Life’s a drag, but if we’re talking about Los Angeles after dark, that’s a good thing. The city’s drag show scene, once a closeted affair hidden in dive bars, now sells out theaters and pulls in straight crowds. During the last 20 years, female-impersonator shows in L.A. have become more than dressing like Cher and lip-syncing “Believe.”

“Performers are real singers and real writers,” says Jon Imparato, director of cultural arts at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. “It’s become an art form. They can say what we all think because it’s the persona saying it, not the person.”

Here, we round up the best in (drag) show, from dirty-talk bingo to a night inspired by her highness RuPaul.

Coco Peru


Stage star Coco Peru (a.k.a. Clinton Leupp) looks back on two decades in drag in his one-woman show, “There Comes a Time,” at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre from Friday to Sunday. Since creating Coco in his 20s, Leupp has performed in theaters around the world and racked up TV and film credits, including voicing a role in Disney’s animated feature “The Wild,” and the show recounts mostly true tales from her New York cabaret days to performing at Bea Arthur’s memorial service on Broadway. “Years ago, people had these very twisted ideas about how gay people lived their lives, but drag shows were still OK,” Leupp says. “Like the court jester, there’s a role in this world for the drag queen.” Tickets start at $25 and benefit the center’s homeless youth program. [(323) 860-7300; https://www.fla.vor.us/renberg]

Showgirls in Drag

Former high school buddies Beth Wheatley and Stephen Guarino have updated Paul Verhoeven’s $45-million hot mess “Showgirls” into female-impersonator gold. The lead roles of Nomi and Cristal Connors have been re-created for high camp instead of high drama, including all the cringe-worthy dialogue, sex and spandex, as well as the dance scenes, sans the Vegas-style budget. “We’re taking the best moments [of the film] and pretty much crucifying it,” Guarino says. The show plays most Wednesday nights, switching between makeshift stages at the Dragonfly and MJ’s nightclubs, and has drawn a celebrity crowd including Adam Lambert and Gina Ravera, who played seamstress Molly in the 1995 flick. [showgirlsindrag.com]

Showgirls Monday


Micky’s nightclub in West Hollywood kicks off every week with Showgirls Monday. A crowd of a couple of hundred — not bad for a school night — convenes at 10 p.m. to watch the latest TV episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Once the reality show wraps, the curtain is pulled back on a stage show gussied up with a smoke machine and disco ball, where “Drag Race” contestants present and past joke, mock and “lip-sync for their lives.” Just hold on to your cocktail: Chugging drinks is also part of the act. [(310) 657-1176; https://www.mickys.com]

Drag Bingo

Hamburger Mary’s in WeHo has been serving bingo with a side of burgers for almost a decade. Wednesday and Sunday nights, the Fabulous Belle Aire, Bridgette of Madison County and other hostesses call out numbers accompanied by celebrity guest “ball callers” like Paris Hilton and Ed Asner. The game gets dirty — winners are pelted with losing bingo cards and there’s an unpublishable group response to the call “O-69.” Patrons pay $20 for the pleasure and pack the kitschy bar and grill (the bathroom plays only ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”) with proceeds benefiting charities. [(323) 654-3800; hamburgermarys.com/weho]

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