Outword’s Best Of 2017

Lavender Heights Street-Sign Toppers • “Out at the Fair” • Sexy Sam Hunt to Sing in Wheatland
“A Ghost Story” & “Valerian" Reviewed • Documentary Celebrates LGBT FamiliesWelcome to our annual special issue we like to call our “Best Of” issue.

We polled you, our readers, for your suggestions for your favorite Sacramento things and you came out in droves! This year we had over triple the number of respondents participate, and while there were lots of new names and places in the responses, some of Sacramento’s tried and true loves still shown through. Take a look at winners, starting on page 15.

Read more: Outword's Best Of 2017 is Out Now!

Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions Subject of Author Talk at Lavender Library

Marie Equi defied expectations. A daughter of working-class, immigrant parents, she became a physician and a fierce advocate for women, laborers and free speech.

The FBI branded her a dangerous agitator, but she didn’t back down. One of the first publicly known lesbians on the West Coast, Equi was maligned by the U.S. Government as “an unsexed woman” before sentencing her to San Quentin prison for protesting World War I.

Read more: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions Subject of Author Talk at Lavender Library

Vote for our Best Of 2017!

Bette Midler & Ben Platt Rock Broadway

by Chris Narloch

The 2017 Tony Awards may be history, but most of this year’s nominated productions are still playing in New York City, and several of the winners are breaking records at the box office.

Better late than never, here are reviews of the eight musicals I saw during my annual pre-Tony’s trip to the Big Apple, where actors Bette Midler (‘Hello, Dolly!’) and Ben Platt (‘Dear Evan Hansen’) are the toast of the town.

Read more: Bette Midler & Ben Platt Rock Broadway