Last night, Sister Sandra Musique and Postulant Amanda Tyan-Whip were honored to represent the Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for the Sainting of Aliza Shapiro at Traniwreck. Sandra met Amanda in Somerville to manifest at 6pm. At roughly 8pm, they left Amanda’s and walked to Porter Square where they took the T. They bumped into the boy version of Erica Marie Aquarius (a drag queen from the Miss Diva Massachusetts event) on his way home and had a nice chat. The commuters on the Red Line were very supportive and happy to see us. They then walked from Harvard Square to the Oberon where they ran into the Sisters’ friends Meg and Paula (who just happened to be attending the show). Sandra quickly checked with Johnny Blazes to find out when in the show the sainting would take place and then she and Amanda went about talking to the crowd. Amanda met a very nice young man who expressed interest in finding out more about the Sisters and possibly joining the order.
The show started at 9pm and there were really amazing events from live lip-synching to cartwheeling drag queens. Halfway through the show the Sisters were called up on stage to surprise Aliza (she had no idea we were there). Sandra took the mic and introduced the Sisters. The crowd went wild so they must have had some exposure to the Sisters before or just happen to be fans of clown nuns in polyester formal-wear. Sandra talked about why Aliza was chosen to be a Saint and how she’s pushed through obstacles and helped out the queer community be more visible and proud. Then Amanda produced the beautiful, glittery-red C she had made and Aliza parted it in spectacular fashion thus performing the requisite miracle. The Sisters hugged Aliza and left the stage. She seemed very touched and thanked the whole crowd for celebrating her birthday. The rest of the show then continued as amazingly as it had begun.
After the show the Sisters stayed around for an additional half hour to talk, watch the dancers and enjoy the atmosphere of non-judgmental inclusion before they decided that walking home would be a bad idea and they should probably jump on the train. They went back to Amanda’s where they de-faced, ate pizza and got slobbered on by Gurr (a 125lbs mastiff). Sandra then took the train home.
It was an amazing night and I would highly recommend the Sisters trying to attend Traniwreck more often (even as paying customers for a ministry of presence). The atmosphere is inclusive, bawdy (perfect for Sandra), and it’s just a fun show.
