Generation Equality (GE) held its second annual Lip Sync Drag Show on the night of Saturday, Feb. 13. Every seat in the Last Chapter Pub was filled with cheering students, some in drag and some not. Aubrey Shimabukuro, President of GE, welcomed the audience and thanked them and the performers before she handed the microphone over to Ben King, also known as Benita, the Mic Controller (MC) for the night.
Surrounded by Hollywood themed decorations, complete with a red carpet extending from the stage into the audience, performers in drag lip synced famous pop music. Some songs included “Hush, Hush,” “Oops, I Did it Again,” “What I’ve Been Looking For,” and “Same Old Love.”
In addition to being weekend entertainment, the event raised donations for Youth on Fire, an organization that offers a safe, confidential place for homeless, runaway, and street involved youth from the ages of 14 to 24. Attendees were asked to bring gloves, hats, scarves or other winter clothing as a donation, but the event was free to everyone. GE raised a few donations that night, but decided to extend the fundraiser for a week following the event in case some students forgot their donations.
Shimabukuro said that she wanted people to “have fun, enjoy the show, the delicious food and the amazing performers.” After the show, Shimabukuro said it was “all that she could have asked for.” Shimabukuro hopes that this will be an annual event and that it will grow every year.
Audience member Doug Gavelek said that it was “the best drag show that [he had] ever been to.” A Masters of Business Administration student in the audience, Zinah Alshukri, said that “the show was awesome, the song selection was awesome, and the Ninja Sex Party act was funny.”
After the show, performer Shannon Tenney, part of Ninja Sex Party, thought that “it went really well. I was terrified initially, but I felt so much more confident once I got on stage.”
Fellow performer Brandon Dolce, also known as Nicki Minaj, agreed that he was “nervous at first.” Dolce said it was his “first time performing since high school, and [his] first time in drag. It felt awesome and came naturally after getting onstage and seeing the audience’s support.” Senior Liz Cyr thought that “Brandon wore stilettos better than she could.”
Congratulations to the performers: Ryan Evaul (Amanda), Brandon Dolce (Nicki Minaj), Brian Nguyen (Lele Mona Reece), Ben King (Benita, MC), Shannon Tenney & Alyssa Mary Newton (Ninja Sex Party), Kaitlin Tetreault (Sharpay Evans, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce), Caryssa Propfe (Ryan Evans), and David Scroxton (Tanya Malone).
