FRIDAY, DEC. 21 Atlanta Ballet’s first new “The Nutcracker” in 20 years marks a milestone in dance history. Tonight at...
Well, it turns out the Mayans were just as reliable about predicting the end of our civilization as they were at predicting their own.
I was charitable enough to give them until the end of the year, but 2012 officially came to a close without any of the pyrotechnics promised by doomsday preppers or John Cusack collecting a paycheck. Oh well. Guess I’ll get to that laundry I was putting off.
When folks watch a movie like “2012” (which no one should) or a TV show like “Walking Dead” (which everyone should), they tend to put themselves in the shoes of the survivors, saying, “I’d get myself to an army base, because they’re totally secure and I could pig out on MREs.”
Johnny Drago is a writer who likes to tackle everything from 6-foot tall vaginas to soap opera dinner theater.
But Drago has also been writing "erotic satire" under a pseudonym, "Dale Vigor," that takes on the subjects of pornography, gay relationships and, well, seafood.
Vigor makes his debut reading on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. at the Drive-By Theater Project. Drago answered a few questions about himself and Vigor ahead of the reading dubbed "Pornography vs. Art." The reading will include explicit material and is intended for mature (mature?) audiences only.
Out comedian/director Sherri Denise Sutton has returned to Atlanta and already has a slew of projects lined up. First up is directing the comic “Gray Area” at Aurora Theatre.
It’s a farcical show, written by John Ahlin, about what happens when a New York theater critic makes an on-air crack about Civil War re-enactors as his last public statement — and is promptly kidnapped by three good ol’ boys. It stars openly gay actor Glenn Rainey as the critic, Farragut. The character is gay, says Sutton, which the kidnappers don’t know when they nab him.
“They think he is straight – they have no idea he’s gay,” she says. “The audience is in on the joke.”
While it has played in Atlanta a few times over the last two years as a touring show, a local version of “A Chorus Line” is a rare thing indeed. That changes soon as the gay-themed musical opens at Aurora Theatre to begin the company’s 16th season.
The celebrated musical is known for its iconic images of a group of dancers auditioning and baring their souls all for the chance to be in the chorus line of a musical, as well as its standout musical numbers. Yet its inclusion of three-dimensional gay characters is still relevant, given that “A Chorus Line” debuted in an era — 1975 — where few gay characters were onstage.
Many of the actors in this cast are gay. Two of them are Anthony Owen, who plays Bobby Mills, and David Rossetti, who plays Paul San Marco. Both of the characters they portray are gay, too, although Bobby’s sexual orientation is never mentioned directly in the show.
New take on classic children's story features modern twists
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.”
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.