The Lyric held a Halloween drag show Friday, Oct. 21, where the performers executed an extra spooky production. 

Krisa Gonna, the hostess and mastermind of the show, produced the screen projections for each routine, showing the clips of the Halloween movies the dances were based on.

Aside from her hostess responsibilities, Krisa Gonna helped the performers with costumes and makeup along with the poster design. 

Krisa Gonna has always been an artist. While living in Brazil, she found herself constantly drawing or creating characters. Her artwork, although no longer illustrations, shines a light on her other creative talents.  

“What brought me to drag — I mean, so many things — (was) really wanting to be free and explore things that I was never allowed as a kid,” Krisa Gonna said. “Destroying the system a little bit, as we have right now, I’m always interested in that.”

Krisa Gonna performed first with a dance inspired by the 1999 movie “The Mummy” directed by Stephen Sommers. Following the dance, Krisa Gonna gave a safety speech to the audience. 

“Here are the ground rules: No. 1, do not touch the performers; we’re showing a lot of skin, but that is not an invitation,” Krisa Gonna said. “No. 2, you should tip your performers because we are putting on a show for you.”

“We hid for so long that it’s hard not to want everyone to enjoy and love what we do.” -Ursa LaBear, Halloween drag performer

Krisa Gonna then introduced her drag daughter, Little Sarah Tonin, who performed a dance inspired by the 1984 film “A Nightmare on Elm Street” directed by Wes Craven. 

Little Sarah Tonin is an amateur drag queen, with her first performance being in June of this year. Yet she’s always been attached to the drag world.

“When I was a little kid, I used to dress around my house in my mom’s green velvet tank-top and her ‘(The) Wizard of Oz’ heels,” Little Sarah Tonin said. “So I was doing drag since I was, like, 6 years old. It’s nice to play homage to that little kid before he realized, like, ‘Oh, these things aren’t acceptable.’”

Following Little Sarah Tonin’s performance, Krisa Gonna had four volunteers from the audience join her onstage for Halloween movie trivia. 

Afterward, Liz Agna was introduced. She performed a dance inspired by the 1984 film “Children of the Corn” directed by Fritz Kiersch, with the popular TikTok song “It’s Corn.” 

Liz Agna is well known for her Halloween drag performances and describes herself as a “spooky and scary drag queen.”

Ursa LaBear performed the final dance of the first act.

Ursa LaBear has always found themself interested in performing, yet to her, drag has always stood for more than that. 

“Drag is important and extremely relevant because we need representation throughout every single genre, every single gender identity, every spectrum of drag — whether it’s drag kings, gender performers, it’s all necessary to be out there in the world,” Ursa LaBear said. “We hid for so long that it’s hard not to want everyone to enjoy and love what we do.”

Ursa LaBear’s performance was based on the 1975 musical film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” directed by Jim Sharman.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is an iconic movie within the drag world, having a deep message to those who have triumphed over bias and ignorance. 

“I’ve been in performance my entire life, but I didn’t consider doing drag until ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’” Little Sarah Tonin said. 

After intermission, Krisa Gonna introduced Little Sarah Tonin again, whose performance was inspired by “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark,” a 1988 comedy horror film directed by James Signorelli. 

Little Sarah Tonin originally felt very outcast when she dressed feminine, but she has now created a career out of it.

“I grew up in a conservative background; I was closeted until I was 18 years old,” Little Sarah Tonin said. “Growing up, I had to train myself to not exhibit my feminine characteristics. Since coming out, it’s still a process, and it’ll always be a process to embrace my feminine side. I think that’s what makes drag so important to me — being able to express my feminine energy.”

“Elvira” was a double feature of the night, with Krisa Gonna performing the movie directly after. 

The second game of the night was then introduced — an evil laugh contest. 

After the game, Ursa LaBear came out wearing a red dress with a mirror in the middle, representing the hole in Helen Sharp’s stomach from “Death Becomes Her,” a 1992 film directed by Robert Zemeckis. 

Because of her past experiences in performance, the crazy special effects weren’t new for Ursa LaBear. 

“I went to school for musical theatre, so there’s always this innate want to perform, and I’ve always adored it — the idea to change yourself completely,” Ursa LaBear said. “I worked in a haunted house for a while, and it was one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had. It’s not so much a gender thing, it’s morphing into a different person.”

Reach Alexander Wilson at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @alexgrey0604.