Category Archives: Theatre
NICK ADAMS Drag: The Musical
Nick Adams is an entertainer on many levels. Acting, singing, dancing, film, stage, and more, he’s done it all.
He’s won Audience Choice Awards from Broadway.com, received an Astaire Award nomination for Best Dancer, and has been honored by the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
He is instantly recognizable by his signature smile, powerhouse vocals, and yes, that body that held Mario Lopez to task.
METROSOURCE did a great story and interview with Nick this month! Check it out here!
Actors Fund Benefit STARS IN THE HOUSE
Have you heard of this show on YouTube?
Music, community, and education to support The Actors Fund and its services.
Live-streamed daily at 2 PM ET and 8 PM ET/ Listen on SiriusXM VOLUME at 9AM ET, M-F
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and theatres across the world closing their curtains indefinitely, SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley have created Stars in the House, a daily live streamed series to support The Actors Fund and its services.
NEW SHOWS DAILY!
With new shows airing daily at 2 PM ET and 8 PM ET, Stars in the House is a combination of music, community, and education (from CBS Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook) located on the Actors Fund YouTube Channel. With musical performances by stars remotely from their home and conversations with Seth and James between each tune, viewers can also donate to the charity and interact with the guests in real time.
RAISING MONEY!
Stars in the House raised over $50,000 in the first four days of airing. Guests include Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Lithgow, Jason Alexander, Kristen Chenoweth as well as couples confined together like Audra McDonald and Will Swenson, Frozen composers Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, writers Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond, and many more. Stars in the House plans to stream daily until Broadway re-opens.
LOTS of upcoming shows PLUS 3 months of Archives!
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services.
Stonewall Gives Back Concert
April 23rd, 2020, Troye Sivan, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Petras, Rufus Wainwright and many more got together to raise funds for those in the LGBTQ nightlife industry in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
Hosted by
Michelle Visage and Tyler Oakley
Performances and Appearances by
Alan Cumming, Allie X, Betty Who, Carlie Hanson, Cyndi Lauper, Darren Hayes, Dave Mizzoni, Greyson Chance, Issac Dunbar, John Cameron Mitchell, Kim Petras, Kristin Chenoweth, Leland, Lorna Luft, Matt Rogers, MUNA, Nina West, Our Lady J, Pabllo Vittar, Peppermint, Rufus Wainwright, Shoshana Bean, Todrick Hall, Troye Sivan, TUCKER, VINCINT.
The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI). We are a non-profit charitable organization inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Uprising of 1969. We are committed to eliminating the social intolerance that is profoundly impacting the lives of LGBTQ citizens throughout America and abroad. Through awareness campaigns, educational programming, fundraising and candid public dialogue,we support grassroots organizations scattered across the country and especially those in communities where progress toward equality has been slow and the negative impact of ongoing acts of discrimination and harassment can no longer be tolerated.
Free Live Stream Paramodernities
Photo: Maria Baranova, Courtesy of New York Live Arts, March 2019.
NETTA YERUSHALMY PRESENTS THE LIVESTREAM PREMIERE OF HER
EPIC WORK PARAMODERNITIES.
THE SIX-PART ENCYCLOPEDIC SERIES DECONSTRUCTS HISTORIC DANCE WORKS BY ALVIN AILEY, GEORGE BALANCHINE, MERCE CUNNINGHAM, BOB FOSSE, MARTHA GRAHAM, AND VASLAV NIJINSKY.
EACH PERFORMANCE IS FOLLOWED BY A LIVE DISCUSSION WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AND AN INTERACTIVE CHAT WITH THE AUDIENCE.
MAY 4-9, 2020 @ 3-4PM DAILY
*Closed-Captioning provided for all performances.*
Trailer linked here.
“Take six classic dances. Chop them up. Then tear open the modern canon, with equal parts love and fury.” – Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Netta Yerusalmy to present the week-long livestream event of Paramodernities Live, May 4-9, 2020, featuring 2019 performances at New York Live Arts with live “post-show” discussions with special guests and a chat feature for the audience. This event is directed by Jeremy Jacob and produced by Marc Crousillat, Jacob, and Yerushalmy.
The six-part encyclopedic series is a multidisciplinary work that weaves theory and performance into a marathon-style hybrid event. Yerushalmy and a cast of 20 dancers and scholars, ranging in age from 20 to 68, perform deconstructed installments of Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (1913), Martha Graham’s Night Journey (1947), Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (1960), a mix of Merce Cunningham works Rainforest, Sounddance, Points in Space, Beach Birds, and Ocean (1968-1990), dance numbers from the Bob Fosse’s 1969 film Sweet Charity, and a response to George Balanchine’s Agon (1957) that includes none of the original choreography.
Paramodernities boasts a radical and undefinable rethinking of the canon, involving virtually no music. Each section was created as an independent unit with a distinct creative process that features text, read live, by scholars and writers from various fields who place the dances within a larger context. The cast joins Yerushalmy in generating questions about the different paths taken by the modern tradition in dance and beyond. Within each installment, fundamental tenets of modernism are explored, such as sovereignty, spectacle, race, feminism and ableism.
The performances at New York Live Arts theater feature dancers Michael Blake, Gerald Casel, Marc Crousillat, Brittany Engel-Adams, Joyce Edwards, Stanley Gambucci, Taryn Griggs, Magdalena Jarkowiec, Nicholas Leichter, Jeremy Jae Neal, Hsiao-Jou Tang, Megan Williams, Netta Yerushalmy; and scholars/writers Thomas F. DeFrantz, Julia Foulkes, Georgina Kleege, David Kishik, Carol Ockman, Mara Mills, Claudia La Rocco, with lighting by Tim Cryan and costumes by Jarkowiec.
Each livestream performance will feature closed-captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Livestream events of Paramodernities take place at nettay.com from May 4th to May 9th at 3pm. This event will be live and free. The running time is approximately 1 hour.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #2: Trauma, Interdiction, and Agency in ‘The House of Pelvic Truth’
A response to Martha Graham’s Night Journey (1947)
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #3: Revelations: The Afterlives of Slavery
A response to Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (1960)
Thursday, May 7, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #4: An Inter-Body Event
with material from Merce Cunningham’s Rainforest, Sounddance, Points In Space, Beach Birds, and Ocean (1968-1990)
Friday, May 8, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #5: All that Spectacle: Dance on Stage and Screens
A response to Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity (1969 film)
Saturday, May 9, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #6: The Choreography of Rehabilitation: Disability and Race in Balanchine’s Agon
A response to George Balanchine’s Agon (1957)
PARAMODERNITIES is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. PARAMODERNITIES is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project, commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow in partnership with New York Live Arts, HMD’s Bridge Project, and NPN. The Creation Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).
For more information: www.npnweb.org.
Broadway’s Carols for a Cure 21
Drag Queen Christmas – The Naughty Tour
They are back! A fabulous assortment of your favorite queens!
Drag Queen Christmas – The Naughty Tour!
COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU! 37 cities!
It’s a Hilarious evening of holiday performances featuring contestants from the reality television show on VH1.
(Line up will vary by city – check online for your city and tickets HERE)
These talented girls will get you into the holiday spirit, with a naughty twist!
Plus special guests the Zakar Twins as Santa’s helpers!
This special event is Presented by Murray & Peter.
Get tour info at www.DragFans.com
Super Fan packages are also available in the first few rows with a first-in-line meet and greet pass, official tour poster and laminate with lanyard.
The holidays were never this naughty!
All ages welcome.
Tickets range $35 – $150
TORCH SONG on Broadway! Limited Run!
I am SO LUCKY, that as a young gay boy about 22 years old, I think it was 1982, I made it to New York city (from small town Michigan) and got into Studio 54 for an amazing evening and also got to see Harvey Fierstein on Broadway in Torch Song Trilogy with Mathew Broderick and Estelle Getty! ( I had read about the show in After Dark magazine, and seeing the show was the primary reason for my trip).
In that eye opening trip to the big apple I saw amazing clubs that are no longer around. I also met Andy Warhol on that trip! All the things I had read about NYC were true! What a trip! My little gay life would never be the same!
Harvey and the story left such an impression on my soul. I followed Harvey’s career over the years and saw his works whenever I could. He is genius to me, and “an icon.”
So I was THRILLED beyond belief to see Torch Song, a compact version of Torch Song Trilogy, make it to the stage in New York!
And with Michael Urie no less! Who I met in Chicago when he performed “Buyer & Cellar”. He is so wonderfully talented.
It’s magical that Torch Song is at the Hayes Theater, on it’s 35th anniversary, on the same Broadway stage where the Tony Award-winning premiere forever changed the face of popular entertainment. Along with the talented Drama Desk Award Winner Michael Urie, Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl shines are Arnold’s mother.
Torch Song Trilogy won Tonys for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play for Fierstein. 3 years on Broadway, it was truly a landmark show!
I am sure most of you know the story, but there may be some younger people reading who do not know the story; This show is fiercely funny and heart-wrenching. Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song follows Arnold
Beckoff’s (Mr. Urie) odyssey to find happiness in New York. All he wants is a husband, a child, and a pair of bunny slippers that fit, but a visit from his overbearing mother (Ms. Ruehl) reminds him that he needs one thing more: respect.
This story was of Arnold’s struggle to be accepted as a young Jewish gay man living in New York City in the late 1970s and ’80s. What’s amazing, in some ways, is that it was powerful then to me; this is pre AIDS, pre gay marriage, PRE EVERYTHING and today the story is still just as powerful.
“Forty years after writing Torch Song, it still speaks to audiences making them laugh and weep and happy,” says Fierstein in a statement. “Unbelievable. And to now return to the theater where it played all those years ago… Beyond wishes… Beyond dreams.. Beyond the most outrageous fantasy.”
“A great play makes you think, and what’s going on in the White House is always in the back of our minds,” Urie told NewNowNext about the timeliness of the revival. “We’re all confused, terrified, and clinging to each other, so Arnold, the ultimate caretaker, is the kind of friend we need right now. Yes, he’s flawed, but he has so much heart and compassion.”
I urge you to see this brilliant show, if you haven’t already! LIMITED RUN!!
Join Arnold on this all too human journey about the families we’re born into, the families we choose, and the battles to bring them all home.
Torch Song is playing at the Hayes Theater at 240 West 44th Street.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman
www.torchsongbroadway.com
Broadway Cares – Christmas Carols for a Cure
Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, Hamilton, Waitress and A Bronx Tale.
The Christmas season is in full show tune swing now that the 19th volume of Broadway’s Carols for a Cure has arrived. The latest compilation from the beloved series continues Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ tradition of pairing the casts from award-winning Broadway musicals with seasonal songs that are both classic and new. Once again, the result is pure magic and is sure to help make the 2017 holiday season shine brighter than ever before.
“These are all new, original recordings, creatively arranged and performed by the incredibly talented performers and musicians from the 2017 Broadway season,” explains producer Lynn Pinto who, once again, collaborates with engineer Andros Rodriguez on the album. Pinto allows each company a great deal of freedom in choosing the material and the style of the arrangement. She adds, “We record the musicians and singers in layers, utilizing isolation booths for a higher quality recording. It gives the album a unique sound from most cast albums and allows us to showcase some of the best voices and instrumentalists in the world.”
The first Broadway’s Carols for a Cure album debuted in 1999, making this year’s album the 19th in the annual series. Fans of Broadway will be overjoyed to hear recordings from Tony Award winning casts of Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Come From Away and many more:
WICKED God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Highlights are copious but include Billy Porter and the cast of Kinky Boots singing an all-new, rockin’ version of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and the cast of A Bronx Tale performing “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day” in a New Yawker-style that will have listeners humming for days.Additionally, Meghan Toohey (Sara Barielles’ long-time guitarist) serves up a lovely 1960s-style original song, “Wonder What You Got For Me,” featuring the talented Anastacia McCleskey and the rest of the company and band from Waitress; and Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, the composer/lyricist team behind Anastasia perform their original carol, “All Those Christmas Cliches,” along with their award-winning cast.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals with serious illnesses including AIDS receive the health care and support they need. In addition, they provide financial support in the form of grants to AIDS and family service organizations throughout the country.
“The 19th volume of Broadway’s Carols for a Cure is the best yet,” promises Lynn Pinto. “It exudes such warmth, like a cozy blanket on a snowy Winter’s day.”
The 2-CD set is in the web store at BroadwayCares.org or by calling Broadway Cares at 212-840-0770.
CHER on Broadway 2018
A musical based on Cher’s life is slated to debut on Broadway in 2018. The singer confirmed the news on Tuesday night on her Twitter account.
“Just got off phone w/Writer & Director of musical,” Cher wrote. “There will [be] performance in theatre with actors, dancers, singers!! It’ll be on Broadway 2018.”
News of a possible musical production tracing Cher’s life – and using Cher’s extensive catalog of pop hits – surfaced in January, when the singer attended a read-through of the production. According to The New York Post, Jason Moore, known for Pitch Perfect, will direct. Rick Elice, of Jersey Boys, penned the musical. Three different actresses will portray Cher at various points in her life. At the read-through, one of the actresses was Tony Award-winner Lena Hall.
After Cher attended the event in January, she tweeted her support for the project. “Just walked [off] the musical,” she wrote. “I SOBBED & LAUGHED & I WAS PREPARED NOT 2 LIKE IT. AUDIENCE CLAPPED AFTER SONGS & GAVE IT STANDING OVATION.”
Earlier this year, the singer accepted the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. “I’ve wanted to do what I do since I was four years-old,” she said during her speech. “And I’ve been doing it for 53 years … I’m 71 yesterday. And I can do a five-minute plank, ok? Just saying.”
Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black MARRY
GAY MARRIAGE NEWS
SO SO HAPPY for Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black!
After that little scandal with Tom back in February…but hey, he is SO YOUNG. DLB forgave him and the couple seem happy as can be!
The fairytale wedding took place in the stunning surroundings of Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park.
And according to reports, there was a Romeo and Juliet theme, with Tom calling out ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ from a balcony!
Posting the 2 pictures, above, on Instagram, Tom wrote: “On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack ❤️ We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!”
Donna Summer Musical
SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical
November 7 – December 10, 2017 LaJolla Playhouse, CALIFORNIA
Songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and Others
Book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, and Des McAnuff
Musical Supervision by Ron Melrose
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Directed by Des McAnuff
This vibrant, world-premiere musical charts the incomparable life of Donna Summer — the undisputed Queen of Disco. Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Who’s Tommy) directs this musical extravaganza, featuring more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits and electric dance in a tribute to the voice of a generation.
Donna Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano has big Broadway plans as he prepares to launch his new stage show SUMMER at La Jolla Playhouse in November. The show, based on the life of his late wife, will feature all of the disco queen’s greatest hits, with hopes taking the show the Broadway in 2018.
According to WENN, the show, directed by Jersey Boys’ Des McAnuff, will chronicle Summer’s life story using not only her most famous songs, but also some obscure ones. Most importantly, Sudano told WENN that he hopes for it to inspire and encourage young girls.
He said, “It’s a lesson for people going through struggle and who stumble and make mistakes,” he adds. “It’s gonna give them hope to overcome and succeed and carry on with their lives. It’s not about imitating Donna – Via Broadway World
No casting has yet to be announced, but it has been revealed that there will be a search for three Donnas’ to play the role portraying different segments of her career.
Harvey Fierstein J Lo LGBT Youth
“I think [younger LGBTQ people] think that the big struggle was getting gay marriage passed. Young people growing up right now see Zachary Quinto or Neil Patrick Harris in major motion pictures or on television, and think it’s always been this good. I think they have no idea how we would be arrested in the streets, and kept from ever feeling normal. I grew up when people didn’t believe it when you told them Liberace was gay. Liberace!
Now there are museums, community centers and so many resources. There are plenty of books that didn’t exist before. Our history was just so sucked away from us and not allowed, and now we’re reclaiming that history. But remember, there were gays in Hitler’s army, and then all of a sudden you turn around and we’re in concentration camps. You cannot forget that. You need to know that that can happen at any moment.”—Harvey Fierstein, talking to The Hollywood Reporter
I have to agree. Many young people do not know their roots and LGBT history.
IN OTHER NEWS…..
Jennifer Lopez is set to star as Rosie in NBC’s next musical event, Bye Bye Birdie Live! with HARVEY FIERSTEIN!
Now Harvey Fierstein, who is adapting the book and lyrics for the song-and-dance show, has revealed that he is making it less ‘sexist and old-fashioned’.
The 1960 Tony-winning Broadway musical, which inspired the 1963 film, centers on married songwriter-agent Albert and his sweetheart-lover secretary Rosie.
They stage a publicity stunt for famous singer Conrad Birdie (originally based on Elvis Presely) before he’s drafted to the army.
‘I want to be true to the time it takes place but at the same time, having Rosie be Albert’s secretary whom he’s having an affair with, is a little sexist and old-fashioned,’ Harvey said in the interview published in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.
‘I didn’t see any reason for that. So I changed that.
‘I made them both high school teachers…He’s the English teacher who writes a song, and she’s the music teacher who says, “I’ve got a great kid with a great voice.”
‘He ends up being Conrad Birdie, who’s supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star,’ he added.
‘It’s been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. It really makes a lot more sense that way.’
The song that opens the musical, An English Teacher, will be altered to suit the new story line, and some of the scenes and songs will be re-ordered to fit live television.
J-Lo also wanted the story to highlight Rosie’s struggle as a Puerto Rican woman about to hit middle age in a relationship with a man afraid of commitment.
That plotline was in the original musical but was cut out of the 1963 film.
Harvey added: ‘Jennifer Lopez knows what she wants out of performing.’
NBC will air Bye Bye Birdie Live! in December but has yet to reveal the exact date.
BODYGUARD The Musical and CD
CAST ALBUM FEATURING BRITISH “THE X-FACTOR” WINNER AND PREVIOUS WEST END
STAR ALEXANDRA BURKE, AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 18, 2016
FROM FIRST NIGHT RECORDS/R.E.D.
U.S. TOUR BEGINS NOVEMBER 25, 2016 IN MILLBURN, NJ
London’s smash West End production The Bodyguard – The Musical makes its way to the U.S. with the forthcoming release of its hit-filled cast album, coinciding with a new country-wide tour. The Bodyguard – The Musical (World Premiere Cast Recording) will be released on November 18, 2016 from First Night Records/R.E.D., and features the outstanding vocals of Alexandra Burke, a previous star of the London cast production and winner of the fifth season of the British television series “The X-Factor.”
Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. film and adapted by Academy Award-winner Alexander Dinelaris for the stage, The Bodyguard – The Musical (World Premiere Cast Recording), a breathtaking romantic thriller, features classics from the original film, including – of course – the legendary “I Will Always Love You,” plus many other feel-good hits.
After its world premiere on December 5, 2012 at London’s Adelphi Theatre, The Bodyguard – The Musical was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and Best Set Design and won Best New Musical at the Whatsonstage Awards. The UK production of the musical recently completed a sell-out UK and Ireland tour and made its triumphant return to London’s West End at the Dominion Theatre on July 15, 2016.
The 2016 – 2017 U.S. National Tour, starring Grammy-nominated singer Deborah Cox as Rachel Marron, will commence on November 25, 2016 in Millburn, NJ prior to the official start at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN on January 10, 2017.
Purchase tickets to The Bodyguard – The Musical US Tour here.
Dates/locations for the U.S National Tour of The Bodyguard – The Musical are as follows:
Nov 25, 2016 – Jan 1, 2017 Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ
Jan 10 – 15, 2017 Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Jan 17 – 22, 2017 Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Appleton, WI
Jan 24 – 29, 2017 Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
Jan 31 – Feb 12, 2017 Oriental Theatre, Chicago, IL
Feb 14 – 19, 2017 Ohio Theatre, Columbus, OH
Feb 21 – 26, 2017 Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 28 – Mar 5, 2017 Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore, MD
Mar 7 – 12, 2017 Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, NC
Mar 14 – 19, 2017 Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC
Mar 21 – 26, 2017 Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, TN
Mar 28 – Apr 2, 2017 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
Apr 4 – 9, 2017 Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, LA
Apr 12 – 16, 2017 Centennial Hall, Tucson, AZ
Apr 18 – 23, 2017 Community Center Theatre, Sacramento, CA
Apr 25 – 30, 2017 San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose
May 2 – 21, 2017 Hollywood Pantages, Los Angeles, CA
May 30 – Jun 11, 2017 Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA
Jun 13 – 18, 2017 Civic Theatre, San Diego, CA
Jul 18 – 30, 2017 Music Hall, Dallas, TX
Aug 1 – 6, 2017 Bass Performance Hall, Ft Worth, TX
Aug 8 – 13, 2017 Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO
Aug 15 – 20, 2017 Hobby Center, Houston, TX
North Carolina and Mississippi Boycott Continues
It is truly amazing that SO MANY companies have stood up to North Carolina and Mississippi in recent weeks!
The rights holders of the musicals West Side Story and Footloose have quietly withdrawn permission for their musicals to be done in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi, apparently in reaction to laws passed in those states that discriminate against LGBT individuals.
Wicked ’s Stephen Schwartz Hopes Banning Shows from North Carolina Will Turn Anger Into Activism
Similarly, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization announced that the rights holders of the musical Footloose had also withdrawn permission for their show, described as one of the most popular in the R&H catalogue, to be done in the two states. They issued this statement:
To the residents of North Carolina and Mississippi:
In light of the recent passage in your states of heinous and discriminatory laws that severely curtails the rights of many minorities, the creators of “Footloose” are suspending the issuance of any license to present or produce their work until such time as the legislature and governor reverse their decision.
Among arts groups, Cirque du Soleil canceled engagements in North Carolina after the state passed HB2, a “religious freedom” bill that allows individuals and businesses to deny services to LGBT individuals based on personal religious beliefs.
Upcoming performances of Ovo in Greensboro (April 20-24) and Charlotte (July 6-10), as well as Toruk – Avatar in Raleigh (June 22-26), have all been canceled in the wake of the legislation. “Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all. We therefore choose to cancel our scheduled performances.”
Colt Prattes Naked!
OK – NOT REALLY NAKED! BUT, Looks like newcomer Colt Prattes will be filling in Patrick Swayze’s dancing shoes. ABC and Lionsgate have announced that Prattes will play the iconic role of Johnny in the upcoming Dirty Dancing remake.
Prattes is a singer, dancer, and actor ( and crossfit enthusiast )best known for his appearance in P!nk’s “Try” music video, where he showed off his performance skills and chiseled physique. He also toured with P!nk and starred in Rock of Ages in Las Vegas.
In the three-hour musical airing on ABC, Prattes will portray Johnny, the dance instructor at the Catskill Mountains resort who teaches Baby — played by Abigail Breslin — to be his new partner. Debra Messing has also been cast to play Baby’s mother.
FYI – he was Nearly naked in BROADWAY BARES a few years back.
Coca Cola Gays Gay in Latin America
Of course, this is not airing in the US – But Coca Cola is making a big gay bold statement in Latin America.
A new short film and advertisement called “The Text”, written and directed by Dustin Lance Black for Coca-Cola, centers on bullying and two gay teens in love.
Black was recruited by Coca-Cola to direct three shorts for the company to air in Latin America that challenge young people to choose compassion over bullying. As Black told AdWeek, one of the campaigns was specifically “aimed at the LGBT community.” The intent Black says was to show “a crossroads moment where you’ve got to make a decision: Are you going to go the way of kindness, or are you going to go for the easy joke when someone’s having a tough time?” The moral being that, “If you do something with acceptance and kindness, you can create a true friendship.” WATCH HERE
Chad Allen Retires from Acting
Actor, Producer, Activist, bids his fans farewell as he moves on to a new phase in his career.
With over 60 acting credits and 30 years of acting to his name, Allen has truly made a mark in Hollywood. Today, the 40-year old tells us that he has come to a crossroad that is leading him down a different path. As Allen closes the door on acting, he will head off on a new adventure.
In typical Chad Allen fashion, he made a final farewell video for his fans wherein he gave special thanks to all those who have supported his work, his charities and his career. And, because he is just this kind of guy, he also made special recognition of his number one fan and webmaster, Ken Clark, who ran his website for a decade. At Chad’s request, the website will end in June.
Actor and friend Gary Lane talks to Chad today, HERE.
Scott Weston aka Cashetta Dies
An outrageously talented comic, singer, magician & psychic entertainer, Scott Weston aka “Cashetta” passed away suddenly March 16, 2015. He died in Puerto Vallarta Mexico while sleeping, according to friends. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Weston’s Cashetta was born in the late 1980s, when as a teenager, he and his friends “would dress up in the craziest and most artistic outfits we could put together with bits and pieces from craft stores and each other’s mother’s wardrobes.” What began as a dance floor lark, emerged in the mid ’90’s as a professional pursuit.
In a sea of legendary drag stars like Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat, Cashetta would set herself apart with a unique blend of cabaret and comedy. “My favorite memories were every ‘Wigstock’ (street festival) with Lady Bunny, sharpening my comic chops six nights a week at Lips restaurant and being a featured songstress at the legendary Bar d’O with Joey Arias, Raven O and Sade Pendarvis,” Cashetta said.
But it was as a magician that Cashetta would make a mark in the business and lead her to numerous television appearances that included stints on “The Today Show,” “Conan O’Brien” and the “Outlaugh Festival – Wisecrack” on Logo with Margaret Cho.
CASHETTA.com
Weston’s passing is mourned on social media by the scores of show business professionals with whom Cashetta shared a stage. “A talented and hilarious performer and the nicest man ever,” said comedian Jim David, who worked numerous gay cruises with Cashetta.
“An inspiration as a performer and a human. This is such an incredibly sad day.” Said multiple Grammy Award nominated singer Marty Thomas.
In a tribute to Cashetta on her Facebook page, drag artist Gusty Winds wrote: “What I am feeling right now is beyond words. Cashetta firmly believed in the “beyond”, so as soon as she is done harassing Harry Houdini and Totie Fields, I know she is gonna pay me a visit.”
Is James Franco GAY?
Wouldn’t it be great if James Franco and his cute brother Dave Franco were BOTH GAY?
James Franco does flirt with sexuality and gayness, that’s for sure! With three films slated for this spring—True Story, I Am Michael, and Wim Wenders’s Everything Will Be Fine—James Franco continues to be the busiest man in show business. Actor, director, producer, writer, poet, professor, social media maven, and cultural provocateur, he also continues to challenge us by challenging himself about preconceived concepts of sexuality and how they fit contextually into his art. So it was no surprise when he accepted this challenge to sit down with himself to discuss his life together.
In an interview with DOT 429, the straight James Franco interviews the gay James Franco…..
GayJames: But inevitably people will think that you’re gay; they will think that you’re in Milk, and Howl, and The Broken Tower, and Interior. Leather Bar because you are actually gay. That all these projects are ways of playing gay hide-and-seek.
StriaghtJames: These are all works of art, and art is free; art is its own realm. Of course, they can be read through a biographical lens and, of course, through something like Interior. Leather Bar uses my persona to talk about some of these very issues, but they are still works of art and not exactly nonfictional statements about who I am.
GayJames: Is this interview a nonfictional statement about who you are?
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Icon BETTE DAVIS Lost Interview
BETTE DAVIS!
All About Eve, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, A Catered Affair, Little Foxes, The Letter, Jezebel, Now Voyager….the list goes on and on!
Often referred to as “The First Lady of the American Screen,” Bette Davis created a new kind of screen heroine. She was a liberated woman in an industry dominated by men. She was known as an actress that could play a variety of difficult and powerful roles, and because of this she set a new standard for women on the big screen. Independent off-screen as well, her battles with studio bigwigs were legendary. With a career spanning six decades, few in the history of film rival her longevity and appeal.
Long before Sheryl Sandberg told us to Lean In, screen legend Bette Davis was charging men with changing how the sexes relate to each other.
“I think men have got to change an awful lot. I think somehow they still prefer the little woman. They’re just staying way, way behind and so as a rule I think millions of women are very happy to be by themselves, they’re so bored with the whole business of trying to be the little woman, when no such thing really exists anymore. It just simply doesn’t,” said the celebrated actor and early Hollywood feminist in a previously lost interview, brought to life by PBS Digital Studios’ BLANK ON BLANK.
As an early advocate of gender awareness, Davis added, “This world’s gone way beyond it. The real female should be partly male and the real male should be partly female anyway. So if you ever run into that in either sex you’ve run into something very, very fine, I think.”
In this week’s installment of PBS Digital Studios’ “Blank on Blank” from an interview recorded in 1963 by legendary Hollywood reporter Shirley Eder, Bette Davis gives her perspective on the battle of the sexes. She also reveals her experiences dealing with Hollywood executives while trying to balance her career with a “traditional” household in a male-dominated industry, and explains why being an intelligent female can be a “hindrance” in business.
The full video is here
Bette Davis.com
Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption on DVD
Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption on DVD and VOD October 14, 2014
Terrence McNally’s ”Gay Jesus Play” Inspires Feature Documentary
What if Jesus was gay?
Breaking Glass Pictures will be releasing Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption, a feature documentary focusing on Terrence McNally’s controversial off-Broadway play “Corpus Christi,” which imagines Jesus as a gay man living in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The documentary follows the troupe, Terrence, and audience around the world on a 5-year journey, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.
The play originally opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1998 to intense protest and bomb threats. Terrence McNally is a four-time Tony Award winning playwright, famous for Broadway hits Ragtime, Master Class, and Love! Valour! Compassion!
“Playing with Redemption and the I AM Love Campaign add a new dimension to the conversation that my play continues to provoke, and I look forward to CORPUS CHRISTI starting many more conversations around the country.” – Terrence McNally
Breaking Glass Pictures will release the documentary on DVD and VOD (iTunes, Comcast, Vubiquity) on October 14, 2014.
James Franco Presents KINK
FINALLY! James Franco presents –
A Film by Christina Voros
MPI Pictures will release KINK theatrically on August 22, 2014
Director Christina Voros and producer James Franco pull back the curtain on the fetish empire of Kink.com, the Internet’s largest producer of BDSM content. In a particularly obscure corner of an industry that operates largely out of public view, Kink.com’s directors and models strive for authenticity. In an enterprise often known for exploitative practices, Kink.com upholds an ironclad set of values to foster an environment that is safe, sane, and consensual. They aim to demystify the BDSM lifestyle, and to serve as an example and an educational resource for the BDSM community.
In kink, we discover not only a fascinating and often misunderstood subculture, but also, in a career far from the mainstream, a group of intelligent, charismatic, and driven people who really, truly love what they do.
WATCH THE TRAILER
