Sitting on the stage at the Backdoor on Saturday night, he looked in a mirror and appeared not to like what he saw.
He pulled at his fluffy white beard, shook his gloved fists at the audience and stomped in his white stiletto boots as Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” played.
Santa ripped off his signature red coat to reveal a lacy red bra. He pulled off his velvety red pants to show matching panties. He threw off his hat, his beard, his curly white hair and then TEA!, a 6-foot-4 transgender burlesque performer, stood before the cheering crowd at the Michael Jackson Variety Show.
“It’s not funny because Santa’s pissed off at himself and everybody else because of all of the homeless people and poor people,” TEA! said of the message she wanted her performance to get across.
TEA! is a 63-year-old who performs dancing and hula hooping routines across the country.
For the variety show this weekend, which raised $484 for Uplands Peak Animal Sanctuary, she managed to fit Christmas, Michael Jackson, a promotion of charitable giving, burlesque, hula hooping and the inner turmoil that comes from being a transgender woman stuck in a man’s body into one well-received act.
The song, which encourages people to make the world a better place, was appropriate for the evening, which featured Michael-Jackson-themed dancing, singing, drag performances and burlesque.
“Michael really genuinely cared about humanity, and he wanted to change the world and help the poor,” said Cassandra Lee Barger, another one of the night’s performers. “He has the ability to bring people together even after his death.”
Uplands Peak is a sanctuary for farm animals in Salem, Indiana.
By providing people with the opportunity to connect with pigs, cows and chickens, the sanctuary owners hope to encourage a vegan lifestyle, according to the organization’s website.
Funds were raised for the animals through bills waved at the performers and a vegan bake sale in the back of the bar.
Other acts of the night included a country-style, acoustic version of “Beat It,” and a drag king dance to “Annie are you OK?” which featured a glowing glove and stuffed animals.
“I’m so excited about the amazing performers we had come together for this,” said Taylor True, the dancer who organized the event. “The variety of awesome energy and talent here is great.”
Though all of the performers said they were a bit intimidated to perform a Michael Jackson number, they maintained the artist was the perfect theme for the night.
Jackson was from Indiana, he cared about all living things and he can bring strangers together better than almost any other artist, the performers explained.
A disco ball spun from the ceiling, Christmas decorations adorned the stage and, with instructions from the emcee, everyone in the audience turned to a stranger sitting near them and smiled.
“Hello,” they said in unison. “I love you. Thank you for being a part of this community.”
