Drag Is A Force For Good, Shows Upcoming Documentary ‘The Little Pageant That Could’ From World Of Wonder & Gatekeeper Productions

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: A ban on drag performances in public places has been enacted in Tennessee, and more than a dozen other states may follow suit, a movement predicated on the fear that children who might glimpse such a show would be scarred by it.

But an upcoming documentary defies that demonization by portraying drag performers as a force for good in their community. Emmy-winning media company World of Wonder (RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Gatekeeper Productions today announced they have wrapped production on The Little Pageant That Could, a feature documentary that chronicles the journey of L.A.’s Best in Drag Show to support the Alliance for Housing and Healing.  “The event, which started as a spur-of-the-moment spoof of Miss America thrown by a few twenty-something friends in a tiny West Hollywood apartment in 1990, grew to become L.A.’s longest-running drag benefit including appearances by A-list actors, playing before thousands of people and grossing over $6 million to help those living with HIV/AIDS,” according to a release about the documentary. “Through the decades, the Alliance for Housing and Healing has been able to use proceeds from the events to benefit programs including permanent subsidized housing, emergency financial assistance for those facing eviction and homelessness with HIV/AIDs.” The Little Pageant That Could is executive produced by World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and directed by John Carlos Frey, who also served as the stage show’s original director. “The film features outrageously funny, never-before-seen footage spanning the pageant’s 33-year history, including host and judge appearances by actors such as Chris Pratt, Jennifer Coolidge, John C.