Beau The Musical Concept, Book and Lyrics by Douglas Lyons Director/Choreographer: Josh Rhodes Out of the Box Theatrics August 2, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Beau featured eight actor-musicians telling the story of Ace Baker – a young queer man whose life is forever changed when he discovers his deceased grandfather is actually still alive. Family secrets unravel as Ace rushes to make up for lost time with a man who changes his life by putting a guitar in his hand. I had a simply wonderful night of theatre at the Out of the Box / Theatre 154.
Trophy Boys Written by Emmanuelle Mattana Directed by Danya Taymor MCC Theater July 31, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Trophy Boys was a most novel, explosive, concentrated 70 minutes of classroom drama. Staged by Danya Taymor of both The Outsiders and John Proctor is the Villain, the play is amplified with dance moves, blaring music and flashing lights – here – not as successfully as in the previous two works. According to the playwright’s non-negotiable terms, her drama’s four 17-something male characters must be enacted by female, gender non-conforming and/or non-binary performers wearing schoolboy drag. The play is set inside the classroom at a private school for girls – all the classroom walls were covered with historical female icons.
Duke and Roya Written by Charles Randolph-Wright Directed by Warren Adams Lucille Lortel Theatre July 30, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright claims that he was inspired to write this play from a story that he read that spoke of a practice in Aphghanistan known as bacha posh – – a practice in which young girls dress up as boys to see out education and further to simply survive, “It stunned me (Charles Randolph-Wright). I thought, ‘I have to tell this story.’ I couldn’t get it out of my head.”
The Imaginary Invalid Written by Moliere Directed by Jeffrey Hatcher Red Bull Theater at New World Stages May 31, 2025 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
Imaginary Invalid, as produced by the Red Bull Theatre, is an 80 minute “take” on the classic Moliere farce. It felt like the production thought the audience did not have the attention span to enjoy the full 2+ hours so they set out to give you this “Las Vegas edited” production that will get you back out in the streets in no time. It was not a good thing. At its heart, the play lacked the necessary timing of a farce. It limped by and didn’t have the motivation and passion to fly by your eyes.
Prince Faggot Written by Jordan Tannahill Directed by Shayok Misha Chowdhury Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons May 30, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
First off, this play really has a P.R. challenge with its name. Even the users at the theatre were reluctant to incant the word Faggot. Perhaps that was the goal of the production. BUT it is going to make it more challenging for the public. The premise of the story is based on the pre-adolescent pictures of the gay/transexual cast of Prince Faggot. They project these pictures at the top of the show and note that even in those very young pictures it was clear that they were gay. Then they quickly bring up a very cute, effeminate photo of Prince George. This leads them to speculate – only speculate – “what if we had a gay king”. How would that change things?
