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by Jim Farmer
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May 27, 2011 00:00 |
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Atlanta Lyric Theatre is preparing to open Jonathan Larson’s Tony-winning musical “Rent” with a heavily gay cast and crew.
The original “Rent” opened on Broadway in 1996, just after composer/playwright Larson’s untimely death from an aortic dissection, and ran an incredible 12 years. It’s been produced in Atlanta perhaps more than any other Broadway musical save for “Mamma Mia!” the last decade.
Director Alan Kilpatrick, who is gay, feels that “Rent” is that rare show that reaches audiences outside of typical theater patrons.
“I think it appeals to a broader spectrum than people would guess,” Kilpatrick says. “People have latched onto it. It has an infectious score.”
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by Jim Farmer
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May 13, 2011 00:00 |
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A half-naked male body builder found on the streets may seem too good to be true for some, but the character changes the lives of a number of people in Jim Grimsley’s “Mr. Universe,” being produced by 7 Stages.
According to playwright Grimsley, who is gay, it’s the third time his play has been staged in Atlanta —first in 1987 and then in the mid ‘90s, both times at 7 Stages. “Mr. Universe” is directed by 7 Stages’ Del Hamilton, who played the character of Vick in the original production, and it stars openly gay actors Don Finney and Doyle Reynolds.
In the French Quarter of New Orleans, circa the late ‘70s, two drag queens —Judy (Finney) and Vick (Reynolds) — find an almost naked young man (Brian Kirchner), who is mute and homeless, and take him in. The city is in the midst of a murder mystery, and the identity of Mr. Universe remains vague.
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by Dyana Bagby
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May 09, 2011 12:36 |
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Johnny Drago, 33, is an Atlanta gay playwright who likes to make his audience think, furrow their eyebrows but especially laugh.
He debuted his “Attack of the 6-foot Vagina!” that was, yes, exactly what it sounds like, at a fundraiser for queer burlesque star Vagina Jenkins last April. His “Kiss of the Vampire” that imagines what happens when one partner in the perfect gay couple gets bitten by a vampire bat, and is days away from transforming into the undead, was performed last month at OnStage Atlanta, and he’s even taken on the role of Mary Jo Shively as part of the popular “Designing Women Live” performed in February, also at OnStage Atlanta.
An unapologetic fan of all things soap opera, Drago is now set to debut his “Buckhead is Burning” — a “soap opera style dinner theater experiment” Tuesday and Wednesday, May 10-11, at N'awlins, the Cajun-Italian restaurant located inside lesbian bar My Sisters’ Room in East Atlanta when the bar itself is closed during the day and early evening hours.
We asked Drago to tell us a little bit more of what to expect, including what’s on the menu for the “Buckhead is Burning” performances.
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by Jim Farmer
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April 29, 2011 00:00 |
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Playwright Oscar Wilde had the opportunity to escape with his younger male lover and avoid the indecency charges that eventually imprisoned and destroyed him. Why Wilde did not take that chance is explored in David Hare’s drama “The Judas Kiss,” opening May 12 at Actor’s Express.
Author of such classics as “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Wilde was one of London’s most popular writers in the 1890s. But imprisoned for two years for “the love that dare not speak its name,” Wilde never recovered his stature or spirit and died at age 46.
Making its Atlanta debut, this production of “The Judas Kiss” features two gay actors in the lead roles — Freddie Ashley (returning to acting after seven years) and Clifton Guterman — as well as a gay director, David Crowe. Ashley plays Wilde and Guterman stars as his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed Bosie.
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by Jim Farmer
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April 15, 2011 00:00 |
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 Theater fans looking for LGBT-themed shows this spring won’t be disappointed. From Oscar Wilde to naked bodybuilders to puppets, the season is hopping.
Gay playwright Jim Grimsley’s “Mr. Universe,” presented by 7 Stages May 26 to June 12, is one of the don’t-miss shows of the next few months. Grimsley’s 1987 play is about a hooker and two drag queens who find a naked man in the streets of New Orleans, alone and bleeding, and decide to take him home.
The production stars Doyle Reynolds and Don Finney, both openly gay, and is directed by Del Hamilton. According to Grimsley, this is the first local production of the play since its original bow at 7 Stages.
Actor’s Express is staging the gayest play the company has done in a while: David Hare’s “The Judas Kiss” (May 12 – June 11).
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