By Kevin Ferrisi –
This past weekend, Connecticut rolled out the red carpet for the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15, Miss Continental 2012 and drag LEGEND, Sasha Colby. The Chez Est in Hartford is no stranger to drag royalty, as they have been host to a long list of RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni. On Sunday, drag fans from all over flocked to the state’s premier LGBTQ+ cabaret for a fiery line-up of some of the area’s best drag artists and featured the one and only Sasha Colby.
With a full house of eager diehard drag fans patiently awaiting the arrival of the elite icon, Chez Est owners John Pepe and Luis Pepe (aka Lulu D. Fierce) took to the stage to announce the night’s headliner. John greeted the audience with a few sentiments, “What an outstanding year we’ve all had. We got to witness three of our very own represent us on the national stage. They showed not to sleep on Connecticut drag,” referring to Loosey LaDuca, Robin Fierce and Amethyst, the first contestants to reside in the state of Connecticut when they competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race and who proudly call Chez Est their home. John continued with, “We’ve been the host to some of the biggest drag names in history and now tonight it all comes to fruition as we present to you the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15, Sasha Colby. I cannot believe I get to say this; welcome to the Sasha Colby meet-and-greet!”
The event kicked off with a fully packed meet-and-greet with the season 15 champion for VIP ticket holders. Fans lined up, the line wrapping around the interior of the building, awaiting their moment to snap a photo with Sasha and commemorate the start of what was to be an epic night. Local drag performers Ambrosia Black, Lady Tatiana, Kenya Mone Heart, Natalia Fierce and Rozz Aura took to the stage to deliver sickening solo performances to fire up the wall-to-wall crowd as everyone anticipated Sasha Colby to follow. Each local entertainer performed a lip-sync and dance number to a musical mashup building up the energy that led to each of Colby’s two sets.
The time came and the Goddess herself graced the stage and the crowd went absolutely wild. She proved why she is also known as Mother, radiating her divine essence while perfectly illustrating her undeniable talent. For Sasha’s first set, she served us her sultry moves to a lip-sync mashup of the tracks ‘Assume the Worst’ and ‘Falling’ both by the musical duo known as Drama.
Sasha then took a moment to greet the packed venue saying, “Hartford, Chez Est,” before she could even continue she was interrupted by the excited audience loudly chanting her name. For which she responded, “Oh my goodness, coming from the drag capital of season 15, you know Connecticut knows good drag bitch, so that chant right there meant a lot. Period.” She then talked about how she has been so busy as reigning queen, she has not had time for the “RuPaul glow-up.” She tells everyone, “I’m so excited for the next girl to get crowned so I can get some good ole surge. Some gender affirming up in here.” She continued to say, “You know in these very political times, you know we living in, it is very nice to be trans, brown and rich in America today honey.”
Following her time on the main stage, Sasha has surfaced as a prominent voice for trans rights in a time of aggressive political attacks, especially toward the LGBTQ+ community. There has been a storm of anti-queer legislation specifically targeting transgender people and drag artists. She told Out Magazine, “Our similarities outnumber our differences as human beings. With compassion, education, action, and practice on a daily basis, we can achieve equality.”
Sasha then returned to close the show with a lip-sync performance to ‘Little Things’ by Jorja Smith. She left the crowd gagging when she borrowed random items from audience members, thinking quickly to incorporate them into her number as props, such as a hand fan and a Scream mask, even snatching a cell phone that was still recording from the hand of a lucky fan who now has an epic recorded memory to cherish forever. (video below)
Taking advantage of the last opportunity to bond with the adoring crowd, she explained, “It is such a blessing to be able to be of use at this time and to be able to have you all appreciate the power of queer word and what it means to be queer, what it means to be indigenous, what it means to be in touch with who you are, not in the matrix. Thank you all so much. It means the world to be here.”
She left her fans with, “It can be very daunting and lonely at times on the road and honestly having these kinds of experiences have been the thing that’s keeping me going, so thank you all so much, I appreciate it,” as the room filled with a roaring applause of an overwhelming outpour of love.
What makes Sasha unique is not only her polished drag and high-energy performances but her genuine authenticity and vulnerability. She told People Magazine, “I am reminded of the power of community, self-discovery, dedication, and the profound impact of expressing the many layers of one’s most authentic self. My name is Sasha Colby, and my life’s path has been a testament to the strength of human perseverance, the celebration of diversity, the nurturing of chosen family, and the pursuit of self-empowerment; all of which fulfills me most through the ability to share it with others.”
Colby was crowned the winner of season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, landing on top after one of the fiercest battles in the show’s recent history. Even before her win, the Hawaii native was considered a drag and pageant legend, having won the Miss Continental drag queen pageant in 2012. She is the first contestant and winner of the entire Drag Race franchise to be from the state of Hawaii and the first Miss Continental title holder, in the US franchise, to also go on to win. Sasha is the only contestant on season 15 to not place in the bottom two throughout the entire season. She is also known to many as Mother because she has been a mentor to many queer legends, most famously Kerri Colby, who participated in season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The night’s cast reunited on stage to bid a proper farewell to Sasha Colby accompanied by a group photo with a surprise appearance by Sasha’s season 15 sister and CT’s own Amethyst, who joined in on the photo op.
Click here to check out all the photos in the events gallery of Sasha Colby, at Chez Est in Hartford, CT on November 5, 2023. Photos by Kevin Ferrisi.
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