Cockettes Forever

Cockettes Forever!

Rumi Missabu, of the legendary gender bending performance troupe, The Cockettes, is presenting a one-off showcase of Cockettes-inspired performers. Rumi himself will be performing an original Cockette number not seen since the psychedelic ‘Seventies and will be welcoming irreverent downtown stars the Dazzle Dancers, Tigger! and Glenn Marla to the stage.

The evening is a celebration of The Cockette’s legacy featuring DJ sets by Designer Impostor (Pantyho’s) and Van Scott (DJs Are Not Rock Stars) with visuals by Assume Vivid Astro Focus.

A Celebration of the Legendary Performance Troupe with Original Cockette Rumi
Hosted by La JohnJoseph
Featuring: Rumi, The Dazzle Dancers, Tigger!, Glenn Marla and Videos by Assume Vivid Astro Focus
Music by DJs Van Scott and Designer Impostor
Saturday, November 10
10:00 pm - 4:00 am
GlassLands

The show is a part of Rumi’s international Cockettes Forver! Tour which takes in screenings and performances in London, and Bologna (via video submission), and which culminates in a major Cockettes retrospective exhibition at UKS Gallery in Oslo, Noway, opening November 16th. The tour will mark Rumi’s first trip to New York since 1974 and his first ever visit to Europe.
The Cockettes were active from 1969-1972, in which time they went from being an opening act for a midnight movie screening at the Palace Theater in San Francisco to a bona fide cult sensation with features in every periodical from Rolling Stone and Esquire to Life. After their notorious Broadway show in 1971 and a major philosophical split, The Cockettes disbanded in 1972, but never have they been more relevant than today. Major interest was generated in the Cockettes after the release of Bill Weber and David Weissman’s 2002 documentary "The Cockettes" in which Rumi features prominently. The film garnered international acclaim and won the L.A. Film Critics Association’s award for Best Documentary in 2003. The rag-tag glamour and psychedelic gender anarchy of the Cockettes has won them many famous fans in the arts. In fashion, both Marc Jacobs and John Galliano have credited the Cockettes as a source of much inspiration for their work, and in music Devendra Banhart and the Scissor Sisters have both paid homage to the troupe in their performances and imagery.
Rumi himself says; “I am very excited to be returning to New York after 34 years! I’m so looking forward to seeing the artists in the Cockettes Forever! show pay homage to what we were and what we stood for. Nothing could be more flattering! We were a bunch of freaks that came together like magnets, it’s wonderful to see that this tradition continues over the decades.”

reprinted from scenedowntown.com