Oasis, San Francisco’s Premier Drag Destination, Is Ready for Its Second Act
Near the end of 2025, D’Arcy Drollinger thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top drag venues, Oasis was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat.
Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.
Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17.
“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.
Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls.
Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor.
Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air.
“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”
Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists.
“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”
Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”
Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless RuPaul’s Drag Race winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.
“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”
Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out Grand Reveal party on July 17. Princess, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more.
Out & Abt, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration Dore Alley. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, Shit & Champagne, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014.
Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.
“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”
Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17. For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its calendar.