Filthy Formal & Trash Talent Show – A John Waters Tribute

When:
Saturday, Jun 21, 2025 7:00p -
11:30p

Where:
Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02145

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
$30-35

Hosted by:
...
pasitheaproductions Bridget Duggan

Categories:
LGBTQ+, Movies, Party, Shows

Event website:
https://www.crystalballroomboston.com/events/filthy-formal-trash-talent-show-a-john-waters-tribute/

Attention all students of John Samuel Waters Jr. Memorial High School for Subversives:

It’s that time of year when we remind you little degenerates of the real purpose of your education: polyester, pageantry, and poor taste. That’s right, the FILTHY Formal and TRASH Talent Show is upon us! Our esteemed faculty, the so-called “Identical Cousins,” invite you to this dance party / variety show / excuse to wear your most vile, stupid, and repulsive formal fashions — Saturday night, June 21st, in the Crystal Ballroom of the Somerville Theatre.

All students are reminded that this is an entirely non-optional event and that school-wide dress code enforcement will be in full effect (please refer to the student handbook for more information…but suffice it to say: faux fabrics, clashing tulles, shaved eyebrows, excessive Aqua Net, and a sleazy demeanor are always de rigueur).

Join Vice Principal Keira Horowitz, Guidance Counselor Tooky Kavanagh, and key members of the PTA (Perverts, Troublemakers, and Anarchists) as we pledge allegiance to the freak flag. You’ll inhabit a Pink Flamingo’d lawnscape, kneel at a shrine to Divine, pose for photos under a low-rent prom arch, and pencil in your own Maybelline moustaches, whilst sipping signature cocktails like the sickeningly sweet “Little Chrissy.”

Be beguiled — if not outright scandalized — by our talent show, dripping with drag (Celia Smokinbutts), burlesque (Thru the Keyhole, Knuckles), poetry slams, musical acts, and truly taste-free puppetry. Your mind will be expanded by an exhibit curated by the Museum of Bad Art, straining any suburban respectability-fueled notions you may have about what art is. You’ll also learn to do “The Roach” and other demented dance steps before our final Dirty Dance Contest to win the much-coveted Cha-Cha Heels Trophy (black ones, natch!)

File under mandatory curriculum: you are each expected to watch the following John Waters masterworks, one per each decade, as homework before the 21st:

Class of 1974: Female Trouble in 35mm (June 19th)

Class of 1988: Hairspray in 35mm (June 20th)

Class of 1998: Pecker in 35mm (June 20th, all screening at the Somerville Theatre!)

We would also be remiss not to note: you can and should brush up on every other era of our revered namesake’s oeuf-vre on your own time, from Desperate Living to Cecil B. Demented, from Mondo Trasho to Serial Mom, and really every reel before, after, and in-between.

This isn’t just some awkward school dance where you’ll sweat through your synthetic fibers (although trust us, that will happen as DJ Johnny Stevens of Soulelujah spins the night away…)

This is your rite of passage into a beautifully bizarre world where the misfits rule the school!

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06/21/2025 19:00:00 06/21/2025 23:30:00 America/New_York Filthy Formal & Trash Talent Show – A John Waters Tribute <p>Attention all students of John Samuel Waters Jr. Memorial High School for Subversives:</p><p>It’s that time of year when we remind you little degenerates of the real purpose of your education: p...

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