Special Encore Episode: "I Am What I Am" — Gay Liberation & the AIDS Crisis on Broadway!

This is a special Encore Episode in celebration of PRIDE month.

The Stonewall Rebellion in 1969 thrust the issue of Gay Rights into the mainstream and as a result, during the 1970s queer people became “out, loud, and proud” in significant numbers.

In fact, all of the progressive and disruptive social movements of the 1960s & 70s — Civil Rights, Women’s Liberation, Black Power, Anti-War — had significant impacts on Broadway and were vibrantly reflected back into the culture by the hit musicals of the era in both subtle and overt ways.

So, it makes sense that this new LGBTQ+ visibility and joyous feeling of liberation would also have a major impact on Broadway where queer people have alway been present in large numbers, including its highest levels of leadership. 

In this episode I explore the sudden and significant wave openly queer content on Broadway in groundbreaking shows such as Hair, Coco, Applause, Seesaw, A Chorus Line, La Cage Aux Folles, and Falsettos. The positive impact that these widely seen musicals had on gay liberation — especially the mega-hit A Chorus Line — should not be underestimated!

I also relate the devastating effect that the AIDS Crisis had on Broadway during the 1980s & 90s, when an entire generation of Broadway directors, choreographers, composers, lyricists, bookwriters, and other other creative talent was eliminated or sidelined by the disease. 

AIDS also claimed the lives of hundreds of actors, singers, musicians, stage managers, production assistants, and designers — as well as scores of dancers that had been trained by Bennett, Fosse, Champion, and Tune and who might have become influential directors and/or choreographers themselves. The devastation of AIDS opened the door to the “British Invasion” that would soon dominate Broadway.

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