Shirtless greasers, lesbian rockers & pansexual wizards: How queer are this season’s Broadway musicals?
By Bobby McGuire and Matthew Wexler
May 3, 2024 at 2:00pm
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We can’t sugarcoat it. Most of this season’s Broadway musicals left LGBTQ+ narratives at the stage door. But it is the theater, after all, which is inherently queer. Plenty of actors and creatives identify as queer, and a handful of shows squeezed that visibility into their storylines. And if they didn’t, we went looking for it.
Queerty takes a hot look at every musical that opened on Broadway this season, rating them on a totally subjective queer scale of 🏳️🌈 to 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈. The library is open!
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Eddie Redmayne, center, and the cast of “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.” Photo by Marc Brenner.
It was pretty daring stuff in 1967 to present a musical with a bisexual lead character and androgynous Emcee. Cabaret, featuring a book by Joe Masteroff, based on gay author Christopher Isherwood’s memoir about his time in Weimar Germany, has always been racy stuff that appears to get queerer with each new revival. The current production — now called Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club— takes queer to levels unseen in previous major iterations.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Everyone’s kissing everyone throughout the evening, which has become pretty tame stuff for today’s sophisticated theater audiences (or anyone wandering around Hell’s Kitchen post-show). But when Julia Cheng’s orgiastic “Two Ladies” choreography had simulated tongues in places not seen on Broadway since the seedier days of Times Square, pearls were clutched. Special shout-out to LGBTQ+ actors Ato Blankson-Wood as bi writer Clifford Bradshaw and RuPaul’s Drag Racealum Marty Lauter (Marcia Marcia Marcia!) as Kit Kat boy Victor, who also understudies Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee.
Tony nominations: 9
Harmony
(from left) Eric Peters, Blake Roman, Zal Owen, Steven Telsey, Sean Bell, and Danny Kornfeld in “Harmony.” Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
It took longtime collaborators Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman 25 years to bring Harmony to Broadway. The show is a true story about The Comedian Harmonists, an all-male singing troupe forced out of Germany at the onset of World War II. Despite a stellar cast, the show couldn’t find its groove with audiences and closed after 96 performances.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 While there’s nothing blatantly queer about Harmony, the vivid connection between the atrocities of the era and the persecution of LGBTQ+ people is clear. Add fantastic performances by queer actors Danny Kornfeld and Sean Bell, and one of our favorite allies, Julie Benko (the breakout stand-by star from Funny Girl), for a nod to visibility. Not to mention a production number in boxer shorts, black socks, and dress shoes for anyone who’s into that sort of thing.
Maleah Joi Moon (left) and Chris Lee in “Hell’s Kitchen.” Photo by Marc J. Franklin.
The Alicia Keys jukebox musicalHell’s Kitchenshines a spotlight on New York City’s queerest neighborhood in a mid-90s coming-of-age story about an angsty teen (Maleah Joi Moon) and her over-protective mother (Shoshana Bean).
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Where are the gays, you might ask? Not here, despite taking place in and around Manhattan Plaza, a 1,689-unit affordable housing apartment complex dedicated to performing artists, seniors, and people living with HIV. Book writer Kristoffer Diaz may have missed the mark, but the cast still represents, including ensemble member and dance captain Chloe O. Davis, who just published The Queen’s English, a young readers illustrated reference guide to the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions to the English language.
Tony nominations: 13
Lempicka
The cast of “Lempicka.” Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
Finally, a musical with queer lead character! Polish-born painter Tamara de Lempicka serves as inspiration for this bio-musical about her creative life and failed attempts at polyamory. LGBTQ+-identifying creatives include Carson Kreitzer (books, lyrics & original concept), Matt Gould (book and lyrics), and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 The sapphic love-making scene we’ve all been waiting for and Raja Feather Kelly’s nod to voguing (Madonna is a collector of the artist’s work) make Lempickaone of the queerest shows of the season, even if bisexuality, polyamory, and pansexuality become muddled on the artist’s palette.
Tony nominations: 3
Back to the Future
Roger Bart, left, and Casey Likes in “Back to the Future.” Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
This London import has been a hit with families and Gen Xers on date night since it opened at the Winter Garden Theater last summer — so, as you can guess, there ain’t much queer going on at Back to the Future. Still, for fans of the film franchise, there’s lots of fun to be had with Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and a flying DMC DeLorean.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Outside of the requisite line of cute chorus boys to ogle at, the queer factor on stage is non-existent. Butfor those who have fantasies of being shaken down for lunch money, the scenes with tough guy Biff might garner another half 🏳️🌈.
Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in “Guttenberg! The Musical!” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Tony Award-winner Andrew Rannells brought some very gay sensibilities to Gutenberg! The Musical!, a two-hander tuner about a pair of co-workers from a nursing home who want to put on a musical about the inventor of the printing press. In it, he played Doug, a forty-something gay man who harbors guilt over his mother’s passing, which he believes is the result of his never becoming a doctor.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈Rannells reunited with Josh Gad, his very straight former co-star from The Book of Mormon, the pair came off as a latter-day Abbot and Costello — if Abbott had a share in Fire Island Pines.
Tony nominations: 1
How to Dance in Ohio
The cast of “How to Dance in Ohio.” Photo by Curtis Brown.
Hailed by critics, How to Dance in Ohiois a sweet new musical based on a documentary about a group of young adults who work through personal challenges to attend a spring formal. Representation was center stage with an ensemble of autistic performers, including two nonbinary characters.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Although queer themes didn’t drive the story in How to Dance in Ohio, the LGBTQ+ characters wore their queerness like their own eye color — that is to say that the challenges they faced weren’t reduced to a single narrative. We missed the real-life queer visibility of Emilio Amigo, the gay psychologist who’s helped hundreds of neurodivergent people live their truth.
Tony nominations: 0
Illinoise
The cast of “Illinoise.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
A last-minute arrival on Broadway just in time for Tony consideration, Illinoise brings Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album Illinois to life through Justin Peck’s gravity-defying choreography. The collage of historical context and budding (and broken) relationships is both exhilarating and an emotional sucker punch, led by an ensemble of 15 exquisite dancers and a band sporting butterfly wings.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Aching may be the best way to describe Stevens’ album — achingly beautiful and also harrowing. Peck delivers one of the most intimate queer moments of the season with a dreamy male pas de deux between So You Think You Can Dance? season 11 winner Ricky Ubeda and Ahmad Simmons.
(from left) Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis, Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Avery Wilson in “The Wiz.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
A revival of The Wiz eases on down the road in a new production starring Wayne Brady as the title character and newcomer Nichelle Lewis making her Broadway debut as Dorothy. Does the scenic design look like it’s on loan from your high school? Sure, but Daniel Brodie’s video and projection design give it the Technicolor pop you’d expect. Even those void of a brain, heart, or courage can find something to appreciate in the uplifting production.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 It’s The Wiz, need we say more? We will … Avery Wilson as The Scarecrow does a jump split that will pull the stuffing out of your pants, and Kyle Ramar Freeman, who led the London company of A Strange Loop, also puts some sass in his step as the Lion. And what’s queerer than clicking your heels three times to get home after a night in Oz?
Tony nominations: 0
Merrily We Roll Along
(from left) Lindsay Mendez, Jonathan Groff, and Daniel Radcliffe in “Merrily We Roll Along.” Photo by Matthew Murphy
Sondheim fans have been craving another attempt at Merrily We Roll Along, one of the composer’s most famous flops, since it shuttered on Broadway in 1981 after 16 performances. Revivals have come and gone, but it took director Maria Friedman and choreographer Tim Jackson to find a cohesive way to stage the story of three longtime friends told backward.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Like most of Sondheim’s works, there’s nary a gay thread to be unstitched unless you count lead performer Jonathan Groff, but you’ll have to watch Looking on demand or squirm through the horror film Knock at the Cabinto see him in all his gay glory. Here, Groff portrays a typical white cis hetero with a penchant for cheating, though we appreciate booty-hugging pants.
Tony nominations: 7
Once Upon a One More Time
The cast of “Once Upon a One More Time.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Whoever thought it was smart to open a show boasting 20 Britney Spears hits in the summer when a good portion of Once Upon a One More Time‘s likely fan base was on Fire Island or in Provincetown might want to rethink their vocational path. This girl power jukebox musical that told the stories of fairytale heroines was smarter than it appeared at face value. Alas, ticket sales were “Toxic.” Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Although the line at the men’s room during intermission was way queerer than anything on stage, the show did feature a delightful gay subplot between Snow White’s friend Clumsy (an adorable Nathan Levy) and statuesque Prince Erudite (Ryan Steele) that melted hearts in Act II.
Jenn Colella and the cast of “Suffs.” Photo by Joan Marcus.
Shaina Taub’s original musical Suffsabout the women’s suffrage movement boasts an all-female and nonbinary cast but is infinitely more cohesive than last season’s gender-bending 1776. Out director Leigh Silverman puts her signature stamp on the musical: smartly staged and paced, and with a keen eye for how the battles of yesteryear aren’t too far off from today.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 The show’s real-life inspiration includes leading suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (Jenn Colella), who, after two marriages, took up residence with Mary Garret Hay. We get some sly hand-holding but not much else that indicates the women were more than platonic during their 38-year relationship.
Tony nominations: 6
The Outsiders
“The Outsiders.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Is it West Side Story? Is it Grease? Does it matter? S.E. Hinton’s novel first made it to the big screen with our favorite twunks of the 80s, including Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, and Matt Dillon. The musical adaptation of The Outsiders diversifies the cast, but there’s not even a casual side eye among all the fraternal bonding.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 In our dream world, besties Ponyboy Curtis (Brody Grant) and Johnny Cade (Sky-Lakota Lynch) discover their true love for one another. But reality only serves us a rain-soaked brawl drenched in toxic masculinity and a mostly-shirtless Soda Pop Curtis (Jason Schmidt).
Tony nominations: 12
The Great Gatsby
Samantha Pauly (center) and the cast of “The Great Gatsby.” Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
If you were the type who might have read between the lines in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby and saw narrator Nick’s (Noah J. Ricketts) interest in Jay Gatsby as a little bit of a man crush, you’re going to be in for a big disappointment. This musical adaptation of the book everyone read in high school has been stripped of its complex themes and turned into a very straight love story. Even any ambiguities surrounding lady golfer Jordan Baker (Samantha Pauly) have been straightwashed.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 There are a few boy/boy and girl/girl couples in choreographer Dominique Kelley’s dances for the party scenes, and there’s the character Mr. McKee, half of a swinger couple who has his eyes (and hands) on Nick in a Harlem apartment. These amount to a few fleeting gay moments, but as far as themes go, this is very much The Straight Gatsby.
Brian D’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses.” Photo by Joan Marcus.
Perhaps the best-reviewed musical of the season, Days of Wine and Roseswas also one the heaviest. Based on the 1962 film of the same name, it told the story of a young urban couple caught up in the downward spiral of drinking. There wasn’t anything gay (in both senses of the word) about this well-crafted heartbreaker of an evening.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Although devoid of any gay characters, themes, or references, hats off to out queer playwright Craig Lucas who wrote the show’s powerful book.
Tony nominations: 3
The Heart of Rock and Roll
Tommy Bracco, center, and the cast of “The Heart of Rock and Roll.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Huey Lewis and the News is the latest music catalog to find its way onto Broadway. Bobby (Corey Cott) wants to give his dreams of becoming a rocker one last shot, but will his factory job (and crush on the boss’s daughter) stand in his way? It’s not Shakespeare, but Heart of Rock and Roll is entertaining enough for those with an affinity for mullets and leg warmers.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Jonathan A. Abrams’ book drops a lesbian crumb by way of HR manager Roz (a fantastic Tamika Lawrence). Otherwise, you’ll have to look offstage to appreciate the real-life queerness of Bobby’s bandmates, Glenn (F. Michael Haynie), JJ (Raymond J. Lee), and Eli (John-Michael Lyles) — plus a special shout-out to Tommy Bracco in a Richard Simmons cameo.
Tony nominations: 0
Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Melissa Etheridge in “Melissa Etheridge: My Window.” Photo by Jenny Anderson.
Melissa Etheridge: My Window
When it comes to queer pop music icons, few are more iconic than Grammy and Academy Award winner Melissa Etheridge. Equal parts concert and confessional, Etheridge told her life story, sang hits like “Come to My Window,” “I’m the Only One,” and “If I Wanted To.” She played guitar, piano, and even drums for this near three-hour show, and her queer fanbase couldn’t get enough.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 There’s nothing like being in a theater filled largely with queer women of Etheridge’s age hear their trailblazing idol recount stories that were both unique and universal. It was as cathartic as an evening can get for queer audiences.
(from left) John Cardoza, Dorian Harewood, and Ryan Vasquez in “The Notebook.” Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Nicholas Sparks’ wistful romance was adapted into an equally heart-tugging movie starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. The characters have been divided in three for The Notebook’s musical adaptation, featuring a score by balladeer Ingrid Michaelson. Didn’t we learn our lesson with The Cher Show?
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Sure, everything doesn’t have to be gay, but Allie and Noah’s decades-long romance might be more interesting if one of them was getting some side action. An obligatory thunderstorm treats us to a shirtless Ryan Vasquez, but it’s no Take Me Out moment.
Tony nominations: 3
The Who’s Tommy
Ali Louis Bourzgui, left and the cast of “The Who’s Tommy.” Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
“Feel Me. See Me. Touch Me.” No, we’re not at Berghain, but at The Who’s Tommy, a revival of the stage adaptation of the band’s 1969 rock opera concept album. Too many degrees of separation? Not to worry, just appreciate Peter Negrini’s psychedelic video projections, Lorin Latarro’s shape-shifting choreography (the biggest Tony nomination snub of the season), and Ali Louis Bourzgui’s breakout Broadway debut (the other biggest Tony nomination snub of the season).
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 The only thing queer about the production is Tommy’s predatory uncle, who’s creeper than Matt Gaetz’s furrowed brow.
Tony nominations: 1
Monty Python’s Spamalot
The cast of the Broadway revival of “Spamalot.” Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
Since debuting in 2005, Monty Python’sSpamalot(based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail) has always been sort of a “bro show” — the kind of musical that wives don’t have to drag their husbands to. Ironically, in the middle of Act II, Sir Lancelot discovers his true nature and bursts into a big coming-out-of-the-closet number a la Peter Allen. Gay is on display, and everyone is invited to the party.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 While Spamalot’s plot and themes are almost entirely straight, the show does have a bit of a gay pedigree. The role of Sir Robin (originated by queer icon David Hyde Pierce) was played by Queerty Pride 50 Catalyst award winner Michael Urie in the most recent Broadway revival, then taken over by Jonathan Bennett.
Paul Alexander Nolan, center, and the cast of “Water for Elephants.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.
You might think that Water for Elephants, a musical about a rundown Depression-era circus, might include a little bit of everything — and you’d be partially right. Expect the requisite amount of acrobats, aerialists, and sundry carny folk, puppet versions of a dog, tiger, horse, and elephant, but not a queer character or moment in sight. Still, this stage version of the popular novel and film is beautifully realized from downbeat to curtain. But wasn’t there at least one gay that wanted to run off and join the circus?
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈 Queer points go to gay book writer Rick Elice and queer actress Isabelle McCalla (who originated half of the lesbian couple in Broadway’s The Prom). Theater nerds diving into their programs will also recognize Wade McCollum, who recently starred Off-Broadway in Make Me Gorgeous, the true story of Kenneth “Mr. Madame” Marlowe. Then there are the hunky tumbling roustabouts, whose characters appear to be straight, but one can dream.
Tony nominations: 7
Here Lies Love
Conrad Ricamora, center, and the Broadway cast of “Here Lies Love.” Photo by Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy, and Evan Zimmerman.
A musical about Imelda Marcos and the decades-long political corruption in the Philippines? Andrew Lloyd Webber gave us Evita, so why not? Featuring a score by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Lovetackled a polarized subject by turning it into a $24 million immersive spectacle designed by David Korins.
Queer scale: 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Was it queer? No. Did it have a queer sensibility? Absolutely. Those who partied at The Palladium in the 80s and 90s got the vibe, not to mention the onstage face-off between two of our favorite gay musical theater actors — Jose Llana as Ferdinand Marcos and Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino — and an entire cast of phenomenal Filipino talent.
Tony nominations: 4
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