06/07/2018
On June 3rd, 2018, Patrick’s Cabaret invited supporters, artists, and members of the community to celebrate at the sunset of the organization with a “FUNeral” (like a funeral, but FUNNER!). The special event included eulogistic performances by artists spanning Patrick’s Cabaret’s history, FUN interpretations of traditional funeral rituals, and a dance party. Attendees were invited to wear their “funeral finest” for an evening of reflection, love, and celebration, while coming together to enjoy the sunset. A ticketed performance ran from 7:30-9:00pm, followed by a dance party 9:00pm-12:00am that was free and open to the public.
Emceed by...
Paul Canada Nemeth
Harry Waters Jr.
Featuring performances by...
Danielle Daniel
Howard Lieberman
Amy Salloway
Iris Oconnel
House of Larva
Gabriela Santiago
Kat Purcell
And dance party DJs…
DJ Lisa Lisa Simpson
DJ Plunging Necklines
Storytellers Danielle Daniel, Howard Lieberman, and Amy Salloway, all longtime participants with Patrick’s Cabaret, reflected on their time with the organization and the process of saying goodbye in their signature styles. Drag artist Iris Oconnel and drag co-operative House of Larva both channelled their alter egos into songs that bid farewell — Iris with a sweet and sincere nod to Judy Garland, and House of Larva with their bombastic embrace of camp. Speculative fiction writer Gabriela Santiago presented "Who Killed Patrick's Cabaret?," an absurdist, audience-participatory murder mystery dinner theater performance, and Kat Purcell united a community of collaborators to stage a piece using umbrellas to suggest a transformation of grief to acceptance. The night capped with a dance party featuring underground q***r dance party veterans DJ Lisa Lisa Simpson (Jared Maire) and DJ Plunging Necklines (Bethany Hart).
****Photos by Ari Newman, please credit when sharing.****