Seat Filler: What's Gay Off-Broadway

Bad With Money
Directed by Aaron Mark, out playwright-performer Ben Rimalower's one-man show about his struggle with debt is courageously honest, keenly specific, and emotionally naked -- like your fave Taylor Swift song, if Tay-Tay were a recovering alcoholic who once dabbled in prostitution to support her overspending. He doesn't have wisdom or answers, but the masterful raconteur does have darker, wince-worthier anecdotes than those in his previous solo hit, Patti Issues.
Duplex Cabaret Theatre, through December 18.

The Fortress of Solitude
An old wedding ring strengthens the bond between superhero-obsessed Brooklyn boys, black Gus and Jewish Dylan -- dynamic duo Kyle Beltran and out actor Adam Chanler-Berat -- in Itamar Moses and out composer Michael Friedman's soaring, soulful adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's 2003 coming-of-age novel. Dylan recalls Gus as "my best friend, my lover" in the book, but the magical-realist musical, helmed by Daniel Aukin, only hints at sexual experimentation.
Public Theater, through November 16.

Lips Together, Teeth Apart
Death becomes this competent if somewhat stagnant revival of Terrence McNally's 1991 comedy about two casually homophobic married couples spending a strained Fourth of July weekend at a Fire Island beach house. Ugly Betty Emmy winner America Ferrera leads the fine cast as guilt-haunted Sally, who inherited the house -- is the pool tainted? -- after her brother died of AIDS. Time moves a bit too slowly here, but, much like the Pines, it's a lovely place to revisit.
Second Stage Theatre, through November 23.

Lypsinka! The Trilogy
John Epperson celebrates three decades of his legendary lip-synching alter ego with three shows running in repertory: Lypsinka! The Boxed Set, a jaw-dropping revue of his greatest bits; The Passion of the Crawford, a meticulous Joan Crawford tribute featuring a reenactment of a 1973 interview; and the drag-free John Epperson: Show Trash, an autobiographical evening of insouciant story and song.Read my lips: This is the theatrical event of the holiday season.
Connelly Theater, through January 3.

You Got Older
With help from her siblings, including a quirky lesbian sister, a wayward woman comes home to care for her cancer-striken father -- a devastating Reed Birney, Tony-nominated for his drag role in Casa Valentina -- in this brilliant bile-black comedy by Clare Barron, winner of the 2014 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. Seamlessly stitching long stretches of hyper-realistic chatter and surreal sex dreams, director Anne Kauffman unbandages the grotesque beauty of illness.
Here Arts Center, through November 22.

Read last month's theater picks here.