InsideBayArea.com – By Todd R. Brown , Staff Writer
Play is part of theatrical evening at S.F.’s Hypnodrome
Colma – For diehard city dwellers, hanging out in the’burbs can be a real drag. Fittingly, finding actual drag queens in San Mateo County is a rare feat, yet a new play called “The Empress of Colma” imagines cutthroat cross-dressers vying for the crown in a suburban transvestite competition.
Russell Blackwood, who produced the show and plays lead character Crystal, said the role is his third in drag for the Thrillpeddlers troupe.
“‘Cause I like wearing a dress,” he said with a chuckle.
Showing Thursday through Saturday nights at the Hypnodrome theater in South of Market, “Empress” was devised by Rob Keefe, a Greenwich Village playwright and the host of PBS’ TV show “Real Simple,” based on the magazine.