The Hippodrome Theatre is a Gainesville staple with a rich history. Built in 1911 as a post office, it’s since transformed into the artistic display it is today.
As time has gone on, a colorful variety of events, shows, performances and artists have graced the Hipp's stage.
The theater has consistently made it clear it looks to uplift varying voices across the Gainesville community.
This year, the Hipp continued its annual tradition of celebrating the city’s diversity with Hipp Pride Week.
The third annual celebration, which featured live music celebrations and film screenings, was meant to uplift the LGBTQ+ community and all voices, said Nyq Smith, the 26-year-old front-of-house manager at the Hipp.
This year, it was held from May 28 to 31, just in time for Pride Month.
Smith, who started the tradition, said they wanted to provide more opportunities for local artists to perform. They found the perfect gap in the Hipp’s schedule several years ago to make the specialized event happen.
“We are a small town,” Smith said. “That means that there are few opportunities for platforming local artists. Every opportunity to platform local artists is something that we hold a significant amount of pride in.”
But Hipp Pride Week isn’t the only way the theater has opened its arms to the LGBTQ+ community. It’s made its love for the community well known through the shows chosen for its stage.
In 2025, the Hipp put on “The Rocky Horror Show,” a notable musical in the LGBTQ+ community because of its numerous queer characters. In 2024, the play “Perfect Arrangement” was performed, which focused on the lives of four LGBTQ+ individuals in the 1950s, all in lavender marriages with one another to conceal their identities during the Lavender Scare.
Even back in 2017, the theater put on “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” a comedic story about a reluctant drag queen.
On and off the stage, the Hipp persists in being a safe place for Gainesville’s LGBTQ+ community.
Hipp Pride Week consists of representation from across the Gainesville community. It was created with the intention of giving Gainesville audiences a place to feel represented during Pride Month and to give local artists and performers a chance to be authentically themselves.
The festivities opened May 28 with Hipp Pride Sessions, which featured live music performances from several local artists, including The Ones to Blame, A.Sunroom and Rusty Razor. The event gave audiences the opportunity to experience a comfortable, welcoming environment, celebrate their identities and kick back to music together as a community.
From May 29 to 31, the theater focused on screening movies with its Hipp Pride Cinema segment. It showed queer-focused films, such as “Paris is Burning,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.”
Audience members of the Hipp's latest show, “Million Dollar Quartet” — like 38-year-old home health aide Candace Ahearn — recognize how much the theater contributes to the culture and uniqueness of the community, even outside of Hipp Pride Week.
“There's a lot of freedom and self-expression,” she said. “There's also a lot of people discovering themselves that goes on here, too.”
Elizabeth Murphy, a 38-year-old barista and another “Million Dollar Quartet” audience member, also sees what the Hipp brings to the community in general — and the importance of it.
“Creativity is always a good thing,” she said, “being able to express yourself.”
Contact Mackenzie Haas at mhaas@alligator.org.
