Harlem has long been a cultivator of LGBT performative style, bravado and “realness”, from Vander “Barbette” Clyde’s high-wire performances at the Harlem Opera House to Gladys Bentley’s tuxedo-clad cabaret acts at Harry Hansberry’s Clamhouse and the Ubanji Club in the 1920s and 30s; the Apollo Theater’s presentation of the Jewel Box Revue in the 1960s and, later, stars of the legendary House Balls where vogueing came to prominence.
Historian John T. Reddick draws from the Apollo’s archive and other sources to look at the history and evolution of Queer performance both on and off the stage in this Apollo Live Wire celebrating Pride. Featuring special guest and performer Pony Zion.
