Gay broadway shows




From Tony Kushner's Angels in America, to Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, to the bubbly jukebox musical & Juliet —below Playbill spotlights 25 shows that showcase the many aspects of queer. Looking for a musical that brings LGBTQ+ stories to life? From journeys of self-discovery to the fight for equality, these shows celebrate the resilience, joy, and spirit of the queer community.

Here’s the full list of LGBTQ+ musicals, sorted by time period. Contents: Pres LGBTQ+ Musicals. s LGBTQ+ Musicals. s LGBTQ+ Musicals. Today, the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationally, seems an apt day for my annual census of gay characters on Broadway. At a time when LGBTQ rights,.

While representation in film and television has been a struggle, especially after the passing of the Hays Code, theater has been an arena where the queer community has always shone.

gay broadway shows 2024

Here are some of the best LGBTQIA+ shows that have graced the Broadway stages and left a mark for the ages. We asked you to rank your fave LGBT pride-centric Broadway productions to celebrate the community that holds a special place in our hearts. Queer art and entertainment has been as much about the beauty and resilience of the community as it has been about nuanced portrayals of the human condition.

With heaping amounts of attitude and glamor thrown in, for good measure. While representation in film and television has been a struggle, especially after the passing of the Hays Code, theater has been an arena where the queer community has always shone. A Kander and Ebbs masterpiece, Cabaret opened on Broadway in It has been revived multiple times on Broadway alone and earned so many awards, it's hard to keep track.

But every award is well-earned. The story is set in Berlin in , a time when the " gay capital of Europe " transitioned from a utopia for queer folk into the hotbed of fascism and Nazism, both of which criminalized all things gay and beyond. Naturally, this one made the list. With a title like that, we don't need neon signs to tell us where to look for a queer story on Broadway.

The neon sign is just there for the vibes. But My Son's a Queer, But what can you do? Originally set to run on Broadway during the current season, the play has sadly been postponed to the season instead. As heartbroken as we all are, we can rest assured that when it does open, it'll be a hell of a show. Of all the shows on this list, this one is perhaps the least queer, at least on the surface.

The Book of Mormon is a satirical look at organized religion , particularly the Mormon church, and is a riot for that alone. But every now and then, the script beautifully weaves in homosexuality and the repression of queer identities in extremely religious settings, most notably in the song " Turn it Off. In the sea of queer media that focuses on the pain of existing in an unaccepting society, it can be wonderfully refreshing to be able to turn the lens on the ones doing the repressing and just have ourselves a good laugh.

Of course, if you're looking for something more overtly queer that tackles religious repression , try Bare: The Musical on for size. Based on Alison Bechdel's memoir of the same name, Fun Home is a musical that explores the cartoonist's own lesbian identity as she grapples with the details of her closeted gay father's life. The name Bechdel might seem familiar to many, as it is the name of the infamous Bechdel Test , a way to measure how well-represented women are in film.

It was named after it first appeared in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For as "a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper. Bechdel's work - and life - are revolutionary and Fun Home is a glimpse into her wonderfully queer world.

gay broadway shows

One of the most important aspects of the queer experience is the intersectionality of several struggles, such as race and gender, that define the fight for equality. The Color Purple was originally a novel by Alice Walker that depicted the experiences of several black girls and women in the old South each facing a unique yet interconnected struggle. But the queer love at the heart of the tale is relatively unknown.

The relationship between the characters Celie and Shug, boldly portrayed in the novel, has been criminally downplayed for decades with only newer adaptations depicting it in its true form. Its inclusion adds so much nuance to an already emotionally-charged story. Take Me Out is a dramatic exploration of what coming out as a sportsman in an often unforgiving world might be like.

While it premiered in , long after the first queer baseball players came out, the play was written before these monumental moments. To add nuance to the tale, it is set in the locker room of a baseball team, a space that is as much fueled by the triumphant pursuit of glory as it is riddled with homophobia. And this play tackles that and so much more, exploring what it means to exist as a queer man in such a space. The heaviness of queer content can sometimes take its toll, but if there's one thing the queer community knows how to do well, it's put on a darn good show!