“Dream”boys

Hey boyz and girlz! I hope everyone had a gaytastic New Year. I’ve missed you all. And speaking of missing things, here is a show that I plan to miss: DreamBoys by Blue Umbrella Productions. [ed. note — check out their promotional video above, which was apparently produced by Harvey Fierstein and directed by Richard Simmons.]

The sequel to the sold-out hit show Unexpected Songs, DreamBoys features five talented men singing Broadway songs made famous by the bawdy women of the boards. Popular Twin Cities stage personalities Doug Anderson, Tim Kuehl, Bart Ruf, Ryan Shipley, and Paul Whittemore bring a little something extra to timeless classics, diva favorites, and rare gems of the theater.

The show is set in a theater lobby moments before an audition, where each man steadies his nerves and wonders…what if I could audition for Eliza instead of Henry Higgins?

Featuring songs from such hit shows as Wicked, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, and contemporary classics The Wild Party, The Last Five Years, and Light in the Piazza. Expect powerful belting, thoughtful ballads, and a generous dose of gender-bending fun.

In all fairyness, the talent in this show could quite possibly be good. I’m not totally familiar with all of these “popular Twin Cities stage personalities.” I am a fan of Doug Anderson, and I did think that Ryan Shipley was very funny in Summer of ’42, but I wouldn’t classify them as “stage personalities.”

You may be thinking, “But Gaye, this is a show full of boys singing Broadway songs!” This is true. It should be right up my big queer alley. Here’s the thing though…I like my diva songs to be sung by women. They are songs for women for a reason, and should be sung as such. Let’s face it, it’s hard enough to get really good roles for women on stage — that aren’t slutty or stupid, etc. Why rip that away from them? Yes, it’s all in good fun, but it doesn’t seem relevant or necessary; more like vocal masturbation.

In other Gaye news, I do plan on seeing Walking Shadow’s Caligula.

A young and heartbroken Roman Emperor holds dominion over the known world. Using vicious logic and deliberate cruelty, he tests the limits of absolute power. Has he really found the impossible: the meaning of life? This play by renowned French philosopher and Nobel winner Albert Camus is given a lush new translation by British playwright David Greig.

You may be thinking, “Gaye you seem to have a hard-on for Walking Shadow.” It’s true. I’ve got a big Gaye crush on Walking Shadow. And for good reason. They do amazing, relevant, thoughtful work, which often has gay themes. And their casting is flawless. (Davey Gangler might just be the cutest thing out there).

Good job, once again Walking Shadow for being really gay…in a good way. And good luck to you Blue Umbrella Productions. You’re definitely really gay.

Please allow me to give you the SparkNotes version of Minnesota Playlist’s recent 34-minute interview with Dominique Serrand (being that 90% of it basically amounts to artistic gibberish).

• First, he talked about how important Jeune Lune’s space was to the organization, saying that “space was fundamental”. He explained how excavating the building made sense and helped the work that was being produced. He also added that moving to a space that was not a theatre helped to define what theatre meant…”instead of those grand proscenium spaces”. I guess Jeune Lune’s new space was modest? I’m sure Yellow Tree would totally agree.
• Then we get to the question of “Why couldn’t Jeune Lune survive?” Surprisingly enough, it turns out that Jeune Lune could’ve made it after all. The problem: they would’ve had to compromise their work. And Serrand explains to us that, “it’s not about rooms and buildings and stone, it’s about the work.” Wait. I thought “space was fundamental”? I guess once you get the gigantic building, THEN it’s about the work.
• Serrand then blows our minds by informing us of a major problem in the theatre today: that theatre artists aren’t salaried. I know…take a minute to wrap your head around that. He thinks we’d all be better off if we got paid more. THAT’S CRAZY TALK! He then says “it’s not that costly” to put artists on salary, which is funny since the vast majority of Jeune Lune’s theatre artists were jobbed in just like everywhere else. Brilliant.

That’s just the tip of a gigantic dumb-ass iceberg, so check it out. Basically, if Serrand ran his theatre even close to the way he aimlessly meandered around in this interview, it’s very easy to see why Jeune Lune no longer exists.

My blogging as of late has been absolutely piss poor.  So to make me feel better, I clicked on over to Guthrie Corporation’s Big Blue Blog.  It did the trick.

Take a look at some of the riveting news that LeeH recently broke:

“It was announced earlier this week that a South Dakota company (Daktronics) will be replacing the LED towers that sit atop our roof.

What happened to the old ones? I suppose there are many theories, but frankly I’m not actually sure what happened. Only one of the three has been operational as of late, so everyone here is thrilled that they will all soon be back to their text scrolling selves again.

…and the best part of the whole deal: the new ones are green. Not literally, but figuratively. Since they are LEDs they use less power than a traditional light (or so the engineer told me).”

Well, I think I can speak for everyone here at FringeFamous when I say “holy fucking shit”.  I had to take a 20-minute nap after LeeH dropped that knowledge bomb on me.  Insight like that is exactly why I frequent the Big Blue Blog.

I’m also super pumped about Guthrie Corporation’s decision to cut down on their energy usage.  Kudos to you, Guthrie Corp.!  Now, if we could only get the other theatres in town to use LEDs on their 40, 60, and 80-foot tall scrolling towers of light…

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Find more videos like this on BroadwaySpace

Check this out, theatre wieners!

You know, there’s going to be dozens of new productions opening in the Twin Cities in the next few weeks.

But fuck that.  I need to know:  What in God’s name is Mike Hammer up to?

Tell me now!

Oh.  He’s playing Nixon?  In a play?  You mean the thing that other more famous guy already did?

Well, thank God for Graydon Royce, or I would have missed that tidbit.

Did you miss Torch Theater’s production of The Miracle Worker last year?  No worries.  You can head on over to the most boring theatre in the Twin Cities.  It’ll be playing there from Jan. 8 to Feb. 21.

Congrats to Torch for getting the opportunity to throw up this fantastic show again, but…

WHAT THE FUCK?!

Who’s behind the wheel over at the History Theatre?  Because I refuse to believe that Artistic Director Ron Peluso is really this much of a tool box.

The Miracle Worker?  Another company’s production of The Miracle Worker??  How does this satisfy their mission of “provoking audiences through the creation of new plays that explore Minnesota’s past”?  Where exactly does this production fit into the History Theatre’s vision of being a “recognized leader in Minnesota, the Midwest, and the nation”?  Yeah…you read that correctly; “and the nation”.

Nice try, History Theatre.  But the only thing you might be leading Minnesota in, is apprehensive and uninspired artistic direction.

Yup…this seems about right.

I wonder what would happen if Guthrie Corp. took just half of A.D. Joe Dowling’s retardo salary from 2007 and used it for good instead of evil.  Let’s see…

Half of $682,229 is $341,114.50.  Interesting so far.

Average actor at Guthrie Corp. makes, what, $2000/week?  I’m pretty sure that’s significantly higher than the G minimum, but let’s go with it.

Average independent TC theatre company has an annual budget of, what, $30,000/year?  It’s probably less than that, but let’s go with it.

Average totally rad couch in Cue at the Guthrie is leathery and expensive.

So…for only half of what Guthrie Corp. spent on Joe Dowling in 2007, they could (according to my made-up numbers):

• employ that average Guthrie Corp. actor for 170 straight weeks, or
• employ a resident company of 5 actors and pay them a yearly salary of almost $70,000, or
• double that average Guthrie Corp. actor’s salary and employ her for 85 straight weeks, or
• completely fund about a dozen independent TC theatre companies for one year, or
• buy some more totally rad furniture for Cue.

But for that to happen, Dowling would have to get by on $341,114 a year.  And c’mon, people.  Times are tough.

Hi, gang!

We were recently included in an online blog directory called Alltop.  Check them out if you haven’t already.  It’s an easy way to find some really great blogs on theatre and pretty much everything else.  I can only assume someone will lose their job over our inclusion.