"Chasing Manhood: Meatpacking District 1970s"

*ORIGINAL TIX are $23
*YOU SAVE 56%

Balance Arts Center
151 W 30th St 3rd floor
New York, NY 10001

"Chasing Manhood" is a queer love story set in the Meatpacking District of NYC during the 1970s.

This era was marked by the decline of the meatpacking industry and the simultaneous rise of a gritty, vibrant nightlife. The district’s dark corners, abandoned warehouses, and the piers became havens for gay and trans sex workers, cruising, and legendary S/M clubs. Notorious venues like The Mineshaft, The Manhole, and The Anvil were packed with gay men experiencing a raw, unapologetic freedom — a moment of liberation unlike any before.

Marie Laveau, a 31 year old black transgender woman who was a tarot card reader, mystic, and drug dealer, lived in a loft deep in the Meat Packing DIstrict

Thomas Pain, a 19-year-old Jewish college drop out from Brooklyn, was the doorman at a notorious S/M club.

Fate brought them together — and they shared a passionate, chaotic, 9-year love affair. For a while, life was a dream: sex, art, drugs, and love in the heart of a city that pulsed with danger and desire. But then the dark clouds rolled in — AIDS, crack, and death changed everything.
Now 69, Thomas Pain is a comedian and storyteller known for his raw, moving tales of love and loss. He returns to an era he lived through — and barely survived — to share his story with young queer audiences. As an elder, his mission is simple and sacred:

To make sure the beautiful souls of that time — those who died so young — are never forgotten....And to stand in solidarity with the transgender community of today.

*All tickets are TBA and available at Box Office, on the day of*