Fall, 1960  only 64.years ago.  I was honored to lead a very small, 6-man trick drill team from a very small Brooklyn College Air Force ROTC detachment.  We were pretty good, not outstanding, but somewhat entertaining     
The dad of one of our members was a leader in the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks ( BPOE) chapter in Brooklyn. He asked us to perform an opening exhibition for an Elks evening dinner celebration at a famous Brooklyn Night Club. Ben Maksik’s Town and Country Club.

We, of course, said YES.
Our compensation was to be to stay for dinner and the floor show with our dates   Great pay for college kids with no money.
What we didn’t know was that the floor show was “The Jewel Box Revue”.  Advertised as 21 guys and one gal. 
The 21 guys were female impersonators

   About one hour before “ showtime” we arrived to get ready for our performance  That’s when we saw the marquis and learned what the show was.
The dressing room where we were to change into our uniforms for our performance was very close to theirs. Needless to say, we were nervous wrecks being close to 21 female impersonators. ( the term. “Drag Queen”) was not in our vocabulary.  Remember it’s 1960   One young man came to our room and was chatting with us while we got dressed.
We performed.  All went well. Then we went to our tables to enjoy a nice dinner and show with our dates for the evening   The dinner was excellent and now it’s showtime. 
The ensemble did a great opening number and then one of them came to the front with his mike.  He said”. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.  We said we were 21 guys and a gal. I’d like to introduce our only male performer”
Out came the “young man” that we were chatting with while changing into our uniforms.  I wish I could have seen our faces, but I was too busy picking up my dropped jaw from my dessert. 

The show was excellent but the “Surprise” was what made the evening memorable for us.  Here I am writing about it 64 years later.  What a blessing.