Arts & Entertainment
Gyllenhall to produce and star in film version of ‘Fun Home’

“Brokeback Mountain” star Jake Gyllenhaal has been set to produce and star in a film adaptation of “Fun Home,” the Broadway musical based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel of the same name.
Winner of the 2015 Tony for Best Musical, “Fun Home” was originally adapted from out cartoonist Bechdel’s groundbreaking 2006 memoir by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori; it depicts Bechdel onstage at three different ages, as she delves into memories of her dysfunctional upbringing – especially those surrounding her closeted father – in a home that also served as the location for the family’s mortuary business.
According to Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamigboye, the Oscar-nominated Gyllenhall will take on the role of Bechdel’s father, Bruce, which was originated onstage in a Tony-winning performance by Michael Cerveris. The show’s original director, Sam Gold, who also took home a Tony for his work, is on board to direct the film version as well.
Gyllenhall will produce through his company, Nine Stories Productions.
In addition to Cerveris, the original Broadway cast included Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone, Sydney Lucas and Emily Skeggs; the production received a total of 12 Tony nominations, of which it won five – the aforementioned nods for Cerveris, Gold, and the show itself, as well as Best Score and Best Book. At the time of its Broadway run, it was heralded as a major step forward for queer female voices in theatre, with original author Bechdel telling Playbill, “Even musicals about women, where women are the central characters and not just a romantic lead and really have a story of their own [are rare]… The moment with Small Alison singing about the butch delivery woman feels huge. To have a child sing about desire and identification; it’s brilliant.”‘
As for Gyllenhall, he is no novice when it comes to material from the theatre. He starred in an acclaimed production of “Sunday in the Park with George,” Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s iconic musical about artist Georges Seurat, which enjoyed a limited run on Broadway in 2017, and was recently seen there in “Sea Wall/A Life.” He has also produced the hit Broadway production, “Slave Play,” and is producing an updomiing revival of Tony Kushner’s musical, “Caroline or Change.”
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)














Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
