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This Week’s Best LGBT Events in New York City

Written by Kevin Phinney| March 21, 2019| Things to Do

Aretha Franklin photo courtesy of Wikicommons/Cecilo Ricardo

Looking for gay things to do in New York? Whether you’re looking for drag shows, parties talks & lectures, film screenings, theater, or art exhibits, Metrosource has got you covered. Our complete list of LGBT things to do is just a click away, but here are a few handpicked favorite queer events this week.

What’s your pleasure? The coming week provides a handful of events suited to a variety of budgets. This week: Billy Joel returns to MSG, the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus pays tribute to black music greats, and a one-woman show gives another glimpse through Bette Davis’ eyes!

Billy Joel Live at MSG

Thursday, March 21

Do you have a partner who loves you “just the way you are”? Surprise them with tickets to see the one and only Billy Joel. The iconic Piano Man continues his indefinite Madison Square Garden residency with a special Valentine’s Day performance that will have you swooning and crooning for months to come. Or if your plans are already set for February, consider scooping up seats to his record-breaking 62nd consecutive show at MSG.

Open Flame One Year Anniversary Show

Friday, March 22

Sam Campbell, Simone Leitner, and Peter Valenti host Open Flame, the hot queer happening where a comedy open mic meets an LGBTQ+ social. We’re celebrating the first year of Open Flame with a show and party at Littlefield featuring regulars of the show Jess Henderson, Melody Kamali, Sabrina Wu and queer comedy icons at large Lorelei Ramirez and Julio Torres!

This show benefits The Audre Lorde Project, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area.

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Big Gay Sing: Body and Soul

Friday, March 22

The NYC Gay Men’s Chorus presents the sing-along extravaganza of the season with Big Gay Sing: Body and Soul! For 2019, Big Gay Sing pays tribute to the contributions of black artists (from gospel, jazz, R&B, pop, rap, and beyond) who have influenced LGBTQ and American culture. Join us as we celebrate the soul behind the music, with homage to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, plus a heaping dose of Beyoncé, The Temptations, Rihanna, John Legend, Stevie Wonder and more! With special guest-host Peppermint (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9) March 22 at 8PM, March 23 at 8PM and March 24 at 3PM at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

RSVP (Real Sexy Variety Party)

Friday, March 22 – Saturday, March 23

This Real Sexy Variety Party, RSVP at Arlo NoMad, is paving the way for out-of-the-box variety shows and intimate/immersive entertainment experiences in New York City. The venue combines a chic, welcoming atmosphere with design-forward spaces for a one-of-a-kind experience that makes audience members and performers all part of the party. RSVP at Arlo features talent spanning an array of disciplines including music, dance, comedy, burlesque, magic, and more!

Amore Opera Presents New English Production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte

Through Sunday, March 24

Amore Opera will stage a new English version of Mozart’s classic: Così fan tutte, directed by Nathan Hull and conducted by José Alejandro Guzmán, with sets designed by Richard Cerullo. The rotating cast at Riverside Church includes: in the role of Despina: sopranos Deborah Surdi, Jessi Goebel, and Megan Marod; in the role of Fiordiligi: sopranos Iris Karlin, Rachel Hippert, and Elizabeth Treat; in the role of Dorabella: sopranos Melissa Serluco, Perri Sussman, and Victoria Tomasch; in the role of Ferrando: tenors Colm Fitzmaurice, Drew Watson, and Riad Ymeri; in the role of Guglielmo: baritones Robert Garner, Conrad Schmechel, and Jonathan Green; and in the role of Don Alfonso: baritones Nathan Hull, David Tillistrand, and Jay Stephenson.

Retrospective: The Homecoming Concert | ECMC 25th Anniversary Silver Season

Through Sunday, March 24

Have you ever seen multiple Artistic Directors conduct ECMC in a single night? Neither have we! Retrospective will be an immersive experience into ECMC’s evolution as we welcome former esteemed ECMC conductors Jonathan Babcock (during 1999-2008) and Matthew Oltman (during 2013-2014) to the Church of the Holy Apostle. The musicians will join ECMC’s current Artistic Director Vince Peterson in conducting ECMC through music performed and premiered during their tenures. We are also actively inviting and engaging alumni from all years to reunite in song with us for select numbers, in the hopes of reconnecting to the many varied artistic and personal nuances of our past. Join us as we honor the thousands of artists and their inexorable contributions, across a quarter century of music making.

Ike’s Mystery Man: Peter Shinkle and Bill Goldstein

Monday, March 25

President Eisenhower’s National Security Advisor Robert “Bobby” Cutler shaped US Cold War strategy in far more consequential ways than previously understood. A lifelong Republican, Cutler also served three Democratic presidents. The life of any party, he was a tight-lipped loyalist who worked behind the scenes to get things done. While Cutler’s contributions to the public sphere may not have received, until now, the consideration they deserve, the story of his private life has never before been told. Join historian Peter Shinkle as he discusses Cutler’s struggle throughout his years in the White House to discover and embrace his own sexual identity and orientation at a time when anyone suspected of “sexual perversion”, i.e. homosexuality, was banned from federal employment and vulnerable to security sweeps by the FBI.

Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies

Wednesday, March 27

Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies, written by and starring Jessica Sherr, is a 90-minute one-woman show at The Actors Guild about the 1930s icon Bette Davis on the night of the 1939 Academy Awards. Miss Davis is nominated for Best Actress in Dark Victory, and when The Los Angeles Times leaks the Oscar winners early, the bold, defiant and disillusioned Bette Davis decides to leave the Oscars!

Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies is an up close and personal conversation with the two-time Oscar winning and ten-time Oscar nominated actress, Bette Davis.

Embodying the screen heroine is actress and playwright, Jessica Sherr, the image of a young Bette, who brings us into the 60-year history of “The First Lady of the American Screen”. Back in her Hollywood home, Jessica Sherr channels Ms. Davis. Fuming and frustrated, she takes us on a bumpy ride that portrays a tumultuous entry onto the silver screen. In these private moments, we get a look at the vulnerable and injured side of the great star imprisoned by her own ambition. She may often be knocked down, but will not stay down and complain like a sissy. Witness Bette’s defining moments as a tenacious starlet fighting her way to the top!! See what happens when someone who always wins, loses.

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