LGBT
New York City’s best guide to gay clubs, gay bars and LGBT events throughout NYC
The drag stars of Bushwig 2018 have arrived
On a sweltering Tuesday afternoon in July, nine of New York's most worshipped drag performers stomp onto the Myrtle/Broadway stop for Time Out's photoshoot. Naturally, they spark commentary and double takes from just about every commuter on the platform. But this sweaty stunt is rather common for the queens and kings of Bushwig, the drag music festival toasting Brooklyn's DIY, experimental queer art and party culture.
Charlene is taking over the planet
If you’ve seen a drag show in Brooklyn over the last few years—at beloved dives like the Rosemont, Metropolitan or Macri Park—you’ve likely been drawn to a hard-partying powerhouse in a flimsy bikini and Timberland boots. The mononymous trans performer and activist is the living embodiment of the Brooklyn drag aesthetic: Raw, low-budget, highly self-aware.
The best LGBT parties in NYC
NYC’s queer nightlife is more innovative and inclusive than ever. Whether you’re looking to gag to fabulous drag queens, chill at the city’s best gay bars, or belt out your favorite gay songs at parties, we’ve got the event for you. RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to NYC nightlife
The best New York City drag shows and events
New York is, without question, the world capital of the drag arts. Gender-bending superstars from Bob the Drag Queen to Bianca Del Rio have honed their craft on NYC stages, and the scene shows no signs of slowing. These days, you can catch drag queens (often for free) every night of the week onstage at gay bars throughout the boroughs (and in Fire Island), and even on Broadway stages with shows like Kinky Boots serving fierce performances.
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KINK HAÜS
Choreographer and stunt provocateur Gunna Montana unleashes a hyper-saturated dungeon demimonde on the La Mama stage. Watch as a crew of queer underground superheroes strip, strut and surrender to their carnal urges in this neon-splattered nightclub fantasy.
Company XIV: Ferdinand—Boylesque Bullfight
Having already offered opulently designed, adults-only burlesque takes on Snow White, Cinderella and The Nutcracker, director-choreographer Austin McCormick and his fancy-naughty troupe turn to Munro Leaf's 1936 children's book, The Story of Ferdinand, the tale of a strong young bovine who prefers fields of flowers to the matador's ring. An all-male ensemble performs what is sure to be a lavish cock-and-bull story.
Murray Hill: About to Break
Self-billed as "the hardest-working middle-aged man in show business," old-school comedian-singer and nightlife survivor Hill looks like he should be entertaining at an Elks Club dinner in 1958—and that's how he likes it. In his new solo show, directed and cowritten by Scott Wittman (Hairpray), Hill digs into the darker side of his life as a pillar of downtown performance. He is backed by the Early Bird Specials, a swinging combo led by Paul Leschen.
Black Light
Daniel Alexander Jones (Duat) inhabits his longtime alter ego, Jomama Jones—or does she inhabit him?—in a high-concept musical evening that reflects on a shattered mirror of black history. Jomama is a paradigm of R&B-diva grandeur circa 1982, with impeccable posture and elocution that bespeak an old-school black-star dignity. Although the original "Afromystical" songs don’t always rise to the occasion, it’s a pleasure to bask in Jones’s sequined, oracular presence, especially when Jones allows us to see the pain and labor behind the all-but-impervious diva’s self-fashioning.
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The cast and creator of Pose on bringing authentic trans POC stories to TV
“Live! Work! Pose!” cries Broadway mainstay Billy Porter in the opening-title sequence of Pose, evoking the magic words of the queer ballroom scene. For the cast of this FX show, which premieres on June 3, this three-word directive is a command—on and off camera—for an unprecedented assembly of gay men and trans women of color. They have been held back from opportunity in the entertainment industry for too long. Now, it’s their time to shine.
Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells and Matt Bomer hit Broadway
When The Boys in the Band opens on the Great White Way this month, it will be one hell of a celebration, marking the 50th anniversary of the Off Broadway debut with a hotly anticipated cast that comprises only openly gay actors.
Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears breaks out on Broadway’s Kinky Boots
For a generation of fiendish fans, the Scissor Sisters were perhaps the sole bastion of blissful expression in a straight-laced age of Nickelback and Jack Bauer. At the center of the technicolor explosion stood Jake Shears, a big-eyed, boyish soprano with a penchant for stripping down to his skivvies on stage—latent from his years as an East Village go-go dancer.
New York's best: LGBT
The best New York City drag shows and events
New York is, without question, the world capital of the drag arts. These days, you can catch drag queens every night of the week onstage at gay bars throughout the boroughs, and even on Broadway stages with shows like Kinky Boots serving fierce performances to midwestern tourists. We've rounded up the best performances to see. Go get your life!
The best New York City drag queens
You can't walk two feet in NYC without stepping on a drag queen. Whether you're down to see the experimental Bushwig scene in Bushwick, or to witness cabaret queens give Broadway songs their stamp downtown, you're bound to fall in love. Here are some of the queens who have defined NYC's drag scene, from hosting drag shows to winning RuPaul’s Drag Race.
