Nightlife / Stephanie Depasquale

Not what I expected

| Friday, July 04, 2008 | () comments

Stephanie De Pasquale
Go&Do

Before moving into an entertainment reporter position here at the Times, I worked for a year on the copy desk, which meant a 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift five nights a week, including every weekend.

So when it came time to interview for the reporter job, I asked a couple of friends who were still attending Augustana College what was new in terms of Quad-City nightlife and what they did before turning the magic age of 21.

I was told I had to check out the female impersonation shows at Club Fusion in Davenport. All I knew was that it was supposed to be funny, and that 19- and 20-year-olds could go there. I had no idea what else to expect besides an interesting evening.

After my first visit, I called my sister and told her that when I get married, we’re having the bachelorette party in the Quad-Cities so we can start the night at Club Fusion.

During the reporting of the story, it became second nature to refer to the male performers as “she,” and I grew to understand and appreciate female impersonation as entertainment.

I’m not the only one who found something other than what they expected at Club Fusion. Penny and Kurt Schutt’s daughter works as a bartender at the Davenport bar, and they attended a female impersonation show while visiting her.

“The first time you’re not exactly sure,” Penny Schutt said. “Now I’ve gotten to know many of the people here, not just as performers, but I’ve spoken with many of them after the shows, and I find that their lifestyle, in many regards, is very similar.”

The Schutts now enjoy the female impersonation show every time they come to the Quad-Cities from the Chicago suburbs to visit their daughter, an experience they never thought they would have in the first place.

Kurt Schutt said the best advice he could give anyone who hasn’t been to a female impersonation show is not to prejudge what the show or the performers are about.

Penny Schutt and her husband say they have become more open-minded about the gay community overall and that attending the female impersonation shows helped develop their views.

“I’ve gotten to know a different group of people that I probably would never have gotten to know and found out that they are very kind, they’re generous with one another,” she said. “They welcome my husband and I. They’re a very welcoming group of people.”

To learn more about female impersonation, go to pages 8-9 in this week’s Go & Do section.

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com.