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Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe

Performances run through December 31 at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s.

By: Nov. 27, 2023
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Yesterday, at the Sunday matinee, MAKE ME GORGEOUS! celebrated what would have been the 97th birthday of Kenneth / Kate Marlowe (depicted on stage by Wade McCollum in MAKE ME GORGEOUS! by Donnie). Charles Busch, Lee Roy Reams, Riki Kane Larimer  and David Rothenberg were all in attendance for the celebration of the LGBTQ+ trailblazer.

Check out photos from backstage below!

triangle productions! presents the New York premiere of Make Me Gorgeous!, The True Story of Kenneth "Mr. Madam" Marlowe, written and directed by Donnie, and starring Wade McCollum (Broadway: Wicked, the upcoming Water For Elephants. West End: It Happened In Key West), who also contributed additional material. The limited engagement is now playing Off-Broadway at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s (308 W. 46th Street) through December 31. 


Make Me Gorgeous! is the fabulous and incredible true story of Kenneth Marlowe, an oft-overlooked trailblazer in LGBTQ+ history. Described as one of mid-Century America’s gayest and most openly homosexual personalities, Marlowe took on many roles in life. Kenneth was a private hairdresser to the stars; the madam of a notorious gay prostitution ring in Hollywood; an author; a hustler; a female impersonator; a private in the U.S. Army; a call boy; a Christian missionary; a mortuary cosmetologist; a newspaper columnist … and for the final decade of an incredibly lived life, Marlowe was a woman, having transitioned to become Kate Marlowe.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Make Me Gorgeous!

Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe  Image
Donnie, Charles Busch, Michael Ayervias, Riki Kane Larimer, Lee Roy Reams, Wade McCollum

Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe  Image
Wade McCollum, Charles Busch, Donnie

Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe  Image
David Rothenberg, Donnie

Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe  Image
Charles Busch, Wade McCollum

Photos: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! Celebrates 97th Birthday of Kenneth/Kate Marlowe  Image
Wade McCollum, Charles Busch




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