Beautiful People

I said beau-tiful people
You know they're going out tonight to get their Bombay rocks off
Beau-tiful people
They've got a Kerouac conditon, got a cocaine cough
Beau-tiful people
Studio fifty-four is the only place to dance
Beau-tiful people
You know the garden's full of furniture, the house is full of plants

"Beautiful People", Australian Crawl 1979

Rudolph Valentino


Unknown beauty


Sari Maritza


Johnny Weissmuller


Guy Madison

Here's A Curious Fact

In 1975 I really did appear in this. I was 11, had a swarthy fake tan, drawn on mustache, a head kerchief and my big star turn song line was "This little duckie was a naughty little duckie!".

It was mortifying.

I'm A Muscle Fa-an!

A bunch of us headed out to see the latest production of the Rocky Horror Show last night at the Star Theatre, at the Star City Casino here in Sydney. I was feeling a bit flat and unwell, but I soon perked up once we got into the theatre. I'm a huge fan of Rocky Horror and I've seen several versions of the stage show and the movie countless times. (Really, I lost count somewhere after 60 times.) I hadn't been in the Star Theatre before and it's an unusually wide but shallow auditorium, making it ideal for cabaret style shows.

The first pleasant surprise was a roaming bunch of very sexy male and female 'phantoms', climbing over seats, sipping from people's drinks, ruffling hair, sitting in the laps of anyone remotely conservative looking, and even taking a bite from someone's icecream. The 'Transylvanians' from the film (which aren't in the original stage production) have been recast as 'phantoms' in this production, dressed as a sort of goth/vintage burlesque collection of archetypes (sailor boy, goth Lolita, cub scout etc). They serve as chorus, dancers and scene arrangers. One particularly sexy boy with abs of steel, a sailor in white pvc hot pants, saw that Nat & Linda were dressed up for the show in fishnets and boas and came and crawled over the three of us. A nice start to the show!



I'd love to say I 100% loved the show, but I didn't. Let's say 90%. I enjoyed it very much, but I didn't agree with some of the choices the director made. She was probably aiming for a high energy show, which we definately got, but it was also kind of shrill. Everyone's dialogue was pitched at full volume, with some of the female performers climbing the scales to sounds only dogs can hear. What it did was rob the show of light and shade. Even some of the quieter moments, some of the narrator's exposition for example, were declaimed and shouted at full volume. All the cast were miked so it wasn't a question of projection. I had a few of the teeth gritting/sphincter clenching moments that usually only come from shrieking toddlers in supermarkets.

Anyhoo. That was really my only beef with it. iOta, who I saw as Hedwig in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" a bunch of times, was fabulous as Frank-N-Furter. I LOVED this Columbia, who's 'Betty Boop' style New Yoyk accent was a fun addition. Magenta did not work for me at all, even though she was played by a very well respected musical theatre actress. In general the cast were fantastic though, the musical numbers were excellent, and the design was fabulous. I like that they played around with the look of the show without going so far away from it that it lost its feel.



The theatre has come under some criticism for discouraging people to get up and dance and participate, so it does seem like a very well behaved crowd for Rocky Horror. But the encore was a reprise of "The Time Warp" where everyone was encouraged out of their seats, so I got my chance to take that Jump To The Left, closely followed by the Step To The Right after all!

Opera In The Domain

Every year Opera Australia provides a free summertime Opera In The Domain performance for Sydneysiders. This year was Sydney Opera's production of "La Boheme" (here's a synopsis if you're not familiar) with a fantastic cast under the baton of Giovanni Reggioli.

Opera In The Domain is a packed out event, so those in the know usually get there early on Saturday and reserve their spots before the majority of the crowd rolls in. This year a bunch of Sydney knitters got together from lunchtime onwards to sit, knit, chat, drink and then enjoy the Opera. It had looked like it wasn't going to happen earlier in the day, because from Friday afternoon onwards it was grey and rainy. But despite a gloomy start to the day, the clouds cleared and it turned into a beautiful mild night.

Even though it was an overcast afternoon it was also hot and humid, so much of the time we were huddled under whatever shade we could find or make for ourselves. We hung out, entertained some of the passers by who weren't used to seeing people knitting en masse, and then enjoyed a magical night of Opera. Fantastic! I'm definately going again next year.

We were so happy - and you?


The before picture, sitting and knitting (L), later in the day the crowd starts rolling in (R)


David Reidy interviews us for his "Sticks & String" podcast.


Webgoddess & The Snook (L), Roceal, Adam and a ball of Tofutsies sock yarn (R)


Webgoddess, where your stitches at?


Street performers to keep the crowd amused (L) and kicking off with the National Anthem (R)


For an expat American, Webgoddess sure does LOVE the National Anthem


Evening settles over the Opera (L), city skyline (R)

[As always, click the pics to watch them grow!]

Don't Hate Me

This is sort of self congratulatory and bragging (and for that I apologise) but I just need for you to know that Rufus Wainwright was also most excellent last night! In fact, he seemed a bit more relaxed than on Tuesday night and the audience was a bit more revved up. People leapt to their feet a few times, and not just for the standing ovation he received at the end.

Also, you know, I never thought that anyone could make a fluoro lime green satin suit look good, but he managed it.

Oh, and Sam Neill (plus a smattering of local celebs and demi-celebs) was there!

That is all.

Call Her "Miss Wainwright"

Last night Jodie Sorrell and I went to see the lovely Rufus Wainwright in concert at The State Theatre. Jodie had an extra ticket, and in an extremely kind and generous gesture treated me to the concert! I know, right? Score. It was the first time Jodie and I had ever hung out just the two of us, having met previously through a mutual friend, and we had a hoot of a time!

We began in grand style with some public shaming of ourselves. The support act, a young singer/guitarist from Perth calle Leena, was only mildly engaging with her earnest and complicated folksy songs, and was playing to a half empty theatre. Meanwhile most of the crowd (ie: The Gays and a few others) were still sensibly sipping beverage items in the foyer. Jodie and I sat through her first three numbers or so, and were quietly (we thought) getting our snark on. I mean, does anyone really need to re-tune their guitar before every song? Also, there really isn't any reason to chat to your audience about "this thing that I do" when there is a perfectly good word like "performing" that will suffice.

Anyhoo, to my surprise a tightly wound young woman a few rows in front of us (viewing the concert sans friends it should be noted) turned around and told us to leave if we were going to talk through the entire performance. Well, Leena had one fan in the audience at least. The embarassing thing is, she sort of had a point and I have kind of been that tightly wound person in the past. So we repaired to the gothick splendour of the foyer to get our wine on and look at the pretty boys.



So, the main event. Herr Rufus and his lederhosen. (Actually he started in a sparkly patchwork silk suit with sequins, but the lederhosen made an appearance for the second half.) He was fabulous. He certainly knows how to put on a show, and his little quips and anecdotes, and one song dedication to "the pretty Australian surfer boys" (and then a request for phone numbers if any were in the house) just added to the fun of the show. At one point Jodie turned to me and said "Oh, I've never heard him speak before!". Ha ha! Yes, this boy is camp.



Rufus was particularly enamoured of the splendour of the State Theatre, and proved the acoustics by singing a traditional Irish folk song without the aid of the microphones. This boy can sing out, let me tell you. It was a great moment, and you could have heard a pin (brooch?) drop.



Anyone who is going to see the concert tonight STOP READING NOW.

Ok, are they gone?... Good.

The encores were amazing! After a long closing musical interlude, where the band members exited the stage one by one, they all returned in formal suits and with Rufus in a white robe. Something is up I thought. Yup, at the start of song three of the encore he proceeded to sit front and centre stage and slowly clip on some diamante earrings... then on went some lipstick... then some high heels. The lights dipped and then standing before us was Miss Judy Garland, in black stockings, fitted tuxedo jacket and black fedora! He then belted his way through a spirited perfomance of "C'mon, Get Happy!" while the band members did service as back up dancers.

That my friends is entertainment.

I Could Be Tim's Rebound Guy

I had to smile at the revelation that Tim Campbell is gay*. a) Good on him for coming out, b) I pegged it for a fact on episode #1 of his appearance on "Dancing With The Stars" anyway, c) um, wasn't he in "Rent"?, and d) this is like the least surprising news item of 2007.

What's stranger though is the follow up blog item in the same newspaper Can Tim Campbell score as the rebound guy? A post which is canvassing opinion on whether he can score Australian Idol munchkin Anthony Callea on the rebound, given that he's newly single too.

Um, okay.

* Australian actor. Singer. TV soapie star. Theatre performer. Cute strawberry(ish) blonde.

On Busy-ness & Fabulousity

I was so glad to have a quiet night in last night, this week has been so crazy busy it was nice to just kick back on the couch, watch tv and knit.

Re: the knitting. Interesting factoid, Alan Turing the code breaker, maths/computer whiz and 'mo, was a knitter. David Leavitt mentions this in his biographer to show that he was a bit of a social misfit. Suck it Leavitt! Actually, at the time it would have raised more eyebrows than it does these days, but whatever. I'm about 3/4 finished on a blah blah secret project blah blah I'm making as a gift and it is turning out so well I kind of want to squeak every time I look at it.

Anyhoo, I digress. Busy. I started my new position at work on Monday, and I've been flat out getting a handle on it, reorganising the files (or I should say, organising), training a new admin staff member, starting a new billing cycle and blah de blah. Yesterday we had to travel about a half hour each way to another office for a farewell morning tea for one of our guys who is leaving, and then coming back we stopped to get lunch (ok, and a bit of shopping) so I didn't really get started on any significant work until like 1.30pm. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but it was weighing on my mind how much I have to do.

So, another quiet night in tonight is on the cards, just me, So You Think You Can Dance and the knitting. Oh, you may scoff but it sounds fabulous to me. Tomorrow night I'm off to dinner with a big group at one of my favourite Thai restaurants, then a 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party' birthday party on Saturday (I'm buying a purple top hat for the occasion).

The following weekend I'm going to see "The Year of Magical Drinking" with Kiki & Herb at The Studio in The Opera House (Mmm jealous, bitches?). I can't wait. Gender bending cabaret will be the theme of that weekend, because then I'm off to see the divalicious Paul Capsis on the Sunday. I've see Paul Capsis before, and he is a stunning performer. I've only ever heard good things about Kiki & Herb's demented style of gin soaked cabaret, and I really liked Justin Bond's (Kiki) performance in "Shortbus".

How excitement!

Offensive Amazon

Sorry for the lack of posting today, I've been busy as a busy thing at work and this is the first chance I've had to stop and take a moment today. Hate that. I normally love to fill my day with more taking a moment and less work.

Anyhoo. I was consulting The Google a moment ago to see if I could find out some more info about some of the gay actors mentioned in the book I have been reading "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson". (I posted briefly about reading this book in this entry on Friday.) Specifically I was interested in Tom Hatcher, a young man who was a moderately successful client of Henry Willson, but who then broke the mold of Willson's other closetted gay clients by romancing and then living with another man, Broadway and Hollywood writer/director/producer Arthur Laurents. In fact they celebrated 50 years together, before Hatcher died at the age of 77. There isn't a lot of material on Hatcher to be found easily on Google, but in the process I did find a link to a biography by Arthur Laurents, Original Story: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood on Amazon.

Here's where it gets very strange though, take a look at this snippet from the Amazon page:



So I'm reading it, and then I thought WTF? No, I must be seeing things! when I spotted the 'key phrases' for this book:



Oh. My. God.

So I clicked the 'more' link underneath the keywords and discovered that the two first keyword entries in this case are SIPs - Statistically Improbable Phrases. Amazon explains them thusly:

"Amazon.com Statistically Improbable Phrases

Amazon.com's Statistically Improbable Phrases, or "SIPs", are the most distinctive phrases in the text of books in the Search Inside!™ program. To identify SIPs, our computers scan the text of all books in the Search Inside! program. If they find a phrase that occurs a large number of times in a particular book relative to all Search Inside! books, that phrase is a SIP in that book.

SIPs are not necessarily improbable within a particular book, but they are improbable relative to all books in Search Inside!. For example, most SIPs for a book on taxes are tax related. But because we display SIPs in order of their improbability score, the first SIPs will be on tax topics that this book mentions more often than other tax books. For works of fiction, SIPs tend to be distinctive word combinations that often hint at important plot elements.

Click on a SIP to view a list of books in which the phrase occurs. You can also view a list of references to the phrase in each book. Learn more about the phrase by clicking on the A9.com search link.

Have some ideas for improving this feature? Please send your feedback to sitb-feedback@amazon.com"

Wow, those phrases are distinctive alright.

Who's Who

Nathaniel, the super cute force behind the fantastic Film Experience Blog, has celebrated the US "National Coming Out Day" with a post profiling the out directors, producers, writers, actors and actresses of Hollywood.

It's interesting timing, because I'm reading a rather scurrilous (and I have to say, not terribly well written) biography at the moment about the Hollywood agent and talent scout Henry Willson, "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys & Dirty Deals of Henry Willson". (I'll blog about this book once I'm finished reading it.)

Willson had a coterie of gay actors, men who were signed up for their looks, renamed Rock/Tab/Troy/Guy and then taught how to act, walk, talk, cross their legs and even light a cigarette. All to create the beefcake idols of the 40s and 50s. Willson arranged female dates, engagements and even marriages for these guys, all designed to keep them (sometimes without success) out of the scandal rags. Just for being gay.

It's a different world, thankfully.

Life Is A [Insert Word Here]

Cabaret. Of course, old chums.

I love theatre, I love music, and I love a good show tune. So it's no surprise that I love cabaret. A few days ago James O'Brien asked me if I wanted to come along to an evening of cabaret at The Stables Theatre, and I jumped at the chance.

I have a soft spot for The Stables Theatre. It actually is a converted horse stables. Once you climb the stairs from the small downstairs bar and ticket office, you find yourself in a space roughly the size of a large living room, with a small triangular stage and about 6 rows of tiered bench seating on two sides of the triangle. It's a small space, but there's a magic that can happen in that place. You are close enough to almost reach out and touch the performers, and because of the limitations of the space most of the productions are spare in terms of sets and trickery, so what you get is an intimate performance and not a lot of fakery. I've seen some wonderful shows there, the touching gay love story "Holding The Man" and a rollicking and very moving musical called "Only Heaven Knows" just to name two.

Anyhoo. The night was a fundraiser for another production to be staged later in the year. The Stables runs on a shoestring, good will, benefactors, fundraisers and an enthusiastic audience that appreciates this sort of up close and personal, sometimes raw and experimental, sort of theatre. It's so important I think to have a theatre that can stage new local works, which is what The Stables is able to do.

Last night's line up of 22 cabaret artistes performed around 25-26 songs. Some artists like Hayden Tee, Phil Scott and Chloe Dallimore are well known and others like the stunning 17 year old Elanoa Rokabaro are just starting to dazzle new audiences. It was wonderful (yes I can tell I'm gushing). The performers chose songs on the theme of Crime & Passion, so there were standards, original songs and even a hilarious intense version of "Guilty" by Banarama and an operatic "Janey's Got A Gun". A couple of the performances were ok, but most of them were fantastic. One of the theatre events where the dialogue between the performer and the audience creates something really special.

It was the first time I had met James's friend Colin, a retired head of drama from one of the large regional university campuses, and he was an absolute hoot. Hanging out in the laneway outside the theatre with a glass of wine at intermission (traditional at The Stables) I was introduced to a couple of actors and performers from the show. Afterwards we went for a late dinner nearby, and had some more laughs.

It was a great night, and a great reminder how much I love the theatre, darlings.

Congratulations iOTA!

From today's Sydney Morning Herald:

"As predicted, the powerhouse performer iOTA won best male actor in a musical for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He beat Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz, Tony Sheldon in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and David Harris in Miss Saigon."

If you've been hanging around this 'hood for a while, you might recall that I saw iOTA perform as Hedwig once, twice, three times (a lady). To say he was brilliant would be selling it short. He provided me with three of the best nights I've had in a theatre.

So I'm very happy to hear that he received the Helpman Award for best male performance. I haven't seen any of the other performances, but I can't imagine anyone else holding a show on their own with that level of energy and connection with the audience. (Hedwig on stage is almost a fabulous form of hard rock monologue.) The Helpmann Award is quite prestigious in Oz, and seeks to "recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, dance and physical theatre".

Excellence recognised, indeed!

Dominic Cooper

There are lots of good reasons why you should see the film The History Boys. The great ensemble cast. The brilliant Alan Bennett dialogue. Frances de la Tour! (Love, love, love her!)

Here's another inarguable reason, Dominic Cooper:



*le sigh*

Viva La Diva

Quiet please, there's a Diva on stage.



Last night I had the joy of going to The Vanguard in Newtown to see Paul Capsis perform his latest cabaret show. Paul is an amazing performer, and is best known for his unique gift for capturing the vocal stylings and mannerisms of various singers. Less of an impersonation and more 'channeling' as he puts it. His huge vocal range allows him to pay homage to greats that includes Janis Joplin, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf and more. Not only female performers, but it's the disconnect between hearing the sound of Janis Joplin or Edith Piaf spring forth from the body of a slightly build Maltese man that makes his act so startling.

Last night's show was less about his usual channeling and more about Paul up there as himself, trying out some new original material and covering a huge range from gospel to a Kate Bush cover. It was a very entertaining and moving performance, and everything about the show from the wonderfully tight band to Paul's in between song banter and humour added to the performance. Paul was called back for two encores, and the crowd went crazy when he finally announced "I feel someone coming through.... is that you... Janis?" and kicked into a rousing Janis Joplin number.

The Vanguard is a perfect intimate venue for this sort of show, and Mikey (the lovely ex), Steve, Bec and two friends of Steve's and myself had a lovely 3 course meal and a few bottles of wine. Good times y'all.

Soft & White. Clean & Bright. You Look Happy To See Me.

Last night Amy, Kris, Kate, Wing and I went to the Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music.



Like Kris said on her moblog post on her blog, as did just about every gay in Sydney. I ran into some old friends, and saw lots of guys that I recognised from around the traps. Also, who knew that one of the most blatant (and sweet) incidents of cruising I would encounter in recent memory would be standing in the beer queue, in a beautiful old faux-Medieval theatre, whilst waiting to sing along with a bunch of kids dressed in curtains? A cute, short guy with a close trimmed blonde beard and I exchanged three long looks and smiles, but alas despite looking for him again at intermission he was not to be found.

Damn. It.

I guess we'll never get a chance to play The Strict Nazi Telegram Boy & The Teenage Austrian Heiress after all.

I'd been to the show a few years back, and it was just as much fun. From the little showbags full of 'props', to the choreographed responses, to the warm-up and costume contest, it was pretty slick. My dears the crowd was into it. Especially the two ladies (one of which owned the Largest Head & Big Hair In Christendom) sitting front of Kris and I. They were being Maria Von Trapp. It was heaps of fun and I got to hiss at The Baroness, boo the Nazis and let out a loud roar for my favourite line (just before "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"):

"What is it Maria you c*n't face?"

Ah, good times.

What Is That Horrible Noise?

Tonight I'm off to the theatre to belt out a few numbers with Julie in my own unique 'style'. It's a particular and unusual form of singing I specialise in. You know that Kate bush song, the one about the military trying to make a weapon that uses sound to kill? Well, I haven't yet killed anyone with my vocal stylings, but I've possibly robbed a few people of the will to live.

I should come with a disclaimer.

Showing Restraint

It's been days, days and I haven't posted any pics of a certain boy wizard's naked ass. Even though it has gone around the Internetz like wildfire.

Of course, that doesn't mean I can't link to it.

"The Internationally Ignored Song Stylist, Barely Standing Before You"

Tonight I have another date with Mrs Hedwig Robinson, formerly of Communist East Berlin, late of Junction City, USA.

You may recall I saw Hedwig & The Angry Inch on stage last August and it was so good I saw it again just a short while later. iOta is back reprising the same production I saw then, which played an extended season to packed houses. This time around it has been brought back as part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras festival. It seems the only change in the production is the actress playing Yitzhak, as the actress from the original production last year is currently committed elsewhere.

Factoid: iOta lives in my neighbourhood, I ran into him in the supermarket the other day. He was shopping just like a regular person!

So excitement. I can't wait! I almost peed a little bit just then, I'm that excited! There'll be pre-theatre cocktails at Longrain with Mikey (the lovely ex), Bec and Steve, before the fagaliciousness of the main event.

Growing Up Nicely

At risk of seeming to be an old perv, I just spotted this picture compilation of Daniel Radcliffe on the Sydney Morning Herald online edition (photographer not credited, except 'Reuters') and I have to say, considering he's only 17 it would seem that he is growing up to be a handsome young man.



[Update: Oh, I see the above pic on the right is actually a crop.

::clears throat::

Um, the original (below) has, um, some artistic merit, doesn't it? Boy wizard, indeed.]



Anyone got a Valium?

Held

Last night I had one of the most moving theatre experiences I've ever had. Mikey (the lovely ex), Morgan, Steve, Bec and myself went to see the Griffin Theatre adaptation of Tim Conigrave's autobiography Holding The Man.

Matt Zeremes as John (left) & Guy Edmonds as Tim (right)
Picture by Janie Barrett - Sydney Morning Herald

[Spoilers ahead]

I don't want to spoiler it too much for people who haven't read the book (but given that it is mentioned on the book jacket and in everything written about the book and the play, it's not that much of a spoiler I guess) but the story follows the relationship of John and Tim. After meeting and falling in love at High School in 1976, the story follows their 16 year relationship, the good times and the bad, until John dies from AIDS in 1992, followed two years later by Tim himself. The book was written during the years after John's death and published posthumously in 1995. Since then it has had worldwide acclaim, and certainly would rank as one of the most important works of gay literature, and probably one of the best autobiographies, to come out of Australia.

It is an extremely sad and moving story, but ultimately it's a story about love. About human frailty, about mistakes, consequences, guilt, forgiveness and joy. It's also very funny at times, and the production certainly emphassises this aspect as well as the loss. As an historical look back at the early years of the AIDS crisis in Australia it's also a sobering reminder that this disease is still around.

The story, and the play, is told from Tim's point of view. Aside from John, four other actors play all the other characters (about 40 in total I think), sometimes even crossing gender boundaries. The production was spare, but very clever in it's use of sound and even puppets to tell aspects of the story. Interestingly, Tim Conigrave acted and wrote theatrical pieces, and was heavily involved in the Griffin Theatre. So there is a beautiful symmetry to the production being commissioned and staged by Griffin.

The season is a sell out, but it is coming back during the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. I'd certianly recommend it to anyone able to get a ticket, and I also really recommend the book. Have tissues handy.

The Griffin theatre is a perfect venue for a play like this. Tiny and intimate, where you can almost reach out and touch the actors. Where you can see the tears and the smiles close up. Wow. The cast, especially the two young leads, do an amazing job. The two boys are both fantastic, handsome, charismatic and with a genuine chemistry. No actory fakiness in evidence here. When Guy Edmonds as Tim cries it's real tears we see.

It was real tears in the audience as well.

[For more info here are some Wikipedia entries on Tim Conigrave and the book Holding The Man, some production information about the Griffin production, and a fantastic review of the production by The Sydney Morning Herald.]

[Updated: Morgan's has posted his review of the production on his blog also.]