The 7 PM show is currently SOLD OUT, only ADA seating is available. To be added to the waitlist, please email boxoffice@baryshnikovarts.org.
Step into a dazzling cabaret for an evening of live performances, Broadway showstoppers, and powerful storytelling. This special event celebrates Making Gay History‘s latest podcast series, which dives into the history explored in the new off-Broadway musical The Gorgeous Nothings, premiering at PAC NYC in 2027.
Inspired by true events, The Gorgeous Nothings uncovers the hidden history of the “Fag Ward,” the secret wing of a 1930s New York penitentiary where men were imprisoned for homosexuality. Set to a lush score drawn from the Great American Songbook, the musical interweaves the stories of six inmates with the high-camp spectacle of their annual Christmas pageant—”The Fag Follies”—revealing a vibrant, resilient world that was never meant to be seen.
This one-night-only theatrical experience brings you inside the creative process of the award-winning Making Gay History podcast, which is dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and amplifying LGBTQ+ history. This event coincides with Making Gay History‘s 10th anniversary and the launch of its 16th season.
The Gorgeous Nothings was developed, in part, during a Baryshnikov Arts Center Residency.
All details subject to change.
Life Jacket Theatre Company (Producer) is a purveyor of undertold stories. We create bold, challenging, and theatrically disruptive shows focused on real people and events. We build every show using rigorous field interviews, archival research, and other investigative methods. Our work has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, two American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Awards, seven New York Innovative Theatre Awards, and eleven BroadwayWorld Awards. Our shows have been honored as Critic’s Picks by The New York Times, Time Out New York, Fest Magazine, Voice Magazine, and The List and have been named the Edinburgh Fringe’s #1 Show by Fest Magazine and among the “Top 10 Plays of the Year” by NewNowNext. lifejackettheatre.org | @lifejacketnyc
Making Gay History is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that addresses the absence of substantive, in-depth LGBTQ+-inclusive American history from the public discourse and the classroom. By sharing the stories of those who helped a despised minority take its rightful place in society as full and equal citizens, we aim to encourage connection, pride, and solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community—and to provide an entry point for both allies and the general public to its largely hidden history. Visit makinggayhistory.org to explore the more than 150 episodes of our award-winning Making Gay History podcast, our LGBTQ+-inclusive lesson plans, and the play Making Gay History: Before Stonewall. @makinggayhistorypodcast
Photo by Jesse Dittmar.