THE FAG FOLLIES Musical Offers Priority Access in NYC

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Life Jacket Theatre Co. will present the musical based on the true story of prisoners and their annual show.

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Life Jacket Theatre Company is developing THE GORGEOUS NOTHINGS, a world premiere musical inspired by true events. The show unlocks the doors of the 'Fag Ward,' a secret wing of the Men's Penitentiary in 1930s New York, where inmates were imprisoned for homosexuality. With a score drawn from the Great American Songbook, the musical weaves six inmates' stories into high-camp numbers from the ward's annual Christmas pageant — 'The Fag Follies' — to expose a hidden world that was never supposed to have existed.

The musical is set for its world premiere at PAC NYC, running February 16, 2027 through March 20, 2027.

Development Workshops: Baryshnikov Arts (May 5-16, 2025; December 1-19, 2025), Abrons Arts Center & ART/NY (December 6, 2024).

Staged Readings: New York Live Arts (February 12, 2024), New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (December 12, 2022).

Concerts: Joe's Pub (June 27, 2024 & February 17, 2020), Playbill (June 20-27, 2020).

Residencies: Baryshnikov Arts Center (2025), Millay Arts (2025), Blue Mountain Center (2025), Yaddo (2023), Drama League (2020-2022), Graduate Hotel on Roosevelt Island (2021-2022), Tectonic Theater Project (2020), SPACE on Ryder Farm (2019).

The work was developed, in part, with support from the National Endowment of the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (in partnership with the City Council), Baryshnikov Arts Center, Making Gay History, Drama League, ART/NY's New York City Small Theatres Fund (in conjunction with the Howard Gilman Foundation), ART/NY's Creative Space Grant (in conjunction with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), Actors' Equity Foundation, John Golden Fund, Puffin Foundation, Indie Theater Fund, LGBTQ+ History Association, Off-Broadway Angels, Glasser Foundation, and Embrey Foundation.

Creator & Writer: Travis Lee Russ

Director & Choreographer: Danny Mefford

Scenic Designer: David Zinn

Costume Designer : David Reynoso

Lighting Designer: Isabella Byrd

Sound Designer: Megumi Katayama

Prop Designer: Andy Diaz

Arrangements: Dan Schlosberg , Alejandro Senior

Orchestrations: Dan Schlosberg

Developmental Music Consultant: Thomas Hodges

Casting: Life Jacket Theatre Company, Dale Brown, CSA

Marketing Creative Director: Jeremy Kotin

Producers: PAC NYC, Life Jacket Theatre Company

Executive Producer: Kevin Jennings (CEO, Lambda Legal)

General Manager: Hillel Friedman , Evan Bernardin Productions

Producing Partners: Making Gay History Podcast, Baryshnikov Arts, NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project

Special Event Co-Hosts: Joe Harper, Kevin Jennings, Mark Stephanz, Patrick Hinds , Steve Tipton, Tom Viola

Researchers: Travis Lee Russ (Lead Researcher), Emma Dorfman (Assistant Research Dramaturg), Ale Campillo, Kyle Cherry, Andrew Dawson , Angela Dohrmann, Anthony Dvarskas , Brian Joseph Ferree , Colby Frederick, Dylan Gurrera, Ashley Hamilton , Thomas Hodges , Daniel Hurewitz, Jessica Kahkoska , Matt Kelly, Ashley Marinaccio, Derek McNally, Aisling Murphy, Carrie O'Dell, Nicholas Orvis, Kasha Pazdar, Daniel Rattner, Amy Marie Seidel , Zach Shultz, Lauren Sullivan , Roniel Tessler, Gareth Tidball , Linnea Valdivia , Harry Waller , Rachel Whorton, Emma Wilk , Levi Seth Wilson

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/THE-FAG-FOLLIES-to-Offer-Priority-Access-for-NYC-Musical-20260914)._