Less is more at ‘Broadway Bares’
Our favorite fundraiser returns to New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom on June 23. Founded in 1992 by Queerty Pride 50 Icon honoree Jerry Mitchell, the annual event has raised over $28 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
This year’s edition, Broadway Bares: Hit the Strip, draws inspiration from the luxurious world of Las Vegas. But this time, what happens in Vegas is on display in NYC. What better way to kick off NYC Pride than with over 150 scantily-clad entertainers?
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Broadway Bares: Hit the Strip, Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City. June 23.
You get an award, and YOU get an award, and YOU GET AN AWARD!
It’s theater award season, and many of our favorite queer stars are coming out to play. It wasn’t the gayest season of them all (check out our list of every Broadway musical that opened this year), but if you know where to look, you can find some rainbow gemstones.
The Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen received 13 nominations, but good luck finding queer visibility in her and book writer Kristoffer Diaz’s take on the queerest neighborhood in New York City. Head to Lempicka (prematurely closing on May 19), Suffs, or Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club if you’re looking for legit LGBTQ+ narratives.
And who needs to be nominated when you can simply win? We’ve been swooning over Alex Edelman since we saw him last summer in Just For Us. We’re not the only ones. The Tony Administration Committee thought the same, and he’s receiving a special award. Even better, you can now stream the show on Max.
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Shirtless greasers, lesbian rockers & pansexual wizards: How queer are this season’s Broadway musicals?
Most of this season’s Broadway musicals left LGBTQ+ narratives at the stage door—Queerty pries it open to discover our favorite queer moments.
Oh, the drama! — The Drama Desk Awards (given by theater critics, reporters, and editors) have announced this year’s nominations, which include Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. It’s the only critics’ organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition among Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories. Performance categories are also gender-free.
The Off-Broadway musical Dead Outlaw received 11 nominations, followed by Broadway’s The Outsiders followed with 9, and Suffs (Broadway), Stereophonic (which premiered Off-Broadway and is now playing on Broadway), and The Connector (Off-Broadway musical) all received 8.
This season’s belle of the ball, Cole Escola, will receive the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award for writing and starring in Oh, Mary!, headed to Broadway this summer.
Celebrating Bernadette Peters — The entertainment community suffered a huge loss when Chita Rivera passed away on January 24, 2024. But her memory and impact live on through the Chita Rivera Awards, which celebrate dance and choreographic excellence. Bernadette Peters will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony, presented by Joel Grey. Peters has appeared on Broadway 16 times and won three Tony Awards. She returns in April 2025 to headline Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, a tribute revue co-starring Lea Salonga.
Patti’s back
Remember when Patti LuPone quit Broadway? Old habits die hard, and the theater and film veteran (soon to appear with new bestie Joe Locke in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries) will soon be back onstage. The three-time Tony winner will star opposite Mia Farrow in The Roommate, a new comedy by Jen Silverman.
“It’s always a big decision to return to the stage, and I certainly had no intention of being back on Broadway so fast,” said LuPone. “But when I read the play and heard Mia was attached, it became the easiest decision of my life. I’ve always been a fan of Mia’s work and she is a treasured friend. We’re going to have a blast.”
The play is about two roommates from different backgrounds and how they reinvent themselves in the next chapter of their lives. According to a press release, “Being bad never felt so good.” — We can only hope!
The Roommate, Booth Theatre, New York City. Performances begin August 29.
Up close and personal with Matt Doyle
Where has Matt Doyle been since winning the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his neurotic role in the gender-bending revival of Company? We fantasized about five roles we thought the talented performer could play, but alas, none of them came true. Even better …
Doyle headed to the UK last year to star in the title role of Sinatra, a biomusical about the iconic singer, including his stratospheric rise to fame, affair with Ava Gardner, and comeback.
Critics called his performance “charismatic with a voice of honey,” and we’re not surprised. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for an announcement of a Broadway transfer. In the meantime, Doyle headlines the legendary Café Carlyle with an intimate show featuring showtunes and songs from the American Songbook.
An Evening with Matt Doyle. Café Carlyle, New York City. May 7-11.
Met Gala: Category is … “Phantom of the Opera”?
The drama unfolded last night at the annual Met Gala. The theme was “The Garden of Time,” inspired by The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s latest exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.”
The Phantom of the Opera had different ideas, though, such as posting luxurious photos from the current London production on Instagram and corresponding looks from past Met galas. This year’s Tony nominations for Best Costume Design of a Musical are stunners, including 90s hip-hop (Hell’s Kitchen), 1920s luxury (The Great Gatsby), circus road show (Water for Elephants), Weimer-era nightclub (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club) and suffragist realness (Suffs). Check them out below:
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Broadway Bares is so much fun!