LGBTQ+

Broadway Review: “The Collaboration” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Closed Saturday, February 11, 2023)

Unlike the typical one-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle where the completed puzzle matches the image on the cover, “The Collaboration’s” dénouement and resolution are nothing like the playwright’s supposed intention when writing the script. Anthony McCarten sets us up for a scuba diving expedition. The playwright teases us into a deep-sea dive into the wreckage that is the lives of two disparate…

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Broadway Review: “Some Like It Hot” at the Shubert Theatre (Currently On)

“Some Like It Hot” a modern day, good old-fashioned musical has arrived on Broadway at The Shubert Theatre, and it delivers on all levels, making for a very enjoyable evening of musical comedy. It is based on the motion picture of the same title, but the book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin is clever, witty, and updated to reflect…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Sandra” at the Vineyard Theatre (Closed Sunday, December 18, 2022)

December 10, 2022 | LGBTQ+, Off-Broadway, on that day > | "Sandra", Carol Rosegg, costume design by Linda Cho, David Cale, David Roberts, Eliza Anastasio, Katie Ailinger, Leigh Silverman, lighting design by Thom Weaver, Marjan Neshat, Matthew Dean Marsh, scenic design by Rachel Hauck, sound design by Kathy Ruvuna, Theatre Reviews Limited, Vineyard Theatre

There are two paths to “disappearance” in David Cale’s engaging “Sandra” currently running at the Vineyard Theatre. The audience discovers that Ethan Martin’s path has been well thought out. Sandra Jones’ (Marjan Neshat) path on the other hand is completely reactive, random, and riddled with danger. Two paths diverge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the choices made by both on…

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Broadway Review: “& Juliet” at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (Currently On)

December 2, 2022 | Broadway, LGBTQ+ > | "& Juliet", Alaina Vi Maderal, Andrzej Goulding (Video & Projection Design), Ben Jackson Walker, Betsy Wolfe, Bill Sherman (Musical Supervision, Bobby "Pocket" Horner, Brandon Antonio, Brittany Nicholas, Daniel J. Maldonado, David West Read, David West Read (Book), Dominic Fallacaro (Music Director), Gareth Owen (Sound Design), Howard Hudson (Lighting Design), J. Jared Janas, Jasmine Rafael, Jennifer Weber (Choreography), Joe Moeller, Joomin Hwang, Joseph Verlezza, Justin David Sullivan, Lorna Courtney, Luke Sheppard (Direction), Matt Raffy, Matthew Murphy, Max Martin (Music and Lyrics), Max Martin and Friends, Megan Kane, Melanie La Barrie, Michael Iván Carrier, Nicholas Edwards, Nico DeJesus, Orchestrations and Arrangements), Paloma Young (Costume Design), Paulo Szot, Philippe Arroyo, Rachel Webb, Soutra Gilmour (Scenic Design), Stark Sands, Theatre Reviews Limited, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, US Casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner, Veronica Otim, Virgil Gadson

Broadway has had quite a roster of juke box musicals grace the stage in the past and it seems that this season will add a few more to the archive. Opening at The Stephen Sondheim Theatre is “& Juliet” featuring music and lyrics by Max Martin and Friends and a book by David West Read. Songs from Mr. Martin’s repertoire…

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Off-Broadway Review: The Civilians “The Unbelieving” at 59E59 Theaters (Closed Saturday, November 19, 2022)

Marin Gazzaniga’s “The Unbelieving” is based on select interviews from the 2013 book “Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind” by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola. The authors interview clergy from various denominations who have been grappling with their loss of faith in the divine and their fears of being hypocritical by not sharing their unbelief with their congregations/adherents….

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Off-Broadway Review: “A Man of No Importance” Disappoints at Classic Stage Company” (Closed Sunday, December 18, 2022)

Currently running at Classic Stage Company, “A Man of No Importance” chronicles gay middle-aged bus conductor Alfie Byrnes’s (a gloomy and dispirited Jim Parsons) struggles to claim his agency in 1960s Dublin, Ireland’s repressive homophobic environment. His sexual status defines him as a criminal; however, Alfie self-defines as an ordinary man who secretly loves Robbie Faye (a spirited and generous…

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Off-Broadway Review: “american (tele)visions” Co-Produced with Theatre Mitu at New York Theatre Workshop (Closed Sunday, October 16, 2022)

There is too much noise on the set of Victor I. Cazares’s “american (tele)visions” currently running at New York Theatre Workshop (co-produced with Theatre Mitu). Although that noise comes from what is certainly a dynamic and innovative set design by Bretta Gerecke and a clever technical design by Theatre Mitu’s Justin Nestor, Alex Hawthorn, and Kelly Colburn, it unfortunately masks…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Kinky Boots” at Stage 42 (Currently On)

August 29, 2022 | joseph verlezza, joseph verlezza reviews, LGBTQ+, Off-Broadway > | Bella Coppola, Brianna Stoute, Callum Francis, Christian Douglas, costume design by Gregg Barnes, Cyndi Lauper, Danielle Hope, David J. Socolar, Devin Bowles, Ebrin R. Stanley, Ernest T. Williams, hair design by Josh Marquette, Harvey Fierstein, Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald, Jerry Mitchell, Joseph Verlezza, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Kinky Boots, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, Lindsay Joan, Liz Pearce, Lucas Pastrana, make-up design by Darion Matthews, Marcus Neville, Maria Wirries, Marty Lauter, Matt Murphy, Matthew Michael Janisse, music direction by Will Van Dyke, Nick Drake, Primary Stages, Ricky Schroeder, Ryah Nixon, Ryan Halsaver, scenic design by David Rockwell, Sean Steele, sound design by Gareth Owen, Stage 42, Stephen Oremus, Tarion Strong, Theatre Reviews Limited, Tommy Martinez

Theatergoers who missed the successful Broadway production of “Kinky Boots” should make their way to Stage 42 for the Off-Broadway revival which will be sure to please. A more condensed version of the original does not compromise the structure or diminish any of the crucial themes of the story. It is actually quite a different experience because of the intimacy…

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Off-Broadway Review: Primary Stages’ “On That Day in Amsterdam at 59E59 Theaters (Through Sunday, September 4, 2022)

Promising a touching love story following a one-nightstand encounter in Amsterdam, Clarence Coo’s “On That Day in Amsterdam” (currently on at 59E59 Theaters) delivers instead a convoluted story of risk, disenfranchisement, immigration policy, art history, and duplicity that has little to do with the narrative’s main characters. This is unfortunate given the actors are outstanding, the direction first-rate, and the…

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Off-Broadway Review: The Public Theater and National Black Theatre (NBT) Production of “Fat Ham” at the Public’s Anspacher Theater (Closed Sunday, July 31, 2022)

June 29, 2022 | a christmas carol, black no, hamlet, LGBTQ+, Off-Broadway, public, public theater > | "Fat Ham", Adrianna Mitchell, Alexandria Brienne Lewis, Anspacher Theater, Benja Kay Thomas, Billy Eugene Jones, Calvin Leon Smith, Choreography by Darrell Moultrie, Chris Herbie Holland, Costume design by Dominique Fawn Hill, David Roberts, Fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky, Hair and wig design by Earon Nealey, Illusions design by Skylar Fox, James iJames, Jereme Kyle serves as the Production Stage Manager, Joan Marcus, Lighting design by Stacey Derosier, Marcel Spears, Marquis D. Gibson, Matthew Elijah Webb, National Black Theatre, NBT, Nikki Crawford, Prop management by Claire M. Kavanah, Public Theater, RJ Foster, Ryan Kane serves as the Stage Manager, Saheem Ali, Scenic design by Maruti Evans, Sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman, Tanesha Gary, Theatre Reviews Limited

Things are going as well as they can as Juicy (a pensive, smart, and gay Marcel Spears who is thicc, beautiful, and lonely) and his cousin and oldest friend Tio (a relaxed and clever Chris Herbie Holland who is a stoner) set up for what appears to be his mother’s wedding reception at her house in North Carolina. Earlier in…

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