Icons for Gay Men

Recently I was re-watching the film Hello Dolly! after hearing those great old Jerry Herman tunes in the film Wall-E. For those unfamiliar, there was quite a hulabaloo when the young Barbra Streisand was cast in the role, whereas the stage version had been pretty much synonymous with Carol Channing. Despite that, we gays still love her, even if we recognize this was perhaps not her best (or most appropriate) role. But how to explain that? Why is it that the majority of gay men love Babs the way we do, and so many others?

Thus I think it's time to offer you, gentle reader, a primer for the pantheon of female icons that we gay folk adore so much. And because I love lists, I'm going to offer my top 10 icons, followed by a laundry list of honorable mentions. Also we'll look at a few potential icons of the future - who will be talking about 25 years now with a great sigh saying, "Oh, I remember when I first saw Elizabeth in the theater. Now THAT was a great time in movies!"

First up, my top 10 list. These are in no particular order, because no matter how I rank them, I will hear cries of sacrilege (probably even from myself).

1. Judy Garland

How does one explain the pull of Judy? I admit that I wasn't even that impressed with Judy in my nascent years as a gay collegiate. But there are several reasons to explain her appeal. First is that quintessential role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Her experience reminds us of our own - lost in a world that is new and scary, wishing for the comforts of a home where you truly belong - if only you had some kind friends to lean on and show you the way. Also Judy has that cache of being a young child star at the time when movie musicals were becoming quite popular. When she exhorted us all to "Get Happy," we gladly obliged.

2. Liza Minelli

One can hardly mention Judy without bringing up her daughter in the same breath. We admire the way she fought to step outside her mother's shadow, taking the musical stage by storm all on her own. She pushed buttons and sang of hot jazz in Cabaret (making us forget that the role of Sally Bowles is supposed to be played by an Englishwoman). And of course she kept marrying men of our number, so she's practically a gay man already. Liza with a Z - that's her!

3. Barbra Streisand

*sigh* Oh, Babs. It's the voice. It's the nails. It's the Jewish girl from Flatbush who makes it on the Great White Way and wins an Oscar in her very first movie role. It's her unconventional choices in leading men that makes us realize all of us stand a chance. (Ryan O'Neal as sex symbol? Believe it.) And of course she's just so easy to impersonate - a godsend for the drag queens out there.

4. Cher

First she declares herself a "Half-Breed," and we identify with the outsider who isn't loved. Then she wears ostentatious-yet-fabulous gowns by Bob Mackie. And then she proves that she can really act, too - "Snap out of it!" Once she went disco, all the gays were ready to dance along and toss our non-existent long hair. Whoooaaaa!!!

5. Madonna

Although she's the youngest on this list, Madonna has done more in her half-century to win the hearts of the gays than most singers do in a lifetime. She has continually skewered social norms regarding sex and religion, and we appreciate it. She also knows how to construct a lot of amazing dance tunes!

6. Bette Davis

We love Bette for one simple reason - she was the first big-mouthed broad who brought the bitch every time she walked in a room. Only she could turn, "Poor Eve!" into a classic line.

7. Joan Crawford

Joan was in some ways Bette's twin for bitchery, but she also brought the glamour and the drama. And of course we know that she was (mostly) Mommie Dearest in real life, which makes her both cool and creepy.

8. Audrey Hepburn

Audrey defined glamour of the era - she looked good in everything, and always had those big fabulous sunglasses! No one else before or sense has made a string of pearls and a long cigarette holder look so very elegant. Then she became a big-time humanitarian, and no one appreciates selfless acts to help the world's forgotten more than the gays.

9. Donna Summer

Donna was the queen of the disco, and we sure loved our disco. Why, exactly? Disco was the chance to show of your hottest threads while shaking your booty on a lighted dance floor. Gay, gay, gay!!!

10. Bette Midler

Her history starting in the gay baths made Bette an instant gay icon for life - she entertained us first, and we've been loyal ever since. Yet we also would have adored her anyway for being loud and brassy with big bazooms. Once she made us weep with Beaches, we have never been the same.

And that's the list! Now for a few honorable mentions, who are certainly gay icons for some, but have not perhaps reached the pinnacle of gay icon stature:

- Dolly Parton - "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap."
- Julie Andrews - Sound of Music - love! Victor/Victoria - gay friendly!
- Patti Labelle - Soul sistah had the craziest hair of the 80's. And she likes to eat.
- Marlene Dietrich - She's the woman who made androgyny edgy and fabulous. Madonna owes her a debt.
- Elaine Stritch - Elaine made it OK to drink vodka and sing at the top of your lungs. Not that I ever do that.
- Gloria Gaynor - "I Will Survive" has been our anthem for years - if only she had more hits...
- Carol Channing - She's the smile that ate Broadway - Hello, Dolly, indeed!
- Carol Burnett - That Gone With the Wind sketch was worth a lifetime of laughs.
- Lucille Ball - The original (and perhaps greatest ever) comedienne. And who wouldn't want to marry a hot Cuban?
- Mary Tyler Moore - When she threw her hat up into the Minneapolis sky, she signaled freedom - for all! (Or that's how I saw it.) Plus having a sassy Jewish neighbor was totally our life.
- Whitney Houston - She...eee...eee....will always love uuuuuuuuus...or maybe crack. It's whack!
- Reba McEntire - Short, spunky, redheads are always our best girlfriends. Plus, girl loves her costumes!
- Diana Ross - She was so fabulous and controversial that they made a really, really good musical about her! (Even if she denies it.)
- Katherine Hepburn - She really qualifies as more of a lesbian icon (the jaw, the pants, that red sweater), but we still think she was a strong woman, and we love that.
- Judi Dench & Helen Mirren - Tough British babes for the ages!

Finally, without further adieu, I propose the women with the greatest potential to become our great icons of the new century. Which of them will stand the test of time?

- Jennifer Hudson - She's our new Diana Ross. But girl's got curves!
- Kathy Griffin - She adores us, so how could we not return the love?
- Margaret Cho - Ditto!
- Kelly Clarkson - American Idol no more - she is hot, hot, hot.
- Beyonce' - We're crazy in love with her.
- Cate Blanchett - One minute she's a British queen, the next she's clawing out the eyes of Judi Dench. Bold!
- Tilda Swinton - Androgyny is hot again, and Tilda's at the forefront. A new Marlene in the making?
- Meryl Streep - When she gets Oscar nomination #20, you know we're throwing a party.
- Glenn Close - She was in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway. She may actually BE a gay man!

OK, now's your time to let me have it - where did I go wrong? Whom did I forget? Whom I have shown too much love? (Yeah, right.) And who else will define the future of gay men's DVD and CD collections?

Roller Skate Fantasia

The Broadway show of the moment is Xanadu. Seriously.

If you've seen the movie, you're aware that it's incredibly cheezy and craptastic. So the creators of this stage show thought, "Why not poke fun at it? And the 80's in general? And even theater in general?"

The result is a hilarious romp from start to finish. Kerry Butler is outrageously funny in her overly affected Australian accent ("My name is Kiiiiiiiiiiraaaaaaaa."), and girl can SING. Oh, and you know she's on roller skates and wearing leg warmers almost the whole time, right? She's well-matched with Cheyenne Jackson [not pictured] as the blissfully clueless Sonny Malone.

The book adds a fun subplot where a couple of the Muse sisters are jealous of Clio/Kira. This let's them have fun at being nasty, and sing the showstopper, "Evil Woman."

And you get to enjoy all this while munching on the 80's era confections they sell - Pop Rocks, candy cigarettes, candy necklaces...good times!

In short, this is such a great show, I was ready to go back and see it again the very same night. Don't miss this one! Laughter is indeed the best medicine.

[All pictures courtesy of the official show website - see link above.]

The Subscriber's Lament

I haven't done much discussion here about local theatre, but we do see quite a bit whenever we can. This year we decided to be season subscribers for the first time. Based on the strength of last season's smash Assassins, the natural choice seemed to be Signature Theatre. Besides, they were opening a new space, and it would be exciting, right?

Well what we ended up with was a real mixed bag.

First up we had the last show that would be in the old "garage" space - My Fair Lady. It was quite honestly horrid. The leads were annoying, the costumes had bizarre quirks, and can we talk about the neon purple runway? Don't get me wrong - it had its moments - the Ascot scene was well done. But on the whole it was just too long and dull.

To open the new space we had Into the Woods, which is what I was most looking forward to. I've seen it twice (plus the Broadway video) and was never disappointed. This one was a bit uneven but mostly pretty good. The set was really amazing and well thought-out. And some of the performances were strong - I really liked Eleasha Gamble as The Witch and Donna Migliaccio as Jack's Mother. Others disappointed, though - The Baker in particular. (It's my belief that for the show to be successful one has to be fully convinced of the love between the baker and his wife.)

Next up was Crave in the smaller black box space. It was really just an hour of four people moving around and saying random things that had little if any relation to anything. The lighting was good, but that's really the only positive thing I can say. It was suddenly over and ScottE and I turned to each other and said, "That's it? Seriously?"

The big surprise came when we saw Saving Aimee, a musical written by...brace yourselves...Kathie Lee Gifford. I know! The surprise was that it was good! Actually quite compelling! It's a biographical musical about the life and loves of Aimee Semple McPherson, who was like a precursor to today's televangelists. The strength of the show was really the lead, Carolee Carmello, who was a powerful presence. (Her voice had too much vibrato for my taste, but I was able to overlook it.) Another star turn came from E. Faye Butler, who portrayed a former madam that Aimee converts to Christianity. The set was really well done, and most of the songs were entertaining. Not an amazing show, but we were still pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it. (Oh, and Kathie Lee herself was sitting just two rows in front of us. Very gracious and very skinny.)

The last show was to be Nest, but we ran into scheduling issues. First we exchanged our tickets to a later performance in the run due to a time conflict from work. Then they cancelled that show, and we were only left with a couple of performances to choose from, none of which we could do. So in the end we just had to donate back the tickets. It was pretty much crap.

So the lesson from all this is that a season subscription is a leap of faith. There's a good chance that there will be something you won't like. But you may also end up seeing a treasure you never would have chosen to see otherwise. Try it out - it can be fun! We decided to pass on renewing for the next season, but may try a different theater in the future (probably something closer to home).

Photo courtesy of playbill.com by Joan Marcus.

Give My Regards To Broadway

It's been awhile, but I wanted to catch you up on the latest shows that ScottE and I caught during our most recent trip to NYC, where we visited The Kara. If you'd like to read about our amazing food adventure to a Harlem landmark, check out ScottE's post.

First off, we went to see Terrence McNally's new play, Some Men at Second Stage Theatre. The play is a series of vignettes that chronicle the progression of love in gay male relationships for the past several decades. As you might imagine, some of the scenes worked better than others. The best were a scene about chat rooms and a group therapy session. The cast was all good, but playwright David Greenspan excelled as the bitter old queen full of pity one-liners. The best line of the show came from a man in a piano bar. He was lamenting that with gay men, the first affliction of old age is "show tune senility." It's so true!

The following evening, The Kara and I went to go see Spring Awakening. I'd been dying to see it, as I had fallen in love with the soundtrack. (You may have noticed from the ubiquitous sidebar on my blog.) It was really an amazing evening. The performance was so raw and present. And when you consider the average age of the performers...let's just say I have great hope for the future of Broadway. It's definitely a must-see show, so check it out!

Meanwhile, ScottE saw the play Talk Radio. He wasn't crazy about the script, but it starred Liev Schreiber. And let's be honest - that's all you need for a night's entertainment! If you'd like to hear more about it, I know he'd be happy to fill you in on the details.

All in all, an amazing weekend, which was a belated birthday gift to me. Yay for me!

Two Schools

Catching up on a busy week with reviews of two very different schools.

The first is Hogwarts, the site of the fourth Harry Potter film - The Goblet of Fire. This is the first foray into PG-13 territory for the series, and rightfully so. The book is much bigger and much darker, and I'm happy to say the film is a great adaptation. There is a dark (and rather scary) confrontation with Voldemort, while the spectre of adolescence descends on the students. The funniest and most touching moments in the film come from these teenagers, as they stumble through love and other pitfalls. It's interesting to see how the actors are growing up (some are already hot - hello, Hermione!), and their acting chops have improved as well.

Unfortunately due to the book length some parts were inevitably cut. The first 20 minutes of the film zoom past at an alarming rate - covering at least 200 pages of text! So fans of Quidditch will be rather disappointed.

Meanwhile, this past weekend the SNU and I took a jaunt up to NYC (reminder to self - don't drive to NYC on a holiday weekend). After perusing our options at the TKTS booth, we opted to go see my first play on Broadway after years of musicals (shut up, I'm gay). The winner was "Doubt" at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

This play takes place at a Catholic school in 1960s New York. It features just four characters. A charismatic priest who may or may not have molested an African-American altar boy, the head nun/principal who is determined to bring him down, the novice nun who first noticed suspicious behavior, and the mother of the boy in question.

That's the premise, and the play is really quite simple. It brings about the question of who you choose to believe. You also witness the crisis of faith the nuns have, and the struggle a mother goes through in order to protect her child.

All four performances were stellar, and I loved the simplicity of the script. The whole thing wraps up in about 90 minutes with no intermission, and the audience never receives the true answer as to what happened.

This production won a bevy of Tony Awards this year, and rightfully so. It's one of the best plays I've seen in years. If you find yourself in New York, I highly recommend it!