BEST OF THE GAYBORHOOD AND BEYOND: Entertainment
Chancellor Dean (left) and James Ijames in a Mauckingbird Theater Company production.
THEATER TROUPE: Mauckingbird Theatre Company
There’s a lot of queer theater happening in Philly these days, but no company devotes itself to the art of gayness quite like Mauckingbird. Each production comes with a gay slant, most recently a gender-bending take on Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. In January, the company will take on Douglas Carter Beane’s Tony-nominated The Little Dog Laughed. Mauckingbird.org.
COMEDIAN: Alejandro Morales
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Stan. Stan who? Standup comedian Alejandro Morales is one funny son of a bitch. (Ba-dum-bum.) Catch the “comedian at large” in shows around the Gayborhood and beyond.
Drop everything and find out when Philly drag ditz Maddy Milan is performing next.
NEW DRAG QUEEN: Maddy Milan
Part Kitty Wells, part Joan Collins on too much bubbly, you never know if this ditzy queen is going to dazzle you with a ditty or smack you upside the head with a pair of the lowest hanging titties this side of Shady Pines. If you’re extra lucky, she just might do both.
ANNUAL EVENT: OutFest
As gay Philadelphians, we’re blessed with an array of LGBT goings-on, but only one takes place right in the Gayborhood. This autumn block party continues to grow, this year bringing in more than 20,000 homos to rage in the name of being out and damn fabulous. Phillypride.org/outfest.
Matt McWilliams, Jeff Familetti and Stephen Fala from Temple gay web series One of the Guys.
WEB SERIES: One of the Guys
Out of the handful of Philly-based LGBT web series that popped up this year, nothing makes us smile as consistently as Michael Busza’s Emmy-nominated (!) One of the Guys. Shot on Temple’s campus, the show concerns three gay men and their straight roomie, tackling all kinds of millennial-focused shenanigans and doling out LOLs by the minute. The last two episodes of the series will air between now and next spring, with the finale promising to find the guys splashing around in … Rehoboth!
ART GALLERY: Bridgette Mayer
Housed in an airy 1799 Old City brownstone, the contemporary collections never get dull, thanks to the glamorous blonde curator, whose drive to showcase quixotic, under-the-radar artists is both passionate and laser sharp. And she’s the gallerist who truly gives back: A recent show turned over 20 percent of proceeds to BalletX, the city’s edgy ballet company. Now that’s creative inspiration. 709 Walnut St., 215-413-8893, bridgettemayergallery.com.
