PARTY POOPER

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New York, and it’s not just because of the deadly stampedes at the discount stores. The sure-fire way to know the holiday is upon us is by the number of drag queens starring in their own Christmas shows. There’s Shequida and Mimi Imfurst at the Cutting Room, Hedda Lettuce at Metropolitan Room, and Linda Simpson (a/k/a writer Les Simpson) at La MaMa in The Bad Hostess. “I think the reason so many drag queens have Christmas shows is because the holidays provide plenty of campy fodder,” Simpson says. “And it’s a good way to make a buck.” She would know. As a longtime host of Monday Night Bingo and the former “Slurp” night at the Cock, Simpson’s been working the scene to many accolades but little income for years. In the comedy, directed by Julie Atlas Muz, Simpson says she stars as “a veteran drag queen, with plenty of fame and admiration, but no money or job stability. Sound familiar?”

Fridays, Saturdays, 10 p.m.; Sundays, 5:30 p.m. Starts: Dec. 5. Continues through Dec. 14, 2008