LGBTQ news and entertainment
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics kicked off Pride Month by bestowing Prince Faggot and Ragtime top honors in the group’s 4th annual Dorian Theater Awards.
I’ll note that I’m a proud voting member of GALECA. Continue reading “2026 Dorian Theater Award Winners Announced”
Some news items for you as we head over Hump Day:
• New York Times: Tim Teeman, NY Times critic, shares his experience when he was pulled up from the audience of the new hit off-Broadway production Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody to play the role of “Scott Hunter.”
• The Advocate: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller falsely claimed that Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was transgender on Tuesday. And the DNC clapped back. See below. Continue reading “‘Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody’ + More News”
Some news items I thought worth your time:
• Attitude Magazine: Fans of 9-1-1 were left needing a hose down after bisexual character Buck, played by Oliver Stark (above), took part in a steamy hookup with both a man and a woman (played by a real life married couple).
OH MY GOD??? I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BISEXUAL BUCK #911onabc pic.twitter.com/RJF9wpvPDd
— Hailey ࿐ྀུ (@_118problems) January 9, 2026
• Queerty: Actor, writer, and comedian Drew Droege chats about his Off-Broadway hit play Messy White Gays, a dark Hitchcock-inspired comedy that’s quickly become one of the most talked-about shows in New York theater.
• Gay Times: Grammy Award-winner Billie Eilish’s timeless love track “Birds of a Feather” has become the most-streamed solo song by a female artist in Spotify history with nearly 3.4 billion streams.
• Gayety: On January 13, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for two cases that challenge state laws in West Virginia and Idaho barring transgender girls from participating on school sports teams that align with their gender identity.
• What To Watch: Season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning medical procedural The Pitt is here, following another shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center’s ER for Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) and his team. I absolutely loved the first season. On HBO Max now.
• Politico: The Trump administration’s quick, aggressive response to the Minnesota ICE shooting has prompted quiet concern among some White House allies. Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem’s quick public remarks calling Renee Good a “domestic terrorist” before any investigation could occur is reportedly of particular concern.
• X: An ICE agent in Minnesota asked a woman who was recording him, “Have y’all not learned from the past couple of days?” When she asked what the ‘lesson’ was, he slapped her phone out of her hand.
An ICE agent in Minnesota to a woman recording him: “Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?”
He then knocked her phone out of her hand.
What has America become? pic.twitter.com/5NvLeaQncQ
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 10, 2026
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has announced the winners of its 3rd annual Dorian Theater Awards honoring the best of Broadway and off-Broadway, mainstream to LGBTQ, for the 2024-2025 season. Continue reading “GALECA Announces 2025 Dorian Theater Award Winners”
A scene from Kimberly Akimbo (via official Instagram)Continue reading “‘Kimberly Akimbo,’ ‘Fat Ham’ Score Top Honors In First Dorian Theater Awards”
Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. Trying to have a career in Show Biz is a big risk. To be successful, every day you must put it all out there, doing whatever it takes to get the gig. Occasionally, Fate steps in and years of preparation meet the perfect opportunity — and you’re a star! But every now and then, Fate gives you the fickle finger and dreams of the limelight get star-crossed. Continue reading “NYC: ‘Waiting In The Wings – The Musical’ Debuts May 1”
The cast of The Village: A Disco Musical! (photo: Eric McNatt)
Liz Callaway (image via official website)
L-R me, Alex Rybeck, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Michael Caprio
Liz Callaway is a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Baby, and for five years, won acclaim as Grizabella in Cats. She has also starred in the original casts of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers, and The Look of Love.
Off-Broadway she received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in The Spitfire Grill (Playwrights Horizons), and also appeared in Brownstone (Roundabout), No Way to Treat a Lady, Marry Me a Little, and Godspell. Other New York appearances include the legendary Follies in Concert at Lincoln Center, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Fiorello!(Encores!), and Hair in Concert.
If you’re a musical theater fan, you probably know many of the songs I’m about to share, but even if you don’t – these are songs that are easy to digest on their own. First, the winsome “You There in the Back Row” from the Cy Coleman musical 13 Days to Broadway, which was heard about in gossip circles for years, but unfortunately never made it to the Great White Way. The show told the backstage story of a musical in trouble on the road to Broadway. Truly a loss to theater audiences if the score was full of songs like this.
Next up, “Since You Stayed Here” from the 1986 off-Broadway musical Brownstone, a musical by Josh Rubins (book and lyrics), Andrew Cadiff (book) and Peter Larson (music). The productions focused on a group of five people living in a brownstone apartment in New York City. A member of the original cast, Liz played Claudia, a young woman getting over a breakup.
As you might have guessed by now, Liz thrives in her story-telling. And this is one of the great story songs of the musical theater canon, “The Meadowlark” from Stephen Schwartz’s 1976 musical, The Baker’s Wife, which closed out of town before making it to Broadway. Talk about a song that capitalizes on all of Liz’s gifts…just hit play. Trust me. I also want to give a tip of the hat to Liz’s long-time music director and arranger, Alex Rybeck, who is one of the VERY BEST in the business.
Just one more (then go listen to the whole album): “The Story Goes On” from the 1983 Broadway musical Baby wherein Liz played the youngest of three expectant mothers. This song closed Act One, most probably because the audience needed time to pull themselves together. In the bridge, Liz’s character feels her baby kick for the first time which provides the dramatic device to send her soaring into the finale of the song. Just check out the sweep of those strings underneath her at the 3:31 mark. “All that was is part of me / As I am part of what’s to be / And thus it is / Our story goes on…”
If you like, click here to listen to a YouTube playlist where the full album is curated and will play in order for your listening pleasure. You can find more about Liz and her concert dates at her official website – what else? – LizCallaway.com. And I always encourage folks to actually BUY the great music I share with you. You can check out most of Liz’s music on Amazon here. And no, I didn’t leave sister Ann out. I plan a post in the near future on her solo music as well 🙂 Happy Sunday everyone!
Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. If Pete Buttigieg thought people were talking about his donor party in a wine cave, just wait till bitches start talking about Doug’s 41st birthday party in a Silverlake wine bar. Crashers, exes, and a ghost, Girl, please! This is only the beginning in Drew Droege’s hilarious one-manic, tour de toast, Happy Birthday Doug now playing at the Soho Playhouse through March 1st. Last seen in his critically acclaimed run of Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, Drew Droege returns to the stage and flips the script. Before he was one queen holding court poolside; this time he’s a gaggle of gays bestowing birthday wishes on Doug. With only five bar stools crowned by a different beverage, Droege sips um… slips from totally *sober* crasher, to dim-witted woke cater waiter, party whore, ex from Hell (why was she invited???), a couple of insufferable husbands, and the guest list goes on. The side-splitting, ten-minute opening monologue launching the party is worth the ticket price alone. Drew Droege’s multiple personality writing and performance disorder are on colorful display for 70 brilliant minutes. His characters are strikingly familiar yet so insanely detailed as to never feel clichéd. One has to wonder: how many other voices is he hearing and are they all this hysterical? Happy Birthday Doug is the party you hope isn’t yours because no one will ever forget, but you shouldn’t miss for the world. Michael Urie presents Happy Birthday Doug A New Comedy Written and Performed by Drew Droege Directed by Tom DeTrinis Limited Engagement through March 1st Soho Playhouse 15 Vandam Street, New York City Thursday through Saturday at 9:00, Sunday at 3:00 PM 70 minutes, no intermission. All tickets available at happybirthdaydoug.com Happy Birthday Doug is a follow up to Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, Droege’s hit hailed as “scorchingly funny” by The New York Times, which enjoyed a celebrated five-month off-Broadway run at the SoHo Playhouse in 2018 and is also available from BroadwayHD. https://www.broadwayhd.com/ 
Lawrence Pfeil, Jr., is a freelance writer/playwright who has reviewed film and theatre, both on and off-Broadway, for media outlets including The Randy Report, the New York Blade, and Edge Publications.
Guest post by Lawrence Pfeil, Jr. of TheOUTFront.com It’s hard to imagine a place filled with more of life’s drama than a hospital, and when it comes to hospitals it’s nearly impossible to imagine one more filled with history’s drama than New York City’s shuttered, St Vincent’s Hospital. Such is the point of departure for Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s Novenas for A Lost Hospital, an intimate theatrical experience taking audiences on a literal journey through the West Village, September 5 – October 13, 2019. 
Opening Rattlestick’s 25th anniversary season, the world premiere of Cusi Cram’s Novenas for A Lost Hospital stars Tony Award nominee (Angels in America) and four-time Obie winner, Kathleen Chalfant as Saint Elizabeth Seton. The production and cast of thirteen are under the direction of Rattlestick Artistic Director, Daniella Topol. This unique walking theatrical production is presented in partnership with Village Preservation, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center, NYC AIDS Memorial Board, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, St. John’s in the Village, and Visual AIDS. For the LGBT+ community, especially gay men, the connection to St Vincent’s Hospital runs deep and very personal. Located on the border of the Village and Chelsea, it was the community’s “go-to” hospital for decades. Injured protesters from the Stonewall Uprising fifty years ago were brought to St. Vincent’s Emergency Room for first aid. When AIDS grew into an epidemic twenty-five years later, far too many men were brought there one last time and their chosen families gathering there to bear witness endless times. The one saving grace was the staff of doctors and nurses of the hospital-borne out of one plague having compassion on a community facing another. 
This is but one story in the 161-year legacy that was St Vincent’s Hospital. Its ties to some of history’s most iconic moments are so much more. As Dramaturg Guy Lancaster writes,
“St. Vincent’s Hospital was started inside a rented house on East 13th Street in 1849 during a cholera epidemic by four nuns from the Sisters of Charity. It was the first Catholic hospital in Manhattan. Survivors of disasters such as the sinking of the Titanic, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, and September 11th were treated at St. Vincent’s after it moved to its eventual site on 7th Avenue in 1856.
A devastating new plague, HIV/AIDS, would profoundly affect the institution and the surrounding neighborhood from the 1980s onwards as the hospital became a center for AIDS research and treatment. By the time St. Vincent’s closed its doors on April 30, 2010, 3,500 employees had lost their jobs. The last Catholic hospital in Manhattan was replaced by a luxury condo development.”
Times Square is called as the “Crossroads of the World,” but just a mile south of it, on the same avenue, St Vincent’s Hospital could be called the “crossroads of humanity.” For five weeks, Novenas for a Lost Hospital will allow audiences to traverse time and tale, walking with compassion through the history of this storied house of healing. 
More information about Novenas for a Lost Hospital HERE Previews begin September 5. Official opening night September 19, with performances through October 13. * Guests arriving at the 6:30 time will experience an extended prologue, and audiences at both check-in times will unite for the majority of the event. Due to its traveling nature, audiences are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and to leave heavy bags at home. Coat check is not available. Purchase tickets HERE More information about Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, their 25th anniversary season, and subscriptions HERE (photos: Mark Abrahams)