NOW FOR THIS I DESERVE HAZARD PAY!
AfterElton.com reader JBE wanted to know if I get hazard pay for watching shows like Survivor. Trust me, watching Survivor is a picnic compared to some of the dreck I have to watch. And by dreck, I usually mean anything on VH1.

While not as bad I Love New York — shudder — their new "reality" show America's Most Smartest Model certainly does nothing to elevate the network above their "throw-s**t-at-the-screen-and-see-what-sticks" programming. And the only reason I'm watching it is because of Jesse Lewis since A) there just aren't that many male bisexuals on TV and B) especially not many gay or bisexual men of color at all.

Brian recapped the first episode here, so I'll just add the only pleasure I got out of watching the show was seeing that intellectual and Nixon apologist Ben Stein of Win Ben Stein's Money and Ferris Bueller's Day Off has sunk to such ignoble depths as co-hosting a VH1 show (which, I believe rates the fourth level of Dante's Hell).

Why am I glad to see Stein sunk so low?

Perhaps this excerpt from a recent article Stein wrote will explain my animosity. During the Mark Foley scandal last year, Stein, a conservative, had this to say about the Democratic party and gay men:

"...and an entire party, the Democrats, whose primary constituency, besides the teacher's union, is homosexual men and lesbian women. I hope it won't come as a surprise to anyone that a big part of male homosexual behavior is interest in young boys. (Take a look at anyone renting Endless Summer next time you are at the video store."

That's right, readers: according to Stein, if you're a gay man, you're especially interested in young boys. Eww... Anyone else interested in suing Stein for defamation? He then goes on to trot out tried-and-true cover for bigotry, the "some of my best friends are INSERT MINORITY HERE" card. I can't imagine what gay person would be friends with someone who holds such beliefs.

But I'm not upset since every week for the next two months or so I get to watch Stein making an ass out of himself by flirting with Mandy Lynn, someone young enough to be his granddaughter. And he implies gay men are creepy!

WHAT ARE A TOWN IN WYOMING, A LUBRICANT, AND A FANCY HOTEL?
Cheyenne Jackson fans were relieved by the news that the Tony Powers That Be have deemed the actor Tony-eligible for his lead role in the Broadway musical Xanadu. Seems there was a question about Cheyenne's eligibility since his name wasn't listed in the program's opening night credits (as well as worry he'd split votes with Tony Roberts who was thusly demoted to "featured" actor). If you cast your mind back to this summer, you'll recollect that Cheyenne stepped in at the last minute to bail out the production after the original Sonny (James Carpinello) broke his ankle. This is good news for Cheyenne but I'm suddenly wondering where Tonya Harding was when James got hurt.

The cast album for the new Broadway version of Grease landed in my inbox this week and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. This is the show that was cast via a reality show on NBC and you can kinda tell. I simply wasn't impressed by the rather bland voices of either Max Crumm or Laura Osnes and the opening track "Grease" felt like it had been "Rent-ized" to make it more hip. And, frankly, it was the best song.

Finally, Terrence McNally's 1975 hit The Ritz has been revived at The Roundabout Theater in New York and according to our review the resuscitation was successful. The original starred Rita Moreno, Jack Weston, F. Murray Abraham, and Jerry Stiller as the denizens of a New York bathhouse who get caught up in a comedy of errors with the mob. (All the actors also starred in the film version). Joe Mantello directs the revival while Rosie Perez, Seth Rudetsky, and Kevin Chamberlin lead the spot-on casting.