Riverside Municipal Auditorium hosted the fabulous Fant-A-She’s on Saturday April 13 in Downtown Riverside! Twenty Five drag queens including RuPaul’s Drags Race Alumni Raven, Delta Work, and Morgan McMichaels and six backup dancers put on a collection of skits, lip syncs and impersonations that slayed the packed house down.
Stephen Day
Right on time, the queens ran out in various forms of readiness, some with bald caps on and all in robes, and they continued to pretend to get ready on stage. The opening act set the tone for the whole show as the queens danced while singing “My body is nobody’s business.” Host Philip Bailey, better known as his drag persona, Cassi Philips, came out and sat in front of his dressing room “mirror” and longingly thought out loud about what he and his friends could achieve in the drag world if they were just given a chance to truly perform.
Stephen Day
Comedy, comradery and dazzling outfits are things the cast brings to the table. Stunning visuals accompany the lip-syncing queens as they each take turns owning the stage. Performances included skits recreating such iconic moments in pop culture as I Love Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin TV Commercial and Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009.
Stephen Day
Stephen Day
The dedication and love for their craft pours out of every queen as they give their all to perform for the packed house. Cheers and claps accompanied the booming music, all in response to the performances on stage. The cast of “Fant-A-Shes” is truly a family, which is told not only through the interactions on stage but also through the moment the host takes out of the show to acknowledge friends and fellow queens lost, followed by a beautiful performance in their dedication.
Alumni Queens from RuPaul's Drag Race, all of whom got their start right here in Riverside, were also on hand including Raven, Delta Work, and Morgan McMichaels. Each of them performed Lip Sync performances and skits alongside the other queens in the cast.
Stephen Day
Act I ends with a shoutout to Barbie, followed by the queens portraying different Barbies and a performance of the iconic songs “Pink” and “Dance The Night” from the Barbie movie.
Stephen Day
After a brief intermission, Act II came back just as strongly as the first. This act featured a series of female singer impersonators, all performing some of the artist's top songs. Lady Gaga, Cher, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift were some who graced our presence. The late Selena and Tina Turner also made an appearance.
Stephen Day
Stephen Day
After one final blowout with all 25 queens and backup dancers performing one final song, the show ends just as it began, with Cassi Philips back in the dressing room giving the closing statement, “And that’s how the show would end.” Every performer filed out for the final bow, and the audience gave a standing ovation, giving the show all the energy it properly deserved.
Stephen Day
At the end, Cassi Philips pondered that if she and her friends were given the chance to perform they would draw hundreds of audience members, and the proof of that was a packed house at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium of cheering fans and a show that will go down in herstory!
