Fiesta Cornyation's Court of Chaotic Wisdom promises to bring down the house at the Empire

Since it first emerged in 1951 as a parody of the upper-crust affair that is the Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo, Cornyation has evolved into a charitable enterprise that's one of the city's hottest LGBTQ+ events.

Irreverent satire of local and national politics has always been at the heart of Cornyation, and 2023's source material promises to make this year's show wackier than ever.

Dubbed The Court of Chaotic Wisdom, this year's iteration welcomes Anet Alaniz — owner of the off-kilter store Pig Liquors — as King Anchovy LVI.

And the pig references don't stop there. Making the troupe's second annual Cornyation performance, Powdered Wig Machine will collaborate with visual artist Mauro de La Tierra on a piece satirizing the world's first pig-to-human heart transplant, which occurred last year.

From there, the event promises to dive deep into even stranger territory. This year's other performers include Bridgette Norris-Sanchez, Charlemagne Scarlett, Ellis Ussery, Michelle Delgado, Ursula Zavala, Valley Ortiz, Victoria Morales and The Wizard. Eleven courts will perform skits and other entertainment for the King of Cornyation and the rest of the Cornyation court.

Not just a bawdy spectacle, the annual event has raised more than $3 million for nonprofits since its inception, benefitting the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, BEAT AIDS, the Thrive Youth Center and the Robert Rehm theater arts scholarships for high school students.

$15-$45, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 25-Thursday, April 27, Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary's St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com.

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