The venue recently decided to put an end to the weekly tradition once it became apparent attendance had gone down.
The former show night featured a consistent cast of drag queens performing numbers such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” or selections from the musical “Grease.”
Manager Daniel Jones said since the show was on Sundays, attendance was low because most people have to go to work Monday morning.
“We wanted to be able to offer more,” Jones said. “We wanted to give the drag queens the best opportunity to be successful.”
The show is moving and changing — now on Saturday nights, it has been dubbed DragDMC in honor of the names of its current cast, Delicious, Maria and Cheetah. The show will feature a cast consisting of old and new performers, and the first performance is Saturday, May 31.
Regular cast member Maria Angelica Mirelez, who began officially performing at Spiral two years ago, said she is excited to bring new people to the show as well as introduce new numbers and revise old ones.
“To be intertwined with a big night like that, it’s better for us,” Mirelez said. “We’re going to try to shoot for the stars.”
But the changes weren’t welcomed by everyone at Spiral.
Former entertainment manager Matt Brickner, a drag queen who performs under the name Ace DeVille, said he began attending shows at Spiral when he was 14 years old. He performed regularly in drag at Showbiz Sunday before the event was canceled and has not been asked to come back.
He and other drag queens used to hit the streets in full regalia, promoting the show to no avail.
“We did the best things we could do to get the crowd there,” DeVille said. “It’s a drag-eat-drag world out there.”
Sundays will soon be home to a new tradition at Spiral — one Sunday each month will be dedicated to Drag Sunday School, in the hopes of garnering new talent.
People who are new to the drag scene or who are looking to improve their skills can attend Drag Sunday School to receive tips and tricks on how to perform.
Sundays also will feature Drag For a Cause once a month, in which the drag queens will perform to raise money for charity organizations.
“We want to give people the ability to see performers and to see the performers they want to see,” Jones said.
