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Jason Henry and Lidia Dinkova pull the curtains away from University Club's weekly drag show.

Impersonating a Woman

By JASON HENRY and LIDIA DINKOVA

Long live the Queens

By LIDIA DINKOVA, Alligator Contributing Writer

Every Thursday night UF students flood the streets of downtown Gainesville to get an early start on their weekend. University Club, located on 18 E. University Ave., attracts many of these students with its female impersonation performances, known as The Lady Pearl Show.

Although University Club is a gay bar, the audience of the show is not limited to people with a specific sexual orientation, said Lady Pearl, director of the show. "The University Club has a very diverse clientele," said Faith, a dancer and a "female illusionist," a man who impersonates a woman to entertain. Faith often performs to Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, while Lady Pearl enjoys impersonating Madonna and Cher. In either case, University Club visitors like Mory Jacobson, a Gainesville resident, are never disappointed. "I like to dance and they have pretty good music," Jacobson said. "There's always something different going on."

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