Loud cheers and hoots filled the room as more than 300 people watched a drag show hosted by GW Pride Friday night in the Marvin Center Ballroom.

The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender student group hosted the show to culminate Out and About Week, a celebration of gay awareness.

The purpose of the show was to create a fun social atmosphere to end the week, said Josh Meyer, a GW Pride member who helped organize the event. I definitely feel we accomplished our purpose.

The rollicking show, which was cosponsored by Puss N’ Boots, a professional drag production company in the D.C. area, encouraged a lot of audience participation and interaction.

Feel free to come right up to the stage to the performers, said Baby Michaels, the event’s comical master of ceremonies from Puss N’ Boots. They won’t bite, don’t worry.

Immediately following this prompt, audience members rushed to the stage to tip the performers who lip-synched to pulsating music throughout the show. The performers, draped in flashy gowns and high heels, were encouraged by enthusiastic yells of hey sexy and you go from the crowd, a mix of GW students and community members.

Drag shows are fun, energetic and artistic, said J.J. Moser, a GW student who came to support his friend Josh Siegel, who was the only GW student performing with the drag professionals. The audience showed a lot of support for the performers and for the gay and lesbian community.

In their sparkling costumes, the performers exuded enthusiasm and spirit.

I liked the costumes a lot, freshman Vicky Ludas said. They really added a lot to the performances. They made the show a little outrageous and lots of fun.

On stage, the drag queens jammed to a variety of music from Shania Twain’s From This Moment to Willie Nelson’s To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before. The diversity of the music that backed up the choreographed performances kept the show’s energy high.

I preferred the more fast-paced songs, said Steve Truxal, a student on the GW Pride executive board. They were more upbeat and energetic.

There were several non-profit organizations who had tables set up at the show. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Latino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization along with the Millennium March on Washington for Equality were among the groups present.

The event was basically to raise awareness about the gay and lesbian community, Siegel said. It was a great way to end a week, which was full of events to raise awareness. The great audience turnout just goes to show that people really do care and will help for a good cause.

The proceeds from the show went to Food and Friends, a service organization that delivers food to homebound people with HIV and AIDS.