OnStage - Ruined, The Temperamentals, and Jeffery & Cole: Make It Bigger

The New York City stage is packed this summer and the three Off-Broadway productions I'm recommending, Ruined, The Temperamentals, and Jeffery & Cole: Make It Bigger, all represent the wonderful diversity of offerings currently available to theatergoers.

Ruined, which won the Pulitzer Prize this year, is the story of Mama Nadi, a women who owns a brothel in the middle of a civil war in the Congo. Loosely inspired by Brecht's Mother Courage, Ruined offers us a glimpse into the lives of these women as they struggle to survive. It's one powerful story.

The script feels authentic and was carefully researched and developed by interviewing women who live in the region under these deplorable conditions. The production has been running for months at Manhattan Theatre Club, but is still fresh, vital, and beautifully performed.

I'd be shocked if Ruined doesn't get a shot at Broadway soon.

Playing until August 23rd, The Temperamentals is the true story of the creation of American's first gay rights group. Staged both simply & beautifully in the intimate Barrow Group Theater, you feel as if you're a part of their early organizing - both victories & defeats. The entire cast is fabulous; lead with strength by Thomas Jay Ryan and Ugly Betty's Michael Urie.

Harry Hay, the founder of The Temperamentals, wasn't as known to me as Stonewall or Harvey Milk, but he's courageous and intelligent. Anyone currently involved in the fight for gay equality (and who believe it has to do with way more than marriage) will find lots to like in Hay's philosophies. He's no fan of total gay assimilation, and would question the value in the current pursuit of a strictly heteronormative agenda.

In fact, shortly before his death (at the age of 90) in 2002 Hay said, "The assimilationist movement is running us into the ground." Amen brother.

For big laughs, with zero assimilation, head downtown to Earl Dax's Hot! Festival. Queer performers have taken over the uber-trendy Dixon Place. Two of those performers are my good friends Jeffery Self and Cole Escola, extremely funny guys who have scored quite a hit with their current Logo TV show Jeffery & Cole Casserole.

Jeffery & Cole's Hot! Festival offering, 'Make It Bigger,' is loosely based on their story, from YouTube to the boob tube. Wonderfully raunchy and politically incorrect their rise to fame story has lots of familiar elements and big laughs. You can see their final performance on Thursday night.

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Ryan is a freelance theater director, who is currently directing Vote! at FringeNYC and Street Lights at NYMF. His musical White Noise recently premiered regionally in New Orleans. Read his blog here.

Published on The Huffington Post.

Craig Stevens At Mr. Broadway

Craig and his "girlfriend" Janine came to The Broadway Beauty Pageant again this year and put together this very funny video with the contestants, Jeffery Self, Tovah Feldshuh, and near the end a special guest appearance by yours truly.

Craig & Janine have a live performance coming up on May 31st at The Laurie Beechman Theater. Details here.

Remembering Bea Arthur With The Golden Boys

I was sorry to hear that Bea Arthur recently passed away. She was an incredible talent.

Below is The Golden Boys, a short I directed last year with gay boys playing the roles of The Golden Girls. Jeffery Self plays Dorothy, the role made famous by Bea. Also featured are Kevin Curtis, Matt Sigl, and Cole Escola. It's a fun tribute.



We'll miss you Bea!

Mr. Broadway 2009 - April 20th!

The Third Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant (that I direct & co-produce) is set for Monday, April 20th at the beautiful 800 seat Symphony Space Theater in New York. Tickets start at $50 and all proceeds benefit The Ali Forney Center, an organization that provides services to homeless New York gay youth. Purchase tickets here. I've written about Ali Forney for Huffington Post in the past.

The evening is setup like a traditional beauty pageant, with an American Idolesq twist - judges comment every step of the way. The contestants each represent their Broadway show and compete in talent, interview, formal wear, and everyone's favorite part, the swimsuit competition.

The 2009 contestants are James Brown III (Mr. Little Mermaid), Adam Fleming (Mr. Wicked),Anthony Hollock (Mr. Hair), Tony James (Mr. Lion King), David Larsen (Mr. Billy Elliot), Jonathan Sandler (Mr. Mary Poppins) and John Selya (Mr. Guys & Dolls). Past winners include Frankie James Grande (Mr. Mamma Mia) and Marty Thomas (Mr. Xanadu), who are both set to perform. Seth Rudetsky and Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) are confirmed to judge. We'll announce additional judges and a celebrity host soon.

Thanks to Playbill, Broadway World, & Theatremania for their coverage today!

For some fun background on the show, read this interview with pageant-creator Jeffery Self and me from Edge New York, April 10th 2007.



More 2008 Photos at Broadway World!

Early Morning Odds & Ends

I'm up early, getting ready to leave for my flight to Indiana to direct the musical Vote! I'm a little worried about making it through airline security with this orange plastic bag from a Halloween store full of colorful costumes, but I guess it doesn't make me look like a terrorist... just crazy.


Jeff, Kevin,& Me

--Last night Kevin and I went to see People I Slept With Who Never Called Me Back at Ars Nova. The show, written and performed by my friend Jeffery Self, was part of Ars Nova's Residency Encore series and was extremely funny. You missed this run, but Jeffery is one half of YouTube's VGL Gay Boys and blogs daily. So, keep up.

-- This women, a lesbian denied seeing her dying partner in a Florida hospital, is an example of why the gay movement needs to focus on federal civil unions asap. It's not enough to protect gays who live in liberal states. Federal unions are the only way to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in conservative states where there isn't a path to full marriage in the near future.

-- Human cloning is finally viable. "The research is the first step toward therapeutic cloning — making embryonic stem cells from a patient's own DNA capable of replacing diseased tissue, failing organs and even lost limbs. And, theoretically, the same technique could be used to produce a cloned person."

-- Cablevision's internet service continues to be less reliable than the 28.8 modem I used in 7th grade and even makes AT&T's cell service look acceptable by comparison.

The Next Two Weeks

I've got quite a bit going on over the next two weeks and wanted to let everyone know what's happening.

Broadway For Barack

I'm Executive Producing a benefit for Senator Obama's Presidential Campaign on Monday, February 11th.

Playbill Says:

Jenn Colella, Kate Rockwell and Manoel Felciano are among the performers to appear at Broadway for Barack: The Voices of Hope, a benefit concert at Off Broadway's Zipper Theatre.
Ryan J. Davis and Adam Wagner produce the one-night-only event scheduled to play the New York City venue Feb. 11 at 9:30 PM.
...
Performers currently scheduled include Aaron J. Albano (Bombay Dreams, Spelling Bee), Jenn Colella (High Fidelity, Urban Cowboy), Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd, Brooklyn), Adam Halpin, Kate Rockwell ("Grease! You're the One That I Want"), Caesar Samayoa (Hot Feet, Carmen) and Marty Thomas (Xanadu, Wicked).
They will sing tunes by Nick Blaemire (Glory Days), Joe Drymala (White Noise), Felciano, Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk (Henry and Mudge), Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges), Eric Svejcar (Caligula), Jeffrey Thomson and Jordan Mann as well as Zachary Dietz and Adam Wagner.

Broadway World covers the premier of Joe Drymala's new musical Street Lights as well:

Street Lights, a new R&B/Hip-Hop musical by Joe Drymala will receive its first public preview during the evening. "Barack Obama's been talking about the same things that inspired me to write Street Lights -- community organizing, fixing public education, bringing the promise of the American Dream to every American, and healing the divisions between us," author Joe Drymala said. "Watching his campaign catch fire all over the country has been the most extraordinary political event of my lifetime." Street Lights will feature performances by Timothy Anderson, Andrew Arrington, Krystal Brown, Kevin Curtis, Domonique Porter, Alessia Thompson, Dwayne Washington, & Natalie Weiss.

My Life On The Craigslist

Jeffery's hilarious one man show about finding love (or sex) on Craigslist returns to NYC for three performances only.



Broadway World covers it:

After a sold-out performance at Off-Broadway's New World Stages, My Life On The Craigslist returns to New York for three performances only! My Life On The Craigslist, a solo show written and performed by Jeffery Self (Mr. Broadway, Big Tent) and directed and developed by Ryan J. Davis (White Noise, Breaking In), will be performed Off-Broadway at The 45th Street Theater (354 W. 45th Street) for three Fridays: February 15, 22 & 29 at 11PM. Lights by Solomon Weisbard & Co-Presented by Chris Ryan.
"Jeffery Self plays Jeff Miller, who is sexually frustrated, terribly self-conscious and willing to do anything to spice up his life. After finding the "Men 4 Men" section, his sordid dreams become reality and he begins to live life 'On The Craigslist.' Dirty, sleazy, and funny - this is a one night stand you don't wanna miss," explain press notes.

Tickets are only $10, come check it out!

Tammy Faye Sings

The Tammy Faye Musical, Big Tent, that I directed a big reading of in May is returning for a night at New York's The Metropolitan Room.

Playbill has the details:

Tammy Faye Sings is the title of a Feb. 18 concert at the Metropolitan Room, which will feature songs from the musical Big Tent, which is tagged "The Tammy Faye Bakker Musical."

The 9:30 PM concert at the Manhattan nightspot will feature the talents of Wicked's Stephanie J. Block and Jersey Boys' Sebastian Arcelus as well as Leah Hocking, Jim Stanek, DB Bonds, Kate Rockwell, Jenny Hill, Natalie Douglas, Quiana Parler, Linda Balgord, Jodie Langel, Eric Briarley, Casey Clark, Ryan Driscoll and Hedi Weyhmueller. Jeffery Self, who penned the book for the Tammy Faye musical, will host the evening.

The band will feature Big Tent composers Ben Cohn and Sean McDaniel on, respectively, piano and drums as well as Ric Molina on guitar and Dave Kuhn on bass.

That's all the theater for the next couple of weeks.

Off topic - I've also become a political pundit for The Hill, a widely read political D.C. daily paper. Check out my post here.

The Golden Boys

A pretty funny little thing that a few friends and I put together.

It's a scene from The Golden Girls... with boys in New York.