{"id":110300,"date":"2025-12-27T05:23:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/110300\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T05:23:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:23:15","slug":"oasis-is-saved-weeks-before-its-due-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/110300\/","title":{"rendered":"Oasis is saved weeks before it\u2019s due to close"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the clock ticked toward its final hours, drag cabaret Oasis found salvation in the form of a multimillion-dollar donation from a billionaire couple.<\/p>\n

Owner D\u2019Arcy Drollinger announced Friday that the cash infusion will allow the SoMa theater\u2019s supporting nonprofit, Oasis Arts, to purchase the club\u2019s building at 298 11th St., supporting its long-term financial viability after years of mounting losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drollinger intends to transfer ownership of the club to Oasis Arts alongside the donation. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the eleventh hour, this came through,\u201d Drollinger said. \u201cIt feels like a Hallmark movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news was first reported (opens in new tab)<\/a> by the Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oasis had been scheduled to close with a farewell performance on New Year\u2019s Eve, after years of rising costs left it firmly in the red. Now it will close Jan. 1 for an undetermined length of time to complete the deal and undertake certain renovations.<\/p>\n

Drag performers were ecstatic at the news, highlighting the decade-old venue\u2019s status as a major center for queer artists in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy for all those for whom Oasis is an oasis,\u201d Oakland-based drag king Vera Hannush said in an email. \u201cI\u2019m glad younger generations of drag performers like my drag grandchildren and great-grandchildren won\u2019t miss the opportunity to experience the magic of the space and the creatives that make it what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is amazing news to hear that Oasis will remain open. There isn\u2019t another venue like it in San Francisco, and it is home to many,\u201d drag queen Juanita MORE said in an email. \u201cThe club has brought such a wide variety of queer entertainment to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AOasis is known for irreverent drag parodies of movies and television shows like \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show\u201d and \u201cThe Golden Girls.\u201d | Source: Special to The Chronicle<\/p>\n

The tension stemmed from fears that rising ticket prices would push away young audiences. As a result, Drollinger has repeatedly covered the shortfall himself. The club\u2019s rent runs $18,000 a month, and Drollinger said he has poured $500,000 of his own money into the venue since the pandemic, draining his savings.<\/p>\n

Oasis has hosted drag shows \u201cReparations\u201d and \u201cPrincess,\u201d the Drag King Contest, and live parody shows like \u201cStar Trek Live,\u201d \u201cNine to Five,\u201d and several annual productions of \u201cThe Rocky Horror Picture Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doja Cat (opens in new tab)<\/a>, Cindy Wilson of the B-52\u2019s, Lil Nas X, and dozens of \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d performers are among the celebrities who have made appearances.<\/p>\n

Drollinger opened the club on New Year\u2019s Eve in 2015. With the donation, he hopes to expand beyond nightlife, envisioning the venue as a training ground for young queer performers.<\/p>\n

Drollinger declined to share the donation amount but identified the donors as Mary and Mark Stevens, whose son Sky Stevens is a frequent Oasis patron.<\/p>\n

\"\"Oasis owner D\u2019Arcy Drollinger has spent years floating the venue out of his own savings. | Source: D’Arcy Drollinger\/Oasis SF<\/p>\n

\u201cIn just more than a decade, Oasis has become a leader in creating new art that connects and entertains, and has become a safe space for our LGBTQ+ community in times when we\u2019ve needed it most. It is a cultural institution that has provided me, and countless others, immense joy,\u201d Sky Stevens said in a statement. \u201cMy family and I are excited to see what this next era of Oasis brings to San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drollinger said Stevens invited him to lunch this month before arranging a Zoom meeting with his parents Dec. 18.\u00a0 Drollinger said the donors were \u201cvery kind and generous,\u201d and the meeting focused on what would be required to make the operation more sustainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey felt like it was something important enough that San Francisco shouldn\u2019t lose it,\u201d Drollinger said.<\/p>\n

In addition to buying the venue, which Drollinger estimated will cost between $3.5 million and $5 million, the funds will be used for roof work, an office remodel, and hiring Oasis Arts staff to boost continuing fundraising efforts and pay performers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a renaissance for Oasis,\u201d Drollinger said. \u201cLife finds a way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the clock ticked toward its final hours, drag cabaret Oasis found salvation in the form of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[36210,2432,3743,101,103,102,104,106,105,4823,1911],"class_list":{"0":"post-110300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-cool-factory","9":"tag-drag","10":"tag-nightlife","11":"tag-san-francisco","12":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","13":"tag-san-francisco-news","14":"tag-sf","15":"tag-sf-headlines","16":"tag-sf-news","17":"tag-small-business","18":"tag-soma"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}