In a year when it's often been a challenge to see the light, not only did Dolly Parton help bring some joy to lockdown with a surprise appearance on the RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 finale, she also soothed our souls with the hopeful single When Life Is Good Again, and most significantly, as has... Continue Reading →
One of the standout performances of Thom Fitzgerald's uplifting comedy Stage Mother, which opens in select US theatres and on demand this Friday August 21st, comes from queer Canadian actor Allister MacDonald who portrays a talented San Fransisco drag queen with an inspired name, Joan of Arkansas. MacDonald appears in the movie alongside Oscar-nominee Jacki... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago, I went with a group to see Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Despite the thuddingly bad writing, we’d giddily wonder what ABBA song the filmmakers would shoehorn into the next musical number. I remember my pal Dennis seeing those platform soles stepping out of a helicopter and loudly exclaiming,... Continue Reading →
Well, ARE you thinking of me when you fuck her? I was definitely thinking a lot about Alanis Morissette as I watched Jagged Little Pill, the big Broadway jukebox musical based on her record-breaking debut album (and a few other songs). Mainly I was thinking this is what happens when a great rock album gets... Continue Reading →
Some musicals are subtle, moving works of art and some are brash spectacles that dare you to be bored. It's comes as no surprise that Moulin Rouge! is the latter and from the first bass note you’ll have a hard time escaping it’s grasp. Translating Baz Luhrmann’s camp, frenetic film to the stage was always... Continue Reading →
Michael Longoria dazzled Broadway audiences with his acclaimed performance as Frankie Valli in the Tony award-winning musical Jersey Boys. He's joined forces with three of that show's original cast members to form the vocal group, The Midtown Men. Billed as a high-octane musical tour de force, celebrating the best of the 1960s, the group features... Continue Reading →
If the onset of winter, the continuing saga of Brexit and a looming general election is getting you down, maybe stepping back in time to a completely charming musical is what you need? That’s what the Menier Chocolate Factory is betting on with this bright and relentlessly cheery revival of 1950s hit musical, The Boy... Continue Reading →
British theatre is loving a bit of historical revision these days and & Juliet gives us re-written Shakespeare with liberal lashings of scandi-pop brilliance. I loathe jukebox musicals but & Juliet is just fantastic! What if star-crossed Juliet didn’t take her own life after Romeo died? What if instead, she woke up and got on... Continue Reading →
It was a sweltering 38+ degrees celsius (100+ fahrenheit) outside so I grabbed a last minute ticket to the Soho Theatre on the promise of air-conditioning and showtunes. Turns out the air-con was either not working, or was so weak it made no difference. So I wasn’t exactly excited to sit through an hour and... Continue Reading →
Ahhh, the 90s. The Los Angeles Theatre scene seemed littered with what I liked to call, “Nude Gays Two Inches From Your Face Plays” with titles such as Naked Boys Singing and Making Porn. A front row seat in those small theaters almost guaranteed contact with some type of bodily fluid. While LGBTQ+ stage shows... Continue Reading →
