'RuPaul's Drag Race' Winner Debuts 'Travesty'
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Adams Theater presents the New England Tour debut of "Travesty" by "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 9 winner Sasha Velour on Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.
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According to a press release:
Internationally beloved drag icon Sasha Velour is coming to Williamstown, with her new theater show, Travesty, which traces the secret queer history of a single spot throughout time: a witch burns in a field; a clown builds a theater; an underground gay bar rises up against the police. As Velour embodies different characters through a series of jaw-dropping lip-syncs, she invites you to take part in the cycle of existence, resistance, and camp that IS drag. Part performance art, part history, part call to action, Travesty will have you screaming at the top of your lungs, dancing in the aisles, and inspired to "change the muthaf*ckin' world!"
Velour is known for her unique fusion of lip sync performance, video art, and storytelling. She is the winner of Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race (2017), the founder and host of New York City's legendary drag revue NightGowns (since 2015)–considered one of the best drag shows of all time–and has toured two celebrated one-queen theater shows around the world, "Smoke & Mirrors" (2019-2022) and "The Big Reveal" (2023-2025).
The presentation of "Travesty" will also include a curated talkback at the Adams Theater on Sunday, Aug. 30. Hosted by Berkshire's drag producer Bella Santarella, the conversation will focus on the craft and significance of queer art, creating an open space for local youth and residents to engage with the work.
This collaboration between the Adams Theater and Williams College is made possible by a New England Foundation for the Arts' Crossroads grant.
Velour's first one-person show, "Smoke & Mirrors" (2019-2022), toured to 90 theaters around the world, including the Folies Bergère and the London Palladium. Her second, "The Big Reveal" (2023-2025), toured to 63 theaters, with hit runs at Steppenwolf.
Her namesake production company, House of Velour, has produced live shows and video for HBO, Quibi, NY Fashion Week, MAC Cosmetics, Audible, Lyft, Absolut Vodka, La Jolla Playhouse, and more.
In 2023, Velour released a best-selling book, "The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag," which explores the untold history of drag, interwoven with stories from her life as a young queen (Harper, 2023).
In 2017, Velour gained international attention when she competed on and won the 9th season of RuPaul's Drag Race, the same year the competition won its first Emmy.
In 2020, she executive-produced her own limited TV series, an adaptation of "NightGowns," directed by Sophie Muller and co-produced by The Documentary Group, which received a RealScreen Award. In 2023, she joined the cast of HBO's Emmy and Peabody Award-winning "We're Here," which was nominated for two Critics' Choice Real TV Awards, Best Ensemble Cast and Best Structured Unscripted Series (won). In 2025, she served as a head judge on "King of Drag," the first televised drag king competition in history.
As an illustrator and designer, Velour has produced several comic books and an anthology about drag called "Velour" (2013-2018). She drew the Google Doodle for Marlene Dietrich in 2018 and created a self-portrait for the cover of The New Yorker in 2023.
