Arts & Culture

Music for mortals: The Lavender Tube on Lady Gaga, 'Dead Boy Detectives' & more

Music for mortals: The Lavender Tube on Lady Gaga, 'Dead Boy Detectives' & more

Get ready, Little Monsters, Mother Monster is back to remind Taylor Swift and Beyoncé they aren't the only queens. Also, "Dead Boy Detectives," "Black Twitter: A People's History," "Hacks" and more are on our TV columnist's watchful eye.

Going Out, May 9-17, 2024

Going Out, May 9-17, 2024

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 9, 2024

Classic and new stage plays, intriguing artwork, comedy cleverness, stellar music performances and festive nightlife; it's all in Going Out.

'Torch Song' at Marin Theatre Company — Harvey Fierstein's breakthrough classic revised and revived

'Torch Song' at Marin Theatre Company — Harvey Fierstein's breakthrough classic revised and revived

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • May 7, 2024

More than four decades after its New York premiere, Harvey Fierstein's streamlined 2017 revision of "Torch Song Trilogy," retitled simply "Torch Song," makes its Bay Area debut at the Marin Theatre Company beginning May 9.

Glam-rock folk-singer Aaron Lee Tasjan's 'Stellar' achievement

Glam-rock folk-singer Aaron Lee Tasjan's 'Stellar' achievement

  • MUSIC
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 7, 2024

An early contender for one of the best albums of 2024, "Stellar Evolution" (Blue Élan) by queer singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan is modern pop perfection.

Tchaikovsky's 'The Enchantress' - New rarely heard opera and other works

Tchaikovsky's 'The Enchantress' - New rarely heard opera and other works

  • MUSIC
  • by Tim Pfaff
  • May 7, 2024

One of the peskier questions in the classical music world: Does lesser-known mean lesser? New recordings of seldom-heard music by one Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as familiar a composer as could be, say, no.

A.E. Hines' 'Adam in the Garden' - poetic fluidity

A.E. Hines' 'Adam in the Garden' - poetic fluidity

  • BOOKS
  • by Mark William Norby
  • May 7, 2024

A.E. Hines' poetry is the opposite of labeling himself or others. His work is a true breath of fresh air in our universality. Not just our sameness but our kinship with human life, our beingness, our essence. In this, we share authentic power.

Caitlin Breedlove's 'All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life'

Caitlin Breedlove's 'All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life'

  • BOOKS
  • by Laura Moreno
  • May 7, 2024

Author Caitlin Breedlove's debut book, "All In: Cancer, Near Death, New Life" is the fascinating queer feminist memoir of a cancer survivor and single parent of a small child. But it is equally a memoir of grief, addiction, and spirituality.

'Martyr!' - Kaveh Akbar's poetic meltdown saga

'Martyr!' - Kaveh Akbar's poetic meltdown saga

  • BOOKS
  • by Brian Bromberger
  • May 6, 2024

Perhaps the only way one can find purpose in life and avoid meaninglessness is to author one's own story, or so asserts Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar in his wondrous, incandescent new novel "Martyr!"

'Queen of Knives' — Kooky comedy sequel almost works

'Queen of Knives' — Kooky comedy sequel almost works

Although it isn't being promoted as such, "Queen of Knives" is a sequel to 2020's "King of Knives," and continues the story of Frank and his various family members, some gay and lesbian.

'A Strange Loop' Pride night

'A Strange Loop' Pride night

  • THEATER
  • by photo by Steven Underhill
  • May 5, 2024

Cast members of Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical "A Strange Loop" schmoozed with patrons at a special LGBTQ Pride night on May 1. The unique must-see play, about a Black queer playwright, wowed audiences, and runs through May 12.

Going Out, May 2-10, 2024

Going Out, May 2-10, 2024

  • CULTURE
  • by Jim Provenzano, Arts Editor
  • May 2, 2024

From delicate dances to robust theatrics, Bay Area arts and nightlife events spring forth, including the queer rock cover band GayC/DC, who perform at The Ivy Room in Albany on May 3. Rock on with plenty more events in Going Out.

Vladimir Kornéev: International singing star to make U.S. debut in Orinda

Vladimir Kornéev: International singing star to make U.S. debut in Orinda

  • MUSIC
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • Apr 30, 2024

Berlin-based singer Vladmir Kornéev has recorded five critically acclaimed albums, toured Europe, played with symphony orchestras in Germany and Montreal. He'll be in the Bay Area in May to make his United States concert debut.

Doctor, dinner, detainee - The Lavender Tube on the new 'Who,' political joke night, and a freed Brittney

Doctor, dinner, detainee - The Lavender Tube on the new 'Who,' political joke night, and a freed Brittney

In the latest iteration of the beloved "Doctor Who" series, the doctor is here and queer. The annual White House Correspondents Dinner, held on April 27 at the Washington Hilton, was funny, sobering, and scary. Oh, and vampires go to Paris.

'Housekeeping for Beginners' - gay filmmaker Goran Stolevski on his fictional family

'Housekeeping for Beginners' - gay filmmaker Goran Stolevski on his fictional family

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • Apr 30, 2024

With "Housekeeping for Beginners," gay filmmaker Goran Stolevski portrays an emotional tug-of-war with a family living in Macedonia.