History of gay bars in kansas city

States across the country, including Missouri, are experiencing a wave of legislation targeting drag performancessome of which would make it a misdemeanor for drag entertainers to perform in front of children. The best way to exaggerate being a woman is to have a man pretend to be a woman. The art form quickly evolved from exaggeration to mimicry with the popularity of vaudeville, a type of variety entertainment that became popular in the late s.

Multiple drag performers rose to national prominence and toured all over the country during this time. Julien Eltinge, Bert Savoy, and Karyl Norman were just a few of the famous artists who toured through Kansas City during the heyday of the Shubert and Orpheum theatres. Savoy and his stage partner, Jay Brennan, would put on exaggerated comedy routines, laden with iconic catchphrases — a familiar routine for modern drag fans.

Looming over performers throughout that early era was an municipal ordinance that made cross-dressing illegal.

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From todrag enjoyed a period of relative comfort. Hinds says the illicitness of alcohol predisposed people to accept other restricted activities as well. During Prohibition, there were huge drag balls across the U. In Kansas City, drag performances spread throughout local nightclubs. When the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition indrag performances virtually disappeared in many places because of increased regulation and enforcement at entertainment venues that served alcohol.

But in post-Prohibition Kansas City, drag began to flourish. The club became the home of drag in Kansas City. Beginning around the time of World War II, there is not much evidence of drag in the city until the late s. It became so popular that the bar hosted multiple shows almost every night of the week to satisfy patrons.

That era is the first time names of individual, local drag queens are preserved. Skip Arnold, G. Allen and Rae Bourbon were just a few of the well-known performers who propelled the Jewel Box to decades of success. Other bars also began to feature drag performances, including the Redhead in Westport and the Colony Bar on Troost Avenue.

No establishment hosted as many performances as the Jewel Box. Kansas City had an active drag ball scene in the s. It was one of the first scholarly looks into the world of drag queens, and Newton connected with Arnold for a look into the local scene. Redlining, the Kansas City Race Riots of and individual business decisions spelled disaster for the club.

The Jewel Box eventually moved and lasted for about 10 more years, declining in popularity each year, Hinds says. Bars continued to come and go for the next decade but drag remained prolific. And in the s, the pageantry and comedy of drag were used to garner help during the AIDS epidemic.

They responded immediately, hosting benefits to raise money for the four local organizations providing help. Bars like the Cabaret became mainstays for local drag, and performers like Melinda Ryder and The Flo Show rose to prominence.