Boys will be girls again — for one night, anyway, on Feb. 24 — when Jack Cione, onetime kingpin of drag, strip and burlesque shows from Waikiki to the airport area, stages "Le Bizarre," a revue featuring female impersonators at the Hawaiian Hut.

Cione, for the past 20 years the producer-director of the "Mardi Gras Follies," is returning to the exotic show roots he left 40 years ago by bringing back Brandy Lee, a drag queen who starred at The Clouds in Waikiki, Forbidden City in Kewalo and The Glades in Chinatown, to the Waikiki mainstream. Back in the day, his shows drew packed houses.

If there's demand, Cione says the show's producers may seek a permanent venue for the feathered and sequined impersonators.

"Brandy was popular in the '60s," Cione said. "I ran into her one day — she lives here again — and got to talking about bringing back her act."

Brandy "knows how to belt a song," Cione said. She's "from the old school of show business," and doesn't lip-synch.

The show will boast four big production numbers, featuring a host of men cast as exotic showgirls. Some cast members are also female. They'll be wearing elaborate showgirl costumes, previously seen in Cione's productions at such places at Le Boom Boom Club and Forbidden City, and more recently in "Follies" at Pearl Harbor and at the Hawai'i Theatre.

The roster of 20 impersonators includes Poilicious, Kaina, Andrea, Deza Ray, Marcee Casi, Geovanna and Shelrae (they're well known in this realm of entertainment), to be joined by the Derek Daniels Dancers and the Mardi Gras Carnivale Queens.

Headliner Lee started out dancing in Honolulu Community Theatre (now Diamond Head Theatre) productions such as "West Side Story" and "Show Boat," and tried singing — unsuccessfully — as a male in subsequent years.

"The magic happened when I was asked to perform in drag at The Clouds for a New Year's Eve party," she said in a statement. "I was home at last and found my niche in life."

She had a huge following, sharing the stage with Prince Hanalei at The Glades, where throngs flocked the Hotel Street lounge/showroom. For a couple of decades she worked clubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Miami and Boston, and is a former Universal Show Queen, a pageant of female impersonators.

"The last time I worked for Jack Cione was in 1967, at the Forbidden City," said Lee. "I weighed 108 pounds."

Things have changed since 1967, but "I still have a great pair of legs, and haven't forgot how to wow an audience," she said.

'LE BIZARRE'

9:30 p.m. and midnight, Feb. 24

Hawaiian Hut, at the Ala Moana Hotel

$35 ($25 in advance), at Hawaiian Hut, Harry's Music on Wai'alae Avenue, Good Guys on Kapahulu Avenue, Liquor Collection at Ward Warehouse, Rainbow Books and Music on University Avenue, Sweet Nothings on Waimanu Street, Jelly's in 'Aiea, Hungry Ear in Kailua and Cinnamon's Restaurant in Kailua

545-2820

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.