Velvet Circus is bringing back its haunted-mansion spectacle for one night only, and this time the ticket price does double duty. Monster Manor returns to Las Vegas on October 1 at 7 p.m., following a sold-out run, with every ticket sold funneling directly into the Sin Sity Sisters' AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which helps Southern Nevadans afford HIV and AIDS medication.
The Halloween-themed production follows Hanna, a young fruit bat trying to earn her fangs and become a vampire, who learns that the biggest monster she faces is her own fear, according to FOX5 Vegas. The show blends circus arts, cabaret, sideshow and drag inside a haunted-mansion storyline, and the full cast list released by BroadwayWorld includes aerialists Skyy, Kahn, and Spinnin Shae, flow artist Wanding Wizardess, illusionist Dyna, contortionist Cheryl Birch, dancer Kim, boylesque artist Mr. Big Stuart, sideshow performer Bugaboo the Clown, vocalist Mickey Roark, and drag clown Hanna Barbeara.
Reserved Seats and Standing Room, All Feeding One Fund
Tickets range from $10 for standing room to $20 for reserved seating, and the show takes place at The Nunnery on Liberace Avenue, per the station's report. Every dollar raised supports the Sin Sity Sisters' medication assistance work, which organizers say will help continue the program's support for people living with HIV in the region. Tickets are available through the Sin Sity Sisters website.
Leading the cast is Jesse James Jacobs, who performs as Hanna Barbeara and is known for appearances on OUTtv's Camp Wannakiki, where he won Miss Congeniality on Season 6 in 2024. Jacobs also holds a weekly drag residency at Gipsy Nightclub on Las Vegas's historic Fruit Loop and co-hosts original theater and game shows in the Arts District, according to Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine.
What the Money Actually Covers
The Sin Sity Sisters' AIDS Drug Assistance Program, known as SADAP, specifically targets low-income individuals living with HIV who earn under 400% of the federal poverty level, helping cover medication co-pays for working people who make too much to qualify for county assistance but still cannot afford out-of-pocket costs, according to the Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. That gap exists because Nevada's state-administered Medication Assistance Program, authorized under Part B of the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, enforces universal eligibility guidelines that cap financial assistance at 400% of the federal poverty level, per End HIV Nevada. Under that program, emergency referrals can process medication access within 48 hours for patients with less than seven days of supply remaining, but the strict income cap can still leave working people without adequate prescription coverage.
To date, the Sin Sity Sisters' program has provided more than $775,000 in medication assistance to Las Vegas residents, per the organization. The Nunnery, located in Las Vegas's Historic Commercial Center, serves as the order's official community headquarters, hosting meetings, workshops and benefit gatherings like Monster Manor throughout the year.
A Local Health Crisis Behind the Costume Budget
The need behind the fundraiser is backed by hard numbers. Clark County recorded 552 new HIV diagnoses in 2024, up from 508 the year before, bringing the total number of local residents living with HIV to more than 12,000, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. A study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases found that Clark County holds the highest number and rate of people living with HIV in Nevada and ranked seventh highest among all U.S. counties for new HIV diagnosis rates between 2011 and 2022, with higher-poverty ZIP codes strongly associated with lower rates of viral suppression.
The Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit order of queer nuns founded in June 2005, hosted the International Conclave of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in Las Vegas in 2025, tying the local chapter to a movement that began in San Francisco in 1979. Monster Manor is not the group's only fundraiser tied to SADAP; the Sisters also run Red Dress, an annual fundraising movement operating for more than two decades, which most recently held Red Dress 2026: Abra-RED-Dabra! in March at The Usual Place in Downtown Las Vegas, changing its dress code rules four years ago to better welcome trans and gender-diverse community members.
Casting for Monster Manor happened back in May, when organizers held open auditions seeking paid specialty acts, circus performers, sideshow artists and dancers to perform solo routines under four minutes long, according to a post from performer Skyy Belle on Facebook. All cast positions for the benefit show are paid roles governed by performer agreements. The fundraiser arrives as local LGBTQ+ health infrastructure has faced its own strain — federal grant pressures rattled a downtown Vegas clinic earlier this year — underscoring why community-driven efforts like Monster Manor continue to fill gaps that official assistance programs cannot close alone.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
