A box found in an abandoned storage unit unearths a time capsule of correspondences from a forgotten era: the underground drag scene in 1950s New York City. Firsthand accounts and newly discovered footage help cast a long overdue spotlight on the unsung pioneers of drag.
Opening a window into a forgotten world where being yourself meant breaking the law and where the penalties for “masquerading” as a woman were swift and severe. P.S. BURN THIS LETTER PLEASE reconstructs this pre-Stonewall era as Lennie, Robbie, George, Michael, Jim, Henry, Claude, Tish and Terry—former drag queens now in their 80s and 90s—reveal how they survived and somehow flourished at a time when drag queens were both revered and reviled, even within the gay community.
The government sought to destroy them, then history tried to erase them, now they get to tell their story for the first time.
Content Advisory: homophobia, military policies against homosexuality, police treatment towards 2SLGBTQIA+ people, body shaming, transphobia, mental institutions, electroshock therapy, mentions of child abuse, HIV/AIDS, death
- Year2020
- Runtime100 minutes
- LanguageSpanish, English
- CountryUnited States
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorJennifer Tiexiera, Michael Seligman
- ProducerCraig Olsen, Jennifer Tiexiera, Michael Seligman
- Executive ProducerEric Szmanda, Richard Konigsberg, Jessica Bendinger
- CastMichael Alogna, Henry Arango, James Bidgood
- CinematographerZachary Shields
- EditorJennifer Tiexiera, Alex Bohs
- ComposerJonathan Kirkscey
A box found in an abandoned storage unit unearths a time capsule of correspondences from a forgotten era: the underground drag scene in 1950s New York City. Firsthand accounts and newly discovered footage help cast a long overdue spotlight on the unsung pioneers of drag.
Opening a window into a forgotten world where being yourself meant breaking the law and where the penalties for “masquerading” as a woman were swift and severe. P.S. BURN THIS LETTER PLEASE reconstructs this pre-Stonewall era as Lennie, Robbie, George, Michael, Jim, Henry, Claude, Tish and Terry—former drag queens now in their 80s and 90s—reveal how they survived and somehow flourished at a time when drag queens were both revered and reviled, even within the gay community.
The government sought to destroy them, then history tried to erase them, now they get to tell their story for the first time.
Content Advisory: homophobia, military policies against homosexuality, police treatment towards 2SLGBTQIA+ people, body shaming, transphobia, mental institutions, electroshock therapy, mentions of child abuse, HIV/AIDS, death
- Year2020
- Runtime100 minutes
- LanguageSpanish, English
- CountryUnited States
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorJennifer Tiexiera, Michael Seligman
- ProducerCraig Olsen, Jennifer Tiexiera, Michael Seligman
- Executive ProducerEric Szmanda, Richard Konigsberg, Jessica Bendinger
- CastMichael Alogna, Henry Arango, James Bidgood
- CinematographerZachary Shields
- EditorJennifer Tiexiera, Alex Bohs
- ComposerJonathan Kirkscey