ABOUT THIS PROJECT
THE PANSY CRAZE
by Mason Alexander Park & Hunter Bird
Starring Mason Alexander Park
Audible Theater at the Minetta Lane Pride Weekend 2025
With the electricity of a cabaret and the intimacy of a piano bar, THE PANSY CRAZE is a love letter to queer icons—and those who celebrate them. In this variety show, host Mason Alexander Park and very special guests transport the audience through time, spilling the hot tea none of us got in school. Each evening features songs, sketches, and storytelling that dive into key moments in history when queerness was celebrated, commodified, and then criminalized.
Produced by Audible alongside Rachel Brosnahan’s Scrap Paper Pictures, this six-part series was written and created by Hunter Bird and Mason Alexander Park. The creative team also includes David Dabbon (music direction), Krit Robinson (scenic design), Stacey Derosier (lighting design) and Cody Spencer (sound design).
The first three episodes, directed by Johanna McKeon, will be recorded live at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre during Pride Weekend.
Thursday, June 26
THE QUEEREST NIGHT
ON BROADWAY!
Join us for a remarkable true story of rebellion, glamour, and the fearless performers who dared to be themselves from Broadway to the Bowery. In 1920s New York, Mae West’s queer murder mystery The Pleasure Man rocked Broadway with a showstopping 20-minute drag ball finale. Join Mason Alexander Park and special guest Jackie Cox as they share the glittering scandal that captivated America and the resulting trial that forced an entire culture underground.
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Friday, June 27
“OH YOU PRETTY THINGS”:
THE RISE AND FALL OF GLAM ROCK
Mason Alexander Park and special guest Evan Rachel Wood take us on an electrifying journey back to 1970s London, where Glam Rock erupted as a dazzling act of musical defiance. Experience the shockwaves that rippled through British society as revolutionary artists David Bowie and Marc Bolan transformed themselves into gender-bending icons, wielding glitter, platform boots, and theatrical sexuality as weapons of cultural warfare. We’ll discover how Glam Rock ultimately transformed from subcultural rebellion into mainstream sensation, forever changing how pop culture views gender expression.
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Saturday, June 28
THE QUEEN OF THE PANSIES
& THE KING OF HARLEM
Dive into the smoky speakeasies and shimmering cabarets of 1930s New York where two of the greatest Pansies who ever played cut their teeth. In downtown clubs, Jean Malin teased, tempted and taunted cabaret guests, becoming the highest-paid performer in New York. Meanwhile, Gladys Bentley, crooned risqué parodies that celebrated queer desire in her trademark tuxedo and top hat, transforming Harlem’s nightspots into sanctuaries of LGBTQ expression. Join Mason Alexander Park and special guest Laverne Cox for an unforgettable evening exploring the legacy of these trailblazers who lived boldly when the world demanded conformity.
The Pansy Craze is a theatrical concert series starring Mason Alexander Park (Sandman, Quantum Leap) following multiple periods in history where queerness was celebrated, commodified, consumed, and then criminalized. Part concert and part queer history lesson, The Pansy Craze revives legendary queer icons through the songs of the 1930s, the glam rock 1970s, and contemporary queer anthems.
Multiple concert presentations, including special guests Darren Criss, Eden Espinosa, Trent Saunders, Sav Souza, Chani Whirly
Press
Theatrly Interview with Mason for Minetta Lane Theater run with Audible / Scrap Paper Pictures 2025
“It would be nice to say that a wonderful cabaret show played The Green Room 42 on Saturday night. It would be nice to say that a fabulous concert was performed at The Green Room 42 on Saturday night. It would be nice to say but it wouldn't be accurate. For what occurred at The Green Room 42 Saturday night wasn't cabaret and it wasn't a concert. It was a happening. This was one of those nights that doesn't come along every day, every week, even every month... although... with Mason Alexander Park in the center spot, indeed with Mason Alexander Park in the room, maybe it is something that comes along every day. There is every chance and every evidence that wherever Mason Alexander Park is, there is a Happening.” - BroadwayWorld
Mason Alexander Park’s Sold Out ‘The Pansy Craze’ Returns for Two Nights (Outfront)
Review: Mason Alexander Park Incites A PANSY CRAZE at The Green Room 42 (BroadwayWorld)
Review: Mason Alexander Park's THE PANSY CRAZE Is A Whole Lot Of Pansy & A Little Bit Of Crazy at Chelsea Table + Stage (BroadwayWorld)
Development History
The Pansy Craze began as a concert series presented in 2021, expanding on Hunter Bird & Mason Alexander Park’s previous concert MORE THAN A WOMAN OR A MAN presented in 2019. The Pansy Craze is currently being developed into an episodic podcast.
