Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 6/21/10

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 24 June 21, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

The Fine Print

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: June 21-27, 2010

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

thru WED: 6/30: San Francisco, CA: National Queer Arts Festival. LGBT performances & exhibitions in the San Francisco Bay Area highlighting artists from around the country. www.QueerCulturalCenter.org

thru SUN: 6/27: San Francisco, CA: Frameline: San Francisco Int’l LGBT Film Festival www.frameline.org

MON: 6/21: New York, NY: Spirit of Pride 2010 Celebration at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street) 7:30 pm. Free. www.stjohndivine.org

TUE: 6/22: New York, NY: Levi Kreis and “Million Dollar Quartet perform at a CD signing. 4PM. Barnes and Noble, Lincoln Triangle. www.bn.com

WED: 6/23: Tempe, AZ: Cat Cora, out star of "Iron Chef America" signs copies of “Cat Cora's Classics With A Twist”. 7PM. Changing Hands Books.

WED: 6/23: New York, NY: Melissa Etheridge joins the cast of Broadway’s “Million Dollar Quartet” for one set. www.milliondollarquartetlive.com.

THU: 6/24: Los Angeles, CA: Alison Arngrim, star of "Little House on the Prairie", signs copies of “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch”. 7PM. Barnes & Noble, Grove Drive. Also: SAT: 6/26: Bloomington, MN: 6PM. Barnes & Noble, Mall of America.

THU: 6/24: New York, NY: Sean Hayes, Kristen Chenoweth and the cast of “Promises, Promises” perform at a CD signing. 5PM. Barnes and Noble, Lincoln Triangle. www.bn.com

SAT: 6/26: New York, NY: The Gay Pride Edition: Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words. Rachel Dratch, Cheyenne Jackson, Kristen Johnston, John Cameron Mitchell, Bruce Vilanch, and B.D. Wong star. www.celebrityautobiography.com.

SAT: 6/26: New York, NY: 41st Stonewall Veterans Association Conference and Reunion. http://www.stonewallvets.org/upcomingevents.htm

SAT-SAT: 6/26-8/07: New York, NY: 19th annual HOT! Festival of queer culture and performance. www.hotfestival.org

SUN: 6/27: New York, NY: Nathan Lane is Jordan Roth’s guest for “Broadway Talks”. 7:30PM. 92Y-Lexington Avenue. www.92Y.org/lectures

Newsworthy:

US Passport Rules Eased for TG Citizens. New passport rules announced 6/09/10 by the U.S. State Department have removed the strict requirement that applicants undergo gender reassignment surgery in order to qualify for a passport gender change. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/10/US_Passport_Rules_Eased_for_Transgender_People/

Iceland, the only country with an openly gay head of state, has legalized gay marriage. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/11/Iceland_Legalizes_Gay_Marriage/


Kameny Way. A two-block section of 17th Street, N.W., in the heart of one of Washington, DC’s most visible gay neighborhoods was renamed this week as “Frank Kameny Way” in honor of the veteran gay activist credited with founding the city’s LGBT civil rights movement. The Washington Blade reports: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/06/08/‘kameny-way’-ceremony-highlights-capital-pride-events/

The McDonald’s Gay Ad would not air in the USA, according to the company’s number two executive. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/15/McDonalds_COO_Gay_Ad_Would_Not_Air_in_US/

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Josh Strickland, Broadway’s “Tarzan”, Las Vegas star of “Peep Show” and American Idol alum, comes out. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Television/Josh_Strickland,_Stripped/

Coming Out: David Maher, the mayor of Cambridge, Mass., came out during the city’s annual pride brunch on 6/12/10. He’s the third out mayor in a row in Cambridge. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/15/Cambridge_Mass_Mayor_Comes_Out/

Awards and Honors:

Tony Award Winners: Congrats to Levi Kreis, “La Cage Aux Folles”, Bill T. Jones, David Hyde Pierce, Tom Viola, and more. Playbill.com recaps the winners. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/140346-Red-Memphis-La-Cage-aux-Folles-Fences-Win-2010-Tony-Awards

More Tony Coverage:

***Sean Hayes mocks Newsweek with a hot straight kiss.
Towleroad recaps: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/06/sean-hayes-mocks-newsweek-story-with-hot-straight-kiss.html
***The Sean Hayes Video: “The Kiss”:http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/06/sean-hayes-makes-out-with-kristin-chenoweth-at-tony-awards/1
***The New York Times recap: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/14/theater/20100614_TONY.html

TV Guide’s 2010 Power List of the 25 most influential people in television. Among them: Neil Patrick Harris, “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, and of course, Oprah. www.tvguide.com/magazine.

Point Foundation 2010 Scholarship Winners: The nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBT students of merit awarded 25 undergraduate and graduate students. http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/point-foundation-announces--scholar-class/

In Memoriam:

Patrick Lee, a frequent contributor to TheaterMania, passed away earlier this month at age 51. Lee was the creator and writer of his own popular blog, Justshowstogoyou.com. He was also a juror for the GLAAD Media Awards.

Photo Shoots and Video

Photos: Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays from BroadwayWorld.com: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_STANDING_ON_CEREMONY_The_Gay_Marriage_Plays_20100615

Features

New York Times Editorial: Marriage is a basic civil right. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/opinion/11fri1.html?ref=opinion

Frank Rich. Two weddings, a divorce, and “Glee”. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/opinion/13rich.html

The Resource Center:

LGBT News for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Gazette’s first issue hit newsstands on 11/19/09. It publishes every other week and distributes throughout the state.
The newspaper covers a variety of local, national and international issues. www.wisconsingazette.com.

In Print:

Where’s my Wand?: One Boy’s Magical Triumph Over Alienation and Shag Carpeting by Eric Poole. Amy Einhorn Books. Penguin Press. A chronicle of a childhood gone hilariously and heartbreakingly awry in the Midwest of the 1970s.

On CD:

Recent Releases

***Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli "Live" at the London Palladium. a 2-CD set of the 1965 concert. DRG label.
***Glee: The Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers. Showtunes and pop hits from the TV series.
***The Addams Family. Decca Broadway. Cast recording from the new Broadway show based on the cartoons of Charles Addams. Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth co-star.
***Broadway Bares Openings. 13 original opening numbers from BC/EFA's popular annual burlesque show, sung by the stars who debuted them on the Broadway Bares stage. All proceeds go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
***Promises, Promises. The Broadway revival cast album. Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth sing the music of Bacharach and David. Masterworks Broadway.

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***Alan Cumming brings his nightclub act to Feinstein’s at the Regency. to 6/26/10. www. feinsteinsatloewsregency.com
***A Night at the Tombs. World premiere musical written and performed by TG legend Bianca Leigh. to 8/05/10. www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
***Jackie Beat in 3-D. The Big and Bitter Drag Artist in her Pride show. 6/25/10-6/26/10. www.JackieBeatRules.com
***La Cage Aux Folles, a revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical, which inspired the film "Birdcage". Kelsey Grammer stars. www.LaCage.com
***Next Fall. Geoffrey Nauffts' provocative play about a gay couple; one partner is a devout Christian and the other is an atheist. www.nextfallbroadway.com
***Promises, Promises. Newly-out Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth star in the Burt Bacharach & Hal David & Neil Simon musical. www.promisespromisesbroadway.com.
***Thank You For Being A Friend. The unauthorized musical parody inspired by the
beloved TV sitcom “The Golden Girls,”. to 8/01/10. Kraine Theatre
www.SpinCycleNYC.com

Elsewhere...

***Blackbird: Honoring a Century of Pansy Divas. a full-length, musical pastiche of queer music. to 7/`10/10. San Francisco, CA. www.eyezen.org
***Celebrity Autobiography, the comedy where celebrities read excerpts from other celebrity’s autobiography. (Casts alternate). with Billy Porter and Bruce Vilanch to 7/12/10, Pittsburgh, PA; with Florence Henderson, Brooke Shields and Michael Urie, 6/21/10, Los Angeles, CA. www.celebrityautobiography.com.
***Curtains. Out Malcom Gets stars in the musical whodunnit. Sally Struthers plays a Broadway producer. to 6/27/10. Pittsburgh, PA. www.pittsburghclo.org
***The Drowsy Chaperone. Carson Kressley (“Queer Eye”) plays the showtune loving man in the chair. to 6/26/10. Ogunquit, ME. www.ogunquitplayhouse.org
***Glitter and Be Gay. Seattle Men’s Chorus and Women’s Chorus salute Bernstein and Sondheim. 6/25/10-6/26/10, Seattle, WA. www.seattlemenschorus.org.
***It’s Jewdy’s Show. Out comic Judy Gold stars in her new solo, co-written with Kate Moira Ryan. to 7/04/10, Williamstown, MA. www.wtfestival.org.
***Legends. Lypsinka and James Lecesne take on James Kirkwood’s comedy about dueling divas (Mary Martin and Carol Channing were the originals). to 7/04/10. Washington, DC. www.studiotheatre.org.


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
***Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride. Bob Christie’s documentary shows that Pride is more than a parade, it’s a giant step on the road to global human rights.
***Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. A new documentary which follows from gig to gig, onstage and at home, and historically through the ups and downs of her career.
***Sex and The City 2, the sequel. Sarah Jessica Parker and friends.
***Stonewall Uprising, a new documentary by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner covering the 3-day Stonewall riots in 1969. http://firstrunfeatures.com/stonewalluprising_playdates.html
***The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls. A documentary about the provocative New Zealand comedic duo, twin sisters and singers. http://topptwins.com.

Out On Video & DVD

***A Star is Born. The remastered and restored 1954 Judy Garland and James Mason classic film musical. Release date: 6/22/10
***Cinema Pride Collection. 10 time-tested queer films spanning 40 years of Hollywood from 1961 onward. http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=arts&sc=movies&sc2=news&sc3&id=106677
***David Hockney: A Bigger Picture. A documentary on the put artist, who returns to England after 25 years in Hollywood. Release date: 6/15/10.
***Prima Donna the Story of an Opera . A BBC-produced documentary film follows the dramatic story of Rufus Wainwright's debut opera, “Prima Donna”.
***Prodigal Sons.Trans filmmaker Kimberly Reed’s autobiographical film about coming home after coming out and transitioning.
***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

***June: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***June: Elaine Paige: Celebrating a Life on Stage, a concert documentary about the British musical theatre actress. PBS. Check local listings.
***SUN: 6/27: Daytime Emmy Awards. Regis Philbin hosts. Live. CBS. www.emmyonline.tv.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

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

7/01/10-7/04/10: Chicago, IL: International Gay Square Dance Clubs Convention. www.iagsdc.org

7/03/10-7/04/10: Seattle, WA: Emerald City Classic LGBT softball tournament. www.emeraldcitysoftball.org/ecc/

7/04/10: Rehoboth Beach, DE: Readings/Booksignings by Lambda Literary Award winning LGBT authors and Fay Jacobs. 10AM. Proud Bookstore. www.aandmbooks.com

7/08/10-7/19/10: Philadelphia, PA: QFest.16th edition of the largest LGBT film festival on the east coast. http://www.QFest.com/

7/10/10: New York, NY: Broadway Barks 12. Bernadette Peters’ and Mary Tyler Moore’s annual adopt-a-thon for shelter pets. Some proceeds benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. www.broadwaycares.org.

7/17/10: Warsaw, Poland: EuroPride 2010. www.europride.eu

7/19/10-8/08/10: New York, NY: International CringeFest. Theme nights include: Sex Encounters of a Disturbed Mind; Psycho Bitch Party; Is That a Corncob in Your Pocket?; Sex, Thugs & Rockin' Roles; Dow Jones Meets Deep Throat; and No Holes Barred. www.nyartists.org.

7/23/10-7/26/10: Alexandria, MN: Family Camp 2010. Family Equality Council’s summer camp for LGBT families and friends. http://www.familyequality.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events_familycamp&AddInterest=1101

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: All Things Stonewall

1. Question: Name this gay rights group, the earliest lasting gay rights organization in the United States, founded in 1950. Based in Los Angeles, it had chapters in San Francisco, New York, Washington and other locales. The national group disbanded in 1961, but chapters continued to operate nationally. the group took its name from a term to describe Medieval French secret societies of masked men. The story of its founding was the basis for a play which was a recent Off-Broadway hit. Answer: The Mattachine Society, brainchild of Harry Hay. "The Tempermentals" with Michael ("Ugly Betty") Urie, told the story of Hay, his lover, Rudi Gernreich, the designer, and others involved in the group's development.

2. Question: Name this gay rights group, which morphed out of the group mentioned in Question #1. In 1952, it spread its wings, and admitted lesbians to its ranks. In 1953, the group began publishing the first U.S. pro-gay publication, and sold it openly on the streets of Los Angeles. In 1954 the U.S. Postal Service declared the magazine 'obscene'., but the group won in 1958 as part of the landmark First Amendment case, Roth v. United States. The magazine continued until 1967. Answer: ONE, Inc. ONE Magazine’s first editors included founders of Mattachine Society and also The Knights of the Clock, a support group for interracial gay couples that had begun in Los Angeles in 1950. ONE also published ONE Institute Quarterly (now the Journal of Homosexuality). It began to run symposia, and contributed greatly to scholarship on the subject of same-sex love (then called 'homophile studies').

3. Question: Name this award-winning actor who is one of the founders of Stonewall, Europe's largest LGBT rights lobbying group. Equally at home playing contemporary and Shakespearean roles, he's one of filmdom's first out actors. Answer: Sir Ian McKellan, who helped organize the group in 1989.

4. Question: Name this actor featured as a cop in a film about Stonewall. He was later kicked off a TV series for homophobic remarks against a fellow out colleague. Answer: Isaiah Washington, who played "Burke" on "Grey's Anatomy" was featured in the 1995 film "Stonewall", directed by Nigel Finch. Washington's comments about ellow actor TR Knight ended his stint on the medical drama.

5. Question: Name this group that has made fruits absolutely fabulous since 1991. They can't wait to be jammed. Answer: Stonewall Kitchens, the specialty gourmet foods company known for its jams and preserves. www.stonewallkitchen.com.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: Symbols of Pride

1. Question: Name this Pride symbol of greek origins, which was originally chosen by the Gay Activist Alliance in New York in 1970. The GAA was a group which broke away from the larger Gay Liberation Front at the end of 1969, only six months after it's foundation in response to the Stonewall Riots.

2. Question: Name this Pride symbol which has become one of the most widely used and recognised in the gay pride movement. It was developed in 1978 for the San Francisco Pride Parade.

3. Question: Name this Pride symbol whose origins are traced back to the Holocaust in Germany. When Hitler came to power, homosexuals were placed in concentration camps. This symbol identified them as a criminal class other than Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners and others.

4. Question: Name this symbol that originated in the LGBT communnity and was created by singer/songwriter Paul Jabara and the New York-based Visual AIDS group in 1991. It was first seen worn by Jeremy Irons at the 1991 Tony Awards.

5. Question: Name this symbol that surfaced after the passage of Proposition 8. It was seen at the Oscars and the Tony Awards and will be visible during major Pride organizations. It supports marriage equality.

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/