10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE November 12,

eveningsout

Boys in white dresses with blue satin sashes

by Michelle Tomko

Whoopi Goldberg replaces Nathan Lane as Pseudelus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, followed by Rosie O'Donnell taking over Brooke Shields' role of Rizzo in Grease.

But now we have The Sound of Music replacing The Rocky Horror Picture Show as the new cult classic? That's right, Tim Curry fans, Time Warp back a few decades to the 1965 Technicolor hit starring Julie Andrews. At least that is what producer David Johnson is doing at the Prince Charles Cinema near Leicester Square in London.

"The Prince Charles is a 400-seat old porn theater where they would show Caligula a lot," Johnson said. "It's located in sort of the Times Square of London and shows lots of second-run movies" says Johnson.

It's here where Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music plays to sell-out, "decked out" houses that resemble community theatre auditions of Nunsense, complete with nuns of both genders in all shapes, sizes and ages.

The holiday Sound of Music tradition we know in the States usually consists of sitting through an NBC telecast on the couch after the tryptophane from the turkey has kicked in and the pumpkin pie is settling.

However, London's more Halloween-like karaoke version is with subtitles (like we all don't know the words), fans booing the Nazis, and saying "ahhh" every time Gretel appears.

There are also angry queens defending the Baroness against the onslaught of audience hissing every time she appears on the screen and a fancy dress competition at intermission, often judged by famous British gay comedians like Grahm Norton, whom Johnson describes as "sort of a gay Conan O'Brien." When you think about it, this metamorphosis makes Kafka's look like he woke up with a pimple on picture day.

According to the Prince Charles Cinema web site, the last four dress competitions have included five Gretels (the youngest Van Trapp you know, the one with the sore finger), a baroness, nine captains, 12 Kurts (all in lederhosen), six Alpine virgins, two dozen Marias, five girls in white dresses (all

male), and 73 nuns. Sound of Music aficionadoes can now purchase a bag full of a few of their favorite things right at the theatre. The bag includes a foam nun, handkerchief, and a party streamer.

But the interaction does not stop with the singing and costumes. There is also a myriad of wisecracks the audience shouts at the screen. Suffice to say there are not many poignant moments in this version as in the original. When the captain says, "I don't know my children," someone shouts, "They're the kids in the other room!" After the scene in which the Baroness leaves the Captain, you can count on at least one gay man shouting "You see you like her now,” says producer David Johnson. Johnson also adds that the whole experience is like seeing "a musical and a football match."

"The whole idea started at an old folks home where they would show Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and hand out lyric sheets so they could sing along" laughs Johnson. The idea was transferred to the big screen with The Sound of Music at the National Film Theatre during the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

"One of my ex-boyfriends said, 'You would like something like this'." Johnson said.

The screening was so popular he could only get one ticket to go. Afterwards, Johnson, who up until this project only produced serious drama, contacted the management of the Prince Charles Cinema, placed ads in the gay press and a cult classic was born.

"People choose to see a movie like Star Wars twenty times, but The Sound of Music is bred in the bone," Johnson answered when asked about the success of his revival.

He also talked about the first time he saw the film. "My mother took my sister and I, and she [his sister] started crying when the Nazis came out. We had to leave early, so my mother had to bring us back again the following week. And they say homosexuals are born and not made."

At the same time, a revival of the original Sound of Music musical production is taking place on the Great White Way for the first time since it premièred in 1959. In 1998, the Broadway production, directed by Susan H.

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PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?” sing four sisters at the beginning of The Sound of Music.

Schulman and starring Richard Chamberlain, received a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Musical.

This revival made its Cleveland debut November 9. It will have a two week engagement before it heads to the Palace Theatre in Columbus November 23-28.

In the revival, lederhosen off to director Susan H. Schulman and her creative team for putting some life back into this overdone Rodgers and Hammerstein icon.

Although the "Preludium" seems a bit sloppy, Michael Lichtefeld's choreography is racy with a modern edge. Heidi Ettinger's grand von Trapp mansion, serene abbey and red Reich curtains that come crashing down just before "Edelweiss" add drama to the show. Just don't sit on the sides, as the proscenium scrims block some the view. With Catherine Zuber's costume design, even the kids look good when they are wearing the curtains.

Speaking of kids, you won't hear any of these singing "It's a Hard-Knock Life" any time soon. All seven of them leave the sap behind even the littlest one-who in the

Nov. 9 production was not so little, due to understudies being used.

Meg Tolin has an excellent rapport with her leading man and especially with the children, even though,her perkiness is occasionally too much. Richard Chamberlain's lustrous voice and charm make even the biggest dyke in the house wonder. That is until the Baroness walks out. Look out Scully fans, Rachel De Benedet plays her tongue and cheek repartee with Max (Drew Eshelman) with sophisticated grace. Plus, the nuns in this show are ones you would actually have liked to have as teachers in Catholic school.

So when will Sing-along-a Sound of Music come to the states? David Johnson is meeting this week with Rogers and Hammerstein executives to discuss rights. If all goes well, it will be coming to New York.

Johnson is also considering Grease for his next sing-along project. He says if you're going to be in London, e-mail him first to arrange a discount for the show. Johnson insists to those of us who never saw the fulllength, Cinemascope version of the movie on the big screen are really missing out. ✔

on the airoff the press

Ally McBeal kiss is followed by a nasty comment

by John Graves

Two weeks ago on Ally McBeal, Ling and Ally explored their sexuality with what was probably the most passionate same-sex kiss ever seen on network TV.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found it offensive, however, when Ally's sexist law partner Fish made a comment that seeing two women kiss was sexually stimulating while “watching two butt pirates go at it" would kill his sex drive. GLAAD was especially upset because the show's producers had promised to cut that

scene.

Although the "butt pirate" comment stayed, the show's producers did have Ling strongly object by telling Fish that she thought his comment was one of the most “disgusting" and "homophobic" comments she had ever heard.

As to the story line about the kiss itself, I found the build-up was quite believable with the two women slowly becoming aware of the depth of their attraction and then bravely going on a date and bravely dancing together in a very romantic fashion in a straight club. When the kissing scene finally arrived, Ling and Ally kissed each other sweetly and intensely, yet not luridly, several times. I was

very disappointed at first when the two women talked about the kiss the next day and said that although the kiss was sweet, they both made much ado about really needing "a penis" to be fulfilled sexually.

In the final scene the looks the two women gave each other while out on a date with two men gave the definite impression that there may be more of this story line in upcoming shows.

However, given our experience with such story lines in the past-remember Party of Five last season?—I wouldn't hold my breath. This is network TV after all.

the first thing that pops into your head? Why, you think of a whimsical French AIDS musical, of course."

"The translation is very poor and the symbolism is trite," she added. “Directors Oliver Ducastel and Jacques Martineau fail to keep the viewer's attention and their odd camera shots, poor choreography and constant posing of the actors in strange tableaus actually distracts and alienates the audience."

"Tune in if you have nothing else to do," Tomko concludes. "But be prepared to see what would happen if your local high school produced a remake of Singing in the Rain directed by David Lynch."

AIDS musical is as bad as it sounds The Sundance Channel will première Thanks to all the butch dykes Jeanne and the Perfect Guy, 8:00 pm on December 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day.

The story centers around a receptionist named Jeanne who, as the foreshadowing title tells us, meets Olivier, the perfect guy. Unfortunately for our quirky heroine, Olivier has AIDS. Along the way we meet Jeanne's family and her gay, ACT UP activist friend Francois.

Chronicle staffer Michelle Tomko saw an advance tape of the film. She commented: "When you think of World AIDS Day, what's

Look for a credit to "all the butch dykes who auditioned and aided the making of this film" at the end of director Kimberly Peirce's cfitically-acclaimed Boys Don't Cry. The film, now in several Ohio theaters, is a dramatic account of the murder of a young transgender man, Brandon Teena, in a small Nebraska town.

Lavender backers in Virginia?

Rick Wright Jr., a "die-hard Cleveland Browns fan from Manassas, Virginia" who has been predicting the outcome of each Browns game for

USA Today each week, had this to say about the team's victory over New Orleans two weeks ago: "I watched the game with the Browns Backers Club. There was a guy dressed like a woman. He had on the high heels, pantyhose, everything. When they scored, I hugged him and everybody else."

Hmm, could there be a Virginia branch of the 5¢ Decision's Lavender Browns Backers fanclub?

Actor charged with hate crime

USA Today reports actor Wallace Langham, who plays Josh, a character whose sexual orientation remains a constant mystery on Veronica's Closet, was arrested and charged with a hate crime last week for allegedly shouting slurs while kicking and punching a reporter for a gay newspaper in a Hollywood supermarket.

Langham's spokesperson said that the reporter was attempting to extort the actor and had demandd money from Langham before filing charges. ♡

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, a lesbian-gay public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Fridays at 7 pm, and at http://radio.cwru.edu. Dave Haskell, Jim McGrattan and Kim Jones also contribute to this column.