Doo Dah Queen tryouts 2017 (All photos by Tequila Mockingbird for The LA Beat) permission)
Last weekend at the American Legion Bar in Pasadena, the Doo Dah Queen was chosen from amongst the usual motley contenders for the 40th Occasional Doo Dah Parade. The judges include former queens and anyone willing to buy the queens two rounds of beer.
Queen Imani Phoenix impressed the judges with her ability to work the room while singing a repertoire that included a 1930s song and “I Want to be Queen.” Queen Imani is quite literally a queen — a drag queen. Also known as Armond Anderson-Bell, she is a mental health worker (and patient). She most recently appeared in “Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho: A Musical Parody.” For the first time in a very long time, a king was chosen as well. The King is a crazy drunken flute player known as the “Pied Piper of Pasadena.”
Once again, the Doo Dah Parade is forging new ground, not following the safe and traditional rules. As our new Queen put it, “It’s wonderful that a black boy from South LA
Can grow up to be Queen!”
The Doo Dah Parade will take place November 19 at 11am along Colorado Boulevard. $10 to march, tickets are free. Tickets are not required to watch the parade, but they give you a location, which is handy if you are meeting a group. Entries and tickets here.
Elise Thompson contributed to this post
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