28 Days of Dance: Day 8 – “Aquarius” from “Hair” (1979)

One of Twyla Tharp’s most widely seen works is the choreography she did for the film version of Hair in 1979. Here’s the opening number from the film, “Aquarius.” Tharp even gets the horses to dance.

Two Plays & A Musical: Coming Soon

We don’t often buy advanced tickets, but we hit some great deals on three gay-themed shows that we’re eager to see. Here’s what is on our itinerary.

• On February 21 we see The Temperamentals. This show ran off Broadway to much critical acclaim in 2009 and is returning in another off Broadway engagement this month. “Temperamental” was code for “homosexual” in the early 1950’s, part of a created language of secret words that gay men used to communicate. The Temperamentals tells the story of two men–the communist Harry Hay and the Viennese refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich–as they fall in love while building the first gay rights organization (The Mattachine Society) in the pre-Stonewall United States. Ugly Betty’s Michael Urie plays Gernreich.
• February 28 it’s off to Yank! This musical, which was born at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival, chronicles the relationship between two World War II servicemen long before “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” existed. With a lively score inspired by the pop sounds of the 1940s, the musical captures the spirit and exuberance of the era as it explores questions of prejudice, courage and survival. Bobby Steggert, who we most recently saw in the revival of Ragtime, leads the cast.
• Then, after a few weeks off, we see Next Fall on March 21. This show focuses on Luke, who believes in God, and Adam, who believes in everything else. They’ve been together for five years when an accident changes everything, Adam must turn to Luke’s family and friends for support… and answers. Next Fall paints a beautiful and funny portrait of modern romance, asking the hard questions about commitment, love and faith.

All signs point to three amazing theatre outings.

Two other gay plays of note, one running now and one coming soon:

• The 1960s classic The Boys in the Band is running off-Broadway and it’s staged in an actual penthouse. This limited run only goes until mid-March and I’m afraid we’re going to end up missing this. I’m hoping this gets extended so we can work it into our schedule.
• Looking out to this fall, the Signature Theatre is staging Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer and Tony winning epic Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. It’s the first New York staging since it’s original Broadway run in the early 90s. Michael Grief will direct. I saw this in San Francisco in 1996 and I’m looking forward to this new staging in September.

Dear John

I’ve been looking forward to Dear John since I saw the trailer last fall. I’m a sucker for a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel since The Notebook and this movie did not let me down.

In the same way that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were perfect in The Notebook, Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried were perfect in this film. The two have excellent chemistry making it easy to fall in love with them. Tatum plays a solider home on leave and Seyfried is a college student home for break when they meet and have a whirlwind two week romance. When they separate, they agree to write and tell each other everything… and that they do.

In theory, he is supposed to be out of the army in a year. But then 9/11 happens and plans fall apart. I’m not going to give out any spoilers here, but I will say that before seeing the movie I had two endings in mind and neither one happened.

Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) has a great supporting role has Tatum’s father. When Jenkins first appeared I thought he’d end up under-used, but it turned out to be a pivotal part of the story and Jenkins makes the most out of his screen time. Henry Thomas (E.T.) shows up as well as a family friend of Seyfried’s.  I didn’t recognize Thomas at all and was surprised to find out it was him during the closing credits.

I was braced to cry at this movie, and that I did. I didn’t expect it to start up so early in the film but I got caught up in the romance and was a goner from there. The only time the movie sputtered a little was when the movie was focused on Tatum’s character in the battlefield. Luckily that only lasted a few minutes before things got back on track.

Sparks has another novel coming to the movies this spring with The Last Song, due out March 31. I have to say I’m not as excited about this one becuase Miley Cyrus stars and I just don’t see her in the role of a Sparks leading lady. The trailers don’t make me feel like I need to rush out and see it. Maybe the reviews will change my mind.

Wizards Lose in OT, RIP Brendan Burke

Before I get into last night’s hockey I need to give condolences to the family of Brendan Burke. I wrote about Burke at Thanksgiving last year. He’d just come out publicly and was doing interviews with his father, the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was an impressive and inspiring coming out story.

Burke died Friday afternoon in a weather-related car accident in Indiana (see the story on Towleroad). To call it sad is an understatement. This 21-year-old had his whole life ahead of him and I suspect he would’ve continued to be a pioneer in eliminating homophobia in sports. I hope his legacy will inspire kids playing sports for years to come, showing that you can be gay and participate in the sport that you love.

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28 Days of Dance: Day 7 – Twyla Tharp’s “Movin’ Out” (2003)

In 2002 Twyla Tharp teamed up with Billy Joel to create Movin’ Out, a dance theater piece that used Joel’s song catalog to create effect. Tharp won a 2003 Tony Award for her choreography. Tharp is back on Broadway next month with Come Fly Away, which will use the music of Frank Sinatra. Here’s a look at the Movin’ Out company at the 2003 Tony Awards.

28 Days of Dance: Day 6 – The LXD (2009)

We’ve looked at some dance greatness from the past and now it’s time for a look at the future. The LXD (or Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) popped on the scene in late 2009 promising an online dance adventure for 2010. They did this mind blowing number on the December 2, 2009 episode of So You Think You Can Dance. I’m looking forward to more from The LXD later this year.

28 Days of Dance: Day 5 – “Sing! Sing! Sing!” from “Fosse” (2001)

In 1998 the revue show Fosse opened at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show featured re-created numbers from Fosse’s movie, television and stage work. We saw the first preview performance on December 26 of that year (it was the first show we saw after we moved here just a few days earlier). The show was captivating. We went back in 2001 to see the show during a time that both Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking were in it and were mesmerized all over again. Here is the amazing “Sing! Sing! Sing!” number, which was originally created for 1978’s Dancin’. This one is so big it takes two clips to show it all.

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28 Days of Dance: Day 4 –Liza Minnelli’s “Bye, Bye Blackbird” (1972)

More Fosse today and this clip from 1972’s Liza with a Z TV concert. “Bye, Bye Blackbird” features even more of the Fosse hand and hip moves. The number also showcases Minnelli and a pinnacle moment in her career. Fosse won an Emmy both his directing and choreography. He and Minnelli shared an Emmy, along with co-producer Fred Ebb, for creating the Outstanding Single Program – Variety and Popular Music for that year.

28 Days of Dance: Day 3 – “My Sister Eileen” with Bob Fosse (1955)

Here is a look at Bob Fosse (credited in this film as Robert Fosse) performing his own choreography in a number from the 1955 film My Sister Eileen. This was the third film he choreographed, but the first that he received on-screen credit for. In this clip you can already see signature Fosse moves in the distinct hand positioning.

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