August 27, 2004 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
eveningsout
The gay Jackie Mason?
MODERN ARTISTS
"Why can't you be more like Jackie Mason?" gay comedian Jason Stuart says his father asks him.
The question is, perhaps, an odd one, considering that Stuart is to LGBT audiences
Outin Akron
2004
Saturday September 4th
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& 70's Disco Dance 12 Noon to 6 P.M. $5 Includes Hot Dog & Soft Drink Additional Hot Dog & Soft Drink $1
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what Mason is to Jewish ones. He presents an unadulterated look at queer lives The Helen Welch Quintet $15 in advance, limited seating, Outstanding Buffet Menu
unapologetically, frankly, and with a signature wit that is getting the comedian more and more roles as time goes on.
His independent romantic comedy 10 Attitudes will be released on DVD November 23, and he is a regular on prime-time television. This fall, he will have a guest appearance on Fox's new hospital drama House, and he has recently completed Ghosts Never Sleep with Faye Dunaway, Tony Goldwyn and Sean Young.
Despite his filming schedule, Stuart still finds time to tour the comedy club circuit. He will have two runs in Ohio in September. From Thursday to Sunday, September 9 to 12, he will be in Cleveland at the Improv in the Powerhouse on the West Bank of the Flats. Then, from Tuesday to Sunday, September 14 to 19, he will be at the Funny Bone Comedy Club at Easton Center in Columbus.
Reservations and directions to the Cleveland shows are available by calling 216696-7723; for the Columbus shows, call 614-471-5653. For more information about Jason Stuart and the scads of guest appearances he's been making on television, log onto www.jasonstuart.com.
k.d.lang
Continued from facing page
wave...
... My position was just to be steady and try to have as much elegance and grace as possible, while never shying away from the gay question. I knew people would get used to the fact that I'm gay and there'd be no weirdness about it, and that eventually the focus would be back on the music."
It can't have hurt that lang has largely managed to keep her personal life, well, personal. That's not by design, she says. She's just not one to seek out the limelight when she's not onstage.
"You know, I have always been kind of quiet," says the singer. "For me, a really good time is, say, walking through back alleys in a city I don't know, just by myself. Or going to the beach with my dogs. I'm low-key. I'm happy going to the farmer's market and picking up organic stuff for dinner. That's a good night for me."
House and hearth aside, lang is still also very much at home onstage. And it's heartening each time she looks out into the audience and connects with her ever-widening fan
-Anthony Glassman
and Kaizaad Kotwal
base. Over the last decade, she has managed to broaden her audience in a way that most artists of her generation only dream of. These days, a k.d. lang concert is likely to be full of those who love the star's pop offerings (on discs like Ingenue, All You Can Eat and Invincible Summer) as well as die-hard country fans from her Shadowland days, and maybe even their parents, who dig her take on the standards. And lang couldn't be more pleased.
"The Tony Bennett record definitely expanded my audience,” lang enthuses. “Plus, the fact that I'm getting older has changed that, too. And the more relaxed people are with the lesbian issue, the wider my audience gets. It's always been my aspiration to have really dynamic audiences, so that it's completely diverse and all over the place, because that's how I think of my music."
""
As a performer who's segued from a gay community favorite to that of a mainstream star-and who's sure to reach more fans with her new disc-she's grateful for all who take the time to listen. "It's really been wonderful to look out at my shows and see hardcore dykes sitting beside an old [straight] couple," laughs lang. "That makes me really happy."
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