Gays of spring: from Elton John's big musical Lestat to Lisa Kron's minimalist Well, gay and lesbian talents and themes freshen up theater offerings across the country in the first months of 2006.FEBRUARY God Doesn't Pay Rent Here by Judy Gold Judy Gold (born November 15, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on the Rosie O'Donnell Show. and Kate Moira Ryan Currently at Ars Nova Ars Nova (Latin; “New Art”) Musical style of 14th-century Europe, particularly France. As composers began to use ever shorter notes in their music, the old system of rhythmic modes (see Ars Antiqua) ceased to be adequate to describe it. , New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , opening night January 25, through February 12 A personal journey with out actor-comedian Gold, an Emmy winner for writing and producing Rosie O'Donnell's TV show. The Wedding Singer book by Chad Beguelin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy Currently at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, through February 79 Al Hirschfeld Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of , New York City, begins March 30, opening night April 27 Chad Beguelin is the gay talent (with composer Matthew Sklar and colyricist Tim Herlihy) behind the new musical version of the Adam Sandler movie tribute to the pop music of the 1980s. The show will head for Broadway following its Seattle premiere. Confessions of a Mormon Boy by Steven Fales Currently at the SoHo Playhouse, New York City, opening night January 27 The autobiographical one-man show featured in The Advocate's April 12, 2005, cover story on gay and lesbian Mormons opens in the Big Apple, starring its hunky hun·ky 1 n. pl. hun·kies Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a person, especially a laborer, from east-central Europe. author, Steven Fales. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Currently at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, through March 5 Brooklyn Academy of Music Brooklyn Academy of Music, performing arts center located in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. and popularly known as BAM. Founded in 1859 and opened in 1861, it is the oldest such institution still in operation in the United States. , New York City, April 78-May 74 The sublime comedy that marked both the pinnacle and the destruction of Oscar Wilde's career returns in a new production from Sir Peter Hall with Lynn Redgrave as Lady Bracknell. The Velvet Sky by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, D.C., through March 5 A wildly comic and hallucinatory hal·lu·ci·na·to·ry adj. 1. Of or characterized by hallucination. 2. Inducing or causing hallucination. ride from gay playwright and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (who's now writing the Fantastic Four series for Marvel). The Well-Appointed Room by Richard Greenberg Currently at Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. Its name comes from the Herman Hesse novel. , Chicago, through March 12 The world premiere of a new play from Richard Greenberg, telling two stories set in the same room in New York City. One focuses on a tormented playwright; the other on the turning point in the life of a young wife. See below for other new plays from the suddenly prolific author of Take Me Out. Boston Marriage by David Mamet Currently at the Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, through March 12 A change of pace for playwright David Mamet: a drawing-room comedy about a New England lesbian romance set around 1900. Starring Rebecca Pidgeon, Mary Steenburgen, and Alicia Silverstone. Grey Gardens by Doug Wright, Scott Frankel, and Michael Korie Playwrights Horizons, New York City, February 10-March 26, opening night March 5 The latest from I Am My Own Wife I Am My Own Wife is a play by Doug Wright which examines the life of German individual Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, born Lothar Berfelde, who killed his father when he was a young boy and survived the Nazi and Communist regimes in East Berlin as a transvestite. playwright Doug Wright is a new musical (written with Scott Frankel and Michael Korie) based on the Maysles Brothers documentary about the eccentric upper-crust mother and daughter who lived as recluses in a dilapidated mansion in East Hampton, N.Y. Brundibar and Comedy on the Bridge by Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. , New Haven, Conn., February 10-March 5 New Victory Theater, New York City, April 28-May 21 Tony Kushner (Angels in America Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is an award winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries of the same name and an opera by Peter Eötvös. ) collaborates with artist and author Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) in an adaptation of two 1930s Czech operettas that bear testament to human courage and creativity. Bernarda Alba by Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa (born 1962) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist best known for his unusual sounding compositions for shows in the "post-modern" school. Lincoln Center Theater, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, New York City, begins February 11, opening night March 6 Out composer-lyricist Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again) puts his musical talents at the service of Spain's great gay poet-playwright Federico Garcia Lorca in this adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba, directed by Graciela Daniele and featuring Phylicia Rashad in the title role. Entertaining Mr. Sloane by Joe Orton Roundabout Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre--Laura Pels Theatre, New York City, February 17-May 21, opening night March 16 Alec Baldwin plays a man who competes with his sister for the affections of a young ruffian (Chris Carmack from The O.C.) in out director Scott Ellis's revival of Joe Orton's sexually charged comedy. Measure for Pleasure by David Grimm Public Theater, New York City, February 21-March 26 Euan Morton (young Boy George in Taboo) plays an 18th-century transvestite trans·ves·tite n. One who practices transvestism. transvestite Sexology A person with a compulsion to dress as a member of the other sex, which may be essential to maintaining an erection and achieving orgasm. See Transsexual. prostitute wooed by a man in a modern Restoration romp from out playwright David Grimm. MARCH Act a Lady by Jordan Harrison Humana Festival of New American Plays Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this prestigious event showcases new theatrical works and draws producers, , Actors Theatre of Louisville Actors Theatre of Louisville is a performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1964, in part by Ken Jenkins of Scrubs fame, and was designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It is run as a non-profit organization. , Ky., March 7-April 1 In this Midwestern fable, inspired by real-life drag shows put on by lumberjacks in a small town in the Prohibition era, out playwright Jordan Harrison explores gender-blurring and the power of theater. Well by Lisa Kron Longacre Theatre, New York City, begins March 10, opening night March 30 Lisa Kron (of Five Lesbian Brothers) makes her Broadway debut with a hilarious and deftly written portrait of her mother. This follow-up to her 2.5 Minute Ride, which was about her father and the Holocaust, draws on her childhood in a racially integrated neighborhood in Lansing, Mich. Lestat book by Linda Woolverton, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin Palace Theater, New York City, begins March 11, opening night April 13 Following an engagement in San Francisco, Anne Rice's beloved vampire arrives on Broadway, singing and dancing to the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, in an adaptation by Linda Woolverton (Disney's Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale (type 425C -- search for a lost husband -- in the Aarne-Thompson classification). The first published version of the fairy tale was a meandering rendition by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in ). Based on a Totally True Story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Manhattan Theatre Club About Manhattan Theatre Club This season marks Manhattan Theatre Club’s 37th anniversary as one of the country’s leading nonprofit producers of contemporary theatre. at City Center-Stage II, New York City, March 23-May 28, opens April 11 A writer faces crises in his family relationships just when he's about to get his big break in Hollywood. Another new play from Fantastic Four comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill Roundabout Theatre at Studio 54, New York City, March 24-June 11, opening night April 20 The famous Brecht-Weill musical gets an infusion of queer talent in this Broadway production, which stars Alan Cumming, features costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, and is directed by Scott Elliott. Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 242 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it opened as the Royale Theatre on January 11 1927 with a musical entitled Piggy. , New York City, March 28-June 19, opening night April 19 Julia Roberts makes a highly anticipated Broadway debut in out director Joe Mantello's new production of Richard Greenberg's comedy about a brother and sister and their childhood friend who relive a key moment in their parents' lives. Hijra Hijra, as an Arabic word meaning migration (also romanised as hijrah, hejira and hegira) (cf. Hebrew הגירה hagirah for emigration) may refer to: New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco, March 31-May 7 A comedy-drama by Ash Kotak in which a gay romance is facilitated by marginalized intersex people who come into their own during the traditional wedding season in Bombay. APRIL Carrie by Erik Jackson Ars Nova, New York City, April 1-May 27 Queer, hip, and hilarious, Theatre Couture returns after a six-year hiatus with its twisted version of the Stephen King novel about a teenage girl who acquires telekinetic powers when she hits adolescence. Not a revival of the notorious Broadway musical flop, this adaptation was written by Erik Jackson and directed by Josh Rosenzweig, with special telekinetic effects by Basil Twist and costumes by David "House of Field" Dalrymple. It stars drag diva Sherry Vine. And yes, it was sanctioned by King himself. Bal Masque masque, courtly form of dramatic spectacle, popular in England in the first half of the 17th cent. The masque developed from the early 16th-century disguising, or mummery, in which disguised guests bearing presents would break into a festival and then join with their by Richard Greenberg Theater J, Washington, D.C., April 5-May 21 Another play set in a well-appointed New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of room, this stylish comedy from Richard Greenberg takes place in the early morning hours after Truman Capote's famous Black and White Ball at the Plaza Hotel in 1966. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley, Calif., April 5-June 4 Rita Moreno plays Amanda, the domineering dom·i·neer·ing adj. Tending to domineer; overbearing. dom  i·neer mother in Tennessee Williams's semiautobiographical sem·i·au·to·bi·o·graph·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or being a work that falls between fiction and autobiography: a semiautobiographical novel. Adj. 1. memory play. A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, Conn., April 6-May 7 Michael Wilson directs this rarely seen comedy by Tennessee Williams about four women in a St. Louis boardinghouse. Jack and the Beanstalk by Dave Hall and Karl Greenberg Manhattan Children's Theatre, New York City, April 8-May 21 (Saturday and Sunday matinees only) Dave Hall, the out indie singer-songwriter, collaborates with Karl Greenberg on this new musical adaptation of the classic fairy tale. The History Boys by Alan Bennett Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, begins April 14, opening night April 23 Homoeroticism homoeroticism /ho·mo·erot·i·cism/ (ho?mo-e-rot´i-sizm) sexual feeling directed toward a member of the same sex.homoerot´ic is a titillating tit·il·late v. tit·il·lat·ed, tit·il·lat·ing, tit·il·lates v.tr. 1. To stimulate by touching lightly; tickle. 2. To excite (another) pleasurably, superficially or erotically. as well as disturbing undercurrent in Alan Bennett's comedy about teenage English schoolboys, which arrives on Broadway following a sensational debut at London's National Theatre, directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Object of My Affection). MAY The House in Town by Richard Greenberg Lincoln Center Theater, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, New York City, begins May 11, opening night June 15 Yet another new play from Richard Greenberg--a portrait of a marriage set in 1929 New York. Some Men by Terrence McNally Philadelphia Theatre Company The Philadelphia Theatre Company is a theatre company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. , May 12-June 11 In his brand-new work, Terrence McNally (Master Class) explores the lives of a group of people who attend a same-sex wedding at New York's Plaza Hotel. Could it be the Love! Valour! Compassion! of this decade? Valhalla by Paul Rudnick New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco, May 12-June 24 A gay teenager from 1940s Texas encounters the flamboyant mad King Ludwig of 1880s Bavaria in this comic epic from Paul Rudnick (Jeffrey). The Long Christmas Ride Home by Paula Vogel Magic Theatre, San Francisco, May 13-July 11 Master puppeteer Basil Twist directs the West Coast premiere of Paula Vogel's heartbreaking story of three siblings whose strong bonds are forged by tragedy and family dysfunction. Mame book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., May 27-July 2 Christine Baranski stars as the eccentric aunt in this new production of the Jerry Herman musical. RELATED ARTICLE: Father vs. daughter. Out playwright and dad Nilo Cruz explores a love triangle that entangles a gay parent and his daughter in Beauty of the Father A father and daughter who have fallen for the same man is featured in Beauty of the Father, the latest from Nilo Cruz, the gay Latino playwright best known for his lyrical Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics Anna in the Tropics is a Pulitzer Prize-winning (2003) play by Nilo Cruz. When Cuban immigrants brought the cigar-making industry to Florida in the 19th Century, they carried with them another tradition. . "We don't fear violence, but it seems like we fear sensuality and sexuality in this country," notes the Cuban-born writer. "I find sexuality compelling subject matter--not the kind that is black-and-white but the sexuality that forms between the cracks." The romantic drama, starring Priscilla Lopez and directed by Michael Greif [who staged Rent), started performances on December 15 at New York's Manhattan Theatre Club, with opening night scheduled for January 10 and a closing date of February 19. Cruz has set his story in the Spanish province of Granada, also birthplace and home of playwright and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, believed to have been murdered in 1936 as much for his homosexuality as for his outspokenness against fascism. "I love Lorca's lyricism lyr·i·cism n. 1. a. The character or quality of subjectivity and sensuality of expression, especially in the arts. b. The quality or state of being melodious; melodiousness. 2. and his theatricality," says Cruz, who examined the writer's tragic death in an earlier play, Lorca in a Green Dress. While doing research for the Lorca play in the south of Spain, he noticed the number of young Moroccan men who had come to Europe looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. advancement and was reminded of a similar situation he had observed earlier in Naples with Tunisian immigrants. In Italy he had met an older European gentleman whose relationship with a Tunisian had fallen apart when the younger man began to consider his patron a father more than a lover. Cruz incorporated elements of that failed love story into Beauty of the Father and wrote a part for his spiritual mentor Lorca, who appears as a wandering ghost in the play. But Beauty of the Father is perhaps more personal for the 45-year-old playwright, who is father to a 16-year-old daughter. "I'm certainly investigating my own relationship to being a father in this play," he acknowledges, declining to go into specifics. For a clue to Cruz's discoveries, observe how the characters in the play each have to surrender something for the person they love, "Sometimes we have to sacrifice a little bit of our lives in order to get something else," Cruz observes. "There is beauty in that generosity of spirit."--G.R. Raymond is a freelance writer based in New York City. |
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