Any LGBT Characters?

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 7:57pm

I'm looking for some musicals with LGBT characters this season, and the only ones I found were Falsettos, and Come From Away (I think). I know some of the revivals and new ones don't have any, but maybe I missed something?

• Anastasia
• Amélie
• Bandstand
• Cats
• A Bronx Tale
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Come From Away
• Holiday Inn
• Hello Dolly!
• Groundhog Day
• Falsettos
• Miss Saigon
• In Transit
• Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
• Sunday in the Park with George
• War Paint
• Sunset Blvd. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 7:59pm

There's a gay couple in In Transit

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:00pm

War Paint

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:02pm

"The Lady's Paying" in Sunset Boulevard has a minor and (somewhat controversially) gay group of characters in the dressers and Manfred. Super random, but for what it's worth!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:06pm

"Rubbing nipples with delight" I'd say dear Evan Hansen has some gay character, although it's not known for sure. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:09pm

 

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The "rubbing nipples with delight" thing is Jared messing with Evan while creating Connor's fake email account. He has a line that says that Evan likely made Connor's parents think they were lovers. Gay jokes, but no overtly gay characters.

 

[little_sally]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:14pm

Groundhog Day has a very minor gay character.

[Steve C.]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:15pm

My heavens! No POC this year for awards season; and now! No LGBTQ characters on stage? Broadway has certainly turned into straight white people everywhere this year on Broadway and Off.

(That is unless you count that actual people on the stages). Pardon my digression, I just don't want to put these labels on everyone and everything. My bad, sorry.  

[Kad]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 8:50pm

Why just musicals? Indecent prominently features lesbian characters and the action centers around a work that has a lesbian kiss.

[little_sally]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 9:05pm

And there's LGBT characters in Significant Other and Six Degrees of Separation. 

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 9:38pm

Thanks for the help!

It seems like the majority of the shows I listed don't have any gay characters, and a couple of the ones that do are only minor characters. That's...pretty disheartening. 

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 9:41pm

There is a gay couple in " Come From Away"

[@z5]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 11:09pm

Um... FALSETTOS?!? That's one of the primary themes of the show.

 

And why is this disheartening? You should protest!!

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 11:28pm

The reason why it's disheartening is because there seems to be a huge lack of LGBT representation with the shows this season, which I listed above. This is surprising to me, considering how progressive the theatre world is...

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 4/28/17 at 11:35pm

But why are you specifically looking for musicals? Yes, its a shame there are no major LGBT stories being told in musicals. But as others have pointed out several plays have LGBT characters are their forefront, most notably Significant Other and Indecent.

[Ortensiah]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 12:11am

Holiday Inn - this isn't actually a plot point, but

 

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Louise in Holiday Inn has a line at the end, something along the lines of ask X [female] movie star to sign something for her with "I love you forever."

 

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 12:37am

But why are you specifically looking for musicals? Yes, its a shame there are no major LGBT stories being told in musicals. But as others have pointed out several plays have LGBT characters are their forefront, most notably Significant Other and Indecent.

I've already seen a few plays (including SO and Indecent), now I wanna get into some musicals. And yes, it's really disappointing how there's such a lack of LGBT stories/characters in musicals this season, and nobody is even talking about it. Things should be getting better by now.

[Willie4316]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:03am

BroadwayStar4 said: "But why are you specifically looking for musicals? Yes, its a shame there are no major LGBT stories being told in musicals. But as others have pointed out several plays have LGBT characters are their forefront, most notably Significant Other and Indecent.

I've already seen a few plays (including SO and Indecent), now I wanna get into some musicals. And yes, it's really disappointing how there's such a lack of LGBT stories/characters in musicals this season, and nobody is even talking about it. Things should be getting better by now."

I fear it may take some time for more of these kind of shows to come along. Over the last 2-3 years we've seen 4 shows with LGBT based stories (3 if you don't count the couple from In Transit). One has received several major accolades and a healthy run. Another had rave reviews but didn't recoup. The others have flopped terribly due to not being able to find an audience IMO. 

Updated On: 4/29/17 at 01:03 AM

[Princeton2]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:54am

I have to disagree that theatre, especially musicals are progressive. Even when gay characters appear in musicals they are usually a massive stereotype often to get a cheap laugh. I dont think ive ever seen a relatable gay character in a musical.

To be honest the lack of lgbt characters doesnt bother me much as its not something that i think about everytime i see a show, i mainly go to the theatre to be entertained or be told a good story and dont really analyse every detail. Unless the subject matter of the piece is specifically about sexuality then i dont need a character to be gay to potentially  be able to relate to them. Personally though id rather have no lgbt characters than a stereotype used for a cheap laugh 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:10pm

^^^^^ Have you seriously never heard of FALSETTOS?

[Kad]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:13pm

Also: a number of the musicals you initially asked about are either decades old or adaptations of works that are decades old. 

And one is about cats. Like, actual cats. 

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:14pm

Mr. Mistoffelees, of course.

[BWWMatt]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:50pm

This is a genuine question asked from a straight guy's privilege, but in shows where sexuality and romance isn't a major topic for many characters, do you assume that those characters are straight? Does whether they are principal, featured, minor, or ensemble make a difference? Do they automatically go in the straight column unless otherwise expressly indicated? 

While those questions don't truly address OP's concern about representation, I just wonder if it is fair to criticize certain shows that don't directly or indirectly address a character's sexuality at all. I think most of us would agree that there needs to be a better representation of all types of people in the stories told, especially in the theatre that tends to lead the way on these fronts, but I just wonder if the "numbers" are being skewed a little by assumptions. 

Again acknowledging my privilege, if it's not a traditional "boy meets girl (or any other combination), they fall in love" story, I kind of think of the characters as asexual. 

Also, I would imagine that if the conversation was expanded to include Off-Broadway, or only new musicals, or only original musicals, (which obviously all change the discussion more than a little bit), we would find a somewhat different slate of representation.

Updated On: 4/29/17 at 01:50 PM

[Valentina3]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 2:00pm

The Great Comet has quite a few hypersexualized dance numbers with gay and lesbian kisses, for what it's worth.

And Matt - while you make a good point, I think a majority of shows do anchor around romance and sexuality.

[BWWMatt]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 2:09pm

I completely agree that most shows have a romance in the center, heck, forget shows, the majority of everything in art and pop culture has a romantic relationship in the center.

I guess what I didn't say very well was, does that mean that all of the other characters in the show are straight as well? Like, even if a show is about a central heterosexual romance, if the sexuality of other characters isn't addressed at all, how much do we fault the writers/directors for not specifying or even indicating that certain characters are LGBTQ? Obviously in the handful of shows (usually plays) that don't involve romance at all, it's a more interesting question, but I wonder if we shouldn't assume someone's sexuality in real-life, how far does that extend into the arts? Does the responsibility to showcase and represent marginalized peoples supersede the normal hesitation to assume?

I don't have an answer, this thread just got me thinking.