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FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2025

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED… AFTER BRUNCH

DREW DROEGE’S
“MESSY WHITE GAYS”

TO DEBUT OFF-BROADWAY THIS FALL

ALL-STAR CAST LED BY DROEGE WILL FEATURE
JAMES CUSATI-MOYER, AARON JACKSON,
ZANE PHILLIPS AND PETE ZIAS

DIRECTED BY MIKE DONAHUE

PERFORMANCES BEGIN OCTOBER 6
AT THE DUKE ON 42ND STREET
OPENING NIGHT SET FOR NOVEMBER 2
TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Pete Zias, Zane Phillips, Drew Droege, James Cusati-Moyer, and Aaron Jackson photographed by Marc J. Franklin for MESSY WHITE GAYS.
To download show art and cast head shots, click HERE

New York, NY (August 18, 2025) – Producers The Fabulous Invalid (Jamie DuMont and Rob Russo) and Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora announced today that Messy White Gays, a brutal new satire from the mind of Drew Droege, will begin performances off-Broadway this fall. Joining Droege in the all-star cast will be Tony® Award nominee James Cusati-Moyer (Slave Play), Aaron Jackson (DICKS: The Musical), Zane Phillips (Fire Island), and Pete Zias (“Total Trash Live!”). Under the direction of Mike Donahue, Messy White Gays will debut at The Duke on 42nd Street on October 6, 2025, with opening night set for November 2^nd. Tickets are now available at www.MessyWhiteGays.com.

In Messy White Gays, Drew Droege—the sharp-penned and quick-witted diarist of the contemporary homosexual—shines a harsh overhead light on the pores of White Gaydom, revealing what happens when throuples crumble, neighbors bicker, and rich and pretty clash with hot and dumb. It’s Sunday morning in Hell’s Kitchen. Brecken and Caden have just murdered their boyfriend and stuffed his body into a Jonathan Adler credenza. Unfortunately, they’ve also invited friends over for brunch. And they’re out of limes! Feel bad for them! They’re MESSY WHITE GAYS!

The creative team for Messy White Gays will include set design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by James + AC, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Sinan Refik Zadar, props by Brendan McCann, puppetry by Sam Hill, and special effects by Jeremy Chernick. General management is provided by Sing Out, Louise! Productions, with production management by Libby J’Vera and Michal V. Mendelson as production stage manager. Casting is by Ryan Bernard Tymensky of RBT Casting.

Co-producing Messy White Gays will be Willette and Manny Klausner, DT3 Productions, Stephanie Courtney & Scott Kolanach, Rebecca Gold, Zac Petkanas & B. Levi Bohanan, Red Spear Productions, Russo Famiglia, Angelina Santarelli, Marco Santarelli, Nelini Stamp, Emma Taylor, Andrew Tobias, and Wolk Transfer Company.

Messy White Gays previously received a workshop and developmental presentation as part of the 38th Powerhouse Theater Season at Vassar College.

BIOGRAPHIES

Drew Droege (Playwright, “Karl”) has appeared Off-Broadway in Titanique and his solo shows, Happy Birthday Doug and Bright Colors And Bold Patterns, for which he received Outstanding Performance at Outfest Film Festival (both shows streaming on BroadwayHD). Last year he appeared in Luca Guadagnino’s film Queer and on stage in Dracula, A Comedy Of Terrors at The Old Globe. He’s best known for his Chloe Sevigny parody videos and performs regularly in Los Angeles with The Groundlings, The Golden Girlz Live, and Celebration Theatre (including starring in Charles Busch’s Die Mommie Die! at Kirk Douglas Theatre). He has written for Netflix’s “AJ And The Queen” and “Big Mouth”. His recent film/TV credits include “Bob’s Burgers”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Search Party”, “The Goldbergs”, Fool’s Paradise, Me Time, “The Great North”, “Your Honor”, “Drunk History”, and the TV reboot of “Heathers”.

Mike Donahue (Director) Select credits include: the LA premiere of Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance” (Geffen Playhouse); “Little Shop of Horrors” with MJ Rodriguez, George Salazar and Amber Riley (Pasadena Playhouse); and the world premieres of Matthew Lopez’s “The Legend of Georgia McBride” (MCC, The Geffen, Denver Center), Jen Silverman’s “Collective Rage” (MCC, Woolly Mammoth), Ana Nogueira’s “Which Way To The Stage” (MCC), Jordan Seavey’s “Homos” (Labyrinth), and “Highway Patrol” (The Goodman), which he co-created with Dana Delany, Dane Laffrey and Jen Silverman. Mike’s award-winning OSCAR® qualifying debut short film, “Troy”, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and has gone on to screen at another 70 festivals internationally, including the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It has won numerous awards, including the Jury Award for Best Comedy at Aspen Shortfest 2023, the Audience Award for Best Narrative Short at Outfest 2022, the Vimeo ‘Unofficial Award’ for Best US Narrative Short at Sundance and Vimeo Staff Pick Best of 2023. “Troy” is featured online in The New Yorker’s Screening Room. Mike and writer Jen Silverman are currently working on their first feature, with Pacific Electric producing.

James Cusati-Moyer (“Brecken”) Broadway: Slave Play (Tony nomination, Best Featured Actor in a Play), Six Degrees of Separation. West End: Slave Play. Off-Broadway: Slave Play (New York Theatre Workshop), Nijinsky in World Premiere of Fire and Air by Terrence McNally (Classic Stage Company). Regional: Yale Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival. Film: Black Adam (DC Comics), The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick (SXSW Premiere) Television: “Inventing Anna” (Netflix). Training: Yale School of Drama.

Aaron Jackson (“Caden”) is the co-creator, cowriter and costar of the A24 film Dicks: The Musical, directed by Larry Charles. Other selected TV/film include: Las Culturistas Culture Awards, “Fantasmas,” “The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper,” “Have You Heard of Christmas?,” “The Detour,” “Crashing,” “Broad City.” He was a longtime performer at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in New York City. His novel, THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF AUGUST MARCH (HarperCollins) is available wherever books are sold.

Zane Phillips (“Addison”)  is an actor and singer from Fredericksburg, TX. After seven years of pursuing a musical theater career in New York, he quickly began working in both film and television and had breakout roles in the CW series “Legacies” and the Searchlight feature Fire Island opposite Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster. He has since been seen in a variety of roles including a series lead in the Netflix series “Glamorous,” and recurring roles in “Good Trouble” on Freeform, “Mid-Century Modern” on Hulu, and will next be seen on “Loot” for AppleTV opposite Maya Rudolph. He now lives in Los Angeles.

Pete Zias (Thacker) is an alum of and regular performer at The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. He performed his solo show, The Teddy Teddy Show, at the NYC International and Hollywood Fringe Festivals. He hosts his IG Live and stage show “Total Trash Live!” where he reads from his extensive tabloid collection, which The Hollywood Reporter listed as one of their guilty pleasures! Pete has appeared on OUT TV’s “Dr. Jackie” and The Sherry Vine Variety Show. His film credits include “Grandmother’s Gold”, “The Never List”, “Cock N’ Bull 3″, “Pig Hag” and “Ganymede!” He studied Theatre at Marymount Manhattan College.

The Fabulous Invalid (Producer) is a theatrical production company founded in 2018 by Jamie DuMont and Rob Russo with the mission to illuminate untold stories and fascinating personalities on air and on stage with a reverence for the past, a boldoutlook for the future, and a dash of panache. The company takes its name from the title of a 1938 backstage play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart that has since become a loving nickname for Broadway itself—always deemed on the verge of decline, yet always bouncing back: the fabulous invalid! Projects to date includeThe Wiz and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ on Broadway, Messy White Gays, Call Fosse at the Minskoff, and Broadway Barbara Live! Off-Broadway (SoHo Playhouse), in addition to four podcasts for the Broadway Podcast Network, and several additional projects in development.

Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora (Producers) Tony and Emmy nominated producers Tom and Michael D’Angora are known for their record-breaking long runs Off-Broadway, their charitable work, and activism. Their Broadway credits include Queen of Versailles, Suffs, Cabaret, Harmony, How to Dance in Ohio, and Caroline, or Change. They hold several records for their long-running Off-Broadway shows – NEWSical The Musical (5th longest running Off-Broadway musical in history) and Naked Boys Singing (4th longest running revue in New York City history). Other producing credits include My Son’s A Queer (City Center), the documentary LIZA: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, and Off-Broadway’s Walking With Bubbles, A Musical About Star Wars, and The Marvelous Wonderettes.  They are the proud new owners of the historic West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd St.

About New 42® Studios

New 42 Studios cultivates new ideas in the performing arts through quality services and spaces that empower artists to do their best work. Dubbed “Broadway’s Secret Laboratory,” by The New York Times, New 42 Studios, including the black box rental theater The Duke on 42nd Street, opens its doors to the season’s biggest musicals and plays, as well as numerous nonprofit performing arts companies who access the same coveted rehearsal rooms to make their vision a reality. From early development to opening night, New 42 Studios are dedicated to performing artists and the spells they cast.

About New 42

New 42 was founded to breathe new life into 42nd Street and its historic theaters, transforming the block into a vibrant and youthful theater district. Today and every day, we continue to spark awe and wonder, opening new worlds to young audiences through New Victory® Theater, incubating new works at New 42® Studios, and paving new pathways to creative careers through our artist and mentorship programs. Under the leadership of President & CEO Russell Granet and Board Chairman Henry Tisch, New 42’s mission is to make extraordinary performing arts a vital part of everyone’s life from the earliest years onward. Driven for 35 years by the belief that the performing arts have the power to connect and change us all, we continue to expand what’s possible for artists, audiences, and the future of the performing arts. New 42 is the recipient of a 2025 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

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