Maggie Gallagher: Energized About Dead Gay Teenagers

Maggie's back with another message about Maine, AFTER THE JUMP...

Tales of the City Musical to Debut at CT's O'Neill Center in July

The musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin's Tales in the City we first heard about back in January 2008 is moving along nicely, according to reports.

Variety reports: "The tuner adaptation of 'Tales of the City' and the latest play by Pulitzer-winner Nilo Cruz are among the new works to be developed this year during the O'Neill Theater Center's annual summer sessions. 'Tales,' with book by Jeff Whitty ('Avenue Q') and songs by Scissor Sisters musicians Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden, will run as part of the O'Neill's 32nd annual National Music Theater Conference..'Tales,' which hopes to tap the Broadway potential of Armistead Maupin's series of books (and subsequent tube adaptations), will be seen at the O'Neill July 4-11."

The show's synopsis, as published by Playbill: "Based on the beloved series of novels by Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City follows a community of friends, lovers, and others who reside at the mythical address of 28 Barbary Lane in 1976 San Francisco. Mary Ann Singleton, a fresh arrival from Ohio, falls into a diverse band of Bohemians and blue-bloods, as families are created and rediscovered under the watchful eye of mystical landlady Anna Madrigal."

Avenue Q and Shrek the Musical director Jason Moore, while not mentioned here, has been attached to direct in previous reports.

Musical Theatre Under Fire for Artistic Director's Prop 8 Support

California Musical Theatre is Sacramento's "oldest professional performing arts organization and California's largest nonprofit musical theater company" according to the Sacramento Bee and its artistic director Scott Eckern, who has been with the theatre for 25 years, has placed it in turmoil following revelations that he donated $1,000 to the campaign to pass Prop 8.

Hairspray director Marc Shaiman is leading the charge to boycott the theatre. Shaiman reportedly told Eckern: "The idea that your donation came from a salary that for a short amount of time was drawn from profits from a show I wrote upsets me terribly and I would never allow anything I write to play there and will encourage my colleagues to consider doing the same."

Some of Shaiman's peers, including Avenue Q writer Jeff Whitty, contacted Eckern with their concerns.

According to the Bee, the theatre is contemplating what to do: "Richard Lewis, the organization's executive producer, said the board of directors will conduct an emergency meeting on the matter this afternoon. He said it was too early to tell how this would affect Eckern's 25-year employment with California Musical Theatre."

Additionally, an Anti-Gay Blacklist has sprung up online highlighting business owners and prominent supporters of Proposition 8.

Prop. 8 gift gets theater's leader in a ruckus [sacramento bee]
Dra-ma [good as you]

Jay Leno Apologizes for Requesting Ryan Phillippe's Gayest Look

Jay Leno has apologized for remarks he made to Ryan Phillippe when Phillippe appeared on his show to promote the movie Stop-Loss. Leno mocked Phillippe's first role as a gay teen on One Life to Live before pointing at the camera and asking a visibly disturbed Phillippe to give it his "gayest look."

Said Leno in a statement: "In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong. I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."

The incident prompted an angry letter from Avenue Q scribe Jeff Whitty, who wrangled with the late night host about his homophobic remarks during the Brokeback Mountain days, and inspired the creation of My Gayest Look, a website at which you can find dozens of pictorial messages for Jay Leno (including mine).

My Gayest Look [for jay leno]
Avenue Q Scribe Jeff Whitty Offers Jay Leno His 'Gayest Look' [tr]
Jay Leno Asks Ryan Phillippe to Give Camera His 'Gayest Look' [tr]

Avenue Q Scribe Jeff Whitty Offers Jay Leno His 'Gayest Look'

UPDATE: There's now a whole website!

You may remember the clip I posted last week of Ryan Phillippe's appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which, after mocking Phillippe's first acting role as a gay teen on a soap, Leno pointed at the camera and asked Phillippe to give his gayest look.

You may also remember that in April 2006 Avenue Q scribe Jeff Whitty challenged Leno on his mockery of gay people. Whitty's challenge, in which he wrote Leno a letter which was followed up by a half-hour chat, was picked up by mainstream news outlets.

Well, Whitty got word that Leno was up to his old tricks again, so he's published another letter to the comic on his site, along with a photo of his gayest look, which you can see AFTER THE JUMP...

Tales of the City Musical Looks Broadway-Bound

Back in January I posted that a Tales of the City musical was in the works, driven by Avenue Q scribe Jeff Whitty and Scissor Sister Jake Shears. It appears the project is moving along swiftly:

"Jason Moore ('Avenue Q," "Shrek') will helm the show, which follows the idiosyncratic characters encountered by a young Midwestern woman in 1970s San Francisco. Produced by 'Avenue Q' producers Jeffrey Seller, Robyn Goodman and Kevin McCollum, 'Tales of the City' hopes to hit Broadway during the 2009-10 season. Budget for the developing show has not yet been determined, although creatives and producers expect a large-scale musical that, like the original book, follows the storylines of nearly a dozen major characters. Seller estimated capitalization would cost no less than $10 million. Plot of the musical will focus on the 1978 novel 'Tales of the City,' the first of seven 'Tales' books, with elements from the second novel likely included as well."

Said Whitty: "Even now, it still feels like the future to me. I want the world to get to the place that we were in San Francisco in the 1970s."

previously
Jake Shears Penning Musical Version of Tales of the City [tr]