April 15 marked Berkshire’s third annual Drag Show. Dissimilar from the past two years, this year’s show featured a local drag queen, Great Barrington’s Bella Santarella. Bella began the show with engaging audience activities, including a partner “who knows who better” game and a runway walk competition. “The games at the beginning created even more anticipation for the drag performances,” Mimi Miller ’26 said. Alex Flynn ‘25 added that the inclusion of many audience members added a new excitement to this year’s drag show. 

 Along with Bella Santarella, the show featured drag kings and queens Arielle Vargas ’23, Bella Piantini ’23, Kyron Stevenson ’24, Trevor Sullivan Weinstein ’25, and Diana Splawn ’25. The performances were simply “electric,” said Delaney McDonough ’23, and the lit-up stage enlivened the runway. Additionally, the variety of costumes captured the attention of many students, especially the judges in the front row. Each performer had something unique to offer: Anastasia Tigipko ’25 commented that “the crowd was in awe at Trevor’s colorful costume and sassy dance moves,” Libby Blodgett ’23 claimed that Vargas and Piantini’s duo performance had “flawless choreography and unbeatable music selection,” Splawn walked with an “intense strut,” that was “hard to turn away from” according to Kate Dorman ’23, and finally, Stevenson owned the stage floor for yet another year. 

 Accompanying the student performers was Santarella, who not only hosted the event but also gave a performance of her own. She quickly captured the attention of the audience with upbeat music, lip-syncing, and dancing. Her stage presence complimented the student performers flawlessly. The addition of Santorella to this year’s drag show introduced a new element of professionalism and engagement.

 The success of this night was made possible by the dedicated preparation team. The performers blew the crowd away with their makeup and costumes, all thanks to their team of makeup artists and costume designers. “This night wouldn’t have been the same without the hard work of the backstage crew,” said drag queen Sullivan Weinstein. 

 There is no doubt that Berkshire’s third annual Drag Show generated excitement for future performances to come. Overall, the well-executed show welcomed bears both familiar and unfamiliar with the thrills of drag, marked an enjoyable start to the spring, and set the tone for an exciting end to the school year.