Shi-Queeta’s Salute
Shi-Queeta-Lee's Tina Turner-themed treat at the Howard Theatre
“I’m one of the first local talents to sell out the Howard Theatre,” beams drag queen Shi-Queeta-Lee, who has performed at the revived historic venue over the past two years as part of the enormously popular drag show series “A Drag Salute to the Divas.” Lee generally performs every other month in all lip-synched shows, varying from concert-style presentations focused on particular divas, such as Cher or Madonna, to full-scale, on-stage productions recreating a particular movie, such as Dreamgirls.
Photo by Robert Mecer, Jr
This weekend Lee presents an early Valentine’s Day treat performing “What Shi-Queeta-Lee Has Done With It,” her twist on the 1993 biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It. Lee first performed a Tina Turner-themed show a decade ago at Black Pride, but, at the Howard, she’s amped it up with more songs and a cast of 22 accompanying her. “In my plays, the males play the female roles, and the females play the male roles. I’ll be playing the role of Tina Turner, and LaShawn Johnson, who is a female, will be playing the role of Ike.”
Lee has been entertaining crowds even longer at nearby venue Town, where she appears as part of the drag show every Friday and Saturday night, and Nellie’s, where she leads the bar’s weekly Drag Brunch, now with two seatings on both Saturdays and Sundays.
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But because of the success at Howard, Lee, born Jerry Van Hook, has been increasingly taking the “Salute to the Divas” show on the road to smaller towns in Maryland and Virginia — including near her hometown in southwestern Virginia. Lee had her first show 10 miles south of the Van Hook perch in Gretna, Va., this past December, and will return to the area in May.
Lee, who has lived in D.C. for over 30 years, was initially nervous about performing back home, especially after one local preacher warned residents to steer clear of the show — “a serious sign of the end time,” Charles E. Miller Jr. wrote in a letter to the Chatham Star-Tribune — and yet over 250 people attended.
“It was a very successful turnout,” Lee says “And I liked it so much over there, I’m going back.”
A Drag Valentine’s Salute to the Divas is Sunday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. The Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets are $20 to $50. Call 202-588-5595 or visit thehowardtheatre.com for more details.
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