When legendary drag queen Heklina became co-owner of the new nightclub Oasis five years ago, she brought with her the long-running drag show Trannyshack, which was revived as Mother.
But now Heklina is departing Oasis to spend more time at her new home in Palm Springs, and Mother is coming to an end. The final Mother will be on Saturday, February 8, 2020.
Heklina co-founded Trannyshack in 1996 at The Stud, hosting the show from its inception. Trannyshack is the longest running drag event series in San Francisco. It occasionally went on the road, hosting special Trannyshack events in Honolulu, West Hollywood, New Orleans, and many other cities.
The Trannyshack stage has hosted many celebrities including Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, RuPaul, Charo, Michelle Visage, Mary Wilson and many of the contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race among others. In the early years of the club, Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters lived in San Francisco and performed frequently at Trannyshack before moving to New York in 1999.
Trannyshack had its last show at The Stud in 2008. After a brief break, it was revived as a monthly drag show at DNA Lounge.
Then on January 17, 2015, Heklina brought Trannyshack with her to her new club, Oasis, rebranding it as Mother and changing the show back to being a weekly weekly event series. The new name was chosen because it has several meanings: the new “Mothership” of drag in SF, something warm and comforting, nurturing even. And it also ties into the “drag mother” thing.
The final Mother will be an historic event and is not to be missed.
Later in February, Mother will be replaced with Poptart, a new drag show from D’Arcy Drollinger and Sue Casa.
- Where: Oasis SF, 298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020
- Time: Doors at 10:00 p.m.
- Price: $20
- Tickets: https://sfoasis.com/events/motherfinal20
- Special Conditions: bachelorette parties will not be admitted
