Queer Voices
Queer Voices
July 23rd 2025 Queer Voices - Brad Pritchett, Austin Colburn, and Town Meeting Art Exhibition
In the face of unprecedented legislative attacks, how does Texas's LGBTQ community forge ahead? This episode of Queer Voices delivers a masterclass in resilience, featuring Brad Pritchett, the Interim Executive Director of Equality Texas, who reveals the brutal realities of the recent legislative session where over 200 anti-LBGTQIA+ bills were filed—the highest number in state history. Deborah Moncrief Bell is the interviewer.
"We managed to stop more than 95% of those bills from actually passing into law," Pritchett explains, highlighting the power of community organizing even in hostile political environments. He takes us behind the curtain of Texas politics, exposing how some lawmakers waste precious legislative time on bills based on fabricated scenarios (like the ridiculous "furries bill") rather than addressing genuine concerns affecting all Texans.
We then journey from legislation to theater as Houston-native actor Austin Colburn shares his experience returning home from New York to star in "The Last Five Years" at Queensbury Theatre, which runs from July 23rd through the 27th. Austin reflects with Brett Cullum on his evolution from a dancer who "couldn't sing a single pitch" to a professional actor tackling one of musical theater's most challenging scores. His journey from local stages to New York callbacks offers a heartening counterpoint to the political struggles—a reminder that queer joy and artistic expression persist.
The episode concludes with Melelani Petersen's powerful reflection on "Town Meeting 1978 to 2028," an art exhibition commemorating a pivotal 1978 gathering of 4,000 LGBTQ Houstonians that birthed vital community institutions.
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And now Houston's only primetime radio program dedicated to news and concerns of the lesbian, gay and transgender community. This is Queer Voices.
Speaker 3:This episode of Queer Voices, Davis Mendoza and Mel Peterson fill in for Glenn Holt. On this show, Deborah Moncrief-Bell interviews Brad Pritchett with Equality Texas on the mission of Equality Texas and the current legislative session.
Speaker 4:We'll be crisscrossing the state to provide resources to folks. We're really looking at how we can help LGBTQ plus Texans who are in some of the rural and more underserved portions of the state of Texas, because if we help our community, in the long run we help all of us. You know, it's that idea of a rising tide lifts all boats. So our goal is to make sure that LGBTQ Texans who may feel geographically isolated know that they're not alone and that they're not isolated and there are resources and support, no matter where they live.
Speaker 3:Brett Cullum interviews Austin Colburn, a Houston actor who recently moved to New York to make it big. He is back in town to do the Last Five Years, a musical that just closed on Broadway that starred Adrian Warren and Nick Jonas. It is at the Queensberry Theatre from July 23rd through the 27th.
Speaker 5:You have to say, okay, well, who am I? And I think the big part for me was that I found that who I was was somebody who liked to entertain and also somebody that the arts was a very good place for me to be mentally, physically, all that stuff. And then after that I just I kept going, I kept going, I kept going, I kept going, kept pushing myself, and then and then at some point I booked a professional job and became Equity, and the rest is history.
Speaker 3:After Brett's interview, I take the opportunity to briefly reflect on my experience at the recent art exhibit by Jake Margolin and Nick Vaughn at Art League. Houston Town Meeting 1978 to 2028 Symposium, held on June 7th and 8th, celebrated the history behind the LGBT Town Meeting 1 of 1978. Queer Voices starts now.
Speaker 6:This is Deborah Moncrief-Bell and I'm talking with Brad Pritchett. Brad is the Interim Executive Director of Equality Texas. So, brad, first of all explain what Equality Texas is.
Speaker 4:So Equality Texas we are the state of Texas's largest LGBTQ plus advocacy organization. We've been doing work in Texas since 1978. Mostly we are probably best known for the work we do during the Texas legislative sessions. So every two years we're the organization that helps to lead the fight to protect LGBTQ plus Texans at the legislature, to stop negative legislation from passing into law and to promote pro-equality legislation within the legislature. But we work 365 days a year all across the state of Texas, helping to build community where we can provide educational resources, uplift celebrations like pride events and generally just doing what we can to make sure that Texas is as welcoming as it can be for LGBTQ plus folks in whatever way we possibly can.
Speaker 6:It's a big job but somebody's got to do it. So you're right that you're mostly known for that work during the Texas legislature and I remember when the organization basically was just a lobbying situation where that was the whole focus. So you've really expanded over these many years and it just shows how long we've been at this and how we need to keep going. So we just had a legislative session. Let's talk about that a little bit. What's the 411?
Speaker 4:Well, we entered this last legislative session, I think, pretty much knowing that we were going to see an increased number of anti-LGBTQ bills get filed. Basically, if you look back historically at the bills that have targeted our community, legislative session after legislative session, once upon a time there used to be this pendulum effect where we would go into one session with an uptick in the number of bad bills and then the next session it would kind of swing the other way and we wouldn't see as many bad bills and then the next session it would go back. That isn't really where we are anymore historically. The next session it would go back. That isn't really where we are anymore historically. Unfortunately, what we've continued to see over these last three legislative sessions is the steady increase in anti-LGBTQ plus bills targeting our community. So we went from somewhere around 76 bills one session that doubled to over 140. And then this session we saw over 200 anti-LGBTQ plus bills filed. Now, even though we had so many bad bills that were filed, we saw over 200 anti-LGBTQ plus bills filed. Now, even though we had so many bad bills that were filed, we managed to stop more than 95% of those bills from actually passing into law. So we ended up coming out of session with six anti-LGBTQ bills that were explicitly targeting our community. Some of those bills are already being challenged in court, as we knew they would, because, as we advocated against those bills, we were raising the reality that most of these bills were unconstitutional in some way or that variations of legislation similar to them passed in other states had already been struck down by courts. So now we're seeing kind of the thing we were saying probably was going to happen starting to unfold here in Texas, with these bills that did pass being challenged before they go into effect in September.
Speaker 4:We, you know, we oftentimes, I think during the legislative session the community gets hammered over the head with some of the most extreme bills.
Speaker 4:So in the session a lot of news articles were coming out about some of these really, really aggressively anti-LGBTQ plus bills that were so extreme that they never moved at all during the legislature. But our concern is always we want to make sure folks know what's moving to the legislature. We want to help people navigate the process of how you advocate for yourself and your beliefs within that building. But we also want to make sure folks have an understanding that sometimes you're seeing news articles about certain bills that are filed at the Capitol. Those bills don't really have a chance of going anywhere. They make really good news articles and they scare people, but at the end of the day we want to make sure folks have an understanding of what the process really looks like and what the reality of some of these bills moving or not moving looks like. So we work really hard to level set for folks so everybody knows which bills have steam, which ones are actually moving through the process and which ones are getting filed just because the lawmaker wants to get some attention.
Speaker 6:And the reality is, even if it's a bill that's not directly concerning LGBTQIA issues, it affects us as people who live in the state of Texas, so we are always interested in what is on the table and what are the concerns. I know that there's been a lot of work done over the years so that there's quite a wonderful community of folks that do show up and do lobby, because one of the most effective ways to lobby is, of course, for people to tell their own stories how does this affect my life, or how does this affect my child's life and hopefully, if the people that are elected have empathy, they take that into consideration. And then there's bills that get proposed and even passed and even signed by the governor that don't make any sense whatsoever, and I'm thinking of this bill that was called the furries bill. Do you want to explain that one?
Speaker 4:so we had a state representative who filed several bills about furries um, it was more than one bill by one by the same legislator um, and it was all based on a giant lie this bill was based on and we see this far too often. We see in these right-wing kind of blogospheres somebody take something that they read somewhere and then kind of mutated into the story that doesn't actually have any basis in reality. The idea here was in some Texas classrooms there was kitty litter being stored in closets. There was kitty litter being stored in closets and the reason that the kitty litter was being stored in closets ties to don't know how long kids may be hiding from shooters. And having kitty litter is something that you can go to the bathroom on without going to the bathroom on the floor. It makes it easier to clean up. It's also used when kids get sick. You can throw kitty litter on something and it'll clump up and make it easier to clean up.
Speaker 4:Lawmakers took this this harsh reality that kids in Texas live under with regards to gun violence, the idea that we have to do that because our leaders refuse to do anything about gun violence.
Speaker 4:I mean they mutated it into this ridiculous story that's somehow tied to the LGBTQ plus community. It's just another example of how lawmakers have misplaced priorities, how they will waste time. You know our Texas legislature meets every two years for 140 days. That's not a ton of time to do the work that has to basically keep the state going for the next two years.
Speaker 4:So every time a lawmaker files a ridiculous piece of legislation that is based on something that's not even rooted in reality, what they're really doing is wasting your time as a constituent, as a taxpayer. They're doing it because they want to get attention, because they want to see their name in an article, because they have aspirations for higher office and they really want to make sure that their primary voters see them amplifying something ridiculous. So I think that's part of why we really work hard to try to set the record straight. You know that bill or those bills were just ridiculous on their face, but they were just, you know, a drop in the bucket compared to some of the other bills that were filed that thankfully, didn't go anywhere.
Speaker 6:I saw some of the testimony on that and the lawmaker people said this isn't happening, this isn't real, and it was like that did not deter him from insisting that it move forward. And you're right, and this is something I take particularly objection to is wasting our time and wasting the precious few hours that we do have that could go into making laws that help our community, such as there was a proposal that some money be allocated so that it could have early warning systems for, like, oh say, a catastrophic flood event such as we just had in the state of Texas, and the lawmaker for the very county for Kerr County where the tragedy took place very county for Kerr County where the tragedy took place voted against it to allocate for there to be equipment bought and etc. And even though if it had passed, it would not have been implemented in time to be of use in this situation. We know that we're going to have more. We're going to have more national and state events that take place that need, where communities need help because they're small communities, they don't have the resources, and this would have been one of those things that could have gone to help people, been one of those things that could have gone to help people.
Speaker 6:So, um, and let's just say this, uh, for a second here, that breweries, for anyone who doesn't know, is a community of people who like to dress up as animals and play. It's just a play thing, uh, but there are no children that are going to school in costumes, are using litter boxes, are being treated as anything other than human beings, although sometimes I think they don't treat them all as human beings. Takes a lot of work to pay attention of. You know what is coming up and and and and how do we address it and what needs to take place so that we can be strategic. Um, I mean, the process of the legislature in itself is pretty complicated and it's very hard, by the time something actually is coming up to get voted on, to get people informed enough so that they can contact their elected officials so that they can show up in Austin. So I really applaud the work of Equality Texas on what they're able to do with all of that.
Speaker 4:Well, our goal is always to make the legislature as accessible to people as it possibly can be. You're right, there are a lot of steps that take place between the time a bill gets filed and the time a bill goes to committee and there are influence points throughout the cycle, throughout that whole process, and it's important to know when to put a little pressure on those influence points to try to slow a bill down or to stop it entirely. So we work really hard to ensure that community members have an understanding of how our legislature works. Prior to the legislative session this time around we did advocacy trainings all across the state of Texas laying out exactly that how the legislature unfolds, what bill filing looks like, what the bills that were pre-filed were, giving folks kind of an understanding of. These are the things we think are going to move. These are the things that people should be ready to push back against and really doing our best to make sure folks knew that the legislature may feel intimidating. I mean it's intimidating. To me, walking into that building sometimes does not feel friendly, it doesn't feel good, but it is our capital as much as anyone else's. So we have every right to be in that space and you know, we go into these places, like you said, to tell our stories, to talk about why bad bills will impact us, why good bills will help us, will help us, and sometimes it feels like lawmakers may not be listening, but that doesn't make our stories any less important and even if a lawmaker is dead set on doing something and our testimonies aren't going to change their minds, our testimonies still get entered into the legislative record. So when we're in a position like we are now, where we are post-session and we've had bills get passed and signed into law by the governor and those bills haven't gone into effect yet and we have organizations like the ACLU or the Texas Civil Rights Project who might be filing litigation to stop some of these bills, that legislative record and us speaking on it helps them. It helps underscore that lawmakers knew that this bill would cause harm. Whatever that bill is, lawmakers were told what was going to happen and they still pushed forward with a bill that they knew was wrong morally, unconstitutional, legally, but they just disregarded people. But those stories do help. They help in the long run because our legal partners can use them to fight back against these bills once they've been signed into law and this session.
Speaker 4:You know the governor well. The legislature filed bills that were very similar to other bills that had already been struck down by courts declared unconstitutional. The governor signed bills that were very similar to those bills that were declared unconstitutional. So in Texas you know we have a history as far as the legislature is concerned of seeing bad bills get filed. Community overwhelmingly oppose the bill. You know lawmakers be warned about the unconstitutional nature of bills, that some of these bills are completely unenforceable. Them still hammer it through and then the bills get struck down by the courts because they are all the things we said they were unconstitutional, not enforceable, harmful to people. So the hope is that of the six explicitly anti LGBTQ bills that were passed, we will see courts step in and stop some of those bills from going into effect or completely declare those bills as unconstitutional.
Speaker 6:What was a positive? Did we have any wins? Absolutely.
Speaker 4:You know, this session we looked at how we could help kind of influence the budget process a little bit more, and one of the successes we were able to make in addition to some assistance from the Equality Federation was we pushed to get increased funding for long-acting HIV injectable medications. So we were able to get over a million dollars added to that specific line item within the healthcare budget to ensure that people who need long-acting injectables to treat HIV will be able to get access to them. So sometimes these legislative wins don't look like passing a piece of legislation necessarily, but there are these parts of the process that we can work to have influence on, and there are still people on both sides of the aisle who care about things like healthcare in some of these spaces. So we can still have conversations with folks across a political divide and come together on something like making sure people have access to life-saving medication. So we were excited to be able to have that as a victory.
Speaker 4:I think the other thing that I just think about every legislative session and I've been doing it for a while now is just watching the success that is, people leaning into their power. So having you know, we have a mom who is the parent of a trans kid. This was her first session ever turning out. The first time she came to testify she was terrified. She wasn't really sure what to expect. She had gone through trainings but she still was very nervous and by the time the session was over she was.
Speaker 4:She was a veteran at it. She showed up knowing what she was going to say. She had everything written down, she made her points and she emerged from the Capitol as an advocate who was like I'm not done, I'm going to go home, back to my community and I'm going to start doing this stuff locally because now I know how to do it. So I think those are successes. Even in a session when bad bills pass, we're still incubating future leaders who are LGBTQ plus folks who are going to go out and work to make change in their local communities. I think that's a big win every legislative session, because we encourage people, we train people and then those people know that their voices make a difference. They go back to their communities and they get involved locally and that makes change over the long haul.
Speaker 6:I love it and, of course, if you are uncertain, you could just go and sit and watch the proceedings for a while before you maybe sign up for training. Or, to just get a sense, go with a friend and you don't have to talk to anybody, but let that friend do the talking. There are friendly staffers, sometimes even where they might be working for someone who isn't so friendly, they can be of assistance. And we do have friends that are elected officials, such as such as Grand Marshal, ally John Rosenthal, molly Cook and a number of other folks that you can go to their office and you can ask folks there who do I need to talk to? What can I do? They kind of offer a safe space during these legislative lobby days so that you're never alone. You have plenty of people there who can guide you and it is a very empowering thing.
Speaker 6:So, as we've been through this brutal session, we just had pride and I know Equality Texas was out all across the state at different Pride events, being visible and getting the word out, but now there's a little bit of a celebration planned and I think that's a perfect way to do something. After all of that is to have something that's kind of fun and positive. So there's an event coming up later this month I think it's the 27th of July.
Speaker 4:That's right.
Speaker 6:Okay, and so tell me about this. Barbara Jordan Garden Party.
Speaker 4:So we're very excited about the Barbara Jordan Garden Party. You know the Equality Texas. We are a statewide organization. We do events all over the state. Like you said, we travel to pride celebrations and participate in prides across the state of Texas. We did 96 prides in 2024. This year we're on track to meet that number. We're over 60 right now and we've got more prides coming up in August and October and I think a couple in September as well. So we will go anywhere we can to meet LGBTQ plus folks and to have an opportunity to celebrate. But one of the things we don't have, in Houston at least, is a signature event that we do in Houston every year. We have one in Dallas, we do stuff in Austin, obviously, working on San Antonio and some other places. So the Barbara Jordan Garden Party will be the first of, I hope, what will become many Barbara Jordan events here in Houston every year.
Speaker 4:Our idea was essentially, we wanted to think about the influence of somebody like Barbara Jordan, this revered congresswoman who we all know made history in a variety of different ways. If you haven't seen Barbara Jordan's speech at the Democratic National Convention, google it. Watch that YouTube speech, because it is on YouTube. But you know Barbara Jordan's legacy is kind of woven into the fabric of Houston. You know she was the first Black woman to get elected to the Texas legislature. She was the first Southern Black woman in the U S house of representatives and while she was elected in office like she had an unwavering commitment to justice and civil rights. You know she she could give a speech. She could, she could absolutely like make a point as effectively as anybody can. But she was this champion for civil rights. She fought for workers' rights, she fought for voting rights and she has inspired generations of leadership that came after her. You mentioned Molly Cook earlier. Molly Cook was the first openly LGBTQ state senator. But Barbara Jordan was in the legislature and never officially came out as a member of the community but had a very long partnership with Nancy Earl, was revered as an LGBTQ plus role model, especially for folks who were living at the intersection of like different marginalized identities.
Speaker 4:So we wanted to kind of uplift Barbara Jordan because she's always been this. You know figure that's bigger than life in Houston. I know as a Houstonian growing up we watched and learned a lot about Barbara Jordan and she was one of my mom's favorite politicians. Her and Ann Richards had a great friendship. So anything we could do to celebrate Barbara Jordan we wanted to do so. That's where the idea for the Barbara Jordan Garden Party kind of came from and we thought about it from the lens of like, how does, how does Barbara Jordan's legacy continue to impact not just Houston but Texas as a whole? So we came up with these two awards that we'll be giving during the Barbara Jordan garden party. One is thinking about the legacy of Barbara Jordan, who has kind of carried that legacy on, and then the other is who is embodying the spirit of Barbara Jordan. So we are super excited.
Speaker 4:The Legacy of Barbara Jordan Award we're giving to State Representative Sinfronia Thompson, or Miss T as she's known. Sinfronia Thompson is the Dean of the Texas House. She's the longest serving member of the Texas House at this point and has shepherded through legislation like the James Byrd Hate Crimes Act, has given impassioned speeches on the floor of the Texas House at this point and has shepherded through legislation like the James Byrd Hate Crimes Act, has given impassioned speeches on the floor of the Texas House in support of LGBTQ people, specifically kids, and is always one of those safe spaces at the Capitol for our community to go to. So we thought nobody better for the first award than Sinfronia Thompson for the legacy of Barbara Jordan and then our Spirit of Barbara Jordan Award.
Speaker 4:We thought about local folks who are doing good work here in the Houston area and we had some conversations about the different orgs that exist in Houston, because we've got so many great LGBTQ plus orgs.
Speaker 4:And we came back to talking about the normal anomaly initiative in Houston and Joelle by Azuru, who is their uh, their advocacy director, and Joelle's been you know, somebody that I have looked up to and worked with over the years uh, just a tremendously passionate person who has done tremendous work around centering the voices of black trans women and black queer businesses and this year took on the task of starting up the greater Houston Stonewall Democrats as a club, which is really personal for me because I really got my sea legs politically as a member of the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats. That was like the first club that I was like let's do some politics, let's get involved. So we're giving Joelle the Spirit of Barbara Jordan Award and it's really just going to be an afternoon where folks get together, we get to celebrate these honorees, we get to just have conversations, have some good food, have some good drinks, enjoy a gorgeous garden and just celebrate the legacy of Barbara Jordan and think about what comes next for all of us.
Speaker 6:Joelle is a force of nature, absolutely, and my favorite thing is she exudes queer joy, and that's something that we so need, and I'm really happy to see her recognized in this way.
Speaker 6:At a garden party, they're fun anyway, you know, you, just, you just think about a summer afternoon and being in a garden and talking to folks, and not the loud blaring music like in a club or something, but just being with folks and having a pleasant time. And let's just say that Barbara Jordan represented the 18th Congressional District, the district in which I live and have lived most of my life that I've spent in Houston, and that has included leaders such as Mickey Leland and Sheila Jackson Lee and, due to the unfortunate passing of Sylvester Turner, all in office in that position. We are now without representation and because the governor has chosen not to hold an election to fill that seat, until November that means from January of this year until November we are without congressional representation and I am greatly offended by that, greatly offended by that. So this is at a private home and so how do people, if they would like to attend, what's the process? They just go to the Equality Texas site, or is there something on Facebook?
Speaker 4:You can search the Barbara Jordan Garden Party on Facebook. It's on the Equality Texas Facebook page, so the event is on there. You can go to equalitytexasorg and you can attend. If you click on our take action, at the very top we have a section that's called celebrations and fundraisers and the Barbara Jordan Garden Party is listed on there. So to tell you all the details, how you get your ticket, we are being hosted at the home of one of my Houston heroes, which is Angela Blanchard. Angela was the CEO of Neighborhood Centers for a long time, but is also an expert in hurricane survival, recovery, how we build resilience for storms and how community builds resilience in the face of these types of events. So Angela is a tremendous asset to the city of Houston and just a beautiful person who loves nothing more than to kind of connect people with other people, to build networks and to build community. Essentially, she also has a tremendous gardener and has a beautiful garden that she works on, which we're lucky to have available to us for the garden party.
Speaker 6:Yes, she's lovely. So Brad Pritchett, interim Executive Director of Equality Texas, is that interim likely to change or any news on that front that?
Speaker 4:front. I know that I'm in the interim position until at least December of this year. Our board will decide at some point if they want to do a full search or if the interim title goes away. We'll find out. Right now my focus is moving our organization ahead.
Speaker 4:We survived a rough legislative session, we made it through Pride Month and now we are working to put boots on the ground in different parts of the state to make sure community has the resources it needs as some of the legislation goes into effect in September. So we'll be crisscrossing the state to provide resources to folks, help LGBTQ plus Texans who are in some of the rural and more underserved portions of the state of Texas, because if we help our community in the long run we help all of us. It's that idea of a rising tide lifts all boats. So our goal is to make sure that LGBTQ Texans who may feel geographically isolated know that they're not alone and that they're not isolated and there are resources and support, no matter where they live. So we'll be doing that and then we'll see what happens once we get towards the end of the year.
Speaker 6:And, as usual, we like to close out with asking is there anything that we didn't talk about that you want to make sure people know?
Speaker 4:I think the one thing that I would just flag for anyone listening is the idea that I recognize how upsetting the news can be coming out of a legislative session, especially when we see the governor and other folks signing. We see the governor signing bills and other folks celebrating the passage of terrible bills. You know the current federal administration has become increasingly more and more hostile towards our community. I just want to make sure folks have an understanding that if you need support, there are organizations that exist to provide you with that support.
Speaker 4:Equality Texas if you go to the Equality Texas website, equalitytexasorg, in the lower right corner there is a floating button that says request support. If you need something, if you need access to mental health resources, if you just need somebody to talk to, if you're looking for help paying a bill, we may not be able to provide those things to you, but we can work to connect you to resources. So that's my general message for folks is if you remember the community and you're feeling like things are overwhelming right now, that is completely understandable, but please know that resources exist. We'll do our best to connect you to resources. If you live in the Houston area, use the Montrose Center. It's one of the jewels of our community and it is something that can provide desperately needed support for people. Queer folks are not alone in the state of Texas. We have each other and we're here to help.
Speaker 6:Brad Pritchett, thank you for being with us on Queer Voices, the night is long and the path is dark. Look to the sky, for what is there?
Speaker 2:The dawn will come. This is Queer Voices.
Speaker 7:Austin Colburn is an actor, singer, dancer from houston, texas. Past roles include he was auto and spring awakening for tuts, he was in their production of a chorus line playing dawn, and I saw austin several times at the garden theater. They did a production of bonnie and clyde at the match and he was also in cruel intentions as one of the most iconic male leads of a musical, Sebastian. So it's definitely great to see him back in Houston, because he's now based in New York no surprise there but in an ironic turn, he's coming to Houston to star in a production of the Last Five Years which just had a Broadway run in that city with Adrienne Warren and Nick Jonas. It's all based on an all too real story. Writer composer Jason Robert Brown's musical is based largely on well, his own failed marriage. So, hey, Austin, I feel like I know you already because I've seen you so much on stage and I feel like you're always around here. But how are you Welcome?
Speaker 5:Thank you for having me. I'm great, I'm really glad, to be back here in Houston. You know New York is so fast paced and I love it there. But, my God, it's nice to be able to get in a car and drive somewhere.
Speaker 7:No kidding, I always feel like when I get back from New York I'm like I need a vacation from my vacation because it is such a fast tempo.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 7:There as opposed to here, and that's really. But I mean, I'm glad to see you in New York, though I mean, you've been kicking around here for a while and I kept thinking, oh my gosh, this kid's going to level up, and I guess that's what you're doing. But tell me about this production at Queensbury Theater the last five days, how did this come about? I mean, this thing was, it was just on broadway yeah, I mean we.
Speaker 5:I've always loved this show and I think there's there's sort of a thing where you know you work on a show with people and you, you keep working at a theater and it's it's like, oh, what should we do? What should we do? And at the time when, when I was, oh my God, I want to do the last five years, I think, if I remember correctly, it wasn't on Broadway yet and I was like I really want to do the last five years here. That'd be great and I must have said it to the right people. But you know, now we're here and it's nuts and I get to play Jamie.
Speaker 7:Yeah, yeah, which one of two characters in the entire show?
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, and it's very different than what I'm used to. It is very hard, both emotionally, mentally. You know the score itself is very intimidating after you've learned all the music.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I'm sure, and I've been watching you on Instagram and you're doing these like awesome, like little episodes where you're showing yourself in rehearsal and I hear sometimes the notes of now. You got to pick this up on your own. You know, and I'm like, oh, my God.
Speaker 7:I think he's in trouble a little bit, just a little. Well, you know, jason robert brown, he's tough and he is having a real moment here in houston. I mean we've got parade coming to the hobby center and this popping up and his music is challenging me. I mean it's, it's tough. Have you faced a score that is this tough? I, I can't say I have.
Speaker 5:I honestly cannot say I have. I think we get very used to hearing things that are very high and very like belty for tenor guys and you're like, oh, that score is really hard. You know newsies with santa fe and and things like catch me if you can and and all of this stuff. You're like those are some big things. But when I was looking at the last five years I was like, as a fan, at least I'm going. This song is pretty.
Speaker 5:This song is, you know, storytelling song and it is not until you really dive into it that you realize that like a song is not hard because it's high or because it's, you know, this big, powerful moment. A song is hard because one, jason robert brown, wrote it and because it's just so it's, it's crafted so well. Some of this music is very, very, very intentional and it's those moments where you're like you're just speaking something in the song that it's like, oh, I need to go over that again, I need to go over that again and it's just like me speaking, speaking. It's not even a moment of like high, high, high, high vocals or anything, and that happens a lot in his music and I I've just found this score, particularly, is one of the most difficult I have ever. I've ever done. So yeah, it is, it's insane, well it's it's so personal.
Speaker 7:I mean he wrote it about his failed marriage and it got so close to actual facts that his wife or his ex-wife tried to sue him over it. Yeah, so obviously it is very deeply personal and you're obviously delivering something more than just a song. I mean, there's hardly any dialogue in this piece at all. Right, it's, it's, it's like an opera.
Speaker 5:Yes, there, there are certain moments where there's like monologues and stuff or like short little breakouts. Like there's a scene where Kathy I believe it's I'm seeing, I'm smiling where Jamie is having little breakout moments that take place five years prior and he breaks up her song with these little chunks of a phone call. And it's just interesting when those happen, because then you have to say okay, well, why exactly is this happening when it happens? And yeah, but most of it is this back and forth singing between two people for the entire show.
Speaker 7:Well, and what's wild is it's five years, but it moves in a really weird way, with you, jamie the man, telling it in chronological order from start to finish, but kathy starting at the end and moving backwards so how are you finding that? Structure to work with, because it just sounds like you know merrily we roll along where you're going like in these different time shifts.
Speaker 5:It's luckily the way that our rehearsal process has worked is me and kathy have had separate weeks of rehearsals just because of scheduling.
Speaker 5:So she was here last week and did all of her stuff, and I've been here this week running through all of mine. And it's interesting because you hit these moments where I'm being plugged into something, for See I'm Smiling, plugged into something, for see I'm smiling. And or you know another moment where it's you know, I'm I'm very used to the beginning, jamie, and I'm having to play the end and for me it's it's sort of been like a I need to bookmark this. I kind of know where this is at, but I need to bookmark it because I I like to know the full, the full arc of who he is at the end and then go back and say, okay, we got here somehow and I need to sprinkle in the ending into these beginning scenes. Yeah, it's, it's very difficult, I can imagine, for her to you know backwards, but thankfully I have the easy job of, like, start at the beginning, go to the end.
Speaker 7:Yeah, she's going to be jealous of you.
Speaker 5:I'm sure.
Speaker 7:She's a fantastic actress. Who is she? Who is playing Kathy?
Speaker 5:Mia Jaraqis. Okay, and who?
Speaker 7:is directing you both? Christina Mia Jaraq is Okay, and who is directing you both?
Speaker 5:Christina Sullivan. Oh wow, okay, it is, it's great.
Speaker 7:Yeah, it's really something special, honestly well, and it's only running july 23rd through the 27th at the queensberry theater. Why is it so fast? I mean, did they just kind of like say, hey, we've just got four days, or?
Speaker 5:I honestly don't know. I okay, yeah, I don't know it's. It's almost kind of nice though, because it's not to get all poetic about it, but it's interesting to be like, once the moment's gone, it's gone, yeah, you know. So catch, catch people while you can, catch the show while you can. We live in these certain moments for such a short amount of time and then it's just, it's a memory, and it's kind of ironic that the show is only for that long. So it's like all this buildup to something and then it just, it all just goes away and it's just like the show.
Speaker 7:Yeah Well, you gotta be thankful because it's a. It's a large load singing for both of you. And if you ran for weeks and weeks and weeks. It would just be like you would be so tired by the end of it. So at least we get a really fresh kind of take from the 23rd to the 27th of July yes, with with you both on there and not having to worry about oh my gosh, we're going to see them in the fourth week of the run. Yeah, after they've been singing this dramatic stuff, but it's.
Speaker 7:What do you think the message of the show is? I mean, what would you if you were going to encapsulate that for somebody coming in? Or what to kind of expect to glean from this, or what do you hope they get?
Speaker 5:I hope. I hope that the message to people is love is human. I feel like a lot of times we are able to pick sides, sides, and I'm really hoping that people come to this show with an open mind and sort of understand that, even though certain things happen, I don't know if anyone is guilty. I think we're just human. I don't think people are innocent or guilty in a relationship or in love. They're just human. And I think that's the message is is love is human, if that makes sense, you know.
Speaker 7:Oh, completely Absolutely. Now we've established you're from Houston. You grew up here, correct? Yes, I did. How did you get into performing what? What was that spark? When did little Austin realize I want?
Speaker 5:to be on stage I. So I started as a dancer at age 11. My sister was taking classes and she came home and was showing me moves and stuff from her solo Cause she was a competitive dancer and I started picking all that stuff up. And then my dance school did a production of Willy Wonka Jr and I was mic TV in that and couldn't sing a single pitch. Oh no, it's really bad. The video lives on my phone. It is a travesty.
Speaker 5:But after that I got into high school theater and graduated from high school and then the community college was doing Spelling Bee and I said you know what I'm going to do it? I didn't know that I could sing at the time. I had no clue that I could sing at the time and I went in I sang God knows what. I had no clue what I was singing and then after that just kept doing shows because it made me feel good. I also went through some relationship stuff.
Speaker 5:You know you're in love as a teenager and then that all kind of like ends you have to say, okay, well, who am I? And I think the big part for me was that I found that who I was was somebody who liked to entertain and also somebody that the arts was a very good place for me to be, mentally, physically, all that stuff. And then after that I just I kept going, I kept going, I kept going, I kept going, I kept pushing myself and then and then at some point I I booked a professional job and became equity and the rest is history. And now I'm in New York and and have a great agency and and go into these callbacks and these auditions for shows that I just never imagined that I would be in, oh wow, and it's truly insane. So I guess I'm very thankful for, you know, willy Wonka Jr. And Mike TV That'ska.
Speaker 5:Jr.
Speaker 7:And Mike TV, that's the.
Speaker 5:Moment. And your sister. Yeah, some people are like oh, you know, I was born knowing that I always loved things and my parents took me to the theater. Yeah, my parents met in high school theater and they were big theater people, and my dad's an actor as well and all of that. But Mike TV really changed the game.
Speaker 7:Now tell me if I am remembering this incorrectly, but was your dad in Bonnie and Clyde my dad?
Speaker 5:was in Bonnie and Clyde. Yes, he played my dad.
Speaker 7:Method actor. Oh my goodness, yes, yeah, I think. Think I remember that that is so amazing that you got a chance to do that and do that here. So how long have you been in new york? Because has it been a long time, or?
Speaker 5:I've been in new york since november oh wow, so you're fresh I'm fresh fresh faced. It's funny because everyone's like you. You're still fresh, austin, you're like in the meet the parent, like the meet the teachers phase of everything. I'm like, yeah, but I'm tired, I feel worn out.
Speaker 7:Well, I think what's wild about you, though, is and I didn't know this, but you went to dance first. That was your first exposure. That was your first exposure to it's so funny, because usually, when I talk to actors or guys, they usually find dance. Later, you know. It's like you start the acting and the singing and then, all of a sudden, you realize the necessity. Oh my gosh, I should probably take some dance lessons, because musicals, we're gonna have to dance. But going back to the last five years, is there a lot of movement in this or no there's not, yeah you're, you're not relying on that.
Speaker 5:No, this is this be. This might be the first show in a very long time where I have been able to relax physically and just kind of really sink into the material. I mean, this role itself is such a heavy, heavy, heavy acting role and a heavy singing role that I'm glad that I'm not moving that I can just stand there, soak it all in you know what we're taking dancer off the resume. This is. This is great.
Speaker 7:I'd need to rest yeah, no, but you are, you move very. I mean, every time I've seen your performances here locally I'm like, oh my gosh. And of course, chorus line. I mean how could you not? You only make it in the first couple of scenes in that one right, but how amazing. So what is next for you after this? Do you have any idea about, after the last five years, where you're going?
Speaker 5:there are some things in the works, you know. I feel like it's normal for us to be like I'm waiting to hear some things. Course, there are some genuine things in the works. Yeah, I don't know if I can tell yet.
Speaker 7:You know I hate that. I hate it too. That's part of the biz, that's biz. Manual, page 78. Don't tell unless you've got the ink dried and they are printing the poster. But I know whatever's going to happen, it's going to be incredible. But in the meantime meantime speaking of incredible july 23rd through the 27th queensberry theater the last five years, and that's the jason robert brown musical that just had a broadway run. I mean, how crazy is it to put this on your resume so soon after you know nick jonas and adrian warren? Right, it's, it's insane, it's yeah, and it's a really awesome chance for houston to see something so fresh, because we're not having to wait for the tour or anything like that and we get to see you, one of our home team people. So that's amazing. I'm so looking forward to this. I think it'll be great. Break legs it sounds like you won't because you won't be dancing, but at least you'll be singing a lot and acting.
Speaker 5:Yeah, well, thank you.
Speaker 7:Thank you.
Speaker 6:This radio program we Are Voices has existed since the 1970s on KPFT. Kpft is very important to give voices to those who might not otherwise have voices. So, as Glenn always says, you participate by listening. You should also participate by supporting the station. So please go to kpftorg and make your donation right away.
Speaker 3:This is Mel Peterson pronouns she, her, they, them. I'm a Houston-based filmmaker, multimedia tech and content creator. On June 7th and 8th 2025, I attended an event at Art League Houston hosted by local artists Nick Vaughn and Jake Margolin, was titled Town Meeting 1978 to 2028, and I'd like to start by sharing its description from the Art League Houston website. Town Meeting 1978 to 2028 is an exhibition and symposium inspired by Town Meeting 1, a pivotal 1978 convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA plus Houstonians at the Astro Arena. It galvanized Houston's emerging LGBTQIA plus rights movement and helped lead to the creation of major institutions like the Montrose Center and the Montrose Clinic. This event marks the beginning of a three-year initiative by queer artists Nick Vaughn and Jake Margolin to inspire and develop programming that will culminate in 2028, on the 50th anniversary of that original town meeting. This event marks the beginning of a three-year initiative by queer artists Nick Vaughn and Jake Margolin to inspire and develop programming that will culminate in 2028, on the 50th anniversary of that original town meeting. Now that you have a sense of what this gathering was all about, let me share what it meant to me.
Speaker 3:The original town meeting, one held on June 25, 1978, was the first major LGBTQ political organizing event of its kind in the country. It happened in the wake of police brutality, social hostility and the spread of hateful rhetoric, like that of Anita Bryant's infamous anti-gay crusade. The event brought together activists, organizers and allies under one roof at the Astro Arena. That alone was historic. To host such a gathering in a mainstream venue in 1978 was a declaration of presence and purpose. The intention of that meeting was to unify a fractured community, to vote on clear objectives, to strategize collectively. And while it was ambitious, like many grassroots efforts, it was also complicated. A major controversy broke out over photography at the event. In those days, being outed by a photograph could cost you your job, your housing, even your safety. So, while some documentation was preserved, much of what occurred the votes, the speeches, the strategy is lost to time, and that's why this event in 2025 was so powerful. It wasn't just a retrospective. It was a reckoning with what's been lost, with what still needs to be done and with how we carry our stories forward.
Speaker 3:Nick Vaughan opened the symposium by talking about build-up. They and Jake Margolin began planning years ahead for the 2028 anniversary, recognizing that to create something meaningful, especially with limited resources, takes time. That message struck me deeply as both an artist and an organizer, we know this. The earlier we plan, the stronger the foundation. And 2028 isn't just an anniversary, it's an election year. The resonance is clear, then as now. We face a politically volatile climate and our communities must once again gather, organize and imagine new futures.
Speaker 3:One of the most moving elements of the exhibit was the preservation of Mary's bar tops yes, actual bar tops from the legendary Montrose Gay Bar, once a hub for queer life in Houston. These tops bear the photographs of community members, including some beloved pets, who found connection there. It's a simple but radical truth. In a world that often punishes queer joy, loving and gathering together is an act of resistance. Vaughn and Margolin also displayed what they call wind drawings images made by blowing away unfixed charcoal stenciled from archival photos of town meeting one. What remains is ghost-like fading memories, fragmented visuals. It perfectly captured the tragedy of lost history pieces of our past erased by time, fear or neglect. And yet each piece that survives helps us reclaim the bigger picture.
Speaker 3:We also heard from elders and community members during panel talks, many of whom participated in the original town meeting. Special attention was paid to those often excluded from the dominant LGBTQIA plus narrative, bipoc and gender, diverse voices who still struggle for visibility, even within our own rainbow. And then, of course, there was the art. Artists pushed us to question authority, to consider whose safety is prioritized in our systems. One performer reminded us that the invitation to sit at someone else's table isn't always enough. Sometimes it's time to flip that table and build our own.
Speaker 3:The event closed on July 20th with a poetry reading by Francine J Harris, jd Plucker, anthony Sutton and Stellina Emanuela Viario, each offering a lens into the weekend's themes. Jd brought research, francine gave us emotional depth, Anthony and Stellina grounded us in lived experience. It was a celebration of poetry as testimony, and that's what this gathering ultimately was a testimony, a way to name our past, acknowledge our grief and dream our future into being. Artists do that. They help us see what was lost and imagine what could be. They help build the language we need to tell our stories, not just of pain but of joy. And that joy, that radical act of love, is the very heart of our movement.
Speaker 2:This has been Queer Voices, heard on KPFT Houston and as a podcast available from several podcasting sources. Check our webpage QueerVoicesorg for more information. Queervoicesorg for more information. Queer Voices executive producer is Brian Levinka. Deborah Moncrief-Bell is co-producer, brett Cullum and David Mendoza-Druzman are contributors.
Speaker 1:The News Wrap segment is part of another podcast called this Way Out, which is produced in Los Angeles. Some of the material in this program has been edited to improve clarity and runtime. This program does not endorse any political views or animal species. Views, opinions and endorsements are those of the participants and the organizations they represent. In case of death, please discontinue use and discard remaining product.
Speaker 2:For Queer Voices. I'm Glenn Holt.
