Wednesday, June 27, 2007
In a traditional beauty pageant, contestants try to demonstrate their style, dignity, and grace by donning evening gowns, bathing suits and scads of make-up. And so, the Miss Glamouresse beauty pageant is quite normal. There’s just one difference.
The contestants are all men.
The Kansas Summer Theatre musical production “Pageant” will hit the stage at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall this Friday at the University of Kansas.
Ben Cook, Plano, Texas, senior, performs during a dress rehearsal for "Pageant" on Monday night at Murphy Hall. Cook plays the part of Miss Texas in the show.
Bill Russell, director and co-writer, said “Pageant” is not a drag show, but rather a parody of beauty pageants.
“This show is really about the way beauty is sold to women in our culture,” Russell said. “They go through things and do things that we would never expect men to do.”
The six contestants — Miss Industrial Northeast, Miss West Coast, Miss Deep South, Miss Bible Belt, Miss Great Plains, and Miss Texas — sing and dance, hoping to earn the top honor at the end of the show. But the contestants don’t know who will take home the prize each night. That’s because the five judges are picked from the audience at the beginning of each performance, meaning there potentially could be a different winner each night.
“We want the audience to be a part of it,” said Ben Cook, Plano, Texas, senior. “We don’t want them to just sit there in the dark.”
Cook, who plays the part of Miss Texas, said he was already familiar with the mentality of Texas women.
“I got to see it firsthand so I felt like I could bring something to the show while a lot of the other people would just be playing stereotypes,” he said.
Each contestant has her own special skills and talents. B. Michael Ford, Olathe graduate, plays Miss Industrial Northeast, a contestant who roller skates while playing the accordion. And Miss Bible Belt, played by Robbie Gordy, performs a song and dance number called “I’m Banking on Jesus.”
“I suppose she just really loves the Lord,” Gordy, Omaha, Neb., junior said.
Leavenworth senior Jon Matteson, who plays Miss Deep South, said rehearsals have been both challenging and hilarious.
“The most difficult part was walking and dancing in stiletto heels,” he said.
Nearly everything about the show is genuine. The actors are in the same age range as Miss USA contestants. The theatre contains a stage leading to a runway with tables on both sides and the actors go backstage only to change outfits. And, because the audience chooses the winners, the actors are truly pushing themselves to become Miss Glamouresse, Cook said.
“It actually has turned into a competition between all the actors,” he said.
—Edited by Ben Smith
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