04/26/2010 12:00 am

Culture

Liz Smith: They're Here, They're Queer ... It's Broadway 2010!

Douglas Hodge and Kelsey Grammer

Photo: Joan Marcus/La Cage Aux Folles

"MY OWN belief is that there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror!" said the bisexual writer Somerset Maugham.

***

Well, kids, times have changed. Nobody is worried about filling the world at large with surprise and horror. Celebrations of offbeat sex lives are rampant and very entertaining, especially in that bastion of avant garde culture – the Broadway theater.

Gay themes are ubiquitous, to be expected, and they are everywhere. I was sort of amazed this week at how many productions have these themes and I don’t just mean the revival of "La Cage aux Folles," which garnered raves everywhere after the show opened. (I did run into one private critic who said of the downplayed glamour of the six Cagelles, "Well, I don’t know about you, but reality isn’t what I was looking for. I want my drag queens to be as glamorous as hell!"

I know I won’t be able to get around to all the shows that are metaphorically singing "I Am What I Am," but let’s examine a few of them:

The Roundabout Theater is offering a warmly sentimental tribute to one of the most talented and interesting curmudgeons in showbiz. I do mean "Sondheim on Sondheim," a musical conceived and directed by James Lapine. Here we see Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton, Matthew Scott and others singing the famous composer’s well-loved and least-known creations. And, isn’t it rich that Stevie himself is on stage in the form of film and photos? At one point, he even confides his sexual proclivities. (There don’t seem to be any closets on Broadway these days.)

Then, a week ago, Lily Tomlin and Leslie Jordan arrived in a hot-pink Cadillac Escalade limo at the Midtown Theater where producer Lily and her life partner, Jane Wagner, opened Jordan’s one-man solo based on his bio "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet." Nothing could be gayer than this endearing, diminutive gent who wowed the opening-night audience into tears and laughter as he told his "tres gay" story.

You may recall Emmy winner Jordan from his yummy portrayals on TV’s "Will & Grace." The opening night of this show boasted Cynthia Nixon, Matthew Modine, Tina Louise, Caprice Crane, Penny Fuller, Bill Hutton, Dick Buttons, Donna McKechnie and Del Shores.

Megan Mullally, who starred in "Will & Grace," sent big pink balloons because she couldn’t be on hand, and since most of the audience also dressed in pink for the opening – the first night audience adhered to Diana Vreeland’s famous quote, "Pink is the navy blue of India."

Leslie Jordan is rumored to be part of a new musical that Megan Mullally is developing about her "Will & Grace" character, "Karen Walker." Leslie would remain as Karen’s nemesis, Beverley Leslie. When might this happen? Leslie says, "It’s being developed now and I hope for Broadway. Now that I’m in New York, I never want to leave."

Jon Maran’s "The Temperamentals" tells the tale of two men – the Communist Harry Hay and the Viennese refugee-designer Rudi Gernreich. They fall in love while building the first gay rights organization pre-Stonewall riots. It was called The Mattachine Society.

This historical play has been acclaimed by the critics and is a mix of stylish, campy and heartbreaking. The stars, Thomas Jay Ryan and Michael Urie, are just amazing. You should see this.

The Fourth Annual Gayfest NYC Festival begins performances at the June Havoc Theater at the Abingdon complex on West 36th Street, from May 6 to June 6.

They’ll add gay character actor Steve Hayes with his highly successful YouTube show titled "Steve Hayes: Tired Old Queen at the Movies: Live!" (May 24, 25, 26).
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12 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

RichardValvo
From the live stage to the screen. I hope this creativeness and openness is where this continues. Thanks for all this good news and critiquing of these productions. You are so respected and trusted that it will surely give them all the recognition and ticket sales they deserve. These people are out on a limb so to speak and have GUTS, like you always did, LIZ. 
By RichardValvo on 04/26/2010 7:01 am
SheraSutherland

Leslie Jordan was also on Boston Legal - I think Betty White killed off his character.  He was on The View - the only reason I watched it that day, and was hilarious!!  I’d love to see this show!

I’m glad people are - or seem to be - getting over their prejudices.

By SheraSutherland on 04/26/2010 7:21 am
BabySnooks

What a headline!  Twenty years ago it would have gotten you "banned in Boston" and still might elsewhere!

Somerset Maugham of course was right and every once in awhile we are still shocked.  If Jerry Weintraub had announced twenty years ago that the towels in the bathroom were marked "his, hers, and hers" he would have been deported.  Straight, gay, and every variation in between. If people only knew.  Why we keep our drapes close I suppose.  Well, why some of us do.

 

By BabySnooks on 04/26/2010 9:24 am
phyllisDoylePepe

Peter O’Tool, he of the double phallic name, once said that sooner or later all closets need to be cleaned and aired.

And speaking of Jesus and walking on water. There has been some speculation that he might have been gay and since we have few sources from his time wouldn’t it be a kicker––of course we’ll never know, will we? 

By phyllisDoylePepe on 04/26/2010 10:15 am
Mr. Wow
Dear PhyllisDoylePepe…”some speculation” That’s speculation from Elton John, hardly a Biblical scholar. Listen, if Jesus existed at all I doubt he was gay. That would have made for a hard time in his preaching activities (what—you don’t think they gossiped in ancient times?) IF he existed he was probably married, and had children. Like everybody else back then. His devotees (apostles and scripture writers of centuries later) had to make him “divine” and above earthly desires. I prefer my Jesus as a man with a beautiful message. I don’t need him to be gay. Those who do are still unsure and validating their own lives. They also carry on about Tom Cruise.
By Mr. Wow on 04/26/2010 2:23 pm
phyllisDoylePepe
Dear Mr. Wow: Well, I certainly didn’t get that bit of speculation from Elton john, although that would have been a fun discussion. Actually this was something from an actual Biblical scholar whose writings I perused some time back. We know that a man named Jesus was a subject of the roman Empire under Augustus Caesar, and Heron at the time was the King of Jerusalem. He most likely was sophisticated and not poor––there was no middle class––was a preacher, Jewish, and everything he is doing is politically dangerous, anything out of the ordinary, any challenge to Rome meant execution––thousands of Jews were crucified. Given this atmosphere, I imagine Jesus’s sexual proclivities , whatever they may have been, were not something to shout about. Since this man, who as I said we know very little about, has been glorified and godified, can you blame Elton for wanting him to be more like him?
By phyllisDoylePepe on 04/26/2010 6:40 pm
PaulSmith
And so it has always been: Queer, that is.  Avant-garde and Broadway is an oxymoron.  Actually the biggest showstopper on Broadway these days are those huge backsides sitting in lawn chairs strewn throughout Time Square. The recycled junk on stage just completes the picture.
By PaulSmith on 04/26/2010 10:21 am
BethCornell
I didn’t connect the name with the face until I saw Leslie Jordan on The View. He also did a couple of Murder, She Wrotes. He is really funny.
By BethCornell on 04/26/2010 2:45 pm
BabySnooks

I suspect if he is gay everyone actually hopes Tom Cruise remains in the closet. With the door locked.

By BabySnooks on 04/26/2010 6:17 pm
ErikaMuller

Leslie Jordan was also a recurring character on "Allie McBeal" and always fun.

I’m still mad at Megan Mullally for dropping out of "Lips Together Teeth Apart".  I had tickets for it as part of a Roundabout Theater subscription and I was so disapppointed because when she dropped out, they cancelled the show completely.  Didn’t like their choice of a replacement AT ALL.

By ErikaMuller on 04/29/2010 7:25 pm
Jasmina
^ I hope you didn’t get your hopes up for Karen:The Musical. That one is, from what it looks right now, canceled as well. In any case, it is delayed. 
By Jasmina on 05/21/2010 10:12 am