Photo courtesy of the GSC on Instagram

The 19th Annual Drag Show was held in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms on March 19. 10 drag queens captivated the audience during the three-hour event hosted by the drag queen Sabin. 

Various tables with infographics, stickers and free paraphernalia to adorn the event were found in the banquet room lobby. Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) staff and Gender and Sexuality Alliance staff welcomed approximately 400 attendees. 

Pride flags, glow sticks and ovations opened the stage for the host, Sabin. Sabin, who has performed at Oakland University eleven times previously, introduced the cast of OU students and out-of-state queens who each performed twice on stage. 

“This is kind of like a questions-and-answer format,” Sabin said. “Between acts, I’m going to be out on the bottom and talk to people in the audience and ask you various questions. You also can ask me questions.”

After Sabin kicked off the show with the ‘90s classic, “Man! I Feel Like A Woman,” Prince Marsalis danced to The Weeknd and heavy metal songs reminiscent of the past decade’s slasher films, which also reflected in his costumes.

On rockstar outfits and glittering makeup, Burnout presented synthpop acts and rock tracks synergizing with Sir Guy’s “Bye Bye Bye” performance. Both aesthetics recalled mid-2000s high school dances.  

With humorous breaks after each act, Sabin engaged with the audience to answer questions about makeup expenditures, costume design and their first time doing drag. 

Spine continued the show with contemporary hits like “Future Nostalgia” and acrobatic splits on stage, followed by Latifa Renee Hunter’s theatrical lip-singing of Whitney Houstion’s “I’m Every Woman.”

Dynamic tearaway costumes and pop atmospheres characterized Amanduh’s performance followed by the emblematic country anthem “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” accompanying Bartholomew Frost’s performance. 

Although not a comedy show, Sabin’s interventions maintained sustained laughter as gender identity, trans-rights and difficult experiences during past performances were discussed. 

Lady Angelica performed fluid choreographies to dreamlike tracks while Desmond Desire encapsulated the playful attitudes of songs like Bruno Mars’ “Chunky.”

GSC Graduate Assistant Joey Colby explained that he exchanged over $900 worth of single dollar bills for the audience to tip the drag queens as they performed. 

Sabin closed the event narrating a few stories of their first time doing drag, bad experiences with other queens and dating advice. “Firework” by Katy Perry and “Chandelier” by Sia were testaments to the cathartic nature of Sabin’s performance and drag as an art form. 

“My favorite thing about drag is the complete self-expression and complete customization,” Lady Angelica said. “I had my customized music, dancing and I had an amazing makeup artist.”

Like Lady Angelica, Bartholomew Frost is an OU student who has only performed twice on campus. Both highlighted the excitement and appreciation for the campus community supporting queer art. 

“I am such a big proponent of queer arts,” Bartholomew Frost said. “I actually run a club celebrating queer creatives [RAINBOW]. It’s really important to get our voices out there and for students to just see the art form and see themselves and other perspectives.”

With an anecdote about a performance at Central Michigan University, Sabin highlighted the support of college students for the drag community and championed it as a turning point in their career and life.

“An auditorium of complete strangers at the university had given me a standing ovation,” Sabin said. “Not for anything that I had ever accomplished, but just for what I had done on the stage. It was at that moment that I realized this is why we do what we do. Instead of counting dollars and doing all that stuff, the reason I show up is for you guys.”

OU’s Pride Month continues through April 11. For more information, visit the GSC’s Instagram at @ou_gsc.