This year, Downtown Augusta’s Miller Theater will once again be hosting a Christmas-themed drag show on Friday night, Dec. 20, to invite those 18 years and older to celebrate the holiday in a sparkly and secular fashion.
Although some in the community are all for the fun, others share a less than enthusiastic reaction.
David Watts, executive director of the Miller Theater, said he believes the theater should cater to many different kinds of audiences because it is first and foremost a business.
“As an inclusive space in the arts community, we are committed to providing diverse programming that appeals to every sector of the population,” he said. “Not every show is going to appeal to every person in the community – that is why we are committed to a diverse lineup to ensure that there is something for everyone.”
Case in point, Watts said the last time the theater held the show in 2021, tickets for the Christmas drag performance sold out, showing that it “clearly resonated” with members of the community.
“These drag performers have international acclaim, come from an Emmy Award winning television program and perform all around the world,” he said. “Also, the upcoming performance is for ages 18+ and intended only for adults.”
Lead Pastor Geoff Gleason, of Cliffwood Presbyterian Church, said the continuous stray from Christmas’ religious origins did not come as a major surprise to him, although he disagrees with the appropriateness of a Christmas drag show.
“I don’t think it’s okay, but I think that’s just the way our culture is. It’s primarily viewed as a secular holiday. For Christians, it’s not of course, but for many in society it is,” he said. “I think drag in any concept though is contrary to scripture, so I would be opposed to it and view it as a sinful expression – a rebellion against the order that God has created.”
Rev. Nic Filzen of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta, who is known for his passion in theology and spirituality, argues that anyone should be able to celebrate Christmas, especially since the holiday did not originally belong to Christians.
“Christmas certainly has Christian roots but, before that, it had Pagan roots. Even the schedule of the holiday is more based upon the Pagan holiday of Yule, the switching from hot to cold, and the newness of life that can emerge as we enter into a new year,” he said. “It’s very easy to celebrate that meaning of newness of life with folks who dress in drag.”
However, Gleason said he believes involvement in the drag community prevents one’s progression of faith beyond a certain point.
“When you become a Christian, you leave behind whatever identity you had before,” he said. “Because of all that Christ has done, we are called to offer up our living body as a sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him, and we’re to test what is good, acceptable and perfect in his eyes, according to the mind that he renews in us.”
Similar to Gleason’s point of view, Bill Harrell, former pastor of Abilene Baptist Church for more than 30 years, said he thinks believers need to “stick to the text” of the Bible, and not interpret God’s teachings however one sees fit.
“All these other people doing whatever they want to do will do nothing but confuse and mess up the whole message,” he said. “These people – these homosexuals and drag queens – need to go read what God thinks about all this … I think it is a satanic attack upon Christianity.”
Harrell said he believes such drag performances and events have “gained popularity in the secular world,” which causes participants to have confidence in taking unjust, creative liberties.
“They are applying it to things they shouldn’t even be applying it to,” he said. “Just like they did with the ‘Lord’s Supper’ at the Olympics during the opening ceremony. The story of Christmas is perfectly clear … what they need to learn is that God is in control.”
While Gleason and Harrell said Christmas should emphasize the turning away from sin rather than celebrating it, Filzen stated that faith and the holiday is more about accepting and loving one another in an uplifting manner.
“It’s my understanding that Jesus was born for everyone and he spent most of his time with folks that led alternative lifestyles, and he would make friends with them easiest,” he said. “… beyond all that, Christmas has a celebratory nature, and honestly, if I want to have a good time, I want to spend some time with folks in drag because they’re going to add joy as well as anybody.”
Filzen continued by saying that no one should have to power to prevent others from celebrating and creating happy memories in whatever form they choose, when it is not hurting anyone else. Whereas, Gleason said the Miller Theater’s holiday drag show only emphasizes the less than holy parts of humanity.
“I think it would be impossible to have a Christmas celebration, truly speaking, where you have a drag team because the two are opposed to each other,” Gleason said. “One is celebrating sin and the other is intended to demonstrate how God redeems sinners from their sin … it is a mockery of what Christmas stands for.”
Harrell shared a similar opinion stating that sinners cannot expect God to forgive them and then “continue to live in sin against Him.”
“With any kind of sin, whether it’s alcoholism or pornography, you can’t look God in the face and say ‘well, I’m a Christian and you’ll just have to accept what I am and what I do,’” he said. “Because God has said what he thinks about all that and we need to pay attention to it.”
But Filzen said, for those religious and not, Christmas is about spreading and being thankful for love, peace and joy.
“I think you’re missing the mark if you’re concerned about other folks and the way they’re experiencing all those emotions,” Filzen said. “The bottom line, for me personally, is love … why not worry about adding something that is going to add beauty and love to the world, rather than taking something away that is making someone else happy?”
Filzen also argued that nearly all traditional Christian celebrations of Christmas emerged through “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, a unitarian.
“It proves that the holiday itself is a construct – just like gender,” he said. “A truth which drag performers highlight so effectively, while still tapping into the inherent joy of the occasion in their own way.”
From another perspective, Koko Dove, a local drag queen in the Greater Augusta area since 2010 and South Carolina’s Miss Transgender of 2024, said the winter holidays were beyond religious beliefs, and it went a little deeper than those on the outside of the community would outright understand.
“The winter holidays are important for a lot of people in our community because a majority of us don’t have families, especially down in the Bible belt. Let alone drag performers and queer people in general,” she said. “A lot of us get disowned by our families and we don’t have anybody to see during the holidays, and these times are supposed to be intimate. So it’s hard for a lot of people.”
But through drag performances and similar events, Dove said those in the community are able to create new memories and take part in the joy.
“The really cool part about the queer community is that we get to choose our families and the people we love,” she said. “We get to surround ourselves with these people and choose our moms, dads, sisters and brothers. So the holidays mean a lot because it’s a time we get to gather and feel like a real family.”
“Surprisingly enough to people, the majority of drag performers that I’ve worked with throughout my career are diehard Christians. Although most people don’t think that, a lot of us down here in the Bible belt are,” she said. “Christianity is a shared religion. You don’t have to be one way to practice that religion.”
While Dove said some might celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to one another, drag queens celebrate by “playing dress up” and escaping reality for a while, which does not hurt anyone. Gleason, however, said the activity should not be promoted amongst those seeking to be more like Christ.
“It is not okay for anybody, those in drag or in any other kind of sin, to be in Christ and continue in that sin,” she said. “The short answer is you have to leave behind that previously sinful life and you have to embrace a life in Christ – boarding yourself in what he calls good and leaving behind whatever preferences you may have.”
In the end, Dove argued that only Jesus and God should have the right to judge others, and that is where the conflict should end.
“I find it interesting that the majority of people who have problems with [drag] want others to be more involved with Christmas and want them to embrace Christ,” she said. “It’s honestly baffling to me for them to get upset when they see someone, who they assume is not a practicing Christian, partaking in the holidays.”
Moreover, Dove said that arguably drag is first and foremost a “timeless” artform, one that was not invented by the LGTBIA+ community, although it has grown to be largely associated with it.
“Drag is really just an amalgamation of fantasy,” she said. “It kind of just allows you to let go of everything that’s been dragging you down, and you just get to live out whatever fantasy you feel like. Drag is about erasing all the hard times, putting on a smile, and pretending like everything is fabulous.”
Therefore, Dove argues that drag performances should not outright be labeled as evil or sinful, because it allows participants to forget about the hard times – much like Christmas does for devout believers.
“To me, Christmas time has always been about putting all those discrepancies and hardships aside, and surrounding yourself with people you have a good time with,” she said. “… and for anybody out there who does not understand what we do or if you hate us for reasons unknown, if you take the time to just speak with someone from our community or just listen, you have no idea what you’ll learn and understand. All it takes is a conversation.”
For the Miller Theater, Watts said he believed it was not the business’ place to offer judgment, but rather provide events that locals can come and create “wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.”
“We host approximately 90 shows annually, and when we have received negative feedback on any of them – including a free showing of Disney’s Hocus Pocus because of the implication of witchcraft – we direct people to our website with the full list of upcoming events, so they can see how committed we are to programming for all,” he said.
Harrell in response said he thinks it is obvious that many businesses involved in the arts “do not care that they are in the Bible belt” and are “following the money.”
“They don’t care that they are going along with it,” he said.
Watts argued, “I’m the executive director of a performing arts venue that provides entertainment for all, and I don’t believe it’s my place to judge how people decide what to and what not to celebrate.”
For a more detailed description of the upcoming Christmas drag show, visit: https://millertheateraugusta.com/event/a-drag-queen-christmas/miller-theater/augusta-georgia/
