Baltimore21201.Com - The Blog

Bebe Neuwirth and Malcolm Gets Headlining in Bucks County Cabaret

Bebe Neuwirth, photo courtesy of Miss Neuwirth

Stage and screen stars Bebe Neuwirth and Malcolm Gets will join forces Saturday, October 13 for BUCKS COUNTY CABARET, a one-night-only concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The evening of Broadway standards and other popular songs will be held at the newly renovated, historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.

Malcom Gets, photo courtesy CelebLists, Inc

Neuwirth is a two-time Emmy Award winner for her role as ‘Lilith’ on “Cheers” and a two-time Tony Award winner for acclaimed performances in Sweet Charity and as the unforgettable ‘Velma Kelly’ in Chicago.

Gets is a Tony Award nominee for Amour, two-time Obie Award winner for Merrily We Roll Along and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and audience favorite for his stand-out performance in HBO’s Grey Gardens and on NBC’s hit comedy “Caroline in the City.”

"Bucks County has a history both as a home of exceptional theatre and as a community offering compassionate support for those affected by HIV/AIDS," said Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. "For seven years, the community has embraced BUCKS COUNTY CABARETand Broadway Cares is honored to have the opportunity to join forces with our friends in Bucks County on what promises to be a spectacularly entertaining evening."

Individual tickets cost $75-$300, with exclusive sponsorship opportunities also available. Tickets can be purchased at broadwaycares.org, by calling 212.840.0770, ext. 268, or at the Bucks County Playhouse box office, 70 South Main Street, New Hope, PA 18938.

The evening will begin with cocktails at 6 pm, followed by the 7 pm performance and live auction inside the playhouse. An exclusive VIP reception with the artists will be held following the performance at The Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm, 5281 York Road, Holicong, PA 18928.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares has raised more than $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares awards annual grants to more than 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide and is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, find them on Facebook at facebook.com/BCEFA or follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/BCEFA.

'A Soldier Dreams' Will Touch Your Heart

Iron Crow Theatre presents the Baltimore Premiere of Canadian playwright, Daniel MacIvor's The Soldier Dreams at Theatre Project.

Paul Wissman (left as David) and Rich Buchanan (right as the
German student) in The Soldier Dreams.
photo by: Katie Ellen Simmons-Barth

Directed by Steven J. Satta-Fleming, The Soldier Dreams features Marsha Becker, Rich Buchanan, Joseph Ritsch, Karin Crighton, Alec Weinberg, Steve Sawicki, Sarah Lynn Taylor and Paul Wissman.

"Daniel MacIvor's writing is spare and elegant, yet rich with powerful poetic images. His sharp observations and wicked sense of humor keep this play earthy, accessible and extremely entertaining. We recognize ourselves in his flawed, jagged characters, who, ultimately, arrive at a kind of rough, believable nobility we can admire," said Director Satta.

The Soldier Dreams is the wickedly funny and deeply moving story of the exuberant and charismatic David. When David falls ill, his family invades the home he shares with his partner Richard. While in a coma, David dreams of his secret life, while family dynamics shift and tilt in surprising ways.

Director Steve Satta. photo: by Katie Ellen Simmons-Barth

Playwright Daniel MacIvor creates a family portrait that examines the effect of death on the living, while paying homage to the loved ones who have left us.

Two of the actors in The Soldier Dreams offer some wonderful insight:

The actor portraying Richard, who is dealing with the the inevitable death of his lover, Joseph Ritsch commented, "The writing in the play is so beautifully simple that it forces the performances to be painfully complex. As an actor in the world of this play, every choice is magnified. There is nothing to hide behind in the text. The challenge as an actor with this play is to trust the text, speak it's simple truths while simultaneously creating a vast emotional journey underneath." 

Paul Wissman who plays David shares, "I love these characters. The first time I read through the script, I thought so much was going on under the surface that I wasn't sure what had happened. It's challenging and fun to find out what's behind the dialogue."

Daniel MacIvor's plays have been labeled everything from postmodern to meta theatrical, but these are cold terms that do nothing to capture the warm, accessible soul of a writer whose honesty and compassion for both audiences and his characters is at the heart of all his work, including 'The Soldier Dreams'. —Variety

The Soldier Dreams is presented by special arrangement with International Creative Management (ICM).

Showtimes:
April 7 - 21
Wednesdays - Saturdays @ 8pm
Sunday, April 15 @ 7pm
Tickets:
General ~ $15
Students/Seniors/Artists/Military ~ $10

Theatre Project
Box Office: 410-752-8558
45 West Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Click here for tickets – after you see the production, send me your review. I'll publish it.

Here's a Little Crossword Puzzle that I've Named 'Deception' in Honor of Sam Arora

If you are in the vicinity of Maryland you probably know that Democratic Del. Sam Arora is being ripped to shreds by his constituents, the GLBT community, and liberals around the world.

He's being attacked on his Facebook page and in dozens of other venues. Here are just a couple of the negative, Facebook rants against the Delegate from Montgomery County. There are hundreds of these, if not a few thousand. 

Here's my personal homage to Sammy:

                     [click to enlarge, print, and solve]

Background on this story is so voluminous, that I won't even summarize—Wikipedia alone has more written about Sam Arora's backtracking on gay marriage in Maryland than it has on any other aspect of the Delegate's entire life. Link.

Matt Arnstine is a junior government and politics major at University of Maryland and he has published a nice, current opinion piece on the news site, DiamondBackOnline.Com - Link.

If there is a major media outlet in the United States that hasn't touched on the Sad Sam Arora story, I'm not aware of it.

BTW, when I post a contest on this blog I usually offer a prize to the winner. The prize for winning this crossword is getting the clown, named Sam Arora, out of office.

[UPDATE] Via NPR:

The Maryland Legislature has passed a law to allow gay marriage by a small, but expected margin.

The state Senate voted 25-22 on Thursday to legalize gay marriage, less than a week after the House of Delegates barely passed the measure.

Maryland will become the eighth state to allow gay marriage when Gov. Martin O'Malley, who sponsored the bill, signs the legislation.

Opponents vow to bring the measure to voters with a referendum. Now that the bill has passed the Senate, organizers can begin collecting the more than 55,000 signatures needed to put it on the ballot.

Ellen DeGeneres Responds to Anti-Gay Group, "One Million Moms"

 

DeGeneres: "My haters are my motivators."

Sarah Ann Hughes at The Washington Post writes: 

In a statement on its Web site, One Million Moms, who have previously objected to Chaz Bono’s inclusion on “DWTS” and Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls ice cream, said, “By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years.”

DeGeneres responded, “Being gay or pro-gay isn’t a bandwagon. You don’t get a free ride anywhere. There’s no music. ... Occasionally we’ll sing ‘We Are Family,’ but that’s about it.”

Kate Clinton Coming to Baltimore. She's Funny. (In every good & positive way.)

                                 Comedian, Kate Cllinton

It seems like Baltimore is finally becoming a Mid-Atlantic center of comedy. I seem to be writing about comedians and comedy venues quite a bit lately.

From Baltimore's Creative Alliance:

Kate Clinton brings her Glee Party Tour to the Patterson this Friday November 18th for two shows, 7pm and 9:30pm. Kate has been doing her unique style of comedy blending lesbianism, catholicism, and politics since 1981.

Here's Clinton's invitation to us to join in the fun:

 

Here's what the Creative Alliance says about Kate's upcoming show,

"Comic, writer, emcee and Gay ambassador to the commentariat, LGBT activist Kate Clinton rolls into Charm City with her 2011 Glee Party Tour, a rolling Restore-to-Sanity rally and celebration of the icon’s 30-year career. Problems are solved in less than an hour! Break into flash mobs of song and dance for no apparent reason! Kate preaches way beyond the choir. If the whole world’s going down, we might as well be gleeful and gay!"

 

What? Comedian Kate Clinton at the Creative Alliance

Where? The Patterson, 3134 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224

When? Friday November 18, 2011, two shows: 7pm & 9:30pm

Cost? $30 for non-members, $25 for members and students. 2 FREE tix w/ArtStar ($125) membership purchase. Recommend calling box office in adv for free tix offer. Valet parking available. 20% discount for members on drinks at Marquee Lounge bar (bring your membership card).

Why?  An icon in LGBT comedy, nuff said.

 

Visit the Creative Alliance website and get your ticket. It's going to be a fun night.

About Kate Clinton:

Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. With a career spanning over 25 years, Kate Clinton has worked through economic booms and busts, Disneyfication and Walmartization, gay movements and gay markets, lesbian chic and queer eyes, and ten presidential inaugurals. She still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime and scoundrel time.