Theater Review: Two Off-Broadway Shows Explore Gay Fandom, AIDS Loss, and Queer Creative Expression
By
Emily Nussbaum
Crusty in the right places. Worth the chew.
Summary
Emily Nussbaum reviews two theatrical works that explore gay fandom and queer culture. Morgan Bassichis's "Can I Be Frank?" is a performance piece channeling the rage of Frank Maya, an artist who died of AIDS in 1995, blending humor and mourning. Dylan MarcAurele's "Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical" adapts a popular gay romance novel series into a fan-made musical, examining how queer audiences transform source material. Both works use camp, meta-commentary, and fan culture to generate funny and moving reflections on queer identity, loss, and creative expression.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledLiberace, Liberace, can you hear me, Liberace? You died. You lied. You died of AIDS and you lied.
It's not really them yelling, they explain, it's a bit by Frank Maya, an artist who died of AIDS-related complications in 1995.
gay fandom generates funny and moving new material
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