Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 6/28/10

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 25 June 28, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

The Fine Print

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: June 28-July 4, 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 SAT: 8/07: New York, NY: 19th annual HOT! Festival of queer culture and performance. Participants include: Julie Halston, Sweetie, Steve Hayes, David Ilku, Jody Lennon, Bradford Scobie, Clark Beasley, Greg Wallach, and Jay Rogers. www.hotfestival.org

MON: 6/28: Coral Gables, FL: Cat Cora, out star of "Iron Chef America" signs copies of “Cat Cora's Classics With A Twist”. 8PM Books and Books. Aragon Ave.

MON: 6/28: New York, NY: Vanessa Williams will be honored by The Trevor Project at its 10th annual East Coast gala,. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. www.thetrevorproject.org.

TUE: 6/29: Los Angeles, CA: Kathy Griffin, queen of the D-list, signing copies of Official Book Club Selection” 7:30PM. Barnes & Noble. Grove Drive.

THU: 7/01: Nprthridge, CA: Alison Arngrim, star of "Little House on the Prairie", signs copies of “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch”. 7PM. Border’s, Tampa Avenue.

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

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

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

Newsworthy:

The Texas GOP Platform. Criminalize Gay Sex. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/06/texas-gop-platform-criminalize-gay-sex-and-imprison-anyone-who-issues-a-marriage-license-to-a-gay-co.html

Gay Workers Will Get Time to Care for Partner’s Sick Child The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/us/politics/22rights.html?hp

Farewell Happy Meals. In Frence, McDonald’s released a gay-friendly ad. A top executive at McDonald’s said that won’t happen in America. The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the largest LGBT business group in the US, has severed its relationship with the fast-food giant. The Huffington Post reports: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/mcdonalds-homophobic-comm_n_616458.html

Broadway Bares XX: Strip-opoly, which was presented 6/20/10 at the Roseland Ballroom, raised a record-breaking $1,015,985 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. www.broadwaycares.org.

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Vanessa Carlton, the singer known for the hit “A Thousand Miles”, has come out as bisexual. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/06/vanessa-carlton-comes-out-as-bisexual.html

Ramin Setoodeh, the out Newsweek writer who found himself in hot water after writing a piece questioning the believability of gay actors in straight roles, is leaving the magazine for a job at People. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/22/Gay_Actors_Writer_Leaves_Newsweek_for_People/

Awards and Honors:

Winners: NewNowNext Awards, presented by Logo to “next big thing artists”. Cheyenne Jackson co-hosted. Among the winners: Lea Michele, RuPaul, Johnny Weir. www.newnownext.com.

Hollywood Walk-Of-Fame Honorees: Neil Patrick Harris and Melissa Etheridge are among the 30 celebrities who have been named Hollywood Walk of Fame recipients for the year 2011. www.hollywoodchamber.net.

Photo Shoots and Video

Photos: Broadway Bares XX: Strip-opoly from Broadway World.com:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_Broadway_Bares_Backstage_20000101
http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_BROADWAY_BARES_XX_STRIPOPOLY_Opening_Number_20100621

Obama Pride: President Obama’s Speech at the White House LGBT Pride Reception on 6/22/10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUBI7dmUeb4&feature=player_embedded

Features

Broadway Bares XX: Strip-opoly: The Advocate recap: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/21/Broadway_Bares_All/

Superman with a Gay Twist. The gay playwright and comic book author Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa adapts the Broadway musical. The Dallas Voice reports: http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2010/jun/18/theater-preview-its-bird-its-plane-its-superman/

In Print:

Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro. by Andre Soares. University Press of Mississippi. A biography of Navarro, who shared the screen with the era’s top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, and became Rudolph Valentino’s main rival in the “Latin Lover” category. The matinee idol was brutally murdered by a hustler.

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***A Night at the Tombs. World premiere musical written and performed by TG legend Bianca Leigh. . to 8/05/10. www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
***Gay Blues. Matthew Cleaver’s one-man cantata on marriage equality. 7/02/10-7/05/10. www.thefugitivekind.org
***La Cage Aux Folles, a revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musica, based on a French film, which inspired the film "Birdcage". Kelsey Grammer stars. www.LaCage.com
***My Big Gay Italian Wedding. Anthony J. Wilkinson's comedy. Reichen Lehmkuhl stars; www.BigGayItalianWedding.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 musical pastiche of queer music, written and performed by Seth Eisen depicting eccentric and inimitable gay performers from the 1930s to the present. to 7/`10/10. San Francisco, CA. www.eyezen.org
***Celebrity Autobiography, the comedy where celebrities read excerpts from other celebrity’s autobiography. with Billy Porter and Bruce Vilanch to 7/12/10, Pittsburgh, PA;.www.celebrityautobiography.com.
***F&*king Men. Joe DiPietro’s gay adaptation of “La Ronde”. to 7/25/10. Chicago, IL. www.fmenchicago.com.
***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.
***It’s A Bird...It’s a Plane...It’s Superman! Hunk Matt Cavenaugh plays the man of steel in a revisal of the musical. to 7/25/10. Dallas, TX. www.dallastheatercenter.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.
***Pearls Over Shanghai. San Francisco’s Longest-Running Cockettes Musical. to 8/01/10. San Francisco, CA: http://thrillpeddlers.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
***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.
***8: The Mormon Proposition, initially a documentary about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah. Director Reed Cowan added the Mormon involvement in Proposition 8 into the mix.
***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.
***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.
***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 out artist, who returns to England after 25 years in Hollywood.
***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

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

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

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

7/31/10-8/07/10: Provincetown, MA: 15th Annual Family Week, for LGBT families and friends. http://www.familyequality.org/site/Calendar/1740357659?view=Detail&id=100061

7/31/10-8/07/10: Cologne, Germany: Gay Games, 8th edition of the quadrennial event. www.games-cologne.com

8/12/10-8/15/10: San Francisco, CA: Homo A Go Go. Queer arts festival. www.homoagogo.com.

8/13/10-8/29/10: New York, NY: New York International Fringe Festival. emerging theatre serious and otherwise from 197 theatre troupes at 20 venues in lower Manhattan. www.fringenyc.org.

8/22/10-8/29/10: Porter, ME: Camp Camp. Summer camp for LGBT adults.
www.campcamp.com

Last 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. Answer: Lambda, the lower case Greek letter.

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. Answer: The Rainbow Flag, designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker.

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. Answer: The Pink Triangle. An estimated 25,000 gays sent to prisons and later concentration camps. Their sentence also included sterilization, most commonly in the form of castration. In 1942, Hitler extended the punishment for homosexuality to death.

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. Answer: The Red Ribbon, to educate the public about the transmission of AIDS and HIV and the needs of those living with AIDS. .

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. Answer: The White Knot for Equality, dedicated to the premise that everyone should have the right to tie the knot. www.whiteknot.org.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: July Milestones

1. Question: Name this phenomenon, first mentioned in the New York Times on July 2, 1981. It had a major impact on the LGBT community before becoming a world-wide issue.

2. Question: Name this gay naturalist and author, an advocate of civil disobedience, born on July 12, 1817. He wrote primarily of the life around his isolated cabin in the Boston suburbs.

3. Question: Name this professional athlete and buff boy who came out on July 1, 1989 in the sports magazine, “Iron Man”.

4. Question: Name this college city, which was the first city in America to pass a broad gay civil rights law on July 10, 1972. Hint: It’s not San Francisco.

5. Question: Name this American TV, which made its debut on Showtime on July 13, 1984. It was the first American TV show with an openly gay lead character.

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/