Chandler, a 31-year-old retail-store manager, said she was very confident she would win. There were only 3 contestants for Miss Max Twenty–Paige Turner (Michael Toyne), Joyce Symone (John Flowers), and Chandler (Daniel Fahrenkrug). The writer was seated next to Tom C., the pageant’s technical director, who offered running commentary on the contestants. The other showstopper was Ashley Simone, Miss Max No.13. Her opening number was Cher’s “Take Me Home,” which she lip-synched while wearing a red-white-and-blue sequined jacket and a gladiator-style bottom. Sable made the most memorable impression of the night. He also ran into Gloria Revelle (Jim G.). She wore a red-and-gold silk jacket and a black G-string and bra. Sable (Butson) was the first person the writer recognized when he arrived at Max Friday evening for the big show. “Drag gives you that mask.” For the show, he’ll shave his beard, but not his legs, and then spend a few hours on makeup and costume. Butson claims he’s much more social when he’s in drag. Jim claimed that being Miss Max was “one of the best things I’ve done in my life.” The writer met several other Miss Maxes–mostly white guys in their 30s and 40s. Domonique Divamoore), both former Miss Maxes. Gloria Revelle) and Todd Magdaleno (a.k.a. The writer was taken to a room at Max called Stosh’s Saloon and introduced to Jim G.
The Miss Max pageant isn’t just any old drag show it has “such prestige that people know about it in Nashville, Kansas City, Iowa, Minnesota…” Likewise, the Max wasn’t just a bar it was a home. This led Ostergard, who has been pageant director the past four years, to turn the 2004 festivities into a reunion of previous winners. “The costume had to represent a part of you–who you are, what you stand for…” For the first few years, there was no shortage of contestants, but over time the numbers have declined. They avoided the look of a traditional drag show and focused on talent and presentation.
Koeller and Ostergard modeled their pageant after Miss America and Miss Universe. Mentions Max’s co-owners, Don (Stosh) Moran and Bruce Barnard. Stella Dallas), a bank debt-collector, and Dan Ostergard, an estate liquidator both frequented the Max bar. The genesis of the Miss Max pageant was a conversation 20 years ago between Steve Koeller (a.k.a. Drag is about the quest for transformation. As gay culture has become increasingly mainstream, however, drag’s appeal has waned. Compared with most Midwestern towns, Omaha has an active gay demimonde that’s not so demi. Butson’s drag persona is a slinky 6 foot 3 inch creature named Sable, who reigned as Miss Max in 1987.
“Now you turn on ‘Jerry Springer’ and there’s some drag queen…” The writer interviewed Butson at a hotel a few blocks from Max, an Omaha gay bar that, since 1985, has been the site of the Miss Max pageant, an annual drag-queen show staged on Super Bowl Sunday. In the late 1980s, he claims, everybody felt that drag was special. Davide Butson is an Omaha, Nebraska, native and occasional drag queen who now lives in Hong Kong. JOURNAL about the Miss Max drag-queen pageant.