Boy Culture Links: 'Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody': I Think It's What You Want, 2charm's DL BPM, Counterterrorism Chief Quits Over Trump's Iran Quagmire, Banksy Revealed + MORE
MARCH 17, 2026
PAPER: Rising-star pop duo 2charm is pushing what they call “gooner pop.” (Where do people come up with such brilliant angles?)
Paper’s Trevor Gardemal writes:
“The world of 2charm exists in the space between realizing desire and confronting it. They always wear sunglasses, and they’re always eyeing each other. They’re sexy and they’re sexual, but they never make a move … The ever-present sunglasses, and the other accessories they sometimes sport, function as masks. They’re a modern day Daft Punk, or a gayer Orville Peck, who wish to separate their music from their personal identities. These identities seem to be a bit of an open secret on the internet, perhaps revealed in cursory google searches, but the band’s two members would rather it stays on the DL.
Check out “Boyfriend”:
REUTERS: Speaking of the DL, a thorough, fascinating new investigation has definitively identified the man known publicly as pop-art phenom Banksy. Spurred on by a clue dropped in a 2019 Instagram post, Reuters has named Robin Gunningham (who has legally changed his name to David Jones) as the brilliant mind behind a series of urban masterpieces, and the man who once auctioned a piece for seven figures — only to have it rigged to immediately go through a shredder. (It was later re-sold for more than 20 times the original hammer price, setting a record.)
EQUALITY FLORIDA: Digging into Florida’s Anti-Diversity in Local Government bill, it’s terrifying, dangerously vague and practically outlaws pride.
THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE: I would be remiss if I did not pipe up here to offer some thoughts on Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, which just had several staged readings at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC.
The mini review: Girl.
The maxi review: Going into something like this, you expect some cringe. After all, Heated Rivalry just blew up a few months ago — how could a whole show of any real musical and/or comedic heft materialize in such a short time?
But with book and music and lyrics by Dylan MarcAurele, direction by Alan Kliffer and musical direction by Mateo Chavez Lewis, the show body checked all expectations, and while I’m sure it will continue to be fleshed out (the cottage finale is not fully built), is already a triumphantly creative romp that has just the right amount of reverence for the source material while not being afraid to make jokes at its expense. (It helps that the show’s actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are hilarious off-screen, making it easy to envision them adoring having the piss taken out of them.)
Jay Armstrong Johnson is the perfect Ilya, as when he stoically performs the side-splitting “Big Butt, Cold Heart,” and I warmed right up to Zachary Noah Piser’s gay-geek take on Shane, especially when interacting with belter Cherry Torres as his passive-aggressive mom, whose own sexual orientation is best described as “endorsements.”
I never would have conceived of writing this show with one of the series’ female fans as the narrator, and that inspired structuring allows Ryann Redmond to shine as she moves things along as confidently as Cabaret’s Emcee, with bigger hair. And, among the other parts she is a fucking riot as Rose.
That leaves Ryan Duncan to dazzle in too many roles to count, among them Ilya’s dying dad, a blowzy fan of the series and Kip. As the latter, his scene partner is a surprise that I’ll leave for you to discover in the future. But suffice it to say, it’s a huge risk and wild card, one that could have slowed down the show’s pacing, but that works fantastically well with Ryan’s guidance.
Impossibly, the songs are not only Broadway-ready, they’re genuinely witty. This show’s creator caught every nuance of what makes Heated Rivalry so popular and every aspect that is a little silly, plus making use of the media hysteria surrounding the HBO Max sensation. Even Connor Storrie’s YouTube past has a cameo.
From zero expectations to zero reservations, I have to tell you that this feels like the next Titanique. It will have a full production off-Broadway, and that will be a hit. I’ll keep you posted when and if that news becomes official.
OUTSPORTS: Sue Rankin, the first out lesbian head coach in the U.S., says she was forced out at Penn State due to her activism. Her response is what any good lesbian’s would be:
“I’d do it again.”
THE GUARDIAN: Tony Powell, a footballer for Bournemouth and Norwich some 50 years ago, is the subject of a doc about coming to terms with being gay. He says:
“I just wanted to be who I am, but at that time it was not a good idea to come out.”
THEM: Russia banned the ballet Nureyev because its subject, world-famous dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, was gay and died of AIDS. But Berlin is stepping up as the stage for the work’s premiere. This has been a ten-year journey, nearly. Ridiculous. The world just never progresses as much as we need it to.
NEW WAYS MINISTRY: Happy St. Patrick’s Day, especially to Brendan Fay, who was instrumental in getting LGBTQ+ orgs into NYC’s historic parade.
FACEBOOK: Please stop sharing the fake story about Dean Cain’s son being gay. The image on the right of the meme isn’t even his son.
PEOPLE: RFK Jr. and Cheryl Hines sold Chelsea Handler a “toxic” home.
NEW YORK TIMES: RIP Judy Pace, 83. She was on Peyton Place and in Brian’s Song, among many other credits.
TWITTER: On Shut Up Evan last month, Hudson Williams went into his detailed beliefs about trimming your ass hair, presenting a clean and clear taint, manscaped bush and more topics that will keep him on the road to Emmy.
Full ep:
HUFFINGTON POST: Joe Kent, top counterterrorism official in the U.S., has quit over Trump’s botched Iran War — and he implies Trump was goaded into the quagmire by Israel.
NEW YORK TIMES: Israel killed another top Iranian official, his time the last remaining pragmatist who might have negotiated in any way with the U.S.
KENNETH IN THE (212): An in-depth review of Chico’s Angels, an L.A. institution — or someone ended up in one, either way.
TWITTER: I’m disheartened by “fans” kvetching that Barbra Streisand didn’t look good at the Oscars. If this doesn’t look good enough for ya, I’d like to introduce you to 83-going-on-84! Also, I know some didn’t like her look, but the silhouette was giving me flashes of her sheer Arnold Scaasi pantsuit from when she won for Funny Girl.
JUST JARED: Madonna will break a 23-year screen-acting dry spell with an appearance on her pal Seth Rogen’s AppleTV+ hit The Studio. Seems a perfect fit. Too much to ask that she reprise her “Liz Rosenberg” character?!
EYEWITNESS NEWS: Because New York City, there was a Bad Bunny Look-Alike Contest, and … here is your winner, front ‘n’ back:
They described themselves as Gooner pop. They're brilliant