Buffalo United Artists will present the Western New York premiere of Gulp! The Gay Beach Musical, a rarely seen queer musical comedy from the 1970s, September 11 through 27, 2026, at the Compass Performing Arts Center.
Set on the beach at Coney Island on Gay Liberation Day, June 28, the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Gulp! follows a closeted lifeguard whose life is changed after encountering five unabashedly eccentric characters. The production is directed by Vinny Murphy and stars Corey Bieber, Robert McKnight, Ryan Blunt, Michael Flanagan, Matt Rittler, and Zachary Kushner.
Now celebrating its 34th season, Buffalo United Artists is a self-supporting collective of professional theater artists dedicated to presenting provocative and relevant work examining gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer experiences.
Written by John Glines and Stephen Greco (with music by Glines and lyrics by Glines and Robin Jones) Gulp! is one of the earliest examples of a queer musical in American theater canon. The musical predates landmark productions such as La Cage aux Folles, Rent, and Fun Home. “Gulp! began its life as a musical called God Bless Coney, which ran for four performances Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City,” shared director and musical theatre historian Vinny Murphy. “John Glines was inspired in part by seeing a musical called Lovers: The Musical That Proves It’s No Longer Sad To Be Gay, another early gay theatrical work.”
Murphy feels Gulp! is prime for revival because “it emerged during a very early period of openly gay theatre and musical theatre… and is significant because the show is set pre-AIDS epidemic on June 28th, 1970, a year after the Stonewall riots,”
It shows queer joy without the looming fear or presence of AIDS that would become unavoidable after the pandemic emerged in the early 1980s.”
For Buffalo United Artists, the production represents more than a revival. With no commercial cast recording and decades since its last full production, Gulp! has been in danger of being lost. “Theatre’s legacy has been kept alive by cast recordings, sheet music, printed librettos, or filmed performances or adaptation movies of the show,” said Murphy.
The BUA production team has worked to restore the musical while remaining faithful to the original work and introducing it to a new generation of audiences. “Some shows have been completely lost to time because once the show was completed, they threw away the sheet music and script,” said Murphy, adding, “The best way to revisit these ‘lost shows’ is to put them back up on their feet and to see if it can work for modern audiences. Our production wants to give credit to the brilliance of the original creative team and to make sure the work is preserved and hopefully to be seen more in the future.”
Murphy hopes audiences have the time of their lives at the show.
It is a campy fun ride that has a lot of heart and a lot of fun in it…You do not have to be a gay man to enjoy the show. Our show is all about seeking acceptance, a universal theme anyone can relate to…I hope people have a good time when they see the show, and say ‘Wow, that was just a really fun night at the theater.’ I know people will sing some of the songs as they leave because they are truly catchy.
Seeing Gulp! Will also provide audiences with another unexpected benefit: “You have bragging rights to say you saw an almost lost musical in Buffalo,” said Murphy. “How many people can say that?!”
Performances run Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 5 p.m. from September 11 through 27 at the Compass Performing Arts Center, 545 Elmwood Ave.
Tickets are $30 general admission and are available online at Gulp! The Gay Beach Musical tickets or through Buffalo United Artists. Tickets are also available at the theater box office by cash or credit. Student and industry tickets are available by emailing BuffaloBUA@gmail.com.