The best theater pushes us to laugh, squirm, and reflect—and that’s exactly what audiences can expect this fall when Drew Droege brings his latest play, Messy White Gays, off-Broadway. The show’s title may sound like a tongue-in-cheek jab, but Droege says it’s a much-needed mirror held up to the queer community.
A press release calls him the “sharp-penned diarist of the contemporary homosexual,” promising an outrageous story where, “Brecken and Caden have just murdered their boyfriend and stuffed his body into a Jonathan Adler credenza. Unfortunately, they’ve also invited friends over for brunch. And they’re out of limes! Feel bad for them!”
Behind the dark comedy, however, lies a serious critique. Droege explains, “During the pandemic, I was watching a lot of films… and at the time, we were having all of this reckoning with the Black Lives Matter movement…I wanted to be part of the conversation as well, but as a creative person, I felt I couldn’t write about the brown or Black experience. I can’t write about the trans experience… But I can write about white gay men and how we can dispose of each other in the gay community.”
He adds, “We all think we’re good because none of us are MAGA, but it’s way more complicated than that. We’re not done because we bought a copy of White Fragility on Amazon.”
Droege says satire is the best way to hit those truths. The play features a standout cast, including Zane Phillips, Aaron Jackson, Pete Zias, and James Cusati-Moyer, with Droege himself taking the stage. He calls the cast chemistry “off the charts.” With Messy White Gays, Droege promises not just laughter, but a confrontation with the uncomfortable realities that queer audiences—especially white gay men—may need to reckon with.
The play will premiere off Broadway this fall, running at the Duke on 42nd Street, New York, from October 6 and November 2nd will be the opening night.
