May the odds be ever in your drag favor

T:

For many college students, Saturday nights hold a potential hitherto unknown to the rest of the week—nestled between finishing classes on Fridays and studying on Sundays. What a person does, then, speaks volume not only to their personality but also to their beliefs—who they’ll show up for and support.

And on Saturday, April 12 at 6 p.m., the CSB+SJU student body announced in numbers who they’ll show up for, as the Colman Black Box Theater was packed for the CSB+SJU annual Drag Show held by QPLUS. Overall, six different Queens performed with a special guest by Minneapolis Queen Betty Bang. Before I pass it over to Em and their wonderful breakdown of the night, I’ll give you a precursor of the Queens and their songs: Momo to “4 Mintues” by the Glee Cast, Miss Gender to “Zombieboy” by Lady Gaga, Sugar and Spice to a “Yo Perreo Sola” remix, Effme Drinkit (the Drag Show’s Master of Ceremonies) duet with first-time Queen Hell Razor to “Guess” by Charlie XCX, and special guest Betty Bang with the perfect mix of artists.

So, without further ado, enjoy the read, and make sure to tip your Drag Queens.

Em:

Ah yes, the annual Drag Show at CSB, how I love you so. And this is my first time covering it, which is criminal but an honor! If you missed out on this wonderful show, allow me to walk you through the iconic looks these wonderful Queens gave us. Put on by QPLUS, it is clear how much time and attention went into this event, so I hope I show them the same love and joy they brought the audience.

Effme Drinkit with a white dress kicked off the night and drew inspiration from the Capital Announcer in the “Hunger Games.” Monarch butterflies were flowing on the dress and in the stunning white hair. Effme was a joy to watch as the MC, and the number of butterflies up close was truly impressive. The first Queen to kick off the night was the wonderful Momo, who sported a chic jersey and black skirt to the song “4 Minutes,” the one by the Glee Cast. Also, we need to take a moment to talk about their boots, which were stunning and something I could never walk in myself. Followed by Momo was Miss Gender, who wore a black skirt, a black halter top, plus red pumps that matched the red wing to a T, with the song “Zombieboy” by Lady Gaga.

I absolutely loved seeing Sugar and Spice in their matching animal-print tops, which brought their show together in the best way possible to the “Yo Perreo Sola” song remix. This duo gave a wonderful and upbeat performance that was very well loved by the crowd. Before we get to the guest performing, how could I forget the duo performance from Effme Drinkit and, for the first time, Hell Razor to “Guess,” by Charlie XCX which had the crowd locked in. Of course, Effme stayed in their monarch dress. However, Hell Razor came out strong with a fur jacket, a packer, and killer shoes. There’s no need to guess how well they did; spoiler, they both killed it.

This brings us to the guest Drag Queen, Betty Bang, who was in the best jumpsuit I have ever seen. I would love to have it for graduation, if we are being completely honest. While having a delightful mashup of songs, her outfit was stunning to see sparkle in the lights. After she finished her set, she came back out in an equally jaw-dropping black dress, which, once more, she would love for graduation. Before I move on to the lip sync battle, I wanted to touch on how special it is to cover this event. Being in the room and watching a community come together to support their friends was truly special, and I am so proud that QPLUS did such an excellent job, and not just with the fashion.

Finally, we now entered the lip-sync battle to “Pink Pony Club,” by Chappell Roan and Miss Gender and Momo went head-to-head. Miss Gender did not change.

However, Momo returned in black shorts and a cropped hoodie, which went great with their fishnets. In the end, Momo won this year’s drag show; however, everyone did a wonderful job with their fashion and performance, and I can’t wait to see what they do next year.