Arts & Entertainment
Family Equality shines an opportune light on the struggle for LGBTQ families
Hundreds of thousands raised for LGBTQ family activism and legal battles
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Nats Getty and Gigi Gorgeous receive an award at the Family Equality Los Angeles Impact Awards 2019 at a Private Residence on October 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Family Equality)
Newly married YouTube star/trans activist Gigi Gorgeous and her wife, Nats Getty, were excited to be honored at the Family Equality 2019 LA Impact Awards. The fantastic nonprofit organization strives to help LGBTQ families, who seek to form or expand their families through adoption, foster care, and surrogacy.
Over 400 guests gathered at the home of Joey Gonzalez and Jonathan Rollo to show their support, enjoying a performance by Cheyenne Jackson, incredible stories, and celebration of those who make a difference in the fight for legal and lived equality. The fundraiser succeeded in raising nearly $700,000 to support Family Equalityโs work.
โWe are thrilled to join the Family Equality network of supporters, and do everything in our power to help increase inclusivity in the fertility world,โ Gorgeous Getty told the Los Angeles Blade. โSo that people like ourselves are able to ask questions without doubt or humiliation. To know how to navigate roadblocks and ultimately never feel discredited. And at the very least, understand that all humans have the right to love and be loved. To have a family. And have optionsโฆwithout bigotry.โ
The couple received the 2019 Murray-Reese Family Award for paving the way for future LGBTQ+ parents everywhere by sharing their experiences as an LGBTQ+ couple via Youtube, a feature-length documentary (โThis is Everything: Gigi Gorgeousโ), and a book (โHe Said, She Said: Lessons, Stories, and Mistakes from my Transgender Journey.โ)
Being honest and open with her audience and really sharing her side of the fertility experience, with no filters or bs, was important to Gorgeous Getty.
โWe wanted to really show what was happening at the fertility clinicsโฆ We need to have access to doctors who specialize in non-discriminatory fertility treatments, resources, and education on the options for LGBTQIA+ people. I can truthfully make that statement based off of Natsโ and my own experience with our own fertility story.โ
Nats Getty has been so proud of his wife, for having the courage to talk about the fertility challenges they have dealt with.
โIโm honestly blown away by Gigiโs strength to tell this story, and I know the reason she was able to was because of the constant love and support from her family and fans,โ Nats Getty said. โBy sharing this, sheโs definitely touched the lives of others dealing with similar difficulties. This shows the importance of continuing to live out loud, share our stories, and be heard.โ
Nats Getty is โvery happyโ that an organization like Family Equality exists.
โDespite the current time that we are in as a couple, the experience of pursuing family planning was still incredibly traumatizing for us,โ Nats Getty acknowledged. โWe still have a long way to go as a society, but are grateful for the work this organization has done so that young couples donโt have to go through what we went through. Without people like Gigi who are willing to be vulnerable and tell their stories, progress wouldnโt be made. Living out loud is necessary, and what needs to happen in order to create change.โ
On October 18th, the Washington Blade is honoring Gettyโs philanthropist mom, Ariadne, for her tireless help with the lgbtq community.
โItโs so dope that I come to an event honoring Gigi and I get to run into my mom here, who is about to be honored,โ enthused Nats Getty. โItโs amazing and magical; it speaks so much about our family.โ
Ariadne Getty is over the moon about her and Gigiโs family joining together. โI love their family dynamic, there is a lot of fun and joy that they experience with Gigi as her authentic self. Itโs wonderful to be around.โ
Family Equalityโs 2019 Corporate Impact Award honored dedicated LGBTQ+ allies California Cryobank, a company which has supported thousands of LGBTQ+ families since 1977. The award was presented by creator and star of the critically-acclaimed comedy show and podcast, โDonโt Tell my Mother,โ Nikki Levy, who was at the event with her wife, Scarlett Davis.
โIt was an honor to present the Corporate Impact Award to Scott Brown of California Cryobank tonight,โ said Levy.
โScott has spearheaded California Cryobank to be the preeminent sperm bank for the lgbtq+ community. I joke that California Cryobank is the creme de la creme of creme. I can say that because Iโm a client! In 2015, I was a single lesbian looking to freeze some embryos. Cut to now, I just got married and am ready to pop those babies (literally) in the oven. Family Equality is such an important organization because it helps people like me โ queer people โ make their dreams of having a family come true.โ
She continued: โThey say it takes a village to raise a kid, but when youโre LGBTQ+, sometimes it takes a village to make one! Family Equality is a key part of that village.
Levyโs next event is โDonโt Tell My Mother! Coming Out Show,โ which happens Saturday, October 12 at Catch One, and will feature true stories from โSchittโs Creekโ star Emily Hampshire, LGBTQ+ activist and influencer Miles McKenna, comic Nicky Paris, Chanty Marostica.
Celebrity News
Colman Domingo is riding high ahead of the Oscars
Actor is star, executive producer of โSing Singโ
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Colman Domingo is riding on a career high, with back-to-back Best Actor Academy Award nominationsโlast year, playing Bayard Rustin, the gay advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and this season, starring and executive producing Greg Kwedarโs mesmerizing film, โSing Sing.โ
One thing is clear watching any of Domingoโs films and television seriesโamong them being โSelma,โ โThe Color Purple,โ โMa Raineyโs Black Bottom,โ and โHBOโs โEuphoriaโโhe completely gives his heart and soul into every role he takes on.
Itโs no wonder then, why the charismatic performer recently received the Montecito Award from Executive Director Roger Durling at the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
โAs a devoted admirer of Colman Domingo for so long, what is enthralling to see is how his early work in theaterโthe specificity, the dexterity, the research, the conviction and the intelligence that this performer displayed on the boards is now being finally utilized,โ said Durling. โHis potential that always was there is now realized.โ
In a lengthy chat about his career with Durling, Domingo addressed his perseverance throughout his illustrious television and film career, telling attendees, โI just kept going and believed that the love I was seeking would also be seeking me. I just always believed that.โ
The evening highlighted Domingoโs powerhouse performance as John โDivine Gโ Whitfield in โSing Sing.โ In the film, which is based on a true story, an imprisoned manโwrongfully put in jail for a crime he didnโt commitโfinds a renewed sense of purpose by acting in a theatre group, โRehabilitation Through the Arts,โ also known as RTA, alongside other incarcerated men.
The riveting script had immense appeal to the veteran actor.
โI started my career in educational theater,โ said Domingo. โI would go to local San Francisco Bay Area high schools to perform while also teaching kids about important issues such as HIV, AIDS, or conflict resolution. We were the arts program, coming in, performing, and maybe doing a few classes. And influence the children with art, in much the same manner that RTA did in the New York prison system.โ
He continued: โSo I already understood itโthe idea of an arts program coming into a maximum security prison is revolutionary. It goes completely against the system that got them there in the first place.โ
Domingo saw โSing Singโ not as a prison story, but as a human story.
โIt is a triumphant story, of course and determination, of fighting against a system thatโs broken,โ he noted. โRodessa Jones said, โBut art just might be the parachute that saves us all.โ That is certainly true of the men of RTA. We all have choices we makeโevery dayโto try to be better, to go to our better angels. Thatโs what this film is about, ultimately.โ
Domingoโs interest and passion for the film transcended signing onto the role; he and his husband Raรบl Domingoโs production company, Edith Productions, joined to executive produce. They were instrumental in helping assemble the cast and faithfully guide the storytelling.
He referred to the film as a โquiet act of revolutionโ because of its poignant depiction of tenderness and compassion between Black men.
โItโs about putting myself on the line in every single way as an artist. If Iโm going to have an impact, if Iโm going to do this work that I think is meaningful and can really change lives โฆ I think a film like โSing Singโ is really changing lives. Itโs actually doing work. So, I have to give everything.โ
Being able to connect deeply with his characters has always been an important part of Domingoโs acting process. During the q and a, describing his performance in โRustin.โ he noted how connected he felt portraying the role.
โIt felt like we were in alignment. That Rustinโs journey and my journey were meeting at the exact moment, and I was the actor to help pull this black, queer, civil rights revolutionary out of the shadows of history, while I was being pulled into new history. I needed every year, every step, every misstep in my career, to enable me to play Bayard Rustin.โ
The Santa Barbara recognition follows his win at New Yorkโs Gotham Awards, where Domingo took home the honor for Outstanding Lead Performance.
He also received the Spotlight Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi acknowledged Domingoโs โraw and captivatingโ performance. โWe are so thrilled to honor the remarkable talent of Colman Domingo at the Palm Springs International Film Awards for the second year in a row.โ
Domingo ongoingly keeps a busy scheduleโhe can currently be seen in Netflixโs series โThe Madnessโ created by Clement Virgo. He also recently wrapped production on โMichaelโ playing Joe Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate will release the film Oct. 3, 2025.
And thatโs not allโhe will voice Norman Osborn in the upcoming Disney+ animated series โYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,โ and is currently in production on NETFLIXโs โThe Four Seasons,โ alongside Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. He will play Michael Jacksonโs dad in โMichael.โ
Arts & Entertainment
Jackette Knightley releases song inspired to unite communities
She wrote her latest single โTogether You and Me, Strong,โ amid the January fires
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Drag queen Jackette Knightley was inspired to write a song that she hopes will not only unite the communities, but also provide immediate relief to people directly impacted by the fires that tore through Los Angeles in January, through a collaboration with a local initiative.
The Eaton Canyon and Pacific Palisades fires were ongoing while Knightley was writing the song at her home and in the studio in L.A., adding an emotional layer to her urgency.
The performer and activist said she wrote her latest single โTogether You and Me Strong,โ the day of Trumpโs inauguration, emotional and hoping to bring together communities targeted by the Trump administration. In an initiative called Defense Against Deportation & Relief for SoCal Fire Victims, proceeds of the song will go toward the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles in an effort to support the undocumented community.
As Donald Trump was sworn into officeโsoon to sign a slew of executive orders attempting to roll back advancements on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, immigration and gender-affirming healthcareโdrag queen Jackette Knightley was compelled to write the song.
The song shares a title with the charity event Knightley is hosting alongside Disco Dollie Saturday, March 8, which will also be benefiting CHIRLA and their SoCal LGBTQ+ Defense Against Deportation Charity Drive. The night of โDrag for a Causeโ will feature the performances of nine drag artists, including Chad Michaels, Marty Mars, ChiChi Fuera, Keex Rose, Jaxxlene East Coast, Glitz Glam, Maya Glitterzone, Strawberry and Mariam T.
โI thought, you know what? Something that really encapsulates all of this is [ idea of] โTogether, You and Me Strongโ,โ said Knightley. โThereโs so many battles that weโre facing on so many fronts right now within our worldwide LGBTQ communities that I felt like [the song] was something that was really important to write.โ
Knightley said she was also inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. Day., which this year happened to overlap with Trumpโs inauguration day.
Knightley was also inspired by the civil rights movements of the 60s.
While she is often encouraged by others to stick to more modern, relatable music influence, Knightley aims to invoke the advocacy and unity of the past with church organ sounds.
โโI want the music to be able to reflect the message that weโre alive,โ Knightley said. โMaybe a part of those marches in the 60s could relate to todayโs audiences or todayโs generations as well.โ
Many of the songs that Knightley writes are dedicated to a specific cause, with the proceeds donated to a nonprofit working on the issue. The songs are published under Jackette Knightley Music, under which Knightley started organizing the informal group called Queens and Kings for Causes in 2020, during the COVID shutdowns.
โI really quickly realized the need for mutual support within our community, but also continuing to reach out to our communities who were really isolated at home and really in need of escapism, as well as performers really needing to perform.โ
Knightley said she recognized her privilege of having a full-time job and being able to stay employed through quarantine, so she knew she had to help fellow drag artists without stable jobs get work to pay their bills.
According to an initiative of the Webby Awards called the Anthem Awards, of which Knightley has won five times, Knightley has accomplished her goal of expanding how people think of queer artistry. Her work aims to maintain the visibility of drag as a form of art, inclusive of original music and a key to โunite diverse people within and beyond BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities.โ
In a Facebook post, Knightley mentions drag as an art form rooted in advocacy, referring to the history of the queer community supporting one another in moments of struggle or oppression.
โDuring the AIDS crisis during the 80s and beyond, it was our drag community that was out there doing these kinds of charity drives, raising awareness, raising funds and raising resources for those that were suffering and dying at the time with HIV and AIDS. Now, a lot of our drag performers continue to do that kind of work.โ
Knightley continues to create community by planning events with other artists and leaders, making appearances to perform her songs in drag and promote her causes. She often hosts shows or performs at Pride events, such as the Laguna Beach Pride 365 in 2023, where she was emcee of the festival.
While she loves the work that she does, Knightley is moved to tears at the exhaustion the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized communities are experiencing under the Trump administration. She said she is hopeful that change will come soon.
โIโm looking forward to a day where we donโt have to do this anymore,โ Knightley said. โโIโm looking forward to having our rights restored and to a day where these ralliesโwhich are super imperative right nowโa day where thereโs not a need for them anymore.โ
Tickets for the โTogether You and Me Strongโ event at Urban Moโs in San Diego are available online. Information about tickets and dates for more of Knightleyโs events can be found on her Instagram page.
Arts & Entertainment
โDrag House Rulesโ premieres on OUTtv. Hereโs the tea!
Parody meets drag in this playful takedown of the drag competition world
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OUTtvโs latest content for the queer community Drag House Rules, hit the screen on Friday. Truth be told, we got a sneak peek but had to keep our lips sealed until its release. For those who think the Drag Race franchise has gotten a bit full of itself and the fandom a bit too serious, you will love this take on the drag competition world.
Drop Dead Gorgeous meets Drag Raceโs Untucked as seven drag queens live under one roof to compete in a series of challenges to see who will win a cash prize of $100K. Scratch that, a prize VALUED at $100K. As one queen puts it, it could be $100K worth of paperclips for all they know. Where most competition shows place their competitors in expanse mansions. These queens have to live in a less-than-functional reality TV house with random smells, roaming crew members and handymen clunking around getting in the way of filming. This fun trope excuses the actual budgetary restraints for the show, while using it as fodder.
What can we say about the cast? It is a colorful and motley crew that employs Drag Race queens Jujubee, Manila Luzon, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Laganja Estranja, Rock M. Sakura, Tammie Brown and Dragulaโs Biqtch Puddinโ, as the showโs contestants. And SoCal personality, Tony Moore as child-actor-turned-host.
These cast members couldnโt be more random and somehow it all works.
The differences in personalities, looks, sense of humor, and fandom clash in a delicious way. It is like someone shook a box full of Housewives and came up with a new cast.
Whatโs fun about the style of the show is that we get to see these queens stretch their acting chops and remind us why they are fan favorites. Most of these one-liners work and the clash of personalities makes for fun situations. Some of the humor is expected and a little low-reaching, but this fun take makes us want to see who wins while we really want to see whoโs gossiping about who.
Tammie Brown, known for her eccentricity, practically walks away with the first episode with her random observations and outbursts that just seem home here. Her addition to the show adds a bit of Christopher Guest-style characterization that bolsters the show. As the showโs only non-Drag Race personality, Biqtch Puddinโ is a welcome foil who does not subscribe to the ego or pageantry often associated with the franchise.
Biqtch is that rebel cousin we see at family Thanksgiving who we want to appear cool in front of and who we want to sneak off with and get lit.
The show is written and directed by John Mark Hostetler who knows what the audience wants to see but also lets the actors explore the material and expects these queens to bring it. For the most part, they do. The show does a good job of making a small budget work, and the intros and edits look sleek and add some class to the show. The show is six episodes long and, according to the trailer, has some surprises and more appearances in store.
Los Angeles Blade was there for the release party last week held at WeHoโs Beaches Tropicana, where cast members and fans mingled for a first viewing. The audience cheered and was entertained by the whole affair. Hopefully, the series will be a hit and spawn more seasons where more queens can play freely.
Drag House Rules is now streaming on OUTtv.
Arts & Entertainment
โOld Friendsโ is a must-see for Sondheim fans
Though some of the material is considered classic Broadway, it all comes off as glossy and relevant
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When it was announced that the Sondheim tribute Old Friends, was headed to the Ahmanson from its West End runโwe the queer musical theatre nerdsโwent into a tizzy.
When we found out that Broadway royalty Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga were continuing their run with the show, we just about passed out.
We were there on opening night at the Ahmanson with a star-filled audience to witness a truly five-star production where everything just fits right. The long-lasting roaring applause that met the entrance of the showโs two stars did not end and the evening took the audience on a roller coaster of emotions. This is old-school theatre excellence made fresh for todayโs audience. Sondheimโs material is alive and well.
There have been musical revues of this Broadway icon before. This production fares very well by focusing on Sondheimโs collaborations with other Broadway icon Cameron Mackintosh. All of your favorites are there โ Company, Into the Woods, Follies, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and more, with many surprises from his other shows.
Some of the musicals are presented as full sequencesโand Sweeney Todd and West Side Story segments were full mini-musicals, with sets and all. Other numbers were presented with a twist, adding a fresh take that allowed the actors to shine. Though some of the material is considered classic Broadway, it all comes off as glossy and relevant.
The set, costumes, and lighting were top-notch. Quick transitions were masterfully orchestrated and the whole affair seemed made for the Ahmanson. Some traveling shows have that temporary or makeshift energy, not here. While musical theatre is often limited by budget when it comes to pit musicians, this orchestra, led by musical director Annbritt duChateau, is absolutely rich with texture and lush with sound. It gave the material the quality it deserved.
What can we say about the performers? Yes, Peters and Salonga are huge names and big personalities to lead the evening. There is not one weak player here. The cast is full of Tony Award winners and nomineesโand it is obvious.
The beauty of Old Friends, is that the show gives everyone the opportunity to shineโand they take it. The chemistry of the cast is palpable and every player hands over the spotlight graciously. No one runs away with the showโthey all do.
Peters, Sondheimโs main muse, continues her reign as one of Broadwayโs greats. When she hits the stage, you can feel the energy and you know you are witnessing theatre royalty. Over the years her voice may have lost a little of that shine, but her emotion and pathos add a layer to the material that could never be replicated. Seeing her reprise her role as Dot in Sunday in the Park with George, is truly special.
Salongaโs voice seems to know no limits.
She skillfully masters Mrs. Lovett and brings down the curtain with her version of โEverythingโs Coming Up Roses.โ She may not have the emotional range as Peters, but she is the perfect lead for this show. Every other actor could have their own review, they are just that good. Special shout out to Tony Winner Beth Leavel who tore the stage apart with her take on โLadies Who Lunch,โ not an easy feat when most of us have echoes of Elaine Stritch and Patti LuPone in our minds.
She makes the material her own and the audience couldnโt get enough. Two-time Tony nominee Gavin Lee, brings the comedy and the drama to his performance, enchanting the audience with his โCould I Leave You?โ
Broadway heartthrob Jacob Dickey leads a powerful and new take on โBeing Aliveโ and also somehow makes the role of the Wolf from Into the Woods his own.
Truth be told, this winning production is best suited for Sondheim fans. I would be hesitant to take a non-theatre lover or someone who just likes movie musicals as my plus one. You donโt have to be a Sondheim aficionado, but this is a very deep dive into the material and is best appreciated by those in the know. Thank goodness there are many of us out there. What was plain to see by the audience in attendance, is how far Sondheimโs music has reached. Young, old, queer, fancy, casual, celebrity, everyone became one audience to enjoy this magical evening.
With everything going on in todayโs world, it is so comforting to come home in a sense, to music that has made such an impression in our lives. There is safety in enjoying the known, like watching a TV show that youโve binged for the umpteenth time and, in this show fraught with love and sincerity, is able to make it new again.
Old Friends plays at the Ahmanson for a limited run until March 9th before heading to Broadway. Tickets are available on the Center Theatre Group website.
Bars & Parties
Luke Nero brings Mr. Black back for one magical night in Los Angeles
The LA nightlife scene will reunite to celebrate one of the cityโs most legendary parties
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Luke Nero is a party monster with class. He has dominated the nightclub scene on both the East and West coasts and this week, one of his most infamous parties returns to Los Angeles for one magical night. Bringing in all feelings of nostalgia, Mr. Black, co-presented with nightlife impresario Andres Rigal comes to Bardot in Hollywood on Saturday, Mar. 1st.
As they put itโit is a hedonistic cathedral for the fabulous, the freakish and the fashionably unhinged.
Elevating the nightclub scene is in Lukeโs blood. In New York, he moved from coat check hottie to manager, where he learned all the ins and outs of the party scene. After moving to L.A, he and Andres dominated the club scene for almost 10 years with parties like Mr. Black LA, Rasputin, Evita, Summertramp and Plastic Fantastic. For many of us, his parties were not just an elevated nightlife experience, they were a safe space for us to explore and express ourselves. The celebrity world loves him, as heโs thrown parties for Katy Perry, Angelina Jolie, and Cher just had to stop by Rasputin to check it out.
After a decade running the party scene, he decided it was time to open his own club. He took some time to design and put together not only one of the best clubs in Orange County but one of the last-standing queer spaces for the community. Strut and its lounge Birdcage, have become the hot spot for OC and from the moment you walk in, you know itโs a Luke Nero experience. From the space age-lighted corridor, to the fashionably nude mannequins, to the mirrored room just made for selfies, to walls of playfully sensual art, to a lighting system and stage made for Vegasโit has Lukeโs signature touch on every aspect. Strut made the news when they put up a huge Dolly Parton muralโa wall that has become a queer influencer hot spot for photo opโs.
We chatted with Luke as he was knee-deep in putting in the final touches (and some surprises) for this weekโs Mr. Black nightlife reunion:
What can we expect from this weekโs Mr. Black?
Itโs going to be nostalgia on steroids. Same historic venue, same old Hollywood vibeโ it will be a reunion with major flashbacks, the famous assless cocktail waiters. Think of it like stepping into a time machine, the young club kids who owned the dance floor, now own industries. So Iโm excited.
You have witnessed the evolutions of the LA queer club scene. In your opinion, how has it changed the most?
The queer scene used to be its own world, a core part of queer social life. Now, while queer culture is everywhere, actual queer venues are disappearing fast. The challenge isnโt just keeping the industry aliveโitโs ensuring these spaces stay relevant. Theyโre more than nightclubs; theyโre places for expression, connection, and community. Yet, the word โnightclubโ doesnโt capture all they do, and the urgency to protect them often gets overlooked.
Why is it so important to keep the party going in todayโs social and political times?
Because queer joy is resistance. In a world that still tries to police who we are and who we love, our spaces are more than just dance floorsโtheyโre sanctuaries, proving that we exist, we thrive, and we refuse to be erased.
You have created one of the only places for the queer community to celebrate with the creation of Strut/Birdcage Lounge. What are the biggest challenges you have in keeping that space thriving?
Queer nightlife has always had to fight for survivalโwhether itโs gentrification, post-pandemic shifts, or just keeping people off their couches and onto the dance floor. The biggest challenge? Making sure the space isnโt just a bar but a cultural hub where people feel seen, safe, and celebrated.
What is one of your craziest club stories?
There are too many that canโt be printed without legal repercussions. And a gentleman never kisses and tells.
What has been one of your biggest achievements in the club scene?
My biggest achievement is that people still take the time to get dressed, put on a look, and drive to a space Iโve createdโwhere every detail, from the lighting to the sound to the cocktails, has been carefully curated. For most, itโs a night out. For me, itโs watching people step inside an immersive experience that Iโve designed from the ground up. Itโs my art, and the real reward is seeing people lose themselves in it without even realizing.
You have grown up in the nightclub world. How have you changed personally the most over your years in the biz, and how does that affect the club scenes you now create?
I started out just wanting to create incredible nightsโnow, I understand every layer of what makes a nightlife space truly work. Owning a club has given me the skill set to not only design immersive experiences but also run the entire operation, from security to bartenders to management. Itโs rare to have both the creative vision and the operational expertise, but that balance is what makes a space thrive. Nightlife isnโt just about going outโitโs about creating culture.
What kind of legacy do you want to create with your club spaces and events?
I want people to look back and say, โThat was an era.โ That I helped shape moments in queer nightlife that were vibrant, glamorous, and necessary. A place where people felt free, seen, and maybe just a little bit famous for the night.
What is your message to the queer nightclub world for 2025?
Go bigger. Take risks. Be intentional. Queer nightlife has always been at the forefront of cultureโletโs keep pushing it forward and remind the world why weโve always been the blueprint.
See you at Mr. Black!
Books
โCleavageโ explores late-in-life transition
An enjoyable collection of work from a born storyteller
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โCleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Usโ
By Jennifer Finney Boylan
c.2025, Celadon Books
$29/256 pages
When it came to friends and family, your cup used to runneth over.
You had plenty of both and then, well, life and politics wedged an ocean-sized chasm between you and it makes you sad. And yet โ are you really all that far apart? As in the new memoir, โCleavageโ by Jennifer Finney Boylan, maybe youโre still two peas in a pod.
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Once upon a time not so long ago, Jennifer Finney Boylan was one of โa group of twelve-year-old Visigothsโ intent on mischief. They hung around, did normal boy stuff, setting off rockets, roughhousing, roaming, rambling, and bike-riding. The difference between Boylan and the other boys in her group was that Jim Boylan knew she was really a girl.
Then, she vowed that it was a โsecret no soul would ever know,โ and James went to college, enjoyed a higher metabolism, dated, fell in love too easily, then married a woman and fathered two boys but there was still that tug. Boylan carried the child she once was in her heart โ โHow I loved the boy Iโd been!โ โ but she was a woman โon the insideโ and saying it aloud eventually became critical.
Boylan had a hard talk with her wife, Deedie, knowing that it could be the end of their marriage. Sheโs eternally grateful now that it wasnโt.
Sheโs also grateful that she became a woman when she did, when politics had little to do with that personal decision. She worries about her children, one who is trans, both of whom are good, successful people who make Boylan proud. She tries to help other trans women. And she thinks about the words her mother often said: โLove will prevail.โ
โOur lives are not a thing to be ashamed of,โ Boylan says, โor apologized for, or explained. Our lives are a thing of wildness, and tenderness, and joy.โ
Judge โCleavageโ by its cover, and you might think youโll get a primer on anatomy. Nope, author Jennifer Finney Boylan only has one chapter on the subject, among many. Instead, she leans heavily on her childhood and her transition rather late in life, her family, and her friends to continue where her other books left off, to update, correct, and to share her thoughts on that invisible division. In sum, she guesses that โa huge chunk of the populationโฆ still doesnโt understand this trans business at all.โ
Let that gentle playfulness be a harbinger of what youโll read: some humor about her journey, and many things that might make your heart hurt; self-inspection that seems confidential and a few oh-so-deliciously well-placed snarks; and memories that, well told and satisfying, are both nostalgic and personal from โboth the Before and the After.โ
This book has the feel of having a cold one with a friend and Boylan fans will devour it. Itโs also great for anyone who is trans-curious or just wants to read an enjoyable collection of work from a born storyteller. No matter what you want from it, what youโll find in โCleavageโ is a treasure chest.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Arts & Entertainment
Rogue Machine Theatreโs โBaconโ probes cycles of intimacy and abuse between gay Gen Zโers
Sophie Swithinbankโs award-winning drama about London schoolboys makes it LA debut
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Legacies of shame and abuse play out in surprising ways in Rogue Machine Theatreโs
production of British playwright Sophie Swithinbankโs award-winning play Bacon, which follows two boys in a London high school as they form a fraught and manipulative relationship.
Rogue Machine isnโt saying much else about the play โ even getting that much of log line required an email to the companyโs marketing director and a referral to the playโs publisher. The company is hoping that audiences will come into the show blind and be completely surprised by what they see. So far, director Michael Matthews says the audiences who are turning up are appreciating the playโs twists and turns.
โRight before it goes to the blackout at the end of the show, thereโs always a gasp, which is
always like, you got it, youโre with it,โ Matthews said. โIf you come see my show, I want you to
come in one way, but I want you to exit another. Even if this is a smile on your face, or like a tear or something, but to have some sort of movement. The audience is, so far from what Iโve witnessed, theyโve been along on the journey.โ
Swithinbankโs own playwrightโs note for the show says itโs โabout what happens when teenagers learn to bully and humiliate each other before they learn to love,โ and that it was inspired by an act of bullying she witnessed and a toxic relationship she experienced growing up.
Matthews says when Rogue Machine approached him about directing the the play, the script gripped him from the first page, which isnโt surprising given the splash Bacon made when it debuted across the pond in 2022, earning three Off-West End Awards, and previously earning Soho Theatreโs Tony Craze Award for Playwrighting.
โItโs not just that I see myself in a play, but that my heart is pulled a certain way. Thatโs just me
knowing that this is something that I have to do,โ Matthews said of the script.
And Swithinbank has been involved with this production as well, workshopping the script to fit it to Rogue Machineโs young cast, which features Brazilian-American actor Wesley Guimarรฃes and Chicago native Jack Lancaster โ you may have seen him on โThe Bear.โ
โOne of actors is Brazilian, and so [Swithinbank] changed a lot of her words to add in that his
mother was Brazilian inside the play. She went so far as to put in Portuguese into the show,
which just adds on a richness that just works so beautifully. And then the other actor, his family is from Dublin, and so we changed a lot of the characterizations to have that Irish authenticity,โ Matthews said.
That authenticity is essential, especially as the show is playing in Rogue Machineโs
intimate Henry Murray Stage, which seats just 37 people.
โItโs supposed to feel very intimate, like youโre walking into like some place youโre not supposed to be and youโre observing something youโre not supposed to be observing. And so you have that thing inside of you when youโre watching, like I should help. This is a foot away from me. I should do something, but you canโt, right? So it gives intimacy a whole brand new name,โ Matthews said.
Bacon plays at The Matrix, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046, through March 30.
Fri and Mon at 8pm, Sat-Sun at 5pm. Tickets available at The Rogue Machine Theatre site.
Arts & Entertainment
Murray Hill comes to Los Angeles for one night only
โMurray Hill As Himselfโ set to go down at The Lodge Room tonight at 7PM
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Murray Hill stars in โMurray Hill As Himself,โ tonight in Los Angeles at The Lodge Room and in Palm Springs on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tickets are available through Hillโs website for $40 general admission, with an option for VIP tickets that include a meet and greet and special merch item.
Hillโs performance about almost making it in show biz, his chronic middle-aged crisis, showbiz trials and tribulations, failed love affairs, comebacks, accompanied by the swinging band Jordan Katz (Middle-Aged Dad Jam Band) & The Stiff Gimlets and LA burlesque star Jessabelle Thunder and singer-comedian Natasha Estrada.
โItโs the first time Iโm bringing my full comedy show, with a band, to LA. Itโs a real throwback show, kind of an homage to old-school Vegas legends like Shecky Greene, Totie Fields, Don Rickles, but itโs not an impersonation, itโs in my bones,โ said Hill. โI must have been a Vegas lounge comedian in a previous life, because I donโt know why anybody would do thisโฆyou know, this is camp. This is humor that nobody does anymoreโbut I do.โ
Hill says tonightโs show will turn heads as Jessabelle Thunder who has headlined many festivals, performed with Miss Dita Von Teese herself as part of her Strip Strip Hooray show and her Von Follies Show, and was featured on television showsโto name a fewโwill make an appearance.
Hill says that this performance is to take up space as trans people and bring positive light to the marginalized identity.
โI am touring so trans people continue to be out there to take up space and to be a positive light, even to the haters. People are being fed fear and hatred, and they have no idea whatโs what. The real issue is, because they donโt know trans people. They donโt sit with them. Theyโre not in their families. Theyโre so removed from an actual person that has a heart, has feelings, is somebodyโs kid, somebodyโs neighbor, somebodyโs parent,โ said Hill.
โIโm going to continue, through my act and my persona, to show the humanity of not just trans people but of queer people, of all people. Thatโs something that my show, and even [the characters] I play on TV have; theyโre about heart and humanity and laughter. If you have those things happening, itโs really hard to hate at the same time.โ
Hill is an NYC-based legend, comedian, MC, international entertainer, TV host and historical figure in the world of Drag. Hill is best known as a drag performer, but also for his most recent role in the HBO TV series Somebody Somewhere. Hillโs breakout role on the Bridget Everett-led dramedy series, is as Fred Rococo, who is directly inspired by Hill. All three seasons are now available on Max.
Hill is now on his Big Mini Murray West Coast Tour, stopping first in Los Angeles, then Palm Springs and finally, Las Vegas.
Catch Hillโs larger-than-life personality on stage in Los Angeles tonight! Hill will also soon be releasing his new book Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man, which will chronicle the life and origins of the beloved drag icon that we have come to know as Murray Hill.
Arts & Entertainment
Broadwayโs Hunky Gay Ex-Mormon Dad Claybourne Elder Comes to SoCal
Claybourne explores sex, fatherhood, religion, and love in โIf The Stars Were Mine.โ โฏ
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Not only is actor Claybourne Elder a SAG Award, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel nominee, but he also boasts a long list of descriptives that detail a colorful life. Ex-Mormon, queer, and father all play big parts in his journey and come together for โIf The Stars Were Mine,โ part stand up, part cabaret featuring his favorite music from the Great American Songbook, Sondheim, Whitney Houston, and beyond. Nothing is off limits as he explores sex, fatherhood, religion, and love.
His theatre credits are many and include a lot of Sondheim, including understudying for Jake Gyllenhaal in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George and originating the role of โHollis Bessemerโ in Stephen Sondheimโs last musical, Road Show. He also appeared alongside Patti LuPone for the revival of Company. On-screen, he is enjoying the role of John Adams on HBOโs smash-hit period piece โThe Gilded Age,โ a show that has become a Whoโs Who for Broadwayโs theatre actors. He also appeared on โThe Kelly Clarkson Show,โ โThis American Lifeโ and โCBS This Morning.โโฏ As much as he is lauded for his acting and singing, more than a few headlines note his muscled frame and handsome face.
Claybourneโs journey to Broadway is a thing out of the movies. In 2007, he was a visiting actor in New York City, standing at a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A stranger noted his natural enthusiasm for theatre and gave him $200 to go see the revival of Stephen Sondheimโs Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The act of kindness solidified his quest to become an actor on Broadway. Little did he know that he would soon be starring alongside Sweeney Toddโs leads, Patti LuPone (in Company) and Michael Cerveris (in Gilded Age). Elders was inspired to start the nonprofit City of Strangers to encourage artists, supporters, and leaders to build community through acts of kindness by making tickets to performances accessible to all theater lovers regardless of their ability to pay.
We caught up with Claybourne as he prepared to head West for a three-night run of his intimate cabaret evening.
You have a close relationship with Sondheim material, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Do I Hear A Waltz?, Sondheim on Sondheim, Passion, and Road Show. How is performing Sondheimโs material unique? What have you learned most as an artist from exploring his work?
You know, I never really set out to do so much Sondheim in my professional career but it is by far my favorite material to perform. His songs are challenging to sing as a musician and challenging to perform as an actor, which makes them so satisfying to sing. He has said in interviews that when heโs writing, heโs acting. Heโs taking on the character and saying what he would say โ and it really shows. Every song is trying to effect change, like a great monologue. Songs in the musical theatre arenโt always like that. Especially back when he started writing music and lyrics. In some musical theatre songs, the character is just saying something they already know, sometimes over and over and over again. Steveโs songs are complex. The character is working something out.
Ok, we have to talkโฆspill the tea. What did you learn most from veteran Patti LuPone from working on Company?
I love you for asking this. Patti is just the best. There was nothing more satisfying in rehearsal to me than when I would try something new and it would make Patti laugh. She and I share a birthday and we got to be friends working on the show and I just adore her. I watched her do โLadies Who Lunchโ every night because we were all on stage and she NEVER did it the same twice. She was always exploring and I loved to see where she was going to take it every night. I had a long scene in the second act just before her big scene and we had a little moment backstage every night between the two. One night when the audience had laughed particularly loud at my scene, Patti walked up to me wearing her costume of fur and sunglasses and said in a dry monotone, โOne should never follow Claybourne Elder on stageโ and turned and walked away. Iโll never forget it.
You have played some iconic characters that we all know and love โ Curly, George, Tony, Cinderellaโs Prince โ what is your creative process as an actor in making a character your own while paying homage to what audiences expect to see?
It can be hard to get a performance that you love out of your head. The first time I played George in Sunday in the Park with George, I had to get Mandy Patinkin out of my head from wearing out the VHS when I was a kid. But once I started working on the script and asking myself questions, it just became different. I think the trick can be to not try too hard to be different. There are things in the script that are just true and you canโt play against them too hard or the story wonโt make sense. But thatโs what is wonderful about acting, there is never going to be another you. And for better or worse, no one is going to do it just like you.
You have a list of award nomination accolades โ SAG Award, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel โ thatโs a pretty impressive haul. How does it feel as an artist to be so acknowledged for your work?
Like being rich in Monopoly money? Haha, no no Iโm kidding. I feel very honored to have been acknowledged but like most actors, I just like working and want to keep working. And those things can sometimes help you get more work. But most of all I think about something an artist that I really respect told me once: โJust make work that you want to show your friends.โ And I really stick by that. I want to make things that I would be excited and proud to show my friends.
The Gilded Age has become THE show to be on for a theatre actor on TV, much like Law and Order. What are your favorite aspects of working on the show?
Oh everything, working on Gilded Age is so so fun. Itโs like a family reunion every time we are on set. And because itโs so full of theatre actors, we all understand the way each other works. I think itโs been easier for us all to do our best work because we come to set to rehearse and play like theatre actors. And the costumes. Itโs the ultimate dress-up. And the sets. Sometimes when weโre shooting in one of the mansions in Newport or other grand places I like to just wander around as if I actually am John Adams. We started working on the show in 2019 and so weโve all been working on it off and on for a very long time. Thatโs also a lovely aspect, to have years and years together working on a project. That doesnโt happen a lot in the theatre.
So many of your headlines mention you being buff, hunky, and more! There is a lot of focus on looks and body in entertainment, even more so in the queer community. How have you worked through body image pressures?
You know, I was not a sporty kid or a fit young person. I didnโt start going to the gym until my late 20s. Well before that I would go to the gym sometimes, but I didnโt mean it. Haha! In this business, it can be very difficult not to convince yourself that you look wrong. For whatever reason. Maybe thereโs safety in thinking you didnโt get a job because you just didnโt look right. That it wasnโt to do with your talent, just how you look. And then you can fall into the trap of trying to make yourself into what you think the perfect-looking person should look like. I fell into that trap at one point. I had played a boxer in a play and so I really wanted to look like a boxer. I needed to look physically imposing because the character was that. So I worked out really hard and at the end of it, a dear mentor of mine said: โOk, now you need to stop. Youโre going to stop looking like a real person.โ And he was right. I think itโs very important to take care of your body, you only get one of them. But I also think that I like donuts. And I like having treats with my son. I think people use those words to describe me in headlines or to sell tickets to something (hint, hint buy a ticket to my show) but I donโt really want to be remembered for that. There are so many other things I would rather be remembered for.
As a queer dad, what are your biggest worries in raising a child in todayโs social and political climate?
Oh god, what arenโt my worries right now about the social and political climate? Itโs a tough time. But I donโt want my son to be afraid. I want him to stand up for who he is and what he believes in, and what a great f-ing time to learn how to do that.
How do you balance the entertainment and family life, while maintaining your mental health?
Itโs challenging to be a parent and a working actor. When youโre in a show, you are away many nights a week so you have to find ways to maximize the time you have together. And a lot of Facetime. I would always Facetime my son goodnight from my dressing room. When I go away to film things, I try to bring my family with me when I can. I used to worry about my son not having the kind of childhood I did, but I have come to realize that just because itโs different doesnโt mean itโs not a great childhood. Heโs growing up backstage at Broadway theatres and on TV sets and I would have lost my mind with excitement when I was a kid haha.
You bare all in โIf The Stars Were Mine,โ it is a heartfelt, intimate, and funny look at your life. What do you want audiences to walk away with from seeing your show?
When I set out to write this show, I started with what I wanted to say. I asked myself โWhat are the things that I would be embarrassed or scared to say in front of people?โ And I started there. The show is thematic, I sort of explore the nature of goodness, but like a stand-up show, I also tell a lot of other stories. When people walk away from the show, I hope they have laughed, heard some great music, and maybe โ just maybe โ feel like doing a good deed. Someone who wrote up a review of the show a few months back said โI left briefly wanting to be a better person.โ Haha, and I thought that was fantastic.
What is your coming out story?
I was lucky. Very lucky, to have supportive parents. My parents are very Mormon, but they also just love me. I have a gay older brother who had sort of come out before me which Iโm sure made it easier. It was tough for my parents at first, but ultimately they just want me to be a good person. Thatโs what is most important to them.
In your show, you talk about being an ex-Mormon. What was your experience dealing with your religion in terms of your sexuality? How has it affected your relationship with spirituality today, also in terms of how you raise your son?
This is a lot of what I talk about in my show! I think that there was a time when I felt like I had to leave all spirituality behind to be a gay person. Because thatโs what I was being taught by my church, that it was one or the other. And it wasnโt until my son started getting older and asking me questions that I started to reevaluate my spirituality. And redefine it.
What is your favorite moment on stage for โIf The Stars Were Mine?โ
Oh, doing this show is my favorite thing. Maybe my favorite thing Iโve ever done on stage. There are so many fun moments for me. I think my favorite moments change based on the audience โ sometimes they are more surprised by things or find different things funny and surprise me.
Your initiative City of Strangers, is inspired by your real-life story based on you getting a ticket to see your future co-star LuPone. How are we supposed to provide culture and art to younger generations when prices keep getting higher and higher?
When I first moved to the city, I didnโt have any money to see Broadway shows. And thatโs what I was trying to do, but I couldnโt even see the performers at the top of their game that I was trying to be like! Thatโs what I was thinking of when I first started City of Strangers though we definitely donโt just support young artists. We welcome anyone, of any age. But speaking of the younger generations in particular, we arenโt helping to make theatre fans. If young people canโt afford to fall in love with the theatre, then they wonโt.
What kind of legacy do you want to create most for your son and your work?
I would love for my son to see that I do what I love. And that itโs hard. But that I do it because I love it and believe in it. He has no interest in being a performer haha, like none. At least not right now. My husband and I joke that we are relieved that he doesnโt want to be an artist, but obviously, we would support anything he wants to do. I just hope he has a life that he loves, finds a job that he loves, maybe a person he loves โ if he wants to. Honesty, I just want for him what my parents want for me. I just want him to be a good person and be happy.
What is your message to your fans?
I love it when people say hello to me! I get messages sometimes from people who say โI saw you on the subway and wanted to say hi but I didnโt want to bother you.โ Bother me! I donโt mind. Iโm chatty and love talking to people, ha ha!
โIf The Stars Were Mineโ opens on Thursday Feb. 20th and runs through to the 22nd at the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
News
Fountain Theatreโs Alabaster presents a timely tale of love in the aftermath of disaster
โIt has this wonderful sort of straddling the fence of comedy and tragedy in the way that life does.โ
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When Fountain Theatre set out to produce the Los Angeles premiere of Audrey Cefalyโs play
Alabaster, they were hoping that the all-female show about the power of art and the strength
and resilience of women would be a timely celebration of the countryโs first female president.
That didnโt turn out, but in the wake of the fires that devastated Los Angeles last month, the
story โ which follows a romance that blossoms when New York photographer Alice, whoโs
travelled to the titular Alabama city to capture the portrait of June, a woman whose survival of a tornado has left her with physical and emotional scars โ has become even more relevant.
โItโs very much a play about loss and trauma and grieving and how we process and move
forward,โ says Casey Stangl, whoโs directing the Fountain production. โIt has this wonderful sort of straddling the fence of comedy and tragedy in the way that life does.โ
And that includes the current political climate.
โOn some level, itโs actually even more resonant because we donโt have [a female president]
and thatโs yet another loss,โ she says.
The LA fires are more than a backdrop for the theatre โ theyโve directly affected the production, including delaying its opening to Feb 16. One of the actors was living in the evacuation zone, while another lived in a warning zone. Another had respiratory issues inflamed by the smoke that reached her home.
โEven once we got ourselves back in the room, weโre all still sort of dealing with that. The
physical effects, right? But also just the trauma of it,โ Stangl says.
Still, all of that trauma in the room went a long way to building the emotional reality of the play โ a literal use of art to process trauma through a play about using art to process trauma.
In the play, June takes up painting to deal with her own trauma, while Alice uses photography to process the trauma of others โ and also as an escape from her own tragedies. But the play also explores some of the challenging moral issues around art as a sort of trauma porn.
โThereโs a little bit of a dilemma for Alice, because the power dynamic is tricky. Thereโs an
automatic sort of unequal power dynamic between a photographer and a subject. And then
when things start to change a little bit, itโs a little bit of a thorny place to navigate ethically,โ Stangl says.
Since its 2020 world premiere at the Florida Repertory Theatre, Alabaster has been produced
across the country to rave reviews. Fountain Theatreโs production has some secret weapons
that tie it to the playโs history while also invigorating it with new meaning.
Actress Carolyn Messina, who plays Weezy, one of Juneโs talking goats that narrate the play โ
yes, itโs that kind of magical realist theatre โ was part of the original production and has been
close with playwright Audrey Cefaly since high school.
And Virginia Newcomb, who plays June, actually grew up in Alabaster, Alabama, and brings a
natural authenticity to the show.
โThat town is very much in her body and in her spirit,โ Stangl says. โWe donโt have a dialect
coach. I mean, we donโt need one. The actresses are kind of amazing. Theyโre just really talented and good and smart and charismatic and funny. Itโs been kind of a feast in the room.โ
Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly plays at the Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles,
CA, 90029 open until March 30, Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm. PWYC
Mondays 8pm. Tickets available at https://www.fountaintheatre.com/events/alabaster
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