Drag show a night of many firsts, including a student who admitted he was gay
Dancing, lip-syncing, matchmaking and romancing were all part of the crowd-enticing drag show that took place in the Finch Fieldhouse Wednesday night.
Host Sabin kept the crowd on its toes with his provocative and witty charm. He opened the show with his dance performance to songs from hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj.
Paulina Ramirez, Kylie Star, Eva Angelica, Bentley James and Delicious were the queens of the runway with their unique, crowd-pleasing performances. Audience members were welcomed to tip the queens, and a large number of people opened their pockets to do so.
One Central Michigan University student, Jackson senior Mersadi Sauceda, enjoyed her first drag show, although she is no stranger to drag. She attended "drag queen bingo" last semester.
"This is my first time at the drag show, but I did come to drag queen bingo last semester," Sauceda said. "I think it's fun. Sabin is hilarious ... it's all good fun."
As far as the LGBTQ community is concerned, Sauceda said events like this raise awareness for the LGBTQ community.
"Even if people are coming (to LGBTQ events) just because they're curious, they're still coming, and they're still going to find out stuff and get more familiar with it," Sauceda said.
During the show, Sabin shared some of his personal stories, including growing up as a dancer, his various tattoos and his life as a drag queen. He touched on a darker moment of his life, when he tried to commit suicide.
"Thank God it wasn't successful," Sabin said.
Sabin thanked his mother for helping him get through that rough time. Her advising words inspired Sabin to later get the tattoo, "Why so serious?" in honor of what his mom told him.
"As I was laying in the hospital, she told me, 'You don't have to be a superhero. It's OK to just be Batman,' and it clicked," Sabin said.
Sabin's influence and success was so profound that one CMU student, Gaylord junior Adam Lynch, decided to come out publicly for the first time at the drag show.
Lynch, another first-time drag show member, said he enjoyed the drag show and the comedy at the event.
"I figured (coming to the drag show) would be a fun and funny experience," Lynch said. "It's very comedic. I enjoyed coming."
As for opening up, Lynch said he hadn't planned on doing so at the drag show.
"I absolutely did not plan on coming out, but I'm pleased. This was my first time coming out to the public," Lynch said.
In response to Lynch, Sabin spoke about when he came out, at the age of 19.
"It was the scariest moment of my life, but, here you are, always part of a beautiful family," Sabin said.
Sabin found Lynch his first date, another audience member.
It was a night of many firsts and unplanned events for Lynch. He also performed a strip tease for the audience to Michael Bublé's cover of "Feeling Good." He received a standing ovation from the crowd for his dance moves.
"It was not planned. I do that (dance) a lot, normally with close friends only, just joking around," Lynch said.
According to Director of LGBTQ Services Shannon Jolliff-Dettore, the drag show, which was put on by the Office of LGBTQ Services, cost roughly $5,500.
"We paid for everything; we bring in the queens and take care of everything," Jolliff-Dettore said.
Jolliff-Dettore was pleased with the way the night unfolded.
"So far, it's great. The students seem to be enjoying themselves and having a lot of fun. The queens seem to be having a lot of fun as well. It's historically one of our most fun events that the students really love to come out and show support for," Jolliff-Dettore said.
Throughout the show, Sabin highlighted an important aspect of living for all people: being true and happy with yourself.
"We are all sexy, we've just got to make our own sexy," Sabin said.
