Podcast Summary

StraightioLab – “Musical Theater” w/ Aaron Jackson

Date: November 18, 2025
Hosts: George Civeris & Sam Taggart
Guest: Aaron Jackson

Episode Overview

This episode is a raucous, intensely self-aware deep-dive into the nuances of musical theater as it intersects with “straight” and “gay” cultures, featuring guest Aaron Jackson. The hosts and Aaron riff on topics ranging from sweat and fitting in, to the politics of Broadway, the dynamics of Hell’s Kitchen gays vs Brooklyn gays, and what musical theater reveals about mainstream American culture.

They pepper the entire conversation with personal anecdotes, high-camp asides, and a steady stream of memorable jokes, all the while poking fun at themselves and each other. This episode is both a celebration and a friendly roast of the key tropes and stereotypes lurking behind musical theater—and the people it attracts.

Key Discussion Points

Warm-Up: Physical Discomfort and the Anxiety of Fitting In

• Sweat Talk & Social Conformity
  • Sam and George begin with a humorous discussion about Sam’s sweaty back (“My back is completely covered in sweat…No one can see it, but you have to take my word for it.” – Sam, 03:18).
  • They pivot quickly to the existential concern about “fitting in”, especially as it relates to geographic subcultures (New York vs LA).
  • Quote:
    “I have no idea where fashion has gone in the last two years. I haven’t seen a store; certainly, I haven’t read a magazine.” — George (05:17)

Guest Arrival: Sweat Solidarity and Stage Mishaps

• Aaron enters, and is teased for his “lingerie” arrival, which he clarifies as layered outfits due to sweating issues.
• Discussion of how sweat affects performance, especially during Aaron’s recent run in the play “Messy White Gays” (10:07).
• Anecdotes about costume mishaps and the mechanics of performing on a slippy stage:
  “So we all do slip a bunch when that happens.” — Aaron (15:19)

Celebrity Gossip & Nightlife

• Night out with James Corden in New York (13:24), and the perennial question of “Is James Corden actually nice?”
  • Hilarious third-hand anecdote about Corden ignoring his own crying baby on a flight (14:16).
• Dinner, gossip, and NY nightlife culture are enthusiastically dissected.

Broadway Behind-the-Scenes

• Aaron discusses the dynamic among cast members:
  “We all take a shower and we go home. It’s communal f—k.” — Aaron (27:23, deadpan)
• The group riffs on the reality of post-show camaraderie, pokes fun at the idea of backstage feuds, and does rapid-fire character impressions.

The Play: “Messy White Gays” (28:05)

• Aaron describes the play as a riff on Hitchcock’s Rope, replacing 1920s murderous intellectuals with modern gay throuple drama, brunch, and mishaps hiding a (literal) dead body in a Jonathan Adler credenza.
• “I’m the love interest who killed someone!” — Aaron (32:31)

Instagram, Curtain Calls, and the Changing Media Landscape

• The hosts and Aaron debate social media’s encroachment on Broadway—why is everyone filming curtain calls? Is it all for the ’gram? (16:55)
• Aaron on Instagram:
  “I don’t like it, but I am addicted to it.” (17:51)
  • Their philosophies on posting stories, meat-market culture, and lines between authenticity and performance.

Broadway Cast Dynamics & Hell’s Kitchen vs Brooklyn Gays

• The group muses about the social and class distinctions between Hell's Kitchen gays, Ridgewood gays, and Brooklyn gays.
  • “They’re Hell’s Kitchen gays. They’re not, like, Williamsburg gays. They’re not Bushwick gays.” — Aaron (39:53)

Musical Theater: Straight or Gay?

• Aaron’s main “straight topic" is musical theater—delightfully argued as paradoxically both basic/straight and niche/gay (54:39).

  • Sam: “It’s confusing, though, because it’s niche and basic.” (55:04)
  • Aaron: Discusses how musical theater is full of “Mormon” and “hyper-Christian” girls, the discipline of performance, and the latent straightness of the institution.
  • George draws parallels to Disney adults, seeing both as escapist cultures clinging to suspended childhood.

• Horny Musicals & Diva Worship:

  • Some musicals are potentially “horny” (e.g., when there’s real vocal talent + sexy acting), but overall the mainstream is surprisingly sexless.
  • Diva worship is pronounced as inherently gay.
    “To be like, I love Bernadette Peters is gay. That’s not straight.” — George (59:20)

• Straightest Musicals:

  • The group debates whether Phantom, Wicked, or Mamma Mia is the “straightest” mainstream show—concluding that as musicals grow in popularity and as family entertainment, they inevitably become less “gay."
    “It’s like musicals start out gay and then get straighter and straighter and straighter as they get bigger.” — George (59:44)

The “15 Guys” Theory of Queer New York

• Quirky reflection on the insularity of the Brooklyn queer comedy/theater scene:
  “There’s 15 guys. They all do comedy, they all have improv backgrounds, but they also do stand-up now, and they write. … Those are the 15 guys.” — Sam (64:07)

Shout-Outs Segment (84:26)

• Sam: Shouts out Alexis Bledel (“She is my cousin”—85:32)
• George: Lauds Rachel Sennott for acting and comedic talent (86:48)
• Aaron: Gin martinis—“I’m really in that bag” (88:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On standing out:
  “It’s actually cooler to have zero opinion about whether this new album is good or not. And you guys are actually being complete losers and idiots, and you should honestly start talking about healthcare, housing, things that actually…” — George (06:51)

• On the surreal experience of acting nightly:
  “You do it eight times a week. So…it’s this weird, sort of Greek, Sisyphusian, ‘here we go again’. And then you’re in the middle of it, and you’re like, where am I? When am I? I don’t know, but it’s kind of fun.” — Aaron (33:05)

• On “Hell’s Kitchen gays”:
  “There’s… almost a new species. Like, when there’s a Ridgewood gay versus a Hell’s Kitchen gay, you’re sort of like, these couldn’t be further.” — Sam (40:03)

• On musical theater’s place on the gay/straight spectrum:
  “Musicals start out gay and then get straighter and straighter as they get bigger…” — George (59:44)

• On expanding one’s social universe:
  “I don’t think it’s good when my world expands.” — Sam (63:35)

• On the insularity of NY queer comedy:
  “Whenever there’s an election, I’m like, whoa, whoa, whoa—not my 15!” — Sam (64:10)

• On nostalgia for gay bars:
  “Do you like to… date oneself through knowing which gay bars were around when? Like the fact that I was alive when Sugarland was alive—I’m 100.” — Sam (74:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:39] – Podcast “actually” starts (hosts’ moods, back sweat, fitting in)
• [09:33] – Aaron Jackson’s entrance; sweat solidarity; play talk begins
• [13:24] – James Corden in NYC; wild Corden anecdote
• [15:17] – Slipping onstage: “Slippy Night”
• [28:05] – Description of the play “Messy White Gays”
• [39:53] – Hell’s Kitchen/city gay subcultures
• [54:39] – Aaron introduces “musical theater” as the “straight” topic
• [59:44] – “Musicals start out gay and then get straighter as they get bigger”
• [64:07] – The “15 Guys” Theory
• [84:26] – Shout-outs to Alexis Bledel, Rachel Sennott, gin martinis

Episode Tone & Style

The tone is simultaneously hyper-camp and deadpan. The hosts move effortlessly between parody and sincerity, routinely roasting one another and themselves. The pacing is rapid, punchy, and full of quotable one-liners and asides: a feverish combination of queer theory, inside-baseball NYC theater lore, and improv-level chaos.

For those who missed it:

• The hosts and guest use musical theater as a lens to deconstruct questions of cultural conformity, queer subcultures, and the continual reshaping of what is considered “straight culture.”
• Personal stories and sharp-witted jabs keep the episode lively and textured, offering both in-jokes for the deeply initiated and killer commentary for newcomers.

Recommended for:

• Listeners fascinated by NYC’s queer and theater scenes
• Fans of meta-humor, gay subcultural lore, and deep cultural analysis delivered with jokes per minute
• Anyone who wants a crash course in why musical theater both is and isn’t “gay culture”—with plenty of laughs along the way

End of Summary