NYC Pride Announces A Virtual Rally

NYC Pride Announces A Virtual Rally

Hosted by Ashlee Marie Preston and Brian Michael Smith

Streamed live via Facebook & YouTube, Friday, June 26

NEW YORK, NY, June 3, 2020 — NYC Pride, the organization responsible for executing LGBTQIA+ events in New York City in the month of June, announces plans for a virtual Rally on Friday, June 26, 2020, from 5pm to 8pm EDT. Streamed simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube, the event will be hosted by Ashlee Marie Preston and Brian Michael Smith. Speakers include Ceyenne Doroshow, Annie Segarra, Edafe Okporo, Leandro E. Rodriguez Ramos and many more.

“I’m beyond excited to co-host the digital rally with NYC Pride this year,” said Ashlee Marie Preston. “The current socio-political climate around LGBTQ rights is similar to that of the 1960s; but our commitment to shattering systemic barriers that impede our ability to thrive is exactly the same as it was for our foremothers—Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Poisonous policies, patriarchal power, nor the pandemonium of a pandemic will thwart our progress. I’m constantly reminded by the indomitable Miss Major Griffin-Gracy that after the dust settles, we will still be here!”

Preston is the first trans woman to become Editor in Chief of a national publication and the first openly trans person to run for state office in California. Ashlee Marie was named one of The Root 100's "Most Influential African Americans of 2017", profiled as one of LOGO/NewNowNext’s 30 Most Influential LGBTQ Influencers of 2017 & 2018, PopSugar's top 40 LGBTQ's of 2017 and OUT Magazine’s OUT100 of 2018. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, Ashlee Marie launched YouAreEssential.org in support of grassroots organizations all across the country, serving vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

“Visibility is also a form of activism,” said Brian Michael Smith. “For so many people just living in your truth and stepping outside takes courage; that is a protest in and of itself. I am proud to co-host the NYC Pride Rally with Ashlee Marie Preston and I know that though we can’t be together in person, we are reaching people who may see themselves in us. I hope to provide a space of comfort at a time when we need to be there for one another.”

Smith, originally hailing from Michigan, is an LGBTQIA+ advocate, coming out as transgender in 2017 after successfully working in the industry for five years. In December 2019, Smith joined Showtime’s drama series “The L Word: Generation Q” cast, the highly anticipated follow-up series. Soon after, in January 2020, Smith premiered in Ryan Murphy’s Fox series “9-1-1 LONE STAR” starring Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler. The series is a Texas spinoff of the hit series “9-1-1.” Smith plays ‘Paul Strickland,’ a transgender male firefighter with a gift for observation worthy of Sherlock Holmes. He becomes one of just a handful of trans and non-binary regulars on broadcast TV.

“Stories of intersectionality have always been important stories to tell. As a gay, Puerto Rican, cisgender man I try to remain aware of both my privilege and what society has put in place as barriers in my life,” said NYC Pride Interim Executive Director David A. Correa. “It is important to stand in solidarity with the people in our communities that need us most. The Rally has long been a safe space for disenfranchised voices to be heard and that will continue to be the case in 2020. NYC Pride stands with Black Lives Matter, and will give focus to the needs of our black and brown brothers and sisters; honoring the lives of those lost to police violence.”

Partners GLAAD and The National LGBTQ Task Force will speak of the importance of LGBTQIA+ participation in the CENSUS and registering to vote in such a pivotal year.

GLAAD recently launched an action center for voter registration and pledged to show up on Election Day. “Every Pride month we remember that the revolutionary riots at Stonewall in 1969 were spearheaded by many LGBTQ people of color, and that none of the progress made for the acceptance and equality of LGBTQ people over the past 51 years would be possible if not for the action and courage of those protestors,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “As our community joins together this Pride month to fight back against racism, systemic injustice, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and police brutality, we must continue the mobilization and momentum leading up to Election Day. This election will determine the future for LGBTQ Americans and other marginalized communities, and we all need to ensure our friends, families, and colleagues vote with the knowledge of all that is at stake.”

“The Census helps LGBTQ communities access billions in federal funding for social programs, helps us build political power, and helps us enforce civil rights protections. While the Census doesn’t ask questions about sexual orientation or gender identity, it’s still vital for us to be counted,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. “Filling out the Census is a critical component in building our collective power to fight for our rights – including the right to be fully represented in the Census count. Like other marginalized communities, LGBTQ people have historically been undercounted on the Census. The ‘Queer the Census’ campaign is working to change that, so that our community can access the things it needs most – dollars, democracy, and justice.”

The first Rally occurred one month after the Stonewall Riots in June 1969, when 500 people gathered for a “Gay Power” demonstration in Washington Square Park, followed by a candlelight vigil in Sheridan Square. NYC Pride has continued this proud tradition by hosting the event in various locations throughout the city. In its new form, the Rally will also lean on the power of social media to engage with the community starting at 7pm EDT. Follow @NYCPRIDE on Instagram and Twitter to continue the conversation with Jillian Mercado from “The L Word: Generation Q” and others.

“This event will serve as a call to action at a point in our history where the future is dependent on effecting change,” said Matthew Kovalsky, NYC Pride Rally Director. “I am in awe of our community, and how quickly we came together. This year’s Rally will be unique, engaging and powerful thanks to the leaders, activists and performers who will be joining us.”

The event will also feature performances by Michael Blume and more.

Registration for the Rally is now available on EventBrite: http://nycpriderally2020.eventbrite.com/

Who throws a ten hour Pride March? New York City, baby!

video by Baad Lamb

World Pride March - New York City - June 30, 2019

Enjoy these 100 fabulous photos by the Baadlamb!

The cast of POSE

Stonewall Forever

Stonewall Forvever

From The Center

In celebration of WorldPride and Stonewall 50, The Center has launched Stonewall Forever, a first-of-its-kind digital national monument, supported by Google.org and in partnership with the National Park Service, to help the world connect with LGBTQ history. The digital monument springboards on the momentum created by President Barack Obama’s federal dedication of the Stonewall National Monument in 2016.

Stonewall Forever’s primary goal is to illuminate stories historically excluded from the narrative of queer history, particularly voices from the TGNC community, young people and people of color. It includes a short documentary, directed by Ro Haber, along with an archival digital monument experience that features oral histories, photographs and other content allowing the entire world to experience Stonewall, no matter their location. A free app is also available for download to provide an immersive augmented reality experience when in Christopher Street Park.

Through the website and the app, anyone across the globe can add their own photo and a message to become part of the monument that will live on indefinitely. Check it out and add your piece to the monument today; don’t forget to share it on your social media platforms with #StonewallForever!

Happy Pride,

Glennda Testone

NYC Pride Announces Barclays Center for WorldPride Opening Ceremony

Whoopi Goldberg to host; Cyndi Lauper, Ciara, Todrick Hall and more to perform during NYC Pride’s Benefit Concert for Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality, and SAGE

NEW YORK, NY, APRIL 05, 2019 – NYC Pride, the host of WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50, formally unveiled today the location and initial talent line-up of the official Opening Ceremony of WorldPride. The Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 7-10pm Ceremony will be formatted as a benefit concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Proceeds from the ticket sales to this historic concert event will support Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality, and SAGE – three leading organizations in the LGBTQIA+ movement based in New York City. 

Prolific entertainer and internationally-recognized humanitarian, Whoopi Goldberg, will host the ceremony, featuring a growing medley of acclaimed speakers and performers. Cyndi Lauper, iconic performer for the LQBTQIA+ community and New Yorkers alike, leads the initial release of the talent line-up.

A decorated actress, comedian, author and television personality, Whoopi Goldberg is among a very elite group of artists who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT), along with a Golden Globe. Although born and raised in New York City, she performed in San Diego and the Bay Area with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre troupe, where she created the characters that became “The Spook Show,” later evolving into her hit Broadway show, Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career.

“I’ve been a longtime advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community and this year marks a pivotal moment within our storied history and fight for equality,” said Goldberg. “Hosting a WorldPride event is an absolute honor and I am delighted be a part of the Opening Ceremony in June.”

Cyndi Lauper is a groundbreaking Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning artist with global record sales in excess of 50 million. Her unmistakable voice, influential style,and infectious performances have catapulted her to stardom from her roots in Queens. Tireless in her advocacy work, she’s a lifelong activist who champions the underdog – especially women, people living with HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I am thrilled to be a part of the WorldPride Opening Ceremony,” said Lauper. “I can’t wait to celebrate with my LGBTQIA+ friends and family from across the world.”

Ciara, a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, producer, model and actress has sold more than 23 million records and 16 million singles worldwide, including chart-topping hits “Goodies,” “Ride,” “Oh,” “1, 2 Step,” “Body Party,” and “I Bet.” Todrick Hall is a multi-talented singer, rapper, actor, director, choreographer, and YouTube personality who rose to prominence on American Idol. 

“In celebration of WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50, NYC Pride is dedicated to broadening its commitment to serving the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Chris Frederick, Executive Director of NYC Pride, “Every ticket sold to this 10,000-seat event is supporting some of the best service and advocacy work being done in our community by Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality and SAGE.” 

The Ali Forney Center is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive agency dedicated to LGBTQhomeless youths—assisting nearly 1,800 young people per year through a 24-hour Drop-In Center, which provides over 65,000 meals annually, medical and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered-site housing program.

SAGE is the world's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older people. Founded in 1978, and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is an organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBT older people and their caregivers.

Immigration Equality is the nation’s leading LGBTQimmigrant rights organization, representing and advocating for people from around the world fleeing violence, abuse and persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

Tickets for the WorldPride Opening Ceremony will go on sale April 12^that 10:00am EST at https://2019-worldpride-stonewall50.nycpride.org/events/opening-ceremony. 

Additional talent announcements will be released in the upcoming weeks ahead. 

WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50 will be comprised of more than25 different events for LGBTQIA+ and allied people during the full month of June, 2019. Throughout the course of the celebration, all WorldPride events will ladder up to the foundational theme, “Millions of Moments of Pride.” Join New York City, and the world, this June as we honor the past, celebrate our differences and march together for our future. For more information and talent press kits visit: www.worldpride.org.

Media Contacts: 

Eboni Munn | Communications Manager                                                                              eboni@nycpride.org | (212) 807-6424 

ABOUT HERITAGE OF PRIDE
Heritage of Pride, Inc. is the volunteer-directed organization behind the official NYC Pride roster of events. Heritage of Pride’s mission is to work toward a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law. We do this by producing LGBTQIA+ Pride events that inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our diverse community.  

Skirball Talks: Beyond Stonewall

Skirball Talks: Beyond Stonewall LINK

Stonewall at 50/Skirball Talks
Monday February 11, 2019 6:30pm Free

“Theatre teaches us who we are…” Terrence McNally

Join renowned, award-winning playwrights who have broken new ground across generations as artists and activists. The characters and stories they have brought to the stage have illuminated the lives of the LGBTQ+ community at home, in the street, in court, in the halls of power, and in the public square–amplifying our humanity and transforming American and global culture.

Larry Kramer,playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate
Matthew Lopez, playwright
Terrence McNally, playwright, librettist, screenwriter
Lucy Thurber, playwright, librettist

Moderated by Tom Kirdahy (WSC ‘85, LAW ‘88), activist lawyer and theater producer

Held weekly every Monday at 6:30pm during the academic terms,  Skirball Talks hosts visionaries from the worlds of politics, the arts, sciences, academia, and more. This event is free and open to the public.

PLEASE READ IN FULL REGARDING SEAT RESERVATIONS: 

Limit 1 RSVP per person. RSVP does not guarantee a ticket. You can begin picking up tickets at the NYU Box Office (566 LaGuardia Pl) 2 hours prior to event. Tickets must be claimed by 6:10 pm. Unclaimed tickets may be released to those on the standby line. Even if you have picked up a ticket, please be aware that if you are not seated in the theater by 6:20pm, we will open seating to those on the standby line.

The Skirball Talks series is made possible in part by a Humanities New York Action Grant and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. 

NewFest - The 30th Annual New York LGBT Film Festival

NewFest

NewFest - New York's LGBT Film Festival runs October 24-30.

First Snowfall!

The first snow of the season has arrived gently. 

Stuyvesant Square earlier today.

(Photo by the Baadlamb)

Robert Sorrell - Jeweler To The Queens Of The Imperial Court

Have you ever wondered where those queens get their gorgeous bling?  I loved meeting and interviewing Robert Sorrell. I hope you'll enjoy reading his story. He is a native New Yorker and 100% pure NYC Gay. Out today on SFGN.

NYC Pride March 2017 - Corner of Gay Street and Christopher Street

This year, it wasn't just banks, bars and boys.  It was RESIST! It was edifying to see so many young people - gay and straight - turn out to tell Trump where to get off.

I Like the Nightlife, Baby at The Museum of the City of New York

Events: Talks
I Like the Nightlife, Baby

Wednesday June 14, 2017 7:00pm
Museum of the City of New York

In this installment of our Only in New York series, host Sarah Maslin Nir sits down with drag performer Lady Bunny and pop-up club host Simonez Wolf to talk about the city’s ever-evolving and inventive nightlife scene.

Only in New York with Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir is a conversation series bringing together two distinctive New Yorkers from different worlds to explore key questions about the city’s identity, culture, and history -- glass of wine in hand.

After party in the Museum's Rotunda to follow.

Please note that the start time of this program has changed from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
6:30 pm: Doors to the auditorium, Ronay Menschel Hall, on the Museum's Ground Floor open.
7:00 pm: The program begins.
8:15 - 8:45 pm: The program ends, join us for an after party following the event.

About the Speakers
Lady Bunny is a comedienne, DJ, actress, singer/songwriter, and the emcee and creator of Wigstock, a drag festival which electrified New Yorkers for over 20 years. Her television and film appearances include Sex and the City and the feature films Dragtime (HBO), Rupaul’s Starrbooty, and Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild. As a DJ and a songwriter, she has released two duets with RuPaul and a solo effort, “Take Me Up High,” which hit Billboard’s Dance chart at #18 in 2013.

Paris-born Simonez Wolf got his start in the New York nightlife world working the door at downtown hotspots like Beatrice Inn, the Bowery Hotel, and The Standard. He created Madame Wong’s, a pop-up dance party that transformed nondescript Chinese restaurants into fashionable venues, and, in 2015, opened the soccer-themed Futbol Cafe on the Lower East Side.

Sarah Maslin Nir is a native New Yorker and a reporter for The New York Times best known for her report on the working conditions of nail salon workers, for which she was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize. A graduate of the Brearley School, Columbia University, and the Columbia University School of Journalism, where she received her masters, she was also The New York Times' nightlife correspondent, covering 252 parties in 18 months. She once had an audience with the Queen of Spain, though she failed to realize it at the time.

http://mcny.org/event/i-nightlife-baby

After Stonewall at The Museum of the City of New York

Events: Film, Talks
After Stonewall

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 6:30pm
Museum of City of New York

Trans people were at the forefront of the 1969 uprising at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn, but their stories have not always been central in film representations of LGBT life in the city. T.V. Transvestite (60 minutes, 1982) captures a fierce House of LaBeija Ball thrown at a Harlem Bingo Hall. Considered “lost” and not screened in public for over two decades, the film shows legends Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Sugar in the period before voguing and the advent of AIDS. A stirring example of how queer focused and produced film has long flourished in NYC.

Simone di Bagno, director, T.V. Transvestite
Celso Satori LaBeija, member, House of LaBeija
Willyum LaBeija, member, House of LaBeija
Joe E. Jeffreys, drag historian

http://mcny.org/event/after-stonewall

Baad Lamb Video of Today's NOT MY PRESIDENT'S Day Rally.

https://youtu.be/K9bnQSombTk

NOT MY PRESIDENT'S DAY Rally On The UWS

On the Upper Westside today, there was a "NOT MY PRESIDENT'S DAY rally. Mailboxes were locked down to avoid the possibility of bombs (or trash?) being put inside them. Our block was entirely barricaded as a secondary entrance and escape route to or from the rally. QNY friend Brian Griffin was there! Lots of clever signs. The crowd gathered in front of the Trump Hotel near Columbus Circle. Photos by the Baad Lamb.

Some history at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx

The gay couple of the new 2nd Avenue subway

My husband the Baad Lamb posed with the mosaic gay couple in the newly opened 2nd Avenue line. One station had mosaics by Chuck Close. Another had mosaics by Vik Muniz. Glorious!

QNY blogger David Frank Ray has died.

I'm sad to report that David Frank Ray who was part of the QNY team during its early days, and who wrote as "Darling" has died. I will miss him very much.

NYTimes: A New Day for Gay Plays?

LINK: NY Times: A New Day for Gay Plays?

By Charles Isherwood December 27, 2016

No one would argue that gay men and women continue to face the kind of discrimination they did back in 1968, when Mart Crowley’s “The Boys in the Band” cracked open the closet door onstage, shining a stark light on what was then a topic rarely explored in popular culture....

Full article at the above link.

My book ENDING ANITA has been published.

I'm please to announce that my book ENDING ANITA - How Two Key West Bartenders Won Gay Marriage For Florida has been published and is available on Amazon.

Gay Gotham

Gay Gotham at the Museum of the City of New York

GAY GOTHAM. OCT 7, 2016-FEB 26, 2017
an often-hidden side of the history of New York City.

New York has long been a beacon for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender artists seeking freedom, acceptance, and community. Gay Gotham: Art and Underground Culture in New York brings to life the queer creative networks that sprang up in the city across the 20th century—a series of artistic subcultures whose radical ideas had lasting effects on the mainstream.

Peeling back the layers of New York’s LGBT life that thrived even in the shadows, this groundbreaking exhibition reveals an often-hidden side of the history of New York City and celebrates the power of artistic collaboration to transcend oppression. Visitors will encounter well-known figures, from Mae West to Leonard Bernstein to Andy Warhol, and discover lesser-known ones, such as feminist artist Harmony Hammond, painter and writer Richard Bruce Nugent, and transgender artist Greer Lankton. Surprising relationships emerge: Warhol and Mercedes de Acosta; Robert Mapplethorpe and Cecil Beaton; George Platt Lynes and Gertrude Stein.

Comprising two full galleries, Gay Gotham features the work of these artists, including paintings and photographs, as well as letters, snapshots, and ephemera that illuminate their personal bonds and reveal secrets that were scandal-provoking in their time and remain largely unknown today.

http://www.mcny.org/exhibition/gay-gotham

men in towels

Won’t Be a Ghost, by Tight Braid Group

After a two-year workshop period, the play Won’t Be a Ghost, by Tight Braid Group, premiered on Friday, April 15, 2016, at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

I was unable to attend the premiere, but did make it to following night’s performance. Word of mouth must have been great because the theater was sold out, and there was a great effort of accommodation made to seat all comers, locating cushions and extra chairs that could be placed on the floor in the front of the regular seats on the risers.

Won’t Be a Ghost has an intriguing script that weaves together the stories of Magnus Hirschfeld, the influential yet unheralded German sexologist and sexual minorities activist known as “the Einstein of sex”, and Chelsea (born Bradley) Manning, the US Army intelligence specialist and trans woman recently convicted of passing classified documents to WikiLeaks, who is now undergoing hormone replacement therapy in prison.

The play also features a Greek chorus consisting of multiple queer genders, and doubling nicely as the members of Dr. Hirschfeld’s household and intellectual circle. They help to transition and tie together the time-jumping story line, and get to perform a clever scene with arrows and a dancing, bloodied St. Sebastian.

I was glad I got to see this ambitious play. Although well aware of just how vital queer- and trans- gender issues remain to the continuing struggle for LBGT equality today, I knew little about the underlying story of either protagonist in Won’t Be a Ghost. After returning home I went running to the Google machine to learn all I could about both.

NYTimes: Before the Stonewall Uprising, There Was the ‘Sip-In’

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/nyregion/before-the-stonewall-riots-there-was-the-sip-in.html

Before the Stonewall Uprising, There Was the ‘Sip-In’
By JIM  FARBER  April 20, 2016

Continue reading the main storyShare This Page

On a bright, warm day 50 years ago this week, three young men went out to have a drink that they hoped would make history.

The men, members of the early gay rights group the Mattachine Society, aimed to challenge bars that refused service to gay people, a common practice at the time, though one unsupported by any specific law. Such refusals fell under a vague regulation that banned taverns from serving patrons deemed “disorderly.”

Full story on the New York Times and through the below link:

NYTimes: Sip-In

Judy Garland's Apartment In The Dakota Is For Sale

and who wouldn't want it? It has a courtyard view, but is there a park view as well? Not a minor detail. Love those wall colors! And yes, I'd unseal at least some of those fireplaces.

Eddie Sarfaty at the Metropolitan Room.

Bernie Sanders supporters march in NYC

Video by the Baadlamb. Yesterday, January 30, 2016.

concentrated demographic

I find the juxtaposition of these two subway posters at 23rd St in Chelsea, one for the Gloria Estefan broadway show and the other for a exhibition of male physique magazines at the Museum of Sex, to be quite clever as I believe they are advertising to the same demographic.

Can The Self-Respecting Gay Vote Republican?

My opinion about gays voting Republican, online and in print in South Florida Gay News

http://southfloridagaynews.com/…/column-can-the-self-respec…

World AIDS Day

I didn’t know him well until that crazy night when we made newspaper miters for our heads and danced to the Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin Man” like two frenzied bishops on the coffee tables of the student lounge of Our Lady Of Angels Seminary in a small town an hour out of Albany. That is what you did in the seminary when you found a soul mate.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Retrospective at Film Society of Lincoln Center

Fassbinder Retrospective at the Film Society of Lincoln Center
November 7 – 26
One of the most prolific and influential European filmmakers of the second half of the 20th century, Rainer Werner Fassbinder completed nearly 40 feature-length films between 1969 and 1982 (the year he died at age 37) and left behind one of the most cohesive and provocative bodies of work in the history of cinema. In his many melodramas, gangster movies, literary adaptations, and even sci-fi films, he returned obsessively to themes of love, crime, labor, and social and emotional exploitation. He was similarly fixated on his beloved performers, many of whom—Hanna Schygulla, El Hedi ben Salem, Ulli Lommel, and countless others—comprised a repertory company whose fierce, complicated devotion to their visionary leader defies comparison. Part two of our retrospective—the largest in New York City in over a decade—which includes all of Fassbinder’s theatrical movies and many of his television films, along with several works connected with his eternally relevant artistry.

Click on the LINK above for schedule and more information.

Angels in America at BAM, October 23-25, 2014

Angels in America at BAM

October 23-25, 2014

By Tony Kushner
Toneelgroep Amsterdam
Directed by Ivo van Hove


There are no feathers here. Instead of beating wings, there's David Bowie's otherworldly wails. With little more than a stack of vinyl records, a few fluorescent lights, and a saline drip, Dutch visionary Ivo van Hove and Toneelgroep Amsterdam deliver a revelatory take on Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic. Encompassing both "Millennium Approaches" and "Perestroika," this marathon production strips Kushner's now-iconic characters - Prior Walter and his boyfriend Louis, Reaganite lawyer Roy Cohn, Mormon couple Joe and Harper Pit - to their essence, boldly reimagining "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes."


Set and light design by Jan Versweyveld
Costume design by Wojciech Dziedzic
Video design by Tal Yarden
Music by Wim Selles

In Dutch with English titles.

A very few seats still available at the top link.

NYTimes LensBlog : Gay Africans Seeking Asylum in New York

NYTimes LensBlog : Gay Africans Seeking Asylum in New York

By Fayemi Shakur
Photos By Rahima Gambo

Nigeria’s passage of a law criminalizing same-sex relationships drew immediate international outrage earlier this year. In New York, gay activists held protests outside the Nigerian government’s offices, something that amazed Rahima Gambo. With so much of life hidden in Nigeria, she said, nothing so bold would have happened there.

That realization led Ms. Gambo, a Nigerian photographer raised in London, to explore the lives of the growing number of gay men who have fled to the United States seeking asylum and a chance to live freely. It was during the March protest in New York that she met Saheed Ipadeola, a young man living in Brooklyn who introduced her to other asylum seekers. They shared their stories in ways that would never be seen in Nigerian media, which she said reduced them to stereotypes without dignity.


Click on the above Link for full text and photos

The Film Society to Present Complete John Waters Retrospective in September

John Waters retrospective at the Film Society

Get ready for some of the "filthiest people alive" heading once again to the big screen. The Film Society of Lincoln Center will celebrate legendary director and personality John Waters's five decades in filmmaking with a complete retrospective, the first in the United States. The event, titled Fifty Years of John Waters: How Much Can You Take?, will be comprised of his 12 features, including Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, Hairspray, Serial Mom, and his first two, Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs,

http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/john-waters-retrospective-film-society-of-lincoln-center-2014

John Waters interview with the Film Society

John Waters began moving the pendulum of taste and decorum on the big screen, remarkably, 50 years ago this year. The Baltimore native who brought filth to the big screen in such romps as Mondo Trasho (1969), Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972), and Female Trouble (1974) made his first short, Hag In a Black Leather Jacket, in 1964. Together with his high-school friend turned on-screen muse Divine, Waters paved a filmmaking DIY ethos decades before crowdfunding, social media, and the Internet made going it alone (or relatively so) plausible.

http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/john-waters-interview-retrospective-film-society-2014

James Baldwin street renaming Aug 2

The Year of James Baldwin: A 90th Birthday Celebration

August 2, 2014 3:00pm

A consortium of cultural organizations throughout New York City are uniting to declare 2014-15 The Year of James Baldwin on what would have been the great American essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and activist James Baldwin’s 90th year (he was born in Harlem on August 2, 1924).

This commemoration of James Baldwin on the occasion of his 90th birthday will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2014, 12 Noon, culminating in the renaming of a section of West 128th Street as “James Baldwin Place,” in honor of the work, life, and legacies of one of the greatest writers and thinkers of the past century.


http://www.nationalblacktheatre.org/#!year-of-baldwin/c1hmz
http://arts.columbia.edu/coe/news/2014/baldwin-street-naming

No Strings Attached

Monty and Luis have had a happy romantic partnership for ten years. A chance encounter with Stefan, a sexy, mysterious waiter, disrupts their cozy lives: both Monty and Luis have a secret connection to him. Monty comes from a happy Italian family; Luis was raised over a bar by his shady Grandma. Stefan has trouble pinning down exactly where he came from though parts of his past are on display all over the internet. The three men’s lives intertwine in a number of surprising, romantic and potentially devastating ways. No Strings Attached stars Casey Burden as Monty, Afrim Gjonbalaj as Luis and Kevin Perez as Stefan and is directed by Robert Teague.“There are so many hot men in New York and I want to f—k all of them. If I can’t I would at least like a representative sampling.”

No Strings Attached (originally titled NSA) premiered at the Stage Left’s Left Out Festival in April with two sold-out performances. NY Theater Now, said: “Three highly individual, richly fleshed-out characters. They behave like real people rather than constructs or archetypes. It’s a real privilege to spend time with them…indulging along with them in their fantasies and foibles. We care for them when our time with them is over.”

Igrejas’ previous plays include Shrinkage, Kitty and Lina, Miss Mary Dugan, Hassan and Sylvia (both won Fresh Fruit Festival Best Play Awards), Margarita and Max (winner Best Short Play, Midtown Festival).

Info and tickets.

Running time – 90 minutes

All performances are at Stage Left Studio, 214 West 30th Street, 6th floor, NYC. Convenient to the A,C,E,B,D,F,N,R,1,2 and 3 lines

Tickets $18 (plus $2 ticketing surcharge)

Rich Morel. Hot Sauce. Ptown. Bear Week. Questions?

I didn't think so. Details.

Anthem: The Musical with Randy Jones of the Village People

Anthem: The Musical

Directed, Choreographed & Designed by Rachel Klein
Featuring Jason Gotay, Remy Zaken with Jenna Leigh Green
and Randy Jones of the Village People as the evil overlord, Tiberius!

Culture Project's Lynn Redgrave Theater
45 Bleecker Street
New York NY 10012

Information at the link:

LINK: Athem: The Musical

BAM presents Everybooty

BAM presents

Everybooty
Curated by SPANK, HEY QUEEN!, Earl Dax, and Big Art Group
Everybooty returns to BAM to celebrate Pride month Brooklyn style. Featuring the city’s hottest LGBT artists and DJs, with installations, music, performances, dancing, and drinks filling the BAM Fisher from basement to rooftop until 2am.

Click on the link for more information and tickets

LINK: BAM presents Everybooty Brooklyn Pride Party

Queens Pride

As we moved through the crowd, we got schooled on how to celebrate Gay!

Storme DeLarverie, Early Leader in the Gay Rights Movement, Dies at 93

NYTimes LINK: Storme DeLarverie, Early Leader in the Gay Rights Movement, Dies at 93

29x/y - A New Play By Marcus Yi

Having seen The Procedure, we were eager to see Marcus Yi's latest play. If you're in NYC this coming weekend and have an appetite for raw, experimental, youthful, casual and fun theater, your last chance to see his 29x/y will be Saturday at 11AM or Sunday at 1:30PM.

From the author's website: "29x/y is a collage theater piece. 29 segments written in 29 days in the 29th year of the playwrights life, this is a play that fuses monologues, songs, dance and experiments in theatrical statements. Confessional monologues from a bathhouse, fag hag haters, dysfunctional ex-lovers, dancing Republicans, eccentric want-ads and Super Mario fetishists all make an appearance to help you understand the meaning of 29x/y."

I'm glad I went, but I remain convinced that what Yi needs is a good editor because the contents of both plays range from the very good to the very bad. For instance, in 29x/y, there is a slide show on a side wall of the theater going on during the play. It adds nothing to what happens on stage. After the play, I learned that in an earlier production elsewhere, those slides were an integral part of the set, forming the background to the action. The logistics of this performance space did not permit that, so Yi chose to have someone sitting in the front row working a slide projector aimed at one side of the audience space. No. (If you go, try to ignore the slides and the awful light from the projector.)

Surprisingly funny—because as a gimmick it could have been both annoying and flat— were two scenes in which the characters repeat only one word or phrase, such as "whatever," throughout the bit. I'd gladly watch those scenes again.

29x/y contains a whole slew of really good young actors who perfectly inhabit Yi's material. They seem very much at home in his head where they frequently and smoothly rearrange the furniture and the action giving us a well-paced composite that is engaging and humorous.

Two performers stand out. Caroline Mahoney elevates a bit about hamsters with adroit and polished delivery adding savory ingredients to the material.

Monique Sanchez has that rare and indefinable kind of stage presence that doesn't allow you to take your eyes off her.  Her delivery is instinctive. While others have to tell their face or limbs what to do on stage, she seems to simply flip a switch at each entrance and suddenly the lighting and the action around her seem brighter. Watching her, I kept thinking of Julie Halston or Christine Baranski. I hope she has a long and wonderful performing career.

29x/y is a "Hey, it is what it is" kind of play. Marcus Yi continues to pursue his colorful route as a playwright like someone blindfolded and rowing a boat under the Bow Bridge in Central Park. He'll take us on a lively ride, bumping into things that almost capsize us. A good editor/advisor would make for a smoother excursion, but we don't say no to the possibility of future outings.

Paradise Factory, at 64^th E. 4th St New York NY 10003.

For tix: http://planetconnections.org/29xy/

how the other half live

Painted Stained Glass By Joseph Cavalieri

What: Painted Stained Glass Works of Joseph Cavalieri, an Art Exhibit

Where: Better Being 940.
537 9th Av @ 40th St  Mon-Fri 8am-9:30pm. (212) 858-9448

When: Opening March 13 from 6-8pm.
Exhibit continues to July 12th, 2014.

Isaac Hayes, Agnes Moorehead and a blue Jacqueline Kennedy, are some of the personalities featured in an exhibit of the works of East Village glass artist Joseph Cavalieri. These graphic portraits use hand lettered and silk-screened processes on stained glass, a technique which dates back to Medieval times. The collection of over 12 works show off Cavalieri’s unique sense of humor and master of the craft, all at ‘Better Being 940’ in Hell’s Kitchen, serving daily changing, hot, delicious breakfast, lunch & dinner. Art is for sale, starting at $330.

Contacts:
Joseph Cavalieri

Shari Drewett 

k.d. lang on broadway in After Midnight

After Midnight

k.d. lang joins the cast of After Midnight running right now until March 9th.  Even if she wasn't involved it would be completely worth your time seeing such a fantastic cast of dancers, singers, performers and the spot-on Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars.  I saw this show at City Center last year, as a special performance called The Cotton Club Parade, and this transfer to Broadway maintains all the excitement, fun, and pure musical talent.  Click the above link for more information.

Can We Come To The Table?

"From Alan Bounville’s 6,000-mile walk across the USA for gender and sexual orientation equality, comes the new interview-based play, Can We Come to the Table? - Stories About Gender Identity, Gender Expression, & Sexual Orientation. The play includes meticulously transcribed stories with people Bounville met along his walking journey."

Broadway Backwards 2014: Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS

 

Broadway Backwards 2014

Monday, March 24, 8pm
Al Hirschfeld Theatre, NYC
 
Broadway's hottest young stars will join legendary performers of the Great White Way for the ninth annual edition of Broadway Backwards, a one-night-only performance produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefiting BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York.

The roster of Broadway stars joining this year's Broadway Backwards includes Bryan Batt, Tony Award nominee Stephanie J. Block, Tony winner Len Cariou, two-time Tony nominee Robin De Jesús, Tony nominee Jonathan Groff, three-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, Tony nominee Jessie Mueller, Krysta Rodriguez, Cass Morgan, Tony Yazbeck and Patricia Morison, Broadway's original "Kate" in Kiss Me, Kate and a veteran of several other original Broadway companies including The King and I.

Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Performers subject to change.

VIP tickets include premium seats and a special post-show party with the cast. A limited number of "Backstage & Beyond" ticket packages also are available, which include the opportunity to see the dress rehearsal, exclusive backstage access, a "meet and greet" with some of the stars of Broadway Backwards, premium seats for the show and more.

Broadway Backwards is the annual celebration where gays and lesbians see their stories told through the great songs of musical theatre, sung by their favorite Broadway performers.It began as a grassroots concert performed at the Center in 2006. In subsequent years, the event grew quickly, performing Off-Broadway, then on Broadway for the last five years. Last year's sold-out show raised a record-breaking $347,060 for the two organizations.

Creator Robert Bartley will again direct and choreograph, with additional choreography by Amy Jones and Melissa Rae Mahon. Mary-Mitchell Campbell returns as music supervisor with Tim Rosser as music director.

My Predictions For 2014

I nailed some biggies last year. We have 365 days to see how I do this year.

My list for LGBT 2014.

welcome to 125th street

The Secret Theatre: Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

Femme Fatale Theater and Secret Theatre present:
Queer Not Cool
Part of The Secret Theatre Late Night Series

Saturday, December 14 at 8:00PM

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel info and tickets

THE “DARLING OF DOWNTOWN CABARET” RINGS IN THE HOLIDAYS WITH
THE JOHN HUME & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR!
Featuring MILA HENRY on piano

Haul out the holly and celebrate a queer-tastic Christmas when the “darling of downtown cabaret” John C. Hume opens his heart, his home and his legs to spread merriment, good cheer (and his legs) in his new show, The John Hume & Friends Christmas Spectacular!

NY Times Lensblog: Being Seen Inside An Unseen World

NY TImes Lensblog: Being Seen Inside An Unseen World

Gerard H. Gaskin’s photos of the vibrant, underground house ballroom scene, celebrated by mostly gay and transgender black and Latino men, have earned him recognition as a “Trinidadian Andy Warhol.”  See and read more at the link above.  Article by Whitney Richardson.

The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence

Posted by Mondschein

The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence, at Playwrights Horizons, November 16, 2013

Madeleine George's gimmicky new play, a riff on sidekicks named Watson and their roles in history (real and fictionalized), is Playwrights Horizons' latest commission to reach their mainstage.

The concept has merit, four Watsons all played by the same actor (John Ellison Conlee) flanked by three Mr. and Mrs. Merricks (David Costabile and Amanda Quaid), covering Sherlock Holmes' doctor friend, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant Thomas Watson, a computer repairman dweeb Josh Watson, and a fictional computer successor to IBM's 2011 Watson (a contestant on television's Jeopardy!). 

Playwrights Horizons discount offer - The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence

Posted by Mondschein

"The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence" at Playwrights Horizons

DISCOUNT TICKETS TO THE (CURIOUS CASE OF THE) WATSON INTELLIGENCE for YOUR READERS:

Regular run:  Nov 15-Dec 29
Tues-Wed at 7, Thu-Fri at 8, Sat at 2:30 & 8, Sun at 2:30 & 7:30

Order by Dec. 2 with the code WATBLOG and tickets are $45 (reg. $70) for all performances Nov 15-Dec 29

Online  www.ticketcentral.com/playwrightshorizons/online/

Call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 Noon to 8PM daily
In Person: Ticket Central Box Office, 416 W. 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues

PH Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues

All That Fall

Posted by Mondschein

"All That Fall" at 59E59 Theatre, November 10, 2013

(Photo by Carol Rosegg)

All was gray - the afternoon, the audience, and for the most part, the somewhat starry cast, featuring Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon, arrives from London (mostly) in this minimally staged radio play by Samuel Beckett, directed by Trevor Nunn. 

The story, being Beckett, is a bit nihilist, about an older woman of questionable health making her way to meet her blind husband at the train station.  We shuffle along with Mrs. Rooney (Ms. Atkins) as she encounters a menu of rural British characters, the dung peddler Christy (Ruairi Conaghan) on his cart, the retired Mr. Tyler (Frank Grimes) on his bike, the Clerk of the Racecourse Mr. Slocum (Trevor Cooper) in his car, each in advancing means of transportation, but none speeding the dreary tale along.  The aptly named Miss Fitt (Catherine Cusack), a protestant zealot gives Mrs Rooney the final bit of assistance upon arrival at the station.

The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters

Posted by Mondschein

"The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters" at Playwrights Horizons, October 26, 2013

PH continues to develop new work for the stage, with this new play running in their Peter Jay Sharp Theater by Marlane Meyer.  Develop is an accurate description in this case because, in addition to being a preview performance during which new changes were being performed for the first time, the play still needs a lot of work.

The premise is interesting: how people are perceived and how relationships can bring change to those involved either because of, or in spite of those perceptions.  (That's my take, at any rate, since it took well into Act 2 for that theme to emerge.)

The Snow Geese

Posted by Mondschein

"The Snow Geese" presented by Manhattan Theatre Club, October 20, 2013

An approaching winter of discontent is stirring as the lights come up on The Snow Geese, Sharr White's new play at Manhattan Theatre Club.  It's November, 1917, and the Gaeslings have gathered at their country lodge outside Syracuse, NY to celebrate the opening of goose hunting season.  The gloom of Theodore Gaesling's recent death looms over the proceedings as his widow Elizabeth (Mary Louise Parker) struggles to keep her chin up as her first-born Duncan (Evan Jonigkeit) prepares to ship out to fight in WWI France.  Elizabeth's pious sister Clarissa (Victoria Clark) and husband Max (Danny Burstein) have taken up residence with Elizabeth after local anti-German sentiment has forced them out of their own home and Max's medical practice. The house staff has reduced to a new Ukrainian immigrant maid, Viktorya, whose beauty has enraptured younger son Arnold (Brian Cross).

Arnold has also been tasked with sorting out the books following his father's death, which turns out to me more of an autopsy of the family finances.  It seems Theodore was no savvy businessman.  Previous staff and accountants had drained the family's wealth.

What to do?

The Old Friends

Posted by Mondschein

"The Old Friends" at The Pershing Square Signature Center, October 17, 2013

(Photo by Joan Marcus)

Horton Foote was a prolific playwright.  The Old Friends is actually a sequel to his second full-length play, Only the Heart first produced in 1942.  It took nearly 20 years to get the first exploratory production of TOF, and another 20 before Signature Theatre produced a reading.  This 2002 event inspired Mr. Foote to write the version currently on stage at the Signature.

A Time to Kill

"A Time to Kill"  at John Golden Theatre,October 10, 2103

Posted by Mondschein

(photo: Carol Rosegg)

The prodigious author John Grisham has entered a third medium to recycle his work with Rupert Holmes' adaptation of his first novel "A Time to Kill" now running on the Great White Way.  I've been a Grisham fan for many years, getting hooked first with "The Firm," which led me to "A Time..." and I've read almost everything he's written since then, good, bad or indifferent.  I like that his work is an easy read, sometimes a little pulpy, but generally perfect for an afternoon on the beach or a couple of hours on an airplane.

Wisely, Mr. Grisham has turned over the adaptation of his work to someone who has strong experience in writing for the theatre.  He gets off scott-free if the effort tanks, or gets all the glory for creating the source if the play becomes a hit.  Don't forget, he's a lawyer at heart and understands how to balance the risk/reward equation.
 
For him, that's a good thing.