicate that will not be the case this year. Get your tickets now. See Friday.
This article appears in September 12 • 2008.