VOLUME 3: ISSUE 1
SUMMER 2024

Close Encounters

Janelle Monáe Superstar: A Deconversion Story

The author and Kurt with Flyana Boss members Folayan Omi Kunerede (left) and Bobbi LaNea Taylor. Photo courtesy of Aline Mello.

In my last year at the university, I finally started taking advantage of its discount ticket program. When I saw seats for a musical, I thought, Perfect, and got tickets for my friend Kurt and me.

The show was Jesus Christ Superstar, which neither of us had ever seen. I was expecting something quirky and irreverent, something à la Saved!—that movie where Mandy Moore plays a Christian high school student . . .

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