Contestants mimed, juggled and danced their way across Memorial Auditorium’s stage Friday night for a chance to be crowned the winner of Phi Sigma Sigma’s charity drag show. 

The event served to raise money for LGBT Center of Central PA, a volunteer organization that aims to create a welcoming, inclusive environment for the LGBT community by providing educational, cultural and community activities. 

“We are doing this drag show and sending this money to the center because drag has been an important part to the LGBT community and its history,” Phi Sigma Sigma’s Philanthropy Chair Marilyn Miller said. 

Just like last year, it featured performances by drag queen and burlesque dancer Trixie De’Flair, who is a seasoned drag performer who was crowned Queen of Lehigh Valley Pride in 2016 among other honors. Unlike last year, it also featured a second performer who was identified only as Serena. 

Both served on the judge’s panel for the evening alongside Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Robert Smith and Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Services Lynn Baynum

The two performers set the tone of the event by performing a profanity-laced parody of “Scream & Shout” by Will.i.am and a dance set to a remix of Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies”, respectively. 

This gave way to the introductions of the night’s contestants. Each strutted their stuff to impress the judges, sporting names such as: ‘Momma Cheetah’, ‘A Good Lei” and ‘Ginger Snap.” 

The talent section featured an eclectic mix of performances, including a dramatic reading of Dr. Suess’s “Green Eggs and Ham”, ribbon dancing and a lip sync as well as dancing to “Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter – the latter of which elicited a conga line in the audience. 

“Heels are easy,” last year’s winner Tom Fizzano said, after his performance under the name Sunset Boulevard. 

After an interlude performance by De’Flair and Serena, the contestants took the stage for the question portion. One contestant was asked what their perfect date would be, to which they responded with a day on the beach with a picnic. 

“That sounds like a lovely time,” Miller said. “But the answer we were looking for was April 25th.”

The contestants left the stage to allow the judges to deliberate. After some time had passed, the judges announced that the winner was Sunset Boulevard for the second year in a row. 

Fizzano, apparently overwhelmed by the victory, could only muster the words “Get it right,” in jest as the person presenting the sash and tiara fumbled to get it on. 

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