Sporting only bikini underwear, a tie and a confident smile, Adam Bryant strutted across stage during the formal wear portion of Saturday's Mr. and Ms. Gay Penn State pageant, chuckling as a crowd of about 150 students in HUB Heritage Hall roared approvingly.

Bryant was later named a runner-up in the first lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and ally (LGBTA) pageant, an evening of glitter, stripteases and racy jokes held by Late Night Penn State and Undertones, an organization for LGBTA students of color.

Darryl Watson (senior-sociology), Black Caucus vice president, and Nicole Barrett (junior-psychology) were declared Mr. and Ms. Gay Penn State after six contestants were judged on talent, formal wear and on-stage interviews. "I've never seen so many fabulous queers in one place," Watson said moments before he was crowned.

Pageant host Miss Guadalupe Couture -- a male student in drag who did not want to be identified by his real name -- tossed her dark curls over her shoulder as she paraded about in short shorts, pearls and high heels. Her hair color and style changed several times throughout the evening, as did her outfit. At one point, the shorts disappeared.

Bryant kicked off the pageant with a freestyle rendition of Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)."

Barrett, who performed as Princess Sparkles, sashayed across the stage to Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," her royal purple gown and jewel-studded tiara shimmering brightly.

"It's all Harry Winston," she said. "I only wear Harry Winston."

Masquerading as Sir Peter Pan, Christina Swomley (junior-psychology) danced to Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman," shedding pieces of her light blue suit until she wore only a tank top and skirt.

"I think this pageant will change Penn State because Penn State needs to be more aware of its transgender population," Swomley said before leaping off stage to shouts of, "Fly, Peter, fly!"

The audience grew somber as Watson performed his talent -- a dramatic reading describing his experiences as a gay black man.

"Growing up, I never thought I could be a man and be black and be gay and be happy," Watson said. "But my time here at Penn State has shown the opposite."

He also spoke of "the snap," a gesture he said black Hollywood "stole."

"They deflated the gesture -- our snap used to be as powerful as a black fist or a woman saying no," Watson said. "It could negate the need for words. Well, the snap is mine."

After the talent portion of the show, the contestants modeled their formal wear and answered questions such as, "If you had 24 hours to live, what would you do?" and "If someone looked at your underwear, what would you tell them?"

Barrett, who entered the pageant only a week before it was held, said she was surprised to be named Ms. Gay Penn State.

"I just kind of threw everything together and bought all of this fake jewelry," she said.

After distributing one of the red roses he was awarded to each of his fellow contestants, Watson said he was proud to hold the Mr. Gay Penn State title.

"I feel very honored that my friends and my compatriots think I deserve this honor, and I'm even happier that this is the first annual pageant," Watson said.

Caerleigh Sanner (senior-communication arts and sciences) said the pageant was enjoyable, but she was offended by the anti-heterosexual comments some of the contestants made.

Undertones President Fernando Disla said Mr. and Ms. Gay Penn State was held as a way of working toward equality for the LGBTA community.

"We knew there was a Mr. Black Penn State, a Miss Penn State and all of the other Penn State titles," Disla said. "So we thought we should have one, too."