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. 1^st.

As they put it–it is a hedonistic cathedral for the fabulous, the freakish and the fashionably unhinged.

Elevating the nightclub scene is in Luke’s 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 he’s 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 it’s 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 Vegas–it has Luke’s signature touch on every aspect. Strut made the news when they put up a huge Dolly Parton mural–a wall that has become a queer influencer hot spot for photo op’s.

We chatted with Luke as he was knee-deep in putting in the final touches (and some surprises) for this week’s Mr. Black nightlife reunion:

What can we expect from this week’s Mr. Black?

It’s going to be nostalgia on steroids. Same historic venue, same old Hollywood vibe— 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 I’m excited.

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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 isn’t just keeping the industry alive—it’s ensuring these spaces stay relevant. They’re more than nightclubs; they’re places for expression, connection, and community. Yet, the word “nightclub” doesn’t capture all they do, and the urgency to protect them often gets overlooked.

Why is it so important to keep the party going in today’s 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 floors—they’re sanctuaries, proving that we exist, we thrive, and we refuse to be erased.

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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 survival—whether it’s gentrification, post-pandemic shifts, or just keeping people off their couches and onto the dance floor. The biggest challenge? Making sure the space isn’t just a bar but a cultural hub where people feel seen, safe, and celebrated.

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What is one of your craziest club stories?

There are too many that can’t 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 I’ve created—where every detail, from the lighting to the sound to the cocktails, has been carefully curated. For most, it’s a night out. For me, it’s watching people step inside an immersive experience that I’ve designed from the ground up. It’s 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 nights—now, 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. It’s rare to have both the creative vision and the operational expertise, but that balance is what makes a space thrive. Nightlife isn’t just about going out—it’s about creating culture.

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What kind of legacy do you want to create with your club spaces and events?

I want people to look back and say, “That was an era.” 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 culture—let’s keep pushing it forward and remind the world why we’ve always been the blueprint.

See you at Mr. Black!

‘Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us’
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 – are you really all that far apart? As in the new memoir, “Cleavage” by Jennifer Finney Boylan, maybe you’re still two peas in a pod.

Once upon a time not so long ago, Jennifer Finney Boylan was one of “a group of twelve-year-old Visigoths” 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 “secret no soul would ever know,” 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 – “How I loved the boy I’d been!” – but she was a woman “on the inside” 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. She’s eternally grateful now that it wasn’t.

She’s 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: “Love will prevail.”

“Our lives are not a thing to be ashamed of,” Boylan says, “or apologized for, or explained. Our lives are a thing of wildness, and tenderness, and joy.”

Judge “Cleavage” by its cover, and you might think you’ll 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 “a huge chunk of the population… still doesn’t understand this trans business at all.”

Let that gentle playfulness be a harbinger of what you’ll 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 “both the Before and the After.”

This book has the feel of having a cold one with a friend and Boylan fans will devour it. It’s 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 you’ll find in “Cleavage” is a treasure chest.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

Legacies of shame and abuse play out in surprising ways in Rogue Machine Theatre’s
production of British playwright Sophie Swithinbank’s award-winning play Bacon, which follows two boys in a London high school as they form a fraught and manipulative relationship.

Rogue Machine isn’t saying much else about the play – even getting that much of log line required an email to the company’s marketing director and a referral to the play’s 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 play’s twists and turns.

“Right before it goes to the blackout at the end of the show, there’s always a gasp, which is
always like, you got it, you’re with it,” Matthews said. “If 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 I’ve witnessed, they’ve been along on the journey.”

Swithinbank’s own playwright’s note for the show says it’s ‘about what happens when teenagers learn to bully and humiliate each other before they learn to love,’ 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 isn’t surprising given the splash Bacon made when it debuted across the pond in 2022, earning three Off-West End Awards, and previously earning Soho Theatre’s Tony Craze Award for Playwrighting.

“It’s not just that I see myself in a play, but that my heart is pulled a certain way. That’s just me
knowing that this is something that I have to do,” Matthews said of the script.

And Swithinbank has been involved with this production as well, workshopping the script to fit it to Rogue Machine’s young cast, which features Brazilian-American actor Wesley Guimarães and Chicago native Jack Lancaster – you may have seen him on “The Bear.”

“One 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,” Matthews said.

That authenticity is essential, especially as the show is playing in Rogue Machine’s
intimate Henry Murray Stage, which seats just 37 people.

“It’s supposed to feel very intimate, like you’re walking into like some place you’re not supposed to be and you’re observing something you’re not supposed to be observing. And so you have that thing inside of you when you’re watching, like I should help. This is a foot away from me. I should do something, but you can’t, right? So it gives intimacy a whole brand new name,” 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.

Murray Hill stars in ‘Murray Hill As Himself,’ tonight in Los Angeles at The Lodge Room and in Palm Springs on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tickets are available through Hill’s website for $40 general admission, with an option for VIP tickets that include a meet and greet and special merch item. 

Hill’s 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. 

“It’s the first time I’m bringing my full comedy show, with a band, to LA. It’s a real throwback show, kind of an homage to old-school Vegas legends like Shecky Greene, Totie Fields, Don Rickles, but it’s not an impersonation, it’s in my bones,” said Hill. “I must have been a Vegas lounge comedian in a previous life, because I don’t know why anybody would do this…you know, this is camp. This is humor that nobody does anymore–but I do.” 

Hill says tonight’s 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 shows–to name a few–will make an appearance.

Hill says that this performance is to take up space as trans people and bring positive light to the marginalized identity. 

“I 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 what’s what. The real issue is, because they don’t know trans people. They don’t sit with them. They’re not in their families. They’re so removed from an actual person that has a heart, has feelings, is somebody’s kid, somebody’s neighbor, somebody’s parent,” said Hill. 

“I’m 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. That’s something that my show, and even [the characters] I play on TV have; they’re about heart and humanity and laughter. If you have those things happening, it’s really hard to hate at the same time.”

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. Hill’s 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 Hill’s 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.

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 “If The Stars Were Mine,” 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 “Hollis Bessemer” in Stephen Sondheim’s 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 HBO’s smash-hit period piece “The Gilded Age,” a show that has become a Who’s Who for Broadway’s theatre actors. He also appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “This American Life” and “CBS This Morning.”  As much as he is lauded for his acting and singing, more than a few headlines note his muscled frame and handsome face.

Claybourne’s 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 Sondheim’s 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 Todd’s 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 Sondheim’s 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 he’s writing, he’s acting. He’s taking on the character and saying what he would say – and it really shows. Every song is trying to effect change, like a great monologue. Songs in the musical theatre aren’t 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. Steve’s songs are complex. The character is working something out.

Ok, we have to talk…spill 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 “Ladies Who Lunch” 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, “One should never follow Claybourne Elder on stage” and turned and walked away. I’ll never forget it.

You have played some iconic characters that we all know and love – Curly, George, Tony, Cinderella’s Prince – 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 can’t play against them too hard or the story won’t make sense. But that’s 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 –  SAG Award, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel – that’s 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 I’m 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: “Just make work that you want to show your friends.” And I really stick by that. I want to make things that I would be excited and proud to show my friends.

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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. It’s like a family reunion every time we are on set. And because it’s so full of theatre actors, we all understand the way each other works. I think it’s 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. It’s the ultimate dress-up. And the sets. Sometimes when we’re 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 we’ve all been working on it off and on for a very long time. That’s also a lovely aspect, to have years and years together working on a project. That doesn’t happen a lot in the theatre.

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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 didn’t start going to the gym until my late 20s. Well before that I would go to the gym sometimes, but I didn’t mean it. Haha! In this business, it can be very difficult not to convince yourself that you look wrong. For whatever reason. Maybe there’s safety in thinking you didn’t get a job because you just didn’t look right. That it wasn’t 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: “Ok, now you need to stop. You’re going to stop looking like a real person.” And he was right. I think it’s 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 don’t really want to be remembered for that. There are so many other things I would rather be remembered for.

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As a queer dad, what are your biggest worries in raising a child in today’s social and political climate?

Oh god, what aren’t my worries right now about the social and political climate? It’s a tough time. But I don’t 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?

It’s challenging to be a parent and a working actor. When you’re 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 it’s different doesn’t mean it’s not a great childhood. He’s 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 “If The Stars Were Mine,” 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 “What are the things that I would be embarrassed or scared to say in front of people?” 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 – just maybe – feel like doing a good deed. Someone who wrote up a review of the show a few months back said “I left briefly wanting to be a better person.” Haha, and I thought that was fantastic.

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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 I’m sure made it easier. It was tough for my parents at first, but ultimately they just want me to be a good person. That’s 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 that’s what I was being taught by my church, that it was one or the other. And it wasn’t 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 “If The Stars Were Mine?”

Oh, doing this show is my favorite thing. Maybe my favorite thing I’ve ever done on stage. There are so many fun moments for me. I think my favorite moments change based on the audience – 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 didn’t have any money to see Broadway shows. And that’s what I was trying to do, but I couldn’t even see the performers at the top of their game that I was trying to be like! That’s what I was thinking of when I first started City of Strangers though we definitely don’t just support young artists. We welcome anyone, of any age. But speaking of the younger generations in particular, we aren’t helping to make theatre fans. If young people can’t afford to fall in love with the theatre, then they won’t.

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 it’s 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 doesn’t 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 – 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 “I saw you on the subway and wanted to say hi but I didn’t want to bother you.” Bother me! I don’t mind. I’m chatty and love talking to people, ha ha!

“If The Stars Were Mine” opens on Thursday Feb. 20th and runs through to the 22nd at the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.

When Fountain Theatre set out to produce the Los Angeles premiere of Audrey Cefaly’s 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 country’s first female president.

That didn’t turn out, but in the wake of the fires that devastated Los Angeles last month, the
story – which follows a romance that blossoms when New York photographer Alice, who’s
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 – has become even more relevant.

“It’s very much a play about loss and trauma and grieving and how we process and move
forward,” says Casey Stangl, who’s directing the Fountain production. “It has this wonderful sort of straddling the fence of comedy and tragedy in the way that life does.”

And that includes the current political climate.

“On some level, it’s actually even more resonant because we don’t have [a female president]
and that’s yet another loss,” she says.

The LA fires are more than a backdrop for the theatre – they’ve 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.

“Even once we got ourselves back in the room, we’re all still sort of dealing with that. The
physical effects, right? But also just the trauma of it,” Stangl says.
Still, all of that trauma in the room went a long way to building the emotional reality of the play – 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 – 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.

“There’s a little bit of a dilemma for Alice, because the power dynamic is tricky. There’s an
automatic sort of unequal power dynamic between a photographer and a subject. And then
when things start to change a little bit, it’s a little bit of a thorny place to navigate ethically,” Stangl says.

Since its 2020 world premiere at the Florida Repertory Theatre, Alabaster has been produced
across the country to rave reviews. Fountain Theatre’s production has some secret weapons
that tie it to the play’s history while also invigorating it with new meaning.

Actress Carolyn Messina, who plays Weezy, one of June’s talking goats that narrate the play –
yes, it’s that kind of magical realist theatre – 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.

“That town is very much in her body and in her spirit,” Stangl says. “We don’t have a dialect
coach. I mean, we don’t need one. The actresses are kind of amazing. They’re just really talented and good and smart and charismatic and funny. It’s been kind of a feast in the room.”

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

Gaymers, unite!

The Gayming Awards, the world’s only LGBTQ video game awards show is back for its fifth year and will be broadcast exclusively on World of Wonder’s WOW Presents on Tuesday, Jul. 8th.

Nominations are now open in 13 categories. Two new categories have been added for this year: LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year and Community Impact Award. These categories are designed
to celebrate the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ+ voice actors and groups or
individuals who have contributed positively to the LGBTQ+ video game community over the past year.

The full 13 categories of the Gayming Awards 2025 are as follows:

● Game of the Year
● Gayming Magazine Readers’ Award
● Gayming Icon Award
● Industry Diversity Award
● Community Impact Award
● Authentic Representation Award
● Best LGBTQ+ Character Award
● Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game Award
● LGBTQ+ Voice Actor of the Year Award
● LGBTQ+ Content Creator of the Year Award
● LGBTQ+ Streamer Rising Star Class
● Best LGBTQ+ Contribution to Esports Award
● LGBTQ+ Geek Entertainment of the Year Award – sponsored by MyNerdLife

Last year, over 1.4 million people watched the Awards, spread out over the live broadcast and social media clips. The move to WOW Presents Plus is huge and ensures visibility for all.

Robin Gray, Gayming Magazine & Gayming Awards Founder, said: “From the very beginning,
we’ve always sought to establish the Gayming Awards as a key cultural moment and with the
Gayming Awards 2025 broadcasting on the biggest and best LGBTQ+ streaming platform, I’m
thrilled to see this journey take its next big step. At a time where LGBTQ+ rights and culture are being erased, the Gayming Awards stand proudly and firmly as a key beacon of hope in uplifting, celebrating and uniting our community through the power of video games. A huge
thank you to World of Wonder for believing in our mission and giving us this awesome platform.”

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Nomination submissions are now OPEN in nine of these 13 categories – to have your say, head
to gaymingawards.com and submit your favorites for consideration.

For more information on everything Gayming Awards, head to gaymingawards.com and follow
Gayming Magazine on all socials @gaymingmag

WorldPride organizers on Tuesday announced two new headliners for the WorldPride Music Festival at RFK Festival Grounds (2400 East Capitol St., N.E.) June 6-7 in Washington, D.C.

Superstar Jennifer Lopez and gay pop artist Troye Sivan are set to headline, while drag trailblazer and TV star RuPaul will also take the stage for a DJ set.

Taking place over two days and nights and across three stages, WorldPride Music Festival will showcase a diverse range of music. Beyond pop stars and drag performances, house, EDM, techno, country, R&B, and a host of other genres will be heard across the weekend.

Featured LGBTQ audience fan favorites include Kim Petras, Rita Ora, Betty Who, and Marina. House and electronic fans will enjoy Zedd, Grimes, Purple Disco Machine, and Sofi Tukker. Other top-billing pop stars include Tinashe, Raye, and Grimes; Paris Hilton is also set to make an appearance.

Other artists that will bring their sounds to one of the stages include Aluna, Anabel Englund, Anne Louise, Coco & Breezy, Crush Club, Dombresky presents Disco Dom, Galantis, Hayla, Kaleena Zanders, Karsten Sollors, Leland + Friends, LP Giobbi, Matt Suave, Patrick Mason, Sasha Colby, Slayyyter, Spencer Brown, Trisha Paytas, and Ty Sunderland.

The music festival came together as a partnership between Capital Pride, Dreamland’s producer Jake Resnicow (who ran WorldPride in New York), and event promoter Club Glow, which has produced several music festivals in the region. Club Glow is set to host a separate festival, Project Glow, also to take place on RFK grounds the weekend prior to WorldPride.

Resnicow, as executive producer, noted that, “WorldPride Music Festival is a moment the world will remember. With legendary artists and our global community coming together, we’re creating an electrifying celebration that unites, uplifts, and amplifies LGBTQ+ voices like never before.”

Given the current political climate and anti-LGBTQ policies sweeping the country, “Hosting this festival in our nation’s capital makes it even more powerful — it’s not just a party, it’s a global movement.” Resnicow added.

Beyond the music, the festival will feature art installations and immersive experiences that celebrate the spectrum of LGBTQ culture, along with food and drink, specialty cocktail lounges, giveaways, and a VIP section. Proceeds from the event will benefit the nonprofit Capital Pride Alliance and other local LGBTQ community organizations, ensuring the festival’s impact extends beyond its two days of programming. WorldPride marks the 50th anniversary of Pride in the capital.

General admission, GA+, and VIP tickets start at $209.

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ+ Entertainment Critics released their nominations for 2024 films and it’s no surprise the year’s campiest film took home the most awards. Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (2024) a fearless, campy and over-the-top 2024 film about Hollywood’s perspective of beauty standards, was awarded Film of the Year. 

An unofficial member of the Brat Pack and star in The Substance, Demi Moore, impressed GALECA film critics so much so, the queer critics bestowed her with the Timeless Star career achievement award which honors “an exemplary career marked by character, wisdom and wit.” Moore joins a list of previous winners such as Jane Fonda, John Waters, Jodie Foster and over a dozen others. 

Her gripping and deeply unsettling, but great, performance in The Substance also earned her the Dorian award for Film Performance of the Year. 

Fargeat took home Director of the Year and her film won the Campiest Flick and Genre Film of the Year. Though the film itself was shocking, it was no surprise that Fargeat’s Mubi release would do so well among the queer critics. 

“In our 16th year, GALECA’s members still have wicked fun toasting their favorites in film both mainstream and LGBTQ-themed,” said Walt Hickey, president of GALECA.

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror drama I Saw the TV Glow (2024) led the Dorian award nominations, ultimately snatching the LGBTQ+ Film of the Year, as well as LGBTQ screenplay honors. 

“I’m certain even some ultra-conservatives who are out to erase all sorts of ‘woke’ words and letters—not to mention history—are secretly taking note of our winners. Everyone appreciates the expert Q+ eye on entertainment.”added vice president Diane Anderson-Minshall.

Ariana Grande claimed the Supporting Film Performance of the Year award for her role in Wicked (2024), while Jonathan Bailey was named Rising Star and Cynthia Erivo – who aced her performance as Elphaba Thropp – won LGBTQ+ Film Trailblazer. Erivo took home the trailblazer award which aims to honor artists who “inspire empathy, truth and equity,” – an absolutely fitting description of Erivo’s character in the box office hit. 

Road-trip documentary starring Will Ferrell and trans comedy writer Harper Steele, Will and Harper (2024) won both Documentary of the Year and LGBTQ+ Documentary of the Year. 

Justin Kuritzkes earned Screenplay of the Year for Challengers (2024), while Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won Film Music of the Year for their Berlin-themed techno score inspired by 90s rave music. 

More wins came for Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker (2023) and Julio Torres’ Problemista (2024), who both won the Unsung Film Dorian award. 

RaMell Ross won Visually Striking Film of the Year for the historical drama, Nickel Boys (2024).

The Dorian Award for Animated Film of the Year went to Flow (2024) – a mystical film about a courageous cat on its journey away from home.

The Best Non-English Language Film award went to Brazil’s factually accurate historical drama I’m Still Here (2024), while Best LGBTQ+ Non-English Language Film award went to the controversial Emilia Peréz, even amid the controversies surrounding Karla Sofía Gascón.

Last year, GLAAD’s Gaming Report shared that one in five active gamers identify as LGBTQ+. Even with such a large demographic of niche gamers, the gaming industry has less than 2% of queer representation in characters or storylines. Still, the gaming industry remains one of the top powerhouse forces in the entertainment industry with global revenue exceeding filmed entertainment and recorded music combined.

When a single queer character can generate 1.5 million Instagram posts, it sends a powerful message to developers and publishers that authentic LGBTQ+ representation drives engagement, builds community, and creates lasting cultural impact. Social media data doesn’t lie. These queer characters are not just being tolerated, they are being celebrated as figureheads, creating queer fellowship through fan art, message boards, and posts. The gaming industry can no longer ignore the need of including queer characters in their products. It isn’t just about diversity, it is about spending dollars and social media popularity. The data can’t be ignored.

Despite the lack of representation, the younger generation of queer gamers are forging a strong voice. The Gen Z generation continues to engage in more time gaming than watching traditional television. Gen Z’ers are also becoming the voice of social media and LGBTQ+ gamers are responsible for millions of social media interactions when it comes to video games.

90% of Gen Z engage with video games in some form and 22.3% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+. Mobile Premier League, a leading gaming platform in the US, just completed an analysis using Instagram hashtag data to determine the fifteen LGBTQ+ gaming characters who have made the most significant impact on players and the industry.

Here are the leading queer characters on Instagram and their social impact:

1. Athena (Borderlands)

Identity: Lesbian

With approximately 1.5 million Instagram posts, Athena serves as one of gaming’s most celebrated LGBTQ+ characters. Fans consider her relationship with Janey Springs to represent an authentic lesbian experience that is complex and has a place in the action-packed narrative. Her sexuality is just a natural part of who she is, and not done with pomp and circumstance. Her character is deemed as transcending stereotypes.

2. Tracer (Overwatch)

Identity: Lesbian

Garnering over 800,000 Instagram posts, Tracer’s sexuality was revealed in the franchise’s holiday comic. Her relationship with Emily proved that heroes can come from all identities. Tracer’s storyline was been integrated naturally into the overall story. She has become a symbol of inclusion in the competitive world of gaming.

3. Ellie Williams (The Last of Us)

Identity: Lesbian

With nearly 400,000 Instagram posts, Ellie’s relationship with Dina won gamers over with the positivity and energy of young love amid difficult situations. Their storyline resonates with gamers and again, her sexuality is a natural part of the story.

4. Ciri (The Witcher)

Identity: Bisexual

Approaching 350,000 Instagram posts, the character of Ciri shows how fantasy can easily incorporate queer representation. Gamers are attracted to her strong character and find themselves reflected in her journey.

5. Soldier 76 (Overwatch)

Identity: Gay

With over 330,000 Instagram posts, Soldier 76 breaks down stereotypes regarding older gay male characters in the gaming world. The backstory of his relationship humanizes this hero and challenges the norm as to what a strong leader in the military can be.

6. Alphys (Undertale)

Identity: Bisexual

Generating over 267,000 Instagram posts, Alphys deals with themes of anxiety and self-discovery. She is the nervous, cool geek that gamers can associate with. Her character has also led celebrations of body diversity in the gaming world.

7. Max Caulfield (Life is Strange)

Identity: Bisexual

With more than 170,000 Instagram posts, Max has become a major figurehead regarding bisexual representation. Sexual fluidity is explored and reflects the lack of labels that Gen Z’ers adhere to. Players have the choice to explore Max’s identity and, in turn, can explore their own self-discovery.

8. Eivor (Assassin’s Creed)

Identity: Bisexual

With over 116,000 Instagram posts, the character of Eivor has made significant progress in representation in major blockbuster games. Gender roles in historical situations are explored and players can choose romance options. This sends a signal to other major game titles that sexuality can be explored.

9. Bridget (Guilty Gear-Strive-)

Identity: Transgender

With approximately 115,000 Instagram posts, Bridget’s journey as a transgender character has incited major conversations regarding gender identity. Her character has had an evolution over multiple games, ultimately coming out as trans.

10. Leliana (Dragon Age: Origins)

Identity: Bisexual

Generating nearly 48,000 Instagram posts, Leliana’s character in Dragon Age explores themes of religion and queer identity. With so many of the queer community negatively affected by religion, this game explores the idea that spirituality and queer identity can both exist.

11. Tiny Tina (Borderlands 2)

Identity: Lesbian

With over 41,000 Instagram posts, Tiny Tina represents youthful LGBTQ+ representation. Her coming out was matter-of-fact, and not made sensational. This natural integration of sexuality in the game is a step towards normalizing queer identity in the gaming world.

12. Zagreus (Hades)

Identity: Bisexual Polyamorous

With around 34,000 Instagram posts, Zagreus celebrates bisexuality and polyamory. The younger generation is ready for more diverse portrayals and open exploration of love and sex.

13. Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Identity: Gay

With 18,000 Instagram posts, Dorian’s story resonates with queer folk who have been rejected by their family. It addresses the reality that many queer people face and the fear that many have in coming out for fear of losing their family.

14. Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors)

Identity: Bisexual

Generating nearly 12,000 Instagram posts, Alex Chen celebrates both Asian culture and bisexuality. Her empathic powers reflect her sexual fluidity in being emotionally intelligent. This also shows the power of intersectionality.

15. FL4K (Borderlands 3)

Identity: Nonbinary

With over 10,000 Instagram posts, FL4K has become an AI patron saint to the nonbinary community. This character has sparked a lot of conversation about identity and expression. The popularity of FL4K has encouraged other game makers to include non-binary representation in their products.

The demographics of gamers are changing and the queer contingent has gained an instrumental voice in making major changes in a previously historically heteronormative genre.