SASHA VELOUR: TRAVESTY to Come to Minneapolis' State Theatre
Hennepin Arts will present the one-queen spectacular following its world premiere European tour.
Hennepin Arts has announced that global drag icon, Sasha Velour is bringing her newest one-queen drag spectacular Travesty to Minneapolis Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. at the historic State Theatre (805 Hennepin Ave.) following her world premiere European tour. Travesty will be the third touring production written and directed by Velour, following Smoke & Mirrors (2019-2022) and The Big Reveal (2023-2025).
Travesty 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 spectacles, 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!” A special guest star will join Velour onstage in each city, playing a role in the show.
Celebrated for her influential visuals and her emotional live performances, Velour is poised to take her art to the next level with Travesty. “Travesty is unlike any show I've created," Velour says. "It is the purest, but also the most radical and experimental version of drag I've ever put on stage. No apologies or explanations, just ART! Drag is for everyone, because our message of freedom, love, and authenticity is universal. People have been doing 'drag'—dressing up, blurring gender, and telling stories—since the dawn of time. With Travesty, I wanted to honor those traditions, while exploring where we can go next.”
This show follows a string of successes for Velour. Since the release of her best-selling book The Big Reveal, An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag (Harpers) in 2023 the "RuPaul's Drag Race"-winner became a host on HBO's “We're Here”, a judge on the world's first televised Drag King competition, “King of Drag” (Revry), hosted the official Drag Race tour, “Werq the World” on three continents, and brought a stage adaptation of her book "The Big Reveal" to such prestigious theaters as The London Palladium, Folies Bergère, Steppenwolf, Berkeley Rep, La MaMa, and The Wallis. Her beloved NY-based drag revue “NightGowns” celebrated ten years of sold-out shows this past August and in 2025 alone, raised over 50k for LGBTQIA+ mutual aid, immigration, and Gaza.
Travesty reunites Velour with past collaborators at the top of their fields. Costuming will be from Emmy Award-winning Diego Montoya Studio as well as Andres Caballero, Jazzmint Dash, Pierretta Viktori, and Gloria Swansong, Sound design from Tony Award-nominated Palmer Hefferan, and Scenic/Lighting/Projection design from Cosette “Ettie” Pin. The show and tour are produced by House of Velour, Velour's namesake production company.
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