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The Great Work of ‘Rudolf II’

March 12, 2010 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | No comments

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Photos: Arthur Cornelius

Director Henry Akona could not have chosen a more palatial location to stage Edward Einhorn’s new play “Rudolf II” than the Grand Ballroom of the newly restored Bohemian National Hall in the UES (which also houses the Consulate General of the Czech Republic). His subject is after all the bisexual and bipolar Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Rudolf II Habsburg. Yes, Habsburg, of the we-ruled-most-of Europe and interbred with all the royal families Habsburgs. With its high ceilings, new crown moldings, iron handrails and sparse, yet deliberate set design, accompanied by a live chorus and musical ensemble — the Grand Ballroom gives you a sense that you’re entering a royal palace.

The Pride @ MCC Theater

February 18, 2010 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | 2 comments

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Photo: Joan Marcus

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Photo: Joan Marcus

“The Pride” may be the most talked about “gay play” of the year so far. The Times raved and the sexy UK accents have us all atwitter. Now extended through March 28, the story follows Oliver, Philip, and Sylvia — three people caught in a complex love triangle. “The Pride,” written by Alexi Kaye Campbell (”Apologia”), was a huge hit in London. Now in it’s American debut at the MCC Theatre, expect stellar performances by Hugh Dancy (”Adam”), Adam James (”Last Chance Harvey”), Andrea Riseborough (”Happy-Go-Lucky”) and the talented Ben Whishaw (”Brideshead Revisited”). Did we mention the “frank” and “brutal” sex scenes? But tickets here and then tell us all about it. We can’t wait to see it.

“Boys In The Band” Fundraiser for NewFest

February 6, 2010 in Activism, Performance by Antonio Cerna | 1 comment

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UPDATED: Critics aside, “Boys in the Band” is without a doubt a landmark play. When it debuted in 1968 it was the first play to “openly portray” the private lives of gay men in New York’s Pre-Disco, Pre-HIV/AIDS Era —it was irreverent, honest, hilarious, and a bit dark. So, when the play was adapted to the screen it marked another groundbreaking moment in cinema history. (The DVD of the film was released last year, and we highly recommend you educate yourself and watch it.)

Johnny Weir goes Gaga w/ ‘Poker Face’

February 4, 2010 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | No comments

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We love this man. Hands down, he’s so much cooler than that Evan Closetcase guy. No offense to him and his “mainstream” politics, but we’re totally in Camp Johnny — no matter what (or especially because of what) Vera Wang says. Don’t even get us started on the penis/wang jokes.

P3 Guld 2010 | Fever Ray’s face melts

January 22, 2010 in Music, Performance, Television by Antonio Cerna | 3 comments

…. Fever Ray accepts her award for Artist of the Year SR

The weirdest, coolest, outofthisworldest chick in music right now is not Lady Gaga (though, we can’t say we don’t lurv our girl GaGa—in our special way), the reigning Queen of Creep is Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer Andersson. That b*tch is straight up cray-cray. And we love her for it. This week at “P3 Guld 2010″ (Sweden’s Grammy’s) Fever Ray front woman accepted the award for “Best Artist” with a melting face (sorry no video yet). Artistry at work indeed. Above a clip of Staygold & Robyn, Spank Rock & Damien Adore performing Live. With giant teddy bear head wearing acts (aptly named Teddybears), melting faces, and avant garde stylings, the American haven’t got a thing on the Swedes. Watch the full show here.

Our Gal Kathy | ‘She’ll Cut a Bitch’ (DVD)

January 22, 2010 in Film, Performance by TPreston | No comments

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Whether you love her or hate her, you have to appreciate Kathy Griffin. Like so many before her, (Cher, Madonna, Margaret Cho) she has latched onto the gay community with the earnest hope that her time, money, and loud voice will help us on the road to “equality.” It would be just plain rude to ignore her completely, being the gentlemen that we are. That being said her newly released DVD of her Bravo special “She’ll Cut a Bitch” is just funny.

Gimme, Gimme More Aviance

January 8, 2010 in Nightlife, Performance by hadjalexiou | 3 comments

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Legendary drag artist Kevin Aviance’s latest music video is a cover of a song we know all too well: “Gimme More” by Brittney Spears.

The idea for Kevin’s cover  began as a joke on the weekly podcast, of comedian and dirty party boy Jonny McGovern. He was so taken by the song (which came out during the height of Spears’ crazy period) that he wanted his idol (Kevin) to make a cover. The lyrics, McGovern claims, described what it feels like to watch Kevin perform at a nightclub after 4 a.m., provoking cheers from tipsy crowds of adoring queers. Amazingly Aviance agreed, and a year after many have forgotten the song, it was released. And it’s pretty amazing because it’s a very simple video with a the raw performance that is “so Aviance”: Kevin’s crazy outfits and a face performance that is altogether scary, weird yet so very compelling.

Live @ the Bowie Ball

December 10, 2009 in Performance by hadjalexiou | No comments

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There’s nothing that warms my heart more than when straight boys don glitter and eye makeup in the name of rock music. A mixed party is the best kind of party, and that’s exactly what it was like at Bowie Ball 2009, hosted by Le Poisson Rouge and the red-wigged and fabulous Deryck Todd (whose adoring parents were selling T-shirts in the front bar).

It seemed like everyone dressed as something—sparkly magenta eyeshadow, one-legged leotards, feathers, the list goes on. For those folks who didn’t have the time or energy, there was an elevated stage where numerous makeup and hair artistes molded eager hip kids into glam rock gods, goddesses, and every demi-god in between.

Day Glo is En Vogue

November 25, 2009 in Nightlife, Performance by hadjalexiou | 2 comments

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Day Glo is back, honey!

Once upon a time, New York was full of downtown-style “avant-garde” performance art. It was usually at clubs or divey East Village spots. The idea was that you didn’t know exactly what you were seeing, or why, but it provoked some kind of emotion in you. While the best kind of performance doesn’t require it, being on mind-altering drugs probably helped.

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But enSubtitles, a performance group consisting of club kids (and drag artists) One-hAlf NeLson, Erickatoure Aviance and Clifton Brown (sometimes known as the beautiful Nanya Bidness) fills a gap in visual performance left by the death of New York’s clubland of yesteryear (and yes, I admit to all, these guys are my friends. It’s Thanksgiving, a break please!).

Conceived after a huge response after an avant garde drag performance at a Grace Jones drag tribute at the Cock last November—Erickatoure and Nelson inhabited one voluminous costume with a bald-capped head—the aesthetic of enSubtitles (think, En Vogue, but not) is pretty much lots of Day-glo and scary-looking.

Toga Party | Performa09

November 14, 2009 in Art, Performance by shutterbug | 2 comments

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Over thirty boys staging an epic performance of brotherly love, lust, and aggression, dressed only in togas… that’s one hell of  way to start a weekend.  For those looking to brush up on their history, the Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite military squad of the ancient Theban army composed of paired male lovers who, because of their strong bonds to each other, were presumed to constitute an almost invincible force.  We dropped by the performance art piece, conceived by Ryan McNamara for the Performa09 art festival, to see what all the hype was about.  More photos after the jump.

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New York is Burning:
Xtravaganza Ball @ The Box

November 13, 2009 in Nightlife, Performance by hadjalexiou | 4 comments

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Before Tuesday night, I had only dared to dream about attending a New York City underground ball.

But at the Lower East Side burlesque hall and trendy lounge the Box, I lived out my fantasy. And oh, was it beyond amazing. Fingers were wagging, screams of work bitch! filled my ears. There were shows, there was drama and real life danger. And most of all, there were looks, honey.

Derived from the celebrated “Paris is Burning” (a viewing of this 1990 documentary is obligatory for understanding the magnitude of this event) the apt-named “New York is Burning,” was hosted by the House of Xtravaganza, one of the most popular and collectively talented groups on the ball circuit. It was, most simply, a high-fashion, do-it-yourself runway competition where scores of folks dressed in ways that purposefully defy written description. To use the vernacular of this queendom, before you say anything, you would want to get into the look.

Chelsea massage show shut down

November 10, 2009 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | 3 comments

Photo courtesy of manworks.com

Photo courtesy of manworks.com

On Friday, the “Dutch Window” — a male erotic massage demonstration at Chelsea’s Blue — was shut down by the police an hour and a half into the demonstration said a spokesman for Manworks.com.

Apparently, one cop car drove by without stopping so it seemed the window would be able to continue without interruption. Twenty minutes later, however, another officer approached the window and demanded the demonstration be shut down immediately.

Police claim the display “caused sidewalk obstruction” but officers on the scene could not cite exact law violations. No laws were broken — that we know of. But, even if the police officers were out of line, what can Manworks.com do about the situation? Probably not much.

Mother Flawless Sabrina turns 70

September 29, 2009 in Nightlife, Performance by hadjalexiou | 4 comments

flawless14It’s not every day that a drag queen reveals her age. But for a legend like Mother Flawless Sabrina, celebrating a drag career that spans over 50 years is nothing to shake your wig at.

On September 13, Flawless held her 70th birthday party at Sugarland, where fans, friends, and protégé gathered to hail this queen and her lifetime of remarkable achievement. Her latest achievement was walking around the club greeting guests, as she was still recovering from a recent hip injury.

But regrowing hip muscles is not Flawless Sabrina’s claim to fame. She is the star of the 1968 documentary, The Queen, about a 1967 drag contest and pageant held in New York City. This was just one installment a touring drag contest and pageant Flawless started in 1959. The documentary also features Andy Warhol and the talents (and temper) of one Crystal Labeija, founder of the legendary drag house that is her namesake.

1-900-SELFPLEX: Transgender Alter Egotist

August 17, 2009 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | 1 comment

FRINGENYC// Alex DeFazio’s new play 1-900-SELFPLEX explores how the imagination informs both gender identity and environment in a “stripped down” production @ Cherry Lane Theatre.

Photo: Robert A. Terrano. Pictured: Patrick Martin in '1-900-SELFPLEX'

Photo: Robert A. Terrano. Pictured: Patrick Martin in '1-900-SELFPLEX'

Nothing is at it seems in 1-900-SELFPLEX. In the play, Alberta Lesale, a 40-year-old writer, singer, and self-proclaimed sexpert finds more than she bargained for when she assumes the identity of an unlikely alter-ego Jeremy: a transgendered, 14-year-old boy.

As suspicious about Jeremy’s identity arise, so do the multiple personalities inside Alberta — think Toni Collette in Showtime’s ‘United States of Tara.’ And in order to sustain both the fame she’s amassed as a result of self-delusion of being a trans-man Alberta finds that Jeremy influence threatens to over take her own identity — JT LeRoy style.

But what is identity anyway or gender identity, if not an evolving social construct? Right? Perhaps DeFazio can inform us.

1-900-SELFPLEX performs at Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) on Monday, August 17 at 2:00pm; Tuesday, August 18 at 5:00pm; Thursday, August 20 at 8:15pm; Saturday, August 22 at 4:15pm; Thursday, August 27 at 9:15pm; and Friday, August 28 at 4:45pm. www.elixirproductions.org.

ABOUT ELIXIR:
Committed to telling queer stories on stage, Elixir Productions Theatre Company’s FringeNYC 2007 production of To Be Loved was praised by playwright Theresa Rebeck as “full of remarkable sensitivity and wit.” Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com called it “complex and perverse”; Mark Bly of Arena Stage found it “haunting”; and playwright Michael MacLennan (The Shooting Stage, Showtime’s Queer As Folk) “astonishing, trenchant, extremely relevant.” The company’s 2005 production, Radium, was cited by The New York Times for its “inventive Pinteresque structure” and earned high marks from The Village Voice, which called it a “nuanced, powerful production.”

Slipping @ Rattlestick Theater

August 15, 2009 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | No comments

Photo: Paula Court. Pictured: Seth Numrich and MacLeod Andrews

Photo: Paula Court. Pictured: Seth Numrich and MacLeod Andrews

GAY PLAY // A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to attend a press preview of SLIPPING a new play by Daniel Talbott, directed by Kirsten Kelly which premieres in NYC at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Today is the final performance for the sold-out run (sorry kids no waiting list) — but I think it’s important to bring attention to these shows and offer support in anyway we can. My friend Richard Patterson wrote in his review for MusicOMH.com:
 

As directed by Kirsten Kelly, Slipping is a taut, fast-moving, and totally riveting piece of theatre. The subject matter is small: a boy in love with one boy, then another. But Daniel Talbott has escalated his characters’ emotions to the breaking point, pushing his characters into the situations that inspire the highest drama, and it’s paid off. To my mind, Slipping is possibly the most accomplished new play to have opened this summer, and it deserves a life beyond its brief stint at the Rattlestick Theater.

Read the entire review here. Fingers crossed the production is staged in New York City again soon. For more information visit: www.RisingPhoenixRep.org.

VIDEO TRAILER BELOW FOLD.

Go Gay at FringeNYC

August 12, 2009 in Performance by JustinRZB | 1 comment

Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party

Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party

With over 200 plays and musicals coming to New York City, I have to admit that I am a a bit daunted by this year’s Fringe festival. Luckily they have this neat feature that groups plays together by theme called Staycations, letting you see only gay plays, ghost plays, or straight dude plays.

But, I figure, why not drink away the overwhelming nature of the theatrical orgy with some cute gay thespians?

In case you’re not on any email lists, allow me to inform you that there will be a big ole gay kickoff to Fringe this coming Sunday at 9PM at Vlada. Hosted by “Gay Pimp” and The Big Gay Sketch Show actor Johnny McGovern, the event promises cheap drinks, live scenes from a selection of a number of fey Fringe productions, and something actually fun to do on a Sunday night.

The Gay Agenda’s Big Fringe Debut

August 12, 2009 in Performance by Antonio Cerna | No comments

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Photo: Wendy Carlson for The New York Times

The handsome duo Micah Bucey (right) and Nicholas Williams (on piano) are featured in a story in NYtimes.com called ‘A Fringe That Isn’t Downtown, but Up in the Hills’ about fringe theatre festivals across the country — specifically the Berkshire Fringe, in western Massachusetts.  If you’ve never caught a performance of “The Gay Agenda’s Great Big Broadway Show!” I recommend you hit up their blog for upcoming dates. Nicholas and Micah serenaded homo-neurotic earlier this year (before they became, like, Paris-Hilton-famous). Sigh.

Matthew Shepard, Ten Years Later

August 5, 2009 in Performance by JustinRZB | No comments

Photos from Australian production of The Laramie Project

Photos from Australian production of The Laramie Project

Across the United States. Over 100 theaters. Honoring 10 years gone by.

Sometimes I take a breath and try to forget that I live a comfortably gay life with little to no discrimination. My bosses and colleagues are gay. Here I am penning a column on a gay blog. I can’t shake a stick or swing a cat or verb any other noun without hitting a gay bar. And instead I take a look at the general rights of gay people everywhere.

And today I’m thinking back ten years. It has just been announced that, to honor the 10 year anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death, over 100 theaters across the US will perform Laramie Project: Ten Years Later on October 12th.

First, this is a beautiful idea. It couldn’t be more timely. As wedding wars take place across our country – with groups gathering on either side in the fight for equality, it’s good to take a second to realize how far we’ve come.

When it first hit the stage, Laramie Project received a lot of acclaim and attack. Directed by Moises Kaufman and co-created with his Tectonic Theater Project, the docudrama presented the story of the death of Shepard through interviews and first hand accounts from the citizens of Laramie, Wyoming.

Second – it is an interesting idea. The benefit of this being a docudrama, versus a play, means we can go back to the people originally interviewed, and see what’s happening now.

This new production will feature “re-interviews” with some of the same residents in the first production. I am intrigued to hear their opinions on how far we have or have not come.

And speaking of, how far HAVE we come in 10 years? Well, for one, it took that long to get the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act to pass. Of course that doesn’t stop people from saying it’s useless. And what will it achieve? There are still crimes affecting us, like the recent death of Norbert Leo Butzes’ lesbian sister. And countless others we may not hear of as gays and lesbians are attacked or killed in obscurity.

Forgetting Merce Cunningham

August 3, 2009 in Performance, Rankings by Antonio Cerna | No comments

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DANCER IN THE DARK // Last week, dance and choreography icon Merce Cunningham passed away — and although, I asked many friends in the dance community to help write something, no one was available. It’s a shame, because for most young gay men (myself included until a few years ago), Cunningham’s stellar contributions to dance are lost on us. I’m not a dancer, I cannot educate you or offer insight into this man’s life, but perhaps you will consider taking time to read up about Mr. Cunningham here and here and here. Cunningham is also part of a generation of icons (who are also gay) who have passed away in recent years including Robert Rauschenberg and Yves Saint Laurent who died in 2008.

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