"Schmigadoon" and "Prince Faggot" lead the Dorian Theater Awards

by Nathaniel R

John McRae & Mihir Kumar starred in "Prince Faggot". Photo © Marc J Franklin

As many readers know a few members of Team Experience belong to GALECA the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics though most of us vote on the film and television side. I have the privilege of also being a voter in the society's Dorian Theater Awards, which celebrate both Broadway & Off Broadway productions. The nominations were announced this past week for the 2025-2026 theater season which wrapped up recently and will be a closed book once the Tony Awards are announced on June 7th. The Dorian winners will be announced on June 1st. The TV-to-Stage transfer Schmigadoon (9) led the Broadway shows and Prince Faggot (7) was the nomination leader for Off Broadway on the Dorian ballots. The latter is a truly riveting play which I actually went to twice (very rare for me with so much to see!). It had the distinction of landing a nomination in every category for which it was eligible.

From the press release: 

“From the radical reimaging of our world in Prince Faggot, to the tender themes of self-discovery in Schmigadoon!, it has been a wonderful season of queer storytelling on New York stages,” says GALECA’s theater wing co-chair Sam Eckmann. “In addition to the new LGBTQ stories that we fell in love with, we were proud to see previous Dorian Theater Award winners Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Titaníque find new, fabulous life on Broadway. Our stories are connecting with wider audiences and enduring on stages both large and small.”

After the jump let's talk the nominees and how they differ (or don't) from the Tony nominations...

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Tony Award Nominations Are In ~ The Musicals

by Nathaniel R

While The Film Experience is about, well, the movies, longtime readers know that I like to throw in a little live theater whenever possible. And these days as with TV and Film, the line between mediums is ever blurry with stage shows making it to screen or TV and vice versa or both unconnected when they are inspired by the same novel. Though I’ve always tried to be a somewhat regular theatergoer, funding and time often refuse to comply. But during the 2025-2026 season I hit the boards a lot and managed to see 100% of the eligible New Musicals and 40% of the revivals (though I fully hope to make that 80% soon). I did less well with plays though I'll try to see something else before the big night.  In short, my opinions hold more weight (with myself) since I caught a lot more of the season. 

Today nominations were announced for the 79th Annual Tony Awards which will be held June 9th in New York City, and broadcast on CBS Paramount+. This year's festivities will be hosted by Grammy winner P!nk so you can bet there will be aerial action given that one of the two nomination leaders is an adaptation of the 1987 vampire movie The Lost Boys (which, a full review later). So let's talk about the musical nominations...

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9 Links

• Vanity Fair first images from the miniseries Welcome to Chippendales starring Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Dan Stevens, and Annaleigh Ashford
• People Anne Heche in stable condition after a car crash / fire. Our thoughts are with her in recovery. Such a great actress but she's had many personal issues and troubles
• Variety a Jennifer Coolidge with a hilarious admission about American Pie benefitting her sex life

More after the jump including a Star Trek kiss, a buzzy Beyoncé / Madonna remix, looking back at The Fugitive, and stage productions of Cats and Devil Wears Prada...

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Doc Corner: 'On Broadway'

By Glenn Dunks

They say the neon lights are bright,
on Broadway.
They say there’s always magic in the air…

Let's be thankful that On Broadway doesn’t open with those famous lyrics from the song of the same name. Bob Fosse already did that, using George Benson’s funk-inspired 1978 rendition to launch All That Jazz over images of a throng of auditioning theatre wannabes. It’s showtime, folks, and that song is a hell of an introduction, but it's been done.

The release of Oren Jacoby’s doc feels perfectly timed, having been completed and screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival back in 2019 but delayed for general release until now as the city is on the verge of re-opening to crowds...

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Posterized: Jennifer Hudson

by Nathaniel R

With Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic, hitting theaters today let's talk Jennifer Hudson's movie career. Well, her TV and Broadway career, too, since she's primarily a singer even when moonlighting as an actress. She's made more movies than you probably think.

How many of her performances have you seen? The posters are after the jump...

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