Tag Archives: gay Pride

Anti-gay preacher arrested at Tarrant Pride awaits trial date, can’t leave area

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A protester from Joey Faust’s Kingdom Baptist Church holds a sign near the Tarrant County Courthouse during gay Pride.

Christian News Network is reporting that Joey Faust, a preacher from the town of Venus south of Fort Worth who was arrested at the Tarrant County Pride Parade, is still awaiting a trial date. As a condition for his bail, Faust must report to his bondsman once a week to let him know he hasn’t skipped town.

Faust was arrested with a member of his church when he tried to enter the street during the parade. Police were watching for him because in 2011 he entered the street during the parade and reached into Mayor Betsy Price’s car. Price was grand marshal that year.

Faust, pastor of Kingdom Baptist Church, was charged with interfering with police duties and told Christian News he was held for 20 hours and released on $1,500 bail. He faces up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

“They did everything they could to make it as miserable and as difficult as possible,” Faust told Christian News Network. He said everyone else was being released faster than they were.

Faust’s defense seems to be that others were allowed to cross the street, while he and his small band of protesters were forced to stay on the sidewalk.

Faust told Christian News he asked police why only those opposed to homosexuality were restricted.

Police told him they were separating them for safety reasons.

—  David Taffet

T3 gives final extension to ‘Ave. Q’

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It doesn’t suck to be Avenue Q. The show is almost certainly the second longest running Dallas production in history; it started in June for a planned four-week run; that was soon extended to 10 weeks and now, with a just-announced  extension to Dec. 9, will have run 23 weeks before closing — second only to another T3 show, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, which ran more than two years after its initial opening.

Theatre 3 is promising that this extension of Avenue Q will be its last. And we believe them. Why? Because T3 has already announced another show in the downstairs Theatre Too’s 99-seat auditorium …. the latest revival of I Love You, You’re Perfect.

The very gay show — which included the 51-year-old theater’s first float in Dallas’ Pride Parade, a kind of wedding processional for its two gay characters  — won awards from the Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum last month.

The first performance of the extension, on Nov. 2, will kick off with a sing-along version. Come on… you know the Internet is for porn.

Get tickets here.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

This week’s takeaways: Pride Edition

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Usually I wait until Friday to run down all that’s going on in gaydom this week that you need to catch up on, but since it’s Pride Weekend, I figured I’d get a jump-start on all the events.

First up: Tonight is the first night of Miss Coco Peru Is Present at the Rose Room. She’s hilarious. And if you order using the discount code VOICE, you get up to 40 percent off your tickets. Amanda Lepore and Cazwell also appear at It’ll Do Dancing Club tonight starting about 11 — so you can see Coco and still catch their show.

Today is also the kickoff for two very different weekend long events. First, the Southwest RV Supershow starts Thursday and runs through Sunday at Dallas Market Hall. If you like camping — and let’s face it, gays really do — you’ll find a phenomenal selection of recreational vehicles here. On the other side of the spectrum is the opening of the City Performance Hall. If you find yourself in the Arts District anyway, you might wanna stop by and see The Second City Does Dallas at the Wyly or War Horse at the Winspear. (Psst! The horse is gay.)

Friday night might require some hopping to catch all that’s going on, from the launch of the new Dick’s Night Out gay men’s party the Red Party (a big fundraiser for Legacy Counseling Center) to Suzanne Westenhoefer cracking wise in the Vixin Lounge at Sue Ellen’s.

There are also three more days to catch both Uptown Players‘ The Producers and shows in their Second Annual Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival. But there’s also tons of other good theater around the area, including Rent at Theatre Arlington and a few more performances of The Most Happy Fella at Lyric Stage in Irving. Also out in the Mid Cities this weekend: Gay Day at Six Flags will be in Arlington on Saturday. You can get half-off tickets courtesy of Dallas Voice here. And Patti LuPone teams with her old friend Mandy Patinkin for An Evening With at Richardson’s Eisemann Center for Performing Arts on Saturday night. (Read an interview with Mandy in Friday’s Voice.)

Of course, by now you know about the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade along Cedar Springs on Sunday, concurrent with the Festival at Lee Park, but there are lots of other Pride-related parties that day (and all weekend), including DJ Tony Moran spinning at BearDance at TMC on Sunday, Chi Chi LaRue at BJ’s NXS! on Sunday, DJ Michael Tank at the Brick (also Sunday).

And we haven’t even started on all the events from Monday on, whether it be Gary Lynn Floyd inaugurating the new Cabaret Series at the Sammons Arts Center or yours truly giving his regular Gay Broadway Series lecture at War Horse on Tuesday night. So if you can’t keep track of it all, trust us — we get it.

Still, that’s all the more reason to pick up the Voice on Friday. We have a rundown of many of the events, plus interviews with celebs, pictures of hot guys in underwear and our first “hetero life partners” edition of Dynamic Duo. Pick it up, you’ll love it.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Razzle Dazzle Dallas booth space available

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Razzle Dazzle Dallas 2011 main stage

Booth space is available for the day and night Razzle Dazzle Dallas events on Cedar Springs Road on June 9. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on May 30.

Businesses, sports teams, faith groups, jewelers, clothiers, nonprofits, corporate affinity organizations and community groups are welcome to market themselves to the more than 30,000 expected buyers and Razzle Dazzle attendees.

A vendor application is available online.

The festival hours on June 9 are from 10 a.m. to midnight.

DAYTIME:
One Nonprofit Booth Space — $100
One For-Profit Booth Space — $150

NIGHTIME:
One Nonprofit Booth Space — $150
One For-Profit Booth Space — $200

ALL DAY:
One Nonprofit Booth Space — $200
One For-Profit Booth Space — $275

RENTAL:
(1) Electrical Outlet — $25
(1) 10’x10’ Tent, (1) Table, (2) Chairs — $125

Contact Dave Berryman at Bravo Event Groups with any questions.

—  David Taffet

Razzle Dazzle Dallas releases 2012 schedule

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Razzle Dazzle Dallas — the gay Pride Month celebration and fundraiser on Cedar Springs —  today announced its 2012 beneficiaries and preliminary event schedule. According to a press release, Razzle Dazzle Dallas runs June 6-9 and will include a Wine/Dog Walk on Wednesday, a Pub Crawl on Thursday, the 7th annual MetroBall on Friday, and a street party on Saturday night.

Singer Taylor Dayne, who appeared at Black Tie Dinner last year, will return to Dallas to headline MetroBall, which benefits the Greg Dollgener Memorial AIDS Fund. Also this year, Saturday at Razzle Dazzle Dallas will include LifeWalk Waterpalooza, in addition to the sidewalk sale, street fair and antique car show. On Saturday night, according to the release, Cedar Springs will become “a big crazy dance club with LIVE ‘80s music and DJs on the Main Performance Stage!”

Razzle Dazzle Dallas, which distributed more than $60,500 in 2011, this year will benefit Resource Center Dallas, AIDS Interfaith Network, Turtle Creek Chorale, Legacy Counseling Center, Legal Hospice of Texas, AIDS Arms, GLBT Leadership Education & Advocacy Program (LEAP), Uptown Players and the Cedar Springs Road Beautification Fund.

Razzle Dazzle is also planning three events in April: a bus trip to the WinStar Casino, a Rising Star Show featuring D Alexander at the Rose Room, and a Razzle Dazzle-sponsored installment of GayBingo.

The full press release from Razzle Dazzle marketing director Kris Martin is below.

Continue reading “Razzle Dazzle Dallas releases 2012 schedule” »

—  John Wright

WATCH: Razzle Dazzle Dallas set for June 6-9

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It may be hard to believe, but Razzle Dazzle Dallas, the Gay Pride Month celebration and fundraiser on Cedar Springs that’s in the second year of its revival, is now just 105 short days away. And this week, marketing director Kris Martin sent along the below video promoting this year’s four-day event set for June 6-9 (with the Saturday night finale on the easy to remember date of 6-9-12). Martin says the Razzle Dazzle committee is making a big push for corporate sponsors, which can be had for as little as $500. You can also sign up to volunteer on the website, which provides the following additional details on this year’s installment:

2012 brings added excitement to Cedar Springs as Razzle Dazzle Dallas celebrates it’s second year of the June Pride event revival. In meeting our goal last year of the event being bigger and better than the original, we are adding even more ‘dazzle’ to the four-day schedule. It begins on on June 6 with a wine and dog walk sponsored by the Cedar Springs Merchants Association plus the finals of our new Best Bartender Contest. Thursday, June 7 participants will be entertained with a “Pub Crawl” that will move by shuttle bus transportation to participating Dallas area night clubs. Also on Thursday night, we will have the finals of Miss Razzle Dazzle Dallas. On Friday, June 8, MetroBall at Station 4 brings an evening of dancing, raffles and fund raising as well as headline entertainment to raise money for HIV/AIDS clients living in North Texas. During the day of Saturday, June 9 the Cedar Springs Merchants Association will host a street fair and sale. The main event, Razzle Dazzle Dallas, will fill Cedar Springs on the night of June 9. Come out for live music, djs’ and dancing, VIP areas, refreshments and much more. It will be a night to remember!

Watch the video produced by Jimmy Bartlett after the jump.

Continue reading “WATCH: Razzle Dazzle Dallas set for June 6-9” »

—  John Wright

WATCH: Tom Leppert’s GOP Senate rivals again attack him for appearing at gay Pride in Dallas

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Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert walks alongside the city float at gay Pride in 2009.

Republican Senate hopeful Tom Leppert again came under fire today for his decision to appear in two gay Pride parades while mayor of Dallas.

Leppert was attacked by fellow candidates Ted Cruz, Craig James and Lela Pittenger during a debate luncheon hosted by the right-wing Eagle Forum at the Dallas Country Club.

The exchange featured some strong anti-gay language, with James saying he believes homosexuality is a choice and Pittenger comparing the Pride parade to an orgy. It began when the debate moderator, John C. Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, noted that Cruz had attacked Leppert for appearing at gay Pride during a recent candidate forum in Fort Worth.

Goodman then asked Cruz, “Do you have something against gay people?”

“I have something against gay marriage,” Cruz responded. “I don’t support gay marriage. I think there is an onslaught right now in this country to tear down traditional marriage, and I don’t think it’s right.”

Continue reading “WATCH: Tom Leppert’s GOP Senate rivals again attack him for appearing at gay Pride in Dallas” »

—  John Wright

WATCH: Attacked for appearing at gay Pride, Tom Leppert compares himself to Jesus

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Tom Leppert now claims Dallas' LGBT community was well aware he didn't agree with them when he marched in the city's gay Pride parade, as shown here in 2007.

Attacked for appearing in Dallas’ gay Pride parade as mayor, Republican Senate hopeful Tom Leppert claimed this weekend that the city’s LGBT community was well aware he didn’t agree with them, but said he was engaging them anyway because that’s what Jesus did.

The Dallas Morning News’ Trail Blazers Blog reports that Leppert made the statements after being attacked by GOP rival Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite, for allegedly supporting both gay rights and immigrant rights while mayor of Dallas.

“You know, just a moment ago Tom Leppert told you how he used the office of mayor to stand against the gay rights agenda,” Cruz said prior to a conservative group’s endorsing convention in Fort Worth. “Somehow, he forgot to mention that he marched twice in the gay Pride parade.”

“On the gay parades, it’s real simple,” Leppert responded. “There was not a single group in this city that I didn’t engage. They all knew, a lot of them knew that I didn’t agree with them, but there’s not a group that I didn’t engage. Jesus engaged every single group when he was here on earth and I did, too. And what wasn’t told is all the different times that I talked about my faith and went out there and every single person in this city understood exactly where I stood.”

After defeating openly gay candidate Ed Oakley in a runoff for mayor in 2007. Leppert hired an openly gay chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, and repeatedly expressed support for the LGBT community. In addition to gay Pride, Leppert appeared at Dallas’ Black Tie dinner, the largest annual fundraiser for the city’s LGBT community. He also refused to answer a question about whether he supported same-sex marriage.

But when Leppert decided to run for Senate about midway through his four-year term, he abruptly joined the virulently anti-gay First Baptist Church of Dallas. And, almost immediately after stepping down as mayor to launch his Senate campaign last year, he sent out an anti-gay tweet and came out on his website against both same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Leppert’s statements at the forum this weekend came just as his successor, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, was meeting with LGBT leaders about his refusal to sign a pledge in support of same-sex marriage. Rawlings, like Leppert, has verbally expressed support for the LGBT community and appeared at gay Pride. Rawlings also happens to have contributed $1,000 to Leppert’s Senate campaign.

Watch video of the exchange between Leppert and Cruz below.

Continue reading “WATCH: Attacked for appearing at gay Pride, Tom Leppert compares himself to Jesus” »

—  John Wright

REVIEW: ‘Rockin’ Christmas Party’

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Denise Lee and Markus Lloyd in 'Rockin' Christmas Party.'

If a musical revue featuring a six-person ensemble and no real plot can have a star, then the star of Rockin’ Christmas Party — returning to WaterTower Theatre a decade after it first began a run as a holiday standard — is Markus Lloyd. Lloyd belts out Motown hits, croons on carols like “What Christmas Means to Me” and moves better than James Brown on “I Feel Good,” “Brickhouse” and “Love Shack.” With his deep voice and infectious energy, he puts the “rockin’” in the title — enough so, that you might not notice that the show itself is too cheesy by half.

Dave Steakley’s musical tour of the latter half of 20th century music with a seasonal theme has been a regional favorite for ages, and like similar shows — Forever Plaid comes to mind, as well as A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker — it represents a tradition perhaps more honored in the breach than in the observance: Going might just be the thing to get you in the holiday mood, but it feels more like a routine than an inspiration.

This production plays to the actors’ strengths, although in that way, it’s predictable, even a bit dull. Jenny Thurman has played Patsy Cline many times; having her perform a medley of country songs with a Patsy twang is, at least, uninspired. (The songs selected are puzzling as well; story-ballads like “Harper Valley, P.T.A.” and “Ode to Billy Joe” have actual plots, so doing mash-ups that delete large parcels of lyric is a failure. It makes no sense to sing about “the day my mama socked it to” the P.T.A. without hearing what she did is ludicrous.)

Gary Lynn Floyd’s smooth tenor is a perfect match for the comforting sequence of TV Christmas special-like songs, and the theater rocks with gay pride during the disco sequence, which includes “I Will Survive,”  ”YMCA,” ”I’m Coming Out” and “It’s Raining Men” — it might as well have a drag queen leading the way. But that also raises a question: What about those songs says “Christmastime” to you? Only about a quarter of the musical numbers are actual carols — the rest are just retro doo-wop and rock songs. Fun, yes, but not really overflowing with holiday cheer. (How does “Movin’ On Up,” the theme from The Jeffersons, belong within three miles of this show?)

Neither do the costumes. Despite red and green velvets conjuring Santa’s elves, these creations, paired with unattractive wigs, detract from the spirit of the season more than complement it.  Thurman is clad in a petticoated prom dress that makes her look like a drag version of Lisa Lampanelli, and Sara Shelby-Martin comes out near the end in a get-up (including hat) that looks like a Pan Am stewardess wearing a sombrero designed in the Land of Oz.

None of that, of course, affects the singing, which is excellent. (On opening night, Amy Stevenson, one of the biggest-voiced of big-voiced singers in town, was clearly off her game, barely getting her songs out above a whisper.)  Rockin’ Christmas Party ends up as a show better listened to than watched — just like all those Andy Williams/Perry Como TV specials.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones