Nearly five decades after Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta’s underground manifesto circulated through queer communities, a stage adaptation of The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions lands at Park Avenue Armory with timely urgency. This North American premiere transforms the visionary text into a kaleidoscopic music-theater experience that’s part political rally, part baroque concert, part joyful resistance.
Director Ted Huffman and composer Philip Venables have assembled 15 multitalented performers who become actors, storytellers, and musicians, swapping roles and improvising their way through a radically reimagined history where fantasy fuels liberation. The musical palette spans baroque lute songs to bossa nova, creating an eclectic soundscape that mirrors the piece’s genre-defying spirit.
‘The Faggots and Their Friends’ reclaim queer identity
The Armory’s massive Wade Thompson Drill Hall serves as the soaring venue for this ambitious work. After its 2023 Manchester International Festival premiere, the production arrives in New York City, where the Stonewall Uprising and emerging queer neighborhoods provided the real-world foundation for Mitchell and Asta’s revolutionary text.
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Reissued in 2019 for Stonewall’s 50th anniversary, the book resonated with new generations seeking stories of queer solidarity and survival. This adaptation honors that legacy while addressing contemporary conversations about gender diversity and collective resistance. The creative team deliberately reclaims the title’s provocative language, following the queer community’s history of transforming slurs into sources of power.
In an era demanding both joy and defiance from marginalized communities, The Faggots and Their Friends offers both: a vulnerable yet daring spectacle that celebrates individuality while building community through shared storytelling. It’s cabaret meets manifesto, proving that sometimes the most radical act is imagining a world where we’re already free.
Fast facts: ‘The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions’
This genre-defying music-theater experience transforms a 1977 underground manifesto into a daring spectacle that celebrates both individuality and collective resistance.
- Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York City
- Running time: One hour and 40 minutes, no intermission
- Performances December 2-14, 2025.
