SAGINAW, MI — Beneath the glow of technicolor spotlights, drag performer Alexa Vogel somersaulted across the catwalk at The Dow Event Center’s Red Room, somehow keeping a microphone in-hand when both feet touched the floor again.
”I’m 40 years old,” the performer then yelled proudly into the mic, seemingly owning her athletic feat and poise as “Break My Soul” by Beyoncé thumped from the speakers. “And I’m from Sagnasty.”
Both statements roused applause from the room of 425 people who attended the drag show that followed; a colorful capper to a daylong celebration Saturday, June 25, for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies across mid-Michigan.
Alexa Vogel — clad in a skin-tight, all-gold getup — emceed the evening event in downtown Saginaw, providing a sometimes-raunchy comedy act that served as intermission to dance performances from eight fellow drag queens. The flash, dazzle and pop of each act kept much of the room engaged for the entirety of the 3-hour show, which concluded about midnight.
”It’s so good to be here,” said Mary Hutchins, a 56-year-old Bay City resident. She watched the show from her vantage point as a sixth-year volunteer for Great Lakes Bay Pride, the nonprofit that organized the festival that began earlier that day at Wenonah Park in Bay City.
”People have so much fun at (drag shows), and a lot of us haven’t been able to get out of the house these last few years,” Hutchins said. “It’s exciting to see people out here like this again.”
Plenty of patrons seemed to share Hutchins’ sentiment about the return of the annual festival, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the drag show, they cheered and at times sang along with the music that animated each act. The most generous of attendees offered $1 bills to reward their favorite queens, as is tradition in such shows. Occasionally, the response was a brief, 1-on-1 dance delivered by the recipient of that charity.
Many in the crowd wore rainbow-colored clothing — hues associated with the gay pride flag — and some outright draped those vibrant banners from their shoulders, like some sort of superhero cape. Room lights were set dim, illuminating the dozens of glow sticks, bracelets and necklaces handed out to the crowd by volunteers. The neon light radiating from the glow in turn highlighted the glitter splashed across people’s skin and attire.
Spectators gathered tight alongside a T-shaped stage, where drag performers emerged from behind a curtain and sashayed onto a black catwalk that cut down the middle of the room. To the sounds of music from artists like Lizzo, Dua Lipa and Doja Cat, the queens interacted with their fans at the edges of the walkway. Alexa Vogel at times ventured even deeper into the audience, stopping to conduct impromptu interviews with attendees.
The act was familiar to spectators who remember Alexa Vogel and other queens with Power Divas Production, the Grand Rapids-based company that once hosted drag shows weekly at the now-closed Saginaw gay bar, The Mixx.
Owner Bradley Powers founded the company in 2002. Back then, “nine out of 10″ nightclubs “shut the door closed” when Powers approached owners about inviting drag shows inside, he said.
”It’s much more accepted now,” Powers said.
“Acceptance comes from exposure, and people are a lot more exposed to drag shows now, from things like ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ A lot of times, people are afraid of something they don’t understand. They understand this more now than they did (in 2002).”
Haylee Austin, the manager of Nice & Naughty in Saginaw Township, sold items from her store outside of the Red Room entrance Saturday. Although she was on the clock, Austin was able to experience the show, as music and applause spilled out across The Dow Event Center’s multi-venue facility.
Austin, 25, said she was happy to see such a staple of LGBTQ+ culture — drag shows — featured as a mainstream attraction in Saginaw County’s largest entertainment venue.
“This generation, we’re just so much more accepting of people who want to express themselves in different ways,” she said. “I love just watching the audience, and the audience’s reaction to what’s happening on the stage. There’s so much acceptance in that.”
Alexa Vogel echoed a similar point throughout Saturday’s show, advocating self-pride for the wide spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations seemingly represented by people in the crowd.
”In a world full of Kardashians, be an Alexa Vogel,” the performer said. “I love me. Love you.”
Read more on MLive:
Gay bars once thrived in Saginaw, but none remain. LGBTQ+ advocates seek a revival.
‘This year we really came back full force’: Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival sees large turnout
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