Your she-mail bounced

The numbers suggest that Season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race is the most watched of the series, and the benefits of course are incredible. It can educate, enlighten and enlist a whole new world of support for the drag industry.  Yes that’s what Drag Race is - an avenue of entertainment featuring Drag!

The problem is when the joke backfires or causes controversy it attracts the kind of attention that can have unreasonable consequences. Here amongst all the fun and glamour of Season 6 we have the perfect example of one bad taste segment affecting the whole show profile.

In a recent episode they had a mini challenge, a game called Female or Shemale, pitting the contestants against each other in a quest to determine whether they were being shown a picture of — as RuPaul phrased it — ‘a biological woman or a psychological woman.’

The contestants laughed as they guessed whether or not the body part they're being shown belonged to a cisgender (nontrans) woman. The problem was it stepped out of its remit of showcasing drag queens and brought transgender women into the mix as a source of ridicule – it was in bad taste and totally unnecessary.

“When you wish upon a star your dreams come true”

Bernadette Peters in concert Theatre Royal Sydney 3 April 14

“When you wish upon a star your dreams come true” so sang Ms Peters and  they did for a packed Theatre Royal assembled to worship the Queen of Broadway, Miss Bernadette Peters, making a return visit to Sydney after some 15 years.  My excitement had been building for weeks as friends who saw her the first time round all acclaimed her in concert to be unforgettable – and on this occasion she was even more fabulous than the hype.

Backed by a stunning eleven piece orchestra we were treated to arguably a perfect pick of Broadway songs.  Some from the collection of Broadway shows she’s done, some from the brilliant collection of CD recordings she’s made and some, especially for her Australian audiences, written by Peter Allen, who we learned was a dear friend and colleague of hers (but more on that later).

Warming us up Bernadette showed off her witty side with a fresh as the morning version of Nothing like a dame from South Pacific and a sultry version of Fever draped atop the baby grand. Looking a million bucks in a gorgeous décolleté lilac beaded gown, with flashes of leg, Bernadette Peters was the ultimate showgirl.

photo Kurt Sneddon