Thursday, April 26: Dina Martina

Tacoma Art Museum

By Volcano Staff on April 23, 2012

Miss Dina Martina, Seattle performer Grady West, isn't from the RuPaul school of drag, in which men try their best to look like beautiful women. Martina looks more like the Divine school of drag, in which the aesthetic is more about crazy, outlandish makeup (including pinkish-red blush that makes cheekbones look like T-bones) and provocative performances that look more like wack cabaret than a Liza Minnelli or Cher tribute. Sure, it's a gas to watch a guy in heels and a Hindenburg-size curly wig lip-synch to Lady Gaga, but that's the whole idea. The outlandish, campy fun in a haze of hairspray and padded bras will hit the Tacoma Art Museum Thursday night in conjunction with the celebration of the exhibit, HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. According to TAM hype, you need to "witness the one and only Miss Dina Martina, live and in-person, with her side-splitting stories, hysterically funny songs, eye-splitting costumes, and excruciatingly hilarious videos."

TACOMA ART MUSEUM, THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 6 P.M., TICKETS $20 INCLUDES MUSEUM ADMISSION; $10 FOR MEMBERS, 1701 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.272.4258