| The Big Gay Jamboree | |
|---|---|
| Music | Marla Mindelle Jonathan Parks-Ramage |
| Lyrics | Marla Mindelle Philip Drennen |
| Book | Marla Mindelle Jonathan Parks-Ramage |
| Premiere | September 14, 2024: Orpheum Theatre (Manhattan) |
The Big Gay Jamboree is an off-Broadway comedy musical meta-drama starring Marla Mindelle, who also co-wrote the music, book and lyrics of the show. [1] The book and music were co-written with Jonathan Parks-Ramage, with lyrics by both Mindelle and Philip Drennen. [2] The Big Gay Jamboree began previews on September 14, 2024, and opened officially on October 6, 2024, at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City and closed on December 15, 2024, after 103 performances. [2]
The musical was produced by LuckyChap Entertainment. [3]
Aspiring actress Stacey, with a musical theatre degree, finds herself trapped in a Golden Age stage musical in 1945 Bareback, Idaho, after getting black-out drunk the night before.
As she tries to figure out a way to escape the seemingly never-ending nightmare of song and dance, Stacey befriends the local townsfolk, most notably the promiscuous Flora, the town music director Clarence, and Bert, the gay lumberjack. Through their time together, Stacey confronts the harmful tropes that bind these characters in the narrative world of musical theatre—namely homophobia, sexism and misogyny, and racism—shattering the rosy illusion of Broadway fantasy Stacey once believed in.
In their mission to figure out how Stacey entered the musical world and return her to the present day, one that Mindelle herself affectionately calls a "millennial wizard of oz", the band of characters learn how express themselves freely and discover that there is more to the world than just the life inside of a 1940s musical.
In an interview with WNYC, Marla Mindelle references her of feelings frustration and burnout working as a struggling musical theatre actress as a basis for this musical. [1] Stacey was inspired by her experiences prior to her big break in the 2017 juke-box musical, Titanique . [4] Reflecting on her childhood immersed in musical theatre, she wanted to create the nostalgic feelings evoked by big Americana classics like The Music Man , Singin' in the Rain , Oklahoma! , and Easter Parade , while also producing a comedy meta-drama that both pokes fun at classic tropes and addresses problematic stereotypes common throughout the genre of musical theatre; most notably themes of racism, misogyny, and homophobia. [1]
While the musical itself is not strictly parody, the score satirizes classic tropes and sounds in the musical theatre canon with staples like love duets, the "11 o'clock number", and the "I Want" song. [1] The pastiche also draws inspiration from cult classic numbers in musical theatre iconography; The Big Gay Jamboree's number "Not Another Gospel Song" was largely inspired by the 1997 animated film Hercules' number "Zero to Hero". [1] The musical's overarching setting is similar to the 2021 Appletv+ series Schmigadoon! , which centers around a couple trapped in a golden-age musical. [5]
Australian actress Margot Robbie saw a production of Titanique and reached out to Mindelle expressing interest in working with her on a new production. [1] In 2019, The Big Gay Jamboree was projected to become a movie musical in which Robbie would star and help produce, alongside director Althea Jones. [6] Instead, the project went on to become a stage production, still backed by Robbie and her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. [2]
The musical premiered in previews off-Broadway on September 14, 2024, at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City, ahead of an opening night on October 6, 2024. [2] The production was directed and choreographed by Conor Gallagher, alongside the design team of Sarah Cubbage (costumes), Brian Tovar (lighting), Justin Stasiw (sound), Aaron Rhyne (projections), and Leah J. Loukas (hair and wigs). Musical arrangements and supervision were directed by David Dabbon. [7]
| Character | New York City (2024) [7] |
|---|---|
| Stacey | Marla Mindelle |
| Keith | Alex Moffat |
| Flora | Natalie Walker |
| Bert | Constantine Rousouli |
| Clarence | Paris Nix |
The Big Gay Jamboree received mixed reviews; Jackson McHenry of Vulture found it "endearing", despite being "stupid and corny". [8] Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania called the musical a "sparkling example of what intrepid theater makers can achieve off-Broadway", with a humorous satirical presence complemented by a clever and endearing plot. [9] Deb Miller of DC Theatre Arts praised the choreography and "zany humor", and felt the musical had the potential of achieving cult-classic status. [10] Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times wrote that The Big Gay Jamboree was missing the same kind of satirical and vibrant spirit that made Titanique a hit, [5] further discussing that in satirizing the golden age of musical theatre, the work risks lapsing into. and fails to thoughtfully counter, ideas of racism, homophobia, and "witless misogyny". [5]
The Big Gay Jamboree's comedic material and its abundance of pop culture references—such as J-Lo’s career, Renee Rapp concert tickets and niche references to media with large queer fanbases [8] —caused some critics to praise the running jokes that made audiences cheer at their absurdity, [11] while other writers thought they felt forced, preoccupied, [8] and even "gay-obsessed". [12]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards [13] | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | The Big Gay Jamboree | Nominated |
| Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Marla Mindelle | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Paris Nix | Nominated |