A new breed of plays and musicals this season is presenting gay characters in love stories, replacing the direct political messages of 1980s and ‘90s shows like “The Normal Heart” and “Angels in America” with more personal appeals for social progress.These productions about gay life make little or no mention of H.I.V. or AIDS and keep direct activism at arm’s length, with militant crusading portrayed with ambivalence more than ardor. The politics of these shows — there are seven of them opening in New York in the next several weeks — are subtler, more nuanced: they place the everyday concerns of Americans in a gay context, thereby pressing the case that gay love and gay marriage, gay parenthood and gay adoption are no different from their straight variations.
While persecution remains a reality for most of these gay characters, just as it does in many movies and television shows featuring gay love stories, the widening acceptance of AIDS as a pandemic rather than a gay disease — and the broadening debate on gay marriage and gay soldiers — have led, and have to some extent freed, writers and producers to use a wider lens to explore a broader landscape.
Joe Zellnik, who with his brother, David, created the new Off Broadway musical “Yank!,” about a bittersweet love affair between two men serving in the Army in World War II, said that they deliberately avoided agitprop and were instead trying to advance a message about equality through a gentler portrayal of men “who happened to be gay, fighting in the good war.”
“We weren’t trying to write an overtly political musical about gays in the military, because we came to see that ‘Yank!’ becomes more subversive the more you hew to the old classic Rodgers and Hammerstein models of love stories — just between two men — than having our characters up on soapboxes,” Joe Zellnik said.
In the new Broadway play “Next Fall,” in which sharp religious differences test a gay couple’s romantic bond, it is ultimately a traffic accident — not AIDS — that lands one of the men in critical condition.
“I think we have a better chance of attracting straight and gay audience members with universal emotions, like love and loyalty, that touch the lives of these gay men and show how we are all equal, rather than do it through polarizing arguments,” said Richard Willis, one of the lead producers of “Next Fall,” which began previews on Tuesday.
Read the rest in the NYT.
Having received an email notice of a special end-of-season sale on all outerwear at Izod, Bass, and Van Heusen I stopped by before heading into work this morning to see what I could find. I found a triple-fused jacket at 75% off. The outer shell is water resistant, middle layer holds body temperature, and the inner layer is soft fabric. Nice feel and comfortable, to boot. Usually these combos are stiff and difficult to wear while driving a vehicle, but this one is soft to the touch and pleasant to wear. Original price = $100.00 Final price = $25.00! And it wasn't made in China. A real win for me.
This is just one of those great, not-to-be-believed stories that could only come true via a credit card promo. I am a big Pet Shop Boys fan, so read this and follow this link to the rest of the story, then click on the link at the site to view the video.On Thursday evening, Warren Road in Whitton looked much the same as any other street in the UK. Terraced houses, a few cars and a small green gave no hint whatsoever that just 24 hours later, a BRIT award winner would be knocking on Lorraine Sands' front door, poised to play a personal live gig just feet away from her in her living room.
So it probably came as quite a shock when, at 8am the next morning, a large crew and several lorries casually arrived to transform Lorraine's house from a cosy home in London to the equivalent of the O2. Looking excited but slightly nervous, she gracefully left the production team to their own devices whilst they removed ALL of the furniture from her living room and carried it out through the back door.
Two hours later, the downstairs had been stripped and the floorplans laid out. Case after case of music equipment lined the pavement, with amps, cables and huge mixing desks all stacked up next to each other, waiting to be installed. Rigging and tents appeared at an alarming rate, and the road quickly went from looking like an average London street to a veritable crime scene. Members of the production team glanced at each other nervously, all wondering the same thing - how could an artist who had last played to 16,000 people at the O2 possibly fit all of their tour set into this modestly sized living room in suburban London?
Meanwhile, whilst cars periodically slowed down to see what all the fuss was about, Lorraine and her three friends were safely installed in a room at the Marriott hotel just minutes away from the set. On visiting the winners in their room, we were instantly hit by a blast of hairspray and perfume as the four excited ladies raced round doing their makeup and straightening their hair. Weeks of speculation about who the artist would be had finally boiled down to this one single afternoon.
But at last, after eight hours of solid preparation, it was time for the big moment. Squashed into the living room next door, we all crowded round the monitors to watch our BRIT-winning act casually approach Lorraine's front door and tap the knocker three times. A few seconds passed. We held our breath, watching Lorraine's face as she opened the door and took in the scene before her. For standing on her doorstep, side by side and framed by cameras and soundmen, were none other than The Pet Shop Boys!
'MR TENNANT AND MR LOWE!!!' she shrieked, looking from one to the other in utter amazement and punching the air. 'OH MY GODDDDDDDD!'
