Adams House Residents Delight in Drag Night

A bawdy drag show took over the Adams House dining hall last night, as House residents decked out in flamboyant costume danced, sang and strutted in celebration of Halloween and House tradition.

“Adams residents used to just come to dinner in drag,” said Katarina A. Colic ’03, Adams House Committee co-chair, who welcomed the crowds packing the dining hall with a brief history of Drag Night.

She said the House’s reputation as a haven for artistic, counter-cultural personalities—who often dressed in drag for fun—led to the creation of the formal Drag Night.

She then yielded the floor to her co-chair, Andrew D. Goulet ’04, who sported a short black skirt and midriff-baring black top.

“Normally you know him as your HoCo co-chair, but tonight he’s your slave!” she said.

Goulet proceeded to wow the audience with his sexy gyrations to Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave for You.”

House Co-Masters John G. Palfrey and Judith S. Palfrey ’67 got into the act by dressing as a cowgirl, cowboy combination and delivering a rendition of “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.”

Reid D. Saaris ’04, backed by three starlets in drag, sang a cover of the Green Day song “King for a Day,” which includes the lyrics “Who put the drag in drag queen/Don’t knock it until you tried it.”

By far the biggest reaction of the night went to Jamie Ciocco ’94, an Adams House assistant senior tutor. A Drag Night fixture for the past few years, Ciocco has a repertoire of songs composed specifically for the occasion.

Last night, he treated listeners to “A Good Man Gone Bad.”

Showing off in a low-cut black top, Ciocco sang about a man who cheated on him and then suffered the excruciatingly painful consequence of castration. His story had the audience howling with laughter.

Other performers included senior tutor Michael Rodriguez, performing under the stage name Ginger, who sang and danced to “I’m a Woman” from the musical Smokey Joe’s Cafe.

Rodriguez had circulated an e-mail Wednesday encouraging House residents to embrace Adams’ traditions like Drag Night, in response to poor attendance at the Adams House Masquerade.

Last night’s rowdy Drag Night was a turnaround from the disappointment of the recent Masquerade, according to event coordinators.