Hey There

You made it this far!

Hey, I’m Gianfranco.

(Always Gianfranco.)

((Never Gian. Or Franco.))

I appreciate you stopping by here.

Here’s the textbook version of this page you may be looking for:

Gianfranco Lentini is a New York-based queer playwright, historian, teacher, and first-generation Italian American whose work explores the intersection of queer history and collective memory.

His plays draw from archival research and lived community narratives, weaving personal and historical voices into theatrical landscapes that preserve and reimagine LGBTQ+ legacies. He is currently developing The Pines Plays, a cycle of works rooted in Fire Island's past and future that investigates climate change, community, and queer resilience. The first play in the cycle, Ocean Walk, received its workshop premiere at Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College. This play has been recognized as a semifinalist for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and a finalist for the Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize.

Artistically, Gianfranco’s work has been developed and produced by Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College, National Queer Theater, Arts Project of Cherry Grove, Great Barrington Public Theater, Company of Fools, Arts Fort Worth, The Magnetic Theatre, Burlington County Footlighters, Torrent Theatre, UNDER St. Marks Theatre, the inspiraTO Festival in Toronto, and more. His plays and short works have been published by Fire Island Tea, Hominum Journal, Tulsa Review, Apricity Magazine,The Coachella Review, Mini Plays Review, and Molecule Literary Magazine. A number of his short plays are currently licensed for distribution through Tiny Scripted.

Currently, Gianfranco is an Adjunct Professor at NYU Tisch’s New Studio on Broadway, where he teaches musical theatre history in the summer. His pedagogy emphasizes equity, representation, and questioning the canon, encouraging students to engage critically with how theatre reflects and shapes culture. He is also a Wendy Wasserstein Project Representative for Theatre Development Fund (TDF), a Teaching Artist for TDF’s Intro to Theatre & Dance Program, and a former Playwright-in-Residence with TDF’s Young Playwrights Program.

Beyond his own writing, Gianfranco is deeply engaged in preserving queer history and cultivating queer community. He is a board member and researcher for the Fire Island Pines Historical Society, where he has helped develop community projects such as Finding Fire Island: Season 2, the Historical Society’s podcast series, and Pines Icons, an annual video tribute series. Since 2024, he has also hosted the bi-monthly Queer Artists’ Salon, bringing together queer artists to foster collaboration, celebrate one another’s work, and build lasting creative community. His archival and community work continually informs his dramaturgy and playwriting, grounding imaginative storytelling in historical inquiry.

Earlier in his career, Gianfranco worked as a production assistant on a number of Broadway shows—including Disney’s Frozen, Hello, Dolly!, and Springsteen on Broadway—and Off-Broadway as an associate director with companies including Nederlander Worldwide, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and York Theatre Company.

Journalistically, Gianfranco has written for Fire Island Tea, Time Out, Grindr, LGBTQ Nation, Backstage, Broadway’s Best Shows, Broadway Spin, Samuel French, TheatreMania, and NYTheatre. He previously served as a Content Producer for LGBTQ+ historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dr. Eric Cervini, as well as Editorial Manager for Dr. Cervini’s independent queer bookshop, ShopQueer.co, now reimagined as Allstora by RuPaul.

Across all of his work as a writer, educator, historian, and community organizer, Gianfranco is committed to building spaces where stories of resilience and transformation can thrive. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America and of Great Barrington Public Theater’s Berkshire Voices.

You can learn more about him on Instagram at @HeyGianfranco.

photo by: Jordan Gauger