On November 15th, a chilly Wednesday night in the middle of the quarter, my partner and I decided to go to the Wednesday Night Drag Show (WNDS): A Drag Show Benefit. When I saw the stacked lineup of queens and artists that would be performing, I was pleasantly shocked. There are few drag venues in Chicago that are 18+, let alone ones that host Chicago Drag Icons such as Irregular Girl, Siichelle, Chanel Mercedes Benz and more. What I didn’t know was that this show was special: the cast was made up of almost entirely producers from the iconic queer club Berlin, who amidst labor disputes with its owners were putting on this show to support its workers. The 40-year-old club would close just mere days after WNDS following a month long boycott. While the community all may mourn the loss of Berlin as a cornerstone for queer nightlife in Chicago, this night, this random Wednesday night, marked what truly felt like a symbol of hope. It reminded and instilled in me that no matter what, queer and trans people would protect each other’s security, whether it be physically, economically, or culturally, through performance and joining in community. 

 

The History of Berlin

In 1983, Berlin Nightclub was founded by Tim Sullivan and Shirley Mooney, promising to create “the Neighborhood Bar of the Future”. Berlin was known for creating an environment that was an alternative to other LGBTQ+ bars at the time, a creative haven, a sort of “Island of Misfit Toys,” as some have said. 

In 1990, after an ACT UP protest aiming to bring attention to the national AIDS epidemic in which thousands attended and 129 were arrested, Berlin acted as the unofficial home of the afterparty. Owen Keehnen, author and historian who was at Berlin, remembered the blasting of “We are Family” by Sister Sledge over the dance floor, celebrating those who had been released from being detained as they walked in the bar. He stated, “I’ve never felt such a deep sense of community, and it was a really beautiful moment.” This is what Berlin represented for many, a space of radical acceptance and belonging. 

While the venue has in recent years hosted many popular acts, such as Megan Thee Stallion and Lizzo, many remember it as being an important launching point for alternative, and smaller drag acts. My personal favorite Chicago drag performer, Ramona Slick, recently tweeted, “In the 80s, my parents went to Berlin to dance. I got my first nightlife booking at Berlin and began my drag career waiting on those dingy stairs to be called on stage. I laughed, I danced, I honed my craft, I chose my family, and I fell in love there.” Taking photos on the stairs from Berlin’s dressing room to its stage were said to be an iconic rite of passage for new performers. 

The space did provide so much good, so much love for members of the queer community, but that does not excuse the harm done unto workers by most recent owners Jim Schuman and Jo Webster.

Berlin, the Boycotts, and the Union

This spring, staffers at Berlin launched a campaign to unionize under Unite Here Local 1, which represents more than 15,000 hospitality workers in the Chicago area. They cited demands for and better pay, safer working conditions, improved training and upgraded equipment. Workers were reportedly paid minimum wage and not provided any health insurance coverage. Security workers inside a ripped and holed up vestibule at the entrance of the club were forced to endure the brutality of Chicago winter conditions while working late night shifts. A security guard and bartender was also notified through social media, not through any professional communication, that the club would be closing on Mondays and they would be dropping COVID protocols. This resulted in ⅓ of the worker’s shifts being arbitrarily cut, and the loss of their Medicaid health insurance. This treatment of trans and queer workers, that are the backbone of the club’s success and cultural significance, surely needed to change. 

Over the seven months of attempted negotiations with the union management intentionally stalled progress, and the owners themselves never actually showed up to bargaining sessions. The owners never commented on or engaged in communications with the union, until a few days after the boycott was called for in October, where the owners released an open letter. They cited Schuman’s advanced cancer diagnosis as the reason as to why they had not been attending bargaining sessions. They also claimed that all workers made between $22.50-$57 per hour, dangerously conflating their actual minimum wage salaries with tips. Many union workers felt very slighted, in that this was released to the public before any communication with staff. It is clear that the owners repeatedly engaged in bad faith with the union. 

 

WNDS as Collective Resistance

When I attended the WNDS, I was vaguely aware of this context, though wasn’t thoroughly prepared for what I was about to enter into. Situated in an unassuming art center in Irving Park, as I entered the room was largely empty save for a small stage and a couple of rows of chairs which framed a runway. Drag queens notoriously operate on queer time, meaning the show didn’t start until about 45 minutes after it was slated to. In that time, the room was filled with people from a variety of different ages, backgrounds, genders, you name it. Notably, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Winner Willow Pill was in attendance, leaving me a little starstruck. 

At around 8:45, two-thirds of the hosts, Irregular Girl and Secret Queen, took the stage and announced the aims and rules of the night’s show. They gave a land acknowledgement, took a brief moment of silence to reflect on the violence occurring in Palestine, and began to explain the history of the union and boycotts. The aims of the show were to raise funds to benefit workers, and provide support to those queens who typically have regular appearances at Berlin who are currently boycotting. Everyone was heavily encouraged to tip until their pockets were empty, respect the performers, and make lots of noise. 

The first number of the night was perhaps the most memorable and on the nose. Drag Queen Neutral Gena entered in Lady Gaga Artpop style makeup, with a board around her head, lip syncing to “Applause”. The board had the exact same text of the papers posted on Berlin’s doors during the boycott, stating “The Boycotters are LYING to you. Come in and ask the employees that are working. $6 Drinks. $4 Lemon Drops. $4 Berlin Bombs.” The crowd collectively booed as she walked in, a moment of collective rage against the attempts of coercion and union busting by Berlin management. She then proceeded to do a number self-referential of all of her “eras” of drag, repeatedly leaving and entering the stage for the drop of the chorus.

 

The rest of the night featured a variety of numbers, from burlesque to comedy to classic ballroom inspired drag. The space clearly wasn’t ideal for the performers, the hosts repeatedly referenced the dingy-DIY sound set up, and the sort of dangerous steep-but-small set of stairs that divided the runway and the stage, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the gathering of community, and the resilience of queerness in the face of exploitation. I saw one of the most impressive jump splits I’ve ever seen off of that stage. 

IMG_0480 – (linked here video of Dutchesz Gemini doing an Incredible Jump Split)

The loss of Berlin as a space surely is disappointing, as safe and consistent spaces for queer people are often hard to come by. What the WNDS proved to me, however, was that it really never was the space that made it special. As cheesy as it sounds, it was the people. The people that consistently produced and supported some of the most interesting and powerful drag in

the country, that will continue to do so due to the strength of the community that was formed. And that gives me quite a bit of hope.