This Is A Star Vehicle, Darlings--But For The Wrong Star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                   
                                      The show we went to see last night was "Soul Doctor," at the Circle In The Square Theatre, and, let me tell you, if you are a Musical Theater Queen, or studying Musical Theater, this is a show that should be seen.  Not because it is great, but because it is a compendium of  musical shows over the last 60 years.  Let's see, in the course of the evening,  I counted "The Sound Of Music," "Funny Girl," "Newsies," and "HAIR," among its influences.

                                       This is a bio-musical, told in flashback (as was "Funny Girl") about the folksinging Rabbi, Shlomo Carlbach..  Eric Anderson plays him, and is very good, but he should be more than that.  But he isn't.  Something is lacking in his performance, primarily passion.  No matter how much he gives of himself to the material, I never felt he gave enough.  Or, frankly, that he had it in him to give.

                                        But, he does not stand a chance, lambs. Because, once Amber Iman, as Nina Simone, walks onto that stage, she just steps over him, and walks off with the show!  That is right, girls; she is so good, she pulls the focus from Anderson, to the point where I thought the show should have been rewritten and retitled "Nina!"

                                      Even more troublesome than that is, once I did some investigating on my own, discovering that the creators, book writer Daniel S. Wise and lyricist David Schechter (the former actor, who appeared in Elizabeth Swados' "Runaways," back in 1978!!!!!!!!!) have basically made the whole thing up.  I place the blame for this primarily on Wise, not Schechter!!!!!!!!   There was no residency in Vienna, there was no attachment to Nina Simone, or estrangement from his father.  The whole thing is a compendium of musical theater and dramatic cliches.  You have GOT to see the student yeshiva dance  number, darlings; it should have been called "Jewsies!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                       This show should have had the connection with its audience that something like "Rags" does, only neither material or star are that impassioned.  I kept thinking, as I watched, if, had this been done in earlier times, with Mandy Patinkin or Theodore Bikel or Zero Mostel doing the lead, the show might have had the star it so desperately needs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       It does, but like I said, that star is Amber Iman!  I see a TONY Nomination in that lady's future!

                                       I am sure theater artists have wanted to get their hands on Shlomo Carlbach's story for a long time!  It is just too bad the wrong ones did.  There may be a show here, (in the Sixties, it would have been called "Shlomo!") but this is not it, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Two on the aisle here is like a hand in the bush getting cut by thorns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Night On The Town, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           When you are  the Raving Queen, darlings, nights on the town go with the territory, but it has been so long since I have been afoot on Saturday night, I almost forgot what that experience was like.  So, I had no idea what I was in for, as I started out, at Maria Pia Restaurant, at 319 West 51st Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues.

                             The food was fabulous.  A standard salad, a luscious pasta dish, zesty with sausage, spices, and a vodka like sauce, and a custard for desert.  No wine, because I am on those new meds, and honeys, I have GOT to talk to Cherry Jones (if I can steal a few "Glass Menagerie" minutes from her!!!) about this.

                             But the service!  Now, I am not talking Delemarchier!!!!!!!!!!  Nothing could be THAT bad, and no one was a complete bitch to us, like Nasty Hostess, who was born too late, because she would have done great with the SS!!!!!!!!!!

                               No, I am talking about a Theater District restaurant that does not know how to conduct itself when it is Peak Time--like right before a show!  There were Monsieur and I, Ellen, Steve, Paul (from whom I found out that those two captivating children, Ramona and Eric, are doing just fine!!!!) and Alan, but I am pretty certain almost everyone in our dining room was en route to something.  And even with the waiting staff racing about faster than dancers to Gower Champion's choreography in "Hello, Dolly!," things still didn't happen  fast enough, or as they should.  At one point, Paul asked for more ice, and was given it in a glass so steaming he could barely hold it in his hand!

                                 Hey, Maria Pia, I don't know if you are short staffed or what, but get your front line staff to get its act together!!!!!!!!!!!  The kitchen staff is no problem, because, as I said, the cuisine was superb, but the manner and alacrity with which it was served left much for me to desire!  Would I go back????????  I am not so sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Had we time to linger, the fun might have flowed!  But when one is catching an eight o clock curtain, darlings, it's like Mammy forcing Scarlett to eat, prior to the Twelve Oaks picnic!   Thank God, it was past three o'clock, and I could show MY bosom!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 The show must  go on!  And customers have to get to theirs!  So take better care, Maria Pia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"A Million Tomorrows Shall All Pass Away, 'Ere I Forget.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                    It has been three years, darlings!  Three years since the tragic passing of Tyler Clementi, and its impact, which still endures.   My thoughts go out, most of all, to the Clementis, on this day, but, in the wake of what has been a rather interesting month--one which included the suicide of Rebecca  Sedwick, followed soon after by the Pope's message of acceptance and inclusion--I have to wonder what Tyler would have thought about all this.  I think he is looking down and smiling.

                                   And I agree with his brother, James, who, in his article in the Huffington Post, said that, were Tyler here, it would have been he and James doing the activist work.  But that now the mantle has been passed to their parents.  And they--James, too-have done much.

                                   James says in his travels he has met many people whom he wished he could introduce Tyler to.  By that token, I myself wish I could have met him.  And spoken to him.  I know exactly what I would have done.  I would have held up two movie photos--one of Vivien Leigh, fist raised to the sky, in the concluding shot of the first half of  "Gone With The Wind.," and the other, of course, of Jennifer Jones facing her tormentors (one of whom is played by Vincent Price) in "The Song Of Bernadette."  I would not expect these to have the same impact on Tyler, as they did me, but the message which I would impart to them would--find yourself something that holds you in place as an individual; something that says it is OK to be what you are, against all odds.  I was fortunate that I did, in the most unlikely of places.  Even if Tyler had not found that thing yet, I still wish if I could have done the above; if others had, perhaps we would not be having this discussion today.

                                  When Tyler passed, he had just started his freshman year of college.  It pains me that, were he here, he would already be in his senior year, making plans for the future.  We shall never know what that future would be.

                                     I said earlier Tyler might very well be looking down at all the change in the face of his passing, and be smiling.  I suppose I should, too, but I still cannot help, on this day, tearing up , over a  life too soon lost, and a good guy too soon taken from us.  I can only imagine how his family feels today.

                                     What can be done?  Remember, and don't be afraid to embrace those memories. And don't be afraid to reach out to those who may be in need, even if it turns out you are wrong. Better to err on the side of caution.

                                       At my recent, that is 40 year, high school reunion, one of my classmates, interestingly, asked me when I first knew I was gay. He apologized if this embarrassed me, but it did not, at all.  I had to think for a minute, because, in the time and milieu in which I was raised, this knowledge only came to me, in retrospect.  And this is what I said.

                                        It happened around fifth grade.  The TV show, "The Fugitive," was popular, then, and I eventually came to understand I had a crush on its leading man--David Jansen.  The other was in the Nancy Drew books I read that year.  Yes, I loved Nancy's  friends, outfits, roadster, and going to luncheon.
But I got the warmest feeling whenever Carolyn Keene (which was a pseudonym, and whom I suspect might have been a big old queen, anyway!!!!) would mention Nancy's father--always!!!--as "handsome lawyer

Carson Drew!"  And no, girls, I did not end up with a lawyer!  But, interestingly, I ended up with someone named David.  He is my greatest gift, and I tell this to myself, and God, every day!

                                   Let's see, how shall I end this??????  I mentioned earlier, about that photo of Vivien Leigh, and holding it up to Tyler as a symbolic template for finding your right to your own individuality.  Thanks to technology today, I can present the entire sequence in all its glory, to Tyler, and those in need!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Rest In Peace, Tyler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"See The Pyramids Along The Nile," Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  I can't tell you why, girls, but Jo Stafford's smoky, definitive rendition of her signature hit, "You Belong To Me," makes me think of Fall.  So, I just had to share it with you.  For those who have not heard it, it is about time.  I am sure many, without knowing where it is from, will recognize the song's famous opening phrase.

                                  So, here is a true classic to usher in the still new season!  May this Fall bring all the romanticism to you, conjured up by the song!

                                    See you at that marketplace in old Algiers, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back To Hell You Go, Proserpina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               Welcome Fall, darlings!  This is the day, when, by tradition, Proserpina goes back to Hell, which results in trees shedding their leaves, snow falling later, and the ground looking pretty much barren.  Another mark of Time!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   This is always a sad time.  What makes up for it is Fall is the start of the cultural season, especially in New York, within the arts and literary communities, so it is always intriguing to see what will emerge from there.  It is also the Season Of My Birth, being I was born in November, which means another year to be added, while another gets crossed off.

                                     Not to mention the Holidays--Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, which I think were intentionally put where they were to give some joy to this otherwise bleak time.

                                       Which makes it perfect for curling up on Winter nights with a nice Victorian novel you have been wanting to read, or maybe reread.

                                          Maybe this will be when I finally read "Little Dorrit."  One of the few remaining
Dickens I have yet to peruse.

                                             Happy Fall, everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Farewell To Summer, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              Well, darlings, that is not only it for today, but that is it for Summer 2013!!!!!!!!!!
As I look back on what will soon be history, I ask, what was the highlight?  The Mermaid Parade?  My third reading of "Anna Karenina?"  My 40th high school reunion, and having my picture taken with Roberta?  Going there with my beloved Monsieur??????????????  Is there something I am missing?

                             I can't decide, so I will just say All Of The Above...and what ever else I may be forgetting!!!!!!!!!!!  Nothing seems sadder to me than Summer's end; back to Hell Prosperina goes, the days get shorter, to where it is so depressing, when it gets completely dark by 4:30 in the afternoon!!!!!  No matter how far removed from school I am--forever, at this point--the end of Summer always makes me feel this way!!!!  Thank God for the Holidays, at this point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             So, I hope you all had a Happy Summer, and wish you  an even happier--and culturally exciting-- Fall!  Tomorrow, it starts, and I will be right there to report to you on all of it!

                              And let's keep the Drama on the stage--where it belongs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did Walt Disney Give Us The First Animated Gay Icon????????????????????

                            He was a sadist, Fascist, racist, and anti-Semite.  So it would not surprise me, one bit, darlings, if Walt Disney was not a great big homophobe.  Yet, after all my gloom and doom on the sadness and traumatizing he brought to the screen, I thought of the 1938 cartoon, "Ferdinand The Bull."

                           Ferdinand (who should have been given a butcher name, to start!!!!!!!) is this big, hairy beast, who is supposed to be macho and menacing--like big macho, hairy beats are!  Believe me, darlings, I know!  And I am just talking here about the two legged ones!  Instead, Ferdinand likes flowers, nature, dancing; he is so adorable, he would be great at a social tea.  If one looks at Ferdinand carefully, he could be construed as coda for Gay!!!!!!!!!!!!   Wouldn't that be a kick?  And you know what?  I bet Walt Disney had no idea!

                        This reminds me of my encounter with a roomful of real life Ferdinands--though none as cute.  Back in the Eighties, when I was a young thing, the Spike was one of THE bars in town.  You couldn't call yourself gay, unless you had been to it once.  And the event you just HAD to go to--because, let me tell you, girls, it had to be seen to be believed--was their Sunday Brunch!!!!!!!!!!!

                         The food was standard fare!  But picture a room full of the butchest looking guys--T-shirts, jeans, tattoos, beards, mustaches, muscular, and posturing to out butch the other--actually sitting around discussing things like needlepoint, floral decorating, and cooking recipes!  I am not kidding!  You might as well have been at the garden party in "The Manchurian Candidate."  I couldn't have been more surprised, had Angela Lansbury herself walked through the door!  Which, after I saw what was around me, I fully expected to happen!!!!!!!!!!!

                          It just goes to show!  And it just goes to show there  were things lurking in Disney's consciousness I am sure he did not even realize were there.  I mean, come on, Ferdinand is so lovable, so adorably camp, he would bring a smile to Anna Wintour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Kind of like my big, strong, lovable canine friend, whom I call Cujo!  But whose real name, for all I know, might be Laertes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Oh, Uncle Walt!  Why couldn't you have gotten your act together??????????

                            On the other hand, if he had, there might not be the artistry that still endures today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!