Young Dancers Enjoy Midsummer Night Swing

by baad lamb
At this Saturday Night's rendition of Midsummer Night Swing, with JD McPherson providing his distinctive retro-contempo swing, an enthusiastic group of youngsters show off their collective dance moves outside the paying walls. Although the steps they were all practicing look like a Broadway chorus line routine, it's clear they are trained in classical ballet. Perhaps they're summer term students at the School of American Ballet?
Since I'm not a regular ballet attendee, maybe a few of them will defect to the contemporary dance scene, and with luck, I'll be applauding one or two of them in a few years down at the Joyce.

I'm pretty sure that is the dance instructor Adam Lee, Lindy-Hopping with a partner in between views of the kids.

Дядя Ваня- A Review

I recently attended the Moscow State Mossovet Theatre's touring production of Дядя Ваня (or Uncle Vanya for those of you who somehow never learned to read the Russian alphabet) held at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on May 14th and 15th.

I suppose I could sum up the entire production in one word:  Intense.

Perry Brass: Lost Gay New York: Doric Wilson

Doric Wilson, 1962, at the Caffe Cino, courtesy doricwilson.com

Doric Wilson died last Saturday, May 7, at the age of 72. The exact time and cause is at the present unknown, but he died in his apartment at roughly the same time as a new play by Joshua Conkel called “I’m Gonna Destroy You” was being read by TOSOS II, Doric’s own glbt theatre enterprise, as part of the Robert Chesley/Jane Chambers Playwrights Project. I know: this last sentence was a mouthful, but it seems like every word in it (Bob Chesley, a wonderful, early HIV-killed friend of mine; Jane Chambers: “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove”; TOSOS—The Other Side of Silence, Doric’s bang-up of a name) brings back some part of Lost Gay New York to me, and now Doric Wilson is definitely a piece of it. Lost for us, or maybe not. Because as a playwright you live on, and Doric will.

He was an amazing character: delightful, funny as hell, completely irreverent, crusty, difficult at times, but incredibly sweet and affectionate. I’d known him for so long that I can’t remember not knowing him. I think we met sometime during the Gay Activists Alliance era—or possibly even earlier when I’m sure I panted after him. He was a tall, lean, gorgeously handsome red head, and he moved beautifully like a dancer. Years later, after he had gone through health problems and gained a lot of weight and lost the red hair I kept wanting to see that young man inside him. I knew he was there, and both Doric and I missed him. But he was always bubbling with life and discovering new things, which is what keeps us moving, changing, and young inside. He loved opera, all forms of theatre (including tending bar, one of the great forms of theatre and acting), plays and writing them, and keeping gay theater alive in New York (and elsewhere).

QNY Snapshot: Playwright Joe Marshall

Posted by David

In June of 2009, Joe Marshall and his partner moved to New York City from Phoenix.  Never in his wildest dreams did he think that six months later, a play of his would be premiering Off-Broadway.

But that is exactly what happened, through a combination of good timing, good luck and good connections.

Love for Evol at Scope New York Art Show

by baad lamb

Not all the art at mega art shows is gimmicky, flashy, retro, shiny, LED backlit, or video.


Or a combination of all the above.

Sometimes the most moving pieces startle with their simplicity.

Evol, born in Heilbronn, Germany and living and working in Berlin, paints architectural details and scenes on found cardboard. Like musicians who claim it’s the spaces between the notes that separate capable musicianship from true artistry, Evol’s deft use of the unpainted cardboard areas are what makes his four Scope show contributions so stunning. These restrained architectural compositions are executed with slow and careful precision using a mask-and-spray process, yielding an extremely convincing photo-realist result.
More photos after the jump...

NYC Gay Men's Chorus Christmas Concert: Together at Town Hall

Posted by Beau RN

My good friend Rob, who sang with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus for a decade before moving to Seattle last year, reminded me of the upcoming Gay Men's Chorus Christmas concert.  They are having two shows on December 20th and will be joined by the Tony-award winning Victoria Clark.

I have attended the NYC Gay Men's Chorus Christmas concert numerous times, typically at Carnegie Hall in past years, and it has always been a powerful and moving experience for me.  To see a stage filled up with hundreds of men, all bringing their passion for singing in a chorus, is overwhelming.  I have no doubt this year will be just as spectacular.

The NYC Gay Mens Chorus: Together at Town Hall

"A Holiday Celebration of the Power of Love"

December 20th 3:00PM and December 20th 8:00PM

Town Hall, 123 W 43rd St
New York, NY 

Tickets can be ordered here: http://www.nycgmc.org/Event.aspx?EventId=TTH2009