LEGENDS OF DRAG

FEATURING: EGYPTT LABEIJA, LAWANDA JACKSON, AGOSTO MACHADO
PRINCESS DIANDRA, RUBY RIMS, & SIMONE
WITH EMCEE LINDA SIMPSON

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
WITH SUPPORT BY TRIXIE COSMETICS & BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

DOORS 6:30 PM, SHOW: 7 PM

Susan and John Hess Family Theater and Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street, NYC

PLEASE NOTE: LEGENDS OF DRAG TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT. Follow this link to register for the free livestream.

About the Event:

In honor of Pride Month, and on HIV/AIDS Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day, the New York City AIDS Memorial presents the second annual Legends of Drag revue. Presented in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art, this celebratory evening celebrates queens featured in Legends of Drag: Queens of a Certain Age (Cernunnos, 2022), queer elders who have long been cultural and spiritual leaders within their communities.

The evening will feature performances by Linda Simpson (emcee), Simone, Ruby Rims, Egyptt LaBeija, Princess Diandra, Lawanda Jackson, and special guest Agosto Machado—all icons who paved the way for the drag renaissance of today.

Brave, campy, bold, witty, and most of all talented dancers, lip-synchers, live singers, and storytellers, these queens are survivors, thrivers, and ambassadors. As LGBTQ+ people, particularly the trans community and drag performers, have recently experienced an upsurge in discrimination, uplifting these trailblazers and sharing in their wisdom and joy is one of the most potent antidotes available to younger generations.

About the Artists:

Harry James Hanson is an artist, lifelong drag queen, and creative director behind Legends of Drag. Their work has been published in The New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vice, and New York magazine. As drag artist Ambrosia Alert, she has performed internationally with the Bushwig festival and makes select appearances at sordid venues throughout the multiverse.

International superstar Her Royal Highness Princess Diandra traces her drag roots to the East Village scene. Vibrant raconteur, perennial it-girl, and powerhouse entertainer, Diandra's drag celebrates the exceptionalism of Black glamour.

Entertaining audiences since 1979, Lawanda Jackson holds over 30 pageant titles including Miss USofA and Miss USofA Classic. More than all that, Lawanda is proud to be a survivor. She is a long term survivor of HIV, and also survived a simultaneous stroke and a brain aneurysm. Doctors said she'd never walk or talk again, and she continues to prove them wrong. Lawanda is a nationally renowned pageant coach, and continues to tour the country. Lawanda joins us from Las Vegas.

Egyptt LaBeija is the Overall Godmother of the House of LaBeija, renowned for her impressive 35-year career in drag performance. She has achieved many crown-holding titles and gained recognition for her contributions to the books West Side Rendezvous, Christopher Street, and Legends of Drag. Egyptt has also appeared in the popular TV series Pose and in the 2023 HBO documentary The Stroll, directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker. As an advocate for the Trans community, she is committed to promoting inclusivity and empowerment. Her journey reflects resilience, creativity, and a commitment to inspiring others in the world of drag and activism.

Agosto Machado is a Chinese-Spanish-Filipino-American performance artist, activist, archivist, and Zelig-like figure who witnessed the rise of the underground theater and film movements, the 1960s counterculture, and punk rock and who has been a vital participant and witness to queer life in New York since the early sixties and the dawn of the gay liberation movement. He was part of the cohort of queer revolutionary activists, including his friends Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, with whom he participated in the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and the first gay pride march (Gay Liberation March) in 1970. Over six decades, Machado has performed at countless theaters, galleries, clubs, lofts, and underground venues including WPA, La MaMa ETC, Anderson Theater, Theater of the Lost Continent, Theatre for the New City at Westbeth, Batianos Theatre, Theatre Genesis, Judson Memorial Church, The Night House Theater, Truck and Warehouse Theatre, P.S. 122, Performing Garage, Dixon Place, 8 BC, Gene Frankel Theatre, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Club 57, The Mudd Club, S.N.A.F.U., The Pyramid, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Howl Gallery, and Participant Inc., among others.

Over the past 50 years, Ruby Rims has worked at all of the top cabaret venues in New York City. The Manhattan Association of Cabaret Artists honored Ruby with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Numerous appearances on The Phil Donahue Show throughout the 80s thrust her into the national spotlight. Ruby has lived with AIDS since the 1990s, defying all odds. As she puts it: "they didn't think I'd be here long. I was like, 'sorry I still have too many dresses to wear.'" Ruby recently celebrated her 69th birthday with a sold-out revue at Judson Memorial Church.

Simone got her start performing in the 90s working the Tunnel and The Limelight and was the first queen to perform at Lips. In 2021, she received a grant from the City Artist Corps to continue doing public performances at Stonewall each weekend throughout the summer. More than any other trans entertainer, Simone carries on the spirit of Marsha & Sylvia and the street queens of this city.

After more than 30 years as a drag queen, Linda Simpson (Emcee) continues to dazzle her fans with her witty demeanor, fine-tuned camp sensibility, and unique blend of sass and class. And let’s not forget her stunning appearance! Since emerging from the East Village drag scene in the late 1980s, the multi-faced queen has racked up a mile-long list of creative endeavors, including nightlife work galore as a hostess and party promoter; publishing the “revolutionary gay magazine” My Comrade; writing and starring in four different plays; and extensive work as a journalist, often in cahoots with her male alter ego, Les Simpson.

Location:

Legends of Drag will be held at the Susan and John Hess Family Theater and Gallery, located on the 3rd Floor of the Whitney Museum of American Art,
99 Gansevoort Street, NYC.

Please visit the Whitney Museum for accessibility information.

Support:

Legends of Drag is generously hosted and presented in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art. Support for Legends of Drag has been generously provided by Trixie Cosmetics and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, with flowers provided in partnership with UrbanStems. Cultural programming at the New York City AIDS Memorial, including Legends of Drag programs, is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.