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Home » News » New Book by FSU Theatre Professor Explores LGBTQ Politics of Broadway

New Book by FSU Theatre Professor Explores LGBTQ Politics of Broadway

Published March 7, 2023

The book cover of "Love is Love is Love" features an actor silhouetted against a rainbow lit stageFlorida State University Assistant Professor of Theatre Aaron C. Thomas, Ph.D, has published a new book, “Love Is Love Is Love: Broadway Musicals and LGBTQ Politics, 2010-2020.”

In “Love Is Love Is Love,” Thomas explores five musicals from the past decade, including “Newsies,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Frozen.”

“No one in any of these shows claims a specific LGBTQ identity,” says Thomas. “I am more interested in how audiences have taken and related to these shows rather than the identity of the characters themselves.”

Thomas, whose research focuses on theatrical discourse surrounding sexuality and violence, published his first book, “Sondheim and Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd” in 2018. He has served as an assistant professor in the School of Theatre since 2018 and is director of the School’s BA Theatre Program. Thomas is also a two-time alum of FSU, having received his MA in 2008 and his Ph.D. in 2012.

Thomas dedicates the book to those who work in musical theatre and have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All of my friends who work in theatre couldn’t work anymore, and it was a really devastating moment for them,” he said. “This book is a love letter to those who work in musical theatre and LGBTQ+ audiences.”

“Love is Love is Love” will be available on March 24, but can be preordered now on Amazon.

The FSU School of Theatre is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world, learn more about the School and its programs at theatre.fsu.edu.