Arts & Culture

Fabulous & fractious: The Lavender Tube on drag queens, death cleans, and CNN's careen

Fabulous & fractious: The Lavender Tube on drag queens, death cleans, and CNN's careen

With the GOP passing anti-LGBTQ laws every week and taking a stronger stand against queer and trans people existing than against sedition, watching drag feels like a revolutionary act. So watch we shall!

'Everything Went Fine's family entanglements

'Everything Went Fine's family entanglements

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 16, 2023

Anyone with aging parents knows the fear of answering the kind of dreaded phone call that novelist Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau) receives at the beginning of queer filmmaker François Ozon's "Everything Went Fine."

Chita Rivera's memoir shares the Broadway legend's life and career

Chita Rivera's memoir shares the Broadway legend's life and career

  • BOOKS
  • by Brian Bromberger
  • May 16, 2023

Chita Rivera, star of the original 'West Side Story,' 'Chicago' and other musicals, recounts her career as a dancer and musical star for 70 years in her captivating memoir.

Catherine Lacey's 'Biography of X'

Catherine Lacey's 'Biography of X'

  • BOOKS
  • by Tim Pfaff
  • May 16, 2023

Catherine Lacey's new novel, "Biography of X," tries to be all things — and succeeds. It's being praised for its genre-bending, but somehow entertainment seems too small a word.

Arts notes: Cal. Academy talks; Frameline's Colin Higgins Foundation grants

Arts notes: Cal. Academy talks; Frameline's Colin Higgins Foundation grants

  • ART
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 14, 2023

A new series of panels at the California Academy of Sciences reclaims scholarly research to underserved voices, and Frameline announced new young filmmaker grant recipients.

Going Out, May 11-19, 2023

Going Out, May 11-19, 2023

  • CULTURE
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 11, 2023

What would you like? A concert or a dance party? A classy art opening or a rousing musical? Get Going Out and engage.

'Queer Threads' exhibit opens in San Jose

'Queer Threads' exhibit opens in San Jose

  • ART
  • by Heather Cassell
  • May 11, 2023

The highly anticipated "Queer Threads" exhibit makes its Northern California debut at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles May 12.

'1776' — a new, queer take on an old classic

'1776' — a new, queer take on an old classic

  • THEATER
  • by David-Elijah Nahmod
  • May 9, 2023

It's been more than fifty years since the musical "1776" opened on Broadway. But a new production coming to San Jose takes this old chestnut and turns it on its ear. cast entirely with female, transgender and non-binary actors.

Tales of Taylor: Ann Talman's musical memoir at Feinstein's

Tales of Taylor: Ann Talman's musical memoir at Feinstein's

  • MUSIC
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • May 9, 2023

Ann Talman first met Elizabeth Taylor in January 1981. The writer-performer brings her musical reminiscences of La Liz, "The Shadow of Her Smile," to Feinstein's at the Nikko on Friday, May 12.

'Joyland' — queer Pakistani film is transcendent

'Joyland' — queer Pakistani film is transcendent

  • MOVIES
  • by Joshua Polanski
  • May 9, 2023

Saim Sadiq delivers a remarkable directorial debut in "Joyland," the first Pakistani film to premiere at Cannes Film Festival. It's also the first major Pakistani motion picture to feature a trans actor in a lead role.

Spring books round-up, part 3

Spring books round-up, part 3

  • BOOKS
  • by Jim Piechota
  • May 9, 2023

Our final installment of Spring books includes Edmund White's provocative latest novel, a collection debut from a local Bay Area poet, memoirs from a former meth dealer, an outspoken queer female cultural critic, and a queer Black nurse.

Ana Castillo's 'Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home'

Ana Castillo's 'Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home'

  • BOOKS
  • by Laura Moreno
  • May 9, 2023

"Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home" is the latest collection of short stories by literary legend Ana Castillo. It features seven beautifully told stories that come to life as they seamlessly straddle the cultures and move between locations in the US and Mexico.

Q-Music: rolling in retro

Q-Music: rolling in retro

  • MUSIC
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 9, 2023

Reissues of classic albums by Elton John, A Flock of Seagulls, Little River Band and Stephen Stills include multiple extras.

Christine Barker's 'Third Girl from the Left'

Christine Barker's 'Third Girl from the Left'

  • BOOKS
  • by Brian Bromberger
  • May 9, 2023

Along with her career highlights in 'A Chorus Line,' Christine Barker's personal story, intertwined with cultural history, offers a unique searing testimony about the impact of AIDS from the straight perspective of families and friends.