Jul 15
Pumped Boy Radio Brings 'Crunchy' Dr. Frank-N-Furter to Ptown 'Rocky Horror'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 7 MIN.
EDGE: A lot of performers don't want to come out of the closet. They think it will be harmful to their career. Was that ever the case for you? Or were you always saying, "Here I am, this is who I am and what I do"?
Boy Radio: It was 1,000% the case for me. Yes, 1,000%! I spent time in my head when I was younger, watching my favorite icons of the time and just thinking to myself, "Oh my gosh, I hope that I can achieve a level of good work and notoriety in a space that allows me to have whatever this is," and still thinking to myself, "Well, geez, but I'll never really be able to be myself" – like, "I'll never be able to come out, it'll be a scandal." We all saw George Michael get outed in a public scandal, and I thought to myself, "Well, I'll never be able to have sex, because I'll get AIDS. I'll never be able to have a life that my family can support, because they don't like gay people. I'll probably have to get married, and I'll probably have to fake my life."
Over the course of the years, I've 100% leaned into finding myself. That's why I moved to New York in the first place – I wanted to lean into art and music. I was attracted to Andy Warhol's New York. This is in the early 2000s, so I was coming from a place of nostalgia, you know, future nostalgia, in a way. And then there was a pivotal moment: I turned 27 and I auditioned for a big TV talent show. I made it to a certain level, and then I was taken out – they decided to go in a different direction. I was so devastated. My dad called me out of the blue, and I was so upset I had sort of a breakdown. I said to him, "I'm 27, and you really don't even know me." We hung up, and I called my mom, and I started crying. I came out to my mom at 27, and from that point on all the things that I started to do in my life – creative life, work, life, family life – started to become more authentic to who I am. When my creative work started to become more taken on by audiences, I finally was like, "I don't care. I don't care in the best sense of the word, because I'm not going to stop being who I am."
As far as being an out artist, and not having to put that in front of my title – gay actor, gay musician, gay anything – it's just what it is. I'm so happy that I we live in a time right now, and in America, where we're willing to fight for what we believe, and I feel fortunate that I get to be an out artist.
EDGE: Being an out artist in Provincetown, playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter – it seems like it couldn't get any better than that.
Boy Radio: I really do want this to be an excellent summer. And the cast is incredible – every single person involved, they are putting in the work. Their voices are amazing. Our Brad and Janet are so funny. We have 64 shows, I think, and I really want every single show to be excellent. That's the goal.
It's an iconic thing to be doing "Rocky Horror" in P-town and being able to play Frank-N-Furter. I'm very excited about it.
"The Rocky Horror Show" will run at The Provincetown Theater from July 15 – Sept. 5. For tickets, follow this link.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
