HELL-BENT FOR LEATHER

 

May 14 & 21, 2026

PALM SPRINGS CULTURAL CENTER: THEATRE 2

$35

 

(An Existential Crisis in C Minor):A Theological Gang-Bang in 7/8 Time!

​Parental Advisory: Contains More Trauma Than Your Pastor's Grindr Account.

 

Performed by Michael Pacas, with Pianist, Joel Baker

​

(Mature Themes & Language / No Pearl Clutching Please)

​

​HELL-BENT FOR LEATHER isn’t just a campy romp in choir robes and chaps—it’s a gut-punch excavation of growing up queer in the Southern Baptist church. Scripture as weapon. Music, humor, and leather as armor. Beneath the bawdy laughter lies a story of overcoming shame, confronting trauma, and reclaiming queer identity with leather, defiance, and Sondheim.

 

This is exorcism meets celebration: proof that queer souls forged in fire can turn survival into art, pain into play, and silence into showtunes…finding divinity in our own damn terms.

 

The set list? A curated blend of Broadway and Off-Broadway classics and hidden gems, alongside songs by theatre composers who also write beyond the stage (85%)! Featuring Cole Porter’s wit, Craig Carnelia’s heart, Stephen Schwartz’s yearning, Cy Coleman’s swagger, and Sondheim’s scalpel-sharp truth—plus soul-stirring surprises from Eric Clapton and openly gay country-western singer/songwriter, Adam Mac.

​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

Photos: Tara Howard Photography