Gay Lesbian Times
September 15th Marks LGBT Center Awareness Day
National day to celebrate GLBT Centers
BY IVAN GARCIA, ASSISTANT EDITOR
Published Thursday, 09-Sep-2010 in issue 1185

Our community LGBT Center is one of the biggest and best resources for everything and anything community based. They host social programs, outdoor events and it is the gathering point for many GLBT related community events. Such as the Day of Decision march during the Prop 8 trial ruling. Our San Diego LGBT Community Center is an invaluable asset to many in San Diego, just as many other centers are valuable to their respective communities throughout the country.

September 15th 2010 marks the 2nd celebration of LGBT Center Awareness Day, a day dedicated to creating awareness of these valuable centers throughout the country as well as highlighting their services offered for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community. This day was also created to promote the central role that GLBT centers play in local communities, as well the growing GLBT political and social movement.

Founded by CenterLink, a member-based coalition to support the development of strong, sustainable GLBT community centers, LGBT Center Awareness Day is dedicated to the promotion of community centers that help to empower the GLBT community.

Founded in 1994, The CenterLink organization has played an important role in supporting the growth of GLBT centers across the country and addressing the challenges they face, by helping these centers to improve their organizational and service delivery capacity and increase access to public resources.

Based in Washington, DC, CenterLink works with other national organizations to advance the rights of GLBT individuals and to provide their respective community centers with information and analysis of key issues.

Launched in 2009, Center Awareness Day saw resounding success and support with celebrity testimonials from the likes of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club’s Ant and comedians Bruce Vilanch and Margaret Cho. A letter of support from President Barack Obama and varying nationwide events proved to be successful in 2009, LGBT Center Awareness Day returns in 2010 with just as much, if not more support from the nation and the community.

This year’s theme is “Building Our Community From The Center,” a theme that marks the unified effort and hard work of each GLBT center’s respective community and the growth that could arise from them.

San Diego’s own LGBT Center and its San Diego community are sure to gather for this day of awareness and appreciation for The Center and its staff. Since this is a national day of recognition toward centers nationwide, each center will take this day to create awareness of the resources and services each is valued for.

Salonga, Burgess, Cantone, Adams, Goldwyn, Harada, et al. Set for BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5
Back to the Article
by BWW News Desk
February 22, 2010

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) will present BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5, a one night only event, on Monday, February 22 at 8 PM at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 is produced by BC/EFA and will benefit BC/EFA and The Center.

The full list of participants for BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 includes Nick Adams (A Chorus Line), Martine Allard (The Tap Dance Kid), Gary Beach (The Producers), Tituss Burgess (Guys and Dolls, The Little Mermaid), Dan Butler (TV’s Frasier, The Lisbon Traviata), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City, Laugh Whore), Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd), Harvey Evans (Follies, West Side Story), Raul Esparza (Speed-the-Plow, Company), Tony Goldwyn (Promises, Promises and the film Ghost), Ann Harada (Avenue Q, 9 to 5), Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A Little Night Music), Aaron Lazar (A Little Night Music), Michele Lee (Two-time Tony Award nominee), Julia Murney (The Wild Party, Wicked), Becki Newton (ABC’s “Ugly Betty”, Girl Crazy at Encores!), Will Nunziata, Anthony Nunziata, Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; Jelly’s Last Jam), Lee Roy Reams (La Cage aux Folles, 42nd Street), Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon), Douglas Sills (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray) and over 50 Broadway dancers and singers.

Florence Henderson will serve as host for this year’s BROADWAY BACKWARDS.

Never underestimate the power of a pronoun! BROADWAY BACKWARDS will feature some of Broadway’s biggest names singing songs originally written for the opposite gender: women singing songs written for men and men singing song written for women. By keeping all of the lyrics intact, including the original pronouns, each song takes on an entirely new dimension, sometimes with hysterical results and sometimes with immensely touching results. BROADWAY BACKWARDS will give its audience a chance to see and hear some of the most treasured songs of the Great White Way in a whole new light.

BROADWAY BACKWARDS creator Robert Bartley is returning as director and choreographer of this special evening with musical direction by Wayne Barker.

Tickets are available starting today at www.BroadwayCares.org or by calling 212-840-0770, ext. 268.

Ticket packages are available which include tickets to the concert and VIP reception. In addition single tickets only are available for the concert only.

SINGLE TICKETS TO CONCERT ONLY:
Left/right of center orchestra or center front loge ($250)
Far left/right orchestra or mid-loge ($150 each)
Rear or extreme left/right loge and extreme left/right orchestra ($75 each)

BENEFACTOR ($25,000)
VIP Seating for 12 guests at the performance and 12 passes to the post-performance party
Full-page VIP ad in the event Playbill with priority placement
Priority “Benefactor” credit in event Playbill and event promotion on BC/EFA’s website
A matted and framed poster from the event autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5
Playbill autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5

PATRON ($10,000)
VIP Seating for 8 guests at the performance and 8 passes to the post-performance party
Full-page ad in the event Playbill and listing as “Patron” in the event Playbill
Poster from the event autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5
Playbill autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5

SPONSOR ($5,000)
VIP Seating for 4 guests at the performance and 4 passes to the post-performance party
Half-page ad in the event Playbill
Listing as “Sponsor” in the event Playbill

PREMIUM VIP ($1,000)
1 extraordinary orchestra seat and 1 pass to the VIP post-performance party
Listing as “Premium VIP” in the event Playbill

VIP ($500)
1 Premium Orchestra Seat and 1 pass to the VIP post-performance party
Listing as “VIP” in the event Playbill.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors’ Fund – including The AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers’ Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center provides innovative social service, youth programs and activities, educational and cultural/recreational programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of all ages. Since its inception, the Center has been the only LGBT-identified resource delivering a continuum of substance abuse prevention and treatment services to LGBT communities in and around NYC. More than 3,000 clients use Center Counseling, Advocacy, Recovery and Education (Center CARE) annually, which offers low-cost/no cost professional counseling and social services for substance abuse prevention and related HIV/AIDS, mental health and gender identity issues. More than 1,000 adolescents participate in our LGBT youth prevention program, the Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program. In September 2007 the Center opened Center CARE Recovery, the first and only licensed outpatient substance abuse treatment program for LGBT communities in New York State.

Follow BC/EFA on Twitter: @BCEFA
Find BC/EFA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BCEFA

For more information visit www.BroadwayCares.org or www.GayCenter.org.

GLAAD Honors Barrymore, Sykes, & More at L.A. Awards Ceremony, 4/17
Back to the Article
by BWW News Desk
Feb 18, 2010

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, will honor those committed to promoting equality and tolerance at the 21st Annual GLAAD media awards in ceremonies taking place in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. By recognizing and honoring media for outstanding images of the LGBT community, the GLAAD Media Awards serve as a benchmark for the media industry and complement GLAAD’s work to bring LGBT images and stories to Americans.

As previously reported, among the nominees are Tom Ford’s Golden Globe®-nominated film A Single Man, Lee Daniel’s Golden Globe®-nominated film Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Ang Lee’s latest film Taking Woodstock, Little Ashes, starring Robert Pattinson, AMC’s acclaimed drama Mad Men, Fox’s hit show Glee, ABC’s new hit comedy Modern Family, Be Like Others, a documentary about transgender people in Iran, Logo’s reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, the daytime drama One Life to Live, HLN’s new talk show The Joy Behar Show, The Early Show’s interview with Chaz Bono, bisexual singer Lady Gaga, gay singer Adam Lambert and Spanish-language nominees Sábado Gigante, Primer Impacto, Al Rojo Vivo and People en Español.

“Words and images matter,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “With these awards, we seek to recognize news coverage and entertainment programming that go beyond stock stereotypes with LGBT storylines that more fully reflect the challenges gay and transgender people face and the aspirations we hold for ourselves and our families. The GLAAD Media Awards honor media professionals who are doing an exceptional job at bringing our stories into the living rooms of America – and set a ‘fairness benchmark’ for the news and entertainment industries. The awards also complement and fund GLAAD’s other programmatic work to share the stories of allies, religious leaders, gay and transgender people of color, local couples and families with Americans.”

Barrios continued, “News and entertainment media that present richer, more diverse representations help Americans understand and embrace their gay and transgender family members, friends and neighbors in a more meaningful way. While there is still progress to be made, we are proud to recognize all of this year’s GLAAD Media Awards nominees.”

GLAAD also announced that Cynthia Nixon will be honored with the Vito Russo Award at the New York ceremony. The Vito Russo Award is named after a founding member of GLAAD and is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. More information about the honor is included below.

The newest additions to the honoree list are Drew Barrymore and Wanda Sykes, who will be honored at the Los Angeles ceremony. Barrymore will be the recipient of GLAAD’s Vanguard Award for promoting awareness and understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Barrymore played a gay women in the 2009 flick, Everybody’s Fine alongside Robert De Niro. She has also been extremely vocal in the California same-sex marriage war surrounding Proposition 8, advocating for gay marriage rights.

Sykes will be the recipient of the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, awarded to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person who has been outspoken in promoting equality. The openly gay actress and comedian, out since 2008, has appeared in LGBT public service announcements, performed at LGBT benefits and serves on the board of the Equality California Institute.

GLAAD also announced that the Broadway cast of Hair would receive Special Recognition for their commitment to raising visibility for marriage equality at the New York ceremony.

Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming will host the ceremony in New York, and the San Francisco event will be hosted by Emmy Award-winning comedian and writer Bruce Vilanch. The New York event will take place on March 13, 2010 at the Marriott Marquis; in Los Angeles on April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza; and in San Francisco on June 5 at The Westin St. Francis.

The 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards will be the official launch of GLAAD’s new visual identity, created by Lippincott. The new brand identity fully represents the evolving GLAAD mission and symbolizes the work GLAAD does to amplify the stories of LGBT people, transforming cultural attitudes and demonstrating why it is that words and images matter.

GLAAD announced 116 nominees in 24 English-language categories, and 36 Spanish-language nominees in 8 categories. In the competitive categories, cable networks earned 23 nominations, while broadcast networks garnered 17 nominations.

21ST ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS NOMINEES

OUTSTANDING FILM – WIDE RELEASE
Everybody’s Fine (Miramax)
I Love You, Man (DreamWorks SKG)
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Lionsgate Films)
A Single Man (The Weinstein Company)
Taking Woodstock (Focus Features)

OUTSTANDING FILM-LIMITED RELEASE
Casi Divas (Maya Entertainment)
The Country Teacher (Film Movement)
Little Ashes (Regent Releasing)
Phoebe in Wonderland (THINKFilm)
The Secrets (Monterey Media)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Skins (BBC America)
True Blood (HBO)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Beautiful People (Logo)
Glee (Fox)
GREEK (ABC Family)
Modern Family (ABC)
United States of Tara (Showtime)

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL EPISODE (in a series without a regular LGBT character)
“Homeward Bound” Private Practice (ABC)
“Lisa Says” The Listener (NBC)
“Pawnee Zoo” Parks and Recreation (NBC)
“The Real Ghostbusters” Supernatural (The CW)
“Wait and See” Private Practice (ABC)

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
An Englishman in New York (Logo)
Pedro (MTV)
Prayers for Bobby (Lifetime)
Torchwood: Children of Earth (BBC America)

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY
Ask Not (PBS)
Be Like Others (HBO)
Derek (The Sundance Channel)
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (Diva Productions)
U People (Logo)

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
The Amazing Race 15 (CBS)
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
Making His Band (MTV)
The Real World: Brooklyn (MTV)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo/VH1)

OUTSTANDING DAILY DRAMA
All My Children (ABC)
As The World Turns (CBS)
Guiding Light (CBS)
One Life to Live (ABC)

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW EPISODE
“Ellen Degeneres and Her Wife, Portia de Rossi” The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)
“Hell to Pay – Gay Teen Exorcism” The Tyra Banks Show (The CW)
“Mormon Church & Gays” The Joy Behar Show (HLN)
“The Science of Intersex” The Dr. Oz Show (syndicated)
“Sirdeaner Walker Interview” The Ellen Degeneres Show (syndicated)

OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM – NEWSMAGAZINE
“40th Anniversary of Stonewall” In the Life (PBS)
“Angie Zapata Murder Trial” InSession (truTV)
“Bullied to Death?” Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
“Gay Killings in Iraq” CNN Newsroom (CNN)
“Uganda Be Kidding Me” (series) The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)

OUTSTANDING TV JOURNALISM SEGMENT
“Gay Teen Mutilated” Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell (HLN)
“Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach ‘I Was Utterly Devastated’” CNN Newsroom (CNN)
“Reverend’s Revelation: Minister Speaks Out About Being Transgender” The Early Show (CBS)
“Total Transformation: Why Chaz Bono Decided to Change” Good Morning America (ABC)
“Why Will Won’t Pledge Allegiance” American Morning (CNN)

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
“Binational, Same-Sex Couples Face Immigration Problems” by Mike Swift (San Jose Mercury News)
“Kept From a Dying Partner’s Bedside” by Tara Parker-Pope (The New York Times)
“Militias Target Some Iraqis for Being Gay” by Paul Wiseman and Nadeem Majeed (USA Today)
“Minister Kept Secret for 27 Years” by Christine McFadden (The Portland Tribune [Portland, Ore.])
“Transgender Vets a Hidden Population” by Carol Ann Alaimo (Arizona Daily Star [Tucson, Ariz.])

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST
Leonard Pitts, Jr. (The Miami Herald)
Deb Price (The Detroit News)
Frank Rich (The New York Times)
Rev. ByRon Williams (The Oakland Tribune)
Craig Wilson (USA Today)

OUTSTANDING NEWSPAPER OVERALL COVERAGE
Greeley Tribune [Greeley, Colo.]
Los Angeles Times
The New York Times
Portland Press Herald [Portland, Maine]
The Washington Post

OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE ARTICLE
“Coming Out in Middle School” by Benoit Denizet-Lewis (The New York Times Magazine)
“Either/Or: Sports, Sex and the Case of Caster Semenya” by Ariel Levy (The New Yorker)
“Gay on Trial” by Gabriel Arana (The American Prospect)
“Trouble in Paradise” by Jeannine Amber (Essence)
“What’s Right with Utah” by Lisa Duggan (The Nation)

OUTSTANDING MAGAZINE OVERALL COVERAGE
The Advocate
Entertainment Weekly
The Nation
Newsweek
People

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM ARTICLE
“Former College Football Captain Was Openly Gay” by Cyd Zeigler, Jr. (Outsports.com)
“McMackin’s Slur Reveals Larger Problem” by LZ Granderson (ESPN.com)
“On the Road to Refuge” by Pete Muller (ColorLines.com)
“‘We Love You, This Won’t Change a Thing’” by John Buccigross (ESPN.com)
“Why Can’t You Just Butch Up? Gay Men, Effeminacy, and Our War with Ourselves” by Brent Hartinger (AfterElton.com)

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL JOURNALISM – MULTIMEDIA
“AIDS Lifecycle: On the Road” by Derrick Shore (Advocate.com)
“From Stonewall to Mainstream” research by Jessica Bennett, Rebecca Shabad, & Brooke Browne (Newsweek.com)
“The Stonewall Riots: 40 Years Later” produced by Dave Singleton (AARP.com)

OUTSTANDING MUSIC ARTIST
Brandi Carlile, Give Up the Ghost (Sony Music)
Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster (Interscope)
Gossip, Music for Men (Sony Music)
Adam Lambert, For Your Entertainment (19 Recordings/RCA Records)
Otep, Smash the Control Machine (Victory Records)

OUTSTANDING COMIC BOOK
Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Jane Espenson, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg, Jim Krueger, Doug Petrie, Joss Whedon (Dark Horse Comics)
Detective Comics by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)
Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Secret Six by Gail Simone (DC Comics)
X-Factor by Peter David (Marvel Comics)

OUTSTANDING LOS ANGELES THEATER
40 is the New 15 book and lyrics by Larry Todd Johnson, music by Cindy O’Connor
Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins by Brian Christopher Williams
Battle Hymn by Jim Leonard
Bingo with the Indians by Adam Rapp
Lydia by Octavio Solis

OUTSTANDING NEW YORK THEATER: BROADWAY & OFF-BROADWAY
A Boy and His Soul by Colman Domingo
The Brother/Sister Plays by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts
Soul Samurai by Qui Nguyen
The Temperamentals by Jon Marans

OUTSTANDING NEW YORK THEATER: OFF-OFF BROADWAY
Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party by Aaron Loeb
Devil Boys From Beyond by Buddy Thomas
The Lily’s Revenge by Taylor Mac
She Like Girls by Chisa Hutchinson
Wickets created and conceived by Clove Galilee and Jenny Rogers, adapted from Fefu and Her Friends by Maria Irene Fornes

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Hair book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, music by Galt MacDermot

21st ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS SPECIAL HONOREE IN NEW YORK

Cynthia Nixon
Vito Russo Award

Drew Barrymore
Vanguard Award

Wanda Sykes
Stephen F. Kolzak Award

—————

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

The 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released or broadcast between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Nearly 1,000 media projects were considered by over 85 volunteers serving on seven nominating juries. Each year, the GLAAD Media Awards in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco bring together more than 5,000 supporters to raise nearly $3.5 million for the organization’s work.

More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including Los Angeles Presenting corporate partner ABSOLUT® Vodka and San Francisco Presenting corporate partner Southwest Airlines. GLAAD is also grateful to the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards Platinum Underwriter corporate partners: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and University of Phoenix, as well as Underwriter corporate partners: Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Comcast, Delta Air Lines, Harrah’s Foundation, Herb Ritts Foundation, MillerCoors, New York City Marriott & Renaissance Hotels, The Palette Fund, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, and Time Warner. For a full list of corporate partners and information on how to become a corporate partner, or to become a table host, purchase tickets or place a tribute in the tribute book, visit http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards or call (877) 519-7904.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

LIFESONG 2009
Applaud and Pause for a Cause

Presented by, Because We Care, Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, Chambers Hotel and Cenveo. A musical benefit concert supporting Minnesota AIDS Project & honoring Sharon McNight.

Hosted by Bruce Vilanch with musical direction by Ron Snyder.

Scheduled to appear:
Joey Arias, Cindy Benson, Barbara Brussell, Brian Lane Green, Jerry and Sista Girl, Evie Harris, Jane A. Johnston, Lee Lessack, Mark Nadler, Jack Plotnick, Seth Rudetsky, Julie Reyburn, Karen Saunders, Barbara Sharma, Marcus Simeone, Irene Soderberg, KT Sullivan.

Saturday, June 20, 7:00 pm
Tickets: $75, $50 & $30
(Your ticket price is tax deductible less $25.)

BUY TICKETS

Box Office: (612) 871-1414 (open 2 hours before showtime)

Variety
Duo set for Music Box
Bacharach, David bow monthlong run
By STEVE CHAGOLLAN

For those baby boomers who considered the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David the height of adult sophistication, “Back to Bacharach and David” — which opened at the Music Box @ Fonda theater Sunday (April 19) for monthlong run — not only brings back memories, but astounds with the depth and breadth of the composer-lyricist team’s cannon, responsible for more than 50 top 40 hits back in the day.

David might have been channeling his inner desperate housewife on tunes like “Wives and Lovers” and “One Less Bell to Answer,” with narratives that likely made most feminists cringe even when they were written more than 40 years ago, but Bacharach’s compositions — with their deceptively complex time signatures — are so darned catchy it’s hard not to get caught up in the sheer song craft of it all.

Besides, the revue-styled show has the sense to not take itself too seriously. For instance, the intrinsic melodrama of “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” is deconstructed as comic relief and eventually morphs into a vampy mashup with “What’s New Pussycat?”

And even fans who think they know the Bacharach/David songbook intimately, there are a few surprise moments (as in “they wrote that?”), such as “April Fools,” which Aretha Franklin included on her 1972 masterpiece “Young, Gifted and Black” but was inexplicably left off the definitive Bacharach collection, “The Look of Love,” issued by Rhino Records a little more than a decade ago.

The show, which premiered off Broadway on 1993, has been restaged by original creators Kathy Najimy and Steve Gunderson, with the Music Box done up in supper club style; waitresses served drinks from a menu that included Thai chicken skewers and Buffalo wings — OK, it wasn’t the Cocoanut Grove but the entertainment was transporting.

At least the audience on opening night pointed to something more rare and special than just another jukebox musical — Tony, Emmy and Oscar-winning luminaries like Robert Morse, Alan Cumming, Helen Hunt, Steve Martin, Bruce Cohen and Bruce Vilanch were spotted in the crowd, to name a few.

The show is loaded with vocal talent as capable of nailing Bacharach’s bendy charts as they are with breathing dramatic life into the heartfelt vignettes the songs provide, be it romance, ennui or a particular brand of 60s idealism (and naivate) that gives new meaning to the phrase, “age of innocence.”

Two of the singers hail from “American Idol”: Tom Lowe, who has Justine Timberlake looks and personality but a Broadway-range voice, and first runner up from 2004 Diana DeGarmo. Stage and screen actresses Susan Mosher and Tressa Thomas fill out the cast, along with a nimble five-piece band under the crisp direction of Ben Toth.

The sheer tonal range of the show gives added significance to songs that many might have taken for granted as so much MOR fodder, as when “Walk on by” presented with heartbreaking pathos, or “Don’t Make Me Over” is reinvented a an R&B revue with the accent on empowerment.

Sometimes the juxtaposition of song and projected screen images can seem heavy-handed, such as when “Windows of the World” was sung against the backdrop of stills that summon the civil rights movement, anti-Vietnam war rallies and gay rights activists. Then the number transforms into “What the World Needs Now is Love” and all resistance fades.

The show ends May 17.

Bruce Vilanch to host 12th annual gay Miami Recognition Dinner
From the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

Join us for Miami’s premier annual celebration

The 12th Annual Miami Recognition Dinner
Saturday, October 18, 2008
6:30 PM – Midnight
InterContinental Miami

Honoring:

Ilene Chaiken
(The L Word)

Joan Schaeffer

Keith Boykin

Keith Boykin Confirmed as Third Honoree!
Keith Boykin has been actively involved in progressive causes since he worked on his first congressional campaign as a student in high school. A founder and the first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition, Keith has spoken to audiences all over the world and delivered a landmark speech to 200,000 people at the Millennium March on Washington. He served in the White House as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, who appointed him, along with Coretta Scott King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, to the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe in 1997. Boykin is currently the editor of The Daily Voice newspaper and a host of the BET television show My Two Cents.

Writer/Performer Bruce Vilanch to Host the Awards Ceremony
After years behind the scenes writing topical jokes for Academy Award hosts such as Billy Crystal and comedy personalities like Bette Midler, Vilanch became a celebrity in his own right after becoming a wisecracking regular on the revamped Hollywood Squares game show, seated to the left of center square Whoopi Goldberg. He is openly gay and is notable for breaking the Hollywood stereotype of a homosexual man. In 2005 he starred on Broadway as Edna Turnbladt in the musical Hairspray and appeared on the VH-1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club 3.

For information on sponsoring the event or joining the Host Committee, please visit www.theTaskForce.org/miami or contact Michael Bath, Special Events Manager, at 305.571.1924 or mbath@theTaskForce.org.

The Richmond / Ermet Aids Foundation presents…HELP IS ON THE WAY XIV: BLAME IT ON THE MOVIES
Northern California’s Largest Annual, Star-studded Gala Concert
SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2008 – PALACE OF FINE ARTS, SF
Benefiting 5 Bay Area AIDS Service Organizations

Including… RICKI LAKE, MAUREEN McGOVERN, RITA MORENO, MARILU HENNER, JAI RODRIGUEZ, KIMBERLEY LOCKE, CONSTANTINE MAROULIS, BRUCE VILANCH, PAULA WEST and many more…

THE RICHMOND / ERMET AIDS FOUNDATION is proud to present HELP IS ON THE WAY XIV: BLAME IT ON THE MOVIES. This year’s all-star benefit concert features celebrities from Broadway, TV and Film to American Idol stars. It’s jazz, pop and live performance up close and personal from some of your favorite performers.

The 5 Bay Area AIDS Service Agencies that are the beneficiaries this year include:
Aguilas; 
Larkin Street Youth Services; 
Meals of Marin; Positive Resource Center; Vital Life Services, Oakland

Sun., August 3 at THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS, 3301 Lyon St. in SF.

• VIP Underwriter Reception & extensive Silent Auction 5:00 – 6:00 pm
• Pre-show Gala Reception: 6:00 – 7:30 pm

featuring complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine tastings and martini & margarita bars

• Concert: 7:30 – 9:30 pm.
• Dessert & Wine Party with the cast: 9:30 – 11:45 pm.
• Gala Pre-concert Reception & Performance – Tickets $175
• General Reserved Seating – Performance only – Tickets $75

Doors open for the general public at 7:00 pm

For Tickets call – 415/ 273 -1620
Visit our web site for additional info www.reaf.org

From AfterElton.com
by Snicks
June 2, 2008

Logo (our mother ship) is one of the proud sponsors of NewFest 2008: The 20th Anniversary NY LGBT Film Festival , which runs from June 5th to 15th. We’ve already mentioned the festival’s closing film, Were The World Mine, and another festival entry, The Sensei, so let’s take a look at some other highlights (for a complete list, check out the festival’s website).

The festival opens with Tru Loved, which stars Alexandra Paul, Cynda Williams, Jasmine Guy, Bruce Vilanch, Marcia Wallace, Alec Mapa, Jane Lynch, and Nichelle Nichols (what a cast!), and is described as a “thoroughly modern high school romantic comedy”:

“Sixteen-year-old Gertrude aka Tru is a typical high school teenager from an atypical home – she is raised by her two moms, interracial couple Leslie and Lisa, who have just moved to a new town in suburban southern California, while her two dads remain in San Francisco. At school, Tru catches the eye of Lo, the closeted star quarterback who soon makes a deal with Tru to pretend they are an item. It’s seems like a perfect solution – it keeps his friends and family from asking too many questions, and it allows Tru to instantly find a place to belong in her new school. But when Tru befriends picked-upon openly gay student Walter and decides to join him in forming a Gay-Straight Alliance, she falls for GSA member Trevor, a handsome metrosexual who has been raised by his gay uncle. Her new love affair threatens to expose Lo’s true desires and standing as big man on campus.”

Other films playing:

Chris & Don: A Love Story

One of the two “centerpiece” films is Chris & Don: A Love Story, about the relationship of Don Bachardy and writer Christopher Isherwood, who was many years his senior:

“When 18-year-old Don Bachardy was introduced to 49-year-old Christopher Isherwood in 1950s Malibu, neither man knew it would be the start of a love story that would last for 30 years. Chris & Don chronicles their years together, with the vibrant and engaging Don at this extraordinary documentary’s epicenter … a touching, illuminating portrait of the enduring power of love.”

Equality U

There are five “Festival Focus” series. The first is called “Activism/Repression”, and includes the documentary Equality U:

“What happens when a busload of young LGBT Christian activists travel around the country to confront antigay discrimination policies at conservative religious and military colleges? Equality U tells the story of the Soulforce Equality Ride and their experiences combating hatred, fear, and ignorance through direct action. Their goal: to engage in a dialogue with university administration and students, explaining the tragic consequences that discriminatory policies have had on LGBT lives. Some schools welcome them, while others have them arrested and prevent them from speaking to students. Can these young activists create social change, one university at a time?”

Don’t Go

Included in the “African American Images” series is the tv pilot Don’t Go:

“Melrose Place meets The L Word in the smart ensemble drama Don’t Go, a series pilot featuring Nisha Ganatra (Chutney Popcorn), Guinevere Turner, and a host of sexy, multicultural characters who all live in the same apartment complex in Los Angeles. The best elements of unexpected soap-style intrigue, romance, and humor play out with people of color directly in the spotlight.”

Clapham Junction

In the “NewFest Late Night” section is the UK entry Clapham Junction, which originally aired as a part of the “40 Years Out in the UK” television program (we reviewed it over here):

“In Clapham Junction, a number of separate stories weave together over the course of one long night – the celebration of a gay wedding, a young man devoted to his grandmother’s care, a schoolboy lusting after a much older man, a couple hosting a stylish dinner party, aided by a maid whose son walks home alone. Intersecting in surprising ways, these strands form a devastating and provocative portrait of modern day gay life in London, culminating in a shockingly violent climax in the titular area, the site of a real-life hate crime that claimed the life of a young gay man in 2005.”

Daddy’s Love

From the “Parenthood” series is the Norwegian drama Daddy’s Love:

“Kenneth is a young single gay Norwegian who wants nothing more than to be a father. Working with a surrogate mother in Kansas, he eagerly awaits his son’s birth. A fascinating, intimate portrait of a father’s love and of the straight couple that helps him realize it.”

The Universe of Keith Haring

And from the “Early Days of AIDS” series, comes The Universe of Keith Haring:

“Keith Haring was one of the most popular artists of the late 20th century, and his images remain some of the most recognizable today, 18 years after his death from AIDS. Christina Clausen’s film literally explores the scope of Haring’s universe, from his personal history to interviews and archival footage of the many friends, associates, and admirers who traveled in his orbit – including Yoko Ono, David LaChapelle, Madonna, Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, Junior Vasquez, and others. The Universe of Keith Haring serves as a wonderful celebration of his life and of the enduring legacy of his art.”

For more films and for tickets, be sure to check out the festival’s website.

The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation presents One Night Only COMEDY TONIGHT ! An Evening of Outrageous Comedy & Decadent Divas.

Wed., June 11, 2008, 8:00 pm Theatre 39 on Pier 39 – (Beach St. and The Embarcadero) – in SF 94133 (Complimentary Validated Parking at Pier 39 garage)

A benefit for The Richmond / Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF)

THE COMICS

JUDY TENUTA American Comedy Awards “Best Female Comedian” / TV, film star BRUCE VILANCH Broadway (Hairspray) / TV (Hollywood Squares) star JOHNNY STEELE Winner San Francisco Comedy Competition MARILYN PITTMAN Lesbian comic and radio talk show host AUNDRE THE WONDERWOMAN Finalist SF Int’l. Comedy Competition

THE DIVAS

SHARON MCNIGHT Tony nominated (Starmites) cabaret star MAUREEN McVERRY Cabaret star / actress LEANNE BORGHESI Cabaret star, aka Anita Cocktail plus Cast Members from INSIGNFICANT OTHERS – Theatre 39′s resident show

Musical Director Scrumbly Koldewyn

Tickets and Information Call 415/ 273 -1620 Show only $35 Show + Dessert After Party with the cast at Hard Rock Café $50 Pre-Comedy show Option – Special pre-fixe dinner at Hard Rock Café $25 (a portion of the dinner ticket will benefit REAF)

Order tickets online at http //www.helpisontheway.org

The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation l 942 Divisadero St., #. 201, SF, CA 94115

lhelman@sbcglobal.net

L.A. Outfest, NY NewFest and Breckenridge Festival of Film Announce New LGBT Movie TRU LOVED to Highlight Their ’08 Festivals

Students from Los Angeles Unified School District’s Miguel Contreras School of Social Justice – first teens to screen the film – call TRU LOVED the next ‘Juno’

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 30 /PRNewswire/ — Given unprecedented pre-release attention by leading civil rights organizations and students at an early screening, a number of festivals including Los Angeles LGBT fest Outfest, mainstream Breckenridge Festival of Film, and NewFest: The 20th Anniversary New York LGBT Film Festival (where the film is programmed foropening night on June 5th), have made announcements of their selection of TRU LOVED — the inspiring new family-friendly film about LGBTQ youth andtheir families — as a highlight of their 2008 fests.

Last week, the filmmakers allied with The School of Social Justice atL.A. Unified School District’s Miguel Contreras Learning Complex (MCLC), where more than 900 students participated in the National Day of Silence. The three-day event honored the students and school as role models in stopping homophobia before it starts.

The film’s producer, Antonio Brown of BrownBag Productions, along with Eric Borsum, the film’s Executive in Charge of Social Partnerships, formed early alliances with numerous organizations, including Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); the Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network); the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), and others. The support of these groups has been vital to early positive word-of-mouth on the film, and the filmmakers reached out to their leaders to join stars of the film in thanking the MCLC students for their year-round commitment to the protection of LGBTQ students and families.

“Seeing positive, healthy images of GLBT people and their families … is critical in transforming hearts and minds,” said PFLAG Executive Director Jody M. Huckaby, who during production presented director Wade with PFLAG’s “Focus on Equality” Award. “TRU LOVED does this perfectly, and shows how, alongside our straight allies, we all can create real change.”

At the event, civil rights leaders such as Huckaby, Kevin Jennings of GLSEN, Carolyn Laub of GSA Network, and TRU LOVED stars Jasmine Guy, Bruce Vilanch and Nichelle Nichols spoke to students and celebrated their leadership in protecting LGBTQ students against bullying and harassment.

In her address to the students, Nichols said, “As someone who knew and was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, I believe he would be very proud of your efforts, for he too fought against discrimination and unfairness and for a better world.”

Melissa Etheridge, whose music is included in the film’s soundtrack, sent a message to students, stating, “I’m so pleased that TRU LOVED and the LAUSD are working with GLSEN, PFLAG, The GSA Network and other organizations to lead the charge on this year’s Day of Silence … congratulations to the LAUSD for showing the movie TRU LOVED to get the dialogue going, so that we can all use our voices to end bigotry and make our world safe for ourselves and our children.”

Actor T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”) was also in attendance, speaking to students from the heart, saying, “Thank you so much for what you’re doing, because if I … had this support when I was your age, I wouldn’t have wasted so many years … I would have gone out there and made a
difference.”

TRU LOVED (http://www.truloved.com), written and directed by Stewart Wade (“Coffee Date”) tells the story of Tru, a sixteen year old uprooted by her lesbian moms from her gay-friendly home in San Francisco and moved to a conservative community in Southern California. Tru’s only friend is a closeted football player, and that friendship is jeopardized when she starts the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance.

Produced by BrownBag Productions, TRU LOVED stars Najarra Townsend (“Me And You And Everyone We Know”), Jake Abel (“The Lovely Bones”), Matthew Thompson (“Drake and Josh”), Alexandra Paul (“Baywatch”), Cynda Williams (“Tales of the City”), Alec Mapa (“Ugly Betty”), Bruce Vilanch (“Hairspray”), Nichelle Nichols (“Heroes”), Jasmine Guy (“A Different World”) and Jane Lynch (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”).