Coming Out Support Newsweekly: 5/30/11

Coming Out Support (COS) Newsweekly
Volume 14 No. 21 May 30, 2011
Newsletter Editor: M. G. Auerbach Email: COSNewsweekly@gmail.com

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The Gay Agenda: Datebook: May 30-June 5, 2011

For Pride Events worldwide: www.interpride.org. or http://www.gayfriendlybiz.com/calendar.html

thru SAT: 6/18: Chicago, IL: Windy City Gay Idol talent competition. www.windycitymediagroup. com

thru SAT: 6/04: Hartford, CT: Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. http://www.OutFilmCT.org/.

thru MON: 5/30: Toronto, ON: Annual Gay Bowling Tournament. www.igbo.org

thru MON: 5/30: Atlanta, GA: Mondo Homo Dirty South. queer-centric festival featuring music, dance, crafts, performance & more.www.mondohomo.com

thru MON: 5/30: Oakland, CA: Voices Raised ! For people of color with LGBTQ parents. Presented by COLAGE. http://voicesraised.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn

TUE-MON: 5/31-6/06: Orlando, FL: Gay Days Orlando. including Disney. www.gaydays.com

TUE: 5/31: New York, NY: Talk Out Tuesday at “The Normal Heart”. Post-performance conversation.”What It Means to be Gay in America Today With Dr. Joy Browne, WOR radio psychologisthttp://thenormalheartbroadway.com/talkout.php.

WED-THU: : 6/01-6/30: San Francisco, CA: National Queer Arts Festival. LGBT performances and exhibits throughout the Bay Area. www.QueerCulturalCenter.org

THU: 6/02: Chicago, IL: PFLAG National Celebrates The Heartland. A fundraiser. http://community.pflag.org/chicago

THU-SUN: 6/02-6/05: Fort Worth, TX: Q Cinema annual celebration of LGBT-themed movies. www.qcinema.org

THU-SUN: 6/02-6/05: Pittsburgh, PA: The Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute candidate training program. http://www.glli.org/programs/candidate_campaign

THU: 6/02/1: Nationwide: The Importance of Being Earnest, the Broadway revival of the Oscar Wilde classic, will be screened in theatres in hi-def. Brian Bedford directs and stars. David Hyde Pierce narrates. There will be additional screenings before 6/30/11.www.earnesthd.com

FRI: 6/03: Chicago, IL: Unite With Pride: A Community Celebration, a civil union fete to benefit the Civil Rights Agenda and the Families United Project. http://www.jointcra.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=75

SAT: 6/04: Los Angeles, CA: Reading: Some Men, Terrence McNally’s chronicle of the history of the gay movement over 80 years. Maxwell Caulfield, Davis Gaines, Robert Gant star. Proceeds benefit the I AM Love Campaign and the completion funds for the documentary “Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption”. www.corpuschristi-themovie.com.

SUN: 6/05: Boston, MA: AIDS Walk Boston & 5K Run. www.aidswalkboston.org

Newsworthy:

Coming Out: New York Times “Coming Out” Series: LGBT teens in their own words, made its debut on 5/23/11. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/us/23out.html?_r=1

Companies Make Life Better for Gay Employees. Some companies pay the extra tax that gay employees owe the IRS for their partner’s health insurance premiums. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/your-money/health-insurance/21money.html?_r=1&hp

Christians Support Gay Rights, according to a new Human Rights Commission Poll. 68% of those surveyed supported anti-discrimination laws. On Top Magazine reports: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=8452&MediaType=1&Category=26

California: The Trevor Project has opened a call center in the site of the former Harvey Milk Camera Shop in San Francisco’s Castro. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/05/trevor.html

Nevada: Transgender discrimination bills won legislative approval and moved to the governor for signature. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: http://www.lvrj.com/news/transgender-discrimination-bills-pass-nevada-assembly-head-to-governor-122471174.html

Tennessee has passed a bill that abolishes antidiscrimination ordinances passed by cities and counties, effectively leaving LGBT people susceptible to bias in everything from housing to employment The Advocate reports: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/05/23/Tenn_Green_Lights_Discrimination/

San Francisco: A massive red ribbon marks the 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/05/massive-san-francisco-aids-ribbon-marks-30-years-of-epidemic.html

The Buzz (People Making News)

Mike Gin, a California Republican, lost his bid to become a congressman. Had he been elected, he would have been the first out same-sex married member of the House. OnTop Magazine reports: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=8411&MediaType=1&Category=26

Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN, and currently a leader in the US Department of Education, will leave the Administration to become CEO of Be The Change. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/05/19/Jennings_to_Leave_Dept_of_Education/

Coming Out: Jared Max, ESPN radio sportscaster came out. After years at WCBS, Max moved to ESPN a couple of weeks ago.. (Hear the entire coming out on-air episode below). The New York Post reports: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/backpage/espn_radio_max_announces_he_gay_I3p3JlNlR9vGOb8FtJHgVL

Coming Out: Scott Norton, a professional bowler and PBA “Rookie of the Year” has come out. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/05/19/Professional_Bowling_Champ_Comes_Out/

Coming Out: Janet Mock, an editor at People.com, has come out as transgender. GLAAD reports: http://glaadblog.org/2011/05/19/people-com-editor-comes-out-as-transgender/

Dharun Ravi, the roomate of Tyler Clemente who allegedly video’d Clemente having a tryst with another man (which may have led to his suicide) has plead not guilty to various charges. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/05/23/Clementi_Roommate_Pleads_Not_Guilty/

Frank Bruni has been named as a New York Times Op-Ed columnist. He is the first gay op-ed columnist in the paper’s 160-year history. The New York Times reports: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/frank-bruni-named-times-op-ed-columnist/

Darko Tresnjak, the out Serbian-born Shakespeare director, has been named new artistic director at Connecticut’s Hartford Stage. The Hartford Courant reports: http://blogs.courant.com/curtain/2011/05/darko-tresnjak-1.html

Photo Shoots, Audio and Video

Coming Out: Video: Rick Welts, Phoenix Suns President talks to Eliot Spitzer about coming out. Towleroad reports: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/05/weltsout.html

Coming Out: Audio: Jared Max, radio sports announcer, comes out on the air. From ESPN: http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=6567207&autoplay=1&callsign=KSPNAM

Audio: Can Gay Athletes Come Out and Play? Frank Deford’s opinion piece for NPR. http://www.npr.org/2011/05/18/136391234/can-gay-athletes-come-out-and-play?sc=fb&cc=fp

Video: Janet Mock’s “It Gets Better” contribution, courtesy of Towleroad. http://www.towleroad.com/2011/05/janet-mock.html

Video: Andrew Cuomo, New York governor, pushes for marriage equality. via Towleroad.com: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/05/cuomoclip.html

Video: Trailers for “Smash”, the new hour-long TV drama about the subculture of the Broadway musical theatre which debuts mid-season.from BroadwayWorld.com: http://www.broadway.com/buzz/156422/catch-megan-hilty-channel-marilyn-monroe-alongside-debra-messing-in-trailer-of-new-tv-show-smash/

Features

Coming Out: Sports: 25 Coming Out Stories from 2011. The Advocate reports: http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/05/18/Sports_25_Coming_Out_Stories_in_2011/

Profile: Michael R. Long, Conservative Party: The #1 Obstacle to Gay Marriage in New York. The New York Times reports: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/nyregion/michael-long-is-gay-marriages-no-1-obstacle-in-ny.html?hpw

Spotlight: Rory O’Malley, out Tony nominee for “The Book of Mormon” and gay rights activist.. StageRush reports: http://www.stage-rush.com/2011/05/rory-omalley-book-of-mormon-interview/

Opinion: Charles Barkley says “In sports, ability to play should outweigh sexual orientation”. The Washington Post reports: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/charles-barkley-in-sports-ability-to-play-should-outweigh-sexual-orientation/2011/05/17/AFSArk5G_story.html

DADT: A Gay Officer Witnesses Its End. TIME Magazine reports: http://battleland.blogs.time.com/2011/05/23/dont-ask-dont-tell-a-gay-officer-witnesses-its-end/

Opinion: Why Legalizing Gay Marriage Strengthens America. The Huffington Post reports: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-moulene/why-legalizing-gay-marria_b_863316.html

In Print:

A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski. Beacon Press. The first book to cover the entirety of LGBT history in the USA, from 1492 to the present. For the Slate review: http://www.slate.com/id/2295179/

In Performance: Onstage:Theatre/Music/Dance

New York City (and Broadway)

***Lucky Guy. Varla Jean Merman and Leslie Jordan co-star in a new musical set in Nashville. to 7/24/11. http://www.luckyguythemusical.com/
***The Normal Heart. Larry Kramer’s, landmark story of the early days of the AIDS pandemic. First produced 25+ years ago, it makes its Broadway debut. Talkbacks will be held after Tuesday performances.
***One Arm. Moises (“The Laramie Project”) Kaufman’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams unproduced screen play about a boxing champ who loses his arm and returns to hustling to survive. www.thenewgroup.org.. to 7/02/11.
***The Other Day, a new drama by Mark Jason Williams about a fragile gay relationship. Proceeds benefit the Hetrick Martin Institute. to 6/26/11. www.planetconnections.org.
***Quartet. Four gay-themed plays by Mario (“Nine”) Fratti. to 6/19/11. www.theaterforthenewcity.net
***WTC View. Brian Sloan’s drama about a gay man seeking a roommate in the West Village immediately after 9/11. to 6/05/11. www.59e59.org

Elsewhere...

***Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, world premiere of a new musical based on Armistead Maupin’s stories. to 7/19/11. San Francisco, CA. www.act-sf.org
***Bare, the rock musical about repressed teens in a Catholic high school, including two guys who have to deal with their romance. to 6/25/11. St. Louis, MO. www.newlinetheatre.com
***Fighting Mac. the story of English general Sir Hector MacDonald, who was gay. to 6/26/11, San Francisco, CA. www.therhino.org.
***Follies. The legendary Sondheim musical about a reunion of show girls. Bernadette Peters stars. to 6/19/11. Washington, DC. www.kennedy-center.org
***The Pride. Alexi Kaye Campbell’s play about two men and a woman caught in a love triangle. to 7/03/11. San Francisco, CA. www.nctcsf.org

On Display

***Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, a collection of the out designer’s works from 1992-2010. through 7/31/11. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId=%7B55189B0E-51CF-4801-BC24-1D7CC67F7633%7D

On Screen (and Video & DVD)

Out on Screen...

***Beautiful Darling: The Life and Times of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar. James Rasin’s documentary about the transgender Andy Warhol superstar, who died in 1974, at age 29.
***Beginners. Ewan McGregor plays an illustrator whose father (Christopher Plummer) comes out to him.
***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.
***Making The Boys. A documentry about the production of “The Boys in The Band”, the first commercially-successful gay-themed drama which opened just before Stonewall. With Edward Albee, Mart Crowley (the playwright), Candis Cayne and others. Screening schedule on Facebook.

Out On Video & DVD

***Equality U. The documentary about the 2006 Soul Force Equality Ride, a cross-country journey to confront antigay discrimination.
***Kaboom, a new film from Gregg Araki. The world according to Smith, a bisexual Southern California cinema studies major (Thomas Dekker).
***Stonewall Uprising: The documentary about the beginning of the American gay rights movement. View online: http://video.pbs.org/video/1889649613/
***Undertow. A Peruvian film about a man with a pregnant wife who takes a male lover.
***Violet Tendencies. Mindi Cohn (“The Facts of Life”) plays a fag hag in this new romantic comedy. www.violettendenciesmovie.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 frequently. www.glaad.org/tvgayed

***June: In the Life. LGBT news magazine. PBS. Check local listings. http://www.itl.tv/inthelife/episodes/
***SAT: 6/04: Drama Desk Awards highlights hosted by Harvey Fierstein. 9PM. Ovation.

Conferences, Seminars, Benefits, and Special Events

For Pride Events worldwide: www.interpride.org. or http://www.gayfriendlybiz.com/calendar.html

6/10/11-6/12/11: Falls Village, CT: Neherim GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality East Coast Gathering. http://www.nehirim.org/east

6/10/11-6/12/11: San Francisco, CA: Queer Women of Color Film Festival. www.qwocmap.org

6/15/11-6/19/11: Provincetown, MA: Provincetown Int’l Film Festival. www.ptownfilmfest.org

6/16/11-6/26/11: San Francisco, CA: Frameline: San Francisco Int’l LGBT Film Festival. www.frameline.org

6/19/11: New York, NY: Folsom Street East. Leather street festival. http://www.folsomstreeteast.org/

6/19/11: New York, NY: Broadway Bares XXI: Masterpiece. The annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit that offers up a modern-day burlesque show packed with museum-quality human canvases that would make an art critic blush. www.broadwaybares.com

6/21/11: Washington, DC: Night OUT. at the Nationals. Washington Nationals play the Seattle Mariners. http://www.teamdc.org/noan.html

6/25/11: New York, NY: Stonewall Veterans Association commemorates the 42nd anniversary of Stonewall. www.stonewallvets.org

7/01/11-7/04/11: Washington, DC: DignityUSA 20th National Convention for LGBT Catholics. http://conv2011.dignityusa.org/

7/01/11-7/04/11: Atlanta, GA: Int’l Gay Square Dance Clubs Convention. www.iagsdc.org

Last Week’s Trivia Quiz: Gays and the Military

1. Question: Name this former US Navy sailor, who won his case against DADT, after he was outed by AOL. The Navy asked AOL for his information based on a screen name and a profile, and AOL released private information without a search warrant or a court order. Hint: he shares a name with a notorious killer. Answer: Timothy McVeigh, who served 17 years in the Navy before retiring in 1998. For The New York Times backstory: http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/010998navy.html

2. Question: Name this DADT activist, an American infantry officer in the US Army, who came out on the Rachel Maddow Show. He has been a leader in demonstrations to force the repeal of DADT, and he applied for re-enlistment in October, 2010. Answer: Daniel Choi, a West Point grad who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

3. Question: Name this American infantry soldier, who was murdered by a fellow soldier in 1999, because he was believed to be gay. He was outed by a fellow soldier who learned that his buddy was dating a transgender entertainer. His life story was made into a Peabody Award-winning film. Answer: Private Barry Winchell, subject of the 2003 film “Soldier’s Girl”. Winchell’s murder caused President Clinton to review DADT.

4. Question: Name this pioneering gay American journalist, who brought the issues of DADT to the American public, after chronicling the AIDS epidemic in America, and one of the nationa’s most important LGBT civil rights activists. Answer: Randy Shilts, author of “Conduct Unbecoming: about gays in the military; “And The Band Played On”, the history of the AIDS epidemic” and “The Mayor of Castro Street” about Harvey Milk.

This Week’s Trivia Quiz: June Milestones

1. Question: Name this event, on June 22, 1969, which triggered anguish within the gay community and may have led (according to legend) to the Stonewall riots.

2. Question: Name this landmark legislation on June 26, 2003. When The Supreme Court acted, this fueled the revival of an intense LGBT civil rights movement.

3. Question: Name this event, which first started on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the Stonewall riots. New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and smaller cities saw this event.

4. Question: Name this gay composer, known for his spicy lyrics, born June 9, 1892. He gave Ethel Merman the showstopping Reno Sweeney, and rhymed “heinous” with “Coriolanus”. His film bio was released in 2004.

5. Question: Name this Canadian pop singer who came out in the Advocate on June 16, 1992. Her star continues to rise, and she recently completed a global tour with Tony Bennett.

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/