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

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami, running April 18-28, announced its 26th annual movie line-up, per a press release. This year's opening-night film, on April 18, at Silverspot Cinema Miami, is Turtles (Les Tortues) (Belgium/Canada, 2023) and the North American premiere of Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake (Maschile Plural) (Italy, 2024) will be the closing night film on April 28 at Regal South Beach. A few of the other films slated to be shown include the lesbian movie Backspot (Canada, 2023); the trans-focused films Close To You (Canada and UK, 2023), starring Elliott Page, and The Summer with Carmen (Greece, 2024); the queer festival premiere of the award-winning Riley (USA, 2023); and the documentary Mad About The Boy: The Noel Coward Story (UK, 2023) narrated by Alan Cumming. See outshinefilm.com .

Queer actress Ariana DeBose will star in 87North's With Love opposite fellow Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, per Deadline. DeBose (who will star in the upcoming films Kraven the Hunter and House of Spoils) is best known for her performance in Steven Spielberg's reimagining of West Side Story, for which she received an Academy Award in addition to BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG Awards. Universal Pictures will release With Love nationwide on Feb. 7, 2025.

And in other news involving DeBose, she will host the Tonys for the third consecutive year, according to Deadline. The 77th Annual Tony Awards will air live nationwide on Sunday, June 16, on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. "I couldn't pass up the chance to host the Tonys one more time, at Lincoln Center," DeBose said in a statement. "I'm excited to collaborate with the team to create an incredible celebration of this season's achievements on Broadway for our community and for everyone at home."

Elizabeth Berkley appeared at a screening of her controversial movie Showgirls at the Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater, Movieweb noted. In front of a crowd of 1,200 people, Berkley talked about the movie's impact on the LGBTQ community, and choked up as she noted that it "really pushed the boundaries at that time that now have been embraced—not misunderstood, but truly embraced. And I'm so grateful that the film has found its way not only in your hearts but especially the LGBTQ community," which led to her getting a standing ovation.

The LGBTQ+-inclusive Prime Video series Harlem will return for a third season—and there will be four new faces, Deadline noted. Kofi Siriboe (Queen Sugar), Logan Browning (Dear White People), Robin Givens (Batwoman; Riverdale) and Gail Bean (Snowfall) have been set in recurring roles. From writer Tracy Oliver, Harlem is a dramedy following four best girlfriends in Harlem—the mecca of Black culture in America; the show stars Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai and Jerrie Johnson as the friends, with Tyler Lepley as Good's boyfriend.

Tammy Faye—the Elton John/Jake Shears/James Graham musical about televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker—will open at Broadway's Palace Theater this fall, Deadline noted. Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells will reprise their lead roles from the acclaimed London production. The musical will begin previews at the Palace on Oct. 19, with an official opening on Nov. 14.

Later this year, Marvel Comics will kick off Pride Month with its annual Marvel's Voices: Pride anthology one-shot, titled X-Men: The Wedding Special #1, followed by an all-new series of Pride variant covers, per a press release. Eight covers on Marvel's hottest titles will celebrate LGBTQIA+ heroes from throughout the Marvel Universe, including members of the Avengers, the X-Men and more. Each piece teams LGBTQIA+ characters (including Northstar, Askani, Black Cat, Hercules, Loki, Hulkling, America Chavez and Runa) with a fellow icon, showcasing both the spirit of Pride Month and exemplifying the importance of strong allyship.

The best-selling Boys on Film short-film collection is ending with its 24th physical edition, subtitled Happy Endings, per a press release. Eleven films from around the world offer insights into LGBTQ+ life. For instance, Pose star Jeremy McClain makes his directorial debut with You Like That while Enzo Vogrincic, from Netflix's Oscar-nominated Society of the Snow, appears in the Uruguay short Sea Sparkles. Other films take viewers to Belgium, Colombia, New Zealand, Israel, Britain and France. The collection will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and On Demand on April 15.

Out actress/comedian Rebel Wilson revealed that Sasha Baron Cohen is the Hollywood star who has been sending her threats to stop her from publishing her upcoming memoir, Rebel Rising, Variety reported. On social media, Wilson previously mentioned a "massive a**hole" whom she had once worked with, adding that the unidentified star had hired a crisis PR team and had started sending her threats after she said she would dedicate a whole chapter to him in her memoir and expose his behavior. Wilson and Baron Cohen starred together in the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby. Speaking on a radio show in 2014, Wilson suggested that he had pressured her to "go naked" in the film, and she threatened to call the agent they share and tell her that he was "harassing" her. Cohen has denied the claims.

Starting April 22, Netflix will air the documentary Ahead of the Curve, per a press release. The film is about Franco Stevens, who launched Curve—the best-selling lesbian magazine ever published. According to the release, "Against the hostile backdrop of hate crimes and family rejection in the 1990s, with few celebrities or politicians willing to be out publicly, Curve magazine dared to celebrate a full, inclusive range of lesbians, queer women and nonbinary people, seeding some of the most pressing conversations around LGBTQ+ community today." As a result of her journey with the film, Stevens started The Curve Foundation, which celebrates lesbian and queer women's culture and stories. The trailer is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0tZv-tu4J8.

Grammy-nominated Bay Area artist Kossisko (they/them/theirs) released the high-energy celebratory single, "Talk To Me," per a press release. They also announced that the album Slayerz Ball will be out June 7. This single follows "Rich Bi$h," the song that led to collaborating with Rick James's Stone City Band for this record. People can listen to "Talk to Me" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=lsqmPV8unuU.

Jamie Lloyd's acclaimed London production of Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger, will open on Broadway this fall at the St. James Theatre, according to Deadline. Previews begin September 28 ahead of an October 20 opening night. To coincide with the Broadway opening, a London cast album will be released this October.

Ketchup Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Weekend in Taipei—Luc Besson's action movie that stars out actor Luke Evans, Gwei Lun-Mei and Sung Kang, Deadline noted. Founded in 2008, Ketchup Entertainment is coming off of the release of Michel Franco's Memory, starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, and which won Sarsgaard the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. Recently, the company also produced Michael Mann's Neon title Ferrari and released Robert Rodriguez's Hypnotic, starring Ben Affleck.

Out actor Andrew Scott was awarded Best Actor at the 33rd Critics' Circle Theatre Awards—making the Irish actor the first performer to win top honors from both of the UK's national critics bodies, Deadline noted. Scott won the Theatre Awards award for his performance in Vanya, a one-man Chekov adaptation during which Scott plays eight different characters in conversation with each other. Scott received the same award late last year from the Film Critics Circle—also under the UK Critics' Circle umbrella—for his performance in Andrew Haigh's feature All of Us Strangers. Some of the other theater winners included actress Sophie Okonedo, actor David Tennant and the Bridge Theatre production of Guys & Dolls.

With creator Sam Levinson still working on scripts for the upcoming third season of HBO's Euphoria, filming plans have been temporarily put on hold—and the cast has permission to take other acting jobs in the interim, per Deadline. There had been no firm production start date for season three but filming was expected to begin within the next couple of months. The acclaimed drama, whose second season aired more than two years ago, saw the careers of its cast (including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Colman Domingo, Jacob Elordi and Storm Reid) skyrocket.

Showtime is no longer moving forward with a new season of the Neil Patrick Harris-led show Uncoupled after it picked the series up from Netflix, according to Broadway World, citing Deadline. The show was supposed to have a second season on the service after Netflix had canceled it. The series also starred Brooks Ashmanskas, Tuc Watkins, Tisha Campbell, Emerson Brooks, Gilles Marini, Andre De Shields, Jai Rodriguez and Marcia Gay Harden.

Dekkoo, a streaming service dedicated to gay men, will launch the original series Danny Will Die Alone on May 16, per a press release. Created by and starring Jack Tracy, Danny Will Die Alone dives deep into the situation of being a single gay man trying to find love via the hookup apps. nitially built as a web series, the first nine episodes of Danny Will Die Alone are 15-minute affairs, each focusing solely on Danny's encounter with a man that represents a particular corner of the gay dating world; season two is filming now.

Pipeline Theatre Company is hosting the world premiere of Kairos Looney's House of Telescopes at A.R.T./New York Theatres' Mezzanine Theatre, according to Playbill. The opening night is April 3 and the run will continue through April 21. Described as a "coming-of-age transgender fantasia," the work focuses on a Minneapolis home where "identity is mutable, the boundaries between our own world and the next are thin, and acceptance can come from the least expected of places—found community, chosen family, ghosts and even demons." Lyam B. Gabel is directing.

Director/producer Ryan Cooler is working on a Prince-focused feature musical, per The Hollywood Reporter. Coogler is attached to produce an untitled jukebox musical of Prince songs for Universal Pictures—and the project has been in development since 2018. Prince, of course, is a music icon known for hits such as "Raspberry Beret," "Little Red Corvette," "1999," "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "Kiss" and "Batdance," His film credits include starring in Albert Magnoli's 1984 rock musical Purple Rain.

Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Donna Summer's I Feel Love, Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction and De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising are among the albums that will be the 2024 inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Variety noted. Recordings from Buena Vista Social Club, Charley Pride, Wanda Jackson, Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra, the Doobie Brothers and William Bell will also be honored. Eligible albums are said to "exhibit qualitative or historical significance and are at least 25 years old," per the Grammy Hall of Fame's guidelines. The inaugural Grammy Hall of Fame gala and concert will take place May 21 at the Novo Theater in Los Angeles.

The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation is in the process of closing for good, Variety reported. Will's image took a serious hit after he slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars and high-profile contributors have left. According to tax records from the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation reviewed by Variety (via ProPublica), the foundation's revenue dropped from $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021 to $365,870 in 2022. A source close to the foundation told Variety that the couple were winding down the foundation before the Oscars slap, and will be focusing more on giving the same amount to charitable causes privately.

The 2024 Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, announced its expanded Tribeca X program for the creative marketing and advertising community, per a press release. Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi, Jenna Lyons, and Christy Turlington Burns have signed on as early headline speakers. Tribeca X is expanding from a one-day program within the larger festival to a signature event over two full days (June 10-11) at Convene One Liberty Plaza, in Manhattan.

The legendary soul groups XSCAPE and SWV have reunited for The Queens of R&B Tour with support from Mya, Total and 702, per a press release. Produced by Monami Entertainment (headed by Mona Scott-Young) and Live Nation, and represented by Seth Shomes through Day After Day Productions (DADP), the tour will kick off June 27 in Concord, California, at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord. Some of the other stops include Phoenix; Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta; Boston; Toronto; Detroit; Tinley Park, Illinois; and Los Angeles (where the tour will end on Aug. 18).

EGOT winner and former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson has joined the producing team for the Broadway-bound musical Smash, adapted from the theatrical TV series, Playbill noted. The show is expected to open on Broadway in spring 2025. Hudson shared the news March 21 on her daytime talk series, The Jennifer Hudson Show. Smash's long journey to the stage has shifted from a full production of the series' fictional Marilyn Monroe bio-musical Bombshell (which did play a one-night-only benefit concert in 2015) to a musical adaptation of the NBC series.

Kris Jenner announced the death of her sister, Karen Houghton, per FOX 11. Houghton was 65 years old. The San Diego County sheriff's department responded to a call for medical aid; when deputies arrived, fire officials were already allegedly providing lifesaving measures for Houghton, TMZ noted. Houghton is survived by Jenner, their mother and Houghton's daughter.Despite the Kardashians' very public life, Houghton had not played a major role in their reality TV fame. The sisters have allegedly had a "complicated relationship" in recent years, according to TMZ.

Kyle Richards fueled romance rumors with Morgan Wade by leaving a seductive comment under a recent Instagram video of the country singer, per Page Six. "Save a horse, ride a cowgirl [emoji]," the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star wrote under the clip, referring to Big & Rich's hit song, "Save a Horse." In other Wade-related news, she shared an update on her preventative double-mastectomy recovery, People noted. "For those that don't know I have the rad51d gene mutation and with my family history of breast cancer I decided to be proactive," Wade captioned. "It's been 4 months and I've been back to powerlifting and running. … I have 0 regrets and I am extremely happy with the choice I made."