Glossary of Terms and References
Some references may seem obvious, but in the interest of trying not to make assumptions about folks' previous cultural knowledge or lived experience I tried to cast my net fairly wide. If you find additional references in the script you need help tracking down, don't hesitate to reach out! - Lusie
PgNumber. Reference: explanation.
13. Miss Daisy: A reference to Driving Miss Daisy, an Alfred Uhry play adapted into a movie about an elderly Jewish woman and the relationship she develops with the Black man hired as her chaffeur.
16. Versatile: A term for a queer (usually gay) man who enjoys both topping and bottoming in his sexual relationship(s).
17. "More Graceland than Ed Sullivan": Graceland is Elvis' home - now turned memorial - in TN. It hosts an annual "Elvis Week" featuring, among other events, a contest for Elvis tribute artists. The Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show on which Elvis himself appeared on multiple occasions.
19. Winn Dixie: A family grocery chain (like Dillon's or Hyvee).
23. Édith Piaf: A beloved French singer, actress, and cabaret performer (here performing "Padam") and frequent inspiration for drag acts.
24. Barbara Streisand's "Jingle Bells": "Jingle Bells"...as performed by Barbra Streisand. (And lots of drag queens.)
24. Zima: A lightly carbonated lemon-lime clear beer popularized in the 1990s. Think alcoholic Sprite.
25. "Skate towards the light, Carol Ann!": A reference to this scene in the movie Poltergeist.
28. Tracy raises the wire hanger and does her best Faye Dunaway: A reference to this scene in the movie Mommie Dearest.
28. Janet Reno: the first female Attorney General of the United States. Also the wearer of this haircut.
29. "Padam Padam": An Édith Piaf song sometimes also just called "Padam." This recording (also linked above) includes English and French lyrics.
34. "Watched the movie?": Tracy is probably referring to La Vie En Rose, a biopic about Piaf.
36. The Pharaoh number in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Refers to "Song of the King (The Seven Fat Cows)."
36. Tallahassee vs. Panama City: Tallahassee is the inland capital of FL and has a population of over 190,000. Panama City is a coast town and has a population of under 40,000. They're about two hours apart.
38. "Et tu, Brute?": A reference to Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar, but the phrase also has plenty of traction in popular culture - it even has a Know Your Meme page!
39. "It's raining men!": A reference to The Weather Girls' song, a drag staple.
39. [Casey] gives his best Sweeney Todd. “AT LAST MY ARM IS COMPLETE AGAIN!”: A reference to the end of "My Friends," a song in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
41. "One for the money...two for the show...": A reference to Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes."
42. “We’re gonna have to find a different way for you to ‘express yourself.’”: A reference to the Madonna song.
43. Frances Gumm: Judy Garland's birth name.
43. “Judy, Liza, Barbra, Britney, Bette, Rhianna, Fergie, and Madonna”: Pop icons and frequent drag targets Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Britney Spears, Bette Midler, Rhianna, Fergie, and Madonna. Click names for a drag impersonation of each!
44. "Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Dixie Chicks": Female country performance artists. Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris are more traditional old-school country, while the Dixie Chicks are country-pop anticipating artists like Taylor Swift.
44. “Baby, your Elvis act died on the toilet.”: Like Elvis. Elvis died on the toilet.
53. The Crying Game: A 1992 film, one plot point of which is that a soldier falls in love with a woman he learns is transgender. (This is the first and second part of the scene in question. There is brief frontal nudity.)
55. The Von Trapp Family Singers: A reference to this scene in The Sound of Music.
56. "Lady Chablis, Hedda Lettuce, Lypsinka, Divine, Babette": Famous drag queens addressed individually below. The list largely pays homage to early camp and comedy queens, as well as those who generate their own artistic work outside the context of conventional pageant performance or lip syncs.
56. Lady Chablis: One of the first drag queens to receive wide popular recognition after Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
56. Hedda Lettuce: A New York-based drag queen with several famous media appearances, including the film To Wong Foo.
56. Lypsinka: The drag persona of solo performance artist John Epperson, who's played Lypsinka in several solo shows and off-Broadway plays including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.
56. Divine: A famous drag queen who worked on several Les Waters projects, including the original film version of Hairspray.
56. Babette: A female impersonator and circus performer, particularly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, who would reveal he was a man at the end of a circus act performed in drag.
56. Stonewall: The Stonewall Inn in New York City was the site of the Stonewall riots, a 1969 uprising against a police raid of the gay bar. The uprising, led by drag queens (who might have identified as trans women or under the nonbinary umbrella today ), is considered to be the inciting incident to the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement. (The 49 year anniversary of the uprising is June 28, during our rehearsal process.)
56. Mattachine: A reference to the Mattachine Society, an early LA-based gay rights collective founded by a group of gay men in 1950.
56. ACT UP: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a grassroots anti-AIDS advocacy group that protested government response to the AIDS epidemic with large-scale, high-profile protests. Chapters of ACT UP are still active today.
56. Christopher Street: The street in New York City on which the Stonewall Inn is located in New York's West Village.
57. Montrose Mining Company: A Houston gay bar that opened in 1978 and closed in 2016.
63. Brooklyn drag: The term apparently doesn't have a precise meaning, but it's understood to be messy and outside the conventional performance standards of Manhattan drag.
64. Twink: A queer (primarily gay) young man who is thin and conventionally attractive with very little body hair. Sometimes used descriptively, sometimes pejoratively, and sometimes to describe men who fit the "type" without knowledge of their sexual orientation.
65. "It's like Lord of the Flies out there and I'm the pig!": The pig is a recurring theme in the William Golding novel. The characters literally hunt and kill pigs, but they also ostracize Piggy from the rest of the group of older boys and plan to hunt former authority figure Ralph like a pig. Regardless, it's not ideal.
PgNumber. Reference: explanation.
13. Miss Daisy: A reference to Driving Miss Daisy, an Alfred Uhry play adapted into a movie about an elderly Jewish woman and the relationship she develops with the Black man hired as her chaffeur.
16. Versatile: A term for a queer (usually gay) man who enjoys both topping and bottoming in his sexual relationship(s).
17. "More Graceland than Ed Sullivan": Graceland is Elvis' home - now turned memorial - in TN. It hosts an annual "Elvis Week" featuring, among other events, a contest for Elvis tribute artists. The Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show on which Elvis himself appeared on multiple occasions.
19. Winn Dixie: A family grocery chain (like Dillon's or Hyvee).
23. Édith Piaf: A beloved French singer, actress, and cabaret performer (here performing "Padam") and frequent inspiration for drag acts.
24. Barbara Streisand's "Jingle Bells": "Jingle Bells"...as performed by Barbra Streisand. (And lots of drag queens.)
24. Zima: A lightly carbonated lemon-lime clear beer popularized in the 1990s. Think alcoholic Sprite.
25. "Skate towards the light, Carol Ann!": A reference to this scene in the movie Poltergeist.
28. Tracy raises the wire hanger and does her best Faye Dunaway: A reference to this scene in the movie Mommie Dearest.
28. Janet Reno: the first female Attorney General of the United States. Also the wearer of this haircut.
29. "Padam Padam": An Édith Piaf song sometimes also just called "Padam." This recording (also linked above) includes English and French lyrics.
34. "Watched the movie?": Tracy is probably referring to La Vie En Rose, a biopic about Piaf.
36. The Pharaoh number in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Refers to "Song of the King (The Seven Fat Cows)."
36. Tallahassee vs. Panama City: Tallahassee is the inland capital of FL and has a population of over 190,000. Panama City is a coast town and has a population of under 40,000. They're about two hours apart.
38. "Et tu, Brute?": A reference to Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar, but the phrase also has plenty of traction in popular culture - it even has a Know Your Meme page!
39. "It's raining men!": A reference to The Weather Girls' song, a drag staple.
39. [Casey] gives his best Sweeney Todd. “AT LAST MY ARM IS COMPLETE AGAIN!”: A reference to the end of "My Friends," a song in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.
41. "One for the money...two for the show...": A reference to Elvis' "Blue Suede Shoes."
42. “We’re gonna have to find a different way for you to ‘express yourself.’”: A reference to the Madonna song.
43. Frances Gumm: Judy Garland's birth name.
43. “Judy, Liza, Barbra, Britney, Bette, Rhianna, Fergie, and Madonna”: Pop icons and frequent drag targets Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Britney Spears, Bette Midler, Rhianna, Fergie, and Madonna. Click names for a drag impersonation of each!
44. "Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Dixie Chicks": Female country performance artists. Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris are more traditional old-school country, while the Dixie Chicks are country-pop anticipating artists like Taylor Swift.
44. “Baby, your Elvis act died on the toilet.”: Like Elvis. Elvis died on the toilet.
53. The Crying Game: A 1992 film, one plot point of which is that a soldier falls in love with a woman he learns is transgender. (This is the first and second part of the scene in question. There is brief frontal nudity.)
55. The Von Trapp Family Singers: A reference to this scene in The Sound of Music.
56. "Lady Chablis, Hedda Lettuce, Lypsinka, Divine, Babette": Famous drag queens addressed individually below. The list largely pays homage to early camp and comedy queens, as well as those who generate their own artistic work outside the context of conventional pageant performance or lip syncs.
56. Lady Chablis: One of the first drag queens to receive wide popular recognition after Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
56. Hedda Lettuce: A New York-based drag queen with several famous media appearances, including the film To Wong Foo.
56. Lypsinka: The drag persona of solo performance artist John Epperson, who's played Lypsinka in several solo shows and off-Broadway plays including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.
56. Divine: A famous drag queen who worked on several Les Waters projects, including the original film version of Hairspray.
56. Babette: A female impersonator and circus performer, particularly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, who would reveal he was a man at the end of a circus act performed in drag.
56. Stonewall: The Stonewall Inn in New York City was the site of the Stonewall riots, a 1969 uprising against a police raid of the gay bar. The uprising, led by drag queens (who might have identified as trans women or under the nonbinary umbrella today ), is considered to be the inciting incident to the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement. (The 49 year anniversary of the uprising is June 28, during our rehearsal process.)
56. Mattachine: A reference to the Mattachine Society, an early LA-based gay rights collective founded by a group of gay men in 1950.
56. ACT UP: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, a grassroots anti-AIDS advocacy group that protested government response to the AIDS epidemic with large-scale, high-profile protests. Chapters of ACT UP are still active today.
56. Christopher Street: The street in New York City on which the Stonewall Inn is located in New York's West Village.
57. Montrose Mining Company: A Houston gay bar that opened in 1978 and closed in 2016.
63. Brooklyn drag: The term apparently doesn't have a precise meaning, but it's understood to be messy and outside the conventional performance standards of Manhattan drag.
64. Twink: A queer (primarily gay) young man who is thin and conventionally attractive with very little body hair. Sometimes used descriptively, sometimes pejoratively, and sometimes to describe men who fit the "type" without knowledge of their sexual orientation.
65. "It's like Lord of the Flies out there and I'm the pig!": The pig is a recurring theme in the William Golding novel. The characters literally hunt and kill pigs, but they also ostracize Piggy from the rest of the group of older boys and plan to hunt former authority figure Ralph like a pig. Regardless, it's not ideal.