Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 1/17/11

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 14 No. 2 January 17, 2011
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: January 17-23, 2011

thru SAT: 6/04: Nationwide: David Sedaris continues his book tour with his new bestseller “Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk”. http://www.barclayagency.com/speakers/appearances/sedaris.html

thru SUN: 1/23: Aspen, CO: Aspen Gay Ski Week. www.gayskiweek.com

MON: 1/17: Ann Arbor, MI: Johnny Weir does a booksigning for “Welcome to My World”. 5PM. Borders Books, East Liberty. Also: TUE: 1/18: Chicago, IL: 12N. Borders Books, N. State Street.

MON: 1/17: New York, NY: Friends With Benefits. cabaret fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS with Robin de Jesus, Beth Leavel and others. www.broadwaycares.org.

WED-SUN: 1/19-1/23: Stowe, VT: Winter Rendezvous gay skiing, winter sports & entertainment. www.winterrendezvous.com

THU: 1/20-SUN: 1/30: Park City, UT: Sundance Film Festival. www.sundance.org Sundance schedule: http://www.sundance.org/press-center/release/2011-sundance-film-festival-announces-films-in-premieres/

FRI: 1/21: Springfield, MA: Viva!, the 14th annnual gala benefitting the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts. http://www.aidsfoundationwm.org/

FRI-SAT: 1/21-1/22: Miami, FL: Gavin Creel in concert. www.preludebybartong.com

SUN: 1/23: New York, NY: dot429 LGBT Professionals Networking Brunch. http://dot429.com/events/brunch-new-york


Newsworthy:

Northern Trust, the Chicago-based financial company, has begun a LGBT practice. Chicago Breaking Business reports: http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/01/northern-trust-sets-up-practice-for-gay-community.html

Living as Both Male and Female: Norrie, neither man nor woman, is the first person in the world to be issued identity papers saying “sex not specified”. ABC reports: http://abcnews.go.com/International/australian-lives-male-female-sex-change/story?id=12529909

The GLBT History Museum has opened in San Francisco’s Castro district. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/glbthistory.html

Yale University Payroll Error will cost gay employees thousands. The New York Times reports: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/yale-payroll-error-costs-gay-employees-thousands/?hp

Gay High School Athletes blog to make a difference. Outsports reports: http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2011/01/08/gay-high-school-athletes-blog-to-make-difference/

The Buzz (People Making News)

Coming Out: Steve Buckley, long time Boston Herald sports columnist, comes out in his column. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20110106welcome_to_my_coming-out_party/srvc=home&position=1

Coming Out: Johnny Weir, Olympic figure skater, has come out in his new autobiography, but he doesn’t rule our marrying a woman. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/01/06/Weir_Im_Gay_But_Id_Marry_a_Woman/

Vicky Kolalowski was sworn in as America’s first-elected Transgender Trial Judge in the Superior Court Judge for Alameda County, CA. LGBT/POV reports: http://www.lgbtpov.com/2011/01/vicky-kolakowski-sworn-in-as-americas-first-elected-transgender-trial-judge/

Fred Karger, the gay Republican exploring a presidential bid for 2012, has been excluded from a candidates' forum to be hosted by the Iowa Christian Alliance next month because the group says he "is not a legitimate candidate." The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/01/10/Gay_Republican_Blocked_from_Iowa_Debate/

Daniel Hernandez Jr, an out intern for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, helped apply potentially life-saving first aid to the lawmaker, after she was shot in the head on 1/08/11 in Tucson. Hernandez Jr., 20, is a University of Arizona student and member of Tucson's Commission on LGBT Issues, started working for the congresswoman just last week. The Dallas Voice reports: http://www.dallasvoice.com/meet-gay-intern-saved-rep-giffords-life-1060085.html

Awards and Honors:

The Queen honors several LGBT Brits. Bay Windows reports: http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3&id=114914

People’s Choice Awards: “Glee”, Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch, and more. StarPulse reports: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/01/06/2011_peoples_choice_awards_winners

Photo Shoots and Video

Coming Out: Ricky Martin’s first new single since he came out. It’s all about equality. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/martin.html

Features

Does Hollywood Shut Out Gay Actors ? Joy Behar talks with Ramin Setoodeh and Howard Bragman. http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/ramin.html

David Sedaris. The CBS Sunday Morning News profile: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7227961n&tag=cbsnewsVideoArea.0

Profile: Earl Dax, keeping the queer avant-garde going. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/theater/08dax.html/?_r=1&src=fbth

Opportunities

Point Foundation Scholarships are now available for 2011-12. The Point Foundation is the nation's largest scholarship granting organization for LGBT students of merit. Application deadline is 2/11/11. www.pointfoundation.org.

In Print:

Dear John, I Love Jane. Women Writing About Leaving Men for Women. Edited by Candace Walsh and Laura Andre. Avalon. 27 essays by smart, hilarious, and heroically honest writers, who, like Cynthia Nixon, Portia de Rossi, and Wanda Sykes, left heterosexual lives behind to pursue relationships with women.

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Tony Kushner’s award-winning epic. Michael Urie stars beginning 2/02/11 thru 3/27/11. www.signaturetheatre.org.
***The Divine Sister. Charles Busch’s new play. Busch plays an indomitable Mother Superior driven to build a new school for her Pittsburgh convent. www.DivineSisterOnstage.com.
***The Importance of Being Earnest. Gay Oscar Wilde’s classic. Brian Bedford turns in a gender-bender as Lady Bracknell. to 3/06/11. www.roundabouttheatre.org
***Justin Bond, TG cabaret. 1/23/11, 1/30/11. www.jojespub.com.
***La Cage Aux Folles, a revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical, based on a French film, which inspired the film "Birdcage". www.LaCage.com

Elsewhere...

***A Catered Affair. the Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino musical based on the film with a little gay sensibility added. to 1/23/11. Houston, TX. www.mainstreettheater.com.
***Dead Man Walking. The Jake Heggie/Terrence McNally opera based on Sister Helen Prejean’s book about death row. Frederica von Stade stars as Sr. Helen. to 2/06/11. Houston, TX. www.houstongrandopera.org.
***The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane's Tony Award-winning comedy about a Hollywood agent’s crisis dealing with her star’s decision to come out. to 2/13/11. Morristown, NJ. www.bickfordtheatre.org
***The Loose Chanteuse. Varla Jean Merman’s new show. 1/22/11-1/23/11, San Diego, CA. www.varlaonline.com
***Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays. Playlets about marriage equality. to 2/07/11. Los Angeles, CA. www.StandingOnCeremony.net
***[title of show], the musical about guys who write a musical. to 1/30/11. Philadelphia, PA. www.mauckingbird.org
***Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Tracy Letts and Amy Morton star as sparring spouses in out Edward Albee’s masterpiece. to 2/13/11. Chicago, IL. . www.steppenwolf.org.

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***A Marine Story. Alexandra, a married Marine, is a casualty of DADT. After discharge, she rebuilds her life. The trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixk192SX9es
***Black Swan. Natalie Portman plays a ballerina competing for a lead in “Swan Lake”.
***I Love You Phillip Morris. Based on Steve McVicker's book about real-life events. Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, who falls for his cellmate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor).
***Rabbit Hole, John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig” and “Short Bus”) directs the movie version of the Broadway drama which stars Nicole Kidman. www.rabbitholefilm.com.
***Twelve Thirty. Jonathan Groff and Mamie Gummer star in a quirky film about a broken family (Dad is bi). www.twelvethirtymovie.com.
***Undertow. A Peruvian film about a man with a pregnant wife who takes a male lover. Limited screenings to qualify for Best Foreign Film Oscar.

Out On Video & DVD

***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). .
***The Life of Reilly. A riveting, sometimes hysterical documentary about Charles Nelson Reilly, the out comic, actor, and director.
***Prayers for Bobby. Sigourney Weaver stars in a true story about the mother of a gay son who has problems accepting him.

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

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

1/24/11-1/28/11: Nationwide: No Name-Calling Week, the GLSEN initiative. www.nonamecallingweek.org.

1/28/11-2/05/11: Kingston, ON: Reel Out Queer Film & Video Festival. www.reelout.com

1/30/11: Los Angeles, CA: dot429 LGBT Professionals Networking Brunch.
http://dot429.com/events/brunch-los-angeles-3

1/30/11-2/06/11: Whistler, BC: WinterPRIDE: Whistler Gay Ski Week. www.gaywhistler.com

2/02/11-2/06/11: Minneapolis, MN: Creating Change. The National Conference on LGBT Equality. http://www.creatingchange.org/?tr=y&auid=6739637

2/05/11: New York, NY: No Excuses Gala, the Human Rights Campaign New York Gala. http://www.hrcgreaterny.org/

2/07/11: Nationwide: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. www.blackaidsday.org.

2/07/11: New York, NY: Broadway Backwards #6. Gender bendered showtunes to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) and The LGBT Community Center (the Center). Clay Aiken, Alan Cumming, Denis O’Hare, Bobby Steggert, and more co-star. http://www.broadwaycares.org/backwards2011

2/08/11: Albany, NY: Marriage Equality Day at the State Capitol. A Marriage Equality New York Rally. http://www.meny.us/

2/11/11: Northampton, MA: “Heart to Heart”. The LGBT Coalition of Western Massachusetts benefit for the Shining Star Scholarship Fund for LGBT youth. www.lgbtcoationwma.org

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Anniversaries

1. Question: What was this milestone 30 years ago (reported in the New York Times on 7/2/81). It started an epidemic of fear, ignorance, and activism within the LGBT community. Answer: “Rare Cancer Seen in Homosexuals”, the first story in the Times about the un-named disease which will later become known as AIDS.

2. Question: What was this milestone 40 years ago. Name the state, the second to decriminalise same-sex acts among consenting adults. (Illinois was the first). Hint: The state has passed legislation to approve same-sex marriage, and its not Massachusetts. Answer: Connecticut, on 10/1/71.

3. Question: What was this milestone 50 years ago. Name the Washington DC chapter of this groundbreaking LGBT rights organization formed on 11/15/61. Frank Kameny was elected its first president. Answer: The Mattachine Society.

4. Question: What was this milestone 10 years ago ? Name the award-winning Broadway musical based on a film of the same name, in which two producers advise a gay director and his partner to make the Third Reich a bit gayer. Answer: The Producers, laughs courtesy of Mel Brooks. It opened 4/19/01.

5. Question: What was this milestone 20 years ago. Name this epic drama which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 It dealt with AIDS and gay life in America. It had a Broadway run later, a film and opera adaptation, and is currently playing a revival in New York. Answer: Angels in America by Tony Kushner.

This 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.

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 dreams of dancer wanna-bes, some gay, and later a musical tribute to a dreamy 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: 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/