Lesbians on Broadway — Page 2

Rosie O'Donnell who is going into The King and I in June.

SmoothLover said: "Rosie O'Donnell who is going into The King and I in June.



As the ship? (I'm sorry, I'm sorry)

"Rosie O'Donnell who is going into The King and I in June."

And brings the whole thing to a halt. I can't imagine in what role. She sings, dances, and acts now?

No discussion of lesbians on Broadway is complete without mentioning the lighting designer extraordinaire THARON MUSSER. In the same sentence should be mentioned her longtime partner and also a great lighting designer, MARILYN RENNAGEL.

No discussion of lesbians on Broadway is complete without mentioning the lighting designer extraordinaire THARON MUSSER. In the same sentence should be mentioned her longtime partner and also a great lighting designer, MARILYN RENNAGEL.



Indeed the entire field of lighting design owes a debt of gratitude and respect to a whole generation of lesbians in light lighting design, who still lived in a world where gay relationships were closeted, even among theater people. That's just how it was.

There is an academic book that has some background information on the theater professionals of this closeted and semi-closeted era. It's not the best book you've ever read, but there are no others:

http://www.amazon.com/Staging-Desire-Readings-Triangulations-Performance/dp/0472067494

Though it's more about gay and lesbians in plays/musicals.

Two other books I've used for research in various papers that are more about the people...

Cast Out: Queer Lives in Theater

http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Out-Theater-Triangulations-Performance/dp/0472069330/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463006150&sr=1-4&keywords=gay+theater

The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era

http://www.amazon.com/Lesbian-Theatrical-Legacy-Pre-Stonewall-Triangulations/dp/047206858X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463006150&sr=1-2&keywords=gay+theater

None are perfect, but there is some good info there.

What lesbian themed shows have played Broadway?

There's FUN HOME and THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE and....um...

cglaid said: "I think Waitress ensemble Molly Hager and Beautiful's Jessica Keenan Wynn are a couple."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFSNfrQohxI/?taken-by=jkwynn

I think this is a nice appreciation post to so may talented women on Broadway! If I could take a minute and tell my Holland Taylor story. First, I'm so happy for she and Sarah, they make a terrific couple.

So, when I was a kid mid teens..my grandmother would babysit us with my younger brother. She would always have to watch "The Edge Of Night" that was a soap opera like a mystery. I got hooked on it b/c, well I knew I was gay and they had some hunky guys on it that just made me "swoon". Holland Taylor was in it and played a villain, Denise Cavanaugh, a nasty, evil...you know, poisoning, and blackmail, and gaslighting. I wrote her my first fan letter and told her how great she was and I loved her and thought she was so evil it was wonderful. Well, maybe 3 months later, the phone rang. It was her! She told me it was the nicest fan letter she had ever received and thanked me and said she was showing it to everyone. I was on cloud nine for a month. Anyway, if I knew then, I would have told her I was gay too. I have loved her ever since and seen almost everything she's done on stage. Sarah, you are with a real Gem!



PS. Eric I have to look up all those books thx

Updated On: 5/12/16 at 01:06 AM

Steve--that is an amazing story. As a soap geek I know quite a bit about Edge of Night, though it was canceled when I was three (my mom watched it while home from work with us as kids)--and yeah it focused on crime and mystery which is one reason why even in the late 50s it had a surprisingly large male viewership--also because back then it aired "at the edge of night" in the last afternoon timeslot when some workers would come home. Kim Stanley was also in a long story arc in the 70s and of course "Dennis Parker/Wade Nichols" the big 1970s gay and straight porn star (who had a camptastic disco hit with Like an Eagle) was one of the leading men on Edge of Night for about 7 years.

But I digress. Do check out the books--conveniently my university library had them all which is how I came across them.

Steve C. said: "I think this is a nice appreciation post to so may talented women on Broadway! If I could take a minute and tell my Holland Taylor story. First, I'm so happy for she and Sarah, they make a terrific couple.

So, when I was a kid mid teens..my grandmother would babysit us with my younger brother. She would always have to watch "The Edge Of Night" that was a soap opera like a mystery. I got hooked on it b/c, well I knew I was gay and they had some hunky guys on it that just made me "swoon". Holland Taylor was in it and played a villain, Denise Cavanaugh, a nasty, evil...you know, poisoning, and blackmail, and gaslighting. I wrote her my first fan letter and told her how great she was and I loved her and thought she was so evil it was wonderful. Well, maybe 3 months later, the phone rang. It was her! She told me it was the nicest fan letter she had ever received and thanked me and said she was showing it to everyone. I was on cloud nine for a month. Anyway, if I knew then, I would have told her I was gay too. I have loved her ever since and seen almost everything she's done on stage. Sarah, you are with a real Gem!



PS. Eric I have to look up all those books thx



"

Great Holland Taylor story...she called you? How amazing. I also remember The Edge of Night with special fondness because it taped in a studio on 44th Street off 2nd Avenue which was a block away from where I lived..so I would frequently see the actors in our local drug stores, butcher shops, grocery stores..and just on the street. I remember Taylor on the show but I didn't remember her character- thanks for the memories.

But another not so happy memory was that Edge of Night was really hit by the AIDS epidemic when it was at its height.... and they lost quite a few of their male actors in a relatively short time due to this dreaded disease (but I don't think the general public knew that right away- it was more hush hush then). I wonder if anyone else remembers any more about that.