Will You Be the Next Madame Brownstone?
Get ready for the next Madame Brownstone “Pageant”. Do you have what it takes to be the next queen of Harrisburg’s gay dive bar extraordinaire? It’s literally the apex (ish) of the drag world.
Join in the fun in the most unconventional drag pageant around. You’ll have a blast and you just may end up as the next Madame Brownstone.
What is it?
The Brownstone Lounge is looking for the next “Madame Brownstone” to represent the bar throughout 2026. And because it’s the Brownstone, we’re gonna turn the idea of a drag pageant completely on its head. We’re looking for a Madame Brownstone that best represents the Brownstone brand, vibe, and mission.
4 Key Brownstone Brand Attributes that Madame Brownstone should represent:
Raucus & Rowdy with the Right Dash of Raunchy
“Aspirational Glamour” with a trashy, Harrisburg dive bar edge
Fun, gregarious, and a space where a broad, diverse audience has a great time and feels at home in their neighborhood gay bar
A rollicking crazy train that may run off the rails at any moment
What if you win?
The winner of the Madame Brownstone Pageant will be crowned and reign for one year. The winner will:
Receive a crown and sash
Receive a $250 cash prize
Host up to four paid gigs at the Brownstone throughout 2026
Represent the Brownstone during Pride 2026 (parade, festival, and at the bar)
Host next year’s Madame Brownstone Pageant
Be included in some of Brownstone’s marketing & promotions.
The Madame Brownstone Pageant is not associated with—nor a preliminary to—any other pageant. Because Gurl, once you reach the pinnacle, there’s nowhere else to go.
Selection Process
Because of the size of the bar, the Madame Brownstone competition will be capped at 3-4 entrants. The Brownstone will empanel a group of 3 judges which will include performers and/or others with experience in the world of competitive drag pageants.
Interested performers will complete the application which will be reviewed by the judging panel who will select up to 4 performers to compete for the Madame Brownstone title. There are no fees or charges for performers to enter the Madame Brownstone Pageant.
Competition Details
The Madame Brownstone “Pageant” will include 4 challenges. Contestants will need to understand and contend with the limitations of the physical constraints of the Brownstone and navigate what will be a very crowded bar. Here are the details for each challenge.
Challenge #1: Make an Entrance (And Some Waves)
First impressions are often the most important. In this challenge, contestants will have 5 minutes each to make a huge visual impact for the audience and judges in their entrance performance number. Make it a WOW Moment. End the number by introducing yourself and then you will answer one question that will be selected by the audience.
JUDGING CRITERIA: 100 pts
Visual Impact / Look (50 pts)
Connection with Audience (25 pts)
Humor / Poise / Experience on Mic (25 pts)
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Challenge #2: Sophisticated Lady at the Trashy Gay Dive Bar
In this challenge, we assess your ability to create a fun experience that gets the audience roaring with engagement. Your task is to create a performance that starts out sophisticated and glamourous and morphs into a raucous, fun dive bar performance that fits the crazy Brownstone brand.
Here’s the scenario: you were expecting to put on a glamourous performance and you show up in full glamour gear, get up on stage, start your very sophisticated and glamorous performance, and then during your performance you suddenly realize it’s actually a raunchy little gay dive bar called the Brownstone. Then you transform your performance into a raucous, raunchy Brownstone spectacle that gets the audience roaring.
DESCRIPTION
No more than 5 minutes
Create a performance that starts out sophisticated and glamorous and morphs into a raucous, saucy/sassy dive bar performance that gets the audience going.
Create an outfit that converts from sophisticated to “trashy rock n’ roll” during your performance.
Think of this performance as your conversion into Madame Brownstone
JUDGING CRITERIA: 150 pts
Visual Impact / Look (30 pts)
Audience Engagement (20 pts)
Fun / Humor (30 pts)
Music Selection (10 pts)
Performance (30 pts)
Your Interpretation of Madame Brownstone (30 pts)
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Challenge #3: Gurl, This Is Gonna Hurt (And You’re Gonna Like It)
This year’s Madame Brownstone “Pageant” coincides with our usual Leather/Fetish Night with the Pennsmen. In this challenge, we’ll assess your ability to headline one of Brownstone’s signature events.
Bring your Fetish/Leather ‘A’ Game in this performance. Make it sexy. Make it naughty. (But keep it legal). Take us to the edge and get the audience all hot and bothered.
DESCRIPTION
No more than 5 minutes
Create a fetish/leather themed performance with appropriate look and music.
You can use a geared-out Pennsmen in your performance if you wish.
Engage the audience and encourage their participation. Make it fun, not creepy.
JUDGING CRITERIA: 150 pts
Visual Impact / Look (50 pts)
Audience Engagement (30 pts)
Music Selection (20 pts)
Performance (50 pts)
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Challenge #4: Madame Brownstone is in the House
In the final challenge, contestants will create a look, pick a song, and create a performance that they think best represents the Brownstone Lounge, its brand, and its audience. This will be your vision for Madame Brownstone.
The Audience will also vote in this challenge. They will have a QR code to score each contestant.
DESCRIPTION
Finale Performance
Complete Look/Persona for Madame Brownstone
Make it fun / audience engagement
Maximum 7-minute performance (song/ dance/lip sync/on mic elements)
Max of 1 additional back up performer/ helper
Props must be pre-approved
Audience Engagement / Voting is a Key Element of this Challenge
JUDGING CRITERIA: 1,000 pts
Visual Impact / Look (300 pts)
Fun / Humor / Sass / Attitude (100 pts)
Performance (300 pts)
Audience Voting (300 pts)
Competition Details
After the judges tally the points, the new Madame Brownstone will be crowned and awarded the pageant prizes. We’ll also have a brief photo shoot and the new Madame Brownstone will need to be available for selfies/crowd interaction.