According to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel, a settlement was reached over the state’s complaint (up to and including floating the possibility of pulling the venue’s liquor license) between the two entities back in August but was only publicly released this week.
The settlement’s terms are that the Plaza Live will pay a fine to the tune of $5,000 — if they don’t pay in singles, opportunity lost — to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations, along with giving somewhat abstract assurances that children will never be let into an event of this nature in the future.
This assurance would presumably mean “sexually explicit drag shows,” a charge originally levied against “A Drag Queen Christmas” — a show that included several RuPaul’s Drag Race winners, btw. This charge was later debunked by internal incident reports filed by a small squad of FDLE officers checking out the Orlando show. The officers found nothing explicit happening on- or off-stage.
The Plaza Live, which has been mostly closed for renovations since June of this year, has been embroiled in this ginned-up controversy courtesy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis since the original Drag Queen Christmas performance on Dec. 28, 2022.
Though the touring “A Drag Queen Christmas” will be skipping Orlando this year, feel more than free to check out some local holiday drag goodness: Brutal Xxxmas at Will’s Pub on Monday, Dec. 11; The Winter Late Night Holiday Drag Exxxtravaganza Show at the Ren Theatre on select nights through Dec. 21; and holiday-themed drag brunches at Island Time in Thornton Park on Dec. 3, 10 and 17. These shows are, of course, just a sampling of Orlando’s fabulosity.
Also and always fabulous: Hamburger Mary’s, not just for their packed entertainment schedule but for standing up and suing the state.
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This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2023.