Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 12/14/09

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 12 No. 50 December 14, 2009
Newsletter Editor: OnQYB@aol.com

The Fine Print

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: December 14-20, 2009

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

Newsworthy:

Episcopal Church Elects First Openly Lesbian Bishop. The Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool, canon to the bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, was elected bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on 12/05/09. Glasspool is the first openly lesbian priest to be elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church, and is the first openly gay bishop chosen since the 2003 election of V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire brought a longstanding divide over homosexuality within the church out into the open.
Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/episcopal-church-elects-first-openly-lesbian-bishop.html
USAToday reports: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2009/12/gay-bishop-episcopal-anglican-catholic/1

New Jersey: The gay marriage bill advances through the Senate Juiciary Committee. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/nyregion/08marriage.html

Washington, DC: Lambda Rising, the bookstore serving the LGBT community in the nation’s capital for 35 years, is closing its D.C. store in Dupont Circle and its remaining out-of-town store in Rehoboth Beach, Del., in January. The closings mark the end of the city’s only exclusively LGBT bookstore and becomes another in a series of gay bookstores that have closed in recent years in other cities, including New York and Baltimore. The DC Agenda reports: http://dcagenda.com/2009/12/04/lambda-rising-bookstores-to-close/

High School Musical. A Boston-area school embraces the gay-themed musical "Falsettos". the Boston Globe reports: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/12/06/concord_carlisle_regional_tackles_gay_themed_school_play/

Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS 21st Gypsy of the Year Competition raised over $4,630,695 for the non-profit that provides services to people with HIV. Actors from 60 participating Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tour companies raised the money uring the last month. www.BroadwayCares.org

"As The World Turns", Procter & Gamble's last soap opera, has been cancelled by CBS after 54 years. The show chronicled generations of characters in fictional Oakdale, IL. "ATWT" featured a male couple, Noah and Luke, and the first gay kiss on daytime television. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/arts/television/09soap.html

Awards and Honors:

Satellite Award Nominees (given by the International Press Academy) include: Neil Patrick Harris, "Glee", "Grey Gardens", Rob Marshall, ""Mad Men", Cherry Jones, Ian McKellan. Awards ceremony will be held on 12/20/09. www.pressacaemy.com

Grammy Awards Nominees announced. Awards ceremony will be held on 1/31/10. For the nominees: www.grammy.com

Features

Coming Out: Coming Out in Hollywood is not always easy. Meredith Baxter's recent revelation that she is a lesbian resonates with other celebrities who have been forced to discuss their sexuality publicly after gossip and tabloid speculation put a spotlight on the issue. CNN reports: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/04/celebs.coming.out/

Coming Out: Rupert Everett on coming out. The out actor and author wouldn't advise any actor thinking of his future in Hollywood to do so. The Guardian reports: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/29/rupert-everett-madonna-carole-cadwalladr

Profile: Diane Savino, the New York State Senator who gave an impassioned speech on marriage equality, is interviewed in New York Magazine. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/ny-mag-interviews-state-senator-diane-savino.html

In Print:

The Best LGBT Books of 2009: 56 writers select their favorites. Band of Thebes (one of our favorite blogs for literature) reports: http://bandofthebes.typepad.com/bandofthebes/2009/12/the-best-lgbt-books-of-2009-56-writers-select-their-favorites.html#more

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

Homo For the Holidays

***A John Waters Christmas. Homo for the holidays. His one-man show. 12/22/09. www.bbkingblues.com
**Dec. '09: An Evening With Sandra Bernhard. 12/26/09-12/31/09. www.joespub.com
***Ernest in Love, a musical based on gay Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Ernest". to 1/31/10. www.irishrep.org.
***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.
***Jackie Beat: Alcoholidays. NYC’s Favorite Drag Grinch Returns for her 12th Annual Holiday Show. 12/18/09-12/20/09. www.JackieBeatRules.com.
***Judy Garland Live! Tommy Femia, award-winning Judy impressionist, celebrates his 20th season at Don't Tell Mama. Guest star: Michael Musto 12/19/09. www.donttellmamanyc.com.
***The Michael Feinstein & David Hyde Pierce Holiday Show. to 12/30/09. feinsteinsatloewsregency.com
***New York Gay Men's Chorus with Victoria Clark. Together at Town Hall: A Holiday Celebration of the Power of Love. 12/20/09. www.nycgmc.org.
***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
***She Like Girls, Chisa Hutchinson’s drama about a 2003 hate crime, the killing of a high school lesbian, shot at a Newark bus stop. to 12/30/09. www.theatermania.com.

And...

***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherina Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Finian's Rainbow. An old show with good tunes and Cheyenne Jackson starring as Woody for the swoon quotient.

Elsewhere...

Homo For the Holidays

***A John Waters Christmas. Homo for the holidays. His one-man show. 12/17/09. Alexandria, VA. www.birchmere.com
***Full of Gin and Regret: An Evening with Leslie Jordan, (Beverley Leslie of Will & Grace, and "Brother Boy" of Sordid Lives.). Special guest: TG actress/singer Alexandra Billings. to 12/20/09. Los Angeles, CA. www.lagaycenter.org.
***I Bought a Blue Car Today. Alan Cumming's one-man cabaret show. to 12/18/09. Los Angeles, CA. www.iboughtabluecartoday.com
***The Marga Gomez New Year's Eve Spectacular, the out comic's stand-up comedy blow-out. 12/31/09. San Francisco, CA. www.brownpapertickets.com
***Pop! A new musical about gay pop artist Andy Warhol (played by “Queer As Folk” star Randy Harrison). 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 to 12/27/09, Houston, TX. www.alleytheatre.org.
**Xanadu, the camp roller-disco musical, described by one character as "children's theatre for 40 year old gay men". to 12/27/09, Costa Mesa, CA; 12/28/09-1/10/10, Sacramento, CA

And...


***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
***Fiddler on The Roof. Harvey Fierstein, Broadway's classic Mom in "Hairspray" plays a classic father of five. to 1/10/10. Toronto, ON. www.mirvish.com or visit fiddlerontour.com.

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***A Single Man. Tom Ford's debut film, an adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood novel, about a day in the life of a gay man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.
***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.
***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
***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.
***Every Little Step: The Journey of "A Chorus Line".
***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.
***Pageant. The documentary about the Miss Gay America Pageant.
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on (gay) Elliot Tiber's memoir.

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

***Ongoing: The Wanda Sykes Show. The out comic's late night talk show. 11PM Saturdays. FOX.
***December: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***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 (2/02/10). www.pbs.org. for airtimes.

This Just In!!! THU: 12/10: Adam Lambert, whose appearances on ABC's "GMA" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were cancelled, will chat on "The View". ABC. Check local listings.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

12/21/09: San Francisco, CA: Frederick Hertz discusses his new book, "Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples and A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples", co-authored with Emily Doskow. A Different Light Books. http://adleventscastro.blogspot.com/

1/6/10-1/10/10: Park City, UT: Utah Gay & Lesbian Ski Week. www.gayskiing.org

1/15/10-1/17/10: Los Angeles, CA: Annual National Union of Jewish LGBTQQI Students Conference. Workshops, services, community building, and social time. NUJLS is a fiscally managed project of Keshet, an organization that works for the full inclusion of LGBT Jews in Jewish life. http://www.nujlsonline.org/confereinceinfo.html

1/17/10-1/24/10: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com

1/20/10-1/24/10: Stowe, VT: Winter Rendezvous. gay skiing & winter sports. www.winterrendezvous.com

1/21/10-1/31/10: Park City, UT: Sundance Film Festival. Among the screenings: James Franco as beat poet Allen Ginsburg in "Howl", the story of the poet's obscenity trial, which also stars Jon Hamm and Mary-Louise Parker and a documentary: "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work". www.sundance.org

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: 2009 In Review: Part I

1. Question: Name this mayor who was the first out gay chief executive of a top-30 American city. Shortly after his election, he was involved in a scandal, when it was learned that he had lied about his relationship with a teen intern. He shares his name with a Founding Father of the USA and a beer. Answer: Sam Adams. Adams was cleared of charges of innappropriate sexual contact with the intern.

2. Question: Name this child of a gay icon, whose coming out as a lesbian was quite public. A longtime LGBT rights activist, this person made headlines coming out transgender and making public the sexual reassignment process. Answer: Chaz Bono, formerly Chastity Bono, child of Sonny and Cher.

3. Question: Name this out actor whose television series character came out on an episode this year. He's starred as a transvestite spy in a Broadway play based on a true story and in two series with Christopher Meloni. Answer: B.D. Wong, whose character Special Agent George Huang MD came out on the 10/21/09 episode of "Law & Order: SVU". He starred with Meloni on that series and in "Oz". He won a Tony for "M. Butterfly", the story of a Chinese opera diva who romanced a French diplomat.

4. Question: Name this pre-Stonewall organization whose formation was highlighted in this season's hit Off-Broadway play starring an "Ugly Betty" star. A) The Mattawan Society, B) The Mattachine Society, C) The Manhattan Society. The show takes its name from a code word for gay. Answer: B) The Mattachine Society, profiled in "The Tempermentals", Jon Maran's drama about Harry Hay, Rudi Gernreich (played by Michael Urie), and the Mattachine Society. The show reopens on 2/18/10. www.thetemperamentals.com

5. Question: Name this award-winning American actor who came out this year, after critically-acclaimed roles opposite Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, and Jodie Foster plus an ongoing role in a lesbian-themed TV series. Answer: Kelly McGinnis, star of "Witness", "Top Gun", "The Accused" and "The L Word".

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: 2009 In Review: Part II

2009 was a milestone year. A new President promised change, but it came slowly to the LGBT community. Gay marriage rights in California and Maine were put to the test. Stonewall was commemorated, Washington got marched upon, and a gay rights icon made Oscars history. How much of 2009 do you remember ? Answers to this quiz are found in previous editions of the coming Out Support News. http://cosnewsweekly.blogspot.com/

1. Question: Name this American university that established an endowed chair in LGBT studies, in what was believed to be the first professorship of its kind in the country. Hint: It wasn't City University of New York, which started the first LGBT studies program in 1986, nor Yale which attempted to endow a chair in the 1990's.

2. Question: Name this radio host and former TV spokesperson whose crystal ball and tarot cards said it was time to come out.

3. Question: Name this LGBT bookstore (the oldest in the USA) which folded this year. It's not Los Angeles' A Different Light Books, which folded nor Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia, which had financial issues.

4. Question: Name this out Broadway and television star who has hosted both the Tony Awards and the Emmy Awards in the same year. Hint: It's not Ellen DeGeneres.

5. Question: Name this legendary gay porn star who died in 2009. He went from porn to musical theatre and producing; he married a legendary big band singer, and his life was the subject of a film documentary.

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/