by Jonathan Warman

Another play I don’t like by a playwright I do like. This is getting discouraging. At his best, Playwright Martin McDonagh offers a guardedly hopeful and redemptive vision for the violent, pathetic fuckers and hardnosed bitches that populate his plays. And aren’t we all at one time or another a pathetic fucker or a hardnosed bitch?

Unfortunately, there’s not much hope or redemption in A Behanding in Spokane, so we’re just left with violence cropping up in pathetic situations. In this little charmer, a man who has been searching for his missing hand for 47 years encounters two young con artists in a fleabag hotel.

Christopher Walken plays Carmichael, the handless man, in a very “Christopher Walken” performance. I didn’t love his performance as much as a lot other people seem to, but seeing him perform in person I did gain a new appreciation for his very “live” sense of timing.

Anthony Mackie, as the cagey young dope dealer Toby, delivers the most recognizably human performance of the evening. Toby’s the closest thing to the sympathetic clueless sucker who generally gets half a clue by the end of a McDonagh play.

Here, though, Toby seems to leave pretty much as he came in. He was wasting his time trying to sell Carmichael a hand, and Behanding wastes both our and McDonagh’s time. Give some poor guy half a brake next time, won’t you, Martin?

For tickets, click here.

For more reviews and interviews by Jonathan Warman, see dramaqueennyc.com.

Posted by Jonathan Warman at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Steel Gym in Manhattan announced this week that they will offer a special weekend rate for those attending the Black Party on March 18th through 21st.  A portion of the proceeds will help sponsor the Steel Gym AIDS Walk New York team.

For only $45, party goers gain full access to Manhattan's only real gym.  Steel Gym is ranked as one the top 5 fitness centers in the country by Muscle & Fitness Magazine (#1 in New York), and already received the 2010 Talk of the Town for excellent customer service. 

Steel is also a popular place to be spotted especially on Black Party weekend.  At Steel Gym you'll find bears, muscle queens and everything in between!  You'll likely even see a few familiar faces as Steel Gym boasts an impressive list of celebrity clientelle and is the exclusive fitness facility for many of New York's top nightlife personalities, bartenders and go-go gods.

Haven't picked up your tickets for the Black Party?  Don't worry, you'll be able to grab those at Steel Gym too!

This rare Steel Gym Black Party pass will activate starting at 7am on Thursday, March 18th and expires at closing on Sunday, March 21st.  Both New York visitors and local residents are encouraged to take advantage of this rare deal!

For more information on the Exclusive Black Party offer at Steel Gym, contact us now at 212-352-9876.

Posted by Charles Winters at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT

GaySocialites.com is proud to endorse Assemblyman Jose Peralta in his campaign to replace Hiram Monseratte in the State Senate.

Monseratte was expelled by his fellow Senators after he was convicted of beating his girlfriend.  A special election is set for Tuesday, and Monseratte managed to get himself on the ballot. 

As dirty as they come in politics, Hiram Monseratte was one of the State Senators who switched parties last year putting on a show in Albany.  As a result of Monseratte's actions, the Senate went on hold pushing many issues past deadline including a vote on marriage equality in New York.

The issue may have passed at the time, but after the political shuffle that Monseratte caused; it failed earlier this year.

That's why we encourage you to vote for Jose Peralta if you're registered in Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights (New York).  The election will be held on Tuesday, and I'll be out there campaign both Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Posted by Charles Winters at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

THURSDAY NIGHT ON TELEVISION

After "The Real Housewives of Orange County" are done reuniting, we head to the big apple to visit with the always dramatic "Real Housewives of New York City".  This week we're talking dueling labor day parties, Bethenny's date night and Playgirl.

Ramona reprimands Mario for the infamous comment he made about LuAnn, which makes him want to bury the hatchet.  But things come to a head when both Ramona and LuAnn decide to throw Labor Day weekend parties, and more jaw-dropping things are said about LuAnn.  Meanwhile, Bethenny and Jason are faced with the next important step in their relationship, while Kelly arrives at LuAnn’s with a sexy secret to share!

The New York City housewives really bring the drama, especially this season, it seems.

"The Real Housewives of New York City" airs at 10/9c immediately following "The Real Housewives of Orange County" reunion which starts at 8/9c.

Posted by Charles Winters at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

AFTERNOON DELIGHT

Today's Afternoon Delight is a former Míster Universo México, a working actor, an aspiring model AND he's freaking gorgeous!  Say hello to Alberto Quintero!

Quintero won the Mr. Mexico title in 2006 and has been working modeling and acting gigs ever since!

There are more pictures of Alberto Quintero after the break!

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NIGHTLIFE

Our friends over at the Black Party sent this over to us and we couldn't resist.  After the break are the Top 10 Reasons why you don't want to miss the BPX: The Black Party® Expo & Bazaar.

Continue reading "10 Reasons why you don't want to miss The Black Party Expo and Bazaar [video]" »

Posted by Charles Winters at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

THURSDAY NIGHT ON TELEVISION

"The Real Housewives of Orange County" are back on Bravo Thursday night with the second part of their reunion special.  Evidently, there was too much to cover in just one sit down.

Here's what we have to look forward to tonight:

Part 2 of the reunion has tensions boiling over as Jeana joins the ladies to hash out some unresolved issues and for the first time ever, the “house-husbands” are all in the house to respond to this season’s most controversial moments.  What happens when Gretchen forces Slade and Vicki to confront each other?  Will it become a blow out?  And will either of them try to get Gretchen in the middle of things?

"The Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion" airs tonight at 9/8c on Bravo.

Posted by Charles Winters at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The gays are evidently getting the boot from "One Life To Live" after the characters seemed to have put them back on the map among younger demographics.

Last fall, Kyle and Fish became the first two gay characters to make-out on daytime soaps.  Now, it look like they're getting written out.  It is evidently because Scott Evans and Brett Claywell's characters aren't delivering the rating punch that they once did.

Do you think we'll get more gays or is this the end to homo soaps?  No word yet on how or when Kyle and Fish will go.   Regardless, thanks to "One Life to Live" for giving the gays a chance anyway.

Posted by Charles Winters at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Virginia governor Bob McDonnell has directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people in employment practices Wednesday despite the fact that the state's attorney general calls such protections unconstitutional.

Last week, General Ken Cuccinelli wrote a letter to administrators at state colleges and universities advising them to remove any protection status in their nondiscrimination policies toward gays.

Cuccinelli caused an uproar across the state on several campuses resulting in the protest at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Now, the Republican governor has stepped in and changed that.  There is still a long way to go in Viriginia.  The Virginia Human Rights Act still does not include gays despite several attempts for inclusion repeatedly defeated by the Legislature.

Posted by Charles Winters at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Conan O'Brien may not be able to pop back up on TV until the fall, but that isn't stopping the funny man from performing.  On Thursday, Conan announced he's going on tour!

O'Brien made the announcement on his Twitter page:

"Hey Internet: I'm headed to your town on a half-assed comedy & music tour. Go to http://TeamCoco.com for tix. I repeat: It's half-assed."

The TeamCoco website was overloaded for a bit.  If you're having problems, you can also get tickets on Ticketmaster.

We've got the full list of cities and tour dates after the break.

Continue reading "Conan O'Brien is going on tour. Here are the cities, dates:" »

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by Jonathan Warman

I’m happy to have the story of blind-deaf activist Helen Keller back on Broadway, but I can’t help wondering if William Gibson’s 1959 drama The Miracle Worker is still the best way to tell this particular story. Under Kate Whoriskey’s able direction it’s getting a passionate revival, whose only major flaw is awkward in-the-round staging that obscures many important moments. The acting’s quite good — more about that in a moment.

The play itself has not held up extraordinarily well. It’s melodramatic and sentimental, and not particularly subtle. Set in Tuscumbia, Alabama in the 1880s, The Miracle Worker tells the story of the young Keller, who became blind and deaf after a childhood illness, and the woman, Annie Sullivan, who taught her to communicate with the world. It doesn’t go into Keller’s later life as writer and activist, which I think might interest a 21st century audience more than it would have the more conservative 1950s audience.

Characters repeatedly say that it would “take a miracle” to get through to Helen, which gives you an idea of the general level of Gibson’s writing. He does manage some moments of insight: into the jumble of feelings that go with raising a disabled child; into Sullivan’s conflicted yet determined psyche; and into the North-South tensions that make Sullivan’s interactions with the Kellers even more difficult. Nonetheless, the play is visibly creaky, and shows signs of its first life as a 1957 made-for-TV script. Perhaps it’s time for someone to write a new play about Keller to replace this old chestnut.

It’s wonderful, then, that we have actors as good as Allison Pill, playing Annie, and Abigail Breslin, playing Helen. Pill builds a believable, fiery woman out of Gibson’s sketchy outline, and Breslin, without any lines, marvelously conveys a raging intelligence thoroughly frustrated by her limitations.
The final scenes, in which Helen finally begins to understand the sign language Annie has been teaching her, still pack an emotional wallop — there was hardly a dry eye in the house. If only the dialogue that led up to this shattering moment were better!

For tickets, click here.

For more reviews and interviews by Jonathan Warman, see dramaqueennyc.com.  

Posted by Jonathan Warman at 02:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Jonathan Warman

I first saw Lea Salonga in the Broadway “revisal” of Flower Drum Song, which gave her some great acting opportunities but gave a lot of the best songs to other performers — though Salonga did turn it out on “A Hundred Thousand Miracles” and “Love, Look Away”. And of course I knew her voice from Princess Jasmine’s limited singing in the Disney animated film Aladdin (Linda Larkin did the lines for Jasmine in that film). I have to admit that I haven’t yet seen Mulan, where Salonga had more to sing.

So I knew this woman could sing, but that’s about all I knew — truth be told, I heard her sing more in her New York cabaret debut at Café Carlyle than I had heard her sing before. And I was suitably impressed! Salonga is a big star in her native Philippines, where she lives now, and her full-throated yet emotionally subtle singing style is surely the reason.

Her Carlyle act is best when Salonga tells her unique story, the path she took in transforming her success in Filipino musical theatre into international stardom as Kim in Miss Saigon on the West End and then Broadway. Included along the way are traditional Filipino songs like “Salamat, Salamat Musica” and “Waray Waray” (the latter, Salonga notes, was sung on the Carlyle stage by Eartha Kitt), as well as “Too Much for One Heart”, a lovely ballad cut from Saigon, and “Reflection”, a big number from Mulan.

She even does a goofy version of “A Whole New World” in which the band members sing Aladdin’s part, comically pointing up how he keeps interrupting Jasmine throughout the song. Salonga dips into the Great American Songbook a couple of times, with Rodgers & Hart’s “My Romance” and the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me”. She has a knack for going to the heart of these songs — I personally would have liked more along these lines. Not the greatest cabaret act ever, but an entertaining way to frame Salonga’s undeniably gorgeous voice.

For tickets, click here.

For more reviews and interviews by Jonathan Warman, see dramaqueennyc.com.

Posted by Jonathan Warman at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

NIGHTLIFE

This Saturday night you're invited to celebrate Spring Break in New York City at Club Rush for Drama Saturdays.

DJ Steve Sidewalk spins the best pop music while GaySocialites.com's very own will host a wet underwear contest.  Wear you cute drawers ya'll!

Drama Saturdays are always 18 to party and 21 to drink.  Print this flyer for reduced admission.

Rush is located at 579 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.  www.boiparty.com 

Posted by Charles Winters at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

AFTERNOON DELIGHT

Today's Afternoon Delight is Chris Whitlow, and he gives a whole new meaning to the expression "tall dark and handsome."

With beautiful dark features and gorgeous blue eyes, this model (born in the Isle of Man) seems to be creeping up on every company's "must have" list.

There are more pictures of Chris Whitlow after the break.

Continue reading "Afternoon Delight: Chris Whitlow" »

Posted by Charles Winters at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)