The tenor Douglas McDonnell sang two songs from Speakeasy at last weekend’s Lower East Side festival at the Theater for the New City: “Dance into the Light” and “All You Are”.  Unfortunately technical difficulties got in the way of recording “All You Are”, but Douglas’ rendition of “Dance into the Light” can be heard below.  Jonathan Fox Powers provided the accompaniment:

To read more about the musical Speakeasy, including listening to demo recordings and reading about the Queer subculture of the 1920’s that inspired it, check out the Speakeasy Page or Speakeasy archives.

Let me also draw your attention to an interesting article about Queer nightlife of the era, which touches upon many details that have made their way into Speakeasy, including drag balls, queer slang of the era, and lesbian nightclub entertainer Gladys Bentley.