Audition Notice: Buffalo United Artists presents Gulp! The Gay Beach Musical

Gulp! The Gay Beach Musical

Book by John Glines and Stephen Greco

Music by John Glines

Lyrics by John Glines and Robin Jones

A regional premiere production directed by Vinny Murphy

• Seeking 18+ actors only

• Open call by appointment: To schedule an audition, email: buffalobua@gmail.com

• Monday, April 13th, 6:30–9:30 pm

• Location: Compass Performing Arts Factory, 545 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY

PERFORMANCE DATES: CURTAIN UP! September 2026

SUMMARY:

Set on the beach at Coney Island on Gay Liberation Day — June 28, the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots — Gulp! follows a closeted lifeguard whose life is saved by five unabashedly eccentric characters: his soon-to-be lover, a very orthodox priest, a ditzy journalist, a hunky construction worker, and a show queen from Shirley’s Temple on Flatbush Avenue. Their drives, dreams, pasts, and futures collide in a riot of coincidences, filled with music, romance, and off-the-wall humor.

Please prepare 16–32 bars (about one minute) of a comedic song (Golden Age comedic material is welcome). An accompanist will be provided.

Callbacks will be scheduled as needed.

Roles to be cast:

• Teddy: A large, over-the-top, kindhearted Brooklyn show queen. Excellent comedic timing. Simple dance/movement required.

• Manny: Teddy’s macho construction worker lover. Simple dance/movement required.

To schedule an audition, email: buffalobua@gmail.com

Gulp! is a landmark work of late-1970s queer theater, written and produced by John Glines, a pioneering figure in the Off-Off-Broadway movement and co-founder of The Glines. Premiering in the late 1970s, the musical captures a moment of emerging gay visibility just prior to the AIDS crisis, blending camp, comedy, and cultural commentary.

Set on Gay Pride Day at Coney Island, the story follows a lifeguard grappling — often humorously — with his own denial, reflecting broader tensions of identity and self-acceptance within the gay community of the time. The production became a breakout success for The Glines Theatre, running to sold-out audiences and helping to establish a viable commercial platform for openly gay work.

Historically, Gulp! is especially notable for breaking a media barrier: its advertisement in The New York Times marked the first time the paper allowed the word “gay” to appear in its theater listings, at a moment when it had only recently stopped putting the honorific “Ms.” in quotation marks. This milestone signaled a shift in mainstream acknowledgment of LGBTQ+ culture and performance.

With a lively score and satirical edge, Gulp! stands as both an entertaining musical and a significant cultural artifact of pre-AIDS-era queer theater.