MICHAEL PACAS- HELL-BENT FOR LEATHER

HELL-BENT FOR LEATHER

(An Existential Crisis in C Minor):

Performed by Michael Pacas, with Pianist, Joel Baker

(Mature Themes and Language / No Pearl Plutching)

HELL-BENT FOR LEATHER isn’t a campy romp in choir robes and chaps—it’s a visceral 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 confronting shame, surviving trauma, and reclaiming queer identity with defiance, wit, 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 on our own damn terms.

The set list is a curated blend of Broadway and Off-Broadway classics and hidden gems, alongside songs by theatre composers who also write beyond the stage (85%) - plus soul-stirring surprises from Eric Clapton and openly queer country-western singer/songwriter Adam Mac.

MICHAEL PACAS: In the Coachella Valley, Michael has stolen scenes—and the occasional prop whiskey bottle—as the morally steadfast Atticus Finch in To K*ll a Mockingbird, the wryly aristocratic Charles Condomine in Blithe Spirit, the poetically passionate Cyrano de Bergerac (title role), the larger-than-life Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, and the gloriously scheming Max Bialystok in The Producers.

“Pacas rolls it out with aplomb…his voice fits the storyteller aspect of cabaret. He is graceful and expressive on stage.” - Carla Gordon, Cabaret Scenes

"Michael Pacas is the best renegade Boatman ever." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

"Michael Pacas…gives one of the best performances I have seen… Pacas’ singing, dancing and overall showmanship is so captivating that he could be his own one man show and no doubt makes him a contender for upcoming award nominations." - DeeJae Cox, Coachella Valley Weekly

“…perhaps the valley’s most in-demand actor/director” – Stan Jenson, Broadwayworld

JOEL BAKER: Joel Baker is a native of the Seattle area and a graduate of the University of Washington School of Music, where he studied under internationally acclaimed concert pianist Robin McCabe. Joel currently serves as accompanist for the Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus, plays for two weekly open mics, and is pianist for The Judy Show at The Purple Room.

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Host or Publisher Palm Springs Cultural Center