BY KRISTEN ANCILLOTTI | This year’s Pride celebrations held a special historic importance, as the 50th anniversary of Stonewall was commemorated and WorldPride was held in the United States for the first time, bringing in significantly more people than usual for June 30’s Pride March. The March took a different path than previous years, beginning […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | With WorldPride, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the usual frenzy of Pride month celebrations sweeping over New York City this week, LGBTQ pilgrims are coming in from around the globe, to be part of this truly unique moment in time. Among the notable visitors is His Royal Highness […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER Through Friday, June 28: Galas: A Modern Tragedy | “Seeing this show is not just a good way to observe the season, it’s virtually obligatory,” said our Trav S.D. of the Pride month powerhouse play Galas: A Modern Tragedy. Written by the late Charles Ludlam, and directed and starring his partner, Everett […]
BY GERALD BUSBY | Collaborating with young gay writers, filmmakers, and choreographers has been a major stimulus to my creative life as an 83-year-old composer. The same could be said of my association with young straight artists as well, though I’ve felt a special satisfaction, a completion really, in sharing my history as a gay […]
BY RANIA RICHARDSON | The infamous true crime story that inspired Sidney Lumet’s 1975 film, Dog Day Afternoon, shines a light on a same-sex couple from the time. In the film, the character Sonny Wortzik (played by Al Pacino, based on John Wojtowicz), having married female-identified Leon Shermer (played by Chris Sarandon, loosely based on […]
PHOTO ESSAY AND TEXT BY DANIEL KWAK | Although it’s a fundraiser for the gardens, art, public programs, and operations of Chelsea’s iconic elevated park, the High Line Hat Party has the character of a proper June Pride Gala—full of color, thematic hats, and, yes, a runway. That runway, like the event itself, draws inspiration […]
Every bit as sweet and cool as her name implies—but with a refreshing flavor all her own—Peppermint has been opening doors for others by paving her own way through the worlds of television, Broadway, the music industry, live performance, and, always, activism. Chelsea Community News sat down with her, for a broad-ranging talk about everything […]
BY WINNIE McCROY | On Monday, June 17, the New York City Council invited the community to The Joyce Theater for an LGBT Pride/Stonewall 50 celebration. Speaker Corey Johnson, whose District 3 area of coverage includes Chelsea, gathered elected officials together to present Proclamations to activists who have helped advance the cause of LGBT civil […]
BY WINNIE McCROY | A new piece of New York State legislation that passed the Senate and Assembly this month seeks to amend a passel of laws that would help veterans dishonorably discharged from the service for being LGBTQ. In addition to restoring their honor for serving our country, the legislation would also serve to […]
BY TRAV S.D. | Are you feeling what I’m feeling? Excitement about Pride Month seems particularly marked this year, most likely because it is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that helped spark the modern Gay Rights Movement in America, but undoubtedly also because the community’s hard-won rights are once again under threat from […]