Joe's Pub to Present THE MEETING * JUSTIN ELIZABETH SAYRE

JOE'S PUB will present the return of the long-running downtown variety institution, The Meeting* with Justin Elizabeth Sayre on Sunday, May 12 at 9:00 PM. This new iteration of the cabaret classic is called “The Queertily Review” and will include special guests Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Broadway's Kinky Boots), John Hill (Sirius XM Radio) and John Coons and Jonah Wheeler (BLEAK). The show features music director Tracy Stark at the piano. 

Sayre is thrilled to be bring back the beloved show to downtown, but stresses that there's always a new twist. “I've loved The Meeting*, not only because it's given me a platform, but also because it's allowed me to connect with the community. Through this show, I've gotten to meet and work with so many amazing artists. And that's the most thrilling part.” But there's also a definite need for this kind of return. “You know with the world in the terrible state that it is, I felt and feel very strongly that not just queer people, but all people need to come together and celebrate our joy in the face of so much adversity. The Meeting*, I believe, fits the bill.”

The Meeting of the International Order of Sodomites, to use its official title, premiered in in 2009 at The Duplex and then grew to enormous heights, enjoying a residency at 54 Below before finding its home at Joe's Pub. At the end of its initial run, The Meeting* became the longest running LGBTQ+ variety show in New York. Though Sayre has traversed many other genres and theatres with their work, The Meeting and Joe's Pub continues to be a home. “I am forever grateful to be a part of the Joe's Pub family. It's an institution that I love and venerate. I could never dream of a better cabaret space.”

“The Queertily Review” will feature Broadway and cabaret performer Kevin Smith Kirkwood, whose celebrations of Whitney Houston at Joe's Pub have become a downtown staple. John Hill, a regular host on Sirius XM Radio, fresh from a string of hilarious concert outings, will bring some of his witty and wonderful new songs. John Coons and Jonah Wheeler will bring an original song from their hit show, “BLEAK! Songs for the Not-Quite-End of the World.”

Justin Elizabeth Sayre

is a playwright and performer who Michael Musto called, “Oscar Wilde meets Whoopi Goldberg.” Sayre is a fixture of the downtown cabaret scene in New York, first with their long-running variety show, The Meeting (Bistro Award winner and two MAC Award nominations). As a playwright, Sayre's work has appeared at Dixon Place, The Wild Project, The Celebration Theatre, Dynasty Typewriter, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre. Their 12-part-epic Ravenswood Manor, a camp-horror-soap-opera, called “a sharply written and well-acted exemplar of the horror-comedy genre,” by The Los Angeles Times. Sayre has written a series of YA novels, Husky, Pretty, and Mean, released by Penguin Books, and the book, From Gay to Z: A Compendium of Queer Culture, released by Chronicle Books. Sayre has written for television, working with Michael Patrick King on his hit CBS comedy, “2 Broke Girls” and Fox's “The Cool Kids.” Sayre also appeared on HBO's “The Comeback” with Lisa Kudrow. They are NYCLU artist ambassador and a 2023 MacDowell Fellow. 

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