Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 5 February 1, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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 COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.
The Gay Agenda: Datebook: February 1-7, 2010
TUE: 2/02: Worldwide: GroundHog Day. The rodent comes out (and you know the rest).
TUE: 2/02: Hollywood, CA: Oscar Nominations announced. www.oscars.org.
WED: 2/03: New York, NY: Mart Crowley, author of the landmark play “The Boys in The Band”, discusses his play, about to be revived in New York. www.gaycenter.org
THU: 2/04: New York, NY: Patti Lupone will discuss her career as a performer and her roles both onstage and off at 92Y. www.92y.org
FRI: 2/05: New York, NY: RuPaul signs copies of "Workin' It!". 7PM. Borders. Columbus Circle.
FRI: 2/05: Washington, DC: Shabbaton, hosted by Nehirim. An intergenerational LGBT Jewish community experience that combines lectures and workshops for the mind-body-heart-soul of the Jewish LGBT person. www.nehirim.org/retreats/qsdc .
SAT: 2/06: Philadelphia, PA: Book Lovers Mixer, a literary speed-dating event to benefit Giovanni’s Room, the LGBT bookstore. www.queerbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=433294
Newsworthy:
Republicans Coming Out for Marriage Equality. GayPolitics.com reports: http://www.gaypolitics.com/2010/01/21/republicans-coming-out-for-marriage-equality/
Hawaii: The state Senate passed a civil-unions bill, sending a strong message to the state House and Gov. Linda Lingle with a veto-proof majority vote. The Honolulu Advertiser reports: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100122/BREAKING01/100122039/Hawaii+Senate+passes+civil-unions+bill++18-7
America’s Gayest City turns out to be Atlanta., followed by Burlington, Vt.; Iowa City, Iowa; and Bloomington, Ind.The Advocate has compiled a list. (Editor’s Note: The Advocate in print is no longer a standalone publication. It mails with OUT. )NPR reports: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122867548&sc=fb&cc=fp
The Buzz (People Making News)
Cindy McCain and daughter Meghan McCain have come out in support of marriage equality, even though John McCain remains opposed to same-sex marriage. The Washington Post reports: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012004764.html
For information on the NOH8 Campaign: http://www.noh8campaign.com/
Steve Gunderson, a former GOP Congressman from Wisconsin who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years, has been appointed as a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. GayPolitics.com reports: http://www.gaypolitics.com/2010/01/19/obama-appoints-gay-former-congressman/
Weddings, Civil Unions and Engagements:
Jane Lynch of “Glee” will marry her partner, Dr. Lara Embry in May. PopEater reports: http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/26/jane-lynch-lara-embry-wedding-news/?icid=main|main|dl2|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2010%2F01%2F26%2Fjane-lynch-lara-embry-wedding-news%2F
Awards and Honors:
Nominees: Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in Washington, DC theatre. The Washington Post reports: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503682.html?sid=ST2010012503689
Nominees: The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, honoring excellence in theater in Orange County. The 41st annual Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony will be held on March 22 at the Colony Theatre. www.ladramacriticscircle.com.
In Memoriam:
James Mitchell, the stage and screen actor best known for playing tycoon Palmer Cortland for 30 years on the daytime soap opera “All My Children”, died 1/22/10 at age 89. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/01/23/All_My_Children_Star_James_Mitchell_Dead_at_89/
Earl Wild, the American pianist and composer who was renowned for his performances of the virtuoso showpieces of the grand Romantic tradition but whose enormous repertory included everything from Baroque works and Mozart concertos to contemporary scores, died Saturday at his home in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 94. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/arts/music/24wild.html
Features
The Gavin Newsom Interview. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd chats with the San Francisco Mayor and one of the first aggressive supporters of marriage equality. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/opinion/20dowd.html?ref=opinion
Opportunities
Discount Opportunity!: The critically acclaimed hit show “The Temperamentals” by Jon Marans (Michael Urie stars in the story of the rise of the Mattachine Society) has a special $19.52 price ticket for previews in New York City beginning Thursday, February 18th through Saturday, February 27th. Use the code: TEPREV12 by calling (212) 947-8844; or at the New World Stages Box Office; on the website: Broadwayoffers.com and at the direct link: http://www.broadwayoffers.com/go.aspx?MD=2001&MC=TEPREV12. This offer is subject to availability. Black out dates may apply.
Scholarships Opportunity: Point Foundation Scholarships. The Point Foundation is the nation’s largest, publicity-supported organization granting scholarships to LGBT students of merit. Point provides support through multi-year scholarships, leadership training, mentoring and hope to LGBT students who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Application deadline is: 2/12/10. www.pointfoundation.org
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***Clothes for a Summer Hotel, Tennessee Williams' rarely-performed ghost playabout F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. to 2/21/10. www.WhiteHorseTheater.com
***Daddy. World premiere of Dan Via's play which explores the hot-button issue of gay marriage, as long-time best friends examine their relationship for the first time in over 20 years. to 2/13/10. www.DaddyThePlay.com.
***The Divine Sister. Charles Busch stars as a Mother Superior in his new play, an outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns. to 3/07/10.
Facebook: The Divine Sister Onstage
***Hair, Tony-winning revival of the first major rock musical. www.publictheater.org.
***The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde's tale of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. to 2/6/10.. www.DorianGrayPlay.com.
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
Elsewhere...
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***Golden Age. Terrence McNally's drama about Donizetti set backstage at the premiere of his last opera "I Puritani". Marc Kudisch and Jeffrey Carlson star. to 2/21/10. Philadelphia, PA. PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Justin Bond Rites: Songs of the Neo-Pagan Revolution. Bond, the “Kiki” in “Kiki & Herb” performs original songs. 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.uprightcabaret.com.
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens. to 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.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. Written and directed by Reed Cowan and narrated by Dustin Lance Black.
***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
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
***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.
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***Liza's at the Palace, filmed version of her Broadway concert.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***February: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
2/08/10: San Francisco, CA: All You Need Is Love 2, the Help is On The Way benefit concert for STOP AIDS PROJECTand Aguilas. Produced by The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. www.helpisontheway.org
2/10/10: New York, NY: amfAR Annual Gala. Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, and Dr. Mathilde Krim will pay tribute to the late Natasha Richardson. Special performances by Lady Gaga and Rufus Wainwright.www.amfar.org.
2/12/10-2/14/10: Washington, DC: Lavender Languages XVII. The longest-running LGBTQ Studies Conference in North America. American University. www.american.edu/lavenderlanguages
2/12/10-2/15/10: Hudson Valley, NY: Winter Explosion. LGBT African-American winter event. www.winterexplosion.com
2/12/10-3/13/10: Los Angeles, CA: Fusion. Los Angeles’ LGBT people of color film festival. www.outfest.org/fusion.html
2/13/10: Boston, MA: The Red Party. A benefit for Mass Equality with the Kinsey Sicks. www.massequality.org/redparty
2/14/10: New York, NY: Broadway Bears XIII. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/19/10-2/21/10: San Luis Obispo, CA: Western Regional LGBTQIA College Conference. www.comeoutwest.org
2/20/10-2/27/10: Telluride, CO: Telluride Gay Ski Week. www.telluridegayskiweek.com
2/22/10: New York, NY: Broadway Backwards. Gary Beach, Len Cariou, Tony Goldwyn, Aaron Lazar, Michele Lee, and Julia Murney will be among the performers singing tunes usually associated with the opposite gender. A benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The LGBT Community Center. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/24/10-3/07/10: New York, NY: 2010 New York Frigid Festival. Open and uncensored theatre including: "Late Nights with the Boys: Confessions of a Leather Bar Chanteuse. www.FRIGIDnewyork.info
2/25/10-2/28/10: San Francisco, CA: Expanding The Circle LGBT Conference. addressing factors that contribute to excluding LGBTQ issues from academic study and student life;. www.expandingthecircle.com.
3/01/10-3/08/10: Whistler, BC: WinterPRIDE: Whistler Gay Ski Week. www.gaywhistler.com
3/12/10-3/13/10: Storrs, CT: True Colors XVI. Conference sponsored by the non-profit that provides Sexual Minority Youth and Family Services in Connecticut. http://www.ourtruecolors.org/
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: February Milestones
1. Question: Name this elected official who started a national craze on February 12, 2004 just weeks after taking the oath office. Saying he was influenced by a President’s State of the Union address that appeared to make gays second class citizens, his actions caused national controversy, yet made him a hero within the LGBT community. Answer: Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco, who authorized the city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
2. Question: Name this rodent, who comes out annually on February 2nd. His coming out, applauded by people everywhere, is used to predict weather events. Answer: Puxatawny Phil, the star of Ground Hog Day. His shadow determines whether there is six weeks left to winter.
3. Question: Name this hit television show, which was the first to feature a lesbian liplock on February 7, 1991. Hint: It’s based down the coast from the Newsom residence in Question #1. Answer: L.A. Law.
4. Question: Name this award-winning gay athlete, born February 10, 1893. He captured worldwide acclaim for his skills, only to fall into obscurity when his interest in young men came to light. Answer: Bill Tilden, the tennis great.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: Black History Month
1. Question: Name this African-American athlete, the first major league baseball player to come out to his team mates and team owners during his professional career.
2. Question: Name this African-American dancer/choreographer credited with popularizing modern dance. His masterpiece, “Revelations” is believed to be the best-known and most often seen modern dance performance.
3. Question: Name this out African-American pop music singer who emerged in the 1950’s and has been an interperter of romantic jazz and pop standards ever since. Chances are you know his music.
4. Question: Name this gay African-American civil right activist who organized the 1963 March on Washington. He counseled Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent resistance.
5. Question: Name this gay African American playwright, and political author, whose best known work was inspired by her family’s legal battle against racially-segregated housing laws in Chicago. This play starred Sidney Poitier and Sean Coombs in various productions.
The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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/
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 1/25/10
Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 4 January 25, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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 COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.
Editor's Note: We apologise for computer issues that have prevented us from mailing this week's newsletter from our gmail account. We hope to have that transition in place shortly. We regret the inconvenience.
The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 25-31, 2010
thru SUN: 1/31: 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
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Out of the Classical Closet: Great Music by Gay Composers. Jesse Blumberg, baritone, Donna Breitzer, mezzo-soprano, Deborah Selig, soprano, Marc Molomot, tenor, Joyce Rosenzweig, pianist, performing a concert of art song, chamber music, and musical theater. Kaufmann Concert Hall http://www.cbst.org/
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
THU: 1/28: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
THU-SAT: 1/28-1/30: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
SAT: 1/30/10: Philadelphia, PA: Christopher Rice, author, does a benefit reading for Giovanni's Room, Philly's LGBT Bookstore. www.queerbooks.com
SUN: 1/31: New York, NY: Broadway Bares: Solo Strips . Jerry (“Broadway Bares”) Mitchell’s burlesque. Several Broadway boys strip at Splash. A benefit for: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. www.BroadwayBares.com
Features
The Gavin Newsom Interview. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd chats with the San Francisco Mayor and one of the first aggressive supporters of marriage equality. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/opinion/20dowd.html?ref=opinion
Opportunities
Discount Opportunity!: The critically acclaimed hit show “The Temperamentals” by Jon Marans (Michael Urie stars in the story of the rise of the Mattachine Society) has a special $19.52 price ticket for previews in New York City beginning Thursday, February 18th through Saturday, February 27th. Use the code: TEPREV12 by calling (212) 947-8844; or at the New World Stages Box Office; on the website: Broadwayoffers.com and at the direct link: http://www.broadwayoffers.com/go.aspx?MD=2001&MC=TEPREV12. This offer is subject to availability. Black out dates may apply.
The Resource Center:
Modern Tonic: Pop culture picks from a gay perspective. They send daily email updates. http://moderntonic.com/
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Daddy. World premiere of Dan Via's play which explores the hot-button issue of gay marriage, as long-time best friends examine their relationship for the first time in over 20 years. to 2/13/10. www.DaddyThePlay.com.
***The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde's tale of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. to 2/6/10.. www.DorianGrayPlay.com.
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
Elsewhere...
***An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin. A gallery of her most beloved characters. 1/28/10. San iego, CA. www.sdbalboa.org.
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***The Goddess of Comedy. Judy Tenuta. 1/29/10-1/30/10. San Francisco, CA. www.TheRrazzRoom.com
***Golden Age. Terrence McNally's drama about Donizetti set backstage at the premiere of his last opera "I Puritani". Marc Kudisch and Jeffrey Carlson star. to 2/21/10. Philadelphia, PA. PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Nice Work If You Can Get It. Donna McKechnie performs music of Ira Gershwin. San Francisco, CA. 1/28/10. www.42ndstmoon.org
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens. to 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin (starring Ijames), presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
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.
***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
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***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.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
***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.
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***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.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***SUN: 1/31: Grammy Awards. Live.
***SUN: 1/31: A Family Is a Family Is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration, a documentary looking at a diversity of families today, highlighting same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, single parents, and stories of adoption. . 7PM. HBO.
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
2/04/10: New York, NY: Patti Lupone will discuss her career as a performer and her roles both onstage and off at 92Y. www.92y.org
2/05/10: New York, NY: RuPaul signs copies of "Workin' It!". 7PM. Borders. Columbus Circle.
2/05/10: Washington, DC: Shabbaton, hosted by Nehirim. An intergenerational LGBT Jewish community experience that combines lectures and workshops for the mind-body-heart-soul of the Jewish LGBT person. www.nehirim.org/retreats/qsdc .
2/06/10: Philadelphia, PA: Book Lovers Mixer, a literary speed-dating event to benefit Giovanni’s Room, the LGBT bookstore. www.queerbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=433294
2/08/10: San Francisco, CA: All You Need Is Love 2, the Help is On The Way benefit concert for STOP AIDS PROJECTand Aguilas. Produced by The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. www.helpisontheway.org
2/10/10: New York, NY: amfAR Annual Gala. Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, and Dr. Mathilde Krim will pay tribute to the late Natasha Richardson and feature the presentation of amfAR's Award of Courage to Sir Elton John, Yves Carcelle, and David Furnish. Special performances by Lady Gaga and Rufus Wainwright.www.amfar.org.
2/12/10-2/14/10: Washington, DC: Lavender Languages XVII. The longest-running LGBTQ Studies Conference in North America. American University. www.american.edu/lavenderlanguages
2/12/10-2/15/10: Hudson Valley, NY: Winter Explosion. LGBT African-American winter event. www.winterexplosion.com
2/12/10-3/13/10: Los Angeles, CA: Fusion. Los Angeles’ LGBT people of color film festival. www.outfest.org/fusion.html
2/14/10: New York, NY: Broadway Bears XIII, the annual fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, featuring a host of teddy bears dressed as famous Broadway characters, many autographed by the original stars who wore the original (human-sized) outfits. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/16/10-2/21/10: New York, NY: CineKink NYC. mixed gay/straight film festival exploring a wide variety of sexualities through documentary, comedy, drama & more. www.cinekink.com
2/19/10-2/21/10: San Luis Obispo, CA: Western Regional LGBTQIA College Conference, sponsored by California Polytechnic State University. www.comeoutwest.org
2/20/10-2/27/10: Telluride, CO: Telluride Gay Ski Week. www.telluridegayskiweek.com
2/22/10: New York, NY: Broadway Backwards. Performers singing tunes usually associated with the opposite gender. A benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The LGBT Community Center. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/25/10-2/28/10: San Francisco, CA: Expanding The Circle LGBT Conference. addressing factors that contribute to excluding LGBTQ issues from academic study and student life;. This will be among the first national conferences in higher education to focus on LGBTQ concerns by seeking connections across diversities, disciplines, and academic and student affairs. www.expandingthecircle.com.
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Gay from A-Z: The “A” Team
1. Question: Name this civil rights organization, founded in 1920. Intially, it did not fight on behalf of the LGBT community, because it believed that homosexuality was a belief protected by the US Constitution. After extensive lobbying by Frank Kameny and other gay rights activists in the 1960s, this organization became a champion for gay rights. Answer: ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union.
2. Question: Name this American publication, first published in August, 1967, which evolved out of a Los Angeles gay community newsletter. Controversial within the LGBT community for its omissions, the publication with wide gay and straight readership, has become the forum for celebrities to come out, and has featured the writing of many important LGBT cultural figures, among them Randy Shilts, Kate Clinton, and Bruce Vilanch. Answer: The Advocate.
3. Question: Name this acronym for a worldwide phenomena, first seen in the gay community in 1981. It has mobilized the LGBT community, created intense cultural and community responses, and has become a world-wide issue that has been under-reported, under-funded, and under-attended. Answer: AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a series of immune system disorders.
4. Question: Name this great Dane who wrote some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales. His gay flings were well-recorded and a bisexual Broadway star played him his movie biography. Answer: Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875), best known for “The Little Mermaid”. Danny Kaye played Anderson in the movie, which introduced Frank Loesser’s standard “Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen”.
5. Question: Name this three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and playwright whose last Broadway hit was the story of PFLAG parents. The dad had a thing for a goat. Answer: Edward Albee, author of “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: February Milestones
1. Question: Name this elected official who started a national craze on February 12, 2004 just weeks after taking the oath office. Saying he was influenced by a President’s State of the Union address that appeared to make gays second class citizens, his actions caused national controversy, yet made him a hero within the LGBT community.
2. Question: Name this rodent, who comes out annually on February 2nd. His coming out, applauded by people everywhere, is used to predict weather events.
3. Question: Name this hit television show, which was the first to feature a lesbian liplock on February 7, 1991. Hint: It’s based down the coast from the elected official’s residence in Question #1.
4. Question: Name this award-winning gay athlete, born February 10, 1893. He captured worldwide acclaim for his skills, only to fall into obscurity when his interest in young men came to light.
The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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/
Volume 13 No. 4 January 25, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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 COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.
Editor's Note: We apologise for computer issues that have prevented us from mailing this week's newsletter from our gmail account. We hope to have that transition in place shortly. We regret the inconvenience.
The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 25-31, 2010
thru SUN: 1/31: 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
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Out of the Classical Closet: Great Music by Gay Composers. Jesse Blumberg, baritone, Donna Breitzer, mezzo-soprano, Deborah Selig, soprano, Marc Molomot, tenor, Joyce Rosenzweig, pianist, performing a concert of art song, chamber music, and musical theater. Kaufmann Concert Hall http://www.cbst.org/
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
MON: 1/25: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
THU: 1/28: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
THU-SAT: 1/28-1/30: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
SAT: 1/30/10: Philadelphia, PA: Christopher Rice, author, does a benefit reading for Giovanni's Room, Philly's LGBT Bookstore. www.queerbooks.com
SUN: 1/31: New York, NY: Broadway Bares: Solo Strips . Jerry (“Broadway Bares”) Mitchell’s burlesque. Several Broadway boys strip at Splash. A benefit for: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. www.BroadwayBares.com
Features
The Gavin Newsom Interview. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd chats with the San Francisco Mayor and one of the first aggressive supporters of marriage equality. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/opinion/20dowd.html?ref=opinion
Opportunities
Discount Opportunity!: The critically acclaimed hit show “The Temperamentals” by Jon Marans (Michael Urie stars in the story of the rise of the Mattachine Society) has a special $19.52 price ticket for previews in New York City beginning Thursday, February 18th through Saturday, February 27th. Use the code: TEPREV12 by calling (212) 947-8844; or at the New World Stages Box Office; on the website: Broadwayoffers.com and at the direct link: http://www.broadwayoffers.com/go.aspx?MD=2001&MC=TEPREV12. This offer is subject to availability. Black out dates may apply.
The Resource Center:
Modern Tonic: Pop culture picks from a gay perspective. They send daily email updates. http://moderntonic.com/
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Daddy. World premiere of Dan Via's play which explores the hot-button issue of gay marriage, as long-time best friends examine their relationship for the first time in over 20 years. to 2/13/10. www.DaddyThePlay.com.
***The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde's tale of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. to 2/6/10.. www.DorianGrayPlay.com.
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
Elsewhere...
***An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin. A gallery of her most beloved characters. 1/28/10. San iego, CA. www.sdbalboa.org.
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***The Goddess of Comedy. Judy Tenuta. 1/29/10-1/30/10. San Francisco, CA. www.TheRrazzRoom.com
***Golden Age. Terrence McNally's drama about Donizetti set backstage at the premiere of his last opera "I Puritani". Marc Kudisch and Jeffrey Carlson star. to 2/21/10. Philadelphia, PA. PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Nice Work If You Can Get It. Donna McKechnie performs music of Ira Gershwin. San Francisco, CA. 1/28/10. www.42ndstmoon.org
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens. to 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin (starring Ijames), presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
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.
***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
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***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.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
***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.
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***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.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***SUN: 1/31: Grammy Awards. Live.
***SUN: 1/31: A Family Is a Family Is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration, a documentary looking at a diversity of families today, highlighting same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, single parents, and stories of adoption. . 7PM. HBO.
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
2/04/10: New York, NY: Patti Lupone will discuss her career as a performer and her roles both onstage and off at 92Y. www.92y.org
2/05/10: New York, NY: RuPaul signs copies of "Workin' It!". 7PM. Borders. Columbus Circle.
2/05/10: Washington, DC: Shabbaton, hosted by Nehirim. An intergenerational LGBT Jewish community experience that combines lectures and workshops for the mind-body-heart-soul of the Jewish LGBT person. www.nehirim.org/retreats/qsdc .
2/06/10: Philadelphia, PA: Book Lovers Mixer, a literary speed-dating event to benefit Giovanni’s Room, the LGBT bookstore. www.queerbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=433294
2/08/10: San Francisco, CA: All You Need Is Love 2, the Help is On The Way benefit concert for STOP AIDS PROJECTand Aguilas. Produced by The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. www.helpisontheway.org
2/10/10: New York, NY: amfAR Annual Gala. Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, and Dr. Mathilde Krim will pay tribute to the late Natasha Richardson and feature the presentation of amfAR's Award of Courage to Sir Elton John, Yves Carcelle, and David Furnish. Special performances by Lady Gaga and Rufus Wainwright.www.amfar.org.
2/12/10-2/14/10: Washington, DC: Lavender Languages XVII. The longest-running LGBTQ Studies Conference in North America. American University. www.american.edu/lavenderlanguages
2/12/10-2/15/10: Hudson Valley, NY: Winter Explosion. LGBT African-American winter event. www.winterexplosion.com
2/12/10-3/13/10: Los Angeles, CA: Fusion. Los Angeles’ LGBT people of color film festival. www.outfest.org/fusion.html
2/14/10: New York, NY: Broadway Bears XIII, the annual fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, featuring a host of teddy bears dressed as famous Broadway characters, many autographed by the original stars who wore the original (human-sized) outfits. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/16/10-2/21/10: New York, NY: CineKink NYC. mixed gay/straight film festival exploring a wide variety of sexualities through documentary, comedy, drama & more. www.cinekink.com
2/19/10-2/21/10: San Luis Obispo, CA: Western Regional LGBTQIA College Conference, sponsored by California Polytechnic State University. www.comeoutwest.org
2/20/10-2/27/10: Telluride, CO: Telluride Gay Ski Week. www.telluridegayskiweek.com
2/22/10: New York, NY: Broadway Backwards. Performers singing tunes usually associated with the opposite gender. A benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The LGBT Community Center. www.broadwaycares.org.
2/25/10-2/28/10: San Francisco, CA: Expanding The Circle LGBT Conference. addressing factors that contribute to excluding LGBTQ issues from academic study and student life;. This will be among the first national conferences in higher education to focus on LGBTQ concerns by seeking connections across diversities, disciplines, and academic and student affairs. www.expandingthecircle.com.
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Gay from A-Z: The “A” Team
1. Question: Name this civil rights organization, founded in 1920. Intially, it did not fight on behalf of the LGBT community, because it believed that homosexuality was a belief protected by the US Constitution. After extensive lobbying by Frank Kameny and other gay rights activists in the 1960s, this organization became a champion for gay rights. Answer: ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union.
2. Question: Name this American publication, first published in August, 1967, which evolved out of a Los Angeles gay community newsletter. Controversial within the LGBT community for its omissions, the publication with wide gay and straight readership, has become the forum for celebrities to come out, and has featured the writing of many important LGBT cultural figures, among them Randy Shilts, Kate Clinton, and Bruce Vilanch. Answer: The Advocate.
3. Question: Name this acronym for a worldwide phenomena, first seen in the gay community in 1981. It has mobilized the LGBT community, created intense cultural and community responses, and has become a world-wide issue that has been under-reported, under-funded, and under-attended. Answer: AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a series of immune system disorders.
4. Question: Name this great Dane who wrote some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales. His gay flings were well-recorded and a bisexual Broadway star played him his movie biography. Answer: Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875), best known for “The Little Mermaid”. Danny Kaye played Anderson in the movie, which introduced Frank Loesser’s standard “Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen”.
5. Question: Name this three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and playwright whose last Broadway hit was the story of PFLAG parents. The dad had a thing for a goat. Answer: Edward Albee, author of “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: February Milestones
1. Question: Name this elected official who started a national craze on February 12, 2004 just weeks after taking the oath office. Saying he was influenced by a President’s State of the Union address that appeared to make gays second class citizens, his actions caused national controversy, yet made him a hero within the LGBT community.
2. Question: Name this rodent, who comes out annually on February 2nd. His coming out, applauded by people everywhere, is used to predict weather events.
3. Question: Name this hit television show, which was the first to feature a lesbian liplock on February 7, 1991. Hint: It’s based down the coast from the elected official’s residence in Question #1.
4. Question: Name this award-winning gay athlete, born February 10, 1893. He captured worldwide acclaim for his skills, only to fall into obscurity when his interest in young men came to light.
The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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/
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 1/18/10
Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 3 January 18, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com
The Fine Print
About this Newsletter: All information included is proprietary information provided for your personal use only. None of the information here may be redistributed or reprinted without the written consent of the editor. All times listed are ET (Eastern Time). Dates and times are subject to change. This newsletter, published by Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, was initially started by members of the AOL Community Leaders Program.
To Submit An Event for Listing: Know of an event we should highlight here ? Email the details, including date, location, and website for more information to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com.
Editor’s Note: Now in Blog Form: http://cosnewsweekly.blogspot.com/
Subscription Information: This newsletter is available via free email subscription only. Our mailing list is confidential.
To subscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.
The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 18-24, 2010
thru SUN: 1/24: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com
WED-SUN: 1/20-1/24: Stowe, VT: Winter Rendezvous. gay skiing & winter sports. www.winterrendezvous.com
THU: 1/21: New Orleans, LA: Hagar's Coming Out Party. An event for Hagar House, a non-profit trans-inclusive home for women and children. www.HagarsHouseNOLA.org
THU-SUN: 1/21-1/31: 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
Newsworthy:
California Proposition 8 Trial
California: A judge approved a limited form of broadcasting the trial in the legal challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage, concluding it is the type of case that warrants breaking with traditions that generally ban cameras in federal courts. Then, The Supreme Court temporarily blocked streaming of the Proposition 8 trial to YouTube. Some reports of note:
The San Jose Mercury News reports: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14134134
The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-prop-8-12-2010jan12,0,7701011.story
Towleroad has excellent ongoing updates: www.towleroad.com.
Portugal: The Parliament has passed a bill making the European country the sixth in Europe to permit same-sex marriage. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/01/08/Portugal_Parliament_Passes_Gay_Marriage_Bill/
New Jersey: The vote to approve gay marriage was defeated in the state senate. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/nyregion/08trenton.html
Male prostitution is Nevada's newest legal profession. The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-male-prostitutes6-2010jan06,0,7495471.story?track=rss
Awards and Honors:
Nominees: 21st GLAAD Media Awards. Digital Spy reports: http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a196093/glaad-awards-2010-the-nominees.html
For a complete list of nominees: www.glaad.org
Winners: People's Choice Awards. http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/index.jsp?year=2010
Winners: 8th Annual Nightlife Awards. Michael Feinstein, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Ebersole, make the list. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/135830-Ebersole-Feinstein-and-Jackson-Among-Nightlife-Award-Winners
Winners: Ovation Awards for excellence in Los Angeles theatre. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/135884-Louis-Keely-Julie-White-Troubadour-Theatre-Are-2010-Ovation-Winners-in-LA
In Memoriam:
Fritz Lohman, the gay art collector, who with his partner Charles Leslie, had co-founded an organization to reclaim the place of queer art in history died on 12/31/09. The New York Post reported that had Lohman lived into 2010, his estate woould not have been so heavily taxed. EDGE Boston reports: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=100998
Features
Must Read: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage. Theodore B. Olson on why same-sex marriage is an American value. Newsweek reports: http://www.newsweek.com/id/229957
Profile: Michael Urie. The star of "Ugly Betty" takes on another gay fashionista in "The Tempermentals". The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/People/The_Not_So_Ugly_Truth/
The Return of Pee-wee Herman. The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-pee-wee10-2010jan10,0,1935106.story
Opportunities
Scholarships Opportunity: Point Foundation Scholarships. The Point Foundation is the nation’s largest, publicity-supported organization granting scholarships to LGBT students of merit. Point provides support through multi-year scholarships, leadership training, mentoring and hope to LGBT students who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Application deadline is: 2/12/10. www.pointfoundation.org
The Resource Center:
NYC Up & Out: Events of interest to the LGBT community happening in and around New York City. http://www.nycupandout.com/
In Print:
Moving Politics; Emotion and ACT UP's Fight against AIDS by Deborah B. Gould. University of Chicago Press. The first full-fledged history of the development of AIDS activism in the United States. In doing so, Gould situates AIDS activism between reason and emotion in activist movements. "Moving Politics" is the first book to chronicle the rise and fall of ACT UP, highlighting a key factor in its trajectory: emotion.
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Jewdy! Jewdy! Jewdy!, Judy Gold's new lesbian jewish stand-up act. to 1/25/10. www.JudyGold.com
***The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde's tale of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. 1/21/10-2/6/10.. www.DorianGrayPlay.com.
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
***Rhoda Heartbreak: The Musical. Drag celebrity Mimi Imfurst stars in the musical about a drag bar, where the understudy, a biological woman, goes on for the star. 1/20/10-1/22/10. Manhattan Rep. (646) 329-6588
Elsewhere...
***From Whence I Came. Leslie Jordan's new solo show. to 1/24/10. San Francisco, CA. www.TheRrazzRoom.com
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***Golden Age. Terrence McNally's drama about Donizetti set backstage at the premiere of his last opera "I Puritani". Marc Kudisch and Jeffrey Carlson star. to 2/21/10. Philadelphia, PA. PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens. to 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***[title of show]. A quartet writes a musical to submit to a festival competition. to 1/31/10. St. Louis, MO. www.repstl.org. Also: to 2/13/10, Tucson, AZ www.arizonatheatre.org
On Screen (and 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.
***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
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***Law of Desire. A young Antonio Banderas stars as an obsessed fan of a film director in this 1987 Almodovar classic film.
***Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***THU: 1/21: Joshua Bell with Friends @ the Penthouse. The violinist in concert with Kristin Chenoweth, Marvin Hamlisch and baritone Nathan Gunn. 8PM. PBS. Check local listings.
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
1/25/10: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
1/25/10: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
1/28/10: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
1/28/10-1/30/10: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
1/30/10: Philadelphia, PA: Christopher Rice, author, does a benefit reading for Giovanni's Room, Philly's LGBT Bookstore. www.queerbooks.com
2/08/10: San Francisco, CA: All You Need Is Love 2, the Help is On The Way benefit concert for STOP AIDS PROJECTand Aguilas. Produced by The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. www.helpisontheway.org
2/12/10-2/14/10: Washington, DC: Lavender Languages XVII. The longest-running LGBTQ Studies Conference in North America. American University. www.american.edu/lavenderlanguages
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: I Have a Dream...
1. Question: Name this out civil rights activist, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, who engineered the 1963 March on Washington, bringing Ghandi’s civil disobedience protest techniques to America for the first time. Answer: Bayard Rustin His film bio, “Brother Outsider” is often shown on PBS. http://www.rustin.org/.
2. Question: Name this gay composer (who often wrote leading roles for his tenor partner). He brought a Thomas Mann novella to the stage, a story about a hunky sailor, and a dreamy seasonal Shakespeare to the musical stage. Answer: Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) who composed the operas “Death in Venice”, “Billy Budd” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
3. Question: Name this bisexual director/choreographer, who brilliantly chronicled the backstage life of dancer wanna-bes, some gay, and later a musical tribute to a tempting trio of Motown singers. Answer: Michael Bennett (1943-1987), creator of “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls”. Many thought the story of “The Dreams” parallelled Diana Ross and the Supremes. “A Chorus Line” was revived on Broadway in 2006; a film documentary, "Every Little Step", tells the story of Bennett and the show. “Dreamgirls” had an Oscar-winning performance by Jennifer Hudson.
4. Question: Name this classical American musical (and movie) about a stage mother, with big dreams for her daughters. When she sings “I Have a Dream....”, you know no one and nothing will stand in her way until her kids get their names in light. Incidentally, some biographical material indicate that this Mom and her more famous daughter had several lesbian relationships. Answer: Gypsy, the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, her mama Rose, and sister June Havoc.
5. Question: Name this TV series star. While he dreamed of genies and crude, his real life mom dreamed of Janet Gaynor. Answer: Larry Hagman, star of “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Dallas”. His mom, Broadway star Mary Martin, supposedly had a relationship with Janet Gaynor.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: Gay from A-Z: The “A” Team
1. Question: Name this civil rights organization, founded in 1920. Intially, it did not fight on behalf of the LGBT community, because it believed that homosexuality was a belief protected by the US Constitution. After extensive lobbying by Frank Kameny and other gay rights activists in the 1960s, this organization became a champion for gay rights.
2. Question: Name this American publication, first published in August, 1967, which evolved out of a Los Angeles gay community newsletter. Controversial within the LGBT community for its omissions, the publication with wide gay and straight readership, has become the forum for celebrities to come out, and has featured the writing of many important LGBT cultural figures, among them Randy Shilts, Kate Clinton, and Bruce Vilanch.
3. Question: Name this acronym for a worldwide phenomena, first seen in the gay community in 1981. It has mobilized the LGBT community, created intense cultural and community responses, and has become a world-wide issue that has been under-reported, under-funded, and under-attended.
4. Question: Name this great Dane who wrote some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales. His gay flings were well-recorded and a bisexual Broadway star played him his movie biography. .
5. Question: Name this three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and playwright whose last Broadway hit was the story of PFLAG parents. The dad had a thing for a goat.
The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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/
Volume 13 No. 3 January 18, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com
The Fine Print
About this Newsletter: All information included is proprietary information provided for your personal use only. None of the information here may be redistributed or reprinted without the written consent of the editor. All times listed are ET (Eastern Time). Dates and times are subject to change. This newsletter, published by Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, was initially started by members of the AOL Community Leaders Program.
To Submit An Event for Listing: Know of an event we should highlight here ? Email the details, including date, location, and website for more information to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com.
Editor’s Note: Now in Blog Form: http://cosnewsweekly.blogspot.com/
Subscription Information: This newsletter is available via free email subscription only. Our mailing list is confidential.
To subscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Subscribe COS News” in subject line.
To unsubscribe: Email COSNewsweekly@gmail.com and write “Cancel COS News” in subject line.
The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 18-24, 2010
thru SUN: 1/24: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com
WED-SUN: 1/20-1/24: Stowe, VT: Winter Rendezvous. gay skiing & winter sports. www.winterrendezvous.com
THU: 1/21: New Orleans, LA: Hagar's Coming Out Party. An event for Hagar House, a non-profit trans-inclusive home for women and children. www.HagarsHouseNOLA.org
THU-SUN: 1/21-1/31: 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
Newsworthy:
California Proposition 8 Trial
California: A judge approved a limited form of broadcasting the trial in the legal challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage, concluding it is the type of case that warrants breaking with traditions that generally ban cameras in federal courts. Then, The Supreme Court temporarily blocked streaming of the Proposition 8 trial to YouTube. Some reports of note:
The San Jose Mercury News reports: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14134134
The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-prop-8-12-2010jan12,0,7701011.story
Towleroad has excellent ongoing updates: www.towleroad.com.
Portugal: The Parliament has passed a bill making the European country the sixth in Europe to permit same-sex marriage. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/01/08/Portugal_Parliament_Passes_Gay_Marriage_Bill/
New Jersey: The vote to approve gay marriage was defeated in the state senate. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/nyregion/08trenton.html
Male prostitution is Nevada's newest legal profession. The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-male-prostitutes6-2010jan06,0,7495471.story?track=rss
Awards and Honors:
Nominees: 21st GLAAD Media Awards. Digital Spy reports: http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a196093/glaad-awards-2010-the-nominees.html
For a complete list of nominees: www.glaad.org
Winners: People's Choice Awards. http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/index.jsp?year=2010
Winners: 8th Annual Nightlife Awards. Michael Feinstein, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Ebersole, make the list. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/135830-Ebersole-Feinstein-and-Jackson-Among-Nightlife-Award-Winners
Winners: Ovation Awards for excellence in Los Angeles theatre. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/135884-Louis-Keely-Julie-White-Troubadour-Theatre-Are-2010-Ovation-Winners-in-LA
In Memoriam:
Fritz Lohman, the gay art collector, who with his partner Charles Leslie, had co-founded an organization to reclaim the place of queer art in history died on 12/31/09. The New York Post reported that had Lohman lived into 2010, his estate woould not have been so heavily taxed. EDGE Boston reports: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=100998
Features
Must Read: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage. Theodore B. Olson on why same-sex marriage is an American value. Newsweek reports: http://www.newsweek.com/id/229957
Profile: Michael Urie. The star of "Ugly Betty" takes on another gay fashionista in "The Tempermentals". The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/People/The_Not_So_Ugly_Truth/
The Return of Pee-wee Herman. The Los Angeles Times reports: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-pee-wee10-2010jan10,0,1935106.story
Opportunities
Scholarships Opportunity: Point Foundation Scholarships. The Point Foundation is the nation’s largest, publicity-supported organization granting scholarships to LGBT students of merit. Point provides support through multi-year scholarships, leadership training, mentoring and hope to LGBT students who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Application deadline is: 2/12/10. www.pointfoundation.org
The Resource Center:
NYC Up & Out: Events of interest to the LGBT community happening in and around New York City. http://www.nycupandout.com/
In Print:
Moving Politics; Emotion and ACT UP's Fight against AIDS by Deborah B. Gould. University of Chicago Press. The first full-fledged history of the development of AIDS activism in the United States. In doing so, Gould situates AIDS activism between reason and emotion in activist movements. "Moving Politics" is the first book to chronicle the rise and fall of ACT UP, highlighting a key factor in its trajectory: emotion.
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***Jewdy! Jewdy! Jewdy!, Judy Gold's new lesbian jewish stand-up act. to 1/25/10. www.JudyGold.com
***The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde's tale of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. 1/21/10-2/6/10.. www.DorianGrayPlay.com.
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
***Rhoda Heartbreak: The Musical. Drag celebrity Mimi Imfurst stars in the musical about a drag bar, where the understudy, a biological woman, goes on for the star. 1/20/10-1/22/10. Manhattan Rep. (646) 329-6588
Elsewhere...
***From Whence I Came. Leslie Jordan's new solo show. to 1/24/10. San Francisco, CA. www.TheRrazzRoom.com
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***Golden Age. Terrence McNally's drama about Donizetti set backstage at the premiere of his last opera "I Puritani". Marc Kudisch and Jeffrey Carlson star. to 2/21/10. Philadelphia, PA. PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens. to 2/07/10. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***[title of show]. A quartet writes a musical to submit to a festival competition. to 1/31/10. St. Louis, MO. www.repstl.org. Also: to 2/13/10, Tucson, AZ www.arizonatheatre.org
On Screen (and 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.
***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
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***Law of Desire. A young Antonio Banderas stars as an obsessed fan of a film director in this 1987 Almodovar classic film.
***Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***THU: 1/21: Joshua Bell with Friends @ the Penthouse. The violinist in concert with Kristin Chenoweth, Marvin Hamlisch and baritone Nathan Gunn. 8PM. PBS. Check local listings.
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
1/25/10: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
1/25/10: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
1/28/10: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
1/28/10-1/30/10: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
1/30/10: Philadelphia, PA: Christopher Rice, author, does a benefit reading for Giovanni's Room, Philly's LGBT Bookstore. www.queerbooks.com
2/08/10: San Francisco, CA: All You Need Is Love 2, the Help is On The Way benefit concert for STOP AIDS PROJECTand Aguilas. Produced by The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. www.helpisontheway.org
2/12/10-2/14/10: Washington, DC: Lavender Languages XVII. The longest-running LGBTQ Studies Conference in North America. American University. www.american.edu/lavenderlanguages
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: I Have a Dream...
1. Question: Name this out civil rights activist, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, who engineered the 1963 March on Washington, bringing Ghandi’s civil disobedience protest techniques to America for the first time. Answer: Bayard Rustin His film bio, “Brother Outsider” is often shown on PBS. http://www.rustin.org/.
2. Question: Name this gay composer (who often wrote leading roles for his tenor partner). He brought a Thomas Mann novella to the stage, a story about a hunky sailor, and a dreamy seasonal Shakespeare to the musical stage. Answer: Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) who composed the operas “Death in Venice”, “Billy Budd” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
3. Question: Name this bisexual director/choreographer, who brilliantly chronicled the backstage life of dancer wanna-bes, some gay, and later a musical tribute to a tempting trio of Motown singers. Answer: Michael Bennett (1943-1987), creator of “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls”. Many thought the story of “The Dreams” parallelled Diana Ross and the Supremes. “A Chorus Line” was revived on Broadway in 2006; a film documentary, "Every Little Step", tells the story of Bennett and the show. “Dreamgirls” had an Oscar-winning performance by Jennifer Hudson.
4. Question: Name this classical American musical (and movie) about a stage mother, with big dreams for her daughters. When she sings “I Have a Dream....”, you know no one and nothing will stand in her way until her kids get their names in light. Incidentally, some biographical material indicate that this Mom and her more famous daughter had several lesbian relationships. Answer: Gypsy, the story of Gypsy Rose Lee, her mama Rose, and sister June Havoc.
5. Question: Name this TV series star. While he dreamed of genies and crude, his real life mom dreamed of Janet Gaynor. Answer: Larry Hagman, star of “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Dallas”. His mom, Broadway star Mary Martin, supposedly had a relationship with Janet Gaynor.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: Gay from A-Z: The “A” Team
1. Question: Name this civil rights organization, founded in 1920. Intially, it did not fight on behalf of the LGBT community, because it believed that homosexuality was a belief protected by the US Constitution. After extensive lobbying by Frank Kameny and other gay rights activists in the 1960s, this organization became a champion for gay rights.
2. Question: Name this American publication, first published in August, 1967, which evolved out of a Los Angeles gay community newsletter. Controversial within the LGBT community for its omissions, the publication with wide gay and straight readership, has become the forum for celebrities to come out, and has featured the writing of many important LGBT cultural figures, among them Randy Shilts, Kate Clinton, and Bruce Vilanch.
3. Question: Name this acronym for a worldwide phenomena, first seen in the gay community in 1981. It has mobilized the LGBT community, created intense cultural and community responses, and has become a world-wide issue that has been under-reported, under-funded, and under-attended.
4. Question: Name this great Dane who wrote some of the world’s most beloved fairy tales. His gay flings were well-recorded and a bisexual Broadway star played him his movie biography. .
5. Question: Name this three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and playwright whose last Broadway hit was the story of PFLAG parents. The dad had a thing for a goat.
The first person to submit the correct answers gets their name in print right here. Email your answers to: COSNewsweekly@gmail.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/
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
1/13/10: Next Issue Delayed
Due to a computer problem, the 1/18/10 issue will come out later in the week. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 1/11/10
Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 2 January 11, 2010
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: January 11-17, 2010
MON: 1/11: New York, NY: True Colors Cabaret. Karen Olivo and Rufus Wainwright co-star to benefit Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund and Broadway Impact. The True Colors Fund seeks to inspire and engage everyone, particularly the straight community, to become active participants in the advancement of LGBT equality. Broadway Impact is a grassroots coalition of the Broadway community and its fans, mobilizing in support of marriage equality. www.FeinsteinsatLoewsRegency.
MON: 1/11: New York, NY: Mario Cantone, Rachel Dratch, Rosie Perez, and Ryan Reynolds star in "Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words" interpreting the actual words and stories written by the famous and the infamous. This week: Tiger Woods’s "How I Play Golf". www.celebrityautobiography.com.
WED: 1/11: Philadelphia, PA: Chris Glaser reads from his new book "As My Own Soul: The Blessing of Same Gender Marriage" as a benefit for Giovanni's Room. www.queerbooks.com
FRI-SUN: 1/15-1/17: 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
SAT: 1/16: East Haddam, CT: Musical Theatre Symposium with historian John Pike, author Ted Chapin, and "The Creation of Next to Normal". For showtune people. Goodspeed Opera House. www.goodspeed.org.
SUN-SUN: 1/17-1/24: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com
Newsworthy:
US Lifts HIV/AIS Traveller Ban. The US has lifted its 22-year immigration ban which had stopped anyone with HIV/AIS from entering the country. The BBC reports: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8438865.stm
Africa: U.S. Evangelicals’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push. In March, 2009, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” homosexuals had been widely discredited in the United States, arrived in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html
First Transgender Appointment. President Barack Obama has chosen Amanda Simpson as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, marking the first transgender appointment in an American presidential administration.ABC News reports: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/president-obama-names-transgender-appointee-to-commerce-department.html
In Memoriam:
Casey Johnson, the Johnson &Johnson heiress best known as the party girl engaged to reality TV star Tila Tequila, died 1/04/10 at age 30. The New York Post reports: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tip_heiress_casey_GTK7zYmc8hlE0L3aJstULM
Brad Graham, the gay blogger ("The Bradlands") who coined the term "blogosphere", has died at age 41. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/01/brad-graham-gay-bradlands-blogger-who-coined-term-blogosphere-dies-at-41.html
Features
Love's New Frontier: Polyamory! The Boston Globe reports: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/01/03/loves_new_frontier/
Opportunities
Scholarships Opportunity: Point Foundation Scholarships. The Point Foundation is the nation’s largest, publicity-supported organization granting scholarships to LGBT students of merit. Point provides support through multi-year scholarships, leadership training, mentoring and hope to LGBT students who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Application deadline is: 2/12/10. www.pointfoundation.org
In Print:
Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not by Joanne Herman. Authorhouse Publishers. Herman, a transgender woman who read everything in sight to understand her own gender incongruity, has been helping others with her non-complicated explanations of transgender for almost a decade. She has written Organized by topic into short, easy-to-read chapters, "Transgender Explained..." is perfect for parents, relatives, colleagues, friends, allies and even journalists who want to quickly get up to speed on what it means to be transgender.
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***At Home At The Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim One Song At a Time. The Broadway legend (and frequent laughmaker on "30 Rock" sings music of the Broadway legend. to 1/30/10. www.thecarlyle.com.
***Jewdy! Jewdy! Jewdy!, Judy Gold's new lesbian jewish stand-up act. to 1/25/10. www.JudyGold.com
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
***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...
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***High Spirits. Georgia Engel stars in the musical version of gay Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit". to 1/17/10. Naples, FL. www.theatrezone-florida.com.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens, with Miss Yvonne, Mailman Mike, Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie, as well as Pee-wee's talking chair, Chairry, Pterri the pterodactyl, robot Conky, Magic Screen, Randy, and more. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin (starring Ijames), presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***[title of show]. A quartet writes a musical to submit to a festival competition. to 1/31/10. St. Louis, MO. www.repstl.org.
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. Written and directed by Reed Cowan and narrated by Dustin Lance Black.
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***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.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
Recap 2009: Highs/Lows in Gay(ish) Cinema. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/movies-the-highs-and-lows-of-gayish-cinema-in-2009.html
***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.
***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.
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***Hump Day. Two straight dudes contemplate going gay to enter and win Humpfest, Seattle's amateur porn contest.
***Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***WED: 1/13: Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.. PBS. Check local listings.
*** SUN: 1/17: The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Ricky Gervais/ Live. 8PM. NBC. www.goldenglobes.org
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
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
1/25/10: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
1/25/10: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
1/28/10: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
1/28/10-1/30/10: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (this year’s runs Janunary 21-31) is the largest independent cinema festival in the USA. Founded with the support of Robert Redford, the festival has showcased numerous LGBT films in hits history. Its Queer Lounge is a gathering point for LGBT film makers and those interested in LGBT-themed films (www.queerlounge.org). For information on this year’s festival: festival.sundance.org.
1. Question: Name this Sundance Film Festival winner. It was based upon an off-Broaday musical about a transgender East German rock singer. It won the same year that a film "Southern Comfort" won in the documentary category for its chronicle of the final year of a FTM TG person with fatal cervical cancer. Answer: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell's film, which won in 2001.
2. Question: Name this person, who was the focus of a documentary that won an award in 1985, the Festival's first year. The person was the focus of an Oscar-winning film, an award-winning book, an opera, and a second film (a non-documentary big-budget Hollywood effort). Answer: Harvey Milk. "The Times of Harvey Milk" won in 1985.
3. Question: Name this 1990 Sundance winner, the first mainstream film to compassionately show the human side of the AIDS epidemic (premiering years before "Philadelphia" on PBS). It featured many theatre actors, and one of its best performances came from the artistic director of a major American regional theatre. Answer: Longtime Companion, which starred Bruce Davison, Mary-Louise Parker and Mark Lamos, former director of the Hartford Stage.
4. Question: Name this 1996 Sundance winner, a documentary based upon a book that chronicled the portrayal of LGBT people in American cinema, and the closets of Hollywood. Its author was an authority on gay cinema who unfortunately died early in the AIDS epidemic. Answer: the Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo.
5. Question: Sundance has awarded documentary films that showcased gay artists ("Paul Monette: The Brink of Summers End"); the drag ball culture of New York ("Paris is Burning") and the story of a couple impacted by HIV/AIDS ("Silverlake: The View from Here"). What Sundance winner (1986) became commercial cinema's first mainstream hit with a lesbian theme ? Answer: Desert Hearts.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: I Have a Dream...
This is not a Martin Luther King Day trivia contest, although King’s dream resonates as long as there is a struggle for civil rights.
1. Question: Name this out civil rights activist, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, who engineered the 1963 March on Washington, bringing Ghandi’s civil disobedience protest techniques to America for the first time.
2. Question: Name this gay composer (who often wrote leading roles for his tenor partner). He brought a Thomas Mann novella to the stage, a story about a hunky sailor, and a dreamy seasonal Shakespeare to the musical stage.
3. Question: Name this bisexual director/choreographer, who brilliantly chronicled the backstage life of dancer wanna-bes, some gay, and later a musical tribute to a tempting trio of Motown singers.
4. Question: Name this classical American musical (and movie) about a stage mother, with big dreams for her daughters. When she sings “I Have a Dream....”, you know no one and nothing will stand in her way until her kids get their names in light. Incidentally, some biographical material indicate that this Mom and her more famous daughter had several lesbian relationships.
5. Question: Name this TV series star. While he dreamed of genies and crude, his real life mom dreamed of Janet Gaynor.
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/
Volume 13 No. 2 January 11, 2010
Newsletter Editor: OnQYB@aol.com
The Fine Print
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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 11-17, 2010
MON: 1/11: New York, NY: True Colors Cabaret. Karen Olivo and Rufus Wainwright co-star to benefit Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund and Broadway Impact. The True Colors Fund seeks to inspire and engage everyone, particularly the straight community, to become active participants in the advancement of LGBT equality. Broadway Impact is a grassroots coalition of the Broadway community and its fans, mobilizing in support of marriage equality. www.FeinsteinsatLoewsRegency.
MON: 1/11: New York, NY: Mario Cantone, Rachel Dratch, Rosie Perez, and Ryan Reynolds star in "Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words" interpreting the actual words and stories written by the famous and the infamous. This week: Tiger Woods’s "How I Play Golf". www.celebrityautobiography.com.
WED: 1/11: Philadelphia, PA: Chris Glaser reads from his new book "As My Own Soul: The Blessing of Same Gender Marriage" as a benefit for Giovanni's Room. www.queerbooks.com
FRI-SUN: 1/15-1/17: 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
SAT: 1/16: East Haddam, CT: Musical Theatre Symposium with historian John Pike, author Ted Chapin, and "The Creation of Next to Normal". For showtune people. Goodspeed Opera House. www.goodspeed.org.
SUN-SUN: 1/17-1/24: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com
Newsworthy:
US Lifts HIV/AIS Traveller Ban. The US has lifted its 22-year immigration ban which had stopped anyone with HIV/AIS from entering the country. The BBC reports: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8438865.stm
Africa: U.S. Evangelicals’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push. In March, 2009, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” homosexuals had been widely discredited in the United States, arrived in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html
First Transgender Appointment. President Barack Obama has chosen Amanda Simpson as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, marking the first transgender appointment in an American presidential administration.ABC News reports: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/president-obama-names-transgender-appointee-to-commerce-department.html
In Memoriam:
Casey Johnson, the Johnson &Johnson heiress best known as the party girl engaged to reality TV star Tila Tequila, died 1/04/10 at age 30. The New York Post reports: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tip_heiress_casey_GTK7zYmc8hlE0L3aJstULM
Brad Graham, the gay blogger ("The Bradlands") who coined the term "blogosphere", has died at age 41. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/01/brad-graham-gay-bradlands-blogger-who-coined-term-blogosphere-dies-at-41.html
Features
Love's New Frontier: Polyamory! The Boston Globe reports: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/01/03/loves_new_frontier/
Opportunities
Scholarships Opportunity: Point Foundation Scholarships. The Point Foundation is the nation’s largest, publicity-supported organization granting scholarships to LGBT students of merit. Point provides support through multi-year scholarships, leadership training, mentoring and hope to LGBT students who are marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Application deadline is: 2/12/10. www.pointfoundation.org
In Print:
Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not by Joanne Herman. Authorhouse Publishers. Herman, a transgender woman who read everything in sight to understand her own gender incongruity, has been helping others with her non-complicated explanations of transgender for almost a decade. She has written Organized by topic into short, easy-to-read chapters, "Transgender Explained..." is perfect for parents, relatives, colleagues, friends, allies and even journalists who want to quickly get up to speed on what it means to be transgender.
In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance
New York City (and Broadway)
***A Little Night Music. Sondheim's all-waltz musical stars Catherine Zeta-Jones (singing "Send in the Clowns") and Angela Lansbury.
***At Home At The Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim One Song At a Time. The Broadway legend (and frequent laughmaker on "30 Rock" sings music of the Broadway legend. to 1/30/10. www.thecarlyle.com.
***Jewdy! Jewdy! Jewdy!, Judy Gold's new lesbian jewish stand-up act. to 1/25/10. www.JudyGold.com
***Present Laughter. Gay Noel Coward's gay comedy. Victor Garber stars as an aging star. to 3/21/10. www.roundabouttheatre.org
***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...
***F*cking Men. A new play, conceived as a riff on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, observes the sex lives of modern urban gay America. to 2/14/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrationtheatre.com
***Give It Up. A world premiere camp musical version of "Lysistrata" set in an American college gym by "Xanadu" author Douglas Carter Beane. to 2/14/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.org.
***High Spirits. Georgia Engel stars in the musical version of gay Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit". to 1/17/10. Naples, FL. www.theatrezone-florida.com.
***I Am My Own Wife, the fascinating real-life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (Andrew Long), a German transvestite who managed to survive both Nazi rule and the East German Communists.to 3/07/10. Arlington, VA/Washington, DC. www.signature-theatre.org
***Master Class. Terrence McNally's Tony-Award winning play is a portrait of opera diva Maria Callas. to 1/24/10. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Orpheous Descending. Gale ("Queer As Folk") Harold, heads the cast of Tennessee Williams' drama. to 2/21/10. Theatre/Theater. Los Angeles, CA.
***The Pee-Wee Herman Show, starring Paul Reubens, with Miss Yvonne, Mailman Mike, Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie, as well as Pee-wee's talking chair, Chairry, Pterri the pterodactyl, robot Conky, Magic Screen, Randy, and more. Los Angeles, CA. www.peewee.com.
***The Threshing Floor. James Ijames's one-actor profile of gay writer James Baldwin (starring Ijames), presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***Tru. Jay Presson Allen's one-actor profile of gay writer Truman Capote, presented by the LGBT-friendly Mauckingbird Theatre Company. to 1/31/10. Philadelphia, PA.
www.mauckingbirdtheatreco.org
***[title of show]. A quartet writes a musical to submit to a festival competition. to 1/31/10. St. Louis, MO. www.repstl.org.
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. Written and directed by Reed Cowan and narrated by Dustin Lance Black.
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the conflicted film maker. The women in his life: Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and Fergie.
***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.
***Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. A stunning drama from out director Lee Daniels about an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen, pregnant with her second child, who is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
Out On Video & DVD
Recap 2009: Highs/Lows in Gay(ish) Cinema. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/movies-the-highs-and-lows-of-gayish-cinema-in-2009.html
***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.
***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.
***Glee: Volume 1: Road to Sectionals. the first DVD of the hot new TV series.
***Hump Day. Two straight dudes contemplate going gay to enter and win Humpfest, Seattle's amateur porn contest.
***Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.
***Show Business: The Road to Broadway. An incredible documentary about Broadway's 2003-04 season and four musicals: "Wicked", "Avenue Q"(gay puppets), "Caroline or Change" (Tony Kushner) and "Taboo" (Rosie O'Donnell).
***Taking Woodstock. Ang Lee's new film about the rock festival based on Elliot Tiber's memoir. Demetri Martin stars as the gay Tiber.
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.
***January: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***WED: 1/13: Passing Strange. 2009 Spike Lee film of Stew's musical. Filmed live. features Daniel Breaker, Colman Domingo, Stew.. PBS. Check local listings.
*** SUN: 1/17: The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Ricky Gervais/ Live. 8PM. NBC. www.goldenglobes.org
Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events
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
1/25/10: New York, NY: Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty") stars in a reading of Albert Camus' "Caligula". www.redbulltheater.com.
1/25/10: New York, NY: Bruce Vilanch hosts the Night Life Awards, celebrating the best in clubs, cabaret, and other entertainment. Winners perform in lieu of acceptance speeches. Town Hall.www.SiegelEntertainment@msn.com
1/28/10: White Plains, NY: OUT Professionals Westchester Networking Event, co-sponsored by the LOFT, a non-profit community-based group serving the LGBT community in lower Hudson Valley. www.outprofessionals.org.
1/28/10-1/30/10: Bloomington, IN: Pride Film Festival. www.pridefilmfestival.org
Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (this year’s runs Janunary 21-31) is the largest independent cinema festival in the USA. Founded with the support of Robert Redford, the festival has showcased numerous LGBT films in hits history. Its Queer Lounge is a gathering point for LGBT film makers and those interested in LGBT-themed films (www.queerlounge.org). For information on this year’s festival: festival.sundance.org.
1. Question: Name this Sundance Film Festival winner. It was based upon an off-Broaday musical about a transgender East German rock singer. It won the same year that a film "Southern Comfort" won in the documentary category for its chronicle of the final year of a FTM TG person with fatal cervical cancer. Answer: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell's film, which won in 2001.
2. Question: Name this person, who was the focus of a documentary that won an award in 1985, the Festival's first year. The person was the focus of an Oscar-winning film, an award-winning book, an opera, and a second film (a non-documentary big-budget Hollywood effort). Answer: Harvey Milk. "The Times of Harvey Milk" won in 1985.
3. Question: Name this 1990 Sundance winner, the first mainstream film to compassionately show the human side of the AIDS epidemic (premiering years before "Philadelphia" on PBS). It featured many theatre actors, and one of its best performances came from the artistic director of a major American regional theatre. Answer: Longtime Companion, which starred Bruce Davison, Mary-Louise Parker and Mark Lamos, former director of the Hartford Stage.
4. Question: Name this 1996 Sundance winner, a documentary based upon a book that chronicled the portrayal of LGBT people in American cinema, and the closets of Hollywood. Its author was an authority on gay cinema who unfortunately died early in the AIDS epidemic. Answer: the Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo.
5. Question: Sundance has awarded documentary films that showcased gay artists ("Paul Monette: The Brink of Summers End"); the drag ball culture of New York ("Paris is Burning") and the story of a couple impacted by HIV/AIDS ("Silverlake: The View from Here"). What Sundance winner (1986) became commercial cinema's first mainstream hit with a lesbian theme ? Answer: Desert Hearts.
This Week’s Trivia Quiz: I Have a Dream...
This is not a Martin Luther King Day trivia contest, although King’s dream resonates as long as there is a struggle for civil rights.
1. Question: Name this out civil rights activist, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, who engineered the 1963 March on Washington, bringing Ghandi’s civil disobedience protest techniques to America for the first time.
2. Question: Name this gay composer (who often wrote leading roles for his tenor partner). He brought a Thomas Mann novella to the stage, a story about a hunky sailor, and a dreamy seasonal Shakespeare to the musical stage.
3. Question: Name this bisexual director/choreographer, who brilliantly chronicled the backstage life of dancer wanna-bes, some gay, and later a musical tribute to a tempting trio of Motown singers.
4. Question: Name this classical American musical (and movie) about a stage mother, with big dreams for her daughters. When she sings “I Have a Dream....”, you know no one and nothing will stand in her way until her kids get their names in light. Incidentally, some biographical material indicate that this Mom and her more famous daughter had several lesbian relationships.
5. Question: Name this TV series star. While he dreamed of genies and crude, his real life mom dreamed of Janet Gaynor.
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/
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