Musical theatre is an important part of LGBTQ+ culture, but how effectively do our musicals represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual creatives and audience members in all their fabulous glory? Dr James Lovelock, curator of www.queermusicals.com, is joined by special guests from across the musical theatre industry to think about how these productions are creating spaces that centre queerness and represent LGBTQ+ people of different genders, races and lived experiences. Join us to celebrate how our queer identites are challenging conventions and creating a bold new future for musical theatre! This podcast is funded by the University of Wolverhampton.
Episodes
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
This episode was recorded back in June when I visited Los Angeles for the East West Players production of Interstate: A New Musical. I spoke to the writers Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and actors Jupiter Lê (Dash) and Jaya Joshi (Henry) about their heroes and inspirations, their connection to the narrative and some of the key songs from the musical.
Interstate is an Asian-American pop-rock poetry musical that follows Dash, a transgender spoken word performer who becomes internet-famous along with his best friend Adrian, a lesbian singer-songwriter. Fueled by the allure of fame and a desire to connect with their community, the band embarks on a road trip across America for their first national tour. Their fiercely political and deeply personal music touches Henry, a transgender teenage boy living in small-town middle America, and he finds solace in their art as he struggles with his own identity and family.
Listen to 'Loser Dumplings' here and 'I Don't Look' here. You can find out more about Interstate here.
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Today's guest is Matthew Koon, a multi-hyphenate millenial performer and writer. Matthew was the first Chinese actor to play Billy Elliot in the West End in March 2006, and he recently completed over eight years as first soloist with Northern Ballet. We talk about East Asian and queer representation in ballet, film and theatre, and how queer identities can intersect and evolve through our art. #chinese #eastasian #lgbtq #queer #musicals #ballet #billyelliot #sandrao #drewmconie #northernballet #merlin #greatestday
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Friday Aug 12, 2022
In today's episode, we talk to Terique Jarrett and Elander Moore about queer and black representation in theatre and musicals. We discuss Terique's role in Daddy: A Melodrama by Jeremy O.Harris at the Almeida Theatre, and Elander's performances in The Barbershop Chronicles by Inua Ellams and The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer at the National Theatre and on tour.
I met Terique and Elander accidentally at Legally Blonde at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre so we talk about representation in this production as well as mentioning Elander's spoken word performances and Terique's connection to the TV series Hustle.
You can follow Elander's Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/elander1000.
Don't forget to check out our website www.queermusicals.com for more information about LGBTQ+ representation in musical theatre.
Music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH, 'Motivational Ident (Main)' by DaddysMusic
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
In our first episode, we are joined by Allie Daniel and Iz Hesketh. Allie and Iz appeared in the Hope Mill production of Rent and the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Legally Blonde, both of which featured a queer and diverse cast and creative team.
We discuss how trans and non-binary actors are foregrounded in these productions, and how we can continue to support trans and non-binary people in the musical theatre industry. We focus on intersections between queer people and women of colour, as well as highlighting the importance of creating queer spaces within theatre.
Allie is currently appearing in Happy Meal by Tabby Lamb at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and then on tour through August and September.
You can donate to Allie's GoFundMe here.
Find out more about productions such as Interstate: A New Musical and Unicorn on our website www.queermusicals.com.
Music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH, 'Motivational Ident (Main)' by DaddysMusic
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
On Friday 5th August, queermusicals.com launches a new podcast that explores LGBTQ+ representation in musical theatre and beyond. Dr James Lovelock is joined by a different guest panel every week to discuss how queer actors and creatives are changing the musical theatre industry and allowing LGBTQ+ people to see themselves - and be themselves.
Featuring Terique Jarrett, Elander Moore, Alice Croft, Evie-Rose Lane, Liam McEvoy and Joe Foster.
Theme music: 'Sky Pop - Electronic Dance Music' by JuliusH
Represent! The queermusicals.com podcast
Musical theatre is an important part of LGBTQ+ culture, but how effectively do our musicals represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and asexual creatives and audience members in all their fabulous glory? Dr James Lovelock, writer and curator of www.queermusicals.com, is joined by special guests from Legally Blonde, Rent, But I’m A Cheerleader, Daddy, The Normal Heart and Interstate: A New Musical to think about how these productions are creating spaces that centre queerness and represent LGBTQ+ people of different genders, races and lived experiences. Join us to celebrate how our queer identites are challenging conventions and creating a bold new future for musical theatre!