Yes, yes, Halloween Horror Nights is ushering in spooky season here in Orlando at the end of this week, an unseasonably early date, to be sure. But there’s a much more local (and non-theme park) Halloween tradition going neck and neck with the behemoth haunt, kicking off on the exact same evening. And these local fearmongers are bringing in some glittering all-star backup. You see, the Renaissance Theatre Co. are throwing a blood-soaked two-night preview party for their late-night autumnal drag fright-fest VBar with a very special guest: Alaska Thunderfuck.
Alaska — multi-talented drag performer, musician, RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars winner, off-Broadway star and memoirist — will be in Orlando to headline a special weekend preview run of Nosferatu afterparty and drag showcase VBar. Though Alaska is infamous for a more show-stopping and glammed-up style of drag, she’s down with the frights for her weekend performances, promising witchy and ghoulish songs and drag. “I’m going to be looking beautiful but a little frightening,” she promises wickedly during an impromptu chat with Orlando Weekly.
“We’re thrilled that Alaska — one of my favorite drag performers — is coming to kick off Nosferatu this year at VBar: the Awakening,” Ren co-founder Donald Rupe tells OW. “We’ve got a lot of surprises and also a lot of the things that people have come to expect. It’s going to be our biggest year yet, and it’s only right that we start it off with drag royalty like Alaska.”
As Rupe threatens, a few days after The Awakening, immersive theater experience Nosferatu emerges from the coffin for a fifth year. From Sept. 5 to Nov. 8, the Renaissance Theatre will be transformed into a shadowy realm ruled over by the undead. Over 40 performers create a full-spectrum world of vampiric intrigue, complete with song, dance, acrobatics, pomp, circumstance and endless gallons of fake(?) blood. Think the dark physicality of the blood rave scene in Blade, think Interview With a Vampire‘s dark camp, think Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Dracula but without the inept Brit accents. Oh, and this year, the dress code is all-black for audience and performer alike.
The bloody good times of Nosferatu continue with the weekend VBar afters. The witching-hour drag affairs promise hair-raising thrills and jump-scares courtesy of Myki Meeks, Coco Cavalli, Anesthesia, Beatrixxx Oddity, Black Magix Royal, Angelica Sanchez and more. These are worth your dollars even as a stand-alone night out. But back to this weekend’s queen of the vampires …
How did this ghoulish gig come about? Was the Renaissance Theatre on your radar at all through Off the Record or previous Nosferatus?
Honestly, I had no idea what kind of vampiric madness you were up to down in Florida. But I’m so glad that they asked me to come and be a part of it.
You’ll be helping to kick off the Halloween season here in Orlando — how do you usually celebrate Halloween?
I dress up in bizarre clothing and face-altering cosmetics pretty much every day, so I usually enjoy staying home and giving out candy on actual Halloween. My favorite Halloween costume is a simple black sweater, with a dot on my nose and three lines on my cheeks and I call myself a cat.
Can you give us a tease of what you have planned for VBar? As a sidebar, who is your favorite vampire in pop culture?
I’m going to be looking beautiful but a little frightening, and I’ll be singing some of my favorite witch-, ghoul- or darkness-themed songs. My favorite vampire is the classic Bela Lugosi Count Dracula. He’s scary and elegant and fierce. He’s the OG.
What are your thoughts on taking the plunge and performing in Florida in 2025? We’re in a very weird and bad place right now politically and culturally.
Even in the most politically fucked-up places — which is all of America at this point — there are gay people. And queer people. And trans people. And they need to be entertained and they need to laugh. And most of all they need to gather together and see that they’re not alone and that we have power when we congregate and organize. So if I get to be a part of that, I will go anywhere I am called.
Is there anything you’re looking to do in your off-time in Orlando? Will you still be celebrating your recent engagement? [Alaska got engaged to Los Angeles-based producer Matthew Herman a few weeks ago.] And congratulations, by the way!
When I’m in Orlando I’ll probably be finding great vegetarian food, so I’m open to recommendations. And thank you so much! Matt and I are very much enjoying being engaged.
Nosferatu: Orlando’s Adult Vampire Experience
Sept. 5-Nov. 8
Location: Renaissance Theatre Co., 415 E. Princeton St., Orlando
Renaissance Theatre Co.
415 E. Princeton St., Orlando, FL
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This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2, 2025.