TONIGHT: Maggie Gallagher’s Son Debuts New Song At NYC AIDS Fundraiser

Tonight Maggie Gallagher’s eldest son Patrick will debut a song at an AIDS fundraiser at The Duplex, a gay cabaret and nightclub in Manhattan’s West Village. For those unaware, Patrick says that he identifies as straight despite working in what is arguably the single gayest industry in the world. His Twitter profile reads: “Librettist, Lyricist. I love the Knicks, Stephen Sondheim, the Yankees, Breaking Bad and the Green Bay Packers with equal fervor. I don’t fit in your box, man.”

Our Time is a new works concert series created by Musically Human Theatre Productions Producing Artistic Director, David Norwood. The series offers emerging musical theatre composers the chance to showcase a variety of songs from different shows, as well as stand-alone songs that were not written with a particular show in mind. You haven’t heard showtunes like these before. An exciting blend of Sondheim and Pop/Rock, this generation is truly taking the art of musical theatre to the next level. The concert is also a benefit for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids.

Note that Gallagher’s credit does not appear on the linked page, but does appear on apparently earlier versions of the bill such as the regrettably tiny one I found and posted here.

Here’s how The Duplex describes tonight’s show.
Patrick Gallagher’s song writing partner performs regularly at Manhattan’s gay piano bars such as Don’t Tell Mama.For years some of us on this side of the screen have discussed the “Patrick situation” and wondered how his love for musical theater, where he lives and breathes in a virtually completely gay environment, may have helped create the creature that is his mother. Hell, he even once performed in the chorus for a West Village production of Sodom: The Musical, starring Village People member Randy Jones. (I inquired and Jones has no memory of Gallagher.)

Here’s an excerpt from a 2011 story about Patrick:

We offered Patrick the opportunity to tell his side of things, but given the obvious personal conflict he feels about the situation, he declined. Though Patrick doesn’t want to comment directly, it has become clear that his views differ from his mother’s. According to Patrick, Maggie has been very supportive of his career and has not obstructed her son’s goals and dreams – like a mother should. One thing Patrick did say, which I don’t think he’d mind sharing is “Maybe one day I’ll write a hell of a musical about this.” Patrick’s a good guy who doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of this – but we feel that his and Maggie’s story is an important one that demonstrates the strength of a “non-traditional” family.

The question remains: What, if any, responsibility does the LGBT activism world have to involve the innocent children of hate group leaders? Is this a “hands off” situation? Or do we throw Patrick in Maggie’s face at every opportunity whether he’s gay or not?

VIDEO: Here’s Patrick Gallagher (on the left) performing at a 2010 workshop for a musical apparently titled My Luck. Not a bad song and his voice is pretty good too.