Described as "joyous, rambunctious" (UCLA Film & Television Archive), this documentary was shot at the 1993 and 1994 editions of the famed drag performance festival held intermittently from 1984 to 2005 in New York City. In the early years, the festival took place in Tomkins Square Park in Manhattan's East Village, the location of the 1993 footage. The following year, it was moved to the Christopher Street Pier in the West Village, which we also see here. Director Barry Shils and crew capture lively drag performances from RuPaul, Lypsinka, Jackie Beat, John Kelly (as Joni Mitchell) and many more, as well as non-drag acts like Deee-Lite and Debbie Harry, emceed by one of the festival founders, Lady Bunny. An earlier record of the festival, a 20-minute documentary of the same name, was filmed in 1987 by Tom Rubnitz (1956-1992). That short played the LGBTQ film festival circuit, and footage from it was cut together for the title sequence of the 1995 film. Produced and distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company, the newer feature-length version was exhibited more widely and achieved more mainstream recognition. Nevertheless, reviewer Roger Ebert only gave it two stars, admitting to a bias against lip-synching and wishing the performers were more outrageous, instead of discussing "their lifestyle as if it were the most normal things [sic] in the world." The UCLA Archive, on the other hand, in program notes for the 20th anniversary screening, was able to appreciate the insight behind the "colorful" fun, an articulation of "the importance of transgressive gender expression." The festival inspired later queer performance festivals, including Brooklyn's Bushwig, Atlanta's ACT UP fundraiser Wigwood and Miami's annual queer performance festival, also known as Wigwood.

by Rob Nixon