Billy McEntee

Boston

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

queer tales + theater @thebrooklynrail + words @washingtonpost, @sfchronicle, @interviewmag, @them + @paffsticks picker + he/him

Articles

Why audiences are stampeding to catch an unmasked Orville Peck

1 week ago | queerty.com | Billy McEntee

For most Broadway performers, there’s something to put on: Elphaba puts on her witchy green, Betty Boop puts on her iconic wig, and Simba dons his leonine headpiece. Not with Orville Peck. As the newest Emcee in the hit revival of Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club, Peck has something to take off: his mask. A country crossover artist known for omnipresent face masks that often include fabulous fringe, Peck is now seen in a new light, and not just because of Broadway’s bright marquees.
"It is going to SLAYSIAN the house down": Why Mike Curato's new graphic novel is making waves

1 month ago | queerty.com | Billy McEntee

What do you get when four queer Asians walk into a bar? A “Boy Luck Club,” per the witty description for Mike Curato’s new book, Gaysians. While trendsetters like Andrew Ahn, Bowen Yang, and Margaret Cho have helped bring queer Asian-centric films to the forefront with Fire Island and The Wedding Banquet, books about LGBTQ+ Asian Americans are perhaps less visible, but Curato is here to change that.
How Ian Paget & 'Tres Leches' are baking cultural conversations into the podcast scene

1 month ago | queerty.com | Billy McEntee

Playing the game Swipe Left or Right on a recent podcast episode, the answer was clear: flan was out, but tres leches was in. It came down to each dessert’s texture, but perhaps such a swift response should not have surprised Ian Paget; after all, his podcast is titled Tres Leches.
Hudson Valley New York

1 month ago | passportmagazine.com | Billy McEntee

21 Within a two-hour radius of the Big Apple, there are umpteen towns to visit, and with them are plenty of LGBTQ-owned businesses to support.
Beyond the Black Box to Host a Banker Street Block Party to "Uplift Black Joy and Artistry"

1 month ago | greenpointers.com | Billy McEntee

Block parties are an essential part of New York culture, creating visible and joyous spaces for communities to gather. They unify neighbors and resist, in an era of rapid gentrification, prejudicial noise complaints and the temptation to stay at home, never getting to know those around you. Thank goodness, then, for Beyond the Black Box (BBB), a block party coming to Greenpoint on May 17.
Student Composers Get Immersive Opportunity With Grammy Artists

Mar 24, 2025 | magazine.holycross.edu | Billy McEntee

When Julianna Stratton ’26 discovered that she had been accepted into a program in which she would learn about and compose music for film with award-winning professionals over spring break, she was excited — and a little daunted. “For all of us, it was a leap into the unknown,” the music and neuroscience double major said.
Local Gallery Faurschou is Closed for Renovations

Mar 21, 2025 | greenpointers.com | Billy McEntee

Faurschou, the gleaming gallery that boasts ample square footage and well-curated contemporary art at 148 Green Street, is “closed for renovations,” per its website. There is not yet a definitive reopening date, though a representative shared it would be closed about a month longer than usual between exhibitions due to necessary HVAC and air conditioning repairs. Future programming could be announced as soon as April. Most recently, the gallery hosted Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Death Becomes Warren Yang: Meet the Ensemble Performer Slaying the Stunts

Mar 19, 2025 | theatrely.com | Billy McEntee

Elphaba isn't the only one defying gravity on Broadway. In Death Becomes Her, ensemble member Warren Yang performs crazier splits than a drag queen and tumbles down majestic stairs, in slow motion, in a performance The New York Times called "astonishing." As the musical's leading ladies murder each other — over and over — Yang steps in as the stunt double for aging star Madeline (Megan Hilty), bewigged and blonde, a choice in lockstep with the production's campy style.
How two Broadway musicals embrace immersive designs

Mar 13, 2025 | newyorktheatreguide.com | Billy McEntee

People might imagine entering a Broadway theatre and seeing a red velvet curtain, audiences on different floors, and a pit where the orchestra plays. That’s not the case at the Circle in the Square Theatre, particularly for Just in Time, the new Jonathan Groff-led musical playing at that venue this spring. “Just in Time is staged very immersively,” scenic designer Derek McLane told New York Theatre Guide.
At Williamsburg Gallery HACO, Kyohei Sakaguchi's New Exhibit is a Family Affair

Mar 7, 2025 | greenpointers.com | Billy McEntee

Sometimes, artists create work about their family. Other times, the entire family plays a role in making the art. At the gallery HACO in Williamsburg (31 Grand St.), a new exhibition, “The water is straight though,” features not only Japanese artist Kyohei Sakaguchi’s 30 oil paintings and pastel drawings but also embroidery by his wife, Fu, and pastel drawings by his daughter Ao, and his son, Gen.