THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The movie The People's Joker opened in spots such as Brooklyn and Miami, and will expand to dozens of other North American cities, including Portland, St. Louis, D.C., Seattle, Vancouver and Boston, per a press release. In this autobiographically-inspired dark comedy (which has gotten a rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes), an unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew, as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City's sole comedy program in a world where comedy has been outlawed. Uniting with a team of rejects and misfits, Joker the Harlequin forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader controlling the city. For more information, see www.thepeoplesjoker.com .

During a VIP media event to celebrate the start of Miami Beach Pride, Broadway legend and Our Son star Billy Porter received the keys to the city of Miami Beach by City Commissioner Alex Fernandez, Out noted. In part, Porter said, "We're now in a position where we must come together again. We must fight the forces of evil that are trying to destroy us. The one thing that I do know, and the one message that I try to exude everywhere I go, is that the change has already happened. We don't have any time for fear. … It's time to re-engage. It's time to pay attention again. It's time to get in these streets again. This is not a parade—t's a march. That's what it was when we started. This march [is] political."

Three-time Tony-winning Broadway icon Patti LuPone—who famously stated that she gave up her Equity card in 2022—will star opposite Mia Farrow in Jen Silverman's new play, The Roommate, according to a Broadway World item that cited The New York Post. The production will be directed by Jack O'Brien and is set to begin previews at the Booth Theatre in August ahead of a September opening. The Post noted that LuPone may encounter difficulties being in the Broadway role because New York state has no legal protections from an employer's union requirement for a job.

Pedro Almodovar's latest film, the short "Strange Way of Life," is coming to Netflix, according to Out. "Strange Way of Life" stars Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as two Old West cowpokes who were lovers and gunslingers together when they were young. Now, they meet up again after 25 years apart—but not everything about the reunion is happy. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and also stars Pedro Casablanc, Manu Rios, George Steane and Sara Salamo.

The drag movie Solo will be out in U.S. theaters on May 24, per a press release. The plot is as follows: Simon (Theodore Pellerin) is a rising star in Montreal's drag scene, performing at a club—but when he meets Oliver (Felix Maritaud), the new recruit at the club, their chemistry sparks a romance and a fulfilling creative collaboration. However, Oliver's dominant instincts and destructive behavior jeopardize Simon's space in the spotlight. The trailer is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO6tMRbbA88.

A Pennsylvania school board unanimously canceled 30 Rock actor Maulik Pancholy's anti-bullying talk to middle school students because of his gay "lifestyle," according to LGBTQ Nation. Pancholy—a gay, Indian-American comedic actor/author whose 2022 anti-bullying book, Nikhil Out Loud, won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Middle Grade Literature—was scheduled to give a talk to Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg. However, at an April 15 public meeting of the Cumberland Valley School District school board, board member Bud Shaffner objected to the talk, stating, "If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist, he is proud of his lifestyle and I don't think that should be imposed upon our students at any age." Some community members are petitioning for the board to reverse its decision.

During an interview promoting her rebellious single "Karma," JoJo Siwa claimed she was starting a new type of music called "gay pop"—but she has attempted to clarify that statement, Elite Daily noted. After saying that, queer pop stars like Tegan and Sara and Betty Who made it clear that "gay pop" has existed long before Siwa. Later, on TMZ, Siwa said, ""I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop—for sure, not. But I do want to be a piece in making it bigger than it already is. I want to bring more attention to it. … Madonna, Lady Gaga, f*cking Michael Jackson! [There are] so many people who have made 'gay pop.'"

Longtime music collaborators Charli XCX and Troye Sivan are teaming once again for their 2024 co-headline arena tour, "Charli XCX & Troye Sivan present: Sweat," with special guest Shygirl, a press release noted. Produced by Live Nation, the 21-city tour kicks off on September 14 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, making stops across North America, including Chicago (at the United Center), Dallas, Toronto and Atlanta before wrapping it up Oct. 23 at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena. Sivan and Charli XCX previously worked together on hits such as "1999" and "2099."

The American Folk Art Museum announced a benefit event headlined by Nadya Tolokonnikova—the artist, activist, and visionary behind the feminist protest art collective Pussy Riot, a press release noted. The event, slated for May 16, at the Society for Ethical Culture in New York City, will not only showcase Tolokonnikova's recent artworks in a pop-up exhibition but will also feature aQ&A session about her practice followed by a noisy musical performance. Tolokonnikova's first solo museum show is coming up this June at OK Linz in Linz, Austria. The show, Rage, opens on June 21 and will include the newest art series, "Dark Matter" as well as Tolokonnikova's prison archive, a replica of the artist's prison cell, and Pussy Riot's actions and videos 2011-2023.

Barbra Streisand has recorded a new song, "Love Will Survive," as the end-title theme for The Tattooist of Auschwitz—a six-part, Holocaust-themed series that premieres on Peacock in the U.S. and Sky in other territories on May 2, per Variety. The song will come out globally via her longtime label, Columbia Records, on April 25. Although she has released a series of archival recordings in recent years, "Love Will Survive" is her first release of new and original material since her Walls album in 2018.

All Things Go Festival 2024 announced its 10th-anniversary edition, with headliners Laufey (accompanied by The Kennedy Center Orchestra), Hozier, Renee Rapp, Bleachers, Janelle Monae, Maren Morris and Conan Gray, per a press release. The event will take place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland on Sept. 28-29. Last year's festival saw All Things Go expand to two days for the first time, with performers such as Lana Del Rey, Maggie Rogers, boygenius, Carly Rae Jepsen and others. Tickets are available at allthingsgofestival.com .

Canadian singer Shawn Mendes recently announced that he's resuming his career, per Us Magazine. "It's been a really long time since i last played live and I'm so excited to share that I'll be headlining Rock In Rio on Sept 22nd," the singer revealed via Instagram last month. "I've missed being on stage and seeing you all in person so much!" Rock in Rio 2024 will take place Sept. 13-22 at Parque Olímpico do Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; other artists like Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Charlie Puth, Ed Sheehan, Cyndi Lauper, Imagine Dragons, Ne-Yo, Gloria Groove and Travis Scott are slated to perform.

The cast has been set for the world premiere of Gatsby, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby that is opening at American Repertory Theater in May, Broadway World noted. The cast includes Isaac Powell (Gatsby), Charlotte MacInnes (Daisy), Ben Levi Ross (Nick), Cory Jeacoma (Tom), Eleri Ward (Jordan), Solea Pfeiffer (Myrtle), Matthew Amira (Wilson), and Adam Grupper (Wolfsheim). Gatsby will start performances at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 23; will open officially on June 5, 2024; and is slated to run through July 21.

In the UK, the 2024 Olivier Award winners were named at Royal Albert Hall, with West End favorite Hannah Waddingham hosting for the second consecutive year, Playbill noted. The Broadway-bound revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard led all winners with seven awards, including Best Musical Revival, Best Actor and Actress in a Musical (Tom Francis and Nicole Scherzinger, respectively) and Best Director. Some of the other winners included Vanya (Best Revival), La Ruta (Best New Dance Production), Sarah Snook (Best Actress, for The Picture of Dorian Gray) and out actor Mark Gatiss (Best Actor, for The Motive and the Cue).

LGBTQ+ actor Kit Connor (Heartstopper) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) will star in the new Broadway production of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet this fall, Deadline noted. The production will feature music by Grammy Award winner Jack Antonoff and movement by Tony winner Sonya Tayeh as well as direction by Tony winner Sam Gold. Romeo + Juliet will mark the Broadway debuts of Connor, Zegler and Antonoff, who, in February, won his third consecutive Grammy for Producer of the Year.

Beau DeMayo, the out gay creator of the Disney+ series X-Men '97, shared his first public comments on the series following his termination from Marvel, IGN noted. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DeMayo shared two images and a lengthy statement; although he did not discuss specifics of why he was fired, he did share some insight about the fifth episode of X-Men '97. DeMayo also explained how major events, such as 9/11, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Pulse Nightclub shooting, also influenced the series and the characters—specifically pointing out how Gambit's story took an unexpected turn after the character was killed at the end of the episode.

In a recent interview on Armchair Expert, actor/wrestler John Cena talked about his childhood and the obstacles his older brother, Steve, went through growing up as a gay man, Out noted. John said, in part, "I really feel for what it must have been like for him growing up. But I also inherited that chapter of his social constructs. And, man, it got me to learn how to lose a few fights [laughs]." While John is younger than Steve, he was overprotective when it came to his sibling. John added, "That sort of behavior started like at 10 years old for me. I don't think I understood what was going on. Kids are harsh. They form cliques real fast. And we always just hung out with each other."

RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Katya Zamolodchikova— known as Brian McCook out of drag—is going on hiatus from her career to focus on sobriety, Out noted. In an Instagram video, she said, "There's a saying for the active alcoholic or drug addict. The trajectory of the life course has three possible outcomes: A. jail; B. institutions; or C. death. Unfortunately, I find myself squarely and firmly and quite uncomfortably in the B camp right now. But, in an effort to make things good with you in the future, I gotta make things good for me right now." Katya was in the tail end of a tour with Trixie Mattel; the official Instagram page for touring company Five Senses Reeling posted, "When it comes to our talent, their mental and physical well being always has been and will remain our first priority. We wish Katya the best and send her our unwavering love and support as she navigates this step in her health."

Ariana Grande's grandmother, Marjorie "Nonna" Grande, received a special commemorative plaque certifying her historic achievement on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Ordinary Things," per a press release. Featured on Ariana Grande's chart-topping album eternal sunshine, Nonna is now the senior-most artist ever to have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. Nonna was featured on Good Morning America, Today Show, People, Billboard, Entertainment Tonight and other outlets.

Martha Stewart waited until she was 80 years old to open her first restaurant, according to Restaurant Business. The Bedford by Martha Stewart—located in the Paris Las Vegas casino-resort—is modeled after Stewart's home in Bedford, New York, and serves dishes like Oysters Rockefeller and Golden Osetra caviar. "Why I didn't do a restaurant sooner, I'll never know," Stewart told Restaurant Leadership Conference attendees in Scottsdale, Arizona. "I kept saying, I like to go out to restaurants. I don't want to work in a restaurant. … Restaurants are one of the hardest businesses on earth." A documentary about Stewart's life is slated to air on Netflix this fall and she plans to write a memoir.

In the wake of ending her engagement to rapper Machine Gun Kelly, actress Megan Fox wants women to "move on" from men this summer, Page Six noted. "Just learn a skill or develop a hobby and do not waste your energy on boys," Fox told E! News. "All they're gonna do is drain you." She added, "Just move on. Invest in yourself." Interestingly, Kelly responded in the comments section of the Instagram post, writing, "PREACH."

Emmy winner Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones; Cyrano) will voice the hoofed Shiz University professor Dr. Dillamond in the upcoming movie adaptations of the iconic Broadway musical Wicked, per The Hollywood Reporter. Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman who is misunderstood because of her unusual green skin and who has yet to discover her true power; Ariana Grande plays Glinda, a popular young woman graced by privilege and ambition but who has yet to discover her true heart. The first Wicked will hit theaters Nov. 27; the second will launch Nov. 26, 2025.

Controversial queer makeup expert James Charles teased his second single—"Can We Just Be Friends"—while attending Coachella, PinkNews noted. Charles announced a big comeback in February with a new pop career after facing accusations in 2021 about sending inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old. (After an initial incident, 15 men and boys came forward to accuse Charles of sexual misconduct, according to several media reports.) Some social-media users disparaged Charles but others, such as Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller, expressed excitement about "Friends."

Netflix's fantasy series The Witcher has been renewed for a fifth season—which will be its last, per Variety. The streamer also confirmed that season four is now in production, and it will film back to back with season five. The fourth season will be the first with Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as lead character, Geralt of Rivia. Netflix announced in October 2022 that Cavill would be departing the show after the third season, which aired in summer 2023 in two parts. Seasons four and five will cover Andrzej Sapkowski's three remaining Witcher novels: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow and Lady of the Lake.

Multiplatinum-selling recording artist, songwriter and producer and former One Direction member Zayn released a live performance video to debut "Alienated," the second single from his forthcoming album, Room Under The Stairs, due May 17 via Mercury Records, a press release noted. The performance (at zayn.lnk.to/AlienatedLive&; marks the first time Zayn has performed live since 2016 and showcases his falsetto.

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School has released its first trailer for the show's second season, per Deadline. The series debuts with two episodes Thursday, May 9, followed by one new episode weekly through June 20. Following the events of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, the Pretty Little Liars face summer school—and a new villain, who may have a connection to A, has come to town.

Former Bachelorette contestant Tyler Cameron criticized Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist—the first Golden Bachelor couple who recently broke off their marriage after three months, Deadline noted. "They have put a true stain on love in the Bachelor world," Cameron said during an interview on SiriusXM's The Happy Hour. "Three months? They make all my relationships seem very long. Golly. I'm a dating expert compared to them."