LGBT
New York City’s best guide to gay clubs, gay bars and LGBT events throughout NYC
Great shows featuring trans and nonbinary performers in NYC
NYC would be a sadder place without the cultural contributions of its rich trans and nonbinary community. You can catch some of the city's most spectacular artists—who happen to be gender-nonconforming—at these comedy events, Broadway shows, cabaret performances, drag parties and beyond.
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.
The Best queer POC (person of color) parties in NYC
Josephine Baker once said: “He was my cream, and I was his coffee, and when you poured us together, it was something.” The Queer POC community has always been a vital part of LGBT culture and at these nightlife events, you can party with the crème de la crème. Along with the best gay bars and lesbian bars in NYC, these queer POC parties make up the diverse LGBTQ rainbow.
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
Upcoming events
Gay & Lesbian events in NYC: Critics’ picks
Torch Song
For gay history to stay alive, torches must be passed. So it is with Second Stage Theatre’s welcome and well-assembled revival of Harvey Fierstein’s plangently funny and touching play, which opened on Broadway in 1982 and ran there for three years. Then called Torch Song Trilogy, it was four hours long and covered a range of topics related to gay men in the window between Stonewall and AIDS: self-esteem, dating, violence, adoption, family tension. What it isn’t about is shame: Its central character, Jewish drag queen Arnold Beckoff, accepts his own queerness without fuss and with plenty of pithy quips.
Dina Martina: Christmas Show
You might mistake her for a lost rodeo clown, but superstar drag artist Dina Martina is a unique and hilarious genius. She blends the traditional elements of a drag show—singing (sort of), dancing (in a way), jokes and stories (stream of consciousness)—into an intoxicating cocktail of demented glee. Her annual Christmas show features "overburdened costumes" and accompanist Chris Jeffries. The Dina experience is hard to describe and even harder to forget. Don't miss out.
Pig
Peter Smith and Sandy Honig—two of the most fantastic beasts in the NYC comedy stable—unleash their wildest friends upon the Slipper Room stage at this weekly stand-up showcase. Count on an always-diverse lineup of marvels from across NYC's alt-comedy spectrum, all giving it to you for free.
"Bruce Sargeant (1898–1938): The Lost Murals curated by Mark Beard"
Over the past 20 years, artist Mark Beard has collected the works of his great-uncle, painter Bruce Sargeant, whose paintings of athletic men displaying homoerotic athleticism have been largely overlooked since his early death at the age of 40. Now, Beard brings together murals of Sargeant's from around the world, and ushers in his rightful inclusion to the queer canon. The exhibition opens with a launch party on Thursday, October 4.
Gay & Lesbian in pictures
Top stories
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.
