Mister D: This song just makes me happy!

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US gay rights group gets UN accreditation
Posted: Jul 19, 2010 2:06 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 19, 2010 8:26 PM CDT
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The U.N. Economic and Social Council voted Monday to accredit the U.S.-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission after strong lobbying by the Obama administration.

Obama, in a statement issued by the White House, welcomed the vote as an “important step forward for human rights.” With the group’s inclusion, he said “the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed.”

The group will now be able to attend U.N. meetings, submit statements and collaborate with both government and U.N. agencies on human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, commission officials said.

The 54-member council, known as ECOSOC, approved the U.S.-based group’s application for consultative status by a vote of 23-13 with 13 abstentions. Many of those voting “no” – including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Russia and China – cited procedural reasons.

But the U.S. government and 14 members of Congress who supported the organization’s application said they believe it had not been approved previously because the group promotes gay rights.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, which has offices in South Africa, Argentina and the Philippines, has been trying since 2007 to get consultative status with ECOSOC, which serves as the main U.N. forum for discussing international economic and social issues.

“We are thrilled,” Jessica Stern, the commission’s program director, told AP after the vote.

“Given that more than 70 countries still have sodomy laws in effect and that homophobia is rampant around the world, this recogition by the international community, and the human rights standards that the U.N. represents, is invaluable to our work,” Stern said.

Of the 3,200 NGOs which enjoy consultative status at the U.N., Stern said only nine are gay and lesbian groups.

The group’s accreditation is a victory for Obama, who has been chipping away at a long list of promises to gay voters, a strong source of support in the 2008 election.

Last month, the committee that accredits nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, decided to take “no action” on the group’s application.

Stern said Egypt led the opposition to the commission’s application. A telephone call to Egypt’s U.N. Mission seeking comment on the vote was not returned.

After the NGO Committee’s “no action” decision, the United States decided to go directly to ECOSOC, which is holding its annual meeting in New York.

U.S. deputy ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo noted that the NGO Committee has refused to grant consultative status to any gay or lesbian organization for more than a decade.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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HARDCOVER FICTION
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson, Knopf
2. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
3. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell, Random House
4. The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva, Putnam
5. Faithful Place, by Tana French, Viking
6. The Passage, by Justin Cronin, Ballantine
7. Fly Away Home, by Jennifer Weiner, Atria
8. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender, Doubleday
9. The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman, Dial
10. The Glass Rainbow, by James Lee Burke, S&S
11. Corduroy Mansions, by Alexander McCall Smith, Iain McIntosh (Illus.), Pantheon
12. Sizzling Sixteen, by Janet Evanovich, St. Martin’s
13. Spies of the Balkans, by Alan Furst, Random House
14. Work Song, by Ivan Doig, Riverhead
15. Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes, Atlantic Monthly
ON THE RISE:
21. A Dog’s Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron, Forge
Cameron’s wonderful novel is a dog’s-eye look at human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend.

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern, It Books
2. Women Food and God, by Geneen Roth, Scribner
3. Medium Raw, by Anthony Bourdain, Ecco
4. Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne, Scribner
5. The Big Short, by Michael Lewis, Norton
6. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, Knopf
7. War, by Sebastian Junger, Twelve
8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, Crown
9. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown
10. The Obama Diaries, by Laura Ingraham, Threshold Editions
11. The Last Stand, by Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking
12. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, by Chelsea Handler, Grand Central
13. Operation Mincemeat, by Ben Macintyre, Harmony
14. Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert, Viking
15. Hitch-22, by Christopher Hitchens, Twelve
ON THE RISE:
17. The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean, Little Brown
A highly entertaining and informative history of the Periodic Table.

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, Vintage
2. The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson, Vintage
3. Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, S&S
4. Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese, Vintage
5. Tinkers, by Paul Harding, Bellevue Literary Press
6. The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, Harper
8. One Day, by David Nicholls, Vintage
9. Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann, Random House
10. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger, Scribner
11. A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick, Algonquin
12. That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo, Vintage
13. South of Broad, by Pat Conroy, Dial
14. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, Europa Editions
15. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, Ballantine

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, Penguin
2. Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin, Penguin
3. Lit, by Mary Karr, Harper Perennial
4. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen, Holt
5. Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, Vintage
6. Food Rules, by Michael Pollan, Penguin
7. Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn, Vintage
8. Strength in What Remains, by Tracy Kidder, Random House
9. Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. Crawford, Penguin
10. The Lost City of Z, by David Grann, Vintage
11. The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, Scribner
12. Awkward Family Photos, by Mike Bender, Doug Chernack, Three Rivers
13. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, Penguin
14. Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, by Chelsea Handler, Simon Spotlight
15. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay

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July 29, 2010
‘Project Runway‘ expands to 90 minutes
By Rod Hagwood
SUN SENTINEL

If you like Project Runway, you’re in luck: The fashion franchise starts season eight tonight and will expand from 1 hour to 90 minutes for each episode.

If you like Models of the Runway, you’re out of luck: The spin-off show has been killed after two seasons.

Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia all return and actress Selma Blair will be the first celebrity judge on tonight’s Project Runway debut. Reportedly, other guests will include exuberant Seventh Avenue designer Betsey Johnson and British milliner-superstar Philip Treacy.

Here are the 17 (yes, 17!) contestants who will be on the premiere set at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center:

• A.J. Thouvenot, 26 — Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.; Resides in St. Charles, Mo.

• Andy South, 23 — Hometown: Waipahu, Hawaii; Resides in Honolulu, Hawaii

• April Johnston, 21 — Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.; Resides in Savannah, Ga.

• Casanova, 33 — Hometown: Fajardo, Puerto Rico; Resides in Astoria, N.Y.

• Christopher Collins, 30 — Hometown: Encinitas, Calif.; Resides in San Francisco

• Gretchen Jones, 28 — Hometown: Fairplay, Co.; Resides in Portland, Ore.

• Ivy Higa, 30 — Hometown: Seoul, South Korea/Kaihula-Kona, Hawaii; Resides in New York

• Jason Troisi, 33 — Hometown and residence: Greenwich, Conn.

• Kristin Haskins-Simms, 38 — Hometown and residence: Philadelphia.

• McKell Maddox, 29 — Hometown: Brigham City, Utah; Resides in Layton, Utah

• Michael Costello, 27 — Hometown: Los Angeles; Resides in Palm Desert, Calif.

• Michael Drummond, 31 — Hometown and residence: St. Louis, Mo.

• Mondo Guerra, 32 — Hometown and residence: Denver.

• Nicolas D’Aurizio, 31 — Hometown: Hackensack, N.J.; Resides in New York

• Peach Carr, 50 — Hometown: Winfield, Ill.; Resides in Lake Forest, Ill.

• Sarah Trost, 27 — Hometown: Frazier Park, Calif.; Resides in Toluca Lake, Calif.

• Valerie Mayen, 28 — Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas; Resides in Cleveland.

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From Towleroad
‘PRO-FAMILY’ GROUP SLAMS OBAMA PROGRAM FOR ELDERLY GAYS BECAUSE ‘FEW OF THESE PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH’ TO BENEFIT

Mister D: Guess it’s time for all of us over the age of 50 to start being more visible to show these assholes that we live just as long as them and maybe longer.  I’m sick of these people thinking they know more about us than we do. No old people my ass!  This is the first time I’m proud to say I’m 55 and healthy….

Tony Perkins‘ Family Research Council put out a statement slamming a plan by the Obama administration to devote resources to LGBT seniors.

The plan as announced by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: “The LGBT Resource Center will help community-based organizations understand the unique needs and concerns of older LGBT individuals and assist them in implementing programs for local service providers, including providing help to LGBT caregivers who are providing care for an older partner with health or other challenges. The Administration on Aging will award a single Resource Center grant at approximately $250,000 per year, pending availability of funds. Eligible entities will include public-private nonprofit organizations with experience working on LGBT issues on a national level.”

FRC says the program is a waste of time because gay people die before they get old:

“In reality, HHS has no idea how many LGBT seniors exist. No one does! The movement is only a few decades old, and people who are 80- or 90-years-old didn’t grow up in a culture where it was acceptable to identify with this lifestyle. Of course, the real tragedy here–apart from the unnecessary spending–is that, given the risks of homosexual conduct, these people are less likely to live long enough to become senior citizens! Yet once again, the Obama administration is rushing to reward a lifestyle that poses one of the greatest public health risks in America. If this is how HHS prioritizes, imagine what it could do with a trillion dollar health care overhaul!”

Americablog notes the whole “gays die young” is the brainchild of debunked doctor Paul Cameron.

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This time we have new music by Lady Gaga, David Grant, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cindy Bullens, The Scissor Sisters, Bret Michaels, Cristina, Crowded House, Kylie Minogue, Robyn, Sheryl Crow, Vince Neil, Sia, Ellie Goulding, along with some oldies by Stevie Nicks, Jann Arden, and others….hope you enjoy.

To Listen To The Music: CLICK HERE

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Robyn – Hang With Me official video from Robyn on Vimeo.

You can hear the unplugged version in Mister D’s Playlist: CLICK HERE

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NYMF Announces 2010 Full Slate Of Musicals, Readings, Special Events
Back to the Article
by BWW News Desk

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the full slate of 27 musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their seventh annual festival. This year’s Festival will begin September 27th and continue through October 17th. A full breakdown of this year’s performances follows.

Newly added full productions include Fellowship!, My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, Special Letter, Therapy Rocks, V-Day and the dance musical Petrouchka.

Special Letter marks the second year that NYMF has been in partnership with the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) in South Korea. Special Letter was originally presented at DIMF in 2009, and was the winner of the 3rd annual DIMF Guarantee Premiere Homegrown Musical Award and the Korean Musical Award for Best Book.

Notable Special Events include My Life: Today, by participants in Rosie O’Donnell’s “Rosie’s Broadway Kids” arts program, and Water and Power, performed by a cast of 30 students from the Marquez Charter Elementary School in Los Angeles.

NYMF will also partner with the Paley Center for Media and Prospect Theater Company to present two musical theatre events which will run in conjunction with the Festival. Both organizations have both been associated with NYMF since 2004.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 200 new musicals – more than 60 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and in almost every state and in 12 countries worldwide. NYMF alum Next to Normal opened on Broadway last year, where it won 3 Tony Awards (along with 8 other nominations) and was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. The Broadway production of NYMF alum [title of show] earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz played well over 1,500 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours. Yank!, which recently played off-Broadway, will be opening on Broadway next season.

“We are extremely excited with the unique variety of this year’s Festival offerings,” said NYMF Executive Director and Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. “It is essential for us to challenge ourselves to bring the best new musicals and events to our audiences and the New York theater community. With Special Letter from South Korea and My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding and Fingers and Toes from Canada, NYMF 2010 will truly be international.”

This year’s Festival will run September 27th through October 17th. Memberships are on sale now and members can start booking tickets on August 1st. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1st. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member.

NYMF 2010 FULL PRODUCTIONS

* denotes a selection of the Next Link Project, NYMF’s writer service program to discover, nurture, and present the work of emerging musical theatre artists

*Above Hell’s Kitchen

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Spottiswoode

As his appetite for women threatens to consume him, a tortured rock musician wrestles with his inability to stay faithful during a series of gothic therapy sessions. Jonathan Spottiswoode and his cult band, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, bring a sexy expressionist twist to Don Giovanni that is at once comic, tragic and lyrical, and tinged with jazz, blues, rock, gospel, classical and punk. They say love is a game – so who can you blame for playing?

Bloodties

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Ned Massey

He was dubbed “the next Dylan, the next Springsteen” by the man who discovered Dylan and Springsteen. So why have you never heard of Ned Massey? Maybe you should blame God, The Fates, or Ned himself. After a troubled childhood and an unfulfilled shot at fame, a self-destructive musician questions faith and explores the power of forgiveness. With raw honesty and dark wit, Bloodties charts the meteoric trajectory of a life propelled by divine messages.

Fellowship!

Book by Kelly Holden-Bashar and Joel McCrary; Music by Allen Simpson; Lyrics and Additional Material by Brian D. Bradley, Lisa Fredrickson, Kelly Holden-Bashar, Joel McCrary, Edi Patterson, Steve Purnick, Cory Rouse, Allen Simpson, Ryan Smith, Peter Allen Vogt, and Matthew Stephen Young
Barefooted tap-dancing Hobbits! An ‘80s power ballad by the rightful heir of Gondor! A sequin-studded cabaret number by the Balrog, a dark creature of shadow and flame! And much more! This hilarious musical parody of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s classic Lord of the Rings, follows all of the events from the beloved epic adventure with one big difference: this time, it’s funny.

Fingers and Toes

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Logan Medland

Tap virtuoso and chronic womanizer “Toes” Macgrath and relationship-tormented pianist “Fingers” St. Claire have less than two weeks to create a song and dance show about Love for a big audition with a Broadway producer. But when triple-threat Molly Molloy joins them to play their ingénue, their plans spiral out of control as real romantic entanglements turn the creative process upside down. It’s a modern day Singin’ in the Rain!

*Frog Kiss

Book and Lyrics by Charles Leipart; Music by Eric Schorr
Based on the Stephen Mitchell novella The Frog Prince
A very scientific princess meets a frog she is determined to turn into a prince – with the assistance of a troupe of Celestial Tap-Dancing Taoist Masters. In this saucy ‘n’ swingin’ new musical, will Clementine get the Prince of her dreams, or will she find herself in bed with just another horny toad? It’s a bedtime story with a bawdy twist!

*The Great Unknown

Book by William Hauptman; Music and Lyrics by Jim Wann
Spring, 1869: one-armed Civil War hero John Wesley Powell seeks to unite a torn nation with an unprecedented expedition through the Grand Canyon. Powell and his brother Walter, an Andersonville POW survivor, sail down the perilous Colorado River with a crew of war veterans, while his wife Emma Dean becomes ensnared in expansionist politics. What lies in the undiscovered land ahead? With a score incorporating bluegrass, country, folk, and environmental elements, The Great Unknown is an American musical adventure.

The History of War

Book by Chip Zien; Music by Deborah Abramson; Lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz

The History Of War is spun from the imagination of a 12 year old boy – a megalomaniac in training. As he struggles with homework assignments and peculiar visions, he conjures up seven of the most famous tyrants of all time. They did horrible things. He wants to do horrible things. His parents are worried. …and everybody sings! … well, almost everybody. Reality and pathology neatly converge in this terrifyingly subversive new musical.

*I Got Fired: A Semi-Autobiographical Sort-of-True Revenge Musical

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Keith Varney
Aspiring writer Keith has been a temp in a wacky office’s soul crushing cubicle for six years. When an evil nemesis emerges to squash his coffee-stained hopes and dreams, Keith makes a decision that causes him to get summarily fired… with security escorts and everything! Naturally, he retaliates by writing a musical. Based on a true-ish story. Some names have been changed to protect the guilty.

*Jay Alan Zimmerman’s Incredibly Deaf Musical

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jay Alan Zimmerman
When the noisy buzz of progressive deafness steals away his songs, Jay becomes one pissed-off composer. As Jay struggles to hold onto the disappearing notes, can his wife and son get him to strive for something other than fame or death? A wild pop-rock-rap-dance-classical-disco-experimental-sign language-multimedia mash-up, Jay Alan Zimmerman’s Incredibly Deaf Musical is the heartwarming, booty-shaking autobiography of a man trying everything he can to keep the music flying.

*The Most Ridiculous Thing You Ever Hoid

Book by Andy Seiler, Jim Beckerman, and Fred Wemyss; Lyrics by Jim Beckerman and Andy Seiler; Music by Jim Beckerman
Based on the “Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel” radio series by Nat Perrin, Arthur Sheekman, George Oppenheimer, and Tom McKnight.
Who can forget Groucho, Chico and Harpo, those three mirth-makers of the silver screen? No one, that’s who! But when the Marx Brothers are let loose in an unsuspecting radio studio, the airwaves will never be safe for detergent commercials again! Featuring all new songs and bursting with mayhem, it’s a laugh-filled, tune-filled, lunacy-filled extravaganza!

My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding

Book, Music, and Lyrics by David Hein and Irene Carl Sankoff
Claire’s new job gives her the opportunity to discover her sexuality, rediscover her faith, and find the strength to come out to her teenage son, her ex-husband, and her homophobic mother. Will same-sex marriage be legalized? Will Claire get to marry the woman she loves? MMLJWW is for every mother who has come out to her son as a lesbian… and a Jew. For every girlfriend who has met her future lesbian in-laws… at Hooters. And for anyone who’s ever been in love. The hit of the 2009 Toronto Fringe that made Canadian theater history, this dual mother-and-son coming-of-age tale, based on a true story, will make you laugh, cry, and celebrate love in all its forms.

Nighttime Traffic

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Alex Wyse

When Max and his boyfriend Calder find themselves in a hospital awaiting Calder’s heart transplant, the nurse supplies them with a mind-altering pill that slows time, turning one minute into one hour. Fueled by a sweeping contemporary score, Nighttime Traffic follows three characters through a world of thumping music, altered perceptions, and unanticipated inspiration as they spin minutes into moments and search for solace in unsettling times.

Pandora’s Box

Book by Maria S. Schlatter; Music and Lyrics by Glen Roven
Based on the film Gazon Maudit
Pandora, a suburban housewife, and her serial-philanderer husband, Oliver, have their love and lives turned upside down the day that Mona, a Lesbian-American handywoman, walks through their door. In this raucous, contemporary sex farce, Mona and Oliver face off in a fight to win the greatest prize of all, the love of the beautiful Pandora.

Petrouchka

Concept by Matthew Neff; Music by Michelangelo Sosnowitz
Directed and Choreographed by Matthew Neff
The busy gray city streets disappear as a homeless man conjures a fantasy world where he becomes a carnival barker. All eyes are on him as he presents a trio of dolls: The Solider, The Ballerina and the jester, Petrouchka. As he commands their tale of love and jealousy to unfold, reality and make-believe blur tragically in this dramatic dance musical based on a 1911 Ballet Russe production.

*POPart: The Musical

Book and Lyrics by Daryl Lisa Fazio; Music by Aaron McAllister
When 18-year old klutzy outcast, Kitty Katz, leaves her suburban gated community for the Ghetto Art School, she finds art’s underbelly to be both seamy and spectacular. With her new friends – an ultra-cool street artist and a kind-hearted boy-genius – Kitty forges through the school’s cutthroat and preposterous melée, yearning to be a true artist. Will she find fame? The ghost of Willem De Kooning? Or something real?

Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical

Book by Richard Seff; Music by Roger Dean Anderson; Lyrics by Lee Goldsmith
Lower Manhattan, 1876. Join Dick as he rises from penniless bootblack to budding entrepreneur with a little bit of luck, a little bit of charm, and a whole lot of hard work. Based on Horatio Alger’s beloved tale, Dick’s adventures bring him face to face with scheming ex-convicts, vicious comic villains, kind benefactors, and a host of colorful characters in this rags-to-riches romp for the whole family.

Show Choir! – The Musical

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Donald Garverick and Mark McDaniels

International pop phenomenon The Symphonic Sensations rose from small town high school show choir to big time show biz success with an explosion of tight harmonies and jazz hands. As the music bio TV documentary “Beyond the Façade” follows their thrilling path to fame and adoration by millions, the highs and lows of celebrity are exposed in this musical comedy exploration of America’s favorite extracurricular activity.

Special Letter

Book and Lyrics by In Seon Park; Music by Chang Wook Ma
Sergeant Sangho doesn’t bully his squad now that he’s distracted by his flirty new pen pal, Eunhee. He doesn’t know, however, that his dream girl is really a guy – the friend of Private Chuljae, who’s tired of the sergeant’s grumpy moods at boot camp. But when Eunhee’s girlfriend is accidentally drawn into the deception, what started as a simple prank snowballs into a mess of heart-breaking proportions. It’s a rambunctious comedy about mistaken identities, love, and the lengths to which a soldier will go for an extra ration of Choco-pie!
The 2010 Selection of NYMF’s Production Exchange with the Daegu International Musical Festival, presented in Korean with English supertitles

*The Tenth Floor

Book by Sara Cooper; Music and Lyrics by J. Sebastian Fabal
Locked inside the Tenth Floor, the Miami-Dade Correctional Facility’s juvenile division, 16-year-old Victor Alvarez escapes into fantasy to escape the harsh realities of prison and his home life. Fueled by a contemporary rock, hip hop, and salsa-influenced score, this high-energy musical follows Victor as he struggles to come to terms with both the truth of his present and the ramifications of his past – or end up just another ruined kid.

*Tess, a new rock opera

Book, Music and Lyrics by Annie Pasqua; Additional Book, Music and Lyrics by Jenna Pasqua
Based on Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Tess’s spirited and innocent life unravels when her impoverished family’s desperate need to connect to a once mighty bloodline results in an act of violence and shame. Desired by two men, forsaken by Victorian society, and burdened by secrets and duty, Thomas Hardy’s dark heroine struggles to remain pure in a stained world as she is pulled towards her ultimate fate.

Therapy Rocks

Book by Kaethe Fine, Nat Bennett and Karen Bishko; Music and Lyrics by Karen Bishko
Meet Leah. She’s a songwriter who’s inappropriate, talented, obsessed, loyal, habitually unrequited in love… and who can’t stop eating cake! When her best friend suggests she needs psychological help, Leah marches into a handsome therapist’s office only to discover she’s still looking for love in all the wrong places. Forced to revisit the hilarious and heartbreaking dysfunction of her past, one woman’s quest to find romance becomes a journey to find herself.

*Things As They Are

Book and Lyrics by John Dietrich; Music by Jonathan Comisar
This sweeping portrait of Dorothea Lange examines an artist’s journey as complex as the history captured in her work. Best known as the photographer behind the iconic Depression Era image “Migrant Mother,” Dorothea fights for the lives of the people she photographs, while constantly torn between the demanding roles of wife, mother, and artist. A woman ahead of her time, living during a tumultuous period in American history, will her relentless devotion to her subjects undermine all hope of keeping her world in balance?

Trails

Book by Christy Hall; Music by Jeff Thomson; Lyrics by Jordan Mann
Adrift in their lives, two friends reconnect after ten years and set out to fulfill a childhood promise: to hike the Appalachian Trail together from beginning to end. Over the six-month, 2000-mile journey, past and present intertwine as the two face both the elements and the ghosts that haunt their memories. As they sift through the ashes of their tumultuous history, a bond of brotherhood struggles to be reborn.

Trav’lin

Book by Allan Shapiro and Gary Holmes; Music and Lyrics by J.C. Johnson and friends
George, unofficial mayor of 137th Street and a self-proclaimed expert on love, believes it should never be taken seriously. He finally meets his match when he befriends a down-on-her-luck stranger who is not what she seems. A funny and heart-warming look at the romantic travails of three couples learning about love in 1930′s Harlem, this musical features a tuneful and jazzy period score by Harlem Renaissance songwriter J.C. Johnson, a colleague of artists such as Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Billie Holiday.

V-Day

Book, Music, and Lyrics by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen
Josh Cohen wants you to know he hates Valentine’s Day. This year is no exception: he’s still unlucky in love, working a job he hates, and his apartment just got robbed of everything except a Neil Diamond CD. But when an unexpected treasure arrives in his mailbox, he’s forced to confront his biggest enemy: his own conscience. Woven with songs in the style of Neil Diamond, V-Day is about doing the right thing, even when it sucks.

Vote for Me: A Musical Debate

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola

Tea Parties, oil spills, death panels…and that’s just the opening statements. In this musicalized Presidential debate where you pick the winner, the candidates dance and sing their way through the three-ring circus of American politics, campaign trails, and family life in the spotlight. Hum along and cast your vote to determine the outcome of the show–and the future of America! The writers of College The Musical (NYMF 2008) return to the festival with this hysterical world-premiere political spoof.

Without You

By Anthony Rapp, featuring Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Anthony Rapp presents his turbulent journey through the convergence of two life-changing events: the early days of Rent – including the untimely passing of Jonathan Larson – and the illness and death of his own mother. Based on his New York Times best-selling memoir, Rapp uses a mix of original music and songs by R.E.M. and Larson in a stunning one-man show about grief, hope, and triumph.

NYMF 2010 SPECIAL EVENTS

8Minute Musicals
8Minute Musicals presents an evening of original short musicals created during NYMF 2010! Just 10 days before opening, 8 composers and 8 writers will be paired up and given a common theme as inspiration to create 8 new 8-minute musicals. With the help of 2 directors, 2 musical directors, and 10 performers, these freshly-created pieces are fully staged, rehearsed, and performed.

Beautyfull
Book by Jill Jaysen; Music and Lyrics by Mark Shepard; Conceived by Jill Jaysen and Jena Wider
Ten year-old Iris is having the worst day ever! She desperately wants to fit in with the popular “beautiful” girls and is willing to do whatever it takes… until things start to go wrong. Follow Iris as she learns that compromising yourself comes at a cost, popularity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and the true meaning of the word “Beautyfull” is from the inside out.

If It Only Even Runs a Minute
Conceived by Kevin Michael Murphy and Jennifer Ashley Tepper
Sometimes Broadway musicals run forever, like Cats or Les Miz. But sometimes, Broadway musicals run for only a minute, like Merrily We Roll Along, High Fidelity, or Via Galatica. This is their story. Hosted by ultimate theatre nerds Kevin and Jen, If It Only Even Runs a Minute celebrates rare and inspiring songs, anecdotes and photos from your favorite obscure and underappreciated shows.

My Life: Today
Book by Zakiyyah Alexander, Lisa Danser, Sara Patterson and Jeff Statile; Music by Steven Jamail; Lyrics by Steven Jamail and Sara Patterson
Inspired by the writings and stories of the RBKids ensemble
In 2003, Rosie O’Donnell founded Rosie’s Broadway Kids, an organization devoted to using musical theatre to enrich the lives of New York City public school children who otherwise have limited exposure to the arts. Seven years later, their stories and experiences have been transformed into an original musical performed by the students themselves. Centered around a single day in a high school, My Life: Today is a window into the vibrant lives of the city’s youth.

Oklahomo: The Adventures of Dave and Gary
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jesse Gage
A tale of oversized men in undersized spandex, Oklahomo chronicles the journey of Dave and Gary, two Midwestern mall food court employees who are also partners in love (and eventually justice). Dave’s life-long dreams of becoming a superhero finally come true after a freak accident involving Superman, an overdose of hallucinogenic drugs, a port-a-potty and a Journey concert. From there, Dave and Gary embark on an epic adventure of revenge and love, of discrimination and acceptance, and ultimately the most magnificent superpower ever created.

Our Country
Book by Dan Collins, Music and Lyrics by Tony Asaro
Based on an original concept by Tony Asaro
This Just In: “King of Country” Tommy Dautry arrested for lewd conduct in a public restroom! Outed, humiliated and abandoned by fans, country music sensation Tommy Dautry has gone from darling to derelict overnight. But now, in a one-night-only engagement (in the back room of The White Swallow), Tommy is back and ready to prove that gay or straight, left or right…it’s Our Country too!

Water and Power
Book and lyrics by Jeff Lantos; Music by Bill Augustine
Fifteen year-old Abby must leave her family farm to work in the cotton mills of Lowell, MA. When she falls in love with the rich son of the mill owner, their relationship is tested by her involvement in the nascent labor movement. Performed by 30 children in 4th-6th Grade, this production is part of a unique immersion program at the Marquez Charter Elementary School in Los Angeles, in which students learn history by performing musicals written to illustrate important moments from the past.

NYMF 2010 DEVELOPMENTAL READING SERIES

Food on the Aisle
Book and Lyrics by Donna Kaz; Music by Gerald Stockstill
It’s a culinary feast of songs and comedy in five short musicals! Featuring food network wannabes, dinner party menus, cooking as therapy, eating out, celebrity chefs, and breakfast with Ethel Merman, it’s fit for foodies and anybody who eats. Come hungry!

Most Likely to Die
Book and Lyrics by Christopher Barnes; Music by Ryan Mercy
Ten years ago, they were on top of the world. The senior superlatives. The most popular kids in school. Then something horrifying occurred. Now it’s time for their ten-year reunion, and someone is taking their deadly revenge. In this terrifying slasher musical, only one thing is certain – few will survive, now that someone has voted them all Most Likely To Die.

Roofless
Book, Music and Lyrics by Tim Long and Jerome Johnson
Roofless is a gritty, coming of age hood fable that is equal parts magical sparkles and blood splatter. From their roofless sanctuary atop an abandoned high rise building, best friends Marquee and Scope and their crew of Roofheadz make plans to escape their pasts and create a new, successful legacy for themselves. Disrupting the “dead-or-incarcerated-by-age-19″ status quo so upsets the spirit world that both good and evil enter the battle, each side staking its claim for the future generations born of the Roofless.

NYMF 2010 PARTNER EVENTS

Musicals on Television
The Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52nd Street

As part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, on October 2 and 9, The Paley Center for Media will screen a sampler of beloved musicals adapted for television.

Saturday, October 2 at 1:00 pm
Max Liebman Presents: Dearest Enemy
Television adaptation of the 1925 Rodgers & Hart musical (which includes the hit song “Here in My Arms”) about a band of patriotic female colonists who are instrumental in helping to win the American Revolution. Starring Cyril Ritchard, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Anne Jeffreys, and Robert Sterling. (1955; 90 minutes)

Saturday, October 2 at 3:00 pm
George M!
Television adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical about song-and-dance man George M. Cohan, starring Joel Grey, Bernadette Peters, Jack Cassidy, Nanette Fabray, Anita Gillette, Blythe Danner, Red Buttons, Lewis J. Stadlen, and Jesse White. (1970; 90 minutes)

Saturday, October 9 at 1:00 pm
Max Liebman Presents: Best Foot Forward
Television adaptation of the 1941 Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane “college musical,” set on the campus of Old Winsocki, where the boys prepare for the senior prom and a publicity seeking movie star accepts a student’s proposal to attend the prom as his date. Starring Robert Cummings Marilyn Maxwell, Jeannie Carson, Charlie Applewhite, and Pat Carroll. (1954; 90 minutes)

Saturday, October 9 at 3:00 pm
Producers’ Showcase: Bloomer Girl
Television adaptation of the 1944 Broadway show, set on the eve of the Civil War, with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg, book by Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy, choreography by Agnes De Mille, and starring Barbara Cook, Keith Andes, Carmen Mathews, Rawn Spearman, and Paul Ford (1956; 90 minutes)

Following the screening, Bloomer Girl star Barbara Cook and Ernie Harburg (son of lyricist Yip Harburg) will be interviewed by Bill Rudman, host of the Sirius XM On Broadway program On the Aisle. This event is presented with the support of the Yip Harburg Foundation.

Suggested donation for Paley Center Events: $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors; $5 for children under 14. Free for Paley Center Members.

Reservations are required for the October 9 Bloomer Girl screening and discussion. For reservations, go to paleycenter.org or call (212) 621-6800.

Once Upon a Time in New Jersey
Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th St., NYC

Prospect Theater Company presents ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW JERSEY
A new musical comedy
Book and Lyrics by Susan DiLallo; Music by Stephen Weiner
Oct 2 – 31 at the Hudson Guild Theatre

There’s trouble in the Garden State! An Italian-American fairy-tale, this hilarious romp through 1956 Hoboken swings back to the days of doo-wop, James Dean, and first romance. Be enchanted by the madcap book and lyrics of Kleban Prize winner Susan DiLallo, set to a Richard Rodgers Award-winning score by Stephen Weiner – co-creators of Prospect’s 2006 hit show, Iron Curtain.

Now in its seventh year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America’s greatest art forms. Hailed as the “Sundance of Musical Theatre,” NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2010 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by AP-Red.com, Back Stage, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille’s Fine Pianos, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Ariel Phinney, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org. Single tickets for Festival events will go on sale September 1.

For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org

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Mister D: Like many gay couples who have been together a long time, this video has really struck a nerve. It has made many simultaneously sad, angry, sick, and depressed. Maybe this is preaching to the choir, like my new friend Steve says, but I dare anyone that is straight to watch this and not “feel” something. Something is terribly remiss in this country and it’s time for it to stop. For the supporters of DOMA, watch and feel ashamed, then do something about it. You know you’re wrong, but you’re pride gets in your way. How are we as gay people a threat to your marriage? Really, sit down and think about it. I have, and for the life of me, I can’t come up with one good reason or one good snappy gay one-liner. That’s saying something. We’re supposed to be the land of the free…well, hello, there are many countries much freer than we are at this point in timr. And for the most part, we have the majority of you guys and gals to thank for that. Do some research. I’m not making it up. While you’re fretting about us getting married we’re falling behind in education, manufacturing, socio-economic levels, freedom (yes, freedom), and all kinds of other things I bet you didn’t know about. All because you have gay on the brain. Stop obsessing and start accepting. We’re here and we’re not going away as long as you keep on making babies. You made us and you’ll keep on making us. We’re your sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, moms and dads (some were just in denial you see) Okay, this is a rant. I’m known for it…take it as you will, but watch the video at least or I’ll just have to accept the fact that you don’t want to learn anything and are probably a coward or a closet case. No one is here to hurt you, not us, but you are hurting us. Watch the video! :

Thank You For Your Call from Shawn Nee / discarted on Vimeo.

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latimes.com
Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren vehicle ‘RED’ brings in the disenfranchised from the cold
By Alex Pham
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 22, 2010

One of the reasons comic books captivate so many is their ability to allow ordinary people to hurtle themselves into an imaginary world of extraordinary possibilities.

Such is the magic of “RED,” a 66-page graphic novel about Frank Moses, a former CIA black-ops agent who is thrown back into action after he becomes a marked man.

In the Hollywood version from Summit Entertainment set for release Oct. 15, Bruce Willis plays Moses as a retiree who lounges around the house in his bathrobe and has little more to look forward to than the next issue of the AARP magazine.

Willis’ aging costars include Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman as former CIA colleagues. The group gets back together to fight the forces of evil — a generation of young, smug-faced know-it-alls and all their fancy new gadgets.

“RED” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told Comic-Con attendees that the movie was about “the way society discards people of every age. We all feel a little discarded or pushed aside. This is a movie where you get back in” the action.

The film, set as an action comedy, departs from the graphic novel, which is much darker in nature. The decision appears designed to take advantage of Willis’ deadpan delivery, sharpened in “Die Hard.” Mirren, with her “Masterpiece Theater” demeanor, provides Willis with a refined counterpoint.

The transformation from literary noir to action comedy didn’t tweak the novel’s creators, Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, who appeared on the panel alongside Willis, Mirren and Karl Urban, who plays Willis’ nemesis.

“It’s an adaptation, not an imitation,” Ellis said of the movie.

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