MY SON'S A QUEER (BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO?) Postpones Broadway Run

BroadwayWorld has learned that My Son’s A Queer (But What Can You Do?) has been postponed to next Broadway season instead of this spring as previously announced.

Theater and dates to be announced at a later date. All purchased tickets will be refunded. Ticket buyers should return to point of purchase for refunds.

Star Rob Madge took to Instagram to share the news. "I found out about this yesterday [...] and it just felt like the rug was just swept from under my feet, but this is absolutely the right thing to do for the show. I just want to be as transparent as humanly possible..." they said.

"I've been working on this run specifically since May 2023, and the prospect of Broadway has been on the horizon since August 2022. For nearly two years of thought to be gone is difficult. I'm just disappointed it's not happening."

Madge also shared they had been working on rewrites and additional material for the show when they were notified that the run had been postponed.

The show will face an uphill battle to capitalize a second attempt at a Broadway run next year following widely acknowledged poor ticket sales by Broadway standards, and investors shaken by a run that never made it to first preview.

This is also the second project by producers Tom Smedes, Heather Shields, and Peter Stern to be postponed before opening in New York. The producing team also postponed their run of the Drag-Comedy musical Death Drop which had been slated to run at New World Stages last year. No further production details have been announced since the postponement. 

This is the second production in recent years to have a marquee go up at the Lyceum but not open. Sing Street, which had loaded into the theatre, was canceled over the pandemic.

Read more: Have Any Broadway Plays Ever Closed Before They Opened?

My Son’s A Queer (But What Can You Do?) is a hilarious, poignant, and infectiously joyous one-person musical featuring West End artist Rob Madge (they/them). The show follows the journey of a family as they explore their son's love for all things Disney, theatre, and their identity as a Queer human. As much a hilarious ode to musical theatre and VHS tapes as it is the power of a family’s acceptance, the production beautifully weaves together themes of love and self-discovery with a pop-culture love-in for fairy tale fanboy/girls (and everyone in between).

The musical was scheduled to begin performances on February 27, 2024, with opening night originally set for March 12 at the Lyceum Theatr.

Read more: Have Any Broadway Plays Ever Closed Before They Opened? Part 2

My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?) is written by Rob Madge, directed by Luke Sheppard (&Juliet), and features songs by Pippa Cleary (The Great British Bake Off Musical). The production was set to feature scenic and costumes by Ryan Dawson Laight (Torch Song at The Turbine Theatre, London), lighting by Jai Morjaria (Othello at Lyttleton Theatre), sound by Tingying Dong (The Crucible at Gielgud Theatre), video by George Reeve (Old Friends), and orchestrations by Simon Nathan (Brexit: The Musical at Edinburgh Fringe).

My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?) was to be produced by Tom Smedes, Heather Shields, and Peter Stern, by arrangement with Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor Mills.