Tobie kind of changed my life 16 years ago when he first brought me to O Bar given how much we love the space now. We fondly state that it's our second home and that all the performers and staff are practically family at this point, which just shows how close we've gotten to everyone there. And there's my whole commitment to trying to record as many of their performances as possible - even if it means that I make for terrible company at our table during the show (I will not speak while filming) and I'm constantly juggling the processing requirements of all the photos and videos I take. Even before I committed to filming all of their numbers, I've mainly been focused on the show over anything else. And while I love new numbers as much as anyone, I also love re-watching existing performances to see how they tweak things or how they change things up over the years.
I mentioned I wanted to write something about something about the bar again - so here it is. I thought it might be fun to break down the types of performances that take place at O Bar - at least as of 2025. You think you know what to expect, but you really don't unless you go as often as we do. And you know I write all this from a position of love and as someone who has been watching the different performers bring their unique talents to the O Bar stage. And maybe I just like categorizing things.
So here are my general categories for the types of performances you may catch at O Bar:
The Ballad - I feel like this is where a lot of drag queens begin. These are typically solo performances (sometimes with some support from the O Boys as backup) involving slower songs, thus don't need rehearsals with other queens. These are trickier than they seem at first because you have to really connect with the song and convey those feelings in how you perform. Some like using a mike stand, but it also sort of ties them in place. Some don't have props and have some very thoughtful hand gestures, but they won't move around as much. And in more recent years, the featured songs don't even have to involve the music of female artists.
The Dance Showcase - For the more physical queens or those with a stronger passion for dance, this starts as a solo performance but can evolve with the support of the O Boys or even other O Divas. But the focus here is not just to do a good lip sync, but also to demonstrate a specific physicality as well. The sub-variant of this is when the dance involves a lot of tricks - dips, flips, duck walks, and whatever. There are many kinds of dance, of course, but a lot of O Bar numbers require a certain speed and tempo to really work. The truly observant will note that a lot of the songs are actually sped up to hit a certain tempo that works for "hard dancing".
The Funny (Punny?) One - This is not a standup comedy routine but more a witty use of a song in a funny way. A lot of times, it boils down to puns - think of all those songs that involve food puns or those that try to think of visual gags for different lines in the songs. Great examples of this include how Precious Paula Nicole would perform "Royal", which involved a lot of Royal Tru-Orange and different types of measuring devices (let me be your ruler). There are also the Stupid-Funny ones (I don't mean this as an insult!), which involve some really cheesy puns or leaps in logic. Thus how I love their mash-up of Wrecking Ball and Nothing Compares 2 U, or the more recent mashups of Love Song and Whoops Kiri.
Those first three types of performances are arguably typical of any drag performance space because they're largely solo endeavors. But one of O Bar's key strengths is the fact that the O Divas and the O Boys perform as a group, thus elevating things to larger productions.
Duets - Once you have more than one performer on stage, then you know they had to rehearse together at some point, which makes it harder to coordinate. This includes two performers singing the same song at both sides of the stage, which is a good start to things. But more and more we also see either numbers properly arranged as duets involving two musical artists or straightup mashups of two songs that you may not expect to go together but actually do.
O Divette Trios - Three is a solid number for many things, including performances for newer queens who join the O Divas. O Bar is known for having Asia's Finest Dancing Drag Queens, and that requires a specific training regimen and general rigor to pull off. Thus, many new queens start in these smaller group performances choreographed for three performers at a time. They're a great starting point because it helps performers really get a feel for what it's like to perform on that stage, but also get them started on the kind of group choreography that is part and parcel of the O Bar wheelhouse.
Crowdwork - This comes in many forms, whether the performers start the number in one of the VIP areas or end their number there. This can mean pulling members of the audience on stage (oh man, Chiquitita) or the performers navigating the crowd and interacting with patrons (more likely on a Thursday night). It's prime time to tip the queens, offer them drinks, and whatever else you can think of. I'll just remind people to respect the performers and only interact when it works for the song. Offer drinks or even bottles, but don't try to force a drink down their throat while they're performing - that's just rude and means you're skipping getting proper consent. And some of the performers are sober and don't drink at all - let's respect their needs. But yeah, these numbers may not involve a lot of dancing, but it's a nice opportuntiy for the crowd to interact with them directly.
Girl Group Numbers - There are a lot of famous girl groups, and over the years, the O Divas have paid tribute to many of them. Think of the likes of The Spice Girls, Little Mix, The Pussycat Dolls, BLACKPINK, and local groups like Bini and G22. Sometimes the O Dives go for more accurate impersonations, including copying the "official" choreography from music videos or public performances. Other times, they create their own interpretation of things and make it truly their own - one of my favorites being "Shout Out to My Ex" where all the girls are dressed as X-characters of Marvel fame.
O Boys-Only Numbers - If there are girl groups, there are also boy bands and other guy groups, and I'm glad that the O Boys also get their time in the spotlight. I lament guests who underestimate the O Boys as they're obviously not "just" backup dancers. Starting with the likes of the Backstreet Boys, over the years, they've pulled off some really great group dance numbers from the likes of SB19 (before they were famous!), One Direction and BTS. They're also lip syncing, so it's not just a straight-up dance number. It's not drag, but it's definitely a fun addition to the O Bar lineup.
Cultural Experiences - The uniqueness of O Bar means that we've seen more than drag performers on stage. We've had various cultural showcases for different traditional Filipino dances, ballroom dancing, ballet, and other forms of modern dance. Before these would mainly be guest performers, but over the years the lines have blurred with different O Divas and O Boys trying their hand (or I guess feet) at numbers of this nature. I super love these numbers because this means the performers are also learning new skills, further rounding out their artistic range. Last note, I think I'd include the poi performances that still happen during event nights as the Alab Poi Dancers (a number of whom started as O Bar performers) have really elevated poi to a whole other experience and it's nice that they still come "home" to the bar every now and then.
Aerial Numbers - This is another type of performance that started as a guest thing (and maybe sort of a cultural thing), and eventually those skills have transferred to in-house talents. This used to be something that would bookend the shows, but now it's a regular part of it. There were the early steps with queens being lifted up for songs like Walking on Air to relatively modest aerial work for Rewrite the Stars. Obviously, the likes of Manza have really redefined how these aerial numbers go at O Bar as she is distinctly talented in this area and really brings something else to the stage every single time.
Live Singing - This is another type of performance that started with guests invited to perform during big events, but has evolved to involve a lot of the regular performers. Maxie was definitely one of the first queens to sing live while performing, thus we love her rise as a performance artist post-DRPH. But there's also the addition of the O2Men to the O Bar roster. These talented lesbians really bring something else to the O Bar experience, whether during the interactive preshows they do on Thursdays and most Fridays, or in the numbers that are part of the show as a whole. Things have continued to evolve such that they actually had a concert of sorts for Valentine's Day, including some big production numbers involving the O Divas and the O Boys as support.
Featuring The O Ledge - Initially, only a few of the ledge dancers felt like they could dance as a group (typically a trio) as part of the main show. This developed into numbers where the O Diva or Divas bring some of the ledge dancers on stage as sort of human props as part of their numbers. But during specific event nights, the O Ledge also gets choreographed to dance big numbers on their own that can either be quite burlesque or, at the very least, trying to be more Magic Mike, as it were.
The Catwalk - One way to end an O Bar set is with a runway! Thus, all the O Divas come out in their best drag following some sort of theme. It's not really about the lip sync - it's just a chance for the girls (and sometimes the guys) to show off. There have been a LOT of evening gown showcases (including cases featuring particular celebrated fashion designers) or even implied categories like wings (ala Victoria's Secret) or Filipiñana.
Now for the big stuff - the group numbers that have really put O Bar on the map.
Spoken Word Numbers - RPDR has given us the "spoken word" term to help explain this sort of number that has been happening at O Bar for years. This started with those comedic remixes of lines from different movies (oh, all those "trying hard copycats" who got splashed with a drink onstage), then the Miss Universe recreations (whether funny bits from the crownings, but more likely from the Q&A portion). There is a wide range of these numbers, and when executed well, they really get the crowd rolling. Plus, it has become a good venue for political statements, thus many political figures have had drag characters created for them on the O Bar stage.
The Medley - Every O Bar performance set begins and ends with some sort of a group performance. Either all the O Divas and the O Boys perform a single song together, but a lot of times it'll involve a couple of songs arranged together to fit a theme or celebrate a particular musical artist. This can involve different combinations of O Divas and O Boys entering and exiting the stage to dance different bits, then ends with everyone on stage really showcasing how well they all dance as a group. There's low-key stuff like the Icona Pop medley that has you going all over the bar before they come together, or the very specific ones like the medleys centered around the likes of Cher or Madonna.
Broadway Recreations - Sure, some of the aforementioned Ballads will involve key songs from different stage musicals, and they can be quite emotional. But when O Bar really leans into properly staging a Broadway number, you can expect everything from distinct costumes to complex group choreography involving almost all of the O Divas and the O Boys. I'll even include the Disney tributes and recreations here, especially since they use the audio from the stage musical adaptions whenever possible. These are largely saved for big event nights, and obvious favorites include the likes of Hairspray, Wicked, Hamilton, and Kinky Boots. I absolutely love these numbers because I'm obviously a theater nerd. Musical Nights are the BEST.
Music Video/Concert Recreations - Going back to the dancing bit, a lot of work goes into capturing the essence of different music videos, concerts, and other live performances. When it comes to music videos, a fair amount of creativity is needed, especially when trying to reinterpret more surreal elements that relied on a lot of special effects in the source material. This can focus on a single musical artist as the spotlight, but it still involves a lot of support work on stage as well.
Super Bowl Numbers & Awards Shows - I know, you can argue that this could overlap with the previous category, but until you've watched this sort of thing on the O Bar stage in person, you won't know what I'm talking about. Recreating full Super Bowl halftime shows tends to involve some very creative uses of the O Bar space, along with a LOT of choreography for all the different parts. These involve multiple songs and thus different bits of choreography and props and costumes, and so many other things! It's really all hands on deck in order to get these done, and I have all the respect for the effort needed to execute this as well as they do.
I think that covers the major stuff - there are a near-infinite number of sub-types or mashups of these categories, as there are so many forms of drag and thus so many types of performance. How many of these have you seen? Which one(s) is/are your favorite? What do you hope to see more of? What did I miss?
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