The Cockettes

As the psychadelic San Francisco of the 1960s began evolving into the gay San Francisco of the 1970s, The Cockettes, a flamboyant ensemble of hippies (women, gay men, and babies) decked themselves out in gender-bending drag and tons of glitter for a series of legendary midnight shows at the Palace Theater in North Beach. With titles like 'Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma' and 'Pearls Over Shanghai', these all-singing, all-dancing extravaganzas featured elaborate costumes, rebellious sexuality, and exuberant chaos. In their 2 1/2 year existence, The Cockettes created 20 shows, and were featured in 4 films. They created a unique burst of cultural experimentation and artistic outrageousness that continues to influence the worlds of theater, music, fashion, gay politics and spirituality, and urban club life.