Sandwich Opera House staff reports ‘huge jump’ in drag show ticket sales

SANDWICH – Local controversy over drag show performances coming to the Sandwich Opera House may have proven beneficial for ticket sales.

The Illusions Drag Queen Show will perform two shows for audiences 18 and older, at 3 and 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at the historic Sandwich venue at 140 E. Railroad St.

Opera House media director Christine Williams said that as of Jan. 31, the Opera House had sold about 200 tickets for the early show and sold almost all of the 300 available tickets the evening show.

The show has been a topic of concern at the last two Sandwich City Council meetings. The first concerns were raised by alderwoman Rebecca Johnson at the Jan. 3 meeting, and again when eight people spoke on the topic during public comment at the council’s Jan. 16 meeting.

Only three of the eight people who voiced concern about the drag show at the Jan. 16 meeting were Sandwich residents.

Williams said the show’s recent publicity certainly has driven ticket sales, as they saw a “huge jump” in sales after the news articles and Facebook posts circulated.

Williams said that while there always was the hope the show would be well received, those at the Opera House are very happy the first-ever drag performance at the Opera House is on track for at least one sold out show. Williams said they are trying to bring some diversity and build excitement, to bring different age groups and different people into the Opera House.

“It’s unfortunate that people make judgements on stuff based on what they see on the internet,” Williams said. “You have to have faith in the people that are doing this, it is not something that was meant to be detrimental.”

Tickets to the drag show are available for $35 per seat and $40 for premium seats.