A fascinating look at the gay and lesbian influence on the American stage by an internationally-recognized authority on the topic From the genteel female impersonators of the 1910s to the raucous drag queens of La Cage Aux Folles, from the men of The Normal Heart to the women of Fun Home, and from Eva Le Gallienne and Tallulah Bankhead to Tennessee Williams and Nathan Lane, Gays On Broadway deftly chronicles the plays and people that brought gay culture to Broadway. Writing with his customary verve and wit, author Ethan Mordden follows the steady liberation of gay themes on the American stage. The story begins in the early twentieth century, when gay characters were virtually banned from productions. The 1920s saw a flurry of plays closed on moral grounds as well as the Wales Padlock Act, which forbade representation of "sex degeneracy". While authorities made consistent attempts to shutter the movement, the public remained curious, and after a few decades of war making, a truce broke out when The Boys In the Band became a national smash hit. From this point on, gay theatre proved simply too popular to abolish. With this change, theatre was graced with a host of unforgettable characters - from thrill killers to historical figures to drag performers, as well as professional gays (such as the defiantly effeminate window dresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman), closeted gays, and those run-of-the-mill citizens who don't reside entirely within the colorful nonconformist identity (such as the two male lovers in the dinner-theatre comedy Norman, Is That You?). Spoken plays and musicals, playwrights, directors, and actors all played their part in popularizing the gay movement through art. Gays on Broadway is an essential chronological review of the long journey to bring the culture of gay men and women onto the American stage.

Jerry Douglas's Tubstrip, a risqué comedy set in a gay bathhouse, was a popular sensation when produced onstage in 1973-1974, in the era of gay liberation and the sexual revolution. The play, often dismissed by mainstream critics but hailed as "funny, sexy, and important" by the gay press, ran for 140 performances off-Broadway, then toured to eight cities over nine months, and returned to Broadway starring the legendary adult film star Casey Donovan in the lead role. Despite its unprecedented success and acclaim, the play has never been published. Along with the debut publication of the script of the play, this edition includes a foreword by Jordan Schildcrout titled "Tubstrip and The Erotic Theatre of Gay Liberation, " which examines the significance of the play as one of a wave of erotic gay plays (most of them forgotten or lost) that emerged between 1969 and 1974. This edition also features rarely seen publicity photos, posters, and advertisements from the original production of the play.

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Voices By: Richard V. Ryan Voices is a psychological thriller from the perspective of Johnnie Walls, starting from his childhood. He was an abused child, mentally and physically, forced to wear the dresses and undergarments his seamstress mother created for her clients. He began hearing voices very early in life due to the mental stress created by his tumultuous upbringing. He desperately wants love. This desire causes intense self-hatred that feeds his progressive madness, culminating in a spree of truly horrible violence. At the center of Johnnie’s self-hatred is his sexual orientation denial and the lack of maternal love he experienced as a child.

A collection of stories and fascinating facets of theater history in Philadelphia. From the founding of The Walnut Street Theatre and the beginning of the American circus to the world premiere performance of Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, and from censorship and opposition to riots and deadly fires, this engaging collection of short, focused narratives introduces the reader to the often overlooked and frequently underappreciated topic of the history of theater in Philadelphia, and offer a new way of approaching the wider history of this unique and important American city. The stories are populated by some of the many notable visitors to the city’s theaters, including Oscar Wilde, Edmund Kean, John Wilkes Booth, Sarah Bernhardt, Ayn Rand, Tennessee Williams, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Muhammad Ali, Paul Robeson and Joseph Papp; and the stories of heroes of local theater including Edwin Forrest, Pearl Bailey, Molly Picon, and Charles Fuller and Kevin Bacon. Also putting in appearances are the mostly forgotten, but no less fascinating Annie Kemp Bowler “the Original Stalacta,” May Manning Lillile the Quaker Cowgirl, and tennis champion William (“Big Bill”) Tilden. All together, these lively and vivid stories—many of them little-known or unexplored—serve to form a larger narrative of the role that theater has played, and continues to play, in shaping and reflecting the texture of life in an American city.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.