Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 5/10/10

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 18 May 10, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

The Fine Print

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: May 10-16, 2010

Ongoing: Global: 2010 Pride Season. Parades, fairs, festivals celebrating LGBT Pride around the world. www.interpride.org

thru SUN: 6/06: New York, NY: Gayfest NYC, the 4th annual LGBT arts festival to benefit the Harvey Milk School. . www.gayfestnyc.com.

thru SUN: 6/20/10: Chicago, IL: Five Decades of Great Gay Plays. An exploration of scripts written for the stage (some adapted for the screen. www.pridefilmsandplays.com

MON: 5/10: New York, NY: TalkOut Monday at “The Tempermentals”. Cheyene Jackson, Frank Decaro and Michael Urie are featured guests. www.thetemperamentals.com

MON: 5/10: New Orleans, LA: Bryan Batt signs copies of his new memoir “She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Mother”. 7PM. Barnes & Noble, Metairie. Also: TUE: 5/11: New Orleans, LA: . 7PM. Borders, Garden District. THU: 5/13/10: Los Angeles, CA:. 7PM. Borders Northridge. SAT: 5/15: Los Angeles, CA: 7PM. Book Soup 8818 Sunset Blvd. http://www.bryanbatt.com/appearances.shtml

WED: 5/12: New York, NY: The New York City Gay Travel Expo
http://www.glbttravelexpo.com/happiness/

WED-SUN: 5/12-16: Toronto, ON: We’re Funny That Way. Canada’s International LGBT Comedy Festival. www.werefunnythatway.com

WED-SUN: 5/12-16: Seattle, WA: Translations: Transgender Film Festival. www.threedollarbillcinema.org

WED-SUN: 5/12-16: New Orleans, LA: Saints and Sinners. the 8th annual internationally-recognized festival that brings together a who’s who of GLBT publishers, writers and readers, among them Fay Jacobs, Tim Miller, Ann Bannon and Michael Nava. http://sasfest.org/

THU: 5/13: Los Angeles, CA: Pam Grier, cult favorite and star of "The L Word", signs copies of “Foxy: My Life In Three Acts”. 7PM. Barnes & Noble, Grove, Dr.

SUN: 5/16: New York, NY: Broadway Bares: Solo Strips Broadway strips to benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS at Splash. www.broadwaycares.org.

SUN: 5/16: New York, NY: AIDS Walk New York. www.aidswalk.net

SUN: 5/16: Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota AIDS Walk. www.mnaidsproject.org

Newsworthy:

Massachusetts: Governor Deval Patrick has signed a bill cracking down on school bullies and requiring teachers to report bullying to principals. MassLive reports: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/gov_deval_patrick_signs_anti-b.html

Can Gay Couples Divorce Where They Can’t Marry ? TIME Magazine reports: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1986234,00.html

Antigay Movement Leader Vacations in Europe...with his “escort”. George Alan Rekers, who founded the anti-gay Family Research Council, got caught returning from a holiday with a rent-boy. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/05/04/Antigay_Christian_Leader_Rekers_Vacations_With_Rent_Boy/

Pride Goes Postal. Austria will issue a postage stamp to commemorate Pride. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/05/austria-to-issue-worlds-first-postage-stamp-honoring-gay-event.html

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Chely Wright, the country singer, has come out. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Music/Chely_Wright_Country_singer_comes_out_and_comes_clean/

Coming Out: Blake Oshiro, Hawaii State Representative, came out last week as activists pushed for civil unions. GayPolitics.com reports: http://www.gaypolitics.com/2010/05/03/hawaii-lawmaker-comes-out-amid-civil-unions-push/

Matthew Mitcham, Out Olympic gold medalist, took home another gold medal at this weekend’s Canada Cup FINA Grand Prix diving competition.  The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/05/03/Matthew_Mitcham_Takes_Gold_at_Canada_Cup/

TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2010. Lady Gaga, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Annise Parker, and Adam Lambert make the list. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1972075,00.html

Awards and Honors:

Nominees: Tony Awards for the best of Broadway. “Next Fall” (Best Play), Bill T. Jones, Sean Hayes, Omitted: Nathan Lane. “La Cage Aux Folles” picked up 11 nominations, the most of any production this season. www.tonyawards.com.

Other Theatre Awards:

Winners: Lucille Lortel Awards for Off-Broadway Excellence. Michael Urie. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/139211-Orphans-Home-Cycle-The-Scottsboro-Boys-Are-2010-Lortel-Award-Winners

Nominees: Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding New York theatre. Among the nominees: “Next Fall”, Cheyenne Jackson, Nathan Lane, Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/139212-Drama-Desk-Award-Nominations-Announced-Ragtime-and-Scottsboro-Top-List

Nominees: Astaire Awards for best in dance. TheaterMania reports: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/news/05-2010/maksim-chmerkovskiy-bill-t-jones-karine-plantadit_27117.html

In Memoriam:

Harry Weider, the New York City community and LGBT rights activist, died on 4/27/10, after being struck by a taxi. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/04/nyc-community-and-lgbt-rights-activist-harry-wieder-killed.html

Photo Shoots and Video

Alan Cumming hosts the Live Out Loud gala. From BroadwayWorld.com: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_Alan_Cumming_Hosts_Live_Out_Loud_Gala_20100427

Liza Minnelli receives PFLAG’s Straight For Equality Award. Photos from BroadwayWorld.com. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_PFLAGs_Straight_for_Equality_Honors_Minnelli_and_More_20100503

The Boys from Oz (including Christopher Meloni) read Tom Fontana’s script. Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/139225-PHOTO-CALL-Primary-Stages-Reading-of-Godfather-IV-With-Meloni-Tergesen-and-Winters

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***Bass for Picasso. Kate Moira Ryan’s new play about an amputee navigating gay and lesbian life in the new millennium. to 5/23/10. www.tbtb.org
***The Kid: The Musical. Christopher Sieber stars as sex columnist Dan Savage as he and his partner try to adopt a child. to 5/29/10 www.thenewgroup.org.
***La Cage Aux Folles, a revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical. Kelsey Grammer stars. www.LaCage.com
***My Big Gay Italian Wedding. Reichen Lehmkuhl stars. www.BigGayItalianWedding.com.
***My Trip Down The Pink Carpet. Leslie Jordan’s one-man show. to 7/03/10. www.mytripdownthepinkcarpet.com
***Next Fall. Geoffrey Nauffts' play about a gay couple; one a devout Christian and the other an atheist. www.nextfallbroadway.com
***Promises, Promises. Newly-out Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth star in the Burt Bacharach & Hal David & Neil Simon musical.
***The Tempermentals. Jon Maran's hit drama about the formation of The Mattachine Society before Stonewall. www.thetemperamentals.com
***Vaginal Davis is Speaking from the Diaphragm. the gender-bending performance artist’s homage to 1970 American daytime television. to 5/27/10. www.PS122.org.

Elsewhere...

***Beautiful Child: The Music of Rufus Wainwright. 5/14/10-5/29/10. San Francisco, CA. www.act-sf.org.
***Hot Greeks. A Revival of the Cockettes’ 1972 Musical Extravaganza. to 6/27/10. San Francisco, CA. http://thrillpeddlers.com
***I Am My Own Wife. Steven Abbott stars as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, the real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime. to 5/16/10. Rohnert Park, CA. www.spreckelsonline.com
***M.Butterfly. David Henry Hwang's play. The true story of a French diplomat who falls for a Chinese spy posing as a Bejing opera diva. to 6/06/10. Minneapolis, MN. www.guthrietheater.org
***Pearls Over Shanghai. San Francisco’s Longest-Running Cockettes Musical. to 8/01/10. San Francisco, CA: http://thrillpeddlers.com
***Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South, E. Patrick Johnson’s solo theatre piece about gay life in the South. to 5/29/10. Chicago, IL. www.aboutfacetheatre.com
***Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads. The lovechild of Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine’s latest club hit. 5/16/10, Nags Head, NC. www.varlaonline.com.

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***Arias With a Twist. The incredible performance collaboration between performance artist Joey Arias and puppeteer Basil Twist is now a documentary. To see the trailer: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=759971528901
***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.
***Eyes Wide Open, two ultra-orthodox gay Chasidic Jews fall in love in Israel.
***LA Mission. Benjamin Bratt is a barrio tough guy who discovers that his son is involved in a relationship with another boy.
***Prodigal Sons, a film by TG film maker Kimberly Reed about her journey back to her home town and her reunion with an adopted brother. http://prodigalsonsfilm.com/
***Stonewall Uprising, a new documentary covering the 3-day Stonewall riots in 1969. http://firstrunfeatures.com/stonewalluprising_playdates.html

Out On Video & DVD

***An Englishman in New York. John Hurt as Quentin Crisp ("The Naked Civil Servant") as he becomes a celebrity. Also stars Cynthia Nixon, Denis O'Hare and Jonathan Tucker.
***Finding Billy, the documentary about the search for the young male leads in “Billy Elliot” Playbill.com reports: http://www.playbill.com/playblog/2010/04/finding-billy-available-on-youtube-video/
***Nine, the Rob Marshall movie based on the Broadway musical.
***One Night Only: Barbra Streisand and Quartet at the Village Vanguard. ***Trinidad. The documentary about the Colorado town that has become “the sex change capital of the world. http://trinidadthemovie.com/

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

***May: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***MON: 5/10: Harvey Fierstein guest stars on the Edie Falco series “Nurse Jackie”. 10PM. Showtime. www.sho.com/nursejackie.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

Ongoing: Global: 2010 Pride Season. Parades, fairs, festivals celebrating LGBT Pride around the world. www.interpride.org

5/17/10: Los Angeles, CA: Joel Grey directs a 25th anniversary staged reading of Larry Kramer’s pivotal AIDS drama “The Normal Heart”. A benefit for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic. www.lagaycenter.org/thenormalheart

5/17/10: New York, NY: Michael Bennett: A Joyful Noise. Dancers Over 40 salutes the late creator of “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls”. www.dancersover40.org

5/17/10: New York, NY: Friends with Benefits. a cabaret benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. www.broadwaycares.org

5/20/10-5/30/10: Toronto, ON: Inside Out: Toronto LGBT Film & Video Festival. www.insideout.ca

5/26/10-5/31/10 Columbus, OH: Annual Gay Bowling Tournament. www.igbo.org

5/27/10-5/30/10: Austin, TX: International Association of Country Western Dance Clubs Annual Convention. LGBT music and dance. www.outcountrydance.com

5/27/10-6/05/10, Hartford, CT: Out Film CT. Connecticut's LGBT film festival. www.outfilmct.org

5/27/10: New York, NY: 22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards for outstanding LGBT literature. www.lambdaliterary.org.

5/28/10: Santa Clara, CA: Gay Day at Great America. www.gaydaycga.com

5/28/10-5/31/10: Atlanta, GA: Mondo Homo Dirty South queer-centric festival featuring music, dance, crafts, performance & more. www.mondohomo.com

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: May Sweeps

1. Question: Name this radio personality, television host and political commentator who is the first out anchor to be hired to host a prime-time news program in the United States. The first out American to win a Rhodes scholarship, who received a PhD at Oxford, this journalist began in radio in Northampton, MA, went national with liberal talk radio and won a primetime TV show in 2008. Answer: Rachel Maddow, seen weeknights on MSNBC.

2. Question: Name this out American television anchor and reporter, best known for speaking out as a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest. He came out at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association conference in 2006. His career has included stints at CNN, Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition. Answer: Thomas Roberts. He left CNN in 2007 to pursue independent journalism projects.

3. Question: Name this Asian-American Peabody Award-winning television journalist who is one of the few out reporters on national television. He started his career at the Washington Post. He then went to ABC covering G.W.Bush’s 2000 campaign; after a stint in Jerusalem, he switched networks where he became a White House correspondent before transferring to the midwest. Answer: John Yang of NBC News.

4. Question: Name this American television reporter, currently reporting from Iraq. A product of New Mexico, he’s one of the few out Hispanic reporters in American television. Before working in journalism, he was an administrative aide to Rep. Bill Richardson. Answer: Miguel Marquez of ABC News.

5. Question: Name this out national radio journalist who has made the Out 100 and The Advocate’s “40 Under 40”. A Yale graduate, he covers national legal affairs and is often on major public broadcasting programs. He also sings with the band Pink Martini. Answer: Ari Shapiro of National Public Radio.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: PFLAG Moms

1. Question: Name this PFLAG Mom. After her older son was murdered, she created a foundation to advance social justice, diversity awareness and education, and equality for LGBT people. Her name is associated with hate crimes legislation.

2. Question: Name this PFLAG Mom. This American singer, actress, director, songwriter, political activist and philanthropist began her first club act in a Greenwich Village gay bar. As director, she cast her son in a major film role; she has given money and time to support LGBT rights.

3. Question: Name this PFLAG Mom. This American pop singer, songwriter, actress, and gay icon became a spokesperson for gay rights after her daughter came out. She remained
supportive when her daughter came out transgender and transitioned.

4. Question: Name this PFLAG Mom. A former political wife, novelist, conservative scholar, and talk-show host, she served as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her daughter is an out lesbian in a politically caustic arena.

5. Question: Name this PFLAG Mom. A New Orleans native, she was the first straight spokesperson for the HRC’s National Coming Out Project. The author of two books on PFLAG-related issues, she first gained notability when her daughter publicly came out.

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/