COMEDY Todd Glass reflects on humor, opening for Patti LaBelle and the power of words
On Nov. 11-15, openly gay comedian Todd Glass will perform at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., with his show, Todd Glass: The Event of a Lifetime. Described as one of comedy’s most original voices and celebrated by the late comic Norm Macdonald as “the…
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Milani Varela draws from her own HIV journey to support her community
Milani Varela has taken part in nearly two decades of HIV education and prevention work in Chicago and nationwide. To her, one of her greatest strengths is her lived experience. An Afro-Mexican drag performer and community advocate, Varela is using her personal story with HIV to empower others to be the architects of their own…
OPINION Savoring America’s ‘Ode to Joy’ moment
There’s a scene near the end of the movie Immortal Beloved, where joy emerges not so much as a final coda but as an emotional lifeline, a brief escape from harsh reality. By the time he wrote Ode to Joy, the fourth and final movement of his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven was functionally deaf, a memento left from a brutal…
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Jordan Firstman faces instant fatherhood as Peter in Club Kid
Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid cinematically grows into adulthood while questioning the idea of family in a New York queer nightlife setting.Released by A24 this month, Club Kid is Firstman’s feature film directorial debut. He also wrote the piece and stars as Peter, a club promoter who discovers he has a biological British son named Arlo, played by Reggie Absolom,…
Nation & World
IN BRIEF Dem candidates vary on trans support; Dolores Huerta; intersex awareness; German raid; Zelenskyy’s support; ‘One Job Away’; Sir Patrick Stewart
Warning: This column mentions violent activity. NATIONAL Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek released a campaign ad calling for an end to taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care, including treatment for transgender adults—and that has sparked backlash in…
Theater / Dance
THEATER ‘A Strange Loop’ wows in About Face Theatre and Raven Theatre’s Chicago premiere
There is a lot going on in the mind of Usher, the simultaneously insecure and ambitious leading man at the center of A Strange Loop. This unabashed and self-described “big, Black and queer ass” Broadway musical is making a fabulous Chicago premiere via a strong co-production by About Face Theatre and Raven Theatre through Nov. 22. A…
Music
MUSIC Orville Peck removes the masks on the album ‘Mule’
Queer country-music icon Orville may be known for his masks but he lays his life bare in Mule—a candid, chronological account of his journey through addiction, sobriety and rebuilding. Before continuing his North American Man Turned Mule Tour at Chicago’s Salt Shed on Nov. 7, Peck talked with Windy City Times about the album (which…
Film / TV / Gossip
Iconic lesbian film Hannah Free, starring Sharon Gless, to make streaming debut on OML
Hannah Free, a lesbian-themed film starring Sharon Gless that was shot in Chicago in 2008, will have its streaming debut on the OML network Nov. 12, 2026. The launch will include a special livestream with cast and crew Nov. 18 and an interview between Gless and advocate Janice Langbehn. OML is a popular LBQ+ YouTube…
Books / Art
Trans
Chicago trans advocates question justice after acquittal in Dejanay Stanton killing
The acquittal of a man charged in the 2018 killing of Dejanay Stanton has renewed calls for accountability and greater protections for Chicago’s Black transgender community. A Cook County jury on Oct. 23 found Tremon Hill, 25, not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Stanton, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman who was fatally…
Lesbian
Legacy Walk marks Cannon and Pulaski’s contributions to history
On the unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon of Oct. 10, Open Hand/Chicago Co-Founder, LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS ally/activist and Legacy Project Co-Founder Lori F. Cannon and U.S. Revolutionary War Brigadier General, Father of the American Calvary and hero Casimir Pulaski were inducted into the Legacy Walk in Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood. The 15th annual event included a…