Mari Uchida
Artists
Kennedy Kanagawa
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
If you were lucky enough to catch the Broadway revival of Into the Woods, you no doubt fell in love with Milky White, a sad-sack cow that much of the musical’s drama hinges on. Mute and malnourished, Milky White was brought to hilarious life thanks to Kennedy Kanagawa, an out actor, singer, dancer, and puppeteer.
“Making my Broadway debut in one of my all-time favorite musicals and receiving a Drama Desk nomination for it” was Kennedy’s best moment of 2023. “Into the Woods was a dream come true, and the response to portraying Milky White was beyond anything I would have imagined. It was an absolute joy to connect with audiences in New York and around the country.”
However, even ensconced in diverse, liberal Broadway circles, Kanagawa can sometimes feel out of place. “It has been always been a challenge finding a place for myself within the entertainment industry as a gay Asian-American immigrant,” he says. “Representation on the stage and screen is extremely important to me, and I strive to promote visibility with every project I work on.”
Kanagawa’s new project is a departure from the fairy tale-skewering Into the Woods — Tiananmen: A New Musical is a love story set amid the Chinese uprisings of 1989. “I am proud to bring this powerful story to the stage,” Kanagawa, who occupies the leading role of Peiwen, told Playbill. “We have an amazing cast, and I can’t wait for our hard work to come to life at the Phoenix Theatre Company this October.” @thisiskennedy
Artists
Troye Sivan
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Photo by Stuart Winecoff
It’s been five years since Troye Sivan’s second studio album, Bloom, was released to much acclaim. And Something to Give Each Other, which came out this October, was well worth the wait.
Sivan and his art routinely spark conversation in pop and LGBTQ+ culture. “Rush,” the album’s lead single that dropped in July, is no exception. It became (along with Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam”) the queer song of the summer. The steamy music video, an explosion of dancing, abs, and hedonism, unleashed its own rush of think pieces about popper use and body diversity in queer spaces.
Sivan, who as an actor had a role this year on The Idol — Max’s much-skewered scripted show on pop stardom— also made headlines for his candor this year. He revealed on the High Low podcast that, despite the reputation he received from 2018’s “Bloom,” which was widely received as a bottom anthem, he is, in fact, not a “power bottom.”
Whatever his preferences, Sivan has proven himself a versatile artist. The release of Something to Give Each Other was Troye’s proudest accomplishment of 2023 — along with the launch of Tsu Lange Yor. The Australian lifestyle and homeware brand, for which Sivan serves as creative director, sells candles and scents as well as home objects. “My brother and I started it together, had to trust our guts, find incredible people to work with, and have learnt so much along the way,” the 28-year-old says.
In art and in life, Sivan remains inspired by his community. “Through so much adversity, the LGBTQ+ community pushes to be a safe space for all — pulled together by pillars of love, support, chosen family, and freedom,” he says. “Queer people everywhere need to be protected and be able to celebrate themselves as loudly as they want.” @troyesivan