Carnegie Hall

At the laying of the cornerstone in 1890, Andrew Carnegie said, “... it is probable that this hall will intertwine itself with the history of our country. All good causes may find here a platform.”

For more than 130 years, Carnegie Hall has hosted not only some of the greatest musicians, but also social crusaders, authors, world figures, and speakers of our time. The Hall’s stages have always been open to all. Here’s a look back at several key moments that reflect and intertwine with larger moments in LGBTQ+ history.

Playing with Gender

Since 2009, RuPaul’s hit series RuPaul’s Drag Race has helped to popularize the performance of drag, yet exaggerated gender imitation has been common in artistic expression for centuries. Performers have played with gender at Carnegie Hall since the 1940s.

The first female impersonator that we know to have appeared at Carnegie Hall was Francis Renault in 1945. One of his most famous impressions was of soprano Lillian Russell. Just a few years later, Ray Bourbon brought female impersonation back to the Hall in 1949 with his one-person show, Don’t Call Me Madam, which ran for three consecutive nights in Carnegie Recital Hall (now Weill Recital Hall).

The history of female impersonators at Carnegie Hall continued for decades. Actor and female-impersonator Craig Russell was well-known for his celebrity impersonations, including Judy Garland, Carol Channing, Mae West. and Barbra Streisand. He performed at Carnegie Hall in both 1978 and 1980.

Activism Through Song

Following Stonewall in 1969, LGBTQ+ community, activist, and cultural organizations began to form across the country. Since the 1970s, the LGBTQ+ choral movement continues to be an example of how individuals come together through queer musical activism.

The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus was founded in 1980 and first appeared at Carnegie Hall on December 8, 1981, performing works by Palestrina and Handel alongside holiday favorites. The ensemble has since returned to the Hall more than 70 times, performing repertoire from J. S. Bach to Sondheim, and appearing with legends like Marilyn Horne, Chita Rivera, Kelli O’Hara, and others. Their most recent performance at the Hall in 2019 commemorated the 50^th anniversary of Stonewall and featured other LGBTQ+ choruses from across the country, such as the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, OurSong—The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chorus, and the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus.

Founded in 2017, the Resistance Revival Chorus merges music and activism. The chorus is a group of more than 60 women-identified and non-binary singers that focuses on songs of protest, power, and resistance, including covers and original songs. They have performed three times at Carnegie Hall, including a 2019 appearance with vocalist Deva Mahal.

Lesbian Feminist Record Labels

Another form of queer musical activism emerged in the 1970s with the rise of both the lesbian feminist movement and the women’s music movement. The first women’s music record label was founded in 1973 by the Olivia Collective, which included singer-songwriters Meg Christian and Cris Williamson. Olivia Records was fully owned and operated by women and promoted works that spoke to the female and lesbian experience.

Christian and Williamson celebrated the 10th anniversary of Olivia Records in 1982 at Carnegie Hall with two back-to-back sold-out shows the day after Thanksgiving. Olivia’s recordings, concerts, and events were considered groundbreaking and extraordinarily successful for an independent grassroots label.

AIDS Epidemic Benefit Concerts

The 1980s saw the AIDS epidemic ravaging its way across the United States, deeply impacting the LGBTQ+ community. Carnegie Hall hosted several events that raised money and awareness for individuals living with AIDS. In 1987, Music for Life hosted a benefit for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Inc. that raised more than $1.5 million. Performers included conductor Leonard Bernstein, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, tenor Luciano Pavarotti, soprano Leontyne Price, and others.

The following year, Carnegie Hall hosted a benefit that raised funds for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and featured performances by Orchestra of St. Luke’s, violinist Isaac Stern, pianist Emanuel Ax, tenor Plácido Domingo, guitarist Paul Simon, and actors Meryl Streep and Steve Martin.

A few other high-profile concerts include Children Will Listen, a benefit in 1989 for the education and care of children affected by AIDS and their families, and two performances by Tony Award–winning vocalists in 1996. Betty Buckley presented An Evening at Carnegie Hall to benefit Broadway CARES / Equity Fights Aids, and Bernadette Peters made her headlining debut with a nearly all–Stephen Sondheim program to benefit the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

The “Most Durable Gay Icon”

While there are many gay icons today, there is one that remains the most iconic: Judy Garland. She made her Carnegie Hall debut on April 23, 1961. At that point in time, she had been in show business for nearly 40 years. It was a star-studded event with celebrities like Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe, Henry Fonda, and many others in attendance. The concert was a huge success, resulting in a live album that went on to win five Grammy Awards, spending 73 weeks on the Billboard charts.

Fast-forward 45 years to June 14, 2006, when Rufus Wainwright made his Carnegie Hall headlining debut with an authentic song-by-song recreation of Judy Garland’s iconic concert. As part of the experience, the multicolored sequin jacket Garland wore during her 1961 performance was loaned back to Carnegie Hall and displayed in the Rose Museum. In Stephen Holden’s review in The New York Times, he said, “What unfolded onstage Wednesday was a tour de force of politically empowering performance art in which a proudly gay male performer paid homage to the original and most durable gay icon in the crowded pantheon of pop divas.”

Photography: Renault flyers courtesy of John Sniffen; Mahal and the Resistance Revival Chorus by Jack Vartoogian; Bernstein and Horne, and Domingo by Steve J. Sherman; additional concert memorabilia courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Rose Archives.