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The
mammoth remodeling project that transformed dominant Oak Lawn
nightspot the Village Station into the even larger juggernaut
Station 4 was given a much ballyhooed grand opening over the
holidays. (Station 4 because it's the fourth incarnation of the
Village Station.) But now that the out-of-towners have gone home and
the holiday crowds have died down, the real nightlife denizens can
get a closer (more sober) inspection of their new big gay dance-club
digs. They knocked out a wall, added a front balcony and a
no-smoking room, strung up an eerily mechanical lighting rig and
covered everything else in shiny plate metal surfaces. Plus there
are few spots in the club you can stand without your internal organs
reverberating from the new sound system. Overall, it's really nice
but not as totally phenomenal as you might hope.
Then walk upstairs and pass through the doors of the new Rose
Room, and you'll probably say out loud, "Oh, so this is
where the money went!" What used to be a cramped, red-curtained den
with a stage a foot off the ground and one overworked bartender is
now an enormous cabaret with a real backstage area, two levels of
seating, a lounge toward the rear, a much larger bar and--best of
all--bathrooms. No more climbing back into the dance club to pee;
also no more ducking in front of the spotlight for fear of suffering
the wrath of a raging drag queen whose light keeps getting blocked.
The show has evolved along with the new performance space. The
"girls" work in more choreographed group numbers befitting the
higher stage. Edna's Angels moves to Wednesday nights from
JR's next door, while Valerie Lohr's new talent night moves over to
JR's on Tuesdays. All the favorites from the old cast are still
there plus a few new additions. Make sure to get there early on
Fridays and Sundays for Cassie Nova's savage opening monologue.
Marvel at the statuesque beauty of Maya Douglas. Any token straight
boys in the room still gush at Krystal Summers, "Dude, that's gotta
be a real woman!" And the eyes of Whitney Paige sparkle as bright as
they always have, but now they have some stiff competition from the
twinkling-light backdrop of the new, improved Rose Room.
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Show times are 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. in
the Rose Room located upstairs inside Station 4,
3911 Cedar Springs Road. From Wednesday through
Sunday, the doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5
to $8 for ages 21 and up and $10 for ages 18 to
20 Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday only. Call 214-559-0650
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| dallasobserver.com
| originally published: February 10, 2005
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