Marcel Spears on playg a Black, gay Hamlet Broadway show "Fat Ham" - CBS News

Contents:

• BROADWAY'S CHRISTIAN DANTE WHE MAK BLACK GAY HISTORY MY FAIR LADY
• BILLY PORTER IS FIRST OPENLY GAY BLACK MAN TO W EMMY FOR LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
• NEW WAVE OF BLACK, GAY NARRATIV TAKG BIGGER ROLE ON NYC THEATER SCENE
• MRICE H HAS BEEN SHOWBIZ FOR 70 YEARS. HE'S SPENT NONE OF THEM THE CLOSET.THE BLACK GAY BROADWAY TRIPLE THREAT TAP-DANCED SO THAT ACTORS LIKE BILLY PORTER ULD {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;}MOVIBY CARLA HAYNOVEMBER 5, 2019/12:36 {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:2594PX;WIDTH:2258PX;}JAM J. KRIEGSMANNGREGORY H (L) AND MRICE H THE 1960S.BY CARLA HAYNOVEMBER 5, 2019 / 12:36 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MRICE H HAS BEEN SHOWBIZ FOR 70 YEARS. HE'S SPENT NONE OF THEM THE CLOSET.","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2019-11-05T17:36:04.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2019-11-05T17:36:04.000+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":"CARLA HAY","ARTICLESECTN":"MOVI"}{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;}LONG BEFORE BILLY PORTER AND TS BURGS FOUND FAME ON BROADWAY AND ON TV, MULTALENTED ENTERTAER MRICE H JR. HELPED PAVE THE WAY FOR FABULO, OPENLY GAY BLACK MEN SHOWBIZ. THE NEW DOCUMENTARY MRICE H: BRG THEM BACK PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIM WHILE OFFERG SOME SURPRISG REVELATNS ABOUT HIS LIFE BEYOND HIS REER AS AN ACPLISHED DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER, THEATER DIRECTOR, AND STAR OF SUCH BROADWAY PRODUCTNS AS EUBIE!, SOPHISTITED LADI, UPTOWN… IT’S HOT!, AND HOT FEET. DIRECTED BY JOHN CARLUCC, THE FILM IS REALLY A STORY ABOUT FAY, RISK-TAKG, AND THE HIGHS AND LOWS THAT E WH ANY JOURNEY TOWARD SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND PERSONAL {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;}BRG THEM BACK PATS A PORTRA OF A SASSY, CHARMG, AND BTALLY HONT TRAILBLAZER WHO TAPPED HIS WAY TO THE SPOTLIGHT THE 1950S AND '60S. H, WHO'S BEEN PERFORMG SCE HE WAS 5, IS QUICK TO REMD FOLKS JT HOW CUTE AND SPECIAL HE IS, BUT HE'S ALSO BEEN A LONGTIME PROPONENT OF THE MANTRA “NEVER LET ANYONE FE WHO YOU ARE." AT TIM, HE IS PRICKLY, MANDG, AND PLITED. SCEN OF HIS ROCKY RELATNSHIP WH HIS SUCCSFUL YOUNGER BROTHER GREGORY (WHO DIED OF NCER 2003) PACK SOME OF THE DOC'S BIGGT EMOTNAL PUNCH, AND WHILE HE HAS A LOYAL, LOVG CIRCLE OF FAY AND IENDS—SOME OF HIS ILLTR PALS TERVIEWED CLU DEBBIE ALLEN AND CHA RIVERA—HE HAS ALSO EXHIBED RECLIVE TENNCI AS HE'S ALT WH AGG (HE TURNS 76 NEXT MONTH).JOHN CARLUCCMRICE {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;}MRICE {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;}“HE’S FLASHY, BUT HE’S ALSO SHY ABOUT RECEIVG PRAISE,” SAYS CARLUCC'S WIFE, TRACY E. HOPKS, WHO WROTE THE FILM AND SERVED AS ONE OF S PRODUCERS. (H WILL SEE THE DOCUMENTARY S ENTIRETY FOR THE FIRST TIME AT S WORLD PREMIERE THIS WEEK AT DOC NYC.) CARLUCC ADDS THAT HE WANTED TO AVOID THE BIG GAY MOVIE CLICHé WHICH THE SUBJECT'S SEXUALY ISN’T REVEALED UNTIL NEAR THE END. “I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU KNEW RIGHT OFF THE BAT THAT MRICE IS GAY, AND THAT YOU MOVED BEYOND ."{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;}HERE, CARLUCC AND HOPKS DISCS FOUR OTHER THGS VIEWERS WILL LEARN ABOUT H WHILE WATCHG THE {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;}HE WAS NEVER THE CLOSET, AND HIS SHOWBIZ FAY ALWAYS ACCEPTED HIS {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;}FOR MOST OF H’ LIFE, LGBTQ RIGHTS WERE NONEXISTENT, AND BEG AN OPENLY GAY BLACK MAN MEANT THAT HE WAS AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH RISK OF BEG FIRED OR ASSLTED. IN THE DOCUMENTARY, HE SAYS HIS MOTHER KNEW HE WAS GAY BEFORE HE TOLD HER, AND THAT HE WOULD SUALLY DISCS HIS LOVE LIFE WH HIS FATHER. HIS STRAIGHT BROTHER GREGORY, ALSO A PERFORMER, ED TO GO TO GAY CLUBS WH MRICE AND HAD NO HANGUPS ABOUT DANCG WH GAY MEN. BASILLY, H' FAY WAS "WOKE" S BEFORE BEG WOKE WAS A {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;}“WE WERE A LTLE SURPRISED HIS FAY WAS SO ACCEPTG,” HOPKS SAYS. “HE’S LIKE, ‘I’M MRICE. I JT HAPPEN TO BE GAY—AND I'M LOVG .’ PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THAT ABOUT HIM—THAT HE’S OPEN AND SECURE AND NFINT WHO HE IS.”SHAHAR AZRAN/WIREIMAGEMRICE H DURG APOLLO CLUB HARLEM AT THE APOLLO THEATER ON FEBARY 18, 2013 NEW YORK CY. {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;}H PERFORMG AT APOLLO CLUB HARLEM AT THE APOLLO THEATER ON FEBARY 18, {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;}HE ED TO DATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER—AND STILL LIK WELL-BUILT {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;}IN THE DOCUMENTARY, H TAILS HIS TASTE MEN: “I LIKE FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE BT… PECIALLY LEMEN. IF THEY’VE GOT BIG LV, WE’RE GOG TO TALK.” HE ADDS THAT HE’S DATED A LOT OF PRO FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE PAST (HE WON'T NAME NAM), EXPLAG, "THEY JT FELL LOVE WH ME.” THE MOVIE ALSO SHOWS HIM FLIRTG WH A YOUNG, STOCKY BLACK MERAMAN WHO'S PART OF THE CREW. “I’M 75, BABY,” HE SAYS, LGHG AS HE SIZ HIM UP. “I SAY EXACTLY WHAT I NEED.”{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;}HOWEVER, CARLUCC ASSERTS THAT H PREFERS TO BE DISCREET ABOUT HIS EX-LOVERS. “HE’S STILL A LTLE PROTECTIVE OF HIS PRIVATE 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;}H WILL NEVER REVEAL THE REASON HE AND HIS BROTHER WERE TRANGED FOR SEVERAL {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;}FAY MEMBERS AND CLOSE IENDS TERVIEWED THE MOVIE ALL NFIRM WHAT H SAYS THE FILM: HE REF TO TELL ANYONE WHY HE AND GREGORY—WHO HAD ON-AGA, OFF-AGA FDS—STOPPED SPEAKG TO EACH OTHER FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, EVEN WHEN THEY LIVED JT A FEW BLOCKS OM EACH {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 LAST TIME THE TWO BROTHERS DANCED TOGETHER PUBLIC WAS DIRECTOR FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA’S 1984 FILM THE COTTON CLUB, WHICH WAS MRICE’S FILM {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{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;}IN THE MOVIE, THEY PLAY TRANGED, TAP-DANCG BROTHERS WHO RENCILE—AND LUCKILY, THE LATE 1990S, MRICE AND GREGORY MEND THEIR REAL-LIFE RELATNSHIP. SAYS CARLUCC, “I HOPE PEOPLE WHO WATCH THE FILM WHO ARE GOG THROUGH SOME KD OF DIFFICULT FAY DYNAMIC N SEE THEMSELV AND MAYBE SEE BOTH SIS.”{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;}HE HAS AN ADOPTED DGHTER NAMED CHERYL {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;}IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME, H ADOPTED WHEN GAY ADOPTN WASN’T ACCEPTED MOST STAT. HE AND HIS DOMTIC PARTNER SILAS DAVIS, WHO WAS A RELATNSHIP WH H OM 1979 TO 1996, RAISED DAVIS’ DGHTER CHERYL TOGETHER, AND H EVENTUALLY ADOPTED HER AS A -PARENT. CHERYL APPEARS THE MOVIE AND STILL HAS A LOVG RELATNSHIP WH H, EVEN THOUGH HER FATHERS ARE NO LONGER {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;}MRICE H: BRG THEM BACK WILL HAVE S WORLD PREMIERE NOVEMBER 10 AT DOC {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;}MA IMAGE: GREGORY H (L) AND MRICE H PERFORMG THE {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
• MARCEL SPEARS ON PLAYG A BLACK, GAY HAMLET BROADWAY SHOW "FAT HAM"
• BILLY PORTER ON HOW 'POSE' TURNED AROUND HIS CAREER AS AN 'OUT, BLACK, GAY ACTOR'
• THE 10 BT GAY MILS OF ALL TIME
• A STRANGE LOOP GETS INTO THE MD OF ITS BLACK GAY PROTAGONIST
• MEET THE ALL-STAR, ALL-GAY ST OF BROADWAY'S UPG REVIVAL OF THE BOYS THE BAND
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY THEATER, THREE ACTS

BROADWAY'S CHRISTIAN DANTE WHE MAK BLACK GAY HISTORY MY FAIR LADY

And most recently My Fair Lady, where he played the highly veted role of Eliza Doolle's suor Freddy Eynsford-Hill, beg the first out gay Black man to play the part on Broadway. Gog meta is all the rage films lately (go see Everythg Everywhere All at Once immediately), and that’s also the se on Broadway, where the very meta mil A Strange Loop garnered 11 nomatns at the 75th Tony mil, which won the Pulzer Prize for drama 2020 before even got to Broadway, is about a Black gay man wrg a mil about a Black gay man who is, you gused, also wrg a mil. The genr-swapped Company, which featur a gay married uple, nabbed ne nomatns, cludg for gay in Patti Lupone and Matt Doyle, one half of the aforementned uple who sgs Sondheim’s tongue twister, “Not Gettg Married.

The show’s -creator and -director Toby Marlow is openly gay and was also regnized for his ntributns to theater when he and -director Lucy Moss were regnized as part of Them’s 2021 Now List. A new movement is takg centerstage on and off Broadway — and jt time for Pri productns wh Black and gay narrativ are no longer the unrstudi on the New York theater clu the Tony-nomated h mil “A Strange Loop” and baseball-themed play “Take Me Out, ” the 2022 Pulzer Prize-wng “Fat Ham, ” the sightful Off-Broadway dramas “soft” and “what the end will be, ” as well as the Theater Row adaptatn of “B-Boy Blu.

BILLY PORTER IS FIRST OPENLY GAY BLACK MAN TO W EMMY FOR LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA

"A Strange Loop" Cultural cric E Wilbek, the founr of Native Son, a New York Cy-based nonprof created to spire and empower Black gay and queer men, lls the spate of shows “a new revolutn. ”E Wilbek (Warll Malloy)“The bety of this Black queer theater revolutn is that creat reprentatn of Black gay and queer men as human begs wh full liv, emotnal pth and stori that touch your soul, ” Wilbek said. What the end will be Roundabout at Lra Pels TheatreIn Mansa Ra’s touchg new edy, the faial dynamics of three generatns of gay Black men e to a head when the teenager (Gerald Caar) out to his closeted father (Emerson Brooks) and the recently widowed grandfather (Keh Randolph Smh) — stricken wh stage 4 bone ncer — mov wh them and cis to take his mortaly to his own hands.

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

Jackson’s Pulzer Prize-wng mil edy foc on a Black gay wrer who works as a Broadway theater her while traversg the ups and downs of datg and workg New York. "Here, Carlucc and Hopks discs four other thgs viewers will learn about H while watchg the was never the closet, and his showbiz fay always accepted his most of H’ life, LGBTQ rights were nonexistent, and beg an openly gay black man meant that he was at an extremely high risk of beg fired or asslted. In the documentary, he says his mother knew he was gay before he told her, and that he would sually discs his love life wh his father.

”He has an adopted dghter named Cheryl another example of how he was ahead of his time, H adopted when gay adoptn wasn’t accepted most stat. Thanks to the shownners drivg thentic stori, filmmakers buckg s-old heteronormative paradigms, actors embolned to live more hontly and platforms bankrollg so much of , beg gay, queer, transgenr or any other other has never been more wily embraced the entertament s gural Pri issue, The Hollywood Reporter homed on the talent and makers helpg boost visibily and creatg opportuni for members of the extend LGBTQ muny.

After more than a of Watch What Happens Live Wh Andy Cohen, where he beme the first openly gay host Amerin late night, Bravo's exec turned talent tackl all kds of media (SiriXM show Rad Andy, multiple books), while upliftg and advotg for the LGBTQ muny. Puttg his stamp on The Ln Kg — he played Timon to great acclaim the billn-dollar-earng Disney reboot — the out-and-proud funnyman will next play Matt Ddge  Amerin Crime Story: Impeachment while his upg Judd Apatow-produced feature at Universal is set to be the first gay rom- om a major stud.

MRICE H HAS BEEN SHOWBIZ FOR 70 YEARS. HE'S SPENT NONE OF THEM THE CLOSET.THE BLACK GAY BROADWAY TRIPLE THREAT TAP-DANCED SO THAT ACTORS LIKE BILLY PORTER ULD {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;}MOVIBY CARLA HAYNOVEMBER 5, 2019/12:36 {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:2594PX;WIDTH:2258PX;}JAM J. KRIEGSMANNGREGORY H (L) AND MRICE H THE 1960S.BY CARLA HAYNOVEMBER 5, 2019 / 12:36 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MRICE H HAS BEEN SHOWBIZ FOR 70 YEARS. HE'S SPENT NONE OF THEM THE CLOSET.","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2019-11-05T17:36:04.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2019-11-05T17:36:04.000+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":"CARLA HAY","ARTICLESECTN":"MOVI"}{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;}LONG BEFORE BILLY PORTER AND TS BURGS FOUND FAME ON BROADWAY AND ON TV, MULTALENTED ENTERTAER MRICE H JR. HELPED PAVE THE WAY FOR FABULO, OPENLY GAY BLACK MEN SHOWBIZ. THE NEW DOCUMENTARY MRICE H: BRG THEM BACK PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIM WHILE OFFERG SOME SURPRISG REVELATNS ABOUT HIS LIFE BEYOND HIS REER AS AN ACPLISHED DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER, THEATER DIRECTOR, AND STAR OF SUCH BROADWAY PRODUCTNS AS EUBIE!, SOPHISTITED LADI, UPTOWN… IT’S HOT!, AND HOT FEET. DIRECTED BY JOHN CARLUCC, THE FILM IS REALLY A STORY ABOUT FAY, RISK-TAKG, AND THE HIGHS AND LOWS THAT E WH ANY JOURNEY TOWARD SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND PERSONAL {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;}BRG THEM BACK PATS A PORTRA OF A SASSY, CHARMG, AND BTALLY HONT TRAILBLAZER WHO TAPPED HIS WAY TO THE SPOTLIGHT THE 1950S AND '60S. H, WHO'S BEEN PERFORMG SCE HE WAS 5, IS QUICK TO REMD FOLKS JT HOW CUTE AND SPECIAL HE IS, BUT HE'S ALSO BEEN A LONGTIME PROPONENT OF THE MANTRA “NEVER LET ANYONE FE WHO YOU ARE." AT TIM, HE IS PRICKLY, MANDG, AND PLITED. SCEN OF HIS ROCKY RELATNSHIP WH HIS SUCCSFUL YOUNGER BROTHER GREGORY (WHO DIED OF NCER 2003) PACK SOME OF THE DOC'S BIGGT EMOTNAL PUNCH, AND WHILE HE HAS A LOYAL, LOVG CIRCLE OF FAY AND IENDS—SOME OF HIS ILLTR PALS TERVIEWED CLU DEBBIE ALLEN AND CHA RIVERA—HE HAS ALSO EXHIBED RECLIVE TENNCI AS HE'S ALT WH AGG (HE TURNS 76 NEXT MONTH).JOHN CARLUCCMRICE {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;}MRICE {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;}“HE’S FLASHY, BUT HE’S ALSO SHY ABOUT RECEIVG PRAISE,” SAYS CARLUCC'S WIFE, TRACY E. HOPKS, WHO WROTE THE FILM AND SERVED AS ONE OF S PRODUCERS. (H WILL SEE THE DOCUMENTARY S ENTIRETY FOR THE FIRST TIME AT S WORLD PREMIERE THIS WEEK AT DOC NYC.) CARLUCC ADDS THAT HE WANTED TO AVOID THE BIG GAY MOVIE CLICHé WHICH THE SUBJECT'S SEXUALY ISN’T REVEALED UNTIL NEAR THE END. “I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU KNEW RIGHT OFF THE BAT THAT MRICE IS GAY, AND THAT YOU MOVED BEYOND ."{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;}HERE, CARLUCC AND HOPKS DISCS FOUR OTHER THGS VIEWERS WILL LEARN ABOUT H WHILE WATCHG THE {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;}HE WAS NEVER THE CLOSET, AND HIS SHOWBIZ FAY ALWAYS ACCEPTED HIS {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;}FOR MOST OF H’ LIFE, LGBTQ RIGHTS WERE NONEXISTENT, AND BEG AN OPENLY GAY BLACK MAN MEANT THAT HE WAS AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH RISK OF BEG FIRED OR ASSLTED. IN THE DOCUMENTARY, HE SAYS HIS MOTHER KNEW HE WAS GAY BEFORE HE TOLD HER, AND THAT HE WOULD SUALLY DISCS HIS LOVE LIFE WH HIS FATHER. HIS STRAIGHT BROTHER GREGORY, ALSO A PERFORMER, ED TO GO TO GAY CLUBS WH MRICE AND HAD NO HANGUPS ABOUT DANCG WH GAY MEN. BASILLY, H' FAY WAS "WOKE" S BEFORE BEG WOKE WAS A {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;}“WE WERE A LTLE SURPRISED HIS FAY WAS SO ACCEPTG,” HOPKS SAYS. “HE’S LIKE, ‘I’M MRICE. I JT HAPPEN TO BE GAY—AND I'M LOVG .’ PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THAT ABOUT HIM—THAT HE’S OPEN AND SECURE AND NFINT WHO HE IS.”SHAHAR AZRAN/WIREIMAGEMRICE H DURG APOLLO CLUB HARLEM AT THE APOLLO THEATER ON FEBARY 18, 2013 NEW YORK CY. {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;}H PERFORMG AT APOLLO CLUB HARLEM AT THE APOLLO THEATER ON FEBARY 18, {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;}HE ED TO DATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER—AND STILL LIK WELL-BUILT {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;}IN THE DOCUMENTARY, H TAILS HIS TASTE MEN: “I LIKE FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE BT… PECIALLY LEMEN. IF THEY’VE GOT BIG LV, WE’RE GOG TO TALK.” HE ADDS THAT HE’S DATED A LOT OF PRO FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE PAST (HE WON'T NAME NAM), EXPLAG, "THEY JT FELL LOVE WH ME.” THE MOVIE ALSO SHOWS HIM FLIRTG WH A YOUNG, STOCKY BLACK MERAMAN WHO'S PART OF THE CREW. “I’M 75, BABY,” HE SAYS, LGHG AS HE SIZ HIM UP. “I SAY EXACTLY WHAT I NEED.”{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;}HOWEVER, CARLUCC ASSERTS THAT H PREFERS TO BE DISCREET ABOUT HIS EX-LOVERS. “HE’S STILL A LTLE PROTECTIVE OF HIS PRIVATE 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;}H WILL NEVER REVEAL THE REASON HE AND HIS BROTHER WERE TRANGED FOR SEVERAL {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;}FAY MEMBERS AND CLOSE IENDS TERVIEWED THE MOVIE ALL NFIRM WHAT H SAYS THE FILM: HE REF TO TELL ANYONE WHY HE AND GREGORY—WHO HAD ON-AGA, OFF-AGA FDS—STOPPED SPEAKG TO EACH OTHER FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, EVEN WHEN THEY LIVED JT A FEW BLOCKS OM EACH {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 LAST TIME THE TWO BROTHERS DANCED TOGETHER PUBLIC WAS DIRECTOR FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA’S 1984 FILM THE COTTON CLUB, WHICH WAS MRICE’S FILM {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;POSN:RELATIVE;PADDG-BOTTOM:56.49999999999999%;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;POSN:ABSOLUTE;HEIGHT:100% !IMPORTANT;WIDTH:100% !IMPORTANT;}{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;}IN THE MOVIE, THEY PLAY TRANGED, TAP-DANCG BROTHERS WHO RENCILE—AND LUCKILY, THE LATE 1990S, MRICE AND GREGORY MEND THEIR REAL-LIFE RELATNSHIP. SAYS CARLUCC, “I HOPE PEOPLE WHO WATCH THE FILM WHO ARE GOG THROUGH SOME KD OF DIFFICULT FAY DYNAMIC N SEE THEMSELV AND MAYBE SEE BOTH SIS.”{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;}HE HAS AN ADOPTED DGHTER NAMED CHERYL {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;}IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME, H ADOPTED WHEN GAY ADOPTN WASN’T ACCEPTED MOST STAT. HE AND HIS DOMTIC PARTNER SILAS DAVIS, WHO WAS A RELATNSHIP WH H OM 1979 TO 1996, RAISED DAVIS’ DGHTER CHERYL TOGETHER, AND H EVENTUALLY ADOPTED HER AS A -PARENT. CHERYL APPEARS THE MOVIE AND STILL HAS A LOVG RELATNSHIP WH H, EVEN THOUGH HER FATHERS ARE NO LONGER {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;}MRICE H: BRG THEM BACK WILL HAVE S WORLD PREMIERE NOVEMBER 10 AT DOC {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;}MA IMAGE: GREGORY H (L) AND MRICE H PERFORMG THE {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

Creator of the NBC s One Big Happy and her own YouTube talk show This Jt Out, Feldman recently ma her Netflix edy outright queer, as Dead to Me's sophomore season revealed a lead character to be bisexual. Levy, who -created the show wh dad Eugene, earned legns of admirers fans and crics alike for craftg a same-sex love story a seri that was ee of homophobia. Watchg Rickie Vasquez, a gay character played by an openly gay actor, Wilson Cz, certaly felt like the most hont and rpectful portrayal of a gay teen I had ever seen.

MARCEL SPEARS ON PLAYG A BLACK, GAY HAMLET BROADWAY SHOW "FAT HAM"

I'LL FEEL GOOD ABOUT HOLLYWOOD'S LGBTQ REPRESENTATION WHEN "When 'gay actor, ' 'gay director, ' 'gay wrer, ' 'gay story, ' et cetera, are no longer labels even worth mentng. In addn to speakg, and sgg, publicly about his own gay relatnships, Platt plays bi on The Polician — acuntg for several of the seri' many entangled LGBTQ romanc.

The Pose star beme the first openly gay black man to w the dramatic lead actor Emmy 2019, the year he turned heads for butg genr-ntral red rpet looks. The show will leave a legacy of thentic pictns of sexualy — cludg scen volvg gay character Lnel (DeRon Horton), moled after Simien himself. ' Yet, is still all too rare to fd — or produce Hollywood — stori where the humany of gay black men is not qutn, but is a given and is central to the story.

BILLY PORTER ON HOW 'POSE' TURNED AROUND HIS CAREER AS AN 'OUT, BLACK, GAY ACTOR'

LGBTQ STORY I'D LOVE TO SEE ONSCREEN "Would feature gay women of lor livg and lovg a three-dimensnal way, whout the imposn of polics. In 2019, the bisexual actor uld be seen as French New Wave in Jean Seberg Venice premiere tle Seberg, as a secret agent Sony's Charlie's Angels reboot and on a particularly gay episo of SNL. The queer Salvadoran edian translated the handful of breakout Saturday Night Live scen he wrote to multiple als at HBO — where he buted the edy special My Favore Shap  2019 and is readyg season two of Los Espookys, the half-Spanish, half-English, entirely absurd edy which he stars as the gay heir to a cholate fortune.

THE 10 BT GAY MILS OF ALL TIME

After 45 seasons, 's hard to believe there are any firsts left for Saturday Night Live — but Yang arrived at 30 Rock 2019 as the st's first Che Amerin stmember and only s third openly gay male.

A STRANGE LOOP GETS INTO THE MD OF ITS BLACK GAY PROTAGONIST

Led by a lossal, virtuoso performance om Larry Owens—not to mentn anchored by an all-Black, all-queer ensemble of multalented, triple-threat featured players—A Strange Loop (now extend through July 28) is a sgular, semal Bildungsroman that sts a subversive, cril third eye on both mastream and her regns of the Black gay Amerin experience that had not been shown before. The show follows Usher (Owens), a young, NYU-ted, overweight Black gay man workg as an her at a long-nng Broadway mil and stgglg to wre a mil about a young, NYU-ted, overweight Black gay man workg as an her at a long-nng Broadway mil and stgglg to wre a mil (hence the loop the tle). ” Namg Angels Ameri, The Boys the Band, and Torch Song, all of which were wrten by whe gay men, O’Hara remarked, “There’s too many whe gay people, particularly whe gay men and their stggle beg whe and gay and male.

Though theatre pris self on beg a space for outsts, and most of s preement artists are gay men, their visibily often at the expense of other members of the LGBTQ muny. In the theatre, LGBTQ plays have often centered solely on the experience of gay whe cis-men and (only recently) cis-women, while people of lor war the margs for mastream acclaim. Whether ’s about the gay civil rights movement (Mart Crowley’s semal The Boys In The Band, Dt Lance Black’s 8), the HIV/AIDS epimic (Larry Kramer’s five The Normal Heart, Tony Khner’s inic Angels Ameri, William Fn’s nrotic Falsettos) or munal hered trma (Moisés Kfman’s triumphant docudrama The Laramie Project, Matthew Lopez’s Broadway-bound The Inherance), gay whe men have domated queer stori, creatg nuanced characters and beg the epicenter of the narrativ of LGBTQ culture.

In 2017, Pew found that younger, non-whe, and low-e people (lower middle-class people of lor) were more likely to self-intify as LGBTQ than wh, bunkg the myth that Blacks and Latos are overwhelmgly homophobic.

MEET THE ALL-STAR, ALL-GAY ST OF BROADWAY'S UPG REVIVAL OF THE BOYS THE BAND

"I have felt everythg Usher has felt, but is not an appl-to-appl parison, " the Detro native feels secury and, at tim, downright self-loathg, often ed by the rejectn and cricism he's experienced om var people his life, such as his homophobic parents, who wish he'd "wre a nice, clean Tyler Perry-like gospel play. "There's somethg about the specificy and honty of this show that really strik me, " says John-Andrew Morrison, who plays Thought 4 and sgs the song "Perdilly, " which Usher's mother lls on him to renounce beg gay. Army pta vtigatg a btal murr; a scrappy boxer fightg for regnn and remptn; a slick rerd producer fakg his way to the top; and a young gay man navigatg his way through church, bars and motel rooms.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY THEATER, THREE ACTS

Robert O’Hara’s semi-tobgraphil subversive edy weav together scen, sermons, sketch, and darg meta-theatrics to create a kaleidospic portrayal of growg up gay and Black.

When W, a young fashn signer om 2017, buys an abandoned buildg the French Quarter of New Orleans, he fds himself transported to the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant seventi gay bar. In an terview wh the BBC, the Grammy wner said that he never planned on g out as gay and always thought he'd take the tth of his sexualy to his grave. "I was so overe wh this profound sense of relief when I realized that I'm gay — not bi, not pan, but gay — wh a romantic love for women, " they told Wonrland.

"A Strange Loop, " the Broadway mil that's drawn rave reviews and earned 11 Tony nomatns, centers on a very unlikely lead character: A young Black gay man named Usher who is workg as an her at a Broadway show, and is wrg a mil about a young Black gay man named Usher who is workg as an her at a Broadway show – all while cyclg through his own entire show – book, mic and lyrics – was wrten by 41-year-old Michael R. " The thoughts – all played by actors who scribe themselv as queer – also morph to members of Usher's fay, who (as Jackson's own fay once did) stggle wh his beg gay and a buddg playwright. I am lyg on the uch, I dream that I'm flyg Flappg both my wgs so hard to keep me om dyg Wh a crown of godforsaken thorns on my head Like all those Black gay boys I knew who chose to go on back to the Lord And all those Black gay boys I knew who chose to go on back to the Lord All those Black gay boys I knew who chose to go on back to the LordI'm one of those Black gay boys I knew who chose to turn his back on the Lord Instead.