“I’ll just tell them I’m a drag queen
and everything will be fine!” 
– Marilyn Maye‘s answer when told that people only wanted to see
drag queens in Provincetown.  She just celebrated her 16^th year
entertaining the masses in Ptown.

Seeing Marilyn Maye at Provincetown Town Hall tells me that the season is coming to a close.  Like the last rose of summer, Auntie Marilyn not only hangs on but thrives.  She defies the odds and pulls off great shows year after year.  Yes, there are the occasional memory lapses in a lyric.  Hello?  She’s 98!  I’m lucky I remember the name of this column…and it’s my name!  Marilyn wove every bobble into the tapestry of the story she was telling – and invariably got a rapturous response from the capacity crowd.  This show had several special moments, but the unexpected highlight was when someone in the audience asked her to sing “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?”.  It’s a song that hasn’t been in her act for a number of years and one the band hadn’t prepared.  After a few moments of discussion, out came an exemplary rendition of the classic – which she revealed she’s sung at quite a few gay weddings.  After the show, I joked that I expect to see her onstage at 100.  “Of course, Billy – I’m already booked!”  And I’ll be there!  In the meantime, some clips and pics from Ptown can be found on BillyMasters.com.

Dolly Parton always said if she were born a man, she’d have been a drag queen.  So it comes as no surprise that CNN mistakenly ran a photo of a Dolly Parton impersonator when announcing her death.  The only surprise is that the impersonator was a woman and not a man!  “We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family.”  The impersonator in question, Kelly Vohnn, was appalled.  “Somebody at CNN really messed up and didn’t do their research.  It was quite embarrassing, to be honest.”  Somewhere, I bet this gave Dolly a chuckle!

The Parton family announced updated plans for DollyFest.  The event was originally planned to celebrate Dolly’s 80^th birthday in January, but, due to health concerns, was pushed to next year.  The event will still take place – but now it will be a tribute to Dolly.  And, this being a tribute to Dolly Parton, you gotta double the festivals and double the fun.  There will be a weekend in January 2027 in Nashville.  A London event is still being planned.