Drag Legends Perform In Vegas
Back in the days before a drag show was just someone in a big wig lip synching to a cassette of Madonna there were female impersonators who could make you think that the great female stars were performing right there in front of you. These legends of female impersonation didn’t mime to someone’s recorded music. They sang in natural sounding feminine tones that often captured the exact sound of the person they were impersonating.
There were only a few venues around the U. S. that featured a full stage, theatrical lighting and the aforementioned drag legends performing to packed houses every week. One of those was Finocchio’s in San Francisco.
Among the brightest lights to grace the Finocchio’s stage were David de Alba and Lavern Cummings. Both sang like angels and when de Alba appeared as Judy Garland the crowd was swiftly transported over the rainbow to a magic land. Finocchio’s closed its doors in 1999. Fortunately the history of that FI palace will not be forgotten. The legends, David de Alba and Lavern Cummings, will be live onstage at the Onyx Theater in Las Vegas on August 21st. de Alba and Cummings will be interviewed about the glory days of Finicchio’s and both will perform some of their signature songs. (Not in drag.) Lavern hasn’t sung professionally since she retired and this will be the first time the two performers have appeared on stage since the ’80s.
David de Alba
The show on the 21st will also include rare video shot at Finocchio’s, and the pair will be given certificates to acknowledge their induction into the TGForum Gallery of Greats. (Lavern’s Gallery is here and David’s is here.)
Then, on September 18th de Alba returns in full glamor mode to The Onyx Theater with his one man show, Finocchio Club Backstage Memoirs. The show will feature de Alba’s amazing voice as he recreates the characters that made him famous and gives the audience all the dish on what went on backstage at the famous club.
If you want a dose of real female impersonation and voices that will make you ask, “Is that live or is it Memorex?” (You have to be an oldie to get that reference) then you won’t want to miss both these shows. The August interview show is “donation suggested” and the September show is $10.
The Onyx Theater
953 E. Sahara #16
Las Vegas, Nevada
Box Office: 702-732-7225
Category: Transgender Community News, Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender History
About the Author (Author Profile)
Angela Gardner is a founding member of The Renaissance Transgender Assoc., Inc., former editor of its newsletter and magazine, Transgender Community News. She was the Diva of Dish for TGF in the late 1990s and Editor of LadyLike magazine until its untimely demise. She has appeared in film and television shows portraying TG characters, as well as representing Renaissance on numerous talk shows.Subscribe
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