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 by Kevin Burrows, for HuffPost Gay Voices Last Friday, while surfing through the major Broadway websites, I came across a feature entitled "''Til There Was You': Broadway's Best Showmances." It was a collection of stories of 18 Broadway couples who fell in love while performing in or working on the same show. As I scrolled through the slideshow with the love stories and images of these couples -- most of whom I know -- I started feeling uneasy. And by the time I got to the end of the article, I was astounded. Of the couples depicted, not one of them was a same-sex couple. How could this be? I mean, I'm pretty sure most people are aware of this (and even if people aren't, this major Broadway website certainly must be), but there are quite a few gay individuals in the Broadway community. I know, shocker, right? I can easily rattle off a long list of same-sex couples who met on shows in New York or while in touring productions, including me and my husband. And most of these couples have been together for years, jumping at the opportunity to wed when the state of New York was brave enough to vote on and pass marriage equality into law. The irony of being excluded from this piece was not lost on me. After all, we're not included onstage, so how could we possibly be included offstage? While many of the depicted romances occurred between men and women who were portraying couples, not one of the same-sex couples (again, including my husband and me) were afforded that opportunity. Aside from a small handful of gay-related shows, there are very few same-sex love stories being depicted onstage. This pissed me off. In fact, as I ran down the list of the same-sex couples I knew, I realized that none of us had been romantic pairings onstage. Our love stories included a Shark and a Jet, a stage manager and a chorus dancer, a musical director and a showgirl, and, in my own case, a straight, male-chauvinist cartoon character and a fork. (Perhaps the editor of the piece was concerned that my own pairing was a little too close to that marriage equality "slippery slope" we keep hearing about?) Are our relationships somehow less than because we didn't have that magical opportunity to fall in love while pretending to do so onstage? Or worse: Is there some reason that our committed and loving relationships should be hidden away from theater-going audiences? I thought about that gay, theater-loving kid in some small town somewhere -- this website offering him some hope and a connection to a potentially bright future -- seeing this feature and not seeing himself represented in any way. Once again, something is making him feel different, other, alone. I want that kid to know that we are out here. And not only are we out here, but we are out here in huge numbers. We have fantastic, successful careers, relationships, marriages, and kids! That's what I want the next generation to see:
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Showing posts with label Broadway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Broadway. Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
Seriously, you overtly religious folks need to calm the eff down. Not everything is an anti-religious thing.
Take for example, one Harold Scott. He’s been an educator for 22 years, and has been the superintendent at Parkview Christian School, started by Calvary Community Church, since 2011. Now he says he was fired because he performed in a community theater production of “The Producers.”
Scott said he was told the reason for his termination is that Calvary's pastor, Dr. Carl Godwin, felt his participation in a theater production of a Broadway musical would have a negative reflection on Calvary Community Church and Parkview Christian School.
Um, was Scott that bad? Was his singing off-key? Two left feet?
What could it be? Let’s see, Harold Scott played Max, one of the main characters in Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” a play about two men who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. It includes jokes about Nazis, homosexuals and show business, and includes gay characters.
Oh. I guess singing and dancing in a musical that references Nazis and The Gays is enough to get you fired.
“I never imagined that my passion for acting and participating in community theater would lead to me losing my job. I truly believe that I did nothing wrong and my involvement in theater should in no way interfere with the career I love.”—Harold Scott
Neither Godwin nor the chairman of the school's board could be reached for comment.
Nothing to say after firing a man who‘d been at his current job for almost two years after teaching for 22 years; nothing to say because the reasons for firing him are absurd, and possibly illegal.
I’m not a fan of lawsuits—not every wrong is a lawsuit—but I hope Harold Scott sues the pants off this so-called church. And then I hope he turns the whole thing into a musical.
I’d be there on opening night.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
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So, Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon decided to renew their wedding vows; apparently they have done so each of the five years that they've been married, a la Seal and Heidi Klum--and we know how that worked out. Still, it's kind of sweet, you know, reaffirming your love and commitment, but ... And you just knew there had to be a but. Carey and Cannon renewed their vows at Disneyland in California, and had the entire park shut down for their ceremony. Then they invited "journalists", like Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O'Dell, and sold pictures to the magazines of Carey dressed like a princess, Cannon dolled up like Prince Charming, and their two kids in storybook costumes. So, the question is, is this love or self-promotion? Or, as the cynic in me wonders, is it an attempt to say 'Look at us, we're so in love' when they actually might not be? Asking for a friend. |
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Remember when Right Said Fred was 'too sexy for his shirt'? Yeah, well he's got nothing on one Omar Borkan Al Gala. He's too sexy for Saudi Arabia and has been deported for being too hot. You read that right ... deported for hotness. It seems that Saudi Arabia was a'scurred of what Omar might do to their women-folk--and perhaps some of their men-folk--and so they ALLEGEDLY had the man kicked out of their country and sent back to Abu Dhabi. I have tried to find Omar because I think he's just sexy enough for Smallville. |
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While we're on the topic of hot men ... One Life To Life and Desperate Housewives hunk, Tuc Watkins, has officially, and publicly, come out as gay. Though he never hid the fact, he also never spoke of his personal life. Still, the pingpingping of the Gaydar was right this time. Life imitates art, and vice-versa. When Watkins joined Desperate Housewives as Bob Hunter, one-half of a gay couple--with Kevin Rahm--their storyline included one about adopting a baby. The plotline hit close to home, because Watkins was going through the same thing--albeit as a single dad--in his real life. He recently welcomed twin sons, Catchen and Curtis, via surrogate. He said, of being gay and being a father: "A lot of people at some point in their lives think, 'Am I going to be a parent? Do I want to be a parent?' And when I was young, I knew three things: I knew I was gay, I knew one day I was gonna be a dad, and I knew that Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was going to be the best movie of all time. So far, I've been right about all three." Hot Funny Gay Daddy. Congratulations on both events! |
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On the Broadway front, I smell a bomb of epic proportions. Or, a big smash if craptastic gets butts in seats. See, ahem, Rocky is going to be a Broadway musical. This production--which recently premiered in Germany--brings together Tony Award-winning writer Thomas Meehan--The Producers and Hairspray--with composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens--Ragtime--director Alex Timbers--Here Lies Love and the musical-play hybrid Peter and the Starcatcher--with fight choreography by Steven Hoggett--Once--and dance choreography by Kelly Devine--Rock of Ages. That's quite the list of talented folks working on the musical, but I keep thinking one of the big numbers has to be Yo, Adrian and I get a little queasy. For his part, Sylvester Stallone, who penned the original Rocky and plied him through four sequels, says, “I couldn’t be more proud or more excited about this production and how my original story of Rocky Balboa has been brought to spectacular life onstage.” Yo, Adrian. |
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And speaking of Broadway, the four child actresses who rotate in the title role of the Broadway musical Matilda will not be eligible for a joint Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical this spring. The decision is noteworthy because it sets aside a precedent that allowed the three teenage boys sharing the lead role in Billy Elliot to be eligible for a joint best actor nomination; and the three did win the Tony. The producers of Matilda had sought joint eligibility for the four girls--Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro--but, instead of granting the request, the Tony committee announced that the actresses would receive a special award, a Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater, “to recognize their outstanding performances this season.” It's a shame that the girls couldn't get the same treatment as the boys. |
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I think we're going to see The Great Gatsby this weekend. I think it looks amazing, though, for the life of me, why they have a 3D version is beyond me. But, it's directed by Baz Luhrman, who directed Moulin Rouge so I imagine it will have that same sense of flash. Speaking of Baz, I have had a wee crush on him since the first time I laid eyes on him and it keeps going and going and going .... The gray hair, that accent. I am a sucker for a man with an accent. |
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Texas Governor, and Not Gay, Rick Perry, got his granny pants ion a twist last week when the Sacramento Bee ran a cartoon that showed Perry boasting about booming business in Texas in one frame, than showing an explosion in the next. The cartoon ran a week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 people in a Texas town and Miss Ricky says she wants an apology from the newspaper on behalf of the town: "While I will always welcome healthy policy debate, I won't stand for someone mocking the tragic deaths of my fellow Texans and our fellow Americans. Additionally, publishing this on the very day our state and nation paused to honor and mourn those who died only compounds the pain and suffering of the many Texans who lost family and friends in this disaster." The Bee's editorial page editor, Stuart Leavenworth, responded that the artist, Jack Ohman, "made a strong statement about Gov. Rick Perry's disregard for worker safety, and his attempts to market Texas a place where industries can thrive with few regulations. … It is unfortunate that Gov. Perry, and some on the blogosphere, have attempted to interpret the cartoon as being disrespectful for the victims of this tragedy. As Ohman has made clear on his blog, he has complete empathy for the victims and people living by the plant. … What [Ohman] finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations. Perry's letter is an attempt to distract people from that message." What Ohman showed was not disrespectful to those who died, what he showed was that, if not for Perry’s political dealing, with low taxes and no regulation—the plant that exploded had not been inspected in seven years—this might not have happened. And he’s right. Miss Ricky should be ashamed of herself. Miss Ricky is such an asshat. A Texas-sized asshat. |
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Sometimes I love South Carolina. We live in "Smallville" which is about forty miles--as the crow flies--from Columbia, the state capital. And this week, in Columbia, a new billboard went up that is causing a stir and some giggles. The controversial new billboard, by AshleyMadison.com--a dating site, designed for people already in relationships who want to have affairs--features our very own Appalachian Trail Hiking ex-Governor, and current candidate for the House of Representatives, Mark Sanford. It says "Next Time Use AshleyMadison.com To Find Your Running Mate." Again, sometimes I love South Carolina. |
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I didn't watch the Amanda Knox interview on ABC though I saw bits and pieces as it was promo'd to death. And, I didn't really follow the story too closely as her murder trial went down in Italy, so, well, to be honest, I may be wrong but .... She doesn't seem to have any emotion about the murders--whether she's guilty of them or not. In fact, she seems aloof and detached and, well, not quite truthful. Just sayin. |
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Speaking of TV interviews, the other night Piers Morgan interviewed Jason Collins' ex-girlfriend of eight years Carolyn Moos about her reaction to the news that he is gay. She said: "He actually called this past weekend and we spoke a couple of times on Monday, so it's really fresh in my mind. It's going to be a process, absolutely, and it just takes a lot of perspective, and a lot of understanding, and a lot of open conversation." Then Morgan asked, "Did he apologize to you?" Moos replied, "I think he's in the process of taking ownership of the here and now which is actually coming out. That can be very – I assume – overwhelming." Urn, again, I may be wrong, but why does he need to apologize to her because he's gay? Is it because he kept that secret from her? Perhaps not, because maybe he wasn't ready to face the fact that he was gay and thought being in an opposite-sex relationship would be the thing to do. Perhaps he thought he was bisexual, and interested in Moos at the time. And perhaps he was interested in her, but was still working through his own ‘stuff' and didn't know what to say and do. But he doesn’t owe her an apology the same way a man who dates a woman for eight years, breaks it off and then marries another woman doesn't owe the first woman an apology. By asking if he apologized, Morgan is playing up some notion that Collins lied, and tricked, Moos into being in a relationship., Last I checked she's a grown-assed woman and she made the choice to be there. Apologize? Never. |
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