House of Elvira Kicks Off Halloweekend With “Sexy Beasts”

On October 27, Reed’s House of Elvira put on the drag performance “Sexy Beasts,” a Halloween-themed show where performers danced, lip-synced, and re-enacted some classic movie scenes. 

Many students attending the venue showed up in costume and were encouraged to sit near the center of the aisle in order to participate by interacting with performers. The room was continuously lively – students cheered and clapped loudly throughout the performance.

The show started with a reading of the memorable baseball scene from Twilight by performers Guy FiHairy and Mikey D. They danced with blow-up baseball bats to High School Musical 2’s “I Don’t Dance,” and then hit a blow-up baseball.

House of Elvira then introduced the charity of the event, which was the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which they introduced by a speaker from Students for Justice in Palestine at Reed. The speaker then read the poem “Remove” by Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah. 

The performance was emceed by performer Shrymp Scampy, who introduced the second performer, Nina Goth, as a “matriarch from a nightmare.” Nina Goth did a Freddy Kruger skit, with plenty of audience interaction as she flaunted her sharp gloves and Doc Martens. 

Another performer was Ciggy Stardust, who wore a big fuzzy jacket and red lingerie while carrying a prop axe. Ciggy went around pretending to hack people in the audience while dancing to “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads. Ciggy’s costume “came together with stuff [they] found at Goodwill.” When interviewed by the Quest, Ciggy said that “performing is like my favorite thing in the whole world, it comes really easily to me, and it’s just like being free.” Ciggy ended their performance by acting out a dramatic murder in the center of the aisle.

Another HoE stepped into emcee for the next performer, who they said was “giving fish.” This performer, Shrymp Scampy, danced around the stage to “Wet” by Dazey and the Scouts in her aquatic attire. 

Another performer, Ndorpyn Machyn, performed with a mixed concoction (which was confirmed by the Quest to contain cinnamon) in a coffee mug and went around with bat wings and a red tutu to “I Put a Spell On You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Ndorphyn walked around offering sips of the concoction to audience members, some of whom were delighted to try the concoction, one of whom responded with “absolutely not.” Ndorphyn’s performance ended with pouring the contents of the coffee mug on themselves.

Four HoEs – Guy FiHairy, Mikey D, Rico Delicious, and Silver Debris – then re-enacted the Ken fight scene from Barbie to “I’m Just Ken,” complete with rock-paper-scissors competition and tango dancing. After the Kens, there was a 10-minute intermission, in which Shrymp asked the audience to “make it even louder next half.”

Another performer, BERZERK, referenced a phone call in the movie Scream, and the audience loudly clapped along to their performance. Mikey D later danced to a metal version of Bad Romance, and MMe Hans in zombie gear danced to Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers” while wearing a fleshy necklace.

Next was Ronald Reagan, who performed "I Can Make You a Man” from Rocky Horror Picture Show. She entered with a mask that was a large pair of comic lips. Her performance was displayed in front of the graphic of the US president of the same name in front of a transgender flag, with a speech bubble saying “Remember late stage capitalism is my fault” and later “My bad.” Reagan in an interview said “All the performers are very talented. I want to thank them all for letting me be a part, I’m so honored.” 

The performer RiMoan was introduced by the emcee as “the c-e-bro who will turn you into his c-e-hoe,” who had a pig nose he “made out of glue and a bunch of corduroy from a skirt from the free bench.” RiMoan also had on a rhinestone jacket, suit, and tie, and a pink boa attached to his ankle. RiMoan then spread some “RiMoan-ey” (pink fake “basically one dollar” bills with his face on them) throughout the crowd with a leaf blower. When talked to by the Quest, RiMoan said that “Reed is so fucking cool for showing up for our club. I am astounded at how many people came and it means so much especially when drag is literally illegal in many places in the United States. This is such an incredible community and I’m so lucky to be here.”

After RiMoan, the show closed with four performers – Nina Goth, Mme Hans, BERSERK, and Mx Dykotomy – dancing to “Money Money” and “Cabaret” by Liza Minnelli in long jackets they threw off to reveal lingerie underneath. Afterward, all the performers came on stage for a picture, and one closed the show by saying “Remember to test your drugs and thanks for coming and have a good weekend!”