Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 10/18/10

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 13 No. 41 October 18, 2010
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: October 18-24, 2010

thru SUN 10/31: Nationwide: LGBT History Month

thru SUN: 10/24: Chicago, IL: The Great Plays of Terrence McNally. A series of readings and performances of the out playwright’s major works. Pride Films and Plays. www.pridefilmsandplays.com.

thru THU: 12/02: Nationwide: David Sedaris does a book tour with his new book: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Beastiary http://www.barclayagency.com/speakers/appearances/sedaris.html

thru SAT: 10/23: Washington, DC: Reel Affirmations: The Nation’s LGBT Film Festival. www.reelaffirmations.org

thru SUN: 10/24: Seattle, WA: Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. www.threedollarbillcinema.org

MON: 10/18: New York, NY: The Normal Heart. Joel Grey directs a 25th anniversary staged reading of Larry Kramer’s groundbreaking play. Victor Garber, John Benjamin Hickey, Joe Mantello and Patrick Wilson star. An Actors Fund and Friends in Deed benefit. 212.221.7300, ext 133.

WED: 10/20-WED: 11/24/: New York, NY: So You Think You Can Drag. Fabulous queens compete for celebrity judges and audience approval. www.timeoutnylounge.com/soyouthinkyoucandrag  

THU: 10/21: Los Angeles, CA: The Legacy Award, a gala to benefit Outfest’s Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation. The Outfest Legacy Project, a collaboration with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, is the only pro www.outfest.org/tla/

THU-SUN: 10/21-10/24: Laughlin, NV: International Gay Rodeo Finals. www.finalsrodeo.com

FRI: 10/22: Fort Collins, CO: Carol Channing, Broadway legend, signs copies of her gospel album “For Heaven’s Sake”. 6PM. Barnes & Noble. South College Avenue.

SUN: 10/24: Boston, MA: Alison Arngrim, star of "Little House of the Prairie" signing copies of her new book “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch”. 12:30PM. Barnes & Noble, Boylston Street.

SUN: 10/24: New York, NY: David Hyde Pierce chats show biz with Broadway’s Jordan Roth. www.92Y.org/lectures.

Newsworthy:

Judge Suspends Down DADT: Policy Infringes on fundemental rights, according to US District Court Judge Virginia Phillips. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2010/10/judge-suspends-down-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-infringes-on-fundamental-rights.html

Campaign 2010: Ten Races to Watch. The Victory Fund showcases out LGBT candidates. http://www.victoryfund.org/newsroom/view/url:victory_fund_names_ten_races_to_watch

California: The University of Southern California has acquired what it calls the world’s largest archive related to LGBT history, the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, which includes the papers of activists and entertainers, seminal magazines and other historical materials. 89.3KPCC/Southern California Public Radio reports: http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/10/08/gay-archive/

News: Gay Teens, Bullying and Suicide

It Gets Better Project. http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com/

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Isaac Katz, son of Jonathan Katz the homophobic Washington University physics professor, has come out. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/10/11/Son_of_Homophobic_Professor_Comes_Out/

Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, the widow of tennis legend Arthur Ashe, released a video for the Human Rights Campaign in New York that expresses her and her late husband’s support for marriage equality. The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/10/01/Jeanne_Moutoussamy_Ashe_for_Marriage_Equality/

Photo Shoots and Video

Video: “Trevor”: the short film that inspired The Trevor Project to develop a 24/07 hotline for LGBTQ youth. http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/10/watch_the_short_film_trevor_1008.php

Video: Divas in Discussion. Liza Minnelli chats with Charles (“The Divine Sister”) Busch on “In The Life”. http://www.playbill.com/playblog/2010/10/liza-minnelli-talks-to-charles-busch-on-in-the-life-video/

Photos: T.R. Knight and Patrick Stewart in “A Life in the Theatre”. BroadwayWorld.com reports: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_A_LIFE_IN_THE_THEATRE_on_Broadway_20101006

Features

Coming Out: The Advocate on National Coming Out Day: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/10/11/Complicated_Time_for_National_Coming_Out_Day/

The Resource Center:

National Resource Center on LGBT Aging: Resources for LGBT older adults. http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/

OutServe: The Underground Network of Actively Serving LGBT Military Personnel. http://outserve.org/#

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***A Life in The Theatre. T.R. Knight stars with Patrick Stewart who plays an elderly actor and Knight’s mentor in David Mamet’s play. to 1/02/11.
***Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Tony Kushner’s award-winning epic. thru 2/20/11. www.signaturetheatre.org.
***As Is. William Hoffman’s 1985 drama, one of the first plays to tackle the AIDS crisis in America. to 10/31/10. www.applecoretheatercompany.org
***The Divine Sister. Charles Busch plays an indomitable Mother Superior driven to build a new school for her Pittsburgh convent. www.DivineSisterOnstage.com.
***Swan Lake, the all-male Matthew Bourne version. to 11/07/10. www.NYCityCenter.org
***Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. A new musical based on out filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s film. Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sherie Renee Scott star. www.lct.org.

Elsewhere...

***Anita Bryant Died For Your Sins. Brian Christopher Williams play about 1977 global recession, double digit unemployment and the fight for gay rights. to 10/24/10. San Francisco, CA. www.nctcsf.org
***Becoming Walt Whitman. The coming of age story of the famous poet, set in pre-Civil War Manhattan. to 10/24/10. Santa Rosa, CA. www.6thstreetplayhouse.com
***Boys Will Be Boys. The musical about a fundraiser to fight gay attention deficit disorder. to 11/20/10. Theatre Out, Santa Ana, CA. www.theatreout.com
***Carrie. Stephen King’s horror novel turned stage play. Erik Ransom will pull a gender-bending turn as the titular high school student with telekinetic powers. to 11/07/10. Philadelphia, PA. http://www.bratproductions.org/
***I Can See Sarah Palin from my Window. World premiere of gay activist and performance artist Peterson Toscano’s new solo piece. 10/23/10, New Britain, CT. http://www.petersontoscano.com/Schedule
***The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. The Tectonic Theater Project’s docudrama about the aftermath of the Matthew Shepard murder. 10/18/10-10/19/10, Whitewater, WI. 10/22/10-10/23/10, San Francisco, CA. http://www.tectonictheaterproject.org/Tectonic.html
***Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the musical based on the 1994 Australian film. The story of a drag queen and her two fish-out-of-water friends who head west across the desert to Alice Springs in their battered old bus. Toronto, ON. to 11/28/10. www.priscillathemusical.com.
***Sassy Gay Friend. Brian Gallivan’s hilarious Second City character. 10/20/10. Boston, MA. http://www.improvasylum.com/home/sassy-gay-friend-comes-to-boston
***Take Me Out. Richard Greenberg’s award-winning drama about a major league baseball player who comes out. to 10/31/10. Los Angeles, CA.
www.celebrationtheatre.com

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***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.
***HOWL, the docu-feature about Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.
***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.
***The Kids Are All Right. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star in a two-mom family dramedy. Their kids seek out their sperm donor father (Mark Ruffalo). http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/the_kids_are_all_right

Out On Video & DVD

***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. .
***Glee. The Complete First Season.
***LA Mission. Benjamin Bratt is a barrio tough guy who discovers that his son is involved in a relationship with another boy.
***Mädchen in Uniform, the 1958 lesbian classic.
***The Matthew Shepard Story. Stockard Channing plays Judy Shepard in the Lifetime network film about Matthew’s murder. Her performance is incredible.
***Modern Family: The Complete First Season. Follow the story of Mitchell and Cameron.
***Score. Radley Metzger’s 1972 film based on an off-Broadway play. One of the first mass-market films to explore couples who swing both ways. A gay sex scene with Cal Culver (Casey Donovan) was restored for the DVD release.

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 frequently. www.glaad.org/tvgayed

***October: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***Weekdays: The Nate Berkus Show. Oprah’s out protege goes hourly in syndication. Check local listings.
***MON: 10/18: "The Talk," the new talk show featuring out Sara Gilbert, Marisa Jaret Winokur, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Rimini. 2PM CBS.
***WED: 10/20: Michael Feinstein's American Songbook, part three of a three-part series that explores the history of American popular music. www.pbs.org.
***WED: 10/20: A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House featuring Nathan Lane, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Brian d’Arcy James and more. 9PM. PBS. www.pbs.org.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

10/27/10: Las Vegas, NV: Leslie Jordan headlines the Aid for AIDS Nevada Benefit. www.afanlv.org.

10/30/10-11/01/10: New York, NY: Queer Shabbaton. A weekend for LGBT Jews. http://www.nehirim.org/qsny

11/01/10: New York, NY: It Gets Better: Broadway Supports The Trevor Project. Broadway's leading voices, lending their support to this vital organization that provides suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. www.smarttix.com.

11/01/10: New York, NY: Nothing Like a Dame. the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative Benefit. Charles Busch, Mario Cantone, Victoria Clark are amongst the stars.
www.actorsfund.org

11/03/10-11/07/10: New York, NY: New York City Comedy Festival. Among those featured: Rosie O’Donnell and Margaret Cho. www.nycomedyfestival.com

11/04/10-11/13/10: Chicago, IL: Reeling: Chicago Lesbian & Gay Int’l Film Fest.
www.reelingfilmfestival.org

11/05/10-11/07/10: Spokane, WA: Spokane LGBT Film Festival. www.spokanefilmfest.org

11/05/10: New York, NY: Campus Pride College Fair and Prep Day. East Coast Region. http://www.campusclimateindex.org/events/default.aspx

11/06/10: Boston, MA: Campus Pride College Fair and Prep Day. Northeast Region. http://www.campusclimateindex.org/events/default.aspx

11/06/10-11/07/10: Bloomington, IN: Queering the Countryside: New Directions in Rural Queer Studies. Indiana University’s two-day, interdisciplinary conference and workshop. http://www.iub.edu/~gender/queering-the-countryside.html

11/06/10-3/26/11: San Francisco, CA: Exhibition: More Life! “Angels in America” at Twenty. Museum of Performance and Design. http://www.mpdsf.org/EXHIBITIONS/ANGELS/ANGELS.html

11/08/10: New York, NY: Fashion Forward 2010, a fundraiser for the GMHC hosted by Tim Gunn. http://www.gmhc.org/donate/special-events/fashion-forward-2010

11/10/10: New York, NY: Stephen Sondheim, Oscar & Tony winning composer, signing copies of “Finishing The Hat”, his collection of lyrics. 7PM. Barnes & Noble, Union Square.

11/13/10: Los Angeles, CA: LA Gay and Lesbian Center Gala and Auction. Lily Tomlin hosts. Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch appear. www.lagaycenter.org.

11/13/10: Hartford, CT: One Big Event, a benefit for the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective. http://www.hglhc.org/onebigevent/index.html

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Marching for Equality

1. Question: When did the first major National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights take place ? It drew over 75,000 people to the Nation's Capitol to demand equal civil rights and urge the passage of protective civil rights legislation. It drew major LGBT figures of the times, amongst them Allen Ginsberg, Troy Perry, and Leonard Matlovich. Answer: October 14, 1979, ten years after Stonewall.

2. Question: Name this activist, very much involved in last year’s Equality March. A contemporary of Harvey Milk (he was played by Emile Hirsch in the recent film), he was a co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. His memorial initiative to people with AIDS was unveiled for the first time in public at the secondMarch on Washington. Answer: Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS Quilt.

3. Question: Name the initiative, which evolved from the second major March on Washington in 1987, which drew over 500,000 people to demand government action, especially by the Reagan administration, in the fight against AIDS. Today, this initiative supports an act of bravery in the LGBT community. Answer: National Coming Out Day, which launched in 1988.

4. Question: Name this national center, which opened days before the 1993 LGBT March on Washington. It's part memorial, part history museum about the marginalization and extermination of minorities, gays included. One major gay rights symbol traces it roots to this dark historical period. Answer: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has sent exhibitions about the persecution of gays during Nazi Germany on national tours. The pink triangle traces its roots as a symbol to identify gays in Nazi concentration camps.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: LGBT History Month

1. Question: Name this gay scientist, the father of modern computing, who broke the Nazi Enigma codes. He was convicted of "gross indecency", after which he committed suicide. Last year, The British government formally apologised to him.

2. Question: Name this state, the first to introduce civil unions in 2000. Last year, the state approved gay marriage; the first state to do so legislatively as opposed to judicially.

3. Question: Name this sitcom which made history on March 1, 1994, when an actress, granddaughter of a literary giant, played a character who kissed the show's leading lady in an episode called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". The episode was the highest rated TV show of the week.

4. Question: Name this person who made headlines in 1952 as the the first widely-publicized person to have undergone sex reassignment surgery, in this case, male to female, creating a world-wide sensation.

5. Question: Name this American politician who became the first out mayor of an American city with a population of over 1,000,000 people.

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/