Michael Portantiere's blog

Theater people have always been known for their commitment to progressive causes. This fact was gloriously confirmed on Sunday, May 17 as several out and proud, high-profile actors gathered with their sympathetic straight colleagues and with other activists and New York state and city politicians to rally in support of marriage equality. Check out my pictures of this stirring event, and to find out what you can do to help the cause, visit http://www.broadwayimpact.com/

********************

Out and proud Gavin Creel, a Tony Award nominee for Hair, led the company of that show in a performance of "Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In."

AfterElton fave Cheyenne Jackson also sang his heart out in support of the cause.

Carla Gugino and Pablo Schreiber feel the Desire

Something quite rare has just happened on Broadway: a show that received overwhelmingly negative word-of-mouth during previews has opened to largely rave reviews. I'm referring to the new production of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms that has transferred to NYC from the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

From all reports, director Robert Falls has cut a great deal of O'Neill's laughably turgid dialogue and ramped up the sex in this neo-Greek tragedy about a rigid old man who makes the huge mistake of bringing his new wife — a beautiful, much younger woman — to live with him on his New England farm, where she almost immediately falls in lust with one of his sons.  Sexing up the story seems a wise move, especially since Falls is lucky enough to have cast the breathtakingly gorgeous Carla Gugino (Watchmen, Sin City) and the incredibly hunky, ripped, chiseled Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, brother to Liev) as the illicit lovers.

I haven't yet seen the show, so I'll have to report back and let you know who's crazy — the major critics, or everyone else. But in the meantime, I thought AfterElton.com's readers might like to see Liz Lauren's fabulous production photos of Gugino, Schreiber, and their co-star Brian Dennehy. Enjoy!

Charles Busch, Whoopi Goldberg, and John Epperson in Legends (Photo: Timothy White)

At the time, it seemed like a fabulous idea: Write a play about two arch-rival, middle-aged actresses who are approached by a young and hungry producer to work together on a project that will hopefully revitalize their faded careers, then enlist two real-life stage icons to star in it. The play was Legends, the author was James Kirkwood (who had co-written the book for A Chorus Line), and the stars were Carol Channing and Mary Martin.

But though this seemingly sure-fire show played a year-long pre-Broadway tour in 1986, it never made it into New York, falling victim to the awfulness of the script and myriad other problems.

Today, the original production of Legends is remembered primarily due to Diary of a Mad Playwright, Kirkwood’s book about the fiasco. In a “history repeats itself” scenario, a 2007 touring revival of the play with Joan Collins and Linda Evans also closed before reaching Broadway, and the backstage conflict between the stars — or, at least, one version of it! — was detailed by Collins in London’s Daily Mail.

If you were to pick up a copy of Legends and read it today, your first reaction might well be, “The only way this thing could work would be if two drag queens played the leads.” That hypothesis will be tested  in a very high-profile way on Monday, March 23 at 8pm, when the super-talented John Epperson (a.k.a. “Lypsinka”) and Charles Busch co-star as Leatrice Monsee and Sylvia Glenn in a one-night only staged reading of Epperson’s adaptation of Legends at The Town Hall. A benefit for Friends in Deed, the show will also feature Bryan Batt of TV’s Mad Men in the role of the producer and the amazing Whoopi Goldberg as Sylvia’s maid, Aretha. (For more information or to order tickets, visit their website.)

I recently spoke with Epperson about this hotly anticipated event.

Malcolm Gets in The Story of My Life (Photo: Aaron Epstein)

Although Malcolm Gets didn’t “come out” to the press until the late ’90s, that still earns him an honored place among the vanguard of actors who have chosen to be up-front about being gay. Best known for his portrayal of Richard Karinsky on the sitcom Caroline in the City, Gets is also a composer, classically trained pianist, vocal director, dancer, choreographer, and teacher. You may have seen him as one of the leads in the gay cult film Adam and Steve and, more recently, in the movie version of Sex and the City. His next big screen assignment: the colorful role of George Gould Strong in Grey Gardens, starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, set for release in April.

Malcolm has appeared on Broadway in The Moliere Comedies (1995) and the lovely but short-lived Michel Legrand musical Amour (2002). Now he’s back, co-starring with Will Chase in The Story of My Life, a two-character musical about a deep, long-lasting, non-romantic friendship between two men.

Like many other performers in his position, Malcolm recognizes both the plusses and the pitfalls of being out and proud; in an interview a while back, he observed that “Once you talk about it on the public record, then you run the risk of, for the rest of your life, being labeled as 'out gay actor Malcolm Gets.’” He and I recently discussed this subject in his dressing room at the Booth Theatre, where The Story of My Life is playing.

Jeremy Piven in Speed-the-Plow (Photo: Brigitte Lacombe) 

It’s been weeks since Jeremy Piven abruptly left the cast of the current Broadway revival of David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, but the media are still having a field day with the weird story of his departure. Recently, a Saturday Night Live sketch razzed Piven (best known as the star of TV's Entourage) for exiting the production without notice because, according to his doctor, he had been sickened by an elevated level of mercury in his bloodstream. Even more recently, Piven attempted to explain and justify his abrupt leave-taking in an appearance on Good Morning America.

Observers have been quick to question his stated reason for bolting, especially in light of reports that (1) he had been spotted doing quite a lot of late-night partying in the days and weeks leading up to his exit; and (2) he had taken the unheard-of step of personally making phone calls to try and find another actor to replace him in the role of movie producer Bobby Gould, apparently because he did not enjoy the experience of performing Speed-the-Plow eight times a week on Broadway. (I know; life is tough!)

For more on this brouhaha, plus examples of other stars who have had trouble keeping to a theater schedule, read on! 

Brian d'Arcy James, Daniel Breaker, and Sutton Foster in Shrek (Photo: Joan Marcus) 

If you're a gay parent or uncle and you want to take in a new (or newish) Broadway show that will entertain the kids without boring you to tears, your options are limited. Disney's The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins are huge disappointments, and the recently opened White Christmas is, as a friend of mine would say, from hunger.

But there's good news! Despite some minor flaws, Shrek the Musical is a delight. Based primarily on the first in the series of three animated films that proved to be blockbusters for Dreamworks, this stage version — with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, and music by Jeanine Tesori — is so hilarious and warm-hearted that it's pretty much guaranted to please audience members from 8 to 80, and offers gay audiences plenty to enjoy.

Read on for a full report!

Liza Minnelli (Photo:Eric Antoniou)

It's very difficult to review a Liza Minnelli show. The highs and lows of this amazing performer's personal and professional life are so well known, and her appeal to her audience is based so much on emotion, that any sort of "objective" critique of her performance is impossible.  Also, the woman's body has been through so much in terms of illness and substance abuse that, at this point in her career, the condition of her singing voice can vary widely from one appearance to the next.  

That said, let me tell you that Minnelli is scoring a triumph in her current show at the Palace Theater. Looking fabulous, and singing and dancing better than anyone would expect after all the physical challenges she has faced, 62-year-old Liza tears up the stage of the legendary theater. On opening night, her unique brand of showmanship was rapturously greeted by an audience that included such notables as Shirley MacLaine, Tommy Tune, Elaine Stritch, Christine Ebersole, Linda Lavin, John Kander, and Rex Reed.

Read on for more about Liza's at the Palace and the opening of a Christmas classic on Broadway!

John Lavelle and Christina Pumariega in Catch-22 (Photo: Richard Termine) 

Full-frontal nudity in the theater is more prevalent than ever, and it's clear that having naked or near-naked actors in your show can really help sell tickets, as I pointed out in a recent feature. But there has been so much nudity in so many shows over the past few decades that some producers and directors apparently feel more is required to get a rise out of the audience.

To wit, graphically simulated sex acts have been seen in productions ranging from low-profile fare to last year's Tony Award winner for Best Musical. Within the space of a few days recently, I saw three Off-Broadway shows in which sex between men and women -- and, and in one case, between two men -- was so realistically simulated that I might as well have been watching a soft-core porno flick. For all the juicy details, read on...

Haley Joel Osment and John Leguizamo in American Buffalo (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

In this edition of Blogging Broadway, we review the starry revival of American Buffalo, The Public Theater production of the new/old Stephen Sondheim musical Road Show, and a terrifically sexy and violent interpretation of Macbeth.

Read on, Macduff!

 
David Alvarez in Billy Elliot (Photo by David Scheinmann)

Here are reviews of two new productions you won't want to miss: the highly-anticipated Billy Elliot musical, fresh from London; and the gripping Off-Broadway revival of the groundbreaking gays-in-the-military drama Streamers. Read on!