Comments (0) Best Underdog Drag Revue - 2004

Hot Boxx Girls

Sure, "Trannyshack" gets the nod for the most inventive and outlandish drag revue in the Bay Area, if not the world; its reputation is well deserved. But the Hot Boxx Girls at Aunt Charlie's Lounge sashay under San Francisco's drag radar, the underdogs who get little attention, and that's a shame. The Girls' jaw-dropping, highly entertaining performance is akin to the classic burlesque drag shows of yesteryear -- only slightly bent and a bit rough around the edges. Led by Vicki "The Girl With the Liquid Spine" Marlane each Friday and Saturday night, the act is like watching Norma Desmond descend her staircase in the final scene of Sunset Blvd. or Mariah Carey plunge into madness on MTV's TRL: You can't help but stare, slack-jawed and proud, as these ladies perform in all their heart-rending, sequined, oversize-wigged glory. If "Trannyshack" delights in life's fabulousness, the Hot Boxx Girls savor the macabre.