PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — History doesn’t always have to be so sobering. Some of Rose City’s best and brightest drag performers are bringing Drunk Herstory to a theater in Northeast Portland.
The show is sponsored by Patron Tequila, which helps the performers put the “drunk” in Drunk Herstory which will be held in the Alberta Rose Theatre on Thursday.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the 18+ show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase, costing $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Drunk Herstory will educate its audience on often-erased queer history, but with a twist: the performers will be intoxicated while doing so.
Drag performer Shandi Evans is the show producer and is also co-hosting alongside director Dahlia Hearts. Evans has been a part of the drag scene for about eight years overall and five years in Portland.
Drunk Herstory got its start at Local Lounge, which has since closed in November 2021. There, there was a biweekly show called “Stupid B*tch Club” that eventually went on a hiatus when its host left for a few months.
Consequently, Local Lounge needed other drag shows to fill the slots within the hiatus. Evans and Average Lavigne, a friend and fellow drag performer, were among the group of people chosen to perform at the lounge.
“I was like, ‘What should we do for the show?’ And Average was like, ‘Well, what if we did Drunk Herstory?’ and I was like, ‘I feel like that’s gonna be a lot of work,” Evans said.
Spoiler alert: it was a lot of work. Although, with the help of their favorite drag performers, their hard work didn’t go unnoticed. After seeing how well people responded to the show, Evans figured that they could take their talents to a stage that’s a better fit for sketch comedy and theater productions.
“We took it to the Funhouse Lounge and we did two shows there, which were also just really fabulous. I’m really grateful for all the love that we received when we were doing it there. And then the pandemic hit before we were able to continue doing shows,” Evans said.
Thursday’s show is their first dive back into Drunk Herstory. The show features some performers that Evans has collaborated with for years, and some that they were recently introduced to after their return to the drag scene.
Mona Chrome, Loretta Lordchild and Ellie LeBlunt are just a few performers on the packed roster.
The co-host and producer has two main criteria for who gets casted in the show.
“I want to make sure that they are going to be able to step outside of the box,” Evans said. They want to ensure that the actors can get into character. “And then the other criteria is that I want good energy backstage. I want to make sure that there’s no drama.”
People can expect a sketch comedy show all about LGBTQIA+ history at the upcoming installment of Drunk Herstory. The “Queen of Disco” Sylvester, French fashion designer Thierry Mugler and late Spanish trans sex worker “La Veneno” are among the queer figures who will be highlighted throughout the performances.
According to Evans, the show is unlike any other sketch comedy show in the city. Not only will it be entertaining, but it’ll educate people on a forgotten, but meaningful part of history.
“We lost a lot of amazing queer voices in the ‘80s and ‘90 because of the AIDS epidemic. You could imagine how much more we could know and how much more we could have progressed with those voices,” Evans said. “I think it’s important to share these stories, share these events that happened to us with everyone… You can always learn about our history, but you can go and forget about all the awful sh*t that’s happening for a couple hours and just sit and laugh and enjoy the silliness of this show with us.”