A virtual celebration for global digital LGBTQIA+ audiences and their allies is coming this summer. The Progress of Pride Spectacular will offer musical performances, archival footage of past marches, and more when it premieres June 26.
Supported by Nissan, the 60-minute celebration will air at 8 PM ET on Playbill.com and Playbill’s YouTube. While free to watch, donations are encouraged to support Heritage of Pride (Pride NYC).
The Progress of Pride Spectacular will be hosted by Lea DeLaria (On the Town, The Rocky Horror Show) and include performances by DeLaria with Helen Sung on piano and Dylan Shamat on bass, as well special appearances by BD Wong (M. Butterfly), L Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop, The Danish Girl), and Alex Newell (Once on This Island). The event will also feature Blake Hammond, Brad Bradley, Christine Dwyer, Claybourne Elder, Eric Ulloa, Harvey Fierstein, J. Cameron Barnett, Jenn Colella, Jerry Mitchell, Kathryn Gallagher, Mars Rucker, Nathan Lee Graham, and Vishal Vaidya. Heritage of Pride team members David Correa (Interim Executive Director), Sue Doster (Co-Chair), and Kazz Alexander (Community Relations Director) will also appear.
The event will also include clips from Playbill’s OUTTakes Series, a four-part series leading up to The Progress of Pride. Offering an intimate look at Pride on Broadway, each episode will feature an artist-activist sharing stories of what Pride looks like through their eyes and performing songs that celebrate their personal connection with Pride. The featured performers are Anthony Rapp (If/Then, Rent), Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom, Bridges of Madison County), Max Crumm (Disaster!, Emojiland), and Peppermint (Head Over Heels, RuPaul’s Drag Race).
OUTtakes and The Progress of Pride Spectacular are executive produced by Bryan Campione and Leonard Rodino. John McDaniel is the music director and producer and Roberto Araujo is the director of video production of OUTtakes and The Spectacular, which features music editing/mixing by Michael Croiter, additional videography by Dan Shein, addition sound mixing by Josh Giunta, and art design by Dean Greer.
The Spectacular is associate produced by Glenn Shaevitz, Joshua Stone, and Shawn Kobetz. Dan Meyer is The Progress of Pride Spectacular Script Editor. Some segments were filmed at GSI Studios. Additional sponsors of The Progress of Pride Spectacular include Mastercard, City National Bank, GEICO, L'Oréal, and Nordstrom.
As previously announced, Playbill Pride will team with The Neon Coven on June 17, 2021 to present Glimmer of Light, its first-ever live concert event in celebration of Pride 2021. An inclusive virtual and in-person concert event, Glimmer of Light will feature appearances by Alex Newell, Ariana DeBose, Jo Ellen Pellman, Marti Gould Cummings, Max Crumm, RuPaul’s Drag Race's Jan Sport, performers from The Neon Coven, and more to be announced. One hundred percent of in-person ticket sales for Glimmer of Light will go to benefit Born This Way Foundation.
