Joe David Jones, a 50-year-old enviro buisnessman, was arrested for disorderly conduct in Dallas yesterday. He couldn’t refrain from using his cellphone on a 20-minute flight that left from Austin.
When he was asked to turn off his phone, it was reported that Jones said, “Kiss my [we’re guessing ‘ass’].”
Jones said the call was a matter of life or death.
Next week, I’ll have in the print edition of Dallas Voice a comprehensive story about the Fort Worth Opera’s production of the opera of “Angels in America.” But “Angels” isn’t the only show being staged this season by the FWO this month — they are doing three other productions, including “Of Mice and Men.”
So perhaps it wasn’t a surprise when a box-office worker at the opera had the following exchange with a patron:
Patron: “Now, George and Lennie — they aren’t gay, are they?”
Employee: “No, ma’am, they’re not gay.”
Patron: “They why do they live on a farm together?”
Good question. And if you ask me, George and Lennie are gay — I even said as much in my review a few years ago of the Dallas Theater Center’s production of the tale —then-artistic director Richard Hamburger even called me after the piece ran to discuss the homoerotic undertones in the story.
Consider: they do talk a lot about living together in a one-room farmhouse and they are always in each others’ company. You could make a case that they were the original “Brokeback Mountain” duo.
So what does it mean when the FWO, even accidentally, has two gay productions in one season?
‘Bout time is all I have to say.
Marco Rodriguez is a tease.
For a number of months now, the local playwright and actor has been telling me he had something “big” in the wings, but try as I might, he wouldn’t spill the beans. (He said even his boyfriend didn’t know what it was.) All I knew was that (a) it had to do with his most recent play, “Heaven Forbid(s)!” being (b) staged somewhere other than Dallas.
So today, he finally ‘fessed up: “Heaven,” in which Marco and Rhianna Mack cross-dress to play a variety of character in purgatory, has been selected from among more than 1,000 entries to play at the New York International Fringe Festival in New York. If you don’t already know or can’t guess, whenever you say “New York” and “play” in the same sentence it’s a pretty big deal. And this is a very big deal.
But, as with almost every independent theater operation, Rodriguez needs money to do. So, he’s asking for contributions. If you wanna help out, try calling his ticket line at 214-750-7435. Or you can even write to me and I’ll forward along his e-mail. I’ll do in despite the fact that Marco didn’t even bother to offer me an exclusive. Congrats anyway, Marco!
When members of the Youth First Texas softball team play in their Pegasus league games against their (generally) older, it isn’t just arthritis and 401(k)s that they have been missing — it’s been uniforms.
“They were literally playing in white jerseys with electrical tape put on to create numbers,” Jonathan Palant, the artistic director of the Turtle Creek Chorale, told me.
Members of the chorale didn’t like that, so they raised some money and have bought YFT some high-quality jerseys and equipment for the young people. There will be a presentation ceremony tomorrow, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Youth First Texas offices.
Terry Martin, the gay artistic director of WaterTower Theatre in Addison, has come up with a very queer-friendly slate for the next season. Most notable is the area premiere of “Doubt,” John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play about allegations of misconduct against a priest. The Dallas Theater Center has had a hold on it for two years, so the announcement of DTC’s next season last month made it likely for WTT to pick it up.
Also in the line-up: “Make Me a Song,” a jukebox compilation of songs by gay composer William Finn (”A New Brain,” “Falsettos,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”); “Based on a Totally True Story,” by gay comic book writer and playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; and one of the sharpest musical-comedies ever written, “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.”
If I ever had any doubts about whether Las Vegans would turn out for gay Pride, they were allayed on Saturday at Pride Festival, which fell the day after their nighttime Pride Parade (sound familiar, Houston?). Dozens of booths, several live concerts and hundreds, even thousands of visitors — all very graciously and sincerely wish you “Happy Pride.” And perhaps the oddest aspect of it? This pay-to-attend event seemed to be peopled by a fair number of straights who just came out for the food, drink, music and fun. And it’s so far away from the Strip, you wouldn’t even know you were in Nevada.
When you’re traveling, you often forget a few items, and the minibar becomes a salvation. So it is not surprising in Vegas that, for $12, you can purchase a “rescue kit” at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino. Contents include one aspirin, one ibuprofen, one antacid…. and two condoms. After all, he might turn your stomach, he might give you a headache, but that’s no reason you can’t do him. Twice.
How can you tell that Vegas has become so gay-aware? Because almost everyone — even the straight men — don’t dress like slobs anymore.
You don’t even need to dress nicely to fit in here; you only have to dress well. Do men wear flip-flops, T-shirts and board shorts, even when seeing shows or dining in three-star restaurants? Certainly. But the tees are vintage or bedazzled with the word “Armani,” the shoes besole pedicured feet, the shorts look pressed and tailored, not as if they were in a ball at the bottom of a suitcase 10 minutes before. It’s getting so you can’t tell the gays from the straights … which, for some guys, is half the fun.
Circuit Notebook
Are circuit parties dead? Kind of.
Even Jeffrey Sanker knows that smart promoters need to distance themselves from such a passé term. The White Party Palm Springs steers itself as a “spring break” weekend vacation. And from the looks of it, the White Party is alive and going strong. From April 18-21, eight parties were strung together in the gorgeous resort town east of Los Angeles.
It’s not a get-together that attracts mid-term queer collegians — because the tickets for these parties are pretty steep. However at the White Party, youth has nothing to do with beauty. Attendance records are reported in the umpteen thousands, but the numbers of drop-dead gorgeous A-listers who attend is utterly staggering.
Instead of a all-out-sex buffet, the vibe is more “see and be seen,” and there’s a large population of Los Angelinos muscle gods. On top of that, almost every queer celeb from Southern California were making the rounds: Reichen, Alex Mapa, Wilson Cruz, David “Color Splash” Bromstad and JD Jordan, the new massage therapist from “Work Out.”
TRANSEXUALS, ATTITUDE AND SUNBURNS … (more…)
