He would likely only wear the garment once — for the annual Red Dress Bar Crawl in the Castro — and he wasn’t trying to drop hundreds of dollars on a designer gown. He didn’t bother with thrift stores ...

But when Maya Neelakantan stepped on stage and revealed she was only 10 years old, the audience was stunned. Her outfit, her hair, her talent, it all screamed wise beyond her years. And when she began ...