From the Interwebs

 

Gay of A Certain Age - Everybody's Talking About Danny

I just wartched the 

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE

on the Amazon Prime.

It's a movie version of the West End hit stage musical

of the same name.

First, I enjoyed it very much.

It was interesting to me that,

when I was growing up 

the gay movies were all about the torture of being gay

and finally coming out.

...that and everygay dying of the AIDS.

Now, the kids these days get to see

the gay kids openly gay, but still dealing with the same stuff

or a slightly different version  of it.

In this story,

the openly gay kid

must deal with the trauma of wanting to be a drag queen.

I'm pleased that there is mention of the generations of previous gays

whose struggles make it easier for today's young gays

to be open and out.

As a matter of fact, 

Richard E. Grant, 

was my favorite actor/character in the movie.

Anywho, 

while the main character, 

I think his name is, Jaime,

is having the familiar struggles with his father,

it's refreshing to see him have a very loving and supportive mother,

who accepts her son for who he is 

and encourages him to be who he wants to be.

She even buys him a pair of  glittery red heels to do it in!

This is realistic, 

because it is totally based on a real mother and son.

Lovely!

It's also realistic because I have my own very own

loving and supportive mother.

I'll call her "Patty",

because her name is Patricia.

Of course, because it is a theatrical story 

and there needs to be crisis to overcome,

Jamie has a moment when he gets very angry with his mother

and says some very awful things to her.

...Even though she bought him some lovely shoes!

I think back to my time with my Ma,

and while I'm sure there were many times that 
I took her for granted,

was snotty to her,

or just didn't appreciate

how difficult it must have been to raise four kids on her own,

sometimes working two jobs

and not having much time for herself,

I NEVER said anything intentionally hurtful to her!

It was at this point

that I decided I hated Jamie.

Of course, as they do,

things worked out and Jamie

finally appreciated how lucky he was to have the mother that he does

and they share a wonderful moment

when he finally gets to be a drag queen,

The End!

This reminded me of my mom and me.
Even though it wasn't my life long dream to be a drag queen,

I have always known I wanted to be a performer

and be on stage.

I am fortunate to have performed

on stage

in front of an audience

every year, since I was in high school.

(For 18 years, it's happen to be mostly in drag)

There are many times when my mother could not make it to my performances

in high school & college.

I am happy to say that she has been to L.A.

and seen me in CHICO'S ANGELS

a few times,

but the moment the Jamie movie reminded me of most

was at the 

Best In Drag Show 2018!

It was a fundraiser for

Alliance For Housing and Healing, as well as for Aid for AIDS.

It was a pageant

that we prepared for for 6 months

had very little rehearsal 

and went up in a huge theatre

(The gorgeous Orpheum)

full of over 2,000 people.

It was very exciting.

Here's a picture of me

for my talent portion 

with my talent partner Duke.

I chose this picture because it is colorful, fun

and Duke is shirtless.


Anyway,

the show went very well

and I had a lot of support from the audience,

so my Ma got to experience some applause and hooting for her son

throughout the night.

Luckily, I won!

It was a grand experience, 

to be sure,

but the best part was seeing how 

happy and proud my Ma was.

I'm pretty sure she wasn't so excited just because I was in drag,

it was because, 
while she was working so hard to support her kids

and I was spending my time in school plays

and drama tournaments,

then, majoring in theatre in college,

instead of something "more practical",

she got to experience the excitement and energy

of a huge theatre full of people

cheering her son on,

and enjoying the silly things he was doing on stage

in a dress
(6 dresses actually).

And to top it off,

her son helped to raise over half a million dollars

for worthy causes.

That's something to be proud of!

So, as if winning the pageant

wasn't enough of a spiritual boost,

seeing that smile on my Ma's face

showed me I hadn't wasted my time 

in high school & college.

(I'm taking this very moment to apologize to my Ma,

who for some reason, made it to see me in 

the worst production, high school or otherwise,

of  MAN OF LA MANCHA.  
It was just AWFUL and I cry when I think she spent all day at work,

then, probably skipped dinner,

to get to the high school auditorium in time.
I only hope she slept through it.)

So, congratulations to the real life Jamie!

As a Gay of A Certain Age, I know how important

and fortunate it is to have a wonderful,

loving and supportive mother!

My Ma came to visit recently,

and we shared a wonderful drag moment

by having a fabulous impromptu Kaftan fashion shoot

by the pool.

"It's Called Fashion Look It Up"

Apparently the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree!

If you want to know more about my 
BEST IN DRAG SHOW journey,

you can read about it
HERE

Too Busy For Love: Hot Dogs and Power Bottoms

 Of course I'd love to come over
and help you figure out the
net carbs of root vegetables

when covered in lube,

but I'm too busy!

One of the things I've been very busy with

is putting on a dress

and hosting 

Mario Diaz's club

HOT DOG

at El Cid on Sunset.

(me & GoGoZaddy)

Every Sunday night,

(my night was July 18)

Mario has his hunky crew

come out in their Sunday least

(Stolen from the Hot Dog Sundays Instagram)

to dance,

while the hostess greets folk

and helps them select a cup color.

As you can see on my night the code was;

Pink cup for Fem Tops

Blue cup for Power Bottoms

Red cup for those Down To Fuck

and 

Black cup for those Dead Inside

Half the fun of hostessing 

is helping people figure out which cup they want...

some of them honestly don't know,

but there are those guys you know want the blue cup, but are shy...

so one tries to nudge them to be themselves and advertise their

Venus Flytrap Holes.

This week a new code was introduced

and it looks like my very own blog has received a tribute

by way of the Black cup!

It may be a coincidence, but I'll take it!

(Stolen from the Hot Dog Facebook Page)

All said,

it's a fun night of hot men,

delicious drinks

and a lovely patio setting.

Did I mention that

 my view from the hostess stand

was none too bad?

I hope Mario has Frieda back soon,

and that she is welcome back with open arms.

...like these

But you don't have to wait for Frieda!
Hot Dog is every Sunday night from 4pm-2am!

Save time and get your tix now

So while I'd love to test your

greasy tuber,

I can't, I'm too busy!!

Too Busy For Love - Blood Camping It Up

 Of course, I would love to come over and help you sort your

WHITE LOTUS Trading Cards, 

but I'm too busy!

You see, during the Covid Lockdown,

Kurt Koehler and I 

Zoomed and wrote

a show for Frieda Laye!

After stuff started opening up again, 

we put together a cast

and rehearsed.

(Yes, that's Julie Brown!)

Then, on August 6th

(Just one week short of hitting the acutual Friday the 13th)

We opened the show!

(Yes, Reba Areba is in the cast, too!)

By the time we opened,

Covid stuff was changing again,

and the audience had to agree to wear facemasks 

and show proof of vaccination.

Luckily, most people complied and we only had to refund 

a few tickets to those who didn't want to vax.

Why, here are some of those audience members, now...

Drew Droege

Cher Ferreyra

Natalie Lander

Tom Goss

Ken Kleiber

Alejandro Patino

As you can see from these last few pics, 

our Sunday shows were so hot,

I couldn't get my eyelashes to stick

for an entire show!

All of our shows Sold Out 

and we had a fabulous time!

 With this cast, how could we not?

Dustyn Gulledge, Jenna Perusich, Hayes Dunlap
Julie Brown, Craig Taggart

Lennon Hobson, Kalan Tauck, Frieda Laye (me)

Most of all, 

I feel very lucky to work with 

one of my favorite people and performers,

Julie Brown!

I've loved her since the 80's
and now, I get to play with her on stage!

So here's me and Kurt,
smiling because we had a blast!

We had so much of a blast, 

we're doing it, again!!

October 15-24

Friday-Sunday

Tickets at Cavern Club Celebrity Theater

Remember, you gotta show proof of vaccination to enter!

So, while I'd love to help you laminate your

 Jake Lacy "Shirtless in the Pineapple Suite" cards,

I can't!  I'm too busy!