Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 11/30/09

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 12 No. 48 November 30, 2009
Newsletter Editor: OnQYB@aol.com

The Fine Print

See previous editions

Subscription Information: This newsletter is available via free email subscription only. Our mailing list is confidential.
To subscribe: Email OnQYB@aol.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email OnQYB@aol.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.

The Gay Agenda: Datebook: November 30-December 6, 2009

MON: 11/30: New York, NY: Coleman Domingo's Big Ass 40th Birthday Party. The star of "A Boy And His Soul" offers an evening of song with guests Anika Noni Rose and Ari Gold. Domingo regularly appears on "The Big Gay Sketch Show" for Logo. www.joespub.com.

MON: 11/30: New York, NY: A Very MARY Holiday Benefit for Broadway Speaks OUT & The Ali Forney Center. Featuring Nick Adams and Jeffery Self and Cole Escola of Logo "Jeffery & Cole Casserole". AFC promotes awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth. Broadway Speaks OUT! is an online talk show that provides viewers with an inside look at Broadway, current events, and the LGBT community. www.broadwayspeaksout.com

TUE: 12/01: Atlanta, GA: HX Gay & Lesbian Travel Expo. Also: THU: 12/03: Ft. LAuderdale, FL: http://gaylifetravel.squarespace.com/

TUE: 12/01: Worldwide: World AIDS Day

TUE-THU: 12/01-12/10: Online: LIFEBeat Celebrity Memorabilia Auction Honoring World AIDS Day. Participants include Christine Baranski, Lance Bass, Craig Bierko, Gerard Butler, Stockard Channing, Gavin Creel, Andre De Shields, Angie Dickinson, Colman Domingo, Nanette Fabray, Louise Fletcher, Brendan Fraser, Lee Grant, Marcia Gay Harden, Julie Harris, June Havoc, Maurice Hines, Jackie Hoffman, Brian D'Arcy James, Allison Janney, Kristen Johnston, Jude Law, Marsha Mason, Sylvia Miles, John O'Hurley, Estelle Parsons, Faith Prince, Phylicia Rashad, Alice Ripley, Bob Saget, Christopher Seiber, Mary Testa, Michael Urie, Dick Van Patten, Betty White, and B.D. Wong. www.Bid2BeatAIDS.com.

WED: 12/02: Washington, DC: Cleve Jones, gay activist, founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Equality March organizer, and friend of Harvey Milk will be speaking on his experience as an activist. American University Ward 1. 8:15PM.

WED: 12/02: Los Angeles, CA: The Drama of AIDS, a program in celebration of World AIDS Day featuring the premiere of EZTV’s Dream Man and readings from Michael Kearns’ book in tandem with an exhibit from the AIDS Quilt. www.onearchives.org.

THU: 12/03: New York, NY: Cheyenne Jackson and Michael Feinstein perform excerpts from "The Power of Two" and sign CDs. 5PM. Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Center.

SUN: 12/06: Los Angeles, CA: Cracked Xmas 12. An evening of irreverent comedy, musical performances and special awards to benefit The Trevor Project. http://www.thetrevorproject.org/events.aspx

Newsworthy:

Don't Ask Don't Tell Hearings Postponed...No new date for US Senate Armed Services Committee action announced. AFP reports: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g5B3Lk-0Tuba3u5UQtcVSr79CpGA

New Owners: South Florida's LGBT newspapers which shuttered when Window Media closed, will reopen under new ownership. The New Times Broward Palm Beach News Blog reports: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2009/11/south_florida_blade_dan_renzi_multimedia.php

Washington Blade Reborn. Staffers at the defunct LGBT paper have re-emerged as the DC Agenda. http://www.savetheblade.com/

Virginia: Lesbian mom gains custody of 7-year old in a first-of-its kind parent custody change. Janet Jenkins, the non-biological mother of 7-year old Isabella, was awarded full custody of the child in a Virginia court. She gets custody on January 1. Proud Parenting reports: http://www.proudparenting.com/node/2572

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Richard Tisei, Massachusetts State Senator was selected by Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker as his running mate and nominee for Lieutenant Governor. Tisei, who came out last week, serves as the Republican Leader, in the Massachusetts State Senate. If elected, he would be the first openly gay Lieutenant Governor in the nation. The Salem News reports: http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_327213202.html

Features

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's best Christian, takes on the Mormon Church (with the help of Towleroad): http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/mrs-betty-bowers-takes-on-the-mormon-church.html

The Resource Center:

ChurchOuting. org: A site created to provide an outlet to save LGBT children from the hypocrisy of priests in the Archdiocese of Washington who engage in romantic and sexual relationships, and yet stand silent while Archbishop Wuerl and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops increase their dogmatic war against all LGBT children of God. http://churchouting.org/

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherina Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Fela! The musical story of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti staged by out Bill T. Jones. The show sizzled off-Broadway last year.
***Finian's Rainbow. An old show with good tunes and Cheyenne Jackson starring as Woody for the swoon quotient.
***The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever. Joe Marshall's comedy about a struggling gay theatre company in West Hollywood. to 1/03/10. www.alternativethratreco.org.
***Hair, Tony-winning revival of the first major rock musical. www.publictheater.org.
***The Michael Feinstein & David Hyde Pierce Holiday Show. to 12/30/09. feinsteinsatloewsregency.com
***Santa Claus Is Coming Out, a theatrical mockumentary by Jeffrey Solomon, revolving around the scandal that rocks the world when truth leaks out that Santa is in love not with Mrs. Claus but with toymaker Giovanni Gepetto. to 12/20/09. TicketCentral.com
***Zero Hour. Jim Brochu’s award-winning play about the life of theatre legend Zero Mostel. Brochu, who plays Mostel, and his onstage/offstage partner Steve Schalchlin, penned "The Big Voice: God or Merman?". to 1/31/10. www.ZeroHourShow.com

Elsewhere...

***The Addams Family. Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth and Jackie Hoffman co-star in the musical based on the TV sitcom, cartoon series and films. Pre-Broadway tryout. Chicago, IL. www.theaddamsfamilymusical.com
***Arias With A Twist. The song stylings of drag artist Joey Arias surrounded by an eye-popping theatrical extravaganza directed by Basil Twist. to 12/13/09. Los Angeles, CA. www.redcat.org.
***Beautiful Thing. Jonathan Harvey's coming out and coming of age play that became a 1990s film. to 12/13/09. San Francisco, CA: www.nctcsf.org
***Bonnie and Clyde. Stark Sands and Laura Osnes play the fun-loving bank-robbing couple in a new musical. to 12/20/09. LaJolla, CA. www.lajollaplayhouse.org.
***Dixie's Tupperware Party, bringing Tupperware-mania to a theatre near you. Dixie Longate stars. 11/30/09-12/06/09, New London, CT. www.DixiesTupperwareParty.com
.***Finally Legal…in a Few States. Comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, the first openly gay comic in the US. 12/03/09-12/06/09. San Francisco, CA. www.therrazzroom.com.
***Jackie Beat Celebrates the Holidays Her Way. The drag queen, singer, and actor's holiday show. 12/03/09-12/05/09. San Francisco, CA. www.therrazzroom.com.
***Pop! A new musical about the shooting of gay pop artist Andy Warhol (played by “Queer As Folk” star Randy Harrison). Leslie Kritzer is Valerie Solanas, Brian Charles Rooney plays TG Candy Darling. to 12/19/09. New Haven, CT. www.yalerep.org.
***Santaland Diaries. David Sedaris' tale of being an unemployed writer who takes a holiday job as a department store elf. to 12/20/09. Los Angeles, CA. www.theblank.com. to 12/30/09, San Francisco, CA. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/89315
***Sin City Santas. The Connecticut Gay Men's Chorus holiday concerts. 12/05/09, Ridgefield, CT; 12/12/09, New Haven, CT; 12/13/09, Hartford, CT. www.ctgmc.org

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***Dare, a trio of high school students who become unlikely friends at the end of their senior year. starring Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, Sandra Bernhard and Emmy Rossum.
***8: The Mormon Proposition is a new documentary about the involvement of the Church of Latter Day Saints' involvement in the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Written and directed by Reed Cowan and narrated by Dustin Lance Black. http://www.towleroad.com/2009/10/documentary-exposes-mormon-financial-contributions-to-prop-8.html
***Fame. A remake of the 1980 musical with Kelsey Grammer, Debbie Allen and Megan Mullally with a cast of unknowns playing the wannabe stars at a New York City performing arts high school.
***Hannah Free. Sharon Gless stars in the film adaptation of Claudia Allen's play about a woman who fights to see her lesbian partner one last time in a nursing home. Premiere screening:www.hannahfree.com
***Little Ashes, Paul Morrison's drama about the young lives and loves of Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and Frederico Garcia Lorca. www.littleashes-themovie.com.
***Oy Vey. My Son is Gay. A coming out film with Carmen Electra, Lainie Kazan, Bruce Vilanch, Jai Rodriguez. One assumes it's a comedy.

Out On Video & DVD

***An Evening with John Barrowman. Concert DVD with the out star of Torchwood. ilmed before a live audience. www.amazon.co.uk.
***Bruno. Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedic take on an outrageously gay Austrian fashionista.
***The Fall of '55. The documentary about the gay sex sting in Boise, Idaho in 1955.
***Hope Along The Wind: The Life of Harry Hay. the 2002 documentary about the gay rights pioneer.
***Hump Day. Two straight dudes contemplate going gay to enter and win Humpfest, Seattle's amateur porn contest.
***Margaret Cho: Beautiful.
***Out At Work. The documentary that vividly illustrates what happens when LGBT people are not legally protected from employment discrimination. The new DVD has updates to reflect the 2009 status of LGBT workplace rights.
***Pageant. The documentary about the Miss Gay America Pageant.

On TV Of Note: All times listed are ET. Check local listings for times in your area.

Resource:TV Gayed, GLAAD's Weekly Guide to What's LGBT on TV: Updated every Friday. www.glaad.org/tvgayed

***December: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***November/December: A Tale of Two Cities, the recent Broadway musical in concert form. Pledge programming on PBS. A DVD will be issued, first as a pledge premium and later on the retail circuit.www.talemusical.com for airtimes.
***November/December: Liza's At The Palace, her recent Broadway concert form. Pledge programming on PBS. A DVD will be issued, first as a pledge premium and later on the retail circuit. www.pbs.org. for airtimes.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

12/07/09: New York, NY: Gavin Creel, star of Broadway's "Hair" an one of the organizers of the Equality March on Washington, performs original songs at Symphony Space. 7PM and 9:30PM. www.symphonyspace.org.

12/07/09-12/08/09: New York, NY: 21st Annual Gypsy of the Year competition, where New York's most talented Broadway and Off-Broadway shows compete in a variety show to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Palace Theatre. www.broadwaycares.org.

12/09/09: New York, NY: The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith. Playwright JoanSchenkar and actor Kathleen Chalfant discuss the writer whose characters living closeted sexual lives in fiction mirrored her real life. Barnes & Noble. Broadway at 82nd St.

12/10/09: Houston, TX: Rainbow Night at The Ensemble Theatre. Performance of "Christmas with Great Aunt" with a reception. A benefit for Gay & Lesbian Rainbow Pages foundation that provides scholarships, and The Ensemble Theatre. www.ensemblehouston.com

12/10/09-12/14/09: New York, NY: Isaac Mizrahi narrates Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter & The Wolf", with George Manahan conducting the Juilliard Ensemble. www.worksandprocess.org.

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Let’s Talk Turkey

1. Question: Name this gay composer and lyricist whose 1934 hit about changing times mentioned “since the puritans got a shock, when they landed on Plymouth Rock”. Answer: Cole Porter. The title song from the hit musical is “Anything Goes”.

2. Question: What LGBT civil rights milestone took place about 50 miles from the locale in Question #1 on 11/18/03 ? Answer: Same-Sex Marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court approved same-sex marriage in Boston, up the road from Plymouth.

3. Question: Name this entertainer and gay icon whose Vicki Edie “Around the World” lounge act took Miss Edie on a Turkey trot? Answer: Bette Midler, whose character Vicki sang about “Istanbul is Constantinople” in Turkey’s largest city. Vickie got “preposterous on the Bosphorus”.

4. Question: Name this 2000 Thanksgiving-themed film, in which four Los Angeles families celebrate the holiday. Lainie Kazan plays a shocked Jewish mother, when her daughter brings home a lesbian girlfriend. Hint: The cast was six degrees from Kevin Bacon. Answer: What’s Cooking? Kazan’s daughter was played by Kyra Sedgewick (Mrs. Kevin Bacon). She brings home “ER” star Julianna Margulies. Rent the movie!

5. Question: Name the bi choreographer who rose to the top when he created a showstopping Broadway dance number with a fowl theme. Hint: He lined up the chorus for Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Answer: Michael Bennett, who staged "Turkey Lurkey Time" for the musical "Promises, Promises". The show returns to Broadway this year with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: December Milestones

1. Question: Name this gay international fashion designer, born December 2, 1946. His murder, at the hands of a hustler, made recent headlines. A relative, often spoofed on “Saturday Night Live” has taken over his work. .

2. Question: Name this progressive state, which passed legislation on December 6, 1993, to protect LGBT youth from discrimination in the public school system--a first. Hint: the state has a liberal reputation.

3. Question: Name this gay-themed movie, which opened in New York on December 14, 1988. Its author and star (the movie originated on Broadway) has played one of Broadway’s most glamourous mothers and one of its favorite fathers of five.

4. Question: Name this internationally famous concert hall. On December 8, 1981, the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus performed there...they were the first openly gay musical group to do so.

5. Question: Name this commemorative event, which premiered on December 1, 1988. At first, it memorialized the lives of a few and celebrated the work and dedication of a few. Today, it memorializes millions.

The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: OnQYB@aol.com. If you do not want your email address to appear in the blog format of this newsletter, please indicate that. http://cosnewsweekly.blogspot.com/