According to the Municipal Arts Society Of New York (MAS):

Men with Painted Faces: Forgotten Stories From the “Fag Ward”

Janes Walk

Sunday, May 3, 2026
3:00 PM
1 hour

Led By Travis Russ, Artistic Director – Life Jacket Theatre Co.

This guided walking tour uncovers a hidden chapter of LGBTQ history at the former Men’s Penitentiary on Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island). Known as the “Fag Ward,” this segregated unit housed those imprisoned for homosexuality—individuals whose lives were criminalized, yet whose resilience gave rise to unexpected beauty and community.

Though now demolished, attendees will walk the prison’s former footprint and hear how inmates labored in the laundry by day and, by night, the “Fag Ward” transformed into a vibrant underground culture—singing, dancing, and rehearsing for an annual Christmas vaudeville and drag pageant.

The tour features artists behind THE GORGEOUS NOTHINGS, an upcoming Off-Broadway musical, alongside a companion podcast series by MAKING GAY HISTORY….

… RSVP is required and capacity is limited. Meeting location, ending location, and directions will be provided via email before walk date.

Click here for more information on the walking tour.

The Life Jacket Theatre Company adds:

Inspired by true events, THE GORGEOUS NOTHINGS unlocks the doors of the “Fag Ward,” a secret wing of the Men’s Penitentiary in 1930s New York City, where inmates were imprisoned for homosexuality. With a score drawn from the Great American Songbook, this world premiere musical weaves six inmates’ stories into high-camp numbers from the ward’s annual Christmas pageant— “The Fag Follies” — to expose a hidden, fabulous world that was never supposed to have existed.

WORLD PREMIERE: PAC NYC (2027)