GSA brings drag show Wednesday for pride week
Laughter rocked Plachta Auditorium Wednesday night as students crowded in to watch drag queens strut their stuff.
Within the first five minutes of the doors opening for the 5th Annual Drag Show, the auditorium was nearly packed with about 1,300 people. A part of Pride Week put on by the Gay Straight Alliance, the show had no limits — from foul language and 4/20 jokes to ultra-sexy dances.
And no audience member, straight or gay, male or female — but especially male — was safe from the sharp-tongued host Sabin. She walked the aisles searching for the next participant of her act, willing or not.
“The reason I called out the straight people is because walking through those doors is the biggest complement you can give us and others in the gay and lesbian communities,” Sabin said.
Pride co-chairwoman Stasi Russell said she was happy to see the beyond funny queens return to CMU for another year.
“Pride is about being proud of who you are,” the Hartland 2nd degree earner said. “That’s what a queen does.”
Alex Barill was one of Sabin’s targets. The Grosse Ile freshman caught the eye of the drag queen, who was highly disappointed to learn Barill’s sexual orientation.
“She seemed disappointed that I was straight,” Barill said. “It is not what I was expecting at all — in a good way. I’m really glad I came.”
Barill was not the only audience member heckled by the diva.
Sabin enjoyed making attendees talk about everything, such as when they lost their virginity and the possibility of them coming back stage with her after the show.
One male attendee kissed Sabin on stage.
Clarkston senior Ana Allingham dances on stage with Drag Queen Delicious during Pride Week's Drag Show Wednesday in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium. Delicious, also known as Chocolate Thunder, went out in to the audience and gave several people lap-dances. (Jeff Smith/Staff Photographer)
“It takes a real big man to get up here and play my games,” Sabin told the audience to thunderous applause.
In between Sabin’s hilarious charades, she and her fellow queens — Eva, Cheetah Jameson, and Delicious — performed seductive and impressive dance routines to songs including Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U.S.A.” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Imma Be.”
The drag queens looked like nothing shy of pure royalty as they worked the stage in stilettos, dresses, jewelry and full make-up. Members of the audience stood by the side of the stage with dollars in their hands, and sometimes mouths, to show the queens their approval.
Amid all the fun, things turned serious when Sabin emotionally told audiences the story of the struggles she faced.
The 27-year-old drag queen said she almost did not make it past 19 because of depression after an injury ruined her dance career.
Sabin told the crowd that it was due to the love she received while performing at Central Michigan University that she is still here today and loving what she’s doing.
“We stand up here and dance and joke, but it’s not just a dress — sometimes it means something more to people,” Sabin said. “It’s because of people like you I’m still here.”
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4 Comments
This was not tasteful and too offensive. I am sure this is one of the worst drag shows and reinforces the stereotypes.
The sad thing is this article poorly did justice to the work that was done that night at the drag show. Yes, Sabin is offensive, but she also brought a military man on stage and the crowd gave him a standing ovation, she also shared a personal moment with the director from our university on stage. That is what should have been focused on. Drag shows are meant to be vulgar, but what about the good?
There are good things, there are bad things, and there are Drag Queens! Drag Queens are suppose to be all over the richter scale when it comes to being good and bad. The point of a drag show is merely to have fun and let people be who they want to be. Just by the number of people who attend the drag shows yearly, held at Central Michigan University, you can tell that people who are offended by the things they say are either insecure with themselves or are very, very close minded. The reason Drag Queens are offensive is because they take it to the extreme to show that it doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, or what your sexual orientation is, people will love you no matter what! I think that it takes all kinds to make the world go around and I don't know what the world would be like without people like Sabin and Delicious in it.
Very well said!