Closet Cases: Recent Episodes
Shawn Hollenbach
A cathartic comedy storytelling show about the age-old tale of coming out of the closet. LGBTQ comedians and performers tell their coming out and transitioning stories hosted by Shawn Hollenbach (he/they/Shawn).
Drew Tessier grew up as a Catholic from the south with parents who played a 10-year-long game of "Chicken." He broke up with his last girlfriend on a sacred holiday as a theatre major as he had his Drew Awakening.
Queer comedian, Vixy Youngblood discusses her very liberal parents and finding her place among the LGBTQ community sans a grand coming out struggle.
Transgender stand-up comedian, Jaye McBride discusses her relationship with her religious family and invasive questions she gets asked by comedy goers.
As a child of immigrants, Calvin Cato discusses being black while going to a predominantly white affluent school and navigating the difficulties of coming out to his gaming buddies.
You know Willam from a million things including A Star is Born and RuPaul's Drag Race Royalty. He discusses his mother catching him in the act to making his way from Philadelphia to Hollywood in his coming out story.
Claudia Cogan discusses her crush on Blair Warner and her biology teacher as an early teen. We also play a fun new game called "Queer or Sneer" and discuss her mom being a quick ally.
In this episode, Adolpho Blaire discusses being out in high school, being convinced to join the wrestling team and ultimately coming out to his larger-than-life mother in a fight over watching Madonna or Miracle on 34th Street on Christmas Eve.
Brandy Rowell talks about her long journey in the closet, her abandonment issues as an adopted child and her own personal savior... therapy.
MAC Award Winner, Michael Brill takes us through his series of revelations in his coming out story. From performing behind the pool shed with electrical pom-poms (aka sparklers) to making amends with his brother, he covers his self-discovery growing up in Staten Island.
David Hodorowski talks about his first kiss with a guy based on a dare, moving in with his first boyfriend immediately and his supportive mother going with him to a Matthew Shephard memorial.
Keith Price takes us through his obsessions with West Side Story and Wonder Woman. He talks about meeting Lynda Carter in real life and how it was coming out to his immigrant father while working during his shift at a New York City strip club.
Kelsey Bailey, originally from Harrisburg, PA talks about her obsession with Academy and Emmy Award Winner, Helen Hunt as a child. She shares her hilarious fan fiction from Mad About You. She also tells us how she hoped that lesbians would pull her into a gay bar before coming out of the closet.
After an eight-year hiatus, Closet Cases is returning. We're doing a live show at the legendary Stonewall Inn this Monday at 7pm with Kelsey Bailey, Michael Brill, David Hodorowski, Brandy Rowell, Keith Price and the show host Shawn Hollenbach! New episodes with a new format returns in October!
Boston native, Amy Tee comes down to New York City in her Hummer to let you know why she came out.
Eliot Glazer tells us that he didn't come out of the closet for other people to use the gays.
David Hodorowski discusses his dad in the slammer and the touching side of coming out of the closet.
Jackie Monahan discusses what she collected as a child, Joan Jet and her mother's choice in frames.
Episode 2: Brandy Rowell discusses her family conspiring to find out if she's gay and why she didn't date back in the day!
Michael Brill is the inaugural closet case! Michael talks about growing up on Staten Island and doing shows as a wee lad.