The Wall Street Journal - 19.10.2019 - 20.10.2019

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WORLD NEWS

“RuPaul’s Drag Race,” sang

“Somewhere Over the Rain-

bow” in a short black sequined

dress that unfurled into a long

rainbow dress halfway

through the song. The audi-

ence erupted in cheers.

The event drew more than

1,500 people, according to the

center’s owner Taubman Cen-

ters Inc. Some attendees re-

ceived drag-queen makeovers

from staff at Sephora.

The event helped to keep

the shopping center relevant

to the community, said Susan

Vance, Beverly Center’s mar-

keting and sponsorship direc-

tor. Some people who at-

tended returned later to shop,

she said.

North Riverside Park Mall

in North Riverside, Ill., used

its ample parking lot to host

the Paranormal Cirque 10

times this summer. The acts

included acrobats and illusion-

ists with elements of horror,

and ticket prices ranged from

$10 to $50. Children under 17

had to be accompanied by an

adult. More than 500 people

turned up for each show in the

black and red big top tent dur-

ing the two weeks, said Lidia

Darkova, North Riverside’s

marketing director. “It was

very edgy,” she added. “Any-

thing that creates buzz is

wonderful for us.”

Despite the show’s R-rated

material, “mall landlords are

now reaching out to us,” said

Chante’ DeMoustes, chief op-

erating officer and producer at

Cirque Italia, the parent com-

pany of Paranormal Cirque.

Most of its recent perfor-

mances have been in mall

parking lots, she added.

Rene Pulido went with her

husband and another couple to

a Paranormal Cirque show at

the parking lot of Orland

Square Mall in Orland Park, Ill.

Instead of going to a restau-

rant in the mall, they stopped

at another a mile away. “We

went to Hooters because we

wanted some cocktails before-

hand and a little snack,” said

Mrs. Pulido. The 48-year-old

hairstylist added that for fu-

ture shows, she might go into

the mall “if it was nice and

close to the event.”

The Minnesota mall that

opened its doors to dog walk-

ers couldn’t bring the event to

heel and ended up canceling it,

disappointing many. Ann Ma-

rie Froehle says she shops at

the Rosedale Center mall once

or twice a month, and enjoyed

going there with Jax, her Shih-

tzu and Bichon Frise mix,

when the indoor dogwalking

program was launched. “Peo-

ple weren’t being good to the

mall and that bothers me,”

said Ms. Froehle.

The mall hasn’t been dis-

couraged from experimenting

with other events to increase

foot traffic. In May, Rosedale

hosted a drag show that drew

a sellout crowd. Tickets were

$35 to $125, and those over 21

could sip on cocktails in the

seating area. The show was

held in an open area of the

mall, near Von Maur depart-

ment store, so people who

stood could see it free. Ads for

the event said, “Shopping

doesn’t have to be a drag.”

The Beverly Center in Los Angeles hosted a drag queen show in June.

GABRIEL OLSEN/GETTY IMAGES

But malls plow ahead. “We’ve

got to think outside the box.

Why not see what happens?”

said Ms. Crain.

Pacific Retail Capital Part-

ners last month threw a silent

disco dance party in Santa

Barbara, Calif., at the Paseo

Nuevo open-air shopping cen-

ter, where attendees grooved

to music played on wireless

headphones rather than a

speaker system. The dance

party draws big crowds,

mostly college students.

Stores experienced a 20% to

200% uptick in business on

the day of the disco dance

party, said Najla Kayyem, se-

nior vice president of market-

ing at Pacific Retail.

In Los Angeles, the colossal

Beverly Center decided to use

its space to support LGBTQ

rights (and increase foot traf-

fic) with a Pride celebration in

June. Drag queens performed

and spoke in the mall’s Grand

Court—between the Macy’s

and the Bloomingdale’s. The

event featured a “Tea with the

Queens” interview panel, mod-

erated by television personal-

ity Carson Kressley, followed

by performances, including a

lip sync by Bob the Drag

Queen. Bob, a winner of TV’s

Continued from Page One

Malls Try

To Get

Creative

Antigovernment Protests Grip Lebanon

Thousands of people took to the streets Friday across Lebanon to protest the country’s deepening economic crisis, threatening to bring down a government caught between the demands of regional

rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. A government proposal to tax people for using WhatsApp triggered the unrest; its quick withdrawal failed to assuage protesters frustrated by corruption and other issues.

WAEL HAMZEH/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

WORLDWATCH

FROM PAGE ONE

AFGHANISTAN

Dozens Are Killed

In Mosque Attack

A suspected militant attack on

a mosque in eastern Afghanistan

killed dozens of worshipers attend-

ing Friday prayers, adding to re-

cord-high numbers of civilian casu-

alties in the grinding 18-year war.

There were differing reports

on the source of the blast at the

mosque in a remote district of

Nangarhar province near Afghan-

istan’s border with Pakistan.

Ahmad Ali, a member of pro-

vincial council, said the explosion

came from a bomb inside the

mosque. Other reports quoting

provincial officials said a mortar

fired by militants struck the roof,

causing it to collapse.

By nightfall, the number of

those killed stood at 62, with a

further 60 people wounded, Mr.

Ali said.

The Taliban, seeking to revive

negotiations with the U.S. after

President Trump broke them off

last month, denied responsibility.

There was no comment from the

local affiliate of Islamic State.

Nangarhar is one of several prov-

inces where the jihadist group

has a durable foothold.

Friday’s attack came a day af-

ter the United Nations said Af-

ghan civilians are dying in record

numbers in the war. In a report, it

noted that more civilians died in

July than in any previous month

since it began keeping statistics.

—Craig Nelson

TAIWAN

Fugitive to Surrender

In Case Behind Riots

A prisoner wanted for murder

in Taiwan whose case set in mo-

tion a chain of events that led to

months of protests in Hong Kong

has agreed to surrender to Taiwan-

ese authorities, Hong Kong said.

Chan Tong-kai, who is due to

be released Wednesday from a

Hong Kong prison where he is

serving a sentence for money

laundering, has asked to be sent

back to Taiwan, the city’s gov-

ernment said Friday. A lawyer

for Mr. Chan didn’t respond to a

request to comment.

Mr. Chan allegedly murdered

his girlfriend in Taiwan in 2018

and fled to Hong Kong, where

authorities couldn’t send him

back to face charges because

there is no extradition agree-

ment between the jurisdictions.

The case prompted Hong

Kong leader Carrie Lam to pro-

pose a law that would have al-

lowed Mr. Chan to be sent to

Taiwan to face charges. The law

was broadened to include any

jurisdiction Hong Kong didn’t

have an extradition agreement

with, including mainland China.

The prospect of a law allowing

Hong Kong to send people to

stand trial in China’s opaque and

sometimes brutal legal system

sparked mass protests. Mrs. Lam

has since pledged to withdraw the

bill, but protests have intensified.

—Mike Cherney

CONGO

Ebola Still a Global

Emergency, U.N. Says

The World Health Organization

says the continuing Ebola outbreak

in Congo still warrants being clas-

sified as a global emergency, even

though the number of confirmed

cases has slowed in recent weeks.

The U.N. health agency first

declared the epidemic, the sec-

ond-deadliest Ebola outbreak in

history, to be an international

emergency in July. On Friday, it

convened its expert committee

to reconsider whether the desig-

nation is still valid and decide if

other measures are necessary.

WHO’s director-general, Tedros

Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that

the situation remains “complex

and dangerous,” and that officials

must continue to treat every case

like it is the first. “Every case has

the potential to spark a new and

bigger outbreak,” he said.

There have been 3,113 con-

firmed cases and more than

2,150 people have died since the

epidemic was first declared in

August 2018. While only 15 new

Ebola cases were confirmed last

week, WHO noted the vast ma-

jority weren’t people previously

identified as contacts of others

infected, suggesting health offi-

cials still have difficulty tracking

where the virus is spreading.

Efforts to curb the outbreak

have been hampered by violence

against health workers.

—Associated Press

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