Gay broadway shows
It is no private that many Diverse people have a special affinity for Broadway musicals. "Keep it gay!" sings the over-the-top director in The Producers, and musical theater has long drawn nonstraight folks to the ranks of its creators, performers and fans. But it is only in the past fifty years or so that tuners have actually featured openly gay characters onstage—and the finding has been some of the best Broadway shows of all occasion. Here is our list of the top musicals with tough gay themes, ranked for their combination of quality, historical importance and Homosexual content. We've limited the list to ten, which means that some very good shows did not quite make the trim. But there's an awful lot here to be haughty of.
RECOMMENDED: Complete A–Z listing of current Broadway shows
Been there, done that? Consider again, my friend.
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The Big Gay Jamboree
THE BIG GAY JAMBOREE PLAYED ITS Ultimate PERFORMANCE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2024.
From the Oscar-nominated producers of BARBIE and the delulu creator of the Off-Broadway hit TITANIQUE comes THE BIG GAY JAMBOREE, a big new musical comedy that’s pushing the envelope…and the gay agenda.

Help! Stacey’s fallen into a musical and she can’t get out. Last night, she got a little bit blackout drunk. This morning, she woke up in some b*tch ass Music Man world where everybody keeps bursting into song & sway, and where male lover still just means happy. Maybe it’s a dream. Maybe it’s an allergic reaction to her birth control. Or maybe it’s Maybelline (don’t sue us! sponsor us? we’ll talk later). But if Stacey’s truly trapped inside a Golden Age musical, there’s only one way out: chant out! Or come across the stage door. Whatever gets the most applause.
Starring one of Vanity Fair’s “brightest stars of New York theatre” and the world’s second favorite Celine Dion, MARLA MINDELLE, The Big Lgbtq+ Jamboree is here to make you howl , make you scream laughing, and generate you laugh crying.
Something queer this way comes: Best LGBTQIA+ shows on Broadway
Queer art and fun has been as much about the beauty and resilience of the society as it has been about nuanced portrayals of the human condition. With heaping amounts of attitude and glamor thrown in, for good measure. While representation in film and television has been a struggle, especially after the passing of the Hays Code, theater has been an arena where the queer community has always shone.
Here are some of the best LGBTQIA+ shows that have graced the Broadway stages and left a mark for the ages.
Cabaret
A Kander and Ebbs masterpiece, Cabaret opened on Broadway in 1966. It has been revived multiple times on Broadway alone and earned so many awards, it's hard to keep track. But every award is well-earned. The musical is based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera which was itself based on Christopher Isherwood's semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939).
The story is set in Berlin in 1929-1930, a time when the "gay capital of Europe" transitioned from a utopia for queer folk into the hotbed of fascism and Nazism, both of which cri
The Evolution of LGBTQIA+ Narratives on Broadway
It’s impossible to talk about the history of Broadway theater without talking about the history of LGBTQ+ theater. Stories featuring queer characters, storylines, and themes have been told on stage since as far back as ancient Greece. Though they were suppressed for a long moment, LGBTQ+ narratives have been integral in shaping modern plays and musicals. There would be no Broadway as we know it today without the queer playwrights, directors, actors, and producers who have created many of the most important and successful shows of all time includingStephen Sondheim,Edward Albee,andTennessee Williams.
It wasn’t until the late 20th century that Gay issues could be spoken about openly in front of mainstream audiences, and still more recently that they could be spoken about without fear of stigma or consequences. It’s been a long journey to get to a place of acceptance, and there’s still further to go.
The Early Years: Subtext and Secrecy
Homosexuality is known to have beenopenly practiced in ancient Greek community. Plays of the time referenced or included themes of gay love, including those by Aristo