Broadway gay show
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A surprise hit, the musical ran on Broadway for five years after its premiere at the cozy Vineyard Theatre, then returned Off Broadway to run another 10 years at New World Stages. Jackson’s wide-ranging intravaganza takes a deep dive, often barely coming up for breath, into a whirlpool of ambition and frustration as his alter ego—a would-be musical dramatist named Usher—struggles to define himself in a maelstrom of sex, race, family, body shame, religion and entertainment.
But every award is well-earned. The name Bechdel might seem familiar to many, as it is the name of the infamous Bechdel Test, a way to measure how well-represented women are in film. A headlong blast of queer energy, Hedwig is the ultimate antibinary musical, dissolving boundaries—between male and female, cis and trans, rock and roll and musical theater—in a messy, cathartic and ultimately joyful public struggle with questions of acceptance, control and self-love.
Adapted by Harvey Fierstein from a French stage comedy and film, La Cage depicts the lovingly tempestuous relationship between the manager and star of a Saint-Tropez nightclub that specializes in glitzy drag shows. As heartbroken as we all are, we can rest assured that when it does open, it'll be a hell of a show.
The Book of Mormon
Of all the shows on this list, this one is perhaps the least queer, at least on the surface.
“I feel finally seen,” Daphne says, and then “I don’t have the word for what I feel.” But she does have a whole song, “You coulda knocked me over with a feather”:
Well, I have tried to love many ladies
Back when I sang in a much lower key
Now you could knock me over with a feather cause Joe,
The lady that I’m lovin’ is me
The actor who portrays Daphne, J.
Harrison Ghee, who previously portrayed the drag queen Lola in “Kinky Boots” on Broadway, and identifies as non-binary, won a Tony this year for their performance. At the core of the story is her relationship with her fussy, controlling father, whose tormented and closeted homosexuality drives him down dark paths.
Notably, it is set at a time when the disease was claiming the lives of gay men before they even knew what it was called. Think again, my friend.
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The Color Purple was originally a novel by Alice Walker that depicted the experiences of several black girls and women in the old South each facing a unique yet interconnected struggle. "Keep it gay!" sings the flamboyant director in The Producers, and musical theater has long drawn nonstraight folks to the ranks of its creators, performers and fans.
(Gay style and consumer dollars to the rescue! But not every depiction of LGBT people needs to make us feel good about ourselves. The closeted Rod is in love with the straight (but very supportive!) Nicky, and their arc is both funny and touching. It follows a Jewish-American writer and gay activist named Ned Weeks who attempts to raise awareness around the "silent killer," against a wall of silence and apathy from those in power, a trend that continues even today when the horrific experiences of queer people of this era are brought to the forefront.
The Rocky Horror Show
An experimental, counterculture musical production that explored gender fluidity, sexuality, liberation, and freedom in the 60's, Rocky Horror is a timeless masterpiece of social commentary wrapped in a glittery bow.
Think again, my friend.
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And despite judgement and threats of censorship, those works have endured and inspired subsequent generations of artists.
From Tony Kushner's Angels in America, to Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, to the bubbly jukebox musical & Juliet—below Playbill spotlights 25 shows that showcase the many aspects of queer life.
But the queer love at the heart of the tale is relatively unknown.
The relationship between the characters Celie and Shug, boldly portrayed in the novel, has been criminally downplayed for decades with only newer adaptations depicting it in its true form.
Adapted from a 2005 English indie film, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s fizzy pop crowd-pleaser Kinky Bootstells of a struggling footwear factory rescued by a self-possessed drag queen—originally played by Billy Porter, in the role that finally made him a star—with ideas for a niche product line of outré boots.
It was named after it first appeared in her 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For as "a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper."
Bechdel's work - and life - are revolutionary and Fun Home is a glimpse into her wonderfully queer world.
The Color Purple
One of the most important aspects of the queer experience is the intersectionality of several struggles, such as race and gender, that define the fight for equality.