by Maggie Ybarra
Daily Lobo
It doesn't take a Ph.D. to be a drag queen.
Yet 40-year-old student P.J. Sedillo is counting on what he has learned in pursuit of the degree to assist him in hosting the Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are show at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Saturday.
Sedillo, a teacher's assistant at UNM and female impersonator, will introduce performers Saturday night and teach an audience of 600 to celebrate the differences of other human beings.
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"It's called the Come Out show every year, and it's in celebration of Come Out Day, which was started in 1988," Sedillo said. "We honor that, and the interesting thing is - well, it's called Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are - and we choose a theme. This year's theme is Fabulous: A Performer's Life."
The first incarnation of the show was in 1998. Since then, it has been annually hosted by the nonprofit organization Sinatra-DeVine Productions for the benefit of the Albuquerque gay and lesbian community. It will include performances by female, male, straight and gay acts.
"We have 23 performances for the Come Out show and it's jam packed," Sedillo said.
Local husband and wife team Erick and Claire Seelinger will perform a duet during the first half of the show. They will be singing "Take Me As I Am."
"That's from the 'Jekyll and Hyde' musical," Erick Seelinger said. "I think it's in keeping with the overall seam of the event. And it speaks on many different levels. It's about accepting people as who they are."
And who they are just happens to be impersonators of some of the biggest, brightest talent in the Hollywood industry.
Backstage there will be dressing rooms full of talented men and women preparing to soak up the spotlight in front of hundreds of screaming fans in order to display their impersonation and outfit-coordination skills.
On stage, Reba McEntire, Janet Jackson and Elton John will perform some of music town's greatest hits in pink taffeta, tight, black leather pants or, in Tom Cruise's case, by committing to the A-list risky business of singing in underwear.
Sixty percent of the money made from ticket sales will go to organizations such as Albuquerque Pride, the AIDS Emergency Fund and the Anita Salas Memorial Fund. The rest of the money will pay for next year's Come Out show.
"No one in the show is going to get paid at all," Sedillo said. "We keep usually 40 percent back so we can run the show again next year. It's kind of expensive to be at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, yet it's a good thing because it makes it more of a
top-quality show."
JoAnne Ramponi, a 62-year-old retired teacher and vice president of Sinatra-DeVine Productions, said people can expect to be blown away by the caliber of talent available on stage Saturday.
"There are a lot of very talented people in this town," Ramponi said. "And when somebody says, 'Well, it's just a drag show,' that's the understatement of what this is. It's really a talent show, and it just happens that some of the
performers are in drag."
Ramponi was elected vice president of Sinatra-DeVine Productions in the spring. Since then, she has used the position as a way to keep teaching. But instead of teaching 4-year-olds the ABC's, she's teaching people in the community that it's OK to be proud of who they are.
"When I finally left teaching, it was like there was a really big hole in my life," Ramponi said. "But things happen and life changes, and then you go on and find something else. So that's what I'm doing now."
Sedillo said coming out and being proud were good reasons to celebrate Come Out Day, but they also contributed to his ability be who he is and teach. And even though he has yet to receive his Ph.D., he is now the new-teacher support for all gifted-education teachers in APS.
"I know that there's going to be certain factions of society that are going to personally attack my life, and I need to be prepared for that," Sedillo said. "So if they bring up the fact that I'm a drag queen/female impersonator, they have nothing to use against me because it's OK. But I was also a Winkie Guard in 'the Wizard of Oz' and Chino in 'West Side story' where I wore just as much makeup."
Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
Saturday
7 p.m.
National Hispanic Cultural Center
1701 Fourth St. S.W.
$15-$25
