![]() While Annaleigh’s star is rising, she often faces criticism, skepticism and even exclusion within the drag community for being a “bio queen” (i.e., a biological female.) She’s been denied the opportunity to perform at certain events and venues, simply because of her gender. Last year, she co-hosted the PrideFest Milwaukee Mainstage, and performed at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center’s annual benefit. Today, Annaleigh performs as Divine Trash: A Divine Impersonator, a character she has brought to The Local/Club Anything, Hot Water Wherehouse, Hamburger Mary’s, This Is It, The Cactus Club, the Milwaukee LGBT Film & Video Festival and the Riverwest Public House. While dressed as Babs Johnson from Pink Flamingos for a special Movie Villains show, she received overwhelming applause for her resemblance to Divine. As a natural performer, she joined the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast at the Oriental Theatre, where she now directs and performs as Dr. After renting Hairspray from her local Hollywood Video, she became hooked on her character, music and filmography. Photo courtesy of Annaleigh Vytlacil.Īnnaleigh Vytlacil was just 12 years old when she first discovered Divine. Including someone special right here in Milwaukee. No one would dare challenge the title – but innumerable people would be touched and inspired by Divine’s legacy. Three weeks later, he died in Los Angeles while filming his network TV debut on “Married With Children.”Īfter his passing, Divine was described as the “Drag Queen of the Century” by People magazine. On February 18, 1988, Divine made a memorable midnight appearance at Milwaukee’s Club 219. I only put it on when someone pays me to.” “My favorite part of drag is getting out of it,” said Divine. Starring in midnight movies like Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs, Divine achieved fame, fortune and a national cult following as “the filthiest person alive.” Even filmgoers unfamiliar with John Waters’ earlier works still remember Divine from his famous performance in Hairspray (1988.)ĭivine always considered himself male, not transgender or transsexual, and used male pronouns. He wanted to be Godzilla!”ĭivine, born Harris Glenn Milstead, burst on the Baltimore counterculture scene in the mid-1960s and became an infamous superstar. “They wanted to be real women, Miss America, maybe their mother? They took things so seriously that they couldn’t even laugh at themselves. ![]() “Drag queens were so square back in my day,” filmmaker John Waters told me in a November interview. While there are many reasons for that, one historically famous drag queen broke all the rules. Today’s drag performers are a totally different breed than their spiritual ancestors. Today, the tradition continues at La Cage in the second floor Montage Lounge. Straight people, who might not normally want to be seen in a gay bar, started coming for the shows and stayed for the dancing. George Prentice, one of the original owners of La Cage, told me in 2009 that the show lounge was a key reason for the club’s success. My very first visit to a gay bar (at age 16) was to see my friend, Vanessa Alexander, perform in Holly Brown’s Saturday night show Looking back at cast, set and performance photographs in the History of Gay Milwaukee Facebook group, it’s truly astonishing how world-class those shows really were. Honestly, someone could write a book about Milwaukee’s drag legacy alone. Charles Hotel, the 1950s Jewel Box Revues at the Tic Toc Club, the “third sex” shows at the 1960s Ad Lib strip club, the 1970s drag disco extravaganzas at The Factory, and of course, the extraordinary 1980s productions of Holly Brown & Company at La Cage and Ginger Spice and the 219 Girls at Club 219. Milwaukee has a long and proud history of high-quality, cinematic drag productions, dating back to the 1920s “pansy shows” at the St.
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