Second Sundays @ Theatre Off Jackson
📍 409 7th Ave S
Doors @ 6:30 pm | Show @ 7 pm
Since 2014, there’s been a Sunday gathering of celebration and worship, but it’s not your regular, fuddy-duddy liturgy. (At least in my experience; maybe your church rules, I don’t know.) I’m talking about the Sunday Night Shuga Shaq, which associate producer Sin de la Rosa refers to as “The Church of Tits ‘n’ Ass.” Now running monthly upstairs at Theatre Off Jackson in the CID, the Shuga Shaq is the longest-running all performer-of-color burlesque revue in the entire Pacific Northwest.
“Going to Shuga Shaq is like going to the loudest, rowdiest, most raucous church service you’ve ever attended,” said de la Rosa in an interview with The Ticket. “Instead of eternal salvation, your tithes go to decidedly earthly delights. But trust us, it’s the closest you’ll ever get to seeing (or maybe even touching) God(dess).”
A regular Shaq Sunday is a sight to behold, a truly interactive experience and a never-ending torrent of flung dollar bills in a city that desperately needs this kind of energy. “Seattle has a reputation for being a little buttoned-up, a little distant, and more than a little White,” de la Rosa explained. “Shuga Shaq strives to create a monthly space to be a haven from that.”
No two shows are alike, and de la Rosa (along with founder Briq House, who calls the monthly “str!ppa activism”) wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love that Shuga Shaq lets performers bring whatever they want and gives them a platform to express themselves in whatever form most calls to them. It makes for a show with lots of variety and a more intimate connection to each performer. We believe that POC artists deserve the avenues by which to speak their truths in all their complexities and nuances. That’s what Shuga Shaq’s all about.”
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