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David Cerda | |
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![]() David Cerda in 2019 | |
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Occupation | Playwright |
David Cerda (born June 13, 1961, Hammond, Indiana) is an American performer and playwright based in Chicago. He is currently the artistic director for Hell in a Handbag Productions, which he co-founded in 2002. His campy, highly theatrical plays have made him a notale presence within the Chicago theater scene. He has written and appeared in many of his works, including a transgressive adaptation of Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer, How ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ Happened and POSEIDON! An Upside-Down Musical [1] which won the New York International Fringe Festival Best Ensemble Award and was the most attended show of the festival that year. [2] [3]
Cerda’s theatre group has araised money for Chicago LGBT non-profits such as Season of Concern, AIDS Legal Council, Howard Brown, the Legacy Project, Windy City Alliance for the Deaf, and Groceryland. [4]
Hell in a Handbag has produced over 70 original plays, of which Cerda has written several. [5]
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 stop motion Christmas animated television special produced by Videocraft International, Ltd. and currently distributed by NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It first aired December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. The special was based on the 1949 Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. The network unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005, re-scanned frame-by-frame from the original 35 mm film elements.
Jeffrey Daniel Whitty is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter.
A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub. Shows can range from burlesque-style, adult themed nightclub acts to all-ages events with sing-alongs and story times.
The Gold Dust Orphans is a fringe theater company based in Boston and Provincetown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1995 by writer/performer Ryan Landry, Scott Martino, Afrodite, and Billy Hough. It is a group of actors, musicians, dancers, writers and visual artists dedicated to the production of shows that are often based on works of film, theater, and popular culture. Many of the roles are played in the classical tradition by men in drag.
John Epperson is an American drag artist, actor, pianist, vocalist, and writer who is mainly known for creating his stage character Lypsinka. As Lypsinka, he lip-synchs to meticulously edited, show-length soundtracks culled from snippets of outrageous 20th-century female performances in movies and song.
Stefan Grygelko, better known by the stage name Heklina, was an American actor, drag queen, and entrepreneur in San Francisco. Grygelko's mother was Icelandic, and having been born in the U.S., he lived in Iceland in the 1980s; he named his drag character after the Icelandic volcano Hekla. Heklina founded the drag club Trannyshack in 1996.
I think that drag queens are still the eunuch clown that's safe to laugh at. It's definitively not shocking anymore. So I don't know if America's really embraced it. The early 90s was when RuPaul [was becoming famous] and it was the first time any drag queen had mainstream exposure. I don't really see a drag queen breaking out like that [again].
Murray Hill is a New York City comedian and drag king entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Busby Murray Gallagher, although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business".
Scarrie! the Musical is an unauthorized musical stage spoof of the 1976 Brian De Palma film Carrie and the 1988 Broadway musical, both based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Stephen King, the tale of a high school misfit. The musical had a script by David Cerda with music and lyrics by Cerda, Scott Lamberty and Taylor E. Ross. The musical spoof played in two different productions in Illinois. The musical uses a 1970s influenced score and "lots of pigs blood".
The Bijou Theater was an adult theater and sex club for gay men located at 1349 N Wells Street in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. Opened in 1970 by Steven Toushin, the Bijou Theater was the longest-running gay adult theater and sex club in the United States. The Bijou Theater featured the "Bijou Classics"—adult films produced by Bijou Video in the 1970s and 1980s—every Monday. The theater also hosted live shows featuring adult entertainers, a non-sexual cabaret show written and directed by drag entertainer Miss Tiger and special appearances by gay porn stars. The theater permanently closed its door on September 30, 2015.
Keith Levy, known professionally as Sherry Vine, is an American actor, drag queen, and musician. Vine is the creator and host of She's Living for This, a variety series on Here TV.
Todrick Hall is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.
Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer, best known under the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag queen, actor, singer and comedian. Named the "Queen of All Queens", they have been noted for their celebrity impersonations and quick wit.
Amber Mildred Ruffin is an American comedian, writer and actress. She hosts her own late-night talk show titled The Amber Ruffin Show on NBC and Peacock. She has been a writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014. When she joined the show she became the first Black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the United States.
Thorgy Thor is the stage name of Shane Thor Galligan, an American drag queen and musician who came to international attention on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the third season of All Stars.
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Jan Sport, sometimes known simply as Jan, is the stage name of Charlie Mantione, an American drag queen and singer based in New York City, who came to international attention on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. On May 26, 2021, she was announced as one of the 13 contestants on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, where she placed 7th overall.
A Drag Queen Christmas is a drag tour featuring alumni of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Industry Bar, or simply Industry, is a gay bar and nightclub in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Owned by Bob Pontarelli, it is a sister establishment to Barracuda, a gay bar, and Elmo, a restaurant. Industry opened in 2010 and caters primarily to a crowd of young gay men and tourists. Its musical selection is mostly pop, and its live entertainment consists of a number of weekly drag shows, many of which are hosted by internationally recognized drag queens. New York City nightlife journalists frequently note Industry as one of the top gay venues in Manhattan.
Tracy Baim is a Chicago-based LGBT journalist, editor, author, and filmmaker. She is also a former publisher of the Chicago Reader newspaper.