P 4
JUNE 3. 2011
pridefiles
P O R T L A ND L E S B I AN C H O I R P R E S E N T S
W W W .JUSTOUT.COM
»
In times like these,
C E L E B R A T I N G OUR MUS I CAL ROOTS
you need the .name you can trust.
SERVING OREGON & WASHINGTON
P: 360 693 8585
E: tbiasOfarmersagent com
Queens Be
Portland’s reigning Superstar Divas
on their past, present and future
BY DANIEL BORGEN
W: www farmersagent com/TBIAS
/¿¡§L
Saturday • June 25th, 2011 •
FARMERS
^
Rose City Park United Methodist Church
Tirkrtx $ iK al Ihodnor • $ 15 in athanrc • S3 Hiacnuiit S<’iiim/Slml« iil
Advance Tickets Available • Choir Members • PDX Gay Pride Booth
FTyinR Cat Coffee Company • POR MORE INK) V ISIT WWW PIX'I IOIR.ORG
HOME . AUTO . LIFE • COMMERCIAL
Anja Spence, Proprietor 503-234-7707
aooRN
TaTTDOSPIERCIND.JEWBLRV
PkiKtdfkkki fonPndel
(and uatjinafoof)
6 4 2 0 S.E. FOSTER ROAD
MON-SAT 11AM-7PM
Resources for
OMMP Card Holders
BENIT3L PIERCINGS
POR VOU aNO VOUR PaRTNeR
WEST
so3.a92.7abB
9217swBV+feHwy
E3ST
sea.a3a.baaa
253S SE Betrat St
vMM.aDaRNBODVaRT.coH
non-profit collective
• smoking lounge •
• organic cannabis •
products
A lengthy run like theirs wouldn’t remain a
Sunday night, Memorial Day eve, the now
infamous Superstar Divas banter onstage success without unique stars. Carmichaels,
after a rollicking, carefully choreographed played by Daniel R Elliott, is easily the show’s
group number. Honey Bea H art steps for most recognizable face, to which anyone
ward, moving into a solo act, and the show’s who’s ever sauntered into CC Slaughters can
other two stars, Bolivia Carmichaels and attest. Carmichaels is C C ’s five-nights-a-
Ginger Lee, exit gracefully, stage right. week house drag queen— a position she’s held
Strolls morph into outright runs as the duo for several years. Elliott grew up a musician
head, as fast as their pumps allow, down a o f sorts, playing the trumpet throughout ju
hallway, into and through a sprawling, awk nior high and high school. Elliott also tried
wardly shaped kitchen, down a long flight of his hand at acting and theater, a journey that
stairs and through a base
continued through college.
ment. They finally reach a ■‘W e get along really w ell
Then a spry 20 years old,
shared dressing room—
he created Bolivia Carm i
The chemistry is such we
tiny quarters filled to the
chaels, C C ’s found and
captured her, and the rest
brim with gowns, jewelry, don’t worry about much. I’m
makeup and wigs. The di
is Portland drag history.
not saying w e don’t have
vas’changing room seems
A few years into her
as far from the stage as is fights or arguments. W hat
tenure at C C ’s, C arm i
physically possible.
chaels decided she wanted
siblings don’t?”
two talented co-stars for
Carmichaels, slated to
-PIP KENNEDY,
her weekly drag show. Pip
perform next, must travel
AKA HONEY BEA HART
Kennedy, who plays H o n
from stage to dressing
room, change her dress and wig, and be on ey Bea H art, recalls the recruitment process.
stage before H a rt’s five-minute Adele song “I had been a guest at ‘Carnival De Bolivia.’
ends. Lee enjoys a few extra minutes, scant Bolivia approached me, saying, ‘I want two
moments that pass quickly, and she knows other queens to star in a show with me. You
she’ll soon be in the identical hurried posi in?”’ Kennedy had been hosting show nights
tion.. Carmichaels returns to the stage in at The Embers Avenue, first with Summer
perfect time; H art introduces her, and C ar Seasons, then alone, gigs that sneaked up on
michaels moves right into one o f her signa him. “One Halloween, I went to Embers
ture Reba McEntire hits. The Superstar D i and performed ‘Bring O n The M en’by Linda
vas Mega Show doesn’t miss a beat.
Eder,” Kennedy says. “The artistic director
And so the formula goes every Sunday wanted me on cast immediately.” From
night, since May 2007. Their solidly success there, Honey Bea H art, the diva, worked her
ful, weekly four-hour show typically includes way up.
at least a dozen solo numbers— each, along
Kennedy’s interest in drag piqued when he
with group performances. The trio often was younger, while playing Frankenfurter in a
enlist guest stars, ranging from first-time production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
amateurs to seasoned veterans.
“It was then I decided to delve into drag,”