THE LITTLE PAGEANT THAT COULD to Receive Benefit Screening in Los Angeles

World of Wonder will host a special benefit screening of The Little Pageant That Could, their newly acquired feature documentary chronicling THE JOURNEY of Los Angeles’ Best in Drag Show, to support APLA Health’s Alliance for Housing and Healing.

Hosted on Wednesday, May 21 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in partnership between World of Wonder, APLA Health and the star-studded host committee of World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Tim Bagley, Dan Bucatinsky, Tom Campbell, Sasha Colby, Margaret Cho, Salina Estitties, Daniel Franzese, Judy Greer, Cheyenne Jackson, Dot-Marie Jones, Kathy Kinney, Carson Kressley, Ross Matthews, Ts Madison, Symone, Jamal Sims, Michelle Visage, Lisa Ann Walters and Vanessa Williams, the special event serves as a precursor to the film’s exclusive global streaming premiere on WOW Presents Plus on May 29.

The purpose of this special screening is to support the Best in Drag Show’s driving cause of raising money to help those living with HIV/AIDS, with all proceeds from the event being donated to APLA Health’s Alliance for Housing and Healing. Through the decades, the Best In Drag Show has grossed over $6 million for the Alliance for Housing and Healing which has been able to use event proceeds to benefit programs including permanent subsidized housing, emergency financial assistance for those facing eviction and homelessness with HIV/AIDs. 

Salina Estitties is set to MC the invite-only The Little Pageant That Could screening benefit, which will include donation opportunities and raffles for premium packages. Attendees will also be welcome to tip the performances by throwing cash on-stage as has been tradition at The Best in Drag Show. 

Starting May 29, the acquired film will join WOW Presents Plus’ catalog of award-winning World of Wonder-produced documentary films, including The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Party Monster, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, and more. This addition to the WOWPP library comes as the platform continues to build upon their acquisition portfolio, announcing in 2024 the first scripted series I Hate People, People Hate Me to be joining the platform, along with other landmark acquisitions including the iconic “Elvira Collection”, duo documentary and comedy special projects Happily Ever Laughter and No Refunds from beloved TikTok creators Darcy and Jer, as well as groundbreaking reality series House on Fire.

The Best in Drag Show started in 1990 as a spur-of-the-moment spoof of MISS AMERICA thrown by a few twenty-something friends in a tiny West Hollywood apartment, and has since grown to become LA’s longest-running drag benefit. Executive Produced by World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and directed by John Carlos Frey, who also served as the stage show’s original director, The Little Pageant That Could, features outrageously funny, never-before-seen footage spanning the pageant’s 33-year history, including host and judge appearances by actors such as Chris Pratt, Jennifer Coolidge, John C. Reilly, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, Vanessa Williams, Anna Faris, singer Jennifer Holliday, and designer Bob Mackie.

The Little Pageant that Could is executive produced by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato of World of Wonder, directed by John Carlos Frey, and produced by David Neuendorff, James Cude, and John Carlos Frey. In addition to World of Wonder-produced documentary films and licensed content, The Little Pageant that Could joins an extensive catalogue of original programming, and the entire international Drag Race franchise on WOW Presents Plus.