Sure, there are some regrets as a drag queen. But Brandy Lee, who's pushing retirement age, is glad to be "getting out of mothballs" to star in "Le Bizarre," a one-night, two-show trial balloon Saturday at the Hawaiian Hut.

"I just hope it's going to be tasteful," said Lee, who is doing five or six production numbers in the female-impersonation revue produced by Jack Cione, who added spice to Hawai'i's night- life more than four decades ago. Lee previously worked with the impresario of drag and burlesque.

"We're looking for a venue to do the show more frequently," said Cione, who had a chance meeting with Lee sometime back when they discussed her re-entry into the Waikiki mainstream. She had abandoned the glamour and the glitz to come home to tend to her ailing mother.

But Lee finally said yes.

"I like the title, 'Le Bizarre,' because it opens it up to anything and everything — something for everyone," Lee said. "It's been exciting, but a little nerve-wracking, especially at my age (sixtysomething). Everything's hanging.

"But I'm oiling it up, greasing it up, and nip-and-tucking, and you often feel older when you work with the younger ones, who are bopping and kicking away. I have to say, 'Can you wait for me to catch up?' "

Lee originally wanted to be a dancer and got some attention in community theater musicals, eventually trying singing as man ... "(but) it just didn't work. When I put on my first gown, a pair of heels, a beautiful wig and lots of jewelry, I became an entertainer; I became a great nightclub act."

Despite some bumps on the road, Lee has mostly good memories. "I lived out my fantasies; I had a wonderful life. I built up my confidence, and I know I paid my dues. Some called me 'a living legend,' like I should be in a museum. But I often was a piece of meat on a rack. Now that I look back, I regret not standing up (to some bad choices). I had opportunities and offers ... but I was too trusting, too naive. I didn't have the show-biz killer instinct."

One agent blew Lee's chances; a music-biz exec offered her a chance to star in a Broadway musical well before drag materialized on the legit stage in "La Cage Aux Folles" or "The Producers"; so Lee had a few disappointments.

"But I really like myself — who I am and what I do," Lee said. "That's why I'm thrilled to be back, as long as I get a newly powered battery. I'm game, as long as people want to see me again."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.