Fans of drag (or just a good time) rejoiced this Thursday, Oct. 4 at Hofstra’s 11th annual Drag Show, held at the Adams Playhouse. As far as drag queens and kings go, Hofstra’s first ever Drag King, K James, started with a religious inspired number with a sexy twist. Hofstra alumnus DeVante London drew big cheers from the audience for more than just sentimental value – his numbers were energetic, sparkly and interactive for the audience that cheered him on, both in school and after, on stage and off. Molly Percocet played with our hearts in her shocking performance of “Oops, I Did It Again” by Britney Spears, leaving the audience floored. The performances by the other queens, Unholy Trinity, Sukanya la Bruja and Crystal Queer were equally stunning in their own rights.
Special Guest and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna Tatianna wowed the audience with her performances, the first in a maroon, flowy outfit, then in a more signature red, sparkly bodysuit. Tatianna placed fourth in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, then went on to place sixth in RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, season two.
The evening’s host, Marti Gould Cummings, was the highlight of the night. From show stopping numbers to hilarious commentary, Cummings had the crowd eating out of the palm of her manicured hands. She got the show off to a fun start with her ‘90s medley, with a large portion of the crowd yelling the quotes from the iconic sitcom, “Friends,” along with her. Her delightfully personal anecdotes about her costumes and her (self-described) notably poor memory for group names endeared her to the audience, as well as her frequent breaks to converse with particularly vocal audience members.
There was a great showing of on-campus talent as well in the student performances in between the drag numbers throughout the night. There were pseudo-drag lip sync performances (the Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance medley by Jimmy Stardust and Blake 182 brought every former – and current – emo kid in the audience to their feet), heartfelt piano ballads, spoken word poetry from Sp!t, as well as large group performances. Sigma’cappella, one of five on-campus a cappella groups, performed a short set, including their new single “Creep” by Radiohead. Strictly Steppin’ captivated the audience with their moves, and RHYTHMiX had everyone tapping their toes. transcenDANCE led an energetic showcase of lacy black costumes, dancing to mid-2000s hits like “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and “S&M” by Rihanna.
The night was a resounding success, and a great time was had by all who attended and performed.
