Pictured above: Brian Falduto as Billy in School of Rock.

The 2003 movie hit School of Rock had Jack Black as an unorthodox substitute teacher who turns his kids into rock gods. One of those young rockers was Billy, who was great with a sequin wand and loved Liza Minnelli. Billy was originally intended to be a nerd, but 11-year-old Brian Falduto pulled off such a great audition that the creators rewrote the character and made him a flamboyant aspiring stylist. That’s all great, except that once the film came out, Brian was bullied as “the gay kid from School of Rock.” That confused Brian, who studiously tried to avoid attention as a result and also worked at trying to reinvent himself to get away from that tag.

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Years later, he felt more comfortable about his identity and came out to loved ones. He is now a life coach, in addition to being a singer-songwriter and actor. I spoke with him for more insight into his extraordinary story.

Hello, Brian. What was the School of Rock aftermath for you?

It was a tough couple of years. I was labeled something and I didn’t understand what it meant. My character had characteristics associated with the LGBTQ community. I was called gay. In middle school, that wasn’t a cool thing to be in 2003.

Did you suffer physical attacks?

No. I’ve blocked a lot of [the bullying] out. We do that, psychologically. We tend to block out things we don’t want to remember. But all people need to know is I went to bed every night wishing the universe or god would make me anything other than what I was.

At the time, did you speak with your parents about what you were going through?

Yeah, they’ve always been super supportive and kind. They knew it was gonna be difficult for me. A lot of people who went through what I went through wouldn’t have necessarily come out at the other end. There’s a terrible issue with suicide in this community. I had my dark moments, but I had a loving support. There are people that aren’t dealt the same cards. I always knew I was loved. I always felt, What do I have to do to earn that love?

You have said that, as a result of the bullying, you ran away from who you were. In what way?

I basically shut down everything. I didn’t even know what being gay meant. By the time I realized I potentially was gay, I was already homophobic—because of the stigma associated with it and not wanting to be pigeonholed. I had a lot of reservations about it. It felt like game playing. Every move I made had no authenticity, but it was just me trying to survive and trying to make the best move for myself so people would accept me for who I am. I’d never been given the opportunity to blend in.

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And then, when you realized you were gay, things got really complicated, right?

Not really. I didn’t realize I was gay until I fell in love in college. I was so brainwashed by the [School of Rock] experience that I convinced myself I wasn’t gay, which is definitely not true. Definitely gay! I fell in love my senior year and he kind of broke my heart fairly quickly. I was so devastated, I didn’t know what to do about it. I knew I had to talk to someone. I remember running to my best friend’s dorm room and collapsing. I said, “I have to tell you something.” She felt I had murdered someone and she was prepared to hide the body! She said, “I’m here for you. What do you need?” I said, “I’m gay.” She was like, “Oh, OK.”

Had you tried dating girls?

Yeah. At a time in high school, I had a new girlfriend every week. And all my friends were girls. Occasionally, I’d be able to trick them into dating me for a little bit.

Are you more at peace with your School of Rock experience now?

In the past, it was always a subject I wanted to escape. But now, I don’t care, I love it. Maybe there are other things I’d prefer to spend my time talking about, but I don’t mind it at all. I feel like I’m making up for years of not being able to connect with people about it. And for some people, seeing an effeminate, happy kid on screen at a time when there was not much LGBTQ representation was important.

I found your character joyous and a real highlight because of the representation. You were great!

Glad to be able to help!

When did you become a life coach?

Almost two years ago. Business is growing quickly. I’m a songwriter and actor and I wanted to do something more with my life. I wanted something I could support myself with. I was proud of how full circle I’d come, and I wanted to use my journey to help other people. What I’ve been learning about my journey is there are plenty of resources out there for anyone who wants to stop living. There are resources for them to be more confident in an authentic way. Sometimes people need to know what’s on the other side a little bit.



Do you have LGBTQ clients?

Yes, but I do have some straight clients. I work with everyone. Anyone who has some story that isn’t supporting their pure potentiality. We all have that limiting narrative in our brain. Everyone has that story they’re telling themselves that doesn’t match the story they want to live and share with the world. Being told you’re not lovable or worthy of love, and you have to change to be accepted. It’s a daily inserting of narrative.

We’re told lies about ourselves or we tell them ourselves?

A little bit of both. On Instagram, we see all these happy things and lives we covet and we forget that our own lives are real and valid. Comparing is the worst thing they can do.

What would you tell a kid who gets backlash from a role, like you did?

I don’t want to sound cheesy. I feel like every self-development I’ve made has been from me going back to myself and being more all accepting and all embracing. If someone is being given a hard time, it has more to do with the person giving this opinion, because we project onto other people what we don’t like about ourselves. So I’d say just own it and embrace it.

A kid usually doesn’t realize that a bully is projecting their own insecurity. The kid thinks maybe they did something wrong.

Right. I’m super curious what the world would be like if everyone grew up unfiltered.

Are you in a relationship right now?

Yes. With myself.

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Is Bat Out of Hell: The Musical All Revved Up With Now Place to Go?



Rock and roll is apparently also done by straight people, which brings us to Bat Out of Hell: The Musical (also known as BOOH) at New York City Center. Jim Steinman’s music has always been bombastic, but in a catchy and at times theatrical way that might make it suitable for a jukebox show. But BOOH is mostly headache-inducing.

Songs from the three BOOH albums (which were originally sung by Meat Loaf) like “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” are sung at top volume as an apocalyptic love affair plays out amidst the Cats-like ruins. Steinman’s script has Strat, the forever 18 leader of the Lost (a well-sung but not very charismatic Andrew Polec) falling for Raven (Christina Bennington), the rich, restless daughter of a Trump-like tyrant named Falco (Bradley Dean), who lives in Falco Towers. On the upper right side of the stage, Raven is often seen being videotaped writhing around, and on the other side, you’re treated to the actual videos; plus there are projections, flashing lights, and exploding confetti, as love duets are strung together without enough sense or substance to make you care about the sketchily drawn characters’ plight.

As a member of the Lost who also finds herself at the Falcos’ household, Danielle Steers does well with “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” with great vocals and some much needed dignity, too. Also, Bradley Dean and Tony winner Lena Hall as his wife sing a powerfully aching “What Part of My Body Hurts the Most,” a previously unreleased song (though the director, Jay Scheib, weirdly doesn’t give them an applause button), by which point we realize that the lesser-known numbers are the ones that provide the most power here. (“Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are” also scores better than the other screechathons.) But there’s a quickie lesbian kiss that doesn’t add up to anything. And the plot is so overwrought that when “Six Months Later” is flashed on the stage, it gets some unwanted chuckles.

The second half does develop a bit more steam because by then you almost are ready to submit to the onslaught of apocalyptic lunacy (I started thinking of this show as A Schlockwork Orange), and you might even care to hear an answer to the oft-asked “On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with red roses?” But instead, I wanted to join the Lost at the Deep End Bar for a stiff one.

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A Scheme Grows in Brooklyn



Spoilers ahead! Adam is sort of a reverse Crying Game. Instead, of “Wait a minute, you’re trans?” it’s, “Wait a minute, you’re not trans?” In the film, a lesbian (Margaret Qualley) is visited by her brother (Nicholas Alexander), and he starts arousing various other lesbians, who assume he’s a trans man. To get some action (and validation), he shockingly goes along with that ruse and also lies about his age and school. Add a touch of M. Butterfly, Tootsie, and Soul Man, and set it in 2006 hipster Brooklyn, where (we’re told) lesbians will only sleep with a man if he’s trans, and we’re supposed to believe that all a guy needs to do to have some fun in hatey America is pretend to be trans.

Fortunately, the movie—via trans director Rhys Ernst (Transparent), with a screenplay by Ariel Schrag based on her book—has its badly behaving characters eventually copping to their shortcomings, and it turns out Adam’s girlfriend (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) had long ago figured out he wasn’t trans, but she liked the fantasy and kept asking him to strap one on. The resulting film struck me as ultra hip and rather retrograde at the same time.

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A Prince or a Queen?

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And here’s some more line blurring: Legendary Broadway director Harold Prince, who won a record breaking 21 Tony awards for his stunning staging of shows like Sweeney Todd and The Phantom of the Opera, died recently, and naturally, the glowing obits all referenced his wife and kids. But back in the day, Prince was also known for dalliances with men. In fact, one Tony-winning male was just asked by a friend, “Do you know of any guys Prince slept with?” and he replied, “You’re looking at one.” A bisexual on Broadway? Shocking, I know.