First Dinner n’ Drag show held at The Cache Venue
“Rebel Girls” who “Can’t Be Tamed” took the stage at the Cache Venue on Sunday night for the first ever Dinner N’ Drag show, a free monthly performance from drag queens in Cache Valley.
“I want this to be like a drag bootcamp,” said Neil Betty, the coordinator for the event. “I want to help other queens learn how to host their own shows, practice their drag and go out and network and give more people their first chance on the stage.”
Queens from all walks of life strutted down the runway to perform lip-sync versions of hits from Carrie Underwood, Meghan Trainor and more. The show was free to the audience with dinner and drinks available for purchase. Tipping was encouraged.
“I want everyone to get a chance under the spotlight,” Betty said. “That is why we will have a rotating set of queens so that everyone gets their chance to perform or DJ and the show is always new.”
Six queens performed, including Betty, who goes by Betty’O on stage. With looks inspired by Marge Simpson, Cher, and “Amy Winehouse if Amy Winehouse fell into toxic waste,” each queen varied in skill level and said that they enjoy the community and pageantry around drag.
“This is my second drag show. The first was at USU in November,” said Las Vegas newcomer Madame LaCrude. “I got my start at the theater department on campus and had a great professor teach me how to look like I didn’t just spread cocaine on my face.”
Though Dinner n’ Drag had a much higher turnout than anticipated, Betty is using the experience to plan for the next show.
“We had way more people than we expected,” Betty said. “This was like a rough draft and we are going to keep getting better. Next time we will have better seating and be more prepared.”
The Cache Venue, which was recently renovated, is also planning some changes that will help events like Dinner n’ Drag hold more people. Its co-owner, Mark Lusk, said that the venue is growing slowly.
“We aren’t restaurant owners, but we are figuring it out. Our menu is growing and we hope to keep doing events like this, events that the community needs,” Lusk said.
The Cache Venue will be opening up a second section of their building sometime this year.
Dinner N’ Drag can be seen every third Sunday of the month at the Cache Venue.
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