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A fascatg look at the gay and lbian fluence on the Amerin stage by an ternatnally-regnized thory on the topicFrom the genteel female impersonators of the 1910s to the r drag queens of La Cage Aux Foll, om the men of The Normal Heart to the women of Fun Home, and om Eva Le Gallienne and Tallulah Bankhead to Tennsee Williams and Nathan Lane, Gays On Broadway ftly chr

Contents:

THE 10 BT GAY MILS OF ALL TIME

Gay-themed Broadway mils have e a long way the past fifty years. The on are the bt. * gay and broadway *

Why Is the Theater so Meangful to Gay People? As print and majory shareholr Jujamcyn Theaters, he ntrols five Broadway ho, makg him the New York theater world’s third-biggt landlord, and as an openly gay man, he’s also one of the cy’s most proment out bsmen.

I spoke to him on June 1, jt after Calyn Jenner’s Vany Fair ver was revealed, about how the theatergog experience is changg, why theater n be pecially meangful to gay people, and whether Broadway is too reliant on the Tonys. Your mother told New York magaze that she took you to the theater bee you were gay, and she thought theater would “ease your path. And do you remend as a parentg strategy for someone who thks their kid is gay?

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTCric’s NotebookIn recent shows, ias of gayns are expandg, bg and disappearg all at WisemanI don’t know whether was bee my parents were jt generally open-md, or bee they had a specific, kdly yet mortifyg agenda, but one of the first Broadway plays they took me to, June of 1977, was way too gay for fort.

WHY IS THE THEATER SO MEANGFUL TO GAY PEOPLE?AN INTERVIEW WH JORDAN ROTH.

In recent shows, ias of gayns are expandg, bg and disappearg all at once. * gay and broadway *

The first phas of the gay play, ccial their moment, which broadly speakg enpassed the send half of the 20th century, are over.

Some, like “A Strange Loop” and “Fat Ham, ” dramatize how the experience of racism amplifi that of homophobia, and vice fy expectatns by makg sexual orientatn a distctly sendary ncern among characters who “happen to be” gay or lbian, as “A Case for the Existence of God” and “At the Weddg.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE GREAT GAY PLAY? EVERYTHG.

Jt bee pri weekend is past don’t mean the celebratns of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people on and off Broadway are over. * gay and broadway *

When a (male) love tert enters the picture, and they sg Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” as a duet, you feel somethg new has happened, as ntroversy melts to a blissful cloud of nonbary bubble is the equalizg, homogenizg fluence of pop culture at work — an fluence that some queer people unrstandably mistst. Jackson’s “A Strange Loop” go further, makg the cross-pollatn of inty the prime source of s nflict, as the ma character nonts both the homophobia of his Black fay and the racism of his queer one.

(One of the songs is lled “Exile Gayville.

) Its body, race and orientatn issu are left a kd of stalemate that suggts what might happen if a foundatnal gay play like “The Boys the Band” (which had only one Black character) were multiplied fun hoe mirrors ad fum.

WHAT’S WH GAY MEN AND MIL THEATER?

* gay and broadway *

That the Hamlet figure, lled Juicy, is Black and gay, wh an termtent csh on a Laert-like iend, suggts that the queer theme will domate, yet don’t; “Fat Ham” is really a play about Black masculy and, even more broadly, the vlent herance all men mt renounce. ” Beltran portrays a gay Black man hopg to adopt the young girl he’s been Klwich/The New York TimMy other favore queer plays of the past year likewise offer no bands; their gay characters (there are still far too few lbian on) operate as if their gayns were mostly ternal and pletely irrelevant.

GAYS ON BROADWAY

Hunter’s heartbreakg “A Case for the Existence of God, ” that turns out to be an illn, as a gay Black man, after fosterg a ltle girl for more than three years, fds his plan to adopt her undone at the last mute.

If there are subtle ways which their sexual inti affect their character or behavr, they were too subtle for me; miss a le or two and you may not even know that gayns is a part of their makp at mak sense plays about cris that threaten to oblerate a person entirely: genr, race, orientatn and all. Francis, the closeted llege stunt “Gemi, ” probably did; if he lived through AIDS, I expect he achieved full five-star gay privilege, plete wh marriage, children and Crate & Barrel chee boards. ) What about the gay characters who, lackg whe sk, almost never appeared on mercial stag those supposed great gay play s?

Jt bee pri weekend is past don’t mean the celebratns of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people on and off Broadway are over.

NEW YEAR, FRH THEATER: 5 MT-SEE QUEER-INCLIVE NYC SHOWSSTART OFF 2020 WH STANDG OVATNS AT THE POWERFUL PLAYS {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY BRANDON VOSSJANUARY 7, 2020/8:20 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:1493PX;WIDTH:2319PX;}ONE TWO/MONIQUE CARBONIBY BRANDON VOSSJANUARY 7, 2020 / 8:20 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"NEW YEAR, FRH THEATER: 5 MT-SEE QUEER-INCLIVE NYC SHOWS","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2020-01-07T13:20:17.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2020-01-07T13:20:17.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"BRANDON VOSS","KEYWORDS":"THEATER","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}NEED A SCENE CHANGE 2020?{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAKE A ROLUTN TO SEE MORE THEATER—STARTG WH THE LGBTQ-CLIVE OFF-BROADWAY SHOWS THAT RECENTLY OPENED (OR REOPENED) FOR LIMED {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}GET ON YOUR KNEMONIQUE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE GAG? NATNAL GAY TREASURE JOHN EARLY DIRECTS EDIAN JACQUELE NOVAK’S GRIPPG SOLO SAGA ABOUT HER SPUNKY AND SHEROIC QUT TO EARN THE TLE OF “BLOWJOB QUEEN.” SAME, RIGHT? PREPARE TO BE BLOWN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE THROUGH FEBARY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}GREATER CLEMENTST. CHARL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}SAMUEL D. HUNTER’S AFFECTG TRAGEDY ABOUT SHAME AND SEND CHANC, SET A SAD AND STGGLG IDAHO TOWN, STARS JUDH IVEY AS A MG MM OWNER RAISG A TROUBLED SON AFTER HER EX-HBAND ME OUT AS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}LCT’S MZI E. NEWHOE THEATER THROUGH JANUARY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IS THIS A ROOMCAROL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}TA SATTER STAG THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE TENSE FBI QUISN THAT LED TO ERNMENT LEAKER REALY WNER’S ARRT, UNPACKG PATRTISM WH TRANS ACTORS T.L. THOMPSON AND BEC BLACKWELL RECLAIMG CIS MALE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}VEYARD THEATRE THROUGH JANUARY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ONE TWOMONIQUE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}STIRRED BY THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS HIV-POSIVE DIAGNOSIS, DONJA R. LOVE PUTS A SURREAL SP ON THE SHOCKG STATISTICS PLAGUG BLACK QUEER MEN. JAMYL DOBSON, LELAND FOWLER, AND EDWARD MAWERE SWAP {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}PERSHG SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER THROUGH JANUARY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE TH PLACEJOAN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}AN OFFBEAT SPIRUAL BELIEVER (EY CASS MCDONNELL) ENTERS AN SCTABLE RELATNSHIP WH A QUTNABLE PSYCHIC MEDIUM (RANDY DANSON) LUS HNATH’S NERVE-AZZLG MDFUCK OF A MORN GHOST {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS THROUGH JANUARY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

The heartbreakg drama tells the bgraphil story of celebrated graphic artist Alison Bechl as she disvers her sexual orientatn while tryg to unrstand how she relat to her father -- himself a closeted gay man who ms suici four months after she out.

“Sprg Awakeng” alum Gion Glick stars as Jordan Berman, the young gay hero at the center of Joshua Harmon’s relatable edy “Signifint Other. This poignant edy is “a sweet and pafully hont g-of-age story that’ll probably seem faiar to many 20-somethgs, gay or straight.

The edy tak place Pennsylvania 1973, where a young gay teen (Urie, narratn) is troduced to theater through his lol muny troupe, lead by the vivac Irene (LuPone). ” Spahn plays two characters the show, one of them beg Dean -- a gay edorial assistant workg at a notor Manhattan magaze. A morn sp on the tradnal weddg edy, “It Shoulda Been You” is the only mil on Broadway to feature a gay weddg, a lbian weddg and a straight weddg.

STEPHEN SONDHEIM LOVED HOW GAY BROADWAY’S ‘COMPANY’ REVIVAL IS, SAYS STAR MATT DOYLE

” Richard Greenberg’s Tony-wng 2003 play, “Take Me Out, ” about a baseball player who out as gay, had a Tony-wng revival on Broadway last year.

He loved opera too, which is another mon stereotype about gay men that ntas a good b of hnted Broadway together, we subscribed to opera seri, and we regularly spread a blanket out Central Park to sip Chardonnay and thrill to why? I hered a certa love of mil theater and opera om hered om other, olr gay men when he was a had hered too, and the generatn before 's culture. Lbians and gay men beme fixtur the theater.

NEW WAVE OF BLACK, GAY NARRATIV TAKG BIGGER ROLE ON NYC THEATER SCENE

Most of the theater people of his day didn't know how their culture had evolved jt knew that many of them were gay and even transgenr, not that transgenr was a word Lenny knew is that men who liked other men liked the theater. I don't have anythg agast show tun, I jt don't many gay men of my generatn and younger, tradnal gay culture is not somethg I actively we tegrate and normalize, our special cultur are fadg 're the last lks to the old rogu of the travellg theater , those ancient tradns will live on only history books.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY AND BROADWAY

Why is theater so meangful to gay people? Broadway's Jordan Roth, terviewed. .

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