Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Napanee’s Bouler House Cinema will be showcasing a new side on April 15, as the theatre hosts The Bouler House Drag Show.
Presented by Showgirls Entertainment, the event will be hosted by Lily DeVine and feature drag queens Bekka Blake and Kendra Delacore. It’ll mark the first live show hosted at the cinema.
“It’s something different,” said Morgan Rayer, co-owner of Bouler House Cinema. “Just come out for a bit of fun, come out for a couple of drinks. After the pandemic we’re trying new stuff.”
The performance will take place in front of the big screen, which is actually a rather ideal set up for a drag show. Guests will have theatre style seating-complete with the option to purchase all the traditional movie theatre snacks-while the big screen will display a background as the queens perform live. Rayer says the theatre’s sound system has already earned rave reviews from DJ Earl McLean, who is on board to provide sound for the event.
For Rayer, who operates the theatre with his partner Mishelle Freita-Rayer, the live show is a creative way to attract visitors to the venue. Like all entertainment sector businesses, the theatre was hit particularly hard by pandemic shutdowns. Even as the world has re-opened, theatres across the board report an average of 30 per cent reduction in customers as they compete with streaming services or just the fact some people aren’t comfortable returning to a theatre.
“We’ve been open for six or seven years, Mishelle and I have never taken a nickel from the place,” said Rayer, as they took over the former Boulevard Cinema after it ceased operations following 22 years in the community. “It’s here for people if they want it, it’s for Napanee. It’s for the community, it’s for the preservation of Napanee. We’ve never even gone to the municipality and said ‘hey guys, we’re trying to do something good, do you want to help us?” We haven’t had to, it has stood on its own two feet. But it’s been hit so hard by COVID. Everybody has, but especially the theatre. It’s small, it’s in a rural town.”
Along with regular movie screenings, they’ve diversified the theatre to include an arcade and an escape room. A live show is just another way to keep the theatre going as the industry evolves.
They realize a drag show might not be for everyone and have had a few negative comments already, but by in large the response has been positive.
“Everybody can have their own feelings about it,” said Freita-Rayer. “Don’t participate if you don’t want to participate. We’re not playing any movies at that time, the theatre is technically shutdown at that time.”
Moving forward they hope to make live performances at the cinema a regular happening, with plans to branch out into comedy shows as well.
The April 15 event is all ages, though minors will have to be accompanied by an adult. The event is licensed as well.
Tickets for the show, which gets underway at 9 p.m., are $20 and are available at www.TheatreNapanee.com or at the door the night of the event. The theatre is located at 2-113 Richmond Blvd.