Ahead of its upcoming run of “&Juliet” at Centennial Hall, Broadway in Tucson will host a themed drag show in partnership with IBT’s Bar and Food.

The event, on Friday, Oct. 25, will feature giveaways and performances inspired by the pop-fueled musical, which runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2.

Producer Max Martin not only wrote the music and lyrics in “&Juliet,” but also inspired its production. Many of his songs, including hits by Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, are widely used in drag performances.

The event will include giveaways for “&Juliet” tickets, swag bags and a prize from Tiffany & Co., according to Broadway in Tucson’s social media pages. Tickets can be purchased through IBT’s website.

Alvaro Kramkowski, a manager at IBT’s and the person in charge of booking special events, said the initial partnership with Broadway in Tucson began in 2017 to help increase visibility.

“They had a show in town, ‘Kinky Boots,’ and they asked some of our entertainers to be present in the audience, because there are drag performers in that musical,” Kramkowski told Tucson Spotlight.

Since then, whenever there are musicals featuring modern pop hits or connections to drag performers, Broadway in Tucson has partnered with IBT’s — a collaboration that has been successful for both.

“&Juliet” is the most recent partnership, and later in the season, IBT’s and Broadway in Tucson will team up again for a “Moulin Rouge”–inspired drag show.

Kramkowski said Broadway in Tucson nights are different from a typical IBT’s drag show and appeal to both newcomers and regulars.

“They should expect our IBT’s show with a little extra flair of that Broadway in Tucson highlight,” Kramkowski said.

The performers will pick a few songs from the touring show to incorporate into their usual routines. While this time Broadway in Tucson is offering swag and other gifts, the company often adds unique elements to the events.

“The one that we did that was a really big one was for our street fair that just happened in the spring,” Kramkowski said. “We partnered with them for one of our daytime shows that we do there. They had a money gun, and it was a real good time.”

Kramkowski said the crossover between the two groups happened organically, driven by a desire for greater visibility and shared interests among musical theater and drag show audiences, especially for shows featuring popular music.

“It gives so much more visibility to both of us, for people that maybe hadn’t had exposure to the advertising of the shows that were coming into town, and maybe they just happened to pop into one of our shows,” Kramkowski said. “It just really opened so many more eyeballs to both venues and how we can help each other out.”

Broadway in Tucson General Manager Mario Di Vetta said the themed events have been a hit.

“In general, IBT’s is popular, especially their drag nights,” Di Vetta said. “All we’re doing is kind of taking one of our shows that has some fun, upbeat songs that would lend themselves to a fun drag night, and just asking them, they’ll ask the queens, to do a couple of their numbers.”

During the touring run of “Mamma Mia,” the drag queens performed to ABBA songs throughout the night.

“Over the last maybe year or two is when we’ve had some of our shows kind of have numbers performed at IBT’s, and it just depends on the show,” Di Vetta said. “Not every show will lend itself to a great drag night. But I think when it’s the biggest pop songs of the 1990s, why not? So many queens already do some of those songs, so it kind of just made sense.”

Di Vetta hopes people will come out to see “&Juliet” after attending the IBT’s event. He said the musical has a fun, original story that many people might not yet know.

““We’ve had people say, ‘Oh, are you forgetting the Romeo?’ And we’ll say, ‘No, we’re not,’ he said. (The show) is about what happens if he kills himself and she says, ‘No, I’m good. Let’s see what my life is like.’”

Emma LaPointe is a journalism, political science and German Studies major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at emma.m.lapointe@gmail.com.

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