Actor, writer, comedian, and consistently hilarious gay wit Alec Mapa (as seen on Ugly Betty, Frasier, and RuPaul’s Drag Race) is returning to West 42nd Street’s legendary Laurie Beechman Theatre with the debut of his solo performance Ha! Penis! It’s a fitting setting for the show’s world premiere, with the Beechman (currently scheduled to shutter […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Laurels from countless luminaries began pouring in this summer, after word came down that Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 W. 42nd St.) would close for good come the end of August. Thankfully, the legendary downstairs performance space got a reprieve through October, as has the ground-level West Bank Cafe that sits above […]
BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | In years past, New York’s anime conventions had to tiptoe around the behemoth of New York Comic Con (NYCC). Anime NYC usually arrived in November, scavenging the nerd carcasses after NYCC had eaten the lion’s share of geeky wallets. But this year, Anime NYC dared to take the first bite from […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | With only 12 episodes in the rearview mirror, Season 3 of The Sherry Vine Variety Show (airing now on OUTtv) finds its titular star with plenty of genre tropes left to explore in the profane manner one might expect from the drag queen who turned Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah into How I […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Actress, singer, writer, and educator Bianca Leigh, a transgender woman, is currently collecting oodles of accolades for educating Broadway audiences—not about pronouns, mind you. The thing that has capacity crowds swooning is the way Bianca—as Louise, first lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal assistant and steadfast supporter—navigates the Lyceum Theatre stage with […]
“Drag, whether we like it or not, is inherently political, and our presence alone, before we even open our mouths to sing, is a threat to some people. Thankfully, the unholy blend of music and outrageous antics while addressing injustice, ignorance, and bigotry almost always wins over an audience and has powered us through these […]
BY TRAV S.D. | Any time I read raves about a show, or hear buzz that it is sensational, or that you can’t get a ticket for love or money, my natural inclination is to be skeptical to the point of intransigence. If everybody loves it, I feel almost duty-bound to hate it. And everybody […]
NOTE: Originally scheduled to shutter in Auguat, The Laurie Beechman Theatre will remain open through September. For the Beechman’s public performance calendar, clIck here. BY SCOTT STIFFLER | When word started spreading fast a few weeks ago that West 42nd Street’s West Bank Cafe would be closing its doors this month, that meant the same […]
NOTE: Originally scheduled to shutter in Auguat, The Laurie Beechman Theatre will remain open through September. For the Beechman’s public performance calendar, clIck here. When word got out a few weeks ago that West Bank Cafe (opened on West 42nd Street in 1978) would be closing its doors this month, that meant the same fate would await […]
NOTE: Rain plans are up to each organization. Check the hosting organization’s website in the event of cancellation or a location change for outdoor programs. BY SCOTT STIFFLER | What do you do for Year #2, when your demand during your debut handily exceeded expectations? If you’re the West Side Fest, the first thing you […]