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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JULY 31, 1998
EVENINGS OUT
A simple love story, seen through the eyes of two boys
by Kaizaad Kotwal Columbus-Sometimes simplicity itself can be a radical notion. How refreshing and radical then, is a piece like Beautiful Thing, written by Jonathan Harvey, which not only has gay love as its main story line, but also dares to present this love through the eyes and hearts of two teenagers.
It is interesting to note, however, that Beautiful Thing is a British import. American drama and cinema has yet to give us an unadulterated gay love story for any age group.
From The Boys in the Band to Angels in America, images of homosexuality in Ameri-
can cinema and theatre have certainly become more multi-dimensional, yet the most prominent themes have centered around homophobia, societal and familial rejection, sex, AIDS, political disenfranchisement and coming out. Even when gay artists, playwrights and filmmakers have given us images from within the community, they have rarely dealt with true love between two men as a central and dominant theme.
It is the work's "simplicity and refreshing nature" that attracted Frank Barnhart to present Beautiful Thing as part of Act Out Theatre's 1998-1999 season. “I loved the story of two young people coming to terms with their sexu-
ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS
Lots of LGBT-friendly shows are up for Emmys
Los Angeles-The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be broadcast live on Sunday, September 13 on NBC, are shaping up to be pretty interesting this year.
The nominees, announced the morning of July 23, included several television programs with recurring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters, among them: ER(Dr. Maggie Doyle), The Larry Sanders Show (Brian), NYPD Blue (Officer Abby Sullivan) and The Simpsons (Waylon Smithers).
Showtime's Armistead Maupin's More Tales of the City was nominated for Outstanding Made for Television TV Movie, and the show about gay life in the '70s also garnered a nomination for Olympia Dukakis for her role as the transgender den mother Anna Madrigal. In another nod to cable television, Angelina Jolie was nominated for her role as a lesbian supermodel in the HBO movie Gia.
Most interesting perhaps, is that in a year remembered for parental advisories, unaired episodes, and, ultimately, cancellation by ABC, Ellen DeGeneres was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Fans in Dayton will be pleased to hear that Emma Thompson was nominated in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Se-
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ries for her very funny role as a closeted lesbian on Ellen.
Since DeGeneres has made no secret about her disappointment over the show being cancelled and labeled "too gay," her acceptance speech, should she win, may provide the most entertaining moments of the evening. Stay tuned...
Jodie's a mom
Los Angeles-Actress Jodie Foster is a mother for the first time.
The Oscar-winning actress gave birth to a boy at 5:53 am on July 20 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, publicist Pat Kingsley said.
Charles Foster weighed 71⁄2 pounds and was 201⁄2 inches long.
"She couldn't be happier. She's happy as a lark," Kingsley said.
Foster, whose sexual orientation has been the subject of much speculation by lesbian fans, is not married and has not revealed the name of the father. She has said she plans to be a single mother. Her movie credits include Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs. The 35-year-old actress returned to her Los Angeles home with her son on Tuesday, July 21.
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ality while they are falling in love with one another," Barnhart said. “It's not titled Beautiful Thing for nothing, because the story and the characters are truly beautiful.”
The movie Beautiful Thing, which was first a play, created a minor sensation and enthralled audiences from coast to coast and all over Europe. The play is almost identical to the film except that, according to Barnhart, "the play has fewer characters and a couple of extra scenes."
The play is a must see for people of all ages, of all sexual identities and of all different social, racial and economic persuasions. For those who have known pure love this play will be a tender and touching reminder of what makes life worth living. For those more cynical, Beautiful Thing shows that innocence is timeless and love is indeed what makes life worth living.
The two young actors who play the teenage lovers, Matt Welsh and Jon Arndt, are both very familiar with the central Ohio area. Arndt recently graduated from Ohio State University, and Welsh, who performed with Columbus Junior Theatre, is pursuing a degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Arndt said that "most gay theatre thus far has been very issue oriented," while Beautiful Thing is "very uplifting and gay positive." All three agree that this play has an appeal that crosses lines of age, gender, social class and even sexual orientation.
"People who fell in love early in life and had a great love by the time they were teenagers will reminisce fondly when they see Matt and Jamie and those that haven't known the ecstasy of adolescent love, will see these two with some envy," Barnhart said.
Arndt and Welsh add that this play has an "appeal to parents as well.” Beautiful Thing tells the story of Ste and Jamie as they deal not
only with the trials and tribulations of universal to all teenagers, but also the vulnerabilities of coming out and falling in love.
Their world is populated with a menagerie of interesting characters, all infused with their own vulnerabilities and strengths. There is Jamie's mother, a single parent who struggles with the bills and her own fragile love life. There is her boyfriend, and there is also a young girl, Leah, who worships and wants to be just like Mama Cass.
Beautiful Thing is not so much British as it is about lower-middle-class working people and their families. What the play and the film do so subtly is smash our expectations of how working-class people are supposed to respond to the issue of homosexuality.
"Many gay, lesbian and bisexual youth come to Columbus from smaller communities that are less affluent," Arndt said, predicting that these people will identify very strongly with the play's message.
Beautiful Thing emerges in this moment in time when there is an unprecedented amount of support available to youth who choose to be true to their identities at an early age. But there are still countless GLBT youth who still struggle and who never find a way out. Beautiful Thing reminds us of how times have indeed changed, but also of how things need to continue to transform for the better.
Act Out will present Beautiful Thing at the Davis Discovery Center, 549 Franklin Avenue in Columbus, a public building which produces mostly children's theatre through the city parks and recreation department.
Shows will be performed at 8:00 p.m. August 7-8, 13-15 and 20-22. The show opens August 6 at 7:30 p.m. and all profits from the opening will benefit BRAVO, the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization. Tickets are $15.00 for all seats. Call 614-263-9448 for reservations and information. ✓
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