Sep 27
Claybourne Elder Headed to 'The Big Gay Cabaret'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out Broadway star and "The Gilded Age" cast member Claybourne Elder is returning to his roots with a cabaret show in Chicago that says it all in the title: "I Want to Be Bad."
Broadway World reported that the "Company" star "will present... a hilarious, heartfelt, and surprisingly filthy evening that's part cabaret and part stand-up at The Big Gay Cabaret at The Mercury Theater's Venus Cabaret."
The cabaret series, which is hosted by drag performer Ginger Minj, "is a new series focusing on LGBTQIA+ performers, playing once a month, to celebrate all aspects of the queer community," the Mercury Theatre's website explains.
The site notes that Elder "is a Grammy, Screen Actors Guild Award, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominee and is known for his performances on Broadway in 'Bonnie and Clyde,' 'Sunday in the Park with George,' 'Torch Song' and 'Sondheim on Sondheim' at the Hollywood Bowl."
Broadway World teased the show. "Using his favorite music from Sondheim, the Great American Songbook, Whitney Houston, and beyond, Clay explores sex, fatherhood, and what exactly happens when you eat the body of Christ," the outlet detailed.
Elder's connection to the theater world has remained strong even as he's come to greater stardom thanks to his role on "The Gilded Age." He joined his husband of 12 years, Eric Rosen, last summer at the Cape Playhouse on Cape Cod when Rosen took over as artistic director there. He also brought his solo show to the Town Hall Series in Provincetown last July.
Elder spoke with EDGE recently about playing his "Gilded Age" character, a closeted gay man who is part of New York's upper crust in the 1880s.
Being a former Mormon "is helpful in that we all, if you're a gay person, know what it was like to hide," Elder said. "I was out while I was still in Utah and even then I was hiding in so many ways. And I feel that way about John Adams. He's a person who is trying to live an authentic life but also understands the complexities of being authentic without being out, trying to live the way he wants to live within the constructs of society. That's what my life was like in my 20s."
Elder's cabaret show is slated to run at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19, with a 5:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, Oct. 20.
Check out some of the thirsty snaps the hunky thesp has posted on his Instagram:
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
