Article: Life's a drag for these macho men.(Arts and Lifestyle)

Byline: STEPHEN SCHAEFER

When Rupert Everett dons drag to play Camilla Fritton, the headmistress of an English girls school in Friday's "St. Trinian's," it's not meant as a joke.

Like its 1954 predecessor "The Belles of St. Trinian's," in which doughy English actor Alistair Sims played headmistress Millicent Fritton, this remake is a throwback to Shakespeare's era, when women were banned from the stage and all roles were played by men.

There's a long cinematic history of men masquerading as women - most often for comic effect, but sometimes the gender-bending is played straight. For instance:

** "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," (2005): ...

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