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dr.a.g. Reviewed by Mel Keegan Produced by Christopher Logan Drag, or dr.a.g. It’s shorthand with a long pedigree. Catch a passing time machine back to the age of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Donne, and anyone associated with the theater would know at a glance what was meant when they saw “dr.a.g.” appearing in a script, apropos of the appearance of a new character – especially the attractive young men who were cast in such parts. Dressed as girl. Long ago, for reasons which currently appear nonsensical, it was considered unseemly for a woman to tread the boards, and the obvious alternative was to place a comely youth in the clothes, hair and makeup, and take the performance for a spin. Drag worked excellently as a means to liberate the theater from the impending extinction of an art form where only males could appear … and if a new culture was not born right there, certainly a new term for that culture was coined. Fast forward more than 400 years, and Drag is not merely live and well, but flourishing in soil that might have seemed unpromising. The US remains a battleground for Gay rights (which I’ve long said is a misnomer. Gay people are human, ostensibly born endowed with all the rights and privileges of the species, and the issue is actually another face of the human rights struggle which continues unabated around the world). In the teeth of powerful opposition, Drag is flourishing, with a flair, creativity, sensitivity, humor and integrity that has never been outdone. My first exposure to Drag was at the tender age of seven, and the performance of British legend, Danny La Rue (Danny Carroll, OBE, 1927 - 2009). Perhaps British TV was more relaxed in the 1960s than TV in the States; Danny was well known and well loved, both in and out of costume, though for many years he remained coy about his four-decade relationship with his manager and life partner. (Look for his book, Drags to Riches.) So one could say I grew up with a keen awareness of Drag, and an appreciation of it: the art of “female impersonation,” as it was known in theater arts -- as well as the pseudo-science of impersonating real people. Art and pseudo-science merge into a culture of admiration, which is often well deserved -- And dr.a.g., produced by Christopher Logan with the participation of scores of personalities and professional photographers, is a celebration of the very best of this culture, via exquisite photography, adroit quotations and, throughout, a commitment to the integrity of the Drag culture which it does proud. The images range from the sumptuously gorgeous to the outrageously bizarre, with celebrity drag queens impersonating some of the best-known faces from Hollywood over the last century, from Streisand to Monroe, from Dietrich to Midler, Hawne, Cher, Tina Turner -- you get the idea. A great time is had by all, and the book is as much a page-turner as an outstanding mystery. You just have to turn over and find out who’s doing what next. Indeed, some of the featured personalities are so iconic in their own right, they might be familiar. And if you’re not acquainted with their work, it’s a lot of fun to Google them. While dr.a.g. is 95% about images, the last 5% will get you chuckling, as well as thinking. If I had to pick a single quote from the book which sticks in my mind, it’s this: “Dr.a.g. isn’t what you wear or who you are... it’s how you wear who you are.” That line is going to speak to many of us who’re fascinated by the vast fuzzy zone which yawns between the stereotyped genders and, I suspect, encompasses a majority of people, at least in the realm of imagination. There’s an element of courage about Drag which goes hand in hand with the flair, the chic, and the deep-seated sense of the gorgeous, the comic, the outrageous, which are expressed by turns (and even simultaneously, on rare occasion). In a world where coming out is still a far from secure, tranquil event, putting on the warpaint and gladrags takes a cast iron sense of self, a fundamental faith in who and what one is … and some old fashioned guts. There’s a dash or two of comic humor in dr.a.g., and it’s very human, even heart-warming to watch as iconic personalities explore the fuzzy zone I mentioned a moment ago. But much more of dr.a.g. is a celebration of sheer beauty, which flirts with art. The pure art of the male transcending the fuzzy zone and morphing into the female; the theatrical art of the brilliant impersonator. The book is impressive on many levels, not least the quality of the photography. All materials were donated to the dr.a.g. project, which is intended as a fundraiser for independent film. Actor Christopher Logan has done an outstanding job of wrangling a project that must at times have seemed like the proverbial seven-headed hydra. It’s available direct from the publisher, Tectum, in Belgium, and is produced with text in four languages, English, French, Italian and Dutch, making the words as broadly accessible as the pictures. If anything might have been added to dr.a.g., it would have been a short bio and Internet info for each of the contributing personalities and photographers … then again, it’s a lot of fun Googling through a rainy afternoon. Keegan’s verdict: five stars, and highly recommended. |
