http://www.PlatinumTheMusical.com
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. presents
a developmental production as part of the 2010
New York International Fringe Festival.

An electrifying story of ambition and survival, Platinum stars Donna Bullock (Ragtime, City of Angels, A Class Act) as Lila Halliday, a dazzling Hollywood legend trying to make a comeback in the explosive music industry of the 1970s. Determined to reignite her career, she turns to rock star Dan Riley and finds herself falling for him as they both fight to stay in the game.

Written by Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch (Hairspray, “Hollywood Squares”) and Tony Award nominees Will Holt and Gary William Friedman (The Me Nobody Knows), this new version features revisions and direction by Ben West (How Now, Dow Jones). The musical is choreographed by Rommy Sandhu (How Now, Dow Jones, Mary Poppins) with musical arrangements by Mr. Friedman (“The Electric Company”), musical direction by Fran Minarik (Sessions, The J.A.P. Show), costume design by Janine Marie McCabe (Waiting for the Moon) and lighting design by Joe Hodge (Perfect Crime).

The original Broadway production opened November 12, 1978 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre starring Alexis Smith under the direction of Joe Layton. The musical played 33 performances and received two Tony nominations for Smith and co-star Richard Cox.

Days and nights of jungle fun during Carnival Week in Provincetown
Margaret Cho joins with Bruce Vilanch to act as grand marshal for Carnival parade on Thursday
By Melora B. North
Provincetown Banner

PROVINCETOWN —
If you wake up one morning this August and the weather is humid and sticky, and Commercial Street brimming with madness and fun, then you know it’s time for Carnival — oh, yes, it’s time for a parade, dancing, games, music and so much more.

“Jungle Fantasy” is the theme for this year’s Carnival Week, running Aug. 15 through 20. The grand marshals for the annual Carnival parade are Margaret Cho and Bruce Vilanch, who will also be performing at the Madeira Room at Vixen throughout the coming week.

Cho’s been in town before with her comedy show, and, in fact, she was even Chief of Parade in Sydney, Australia, when she led the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival down Oxford Street back in 2008. So, it should be a no-brainer for her to team up with Vilanch to head the party on Thursday.

Best known for her explicit comedy routines, she takes on all the hot issues of the day, such as substance and alcohol abuse, from which she herself is recovered; eating disorders, another challenge she has faced; her bisexuality and obsession with gay men; and of course, politics, the ever so popular brain tease of heated debate, which in 2004 got her un-invited to speak at the Human Rights Campaign/National Stonewall Democrats benefit at the Democratic National Convention because the powers that be feared her strong voice would cause some unwanted excitement.

Hailing from San Francisco, Cho has worn many hats over the course of her career, which started when she was in high school and got involved in an improvisational comedy group. That led to her building her own routines, which launched her stand-up career practicing her trade in local clubs as well as performing an opening act for Jerry Seinfeld. The Seinfeld stint led to a spot on a Bob Hope special. Along the way she got involved in acting and appeared in the “Golden Girls” spin-off called “The Golden Palace,” as well as an ABC sitcom based on her comedy routine, “All American Girl,” featuring an East Asian family. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled but the outcome was a positive one, the publication of her first book, “I’m the One That I Want.”

She has several stand-up films to her name and had a clothing line which faltered. She has another book on the stands, “I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight,” and a reality show, “The Cho Show.” Cho has worked on the Lifetime series “Drop Dead Diva” and even writes songs and performs belly dances. She is married to artist Al Ridenour, with whom she says she shares a “conventional marriage.”

Cho appears at Vixen doing her stand-up and songs Aug. 15-24 (no show Aug. 19) at 9 p.m. Tickets are $40.

A comedy writer and actor, wisecracking Vilanch became a household name when he appeared on the re-born “Hollywood Squares” along with Whoopie Goldberg. He attended Ohio State University from which he graduated with a BFA in theater. He has appeared on television in “Bosom Buddies” and “Law & Order” and was in the film “The Ice Pirates.” Vilanch writes joke material for awards shows and, back in the ‘70s, wrote material for “The Donny and Marie Show.”

On the big stage he played Edna Turnblad in “Hairspray” in 2005 on Broadway, and he has been the inspiration for two documentaries. Vilanch is gay and an admitted, eager carnivore. He takes the audience on a humorous gig behind the scenes of show biz at Vixen Aug. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.

Some other highlights of Carnival include the Jungle Opening Party on Sunday at 9 p.m. at the Boatslip Resort, with guest appearances by Felicity Layne and music provided by DJ Maryalice.

Nature fans can enjoy a whale watch “Saltwater Safari” on Monday when boarding starts at 9:30 a.m. at MacMillan Pier. Also at the pier from 3 to 8 p.m. is the Jungle Jam Pier Dance and Jungle Fantasy costume contest.

Tuesday morning kicks off the “Rumble in the Jungle” volleyball tournament held at Ryder Street Beach. From 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. that afternoon the party continues to rock at The Banana Boat at MacMillan Pier with beats provided by DJ Lee Thornhill.

Festivities on Wednesday include Drag Bingo at 6:30 p.m. at the UU Meeting House and, at 9 p.m., the “Night of Tarzan’s Temptation” at the Shipwreck Lounge.

On Thursday, starting at 3 p.m., parade fever will storm through town in all its jungle glory, and afterwards, at 10:30 p.m., the party will go on at Club Purgatory.

It will all end on Friday night with the Monkey Business Closing Party at 9 p.m. at the Crown & Anchor.

Every day from 12 p.m. on, beads, T-shirts and event tickets are available for sale at Carnival Headquarters at 258 Commercial St.

For more information, tickets and entry fees, call the Provincetown Business Guild at (508) 487-2313, or visit www.ptown.org to find out about other events such as the Jane Loves Jane Dance Party on Wednesday at the Pied Bar, the Drag Brunch on Friday at Patio, the Inn Stroll through town, the Jungle Beat Dance Party at the Atlantic House, and Kate Clinton at the Crown & Anchor, to name just a few more events.

[Banner correspondent Tsetsi Malinova contributed to this report.]

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL
The eclectic festival mounts nearly two hundred works in two weeks at twenty venues across downtown Manhattan. Highlights include the musical “Platinum,” with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt; Stephen Padilla’s “Picking Palin”; Mary Dimino’s solo comedy “Scared Skinny”; “Monetizing Emma,” by Felipe Ossa; Bert Hana’s comedy “Daddy Day”; and “South Pathetic,” a comedy by Jim David. For a full schedule, visit fringenyc.org. Opens Aug. 13. (Various locations. 866-468-7619.)

www.ru12.org
LA Based Photographer Seeking Vermont Subjects
Tom Atwood

Greetings. I am a photographer who grew up in Shelburne, VT and now lives in LA.

I’m seeking subjects for a sequel photography book who are gay (men or women), live in Vermont and have either a truly unique living space (quirky, odd, unusual), or live in a pastoral Vermont setting, even a farmer would be ideal.

I’ll be back in VT around August 21st and was hoping to locate a subject or two.

The series features portraits of gay men and women at home including John Waters, Todd Oldham, Edward Albee, Joel Schumacher, George Takei, Tommy Tune, Christopher Ciccone, Don Bachardy, Tab Hunter, Barney Frank, Bruce Vilanch, Ross Bleckner, Simon Doonan, Michael Cunningham, Ned Rorem, Junior Vasquez, John Ashbery, Carson Kressley, David Del Tredici, Edmund White, John Bartlett and others.

The series seeks to highlight positive role models for our nation’s GLBT youth. The first book reached people on national television and radio, as well as in over 150 publications in over a dozen countries including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, Elle, Out, The Advocate, The Art Newspaper, Artforum, Art Ltd., Photo Life, Photo Selection and The Photo Review.

Photos from the series also won first place in Portraiture from London’s Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, first place in Portraiture in the Prix de la Photographie Paris competition, as well as additional awards from the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Center for Fine Art Photography, Manhattan Arts International, Artrom Gallery Guild (Rome), Kodak,CameraArts Magazine, Photo Life Magazine, Photographer’s Forum Magazine, Graphis and Applied Arts.

The series, Kings in Their Castles, can be previewed at:
http://www.tomatwood.com/kings.php.

If you’re aware of any subjects, feel free to reach me at this email or 310-503-7800. Of if you know of anyone who might know or know of a VT newsgroup where this message could be posted, feel free to forward this to them or post this.

Thanks so much.

Tom

Submit

Screenwriters take note: Saturday is the deadline for Chicago‘s first Great Gay Screenplay Contest. (The judging panel includes Oscars joke writer Bruce Vilanch.) The winning scripts will receive staged readings in November as part of Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival. For more info go to pridefilmsandplays.com.

Bruce Vilanch

This overgrown muppet takes you on a trip behind the scenes at every major show business event you’ve ever watched on television, as well as into the distressed minds of the participants (your favorite stars). And he’ll tell a number of other stories suitable only for the most sophisticated, deranged child. Tickets: $25

Bruce Vilanch
Saturday, August 21st 2010, 7:30 PM
Vixen Night Club
336 Commercial St, Provincetown 508-487-6424

Hamptons.com
“A Bipolar Evening” with Disparate Friends
By Tiffany Razzano

Just when you think that you’ve seen everything in the Hamptons, East Hampton’s Guild Hall is bringing together an unlikely duo on July 24 in an event dubbed “A Bipolar Evening with Friends.”

The two performers on the bill, longtime friends, couldn’t be more different from one another. Comedy writer and performer Bruce Vilanch is best known for his raunchy one-liners and writing for just about every awards show you can think of, while actress Florence Henderson, who has starred on stage, television and in film, is best known for her role as the squeaky clean Carol Brady on TV’s “The Brady Bunch.” The two go back to the 1970s, when Vilanch worked as a writer for “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.”

It was Vilanch who coined the event “A Bipolar Evening,” to Henderson’s delight. “Nobody expects the two of us together,” he said. “I have a much spicier reputation than Florence. But I plan on changing that for her. It’s not too late for her to be Joan Rivers.”

In the two-part show, Vilanch will take the stage first, telling tales from his career and tackling tabloid fodder. “My half of the show is about my bizarre life behind the scenes, writing for everybody else,” he said. For those quick to consider it a stand-up act, think again. “I like to call it sit-down. I just tell stories.”

Following Vilanch, Henderson will perform her one-woman autobiographical musical, All the Lives of Me, touching upon everything from growing up during the Great Depression to her years as America‘s favorite TV mom. And Henderson says you can expect Vilanch to make a special appearance during her segment and vice versa. “Usually Bruce would work alone or I would work alone,” she said. “This should be a tremendous amount of fun for us and the audience.”

Growing up in Kentucky, Henderson knew she wanted to get into show business at a young age. “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be an entertainer,” she said. After high school, she received sponsorship to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and never looked back.

She debuted on Broadway at 18, with a small role in Wish You Were Here, capturing the attention of the legendary Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. She was then cast in Oklahoma! in the lead role for its last national tour, leading to many other Broadway roles.

However, Henderson didn’t limit herself to the stage. “My goal always was to have longevity [in this industry.] So I diversified early,” she said. “I loved theater and I still do.” She became the first woman to guest host “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1962 and became “The Today Girl” for NBC’s morning show.

Then, in 1969, she landed the iconic role of Carol Brady on “The Brady Bunch,”-a role she still embraces. “I can’t ignore it,” she said. “It’s the elephant in the room.” But she’s never felt pigeon-holed because of it, like many actors known for portraying legendary characters. “For me it’s part of the fabric of my career, not the whole thing.” Carol Brady is a role Henderson revisits. She has lovingly skewered the character in various comedy sketches, made a cameo in the first Brady Bunch parody movie and participated in the reality show “My Fair Brady.”And her career continues to thrive in other ways, with the many charitable organizations she represents, as well as being a product spokeswoman and motivational speaker and appearing at events as varied as singing the national anthem at the Indianapolis 500 to hosting wrestling matches.

As for Vilanch, recently nominated for an Emmy for his role as a writer for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, his career has been vastly different from Henderson’s, but no less successful. Studying theater and journalism, he began his career covering music for the Chicago Tribune. This is how he met Bette Midler. He began writing bits for her, and slowly built up the list of performers he wrote for: Cher, Eartha Kitt, Diana Ross.

From there he moved on to Hollywood, writing for various variety shows, most notably “The Donny and Marie Show,” and many awards shows. He’s written for 21 consecutive Academy Awards. But he was able to move from behind the scenes and into the limelight while a head writer for “Hollywood Squares” in the 1980s. He was asked to sit in one of the squares, which, as a performer, he says he jumped at. “I got to sit next to Whoopi [Goldberg] for four years and crack wise,” he said. “I think they just wanted someone to tame her. I got lucky.”

This opportunity kick-started his performance career, leading to engagements around the country at various events and venues, performing a one-man off-Broadway show in 2000 and starring in Broadway’s Hairspray as Edna Turnblad. “I had to shave for that,” Vilanch said. “I couldn’t talk them into a bearded lady.” And many of the stories he’ll be telling on July 24, could very well find their way into the book he’s working on about his career.

“A Bipolar Evening with Friends,” featuring Bruce Vilanch and Florence Henderson, John Drew Theater at Guild Hall. Saturday, July 24, 8 p.m. For tickets, go to guildhall.org.

NAKED BOYS SINGING! Celebrates 11th Anniversary 7/24
by BWW News Desk

NAKED BOYS SINGING!, the fifteen-song celebration of the male form will hit yet another milestone: it will begin its twelfth year on Saturday July 24th. The Naked Boys are appearing on New World Stages – Stage 4, located at 340 West 50th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues. Naked Boys plays Fridays at 10pm and Saturday evenings at 8pm.

Still drawing both equally gay and straight crowds, NAKED BOYS has become a New York mainstay, while the London production, which opened to critical acclaim in the West End, begins its second year. Other productions are currently running in Las Vegas, which just announced its one-year anniversary, and the annual Provincetown summer production, with more opening within the next year, including anticipated productions in Korea and New Zealand.

Naked Boys Singing! is produced by Jamie Cesa, Carl D. White, Hugh Hayes, and Tom Smedes. It is directed and was conceived by Robert Schrock, and choreographed by Jeffry Denman. Schrock and a team of 12 writers — Stephen Bates, Marie Cain, Perry Hart, Shelly Markham, Jim Morgan, David Pevsner, Rayme Sciaroni, Mark Savage, Ben Schaechter, Trance Thompson, Mark Winkler and two-time Emmy Award winning Bruce Vilanch — have written a bouncy (pun intended) and fabulous musical revue that reminds us that clothes alone do not make the man. The show opened Off-Broadway at The Actors’ Playhouse in July 1999. The film version was released in 2008 by TLA Releasing and remains one of their top sellers on DVD.

Ticket prices are $69.50, which includes $1.50 facility fee. Tickets for Naked Boys Singing! are available through Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200 or at the New World Stages Box Office. For Group Sales, call 212-302-4848, ext 18.

The show runs at a lean, hard 70 minutes, without an intermission.

For more information, visit http://www.NakedBoysSinging.com

The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc is celebrating fifteen years of coming out together at THE 15th ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NCGLFF).

The four-day festival is dedicated to showcasing films that reflect the many voices of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community here in the Triangle. The festival will be held August 12 to 15 at the historic Carolina Theatre located in downtown Durham.

Award-winning comedy writer Bruce Vilanch will perform at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, August 13. The Festival 10-pass is $75 and goes on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 12 at the box office. Call the box office at 919-560-3030 or toll free 1-888-241-8162 to purchase a 10-pass.

10-passes are also available online at www.carolinatheatre.org. Tickets for individual films are $9 and $6.25 for Star Members and go on sale at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28.

Tickets for Bruce Vilanch are $37, $27 and $22 for Star Members.

The box office is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 pm and one hour prior to the first screening of the day, and on weekends from 1:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.