The Lede
Trick, No Treat: Cardinal Ratzinger’s “Halloween Letter” Turns 40
In 1986, the future Pope Benedict XVI declared the gay orientation itself an “objective disorder” — at the height of the AIDS crisis. Four decades and three popes later, the language is still on the books.
In the Q
The demon bottom of Fleet Street has landed in Washington Square.
Lean and Disciplined, Fatherland Follows Thomas Mann to Postwar Germany
Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski chronicles the great writer Thomas Mann’s journey back to Germany where Fascism was replaced by Communism in the East.
Queer Vulturing – October 30, 2026
See a relaxed Montgomery Clift on Fire Island in classic photo. Queer Catholics haunted by Ratzinger’s anti-gay Halloween letter. Why you should check out The Bride of Frankenstein for its queer content.
Queer Vulturing – October 28, 2026
Los Javis express their big-screen ambitions, Black queer friendship, a $600 prescription shock and the pope’s tailor with a nose for trouble. Plus gymnasts, gay getaways and a drag queen who knows what to do with a brick.
The Pintos’ Tommy Ng on 1972, Band’s Pertinent Rock Opera on Abortion pre-Roe vs. Wade
Tommy Ng, a band member of the Boston-based The Pintos, talks about 1972, the band’s rock opera that looks at abortion in pre Roe v. Wade America having its premiere at the American Repertory Theater.
Queer Vulturing – October 27, 2026
The history behind La Bola Negra. Will the accusations about Lindsey Graham hiring male escorts help or hurt his sister Darline’s campaign for his Senate seat? ‘Maxxing’ is the word of the year. Is One Baby, Please! the next queer, Canadian television hit?
Queer Vulturing – October 26, 2026
Heated Rivalry Season Two star Justice Smith is feeling the heat about Black men and masculinity. Will Chris Pappas be the first queer Senator (at least the first out one)? And how about Moira Rose as Pope for Halloween?
Laura Benanti Connects With Her Inner Ingenue in Nobody Cares
Laura Benanti presented her wildly audacious memoir Nobody Cares at the Calderwood Pavilion this past weekend.
Well-Acted, Streamlined Mockingbird Has One Crucial Flaw
Aaron Sorkin’s reworking of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird recasts Atticus Finch as a victim of his racist community.
Alexander Skarsgård Plays Romantic ‘Wicker Man’ in Mediaevalcore Romance
Writer-director team Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson bring Ursula Wills’ short story “The Wicker Husband” to cinematic life in Wicker, a mediaevalcore romance.
Speculation on Lindsey Graham’s Private Life Continues
A new documentary brings fresh claims about Lindsey Graham’s private life.
Queer Vulturing – October 23, 2026
How about a queer James Bond? Why is Meta shutting down queer bars social media? Looking for a big Halloween bash? And Chris Colfer is back in a new camp horror movie
Andrew Stevens Purdy Taps into his Inner Child for Mockingbird Role
In the Huntington Theatre’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Broadway vet Andrew Stevens Purdy taps into his inner-child to play the precocious Dill.
Bill Barclay Rediscovers Joseph Bologne – French 18th Century Music Superstar – in The Chevelier
Playwright, composer, and Boston native Bill Barclay has done much to re-establish the career of the long-forgotten French musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, with his play The Chevelier, which comes to Boston on October 24 & 25.
Queer Vulturing – October 22, 2026
Coward finds tender love in the trenches. Take a look at go-go boys backstage. Stage Kiss turns Romeo and Juliet queer. Tilda Swinton heads to NYC in gender-bending role.
Vivo Performing Arts Brings Tony-winning LaChanze to Boston November 1
Vivo Performing Arts presents Tony-Award winning actress, vocalist, and producer LaChanze in concert on Sunday, November 1 at 5pm at the Berklee Performance Center
Queer Vulturing – October 21, 2026
Queer Spanish epic revives interest in Federico Garcia Lorca’s colleague Rafael Rodríguez Rapún. Andrew Scott celebrates his queer friendships. What sports figure has the biggest bulge? George Santos wants to be Trump’s spokesman (really).
Disturbing Blue Film Has a Power That Can’t Be Denied
Writer-director Elliot Tuttle and his cast dive into some deep, choppy waters, including paedophilia, sexual perversion, religion, and domination, and the ways in which these themes interrelate here are often surprising.
Queer Vulturing – October 20, 2026
Out Aussie basketball star Isaac Humphries to retire. Can Grindr’s Pleasure Ball challenge the Met Gala? Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and his partner, Argentine field hockey player Nicolas Keenan are expecting. Danny Ramirez loved working with Pedro Pascal on Todd Haynes’ queer drama De Noche.
Queer Vulturing – October 19, 2026
Anthony Bowens recalls his coming out as a punch line. Sebastian Croft remembers how a bf outed him in high school. Javier Ambrossi defends hiring a straight actor for queer role. Orville Peck on queering up Street Fighter.
Vivo Performing Arts Bring Jaw-Dropping Acrobats & Thrilling Ballet to Boston
Australia’s contemporary circus company Gravity and Other Myths and Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ballet BC make their Vivo Performing Arts debuts this fall, with shows of jaw-dropping physical agility, endless creativity and – during Ballet BC’s visit – an onstage collaboration with nearly 20 young area dance artists.
Taylor Mac on Bark of Millions: his ‘Giant Meditation on Queerness’
Taylor Mac opens Emerson Stage’s season with an evening of songs that celebrate queerness. QV talks to judy about the show.
Queer Vulturing – October 16, 2026
Orville Peck preserves his character’s queerness in Street Fighter. New doc examines an early gay rights activist and his unexpected conversion. Los Javis broke up, but their film continued. Jeremy Pope speaks up for PrEP..
Stanley Stellar preserves the men and the Manhattan that AIDS could not erase
Stanley Stellar’s Don’t Worry Boys returns us to a Manhattan where gay men found one another among abandoned waterfront buildings, on Christopher Street and in the shared theater of the sidewalk.
Bill Barclay Rediscovers Joseph Bologne – French 18th Century Music Superstar – in The Chevelier
Playwright, composer, and Boston native Bill Barclay has done much to re-establish the career of the long-forgotten French musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, with his play The Chevelier, which comes to Boston on October 24 & 25.
La Bola Negra takes queer desire to the center of Netflix’s Oscar campaign
Los Javis have brought the gay epic to awards season, and Netflix is giving it room to breathe on a cinema screen.
Fifty years of gay rodeo have made room for more than the Marlboro Man
Learn how queer cowboys have spent half a century building their own rodeo.
Dawn Simmons, SpeakEasy’s New Artistic Director, Starts Off with a Scare
For her first production as the Artistic Director of Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage, Dawn Simmons gets into the spirit of the Halloween season with York Walker’s Covenant.
From Leather Harness to Congress: Chris Gallant Isn’t Hiding His Kinky Past
The gay Democratic congressional candidate is turning an attempted sex scandal into an unlikely campaign asset. Is politics having a Tom of Finland moment?
BSO Shines in the Short and Long of Rachmaninoff
Two sides of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s orchestral imagination were on display at last week’s Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts.
The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show Returns For Its 9th Year
Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme return with the ninth edition of their holiday show in a 30 city tour starting on November 6.
Tough Tip Toe Never Flinches in Exploring the State of Queer Life
The prolific Russell T. Davies turns prescient as well with his latest series Tip Toe.airing in the United States on Starz.
Andrew Bonomolo Won’t Be Shamed Into Silence
After losing a role in Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s Bright Star, the out actor and former adult performer talks about sex work, theater’s double standards, and why he decided to speak out.
BSO Gives a Thrilling Performance of Little-Heard Mahler 7th
This past week, BSO musical director Andris Nelsons completed his Mahler cycle with the orchestra with a thrilling Mahler 7th.
Artist Keith Maddy Embraces ‘Pansy Boy’ in New Exhibition
For “Pansy Boy,” his current exhibition at Anderson Yezerski Gallery in Boston’s South End through 10/24, Keith Maddy works with vintage sources to create viscerally powerful contemporary works.
Wicked Continues to Shimmer in Emerald Green Glory
On its seventh visit to Boston, Wicked remains the gold standard of musical tours.
Ecosexuals Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens Play With Fire in New Doc
Filmmaking artist-activists Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle don’t shy away from the alarming facts. Rather, they showcase the issue of fire, and fire management, in their new documentary Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency.
Purpose: A Terrific Play in a Terrific Production
it is easy to see why Branden Jacob-Jenkins’ Purpose won the Pulitzer Prize.
HBO’s Lanterns Lights a Path for Superhero Stories
The creative team and star Kyle Chandler talk about HBO’s Lanterns, the latest in the DC Comics superhero franchise.
If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Trans & Hilarious
Trans performer, activist, and filmmaker Tuesday Thomas has lived a tumultuous life and survived to tell about it. QV talks to her about her doc The Trash Goes Out on Tuesday and how her sense of humor has saved her.
A Most Memorable Rhinoceros at the ART
Eugène Ionesco makes a belated premiere at the ART with a brilliant, star-driven production of his 1959 classic satire on conformity.
10 Kilos Pulls No Punches in Depicting Bolivian Women’s Prison
Based on the story of Sharon Yitzhaki, Israeli director Doran Eran’s 10 Kilos recounts her often harrowing experiences in a dystopian women’s prison in Bolivia.
Sharon Yitzhaki Sees Her Five Years in Bolivian Prison Come to Life in 10 Kilos
In Doran Eran’s film 10 Kilos, the experience Israeli woman Sharon Yitzhaki had serving time for drug smuggling in a Bolivian prison comes to life. Yitzhaki talks to QV about the film.
Dolly Parton spent much of her life looking like someone dreamed up by a particularly inspired drag queen. But the joke was never on her.
Beloved Queer Poet Mary Oliver Profiled in Insightful Documentary
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World traces the life story of Pulitzer Prize-winning queer poet Mary Oliver.
Fine Acting Carries Underdog Drama The Shadow of the Sun
Queer Venezuelan feature The Shadow of the Sun tells a classic underdog story.
Opposites Attract in Ebullient Middle Life
Organized Andi and freestyling Ryan form a platonic relationship that might lead to more in the new comedy Middle Life.
François Ozon Makes Camus’ The Stranger His Own
Ozon’s 2025 adaptation of the famed Camus novel The Stranger delves into novel territory for a director for whom a mischievous joie de vivre seems to lurk even in his most dramatic work.
Who Knew a Play Could Be This Scary?
The stage adaptation of the Blumhouse franchise Paranormal Activity is a haunting worth seeing.
Opulent Gatsby Isn’t So Much Great as Just Entertaining
In offering the equivalent of a graphic romance novel, this musicalized Great Gatsby succeeds on its own terms..
Alyssa Edwards – From Mesquite to Queen of the MF’n World
RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Star winner Alyssa Edwards is in Provincetown to perform at Town Hall and have some fun with the Bears.
Puckish Charm: Nick Cearley Strips Down Shakespeare on Boston Common
Actor Nick Cearley plays Puck in the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Boston Common starting on July 22. He is best-known as part of The Skivvies, the alt-cabaret duo famous for stripping down the music and themselves.
How Did We Get Stuck with ‘Gay’?
Gay has been a word to describe those with same-sex attraction since it was chosen by political radicals in 1969. But where did it come from?
What Is the Secret to John Early’s Success?
One of the big movie surprises of the year is Maddie’s Secret, John Early’s writing/directing debut (in which he also stars) that mashes Douglas Sirk, Alfred Hitchcock, Showgirls, and Made for TV movies into an audacious film.
It’s ‘Rocky Horror’ Redux with ‘A Strange Journey
In 1972, Richard O’Brien toyed with the idea of a show based on sci-fi B-movies using his own rock songs. His little idea took off and became The Rocky Horror Show; and then became the iconic movie.
Awards Watch: Las Culturistas Rules
Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers brought their glorious pop culture fever dream back to Bravo for a second year — and this time, Miss Piggy stole the show.
How Did We Get Stuck with ‘Gay’?
Gay has been a word to describe those with same-sex attraction since it was chosen by political radicals in 1969. But where did it come from?
Graphic Novelist ILYA Goes Feral with Romo the Wolf Boy
British-based graphic novelist ILYA latest work is a sprawling Victorian thriller centered on his feral title-character.
What Is the Secret to John Early’s Success?
One of the big movie surprises of the year is Maddie’s Secret, John Early’s writing/directing debut (in which he also stars) that mashes Douglas Sirk, Alfred Hitchcock, Showgirls, and Made for TV movies into an audacious film.
It’s ‘Rocky Horror’ Redux with ‘A Strange Journey
In 1972, Richard O’Brien toyed with the idea of a show based on sci-fi B-movies using his own rock songs. His little idea took off and became The Rocky Horror Show; and then became the iconic movie.
Black Swan Thrills, Chills, and Confounds Beautifully
Black Swan makes for an unusual and difficult choice for a musical adaptation. But the world premiere production at the ART is dark spectacle not to be missed
New Doc Looks Behind William Friedkin’s Infamous Queer Slasher Film Cruising
Queer doc filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz looks behind the strange history of how Cruising got made in his new doc, Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders.
Smart, Stinging Eureka Day Examines Vaccination Debate
Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day first premiered nearly a decade ago, but as the sharp Huntington Theatre production suggests, it couldn’t be more timely.
After her sensational impersonation of Judy Garland on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Season 7, it was inevitable that Jinkx Monsoon would play the icon on stage. Four years later, she is in London. Here are a sample of the reviews.
How About the Queerest Cannes Ever?
While some called this year’s Cannes Film Festival subdued, others are thrilled by its remarkable and varied queer content.
Singer-Songwriter Kyle Motsinger — Looking Inward While Looking Outward
Queer singer-songwriter Kyle Motsinger is an out musician creating his own style in a market where what succeeds is the familiar. He talks to QulturVultur about his journey.
Samuel Garza Bernstein Follows Roddy McDowall’s Journey from Lassie Comes Home to Planet of the Apes
Roddy McDowall was a Hollywood insider whose career spanned six decades, yet his story hasn’t been told until Samuel Garza Bernstein chronicled it in a new biography.
Pink Martini Songstress Storm Large Does Her Own Thing (And Loves It)
Big-voiced Storm Large has always done her own thing, which is what her a great fit for the band Pink Martini.
Rex Reed – the First and Last of a Kind
Rex Reed died earlier this week. He was a rarity – a queer media presence who never hid who he was in a time when it could have cost him his career..
Inside Black Swan — Warping Nina’s Reality Through Dance
Will the American Repertory Theater’s upcoming stage version of the dark thriller Black Swan capture its mix of suspense, intrigue and ‘WTF’ moments? QV speaks with associate director Benita de Wit on how director/choreographer Sonya Tayeh is shaping the ballet-set musical.
Surrealist Comic Julio Torres on Turning Blue in Yellow
In his new HBO Max special, Julio Torres looks at how the language of color and how it shapes our perceptions of everything from personal relationships to the immigrant experience.
William J. Mann Unravel the ‘Mystery of the ‘Black Dahlia’
Queer Hollywood biographer and novelist William J. Mann looks into the infamous ‘Black Dahlia’ murder that riveted America in the late 1940s and still remains unsolved.
Harry Lighton Redefines Kink with Dom-com Pillion
QulturVultur speaks with queer director Harry Lighton about his debut feature length film Pillion about a sexually naive young man who discovers he likes a relationship with a strict code of conduct.
Pillion — Padlocked And In Love
With his first feature, Pillion, writer-director Harry Lighton brings Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 novel Box Hill to big-screen life and shatters the molds for rom-coms, queer romance movies, and biker myths.
Mahler and Queers – Why a Connection?
The Gustav Mahler revival and Queer Liberation were born within years of each other; and were forever linked in 1971 with the film Death in Venice. But why does Mahler’s music resonate so strongly with queers?
Celebrity Stylist Chris Appleton on Finding Who You Are Meant To Be
Chris Appleton is known for his cutting good looks & celebrity clients, but he looks inward of his new book, YOUR ROOTS DON’T DEFINE YOU: Transform Your Life. Create Your Comeback.
Sexy, Viral Hit Heated Rivalry Shows the Power of the Closet
At first it doesn’t appear that HBO Max’s viral hit Heated Rivalry has anything serious to say, just wait until Episode 3.
Why Is That Word on the Marquee?
Faggot has long been the one gay slur seemingly beyond reclamation; that is until recently.
If Qavatar of the Month Joan Crawford lived in the 21st Century, what movies could she have starred in? Here are five suggestions.
New Photo Book Continues Couples Quest to Authenticate Queer Love through the Centuries
Queer couple Neal Treadwell and Hugh Nini continue their journey to authenticate queer couples in a broad historical context with a new volume of vintage photos, Loving II, a follow-up to their groundbreaking Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s – 1950s.
Saint Joan
Did Alfred Hitchcock Make Hollywood’s Queerest Film?