Sealed with a kiss.

David Drake caps a chapter in his life with the new film of his one-man show, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me

A kiss can change your life--just ask David Drake. His Obie-winning semi-autobiographical one-man show, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, has been performed across the globe, brought him widespread acclaim as an out gay actor and writer, and now, eight years after its debut at New York's Perry Street Theater, been turned into a feature film.

Directed by Tim Kirkman (Dear Jesse), the film's seven segments examine Drake's growth from West Side Story--obsessed gay boy to grown gay man; issues like AIDS activism and gym bunnies; and a futuristic utopia in which Matt Damon and Ben Affleck star in a remake of The Way We Were. The Advocate recently caught up with Drake, who is working on a new one-man show, to play a game of Five Questions.

Did your show and its success affect the likelihood of your having a mainstream, "Hollywood" career?

Yes and no [laughs]. When I first came to public attention with this in the early '90s--and I had my picture in Vanity Fair and Vogue; it was everywhere--it was before Ellen, Dan Butler, or Mitchell Anderson. There was nobody out. I met everybody in Hollywood, but they were like, "We don't know what to do with you!" However, I came to realize over time that it wasn't just my being out, it was that I had a point of view. The idea of an actor having a political point of view is a very tricky call. Hollywood actors are asked to be somewhat anonymous, somewhat ambiguous as personalities.

If I told you that you could have had a Hollywood--leading-man career if you never wrote the play or were open about your point of view, would you?

Oh, no--absolutely not. Because there's no guarantee that the closet is going to make you a star! And I know straight actors who are struggling like crazy. They're testosterone-driven, great-looking--it has to do with talent and tenacity and luck, a lot of luck! It's a tough, tough business.

Who else has "kissed you" besides Larry Kramer?

Christopher Isherwood is a major influence in my life. His spiritual journey is very important to me, and his witnessing so many transitions in gay sexuality, in politics, in Europe, being out at the time he was--Berlin in the '30s. And Karen Finley. The way she tackled misogyny, sexism, homophobia, grief, and God in her work is really inspiring. But you'll want to take a raincoat if you're going to sit up close--you never know what you're going to get splattered with at her show.

Was this translation of The Night from stage to screen successful?

I'm very pleased. When I was watching it in Baltimore with an audience, it was only then that I realized, Oh, my God--this is as much about the power of live theater, to move and motivate and be part of the social dialogue, as it is about the issues. Tim Kirkman and I wanted to capture the power of that medium because that's where The Night existed in the world.

Are you ready to say good-bye to The Night now?

Yeah, I'm done. It's been transcendent to secure it on film, so that it's always there for other people to enjoy, and to reach people that I could never reach. Now I have other stories to tell. I need to move on.

Find more on David Drake and The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me at www.advocate.com