WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Drag shows have returned to the 500 block of Clematis Street after a hiatus of more than a month.
"I'm very excited to return," drag queen Daisy Deadpetal said. "A girl has to eat honey, can't keep the good queen down when the girl has to pay rent."
Friday performers danced on a new stage, this time at the entrance of the restaurant Hullabaloo.
This came after a permit to keep the road blocked off was denied.
"I've been doing this for 30 years. This the only job I've ever known in my entire adult life," Deadpetal said. "I love it. It's how I make a living. It's how I make a living. It's how I put food on the table. It's how I pay rent."
Deadpetal said many performance opportunities have become few with the passing of Florida laws.
"In those 30 years, I've never felt this kind of judgment and hate to be quite honest," Deadpetal said. "I've never felt the fear that I feel right now. Just going from the car to the event."
"All they do is bring love, light and joy into people’s lives and to be attacked is just ridiculous," Chris Rhoades, who produces the drag shows, said "They are the first to show up when there is a fundraiser or a birthday. My heart hurts for our drag community."
During the road closures, a large stage was set up on Clematis Street as tables and chairs were set up surrounding it.
Hullabaloo has made modifications; now a smaller stage is at the front entrance of the restaurant with an 18+ age restriction.
"We are here. We're going to give you a great show," Deadpetal said. "It's not going to be lewd. It's going to be amazingly fun and fantastically, fabulously respectful for everybody that comes out."
Hullabaloo plans to have drag show dinners every Friday night.
"They want you to think drag is illegal, but it is not the case. The shows we put on are fun and entertaining, period," Rhoades said. "Drag is an art and I’m not going to stop displaying that amazing art. High heels at Hullabaloo every Friday now."
