Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community is rallying around an unusual cause: the search for the missing Beardmobile, described as a “big, gay mobile performance unit, glitterfully outfitted for socially distanced performances and political actions”.
The Beardmobile, a 14,000lb, custom-built performance truck decked out with a stage, sound system and pink eyelashes, was stolen from the parking lot of the Allens Lane Art Center in Mount Airy last month, Axios Philadelphia reported.
The disappearance of the beloved vehicle, a centerpiece of Philly Pride parades and LGBTQ+ events, has left the city’s drag troupe, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, devastated but determined to track it down.
“My hope is we do find her,” said John Jarboe, the troupe’s artistic founder, in an interview with Axios. “It’s got a whole lot of love and a lot of history.”
The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, described as a “queer arts organization that sits on your lap and sings you a story” on its website, only discovered that the vehicle was stolen about a week after it happened, when members went to check on the Beardmobile ahead of upcoming performances.
According to Jarboe, police believe the perpetrator or perpetrators disabled a motion-sensor camera before taking off with the truck.
In response, the Bearded Ladies have plastered the city with missing posters describing the vehicle as a “box truck in drag”. But while the loss might be devastating, the troupe is keeping its trademark humor intact. They are offering a reward of “10,000lb of glitter” for the Beardmobile’s return.
Despite the heartbreak, the group has no plans to replace the truck.
“I’m still in the grieving process,” Jarboe told Axios.
The Beardmobile, a 2009 Isuzu truck turned rolling stage, had become more than a vehicle. It served as a symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility, protest and joy in Philadelphia. Jarboe described it as an emblem of the community’s “loud and proud” resistance to intolerance and hate.
The Bearded Ladies say they will not press charges against whoever stole the truck.
