one more time
The “One More Time” Drag Ball was a celebration of 50+ years of queer black performers in Pittsburgh, for whom there is little documentation besides oral history and a tradition of old-school glamour.
acknowledgements
The Ball was thrown by Harrison Apple, Laura Grantmyre, and Connie Dorsett. Laura met Connie in 2008 while writing about Pittsburgh’s Hill District and the female impersonators who were fixtures in both day to day errands, and the thriving nightclubs of the 30s and 40s. in 2013, Laura introduced Connie to Harrison, to participate in his research regarding gay nightclubs of the 60s and 70s. Together we assembled a knowledge of performance history continues to unfold into the 21st century. The relationships, and families of drag queens who were entertainers, Sex workers, businesswomen, and caring relatives, create a far and wide reaching network. However the historic marginalization of these performers has left little record of their careers, and often cut short the lives of those who could recount them. Miss Connie is an invaluable friend, who speaks generously about love, entertainment, hardship, and family. She helped piece together lineages of performers, spanning nearly a century, and topped it all off by describing how fabulous she would look if she had a good reason to come out in full regalia, one more time. Together we came up with the idea of a ball to celebrate the lives of a thousand forgotten performers, narrated by those who are still around to remember. It was a moment to piece together decades of music and monologues performed by dancers and comedians for whom we are lucky if we find a photograph.
This booklet is our gift to you. Thank you for your support Harrison Apple Laura Grantmyre Connie Dorsett
The magnificence of Connie Dorsett is impossible to put into words. When Harrison Apple asked me to write something about Connie for the booklet commemorating the “One More Time” ball, I was daunted. What could I possibly write that would do Connie Dorsett justice? Having resolved to aim for the impossible, I looked back on the transcript I typed up of our first meeting in October 2007. At the time, I was researching the history of African American drag queens in Pittsburgh with artist and choir director, Deryck Tines, and one of my advisors in history at the University of Pittsburgh, Laurence Glasco. Connie sat down with Deryck, Larry, and I for breakfast. For nearly two hours Connie told us vivid stories about the city’s gay bars and drag stars, her first time out in drag, and her relationship with her mother. I was immediately struck by Connie’s exquisite balance of self-confidence and candid admiration for her friends. Recollecting how she carried herself in drag, Connie proclaimed, “I was absolutely gorg—, well I still am, but I was absolutely gorgeous.” Moments later, she described Coco of the Lavender Lads as “a great dancer” and Jojo of the Pearlbox Revue as a “fantastic entertainer.” When Connie performed monologues for the drag revue, Pink Fantasy, back in the 1960s, she emphasized the sentiment, “I live the life I love and I love the life I live.” It is a beautiful notion that goes a long way towards capturing her vivacious self-respect and her earnest admiration for the people who earn her respect and join the fabric of her life. It was at this first meeting that Connie raised the idea of the “One More Time” ball. She and her longtime friend, Gerial Singletary, had been talking about throwing a ball for five years. They wanted to “call all the old ones back one more time.” Better yet, Connie promised, “I would get fabulous again.” She elaborated, “they know when I come, I’m coming for ‘em. Oh yes. So whenever we set the date, . . . then I gotta start getting ready . . . . They’re looking for me to come out in something that’s breathtaking.”
Over the next year, Connie was indispensible to my research. She connected me with old friends to interview and she gave me helpful feedback. I am infinitely grateful for her support and insights. I wanted to help her throw the One More Time ball as a way to express some of that gratitude. Yet, I knew I would never be able to organize the ball she deserved myself. When Harrison Apple came along and took responsibility for planning the ball, I eagerly offered my help. Just as Connie had predicted, once the date was set for the ball, she started getting ready. Harrison and I received periodic updates about the outfit Connie was putting together for the ball. When the night finally came she was absolutely gorgeous, fabulous, and breathtaking. True to form, she lit up the hall, and she knew it. Yet, she shared the spotlight with Jojo, who she had hailed as a “fantastic entertainer” in 2007. Connie was right, not that I ever doubted her; Jojo’s performance was a highlight of the ball. Not surprisingly, Connie’s family and friends came out in full force. They tended bar, ran security, and, most impressively, cooked rounds of delicious food for the whole crowd. They worked hard because they love Connie. She is just the sort of person who brings that out in people. -Dr. Laura Grantmyre
I was introduced to JoJo at the One More Time Ball. As I rushed notes backstage to our MC, Kierra Darshell, hoping the event would go off without a hitch – and it did – Miss Connie grabbed my arm. “There’s somebody Iwant you to meet.” She motioned to the other side of the table where JoJo lifted up her arms, covered in sleek black fishnets, rings and bracelets for days. She said “Baby, I love you, how would you like me to sing ‘My Funny Valentine?” I was taken with her enthusiasm, and her eagerness to perform. I didn’t yet know that she was coming on 75 years old and was returning to the stage from a 20+ year hiatus. Needless to say, she’s got glitter older than me, and she knows how to use it.
She stole the show, a capella I might add. Flooding the banquet hall with lyrics from old pop favorites and long forgotten musicals, she seamlessly wove Broadway storylines with her own journey on the stage. I distinctly remember her wink and nod as she quoted herself and Gypsy Rose Lee in the same breath. But what captured the crowd was the way she brought our focus to the heart of the event. She said “the life I live is the life I love, and I’ve come a long ways, baby…we go back many years, and I’ve met a lot of fabulous queens, young and old, in my day, who’ve gone on to their reward.” As she listed off the names of past performers and their many accomplishments, she illustrated an enormous family that surrounded her in youth and followed her to this day.
JoJo continues to be a fountain of inspiration for my own research into Pittsburgh’s gay demimondes. Rather, she could teach anyone one a thing or two about the intricacies of “gay life.” The way in which she can captures the energy of the Revues with seasoned drag queens, fire dancers, snake charmers, and strippers, from Springfield to Buffalo, is intoxicating. I can’t help but quote her when I think of the way she says, “On our show we had a stripper named Lody, I used to come up on stage and say, ‘Ladies and Gentleman, let me bring you to the stage, Lody the Body, She gonna flip it, flop it, tip it, top it, bring it down front and let all the boys watch it.” She smiles and recites the intro to their full fledged productions played in clubs across the north east. Lined up with suitcases and travel outfits they would sing, "We're going to Paris, And want you to come along too, And spend a saucy evening, With the Pearlbox Revue...” - immediately giving Shirley Bassey a run for her money with a perfect recitation of “Everything’s coming up Roses” In between her stories she always tells me that life is a journey and we have to live it while we can, how we can, and all we can. I can’t wait until she takes the stage to bring that phrase to life, one more time. - Harrison Apple
What can we say to Kierra Darshell but, Thank You. Thank you for being an unwavering entertainer and a mentor to Pittsburgh’s performers. Thank you for honoring Denise and bringing the crowd to their feet everytime you graced the stage. You were the perfect MC for this evening of looking back. Thank you for recounting the lives of those who’ve paved the way for what you do, and thank you for - as you’ve always said “Keeping Drag Alive.”
MILAN
TRE’ZUR
MISS JOJO
JOSEPHINA LARINA QUEEN OF THE CONGOLINA
SHANTELL
CUMMINGS
DANI
LAMORTE
KIERRA
DARSHELL
stepping out after all these years