Windy City Performing Arts Winter Concert, A Rich and Wonderful Program

In three shows filled with heart, talent, and irrepressible mischief, the Windy City Gay Men's Chorus and Aria performed this weekend at Chicago's Senn Campus, and gave their richest, funniest, most emotional holiday show yet.  There was an eclectic mix of musical styles, several show-stopping solos, some alarmingly good showcases of individual talent, a "hot" brass-and-percussion ensemble, and a visit from a besotted special guest, whose martini-fueled, train-wreck of a number redefined raucous hilarity, and may have been the last word in drag (until, perhaps, March).


This year's program, titled "Sassy! Brassy! and Classy!", left audiences as fully satisfied as at a banquet, offering familiar dishes and exotic delicacies, spiced with effervescent staging, and topped off with sweet harmonies and strong vocal mixtures.  Director Stephen Edwards fashioned a wonderful show which, in spite of the  challenges and rigors of rehearsals, the choirs delivered nicely.

Another thing...I felt entirely safe in the comfortable surroundings of Senn Auditorium.  Mark was there all weekend, and the stage was filled with all of my friends who worked so hard to entertain us, with so much wonderful music beautifully performed.  I knew the same warmth I used to know looking at the lit-up tree in my boyhood living room, with all the other lights off, and the promise of good things...

The combined chorus kicked off with "Spirit of the Season" from "Polar Express", a lively number that  raised the house energy level, and set a tone of expectation for both the traditional and the contemporary.

The men moved right into "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", a perennial classic (that we  break into occasionally when the pressures of the season become insane!)  The men's first set concluded with a beautifully harmonized, hushed version of "White Christmas", a song filled with nostalgia and hope, and still one one of the finest Oscar-winning songs ever. 


Aria took back the stage for a jazzy rendition of "The Holiday Season", at one point vocalizing without words in an amusing "ta-tee-ta" chorus.  Kay Thompson, a well-known actress, arranger, and godmother to Liza Minnelli, wrote this tune in 1963.

"Silent Night" always casts a breathless hush on an audience.  This version is one of the most exquisite I have yet heard.  Stephanie Dykes started with a strong baritone solo in German, with the combined chorus fading in for a melancholy rendition of the song.  Stephanie came back for a brief solo interlude, taking the song into a different key, before the chorus built in volume to a thrilling climax, at which it was impossible not to be moved.


The women lightened things up again with "The Holly and the Ivy" done in a calypso kind of beat, with great piano accompaniment and a fine solo by Valerie Silk Kremenak.


Then things got out of hand--in a great way.




Stephen breathlessly announced the appearance of a special guest!  While the chorus donned hats and grabbed their fur-lined music books in order to provide background vocals for this special soloist, we learned that the singer was none other than Mrs. Santa. 


In white silk elbow-length gloves, silver wig with a ridiculously small hat perched on top of his head, and a silky and flattering dress, Bill Howes, as Mrs. Santa, was wheeled out on a chaise lounge by two shirtless minions (Bill Marsland and Jason Spoor) sporting leather harnesses and hats, sucking on tootsie pops, and bringing continuous martinis to the hapless diva. 

The chorus followed their music gamely, while Mrs. Santa launched into an off-key riff that got appreciative howls of laughter from in-the-know audience members.  "O Holy Night" segued hysterically into everything from "Deck the Halls" to a wild-west version of "Sleigh Ride"; from a confused mix of "Frosty" and "Rudolph" to "Over the Rainbow"; from "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"; to Mozart's "Magic Flute", returning finally to "O Holy Night", before she was wheeled offstage. 


Howes tottered around the stage, goosing Director Edwards (who grabbed a drink himself), able to go from sublime to profane in one alcohol-riddled breath.  A singer has to be really talented to fashion a number so hilariously off-key and well-timed, and Howes really put on a show.  Even Michael Roberts, the Sign Language Interpreter,  seemed to be at a loss, remaining quietly hilarious, frantic to get it all spelled out. 

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It was hard to top this, but the follow-up was terrific.  The brass section, with wordless vocalizations from Aria, performed a song I remember hearing a lot as a kid, but had almost forgotten, called "Bugler's Holiday".  (I was so happy to reconnect to this song--I felt like the guy in "Amelie" who has his long-lost treasure box returned to him; I had been trying so long to recall the name of this tune. ) I don't think it's strictly a holiday number, but it is appropriately bubbly with a great brass sound.  (Listen to a version of it here). 


The instrumentalists followed with an interlude of their own, "Sleigh Ride", which is more well-known.  Both this and "Bugler's Holiday" (above) were written by American composer Leroy Anderson, described by Oscar-winning composer John Williams  as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."


Aria's next, a Hanukkah Song called "We Are Lights" featured lovely solos from Anna Rose Li-Epstein and Katya Lysander, and incorporated a candle-lighting during the number. 

And, to finish the first half of the show, the chorus was led by soloist Libby Lane, who effectively belted "Judah and his Maccabees", a musical bible story of the origin of Hanukkah.  This number requires a strong, vibrant alto, and Lane gave an awesome and animated interpretation of the song. (Here's a version from the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, lead by Karen Hart, who wrote the song.)

Act Two was more emotional, more spiritual and even more amazing.  The Men's Chorus offered a quiet and powerful version of "Ave Dulcissima Maria", performed acapella with only a single bell as a regular punctuation, like a Gregorian chant.  This was rumored to be a troublesome, complex number for the singers, but from where I sat, it sounded perfect.  The piece was written in 2004 by Morten Lauridsen originally for the Harvard Glee Club. (Listen to Polyphony's version here).  Michael Vince, Ryan Johnson, and Anton Naess lent their beautiful voices in solos.


Aria came back for a suite of spiritual numbers, beginning with "December" in which the group's delicate voices perfectly captured the awesome solitude of a late winter afternoon, when the sky is all blue and pink from the setting sun.  The chilling soprano solos of Kim Duncan, Rafael Ramos, Beth Bellinger and Meghan Bennett gave the song a haunting quality.  "Hodie Christus Natus Est", "Gloria", and "Alleluia (from Songs of Faith)" recalled for me the brassy religious influence of the film scores of Miklos Rosza or the medieval beauty of "The Lion in Winter".  Paul Basler, who wrote "Hodie..." and "Songs of Faith", was pleased with the arrangement, as seen on YouTube!

Finally, "Pictures of a Season", a suite so wonderfully done that it almost requires its own post. I'll try to do it justice in summary.


"Pictures of a Season" was a set of familiar holiday compositions, arranged in such a way as to provide a depth of meaning, an emotional journey.

Starting with a plaintive phrase from "Do You Hear What I Hear?", which served as a refrain for the whole number, the brass and harp were effectively woven in between. There was a rousing version of "Born in Bethlehem", done as a 4-part round with hand-claps that got the crowd moving. Bobby Owens came in for a brief solo refrain of "Do You Hear", followed by another exciting number, "I Am The Lord of the Dance", fronted by lighthearted solos from Ray Lesniewski and Dan Craig. 

Before the climax of the choral piece, there was perhaps the most amazing solo work of all.  Madelyn Tan-Cohen, the always-reliable piano accompanist, was given the spotlight, and transfixed the crowd as she moved effortlessly across the entire keyboard and back again for a thunderous, delicate, amazing musical interlude.  Influences of Wyndham Hill and Debussy, hints of "Carol of the Bells", "Away in a Manger",  a bluesy version of "We Three Kings", and segments of "Noel" "Gloria in Excelsis", combined for a seamless rhapsody.  Madelyn, who quietly provides such great support for the vocals, here proved a tremendous talent in her own right. She received a well-deserved cheer from the crowd.

Finally, the chorus brought it all home, as the suite built in intensity to the full "Do You Hear", with full orchestral accompaniment and the entire choir giving it everything they had, to thunderous applause.



I hope this recounting of this very special concert will serve as a record of an event for some, a tribute to others, and an introduction to this special group to everyone else. 

In the coming weeks, I'll return to the personal stories of many of the members, the preparation for the March Broadway fund-raiser, and the road to the Gala Festival in Denver in July!  Stay tuned...

It's Concert Time, Coming Soon... And Quiet Time To Myself, Tonight

Tonight is the final rehearsal for the 2011 Holiday Concert performed by the Windy City Gay Chorus and Aria!

With 2 shows on Saturday, December 3 and one matinee on Sunday, December 4, the auditorium of Senn High School in Chicago's Roger's Park will be ringing with traditional beauty and camp humor.

Since September, I have heard Mark repeatedly rehearse the second tenors' portion of the concert. Now, I will finally have a chance to hear it all put together.  Also, the concert promises some visual treats, and a special appearance by "Mrs. Santa Claus".

Aside from the fact that I am somewhat biased by Mark's performing in the group, I have enjoyed every single program I have attended since June of 2010.  Once again, I look forward to being moved, surprised, and amused.  I'll have a review by Monday.

As usual on the night of the final rehearsal, I am on my own, relaxing in a room in Evanston, safe and warm on a chilly night. These year-end concerts allow me a chance to reflect back on the year that was.   2011 was often a strange and difficult year, and at other times it has been a year of discovery and enjoyment.  A sad and deteriorating family situation has occupied my thoughts. Career sometimes becomes an almost robotic series of tasks to complete.

To counter these things, meaning was sought in other, more fulfilling activities.  There has been the writing, and our trips to Chicago for theater, film, and immersion in a neighborhood that welcomes us.  Best of all was Italy, with Mark, for me a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

I'll do a more thorough re-evaluation of the year, and how we survived it, in a retrospective later this month.

Did I mention the writing?   As an activity, writing has become even more essential than ever.  More than anything, the 2-plus-year activity of creating this blog has let me  define myself first and foremost as a writer. 

I hope folks are still visiting, and reading here.  Either way, it's still a record of a daily life, a personal exercise, a worthy journal. I see the writing becoming stronger.  I still get excited when I find a comment.

The blog continues to allow me to focus on other things, things that make life more interesting. 

Like the Windy City Performing Arts!  "Let the music play....."

REELING Mini-Reviews: 3 Movies of LGBT Interest

It has been a rich Autumn for Film Festivals in Chicago.  Last week, REELING, Chicago's LGBT Film Festival, ended it's 30th Anniversary celebration. 
The schedule (click here) was crammed with intriguing films from the world over, and I was fortunate enough to catch three of them.


First, an encore of "30 Cats In 30 Seconds", which ran before every film at the festival...Enjoy, and stay for three brief reviews of films from Italy, Germany, and the U. S.




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"Loose Cannons" (Italy) -- One of my favorite films of the year tells the story of Tommaso, the youngest son of an eccentric Italian family.  On the night he plans to come out to everyone during an important family dinner, his older brother surprises everyone by beating him to the punch.  Tommaso must decide if he can go through with his family's plans to have him take over their pasta business, and must weigh their health, and happiness, against a life of hiding and dishonesty.  Although the supporting characters are broadly drawn, especially Tommaso's father and sexually voracious aunt, there is much truthful observation of the dynamics of the Italian family. 


The film may seem cliched at first in its treatment of homosexuality as a punch-line; but after a while we realize that "Loose Canons", in it's humorous way, makes some wry observations about familial expectations, loyalty, acceptance, and unreasonable attitudes that pass down unquestioned through generations. The effect is one of appreciation of our foibles, and forgiveness of those who are victims of their cultures.


When Tommaso's friends come from Rome to visit him at the family villa, the uninhibited European humor renders this one of the funniest films of the year. A mysterious prologue and framing device pulls the family history together, as Tommaso discovers that he and his grandmother are kindred spirits in their shared dilemma of romantic sacrifice.  As she leaves this world in a bittersweet scene reminiscent of "Chocolat", the film moves into a fantasy sequence that makes the film blossom with meaning.  Charming, well-observed, wonderfully written, and performed to a hilt by talented and attractive actors, "Loose Canons" is a film worth making a special effort to find.


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"The Green" (U.S.) -- This film played a couple of weeks before the Penn State scandal was splashed across the media, with its sordid story of a revered football coach who is indicted for sexually abusing young boys. "The Green" attracted my attention first of all for the appearance of Cheyenne Jackson, the hunky actor who appeared in the Tony-nominated musical "Xanadu" as well as guest spots in the popular TV series "30 Rock".  In "The Green", Jackson is Daniel, who, together with partner Michael (Jason Butler Harner), a high school drama teacher,  move from New York to a small Connecticut town.  Soon, Michael's troubled past comes to haunt him, as a student in his drama class accuses him of inappropriate behavior. 

The film is an intriguing look at false accusations and family secrets, and raises some compelling legal issues, before the screenplay wallows in clunky melodrama.  All in all, however, "The Green" provides suspense, beautiful lensing, and good performances by the entire cast, especially Harner and Jackson, who overcome the contrivances of the script, and are powerful screen presences.


"Romeos" (Germany)-- My favorite of the three, a film that could appear on major top-ten critics lists if given a proper release.  It's the unusual story of a character we never see on the big screen.  Lukas is a young man , formerly Miri, who is transitioning from female to male, whose adjustment to adult life is complicated by the physical and psychological challenges of inhabiting a new gender. The film is refreshingly honest, and neither sensational nor exploitative, as one might come to expect from an American film treatment of the same subject matter.  This is not a devastating message picture like "Boys Don't Cry,", but a sweet-tempered original unlike anything else you are likely to see.



Lukas needs to assert his maleness, even though his civil service dorm assignment still considers him a female.  He must do his best to pretend that he was placed there due to a lack of beds in the male dorm, and redefine his relationship with his Lesbian best friend Ine.  When Lukas meets the handsome, dominant Fabio, he must decide if he can reveal his true nature, and complete a life lived in honesty. The budding romance, and ensuing conflict, between Fabio and Lukas is just one of the many highlights of this fast-paced, terrific example of modern filmmaking.  The film works mostly because the actors are so natural in their roles. **Rick Okon is a trans actor whose openness matches his skill as an actor (see comments). Maximilian Beaufort as Fabio is a terrific heart-throb.
I can't wait to see this again.

Good Riddance, Oscar-Style (Sunday Journal 2)

Will the Motion Picture Academy never learn?

Thank goodness Billy Beane didn't use whatever formula Oscar has been using to choose a host for the Academy Awards.  Last year, to appeal to a "contemporary" demographic, Anne Hathaway and James Franco were hired, and then floundered through bad writing, lousy routines, and nominee stress, only to be thanklessly savaged by the media and the blogosphere right after.

This year's original Oscarcast helmsman Brett Ratner, a producer of mostly forgettable films and a few TV series, had carte-blanche to hire a host, and his selection was that great spokesman for cinematic art and science---Eddie Murphy.  Really.

Until I was shocked by Murphy's appearance in the trailer for "Tower Heist", I thought he was in some kind of semi-retirement.  Ratner's choice seemed like a bald-faced ploy to promote the new film, or to return some kind of favor to Murphy.

OK, so Murphy may be staging a comeback; so how does that make him relevant to this year's films, to Oscar history, or to a target demographic who must be lukewarm to him at least?  Does he still have that much draw on audiences and sponsors?  Besides, Murphy does not leap to mind during most discussions of fine, "Oscar-worthy" films.  At least let him prove that he has, in fact, come back strong, before installing him as the face of the year's biggest night for movies and movie-lovers.

Now that Ratner is out, owing to his politically incorrect flub that "rehearsals are for fags", Murphy, a friend of Ratner's, left in a huff. (Read this great piece on the industry's reaction to Ratner and his exit, in Hollywood Reporter.)

Considering how gay-themed films have fared in 80-plus years of Best Pictures (does ANYONE remember Oscar-year 2005?), the Academy's self-righteousness is almost laughable. Now Brian Grazer, admittedly a mainstream-movie heavy-hitter, is at the Oscar-night helm.  But is Grazer an improvement in the sensitivity department?  His latest comedy, "The Dilemma", stirred controversy for a questionable line delivered by Vince Vaughn, where the word "gay" is used as a pejorative.

Plus, Grazer is a co-producer of the new "J. Edgar". No comment (my review is coming soon). 

Let's hope Oscar's old friend Billy Crystal still has the wit and the know-how, and the power to stand up to bad writing that would sabotage him. 

November Coming Attractions; and A Retort to Clint Eastwood

The movie (and theater) floodgates remain open.  A lot of new releases to review, and a Tony-winning musical finally makes it to Chicago, too.  "J. Edgar", "The Skin I Live In", "Like Crazy", and "My Week With Marilyn" are here or will arrive soon.  Plus, the 30th Annual Reeling Film Festival, Chicago's movie feast for the LGBT community, arrives this week.  Then there is the Thanksgiving holiday, which calls for a movie theme of its own (turkeys, anyone?).  Finally, in two weeks, there is a special retrospective of a movie that affected me like no other. 

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This week, look for reviews of "Moneyball" (finally) and "Martha Marcy May Marlene".  I'll tip my hand and tell you that I enjoyed them both, in extremely different ways.  The Billy Beane Baseball Bio had the added benefit of being screened the day after the final World Series game.  "M4" was a subtle thriller that proved a good lead-in to Halloween.

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REELING, Chicago's LGBT Film Festival, celebrates its 30th Anniversary November 3-12.  Not as esoteric as the Chicago International Film Festival (covered here last month), it nevertheless provides a holiday-type forum for 65 features, documentaries, and short films about GLBT history, art and culture.  Without REELING, these films might not get general distribution otherwise.  The festival is inclusive, fun, and---yes, "gay" in every sense of the word.

Although some of the schedule contains the predictable, sterilized LOGO castoffs that resemble gay soft-core porn crossed with an after-school special, there are more than enough films of substance for those who like their entertainment to mean something, and maybe change their way of seeing.

Some of the titles that interest this reviewer are:  a comedy from Italy about tradition and family upheaval called "Loose Cannons (Mine Vaganti)"; an American drama in which a teacher may be a target of blackmail by a student in "The Green" (co-starring Cheyenne Jackson); "August", a torrid love triangle between two former lovers and a hot bartender; the highly anticipated documentary "Vito" which chronicles the life of Vito Russo, activist, writer and film-enthusiast, among whose lasting legacies is "The Celluloid Closet"; "This is What Love in Action Looks Like", which documents the story of Zach, a 16-year-old from Memphis who reacts against a fundamentalist program that promises to turn gay teens straight; and, from Germany, "Romeos", which played last month at the Chicago Film Fest (I missed it), tells the story of a pre-op female-to -male trans, whose life is further complicated by his attraction to an unsuspecting group leader.

(Just click on the film title links above for more descriptions and trailers of each!)

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Thanksgiving weekend, I'll have the opportunity to see 2010's Tony Award-winning Best Musical, "Memphis".  This inspiring 1950's-era rock-and-roll tale of a white DJ and a black club singer who live their dreams and change the world comes highly recommended by friends who saw the Broadway version.  More as the show-date approaches!

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On Sunday November 13, Chicago's Roosevelt University plays host to a remarkable screening and retrospective: "Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film".  This event was based on a book written by members of author Dave Cullen's massive blog, The Ultimate Brokeback Mountain Forum, which began in 2006 and really took off soon after the film's surprising and heartbreaking (for fans like me) Best Picture Oscar loss to "Crash".

The movie will be shown as it was meant to be seen, on a large screen, followed by an industry panel discussion about the impact of the film.  Finally, a group of readers and musicians will perform interpretive pieces inspired by "Brokeback Mountain".  I have been waiting a big-screen re-issue of this film, which remains one of  the most important movie experiences of my life.  This program, which I heard about almost by accident, is like a gay man's Brigadoon.  Definitely more on this event in the coming weeks.

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A Final Note, speaking of films with gay themes:

In a New York Times on-line article about Leonardo DiCaprio and his new star vehicle "J.Edgar", I read a disturbing quote by director Clint Eastwood.  The article speculated on just how closely the screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black ("Milk"), would examine the rumors of Hoover's homosexuality and penchant for cross-dressing.  Apparently, there is an intense depiction of Hoover's relationship with his friend, Clive Tolson, in which DiCaprio and Armie Hammer share an on-screen kiss.

Eastwood was quoted commenting on this relationship thus:

 “Obviously there’s a love story here,” Mr. Eastwood said. “Whether it is a gay love story or something else — well, the audience can interpret it. My intention was to show two men who really love each other, and beyond that it’s none of my business.”

Not a gay love story? Are we still using that line, which nervous promoters of "Brokeback" used in 2005 so as not to alienate "straight" audiences?  Come on, Clint...have you MET your screenwriter?  In this culture, when two men share a kiss on-screen, there is at the very LEAST a gay subtext.  Why ignore it? Why deny it? It's just the way it is.

None of Eastwood's business?  The audience can interpret it?  There is no such quote attributed to Eastwood about the need to "interpret" the love story in his film "The Bridges of Madison County"; and that romance was CERTAINLY Eastwood's business.  Whether "J. Edgar" is a smashing success or an embarrassment, this continued insistence on shrouding a gay theme in mystery, to wash one's hands of it when it appears to have been obviously treated in the film, must go.



Gay Romantic Film "Weekend" Offers Nothing New

Mark and I made a special trip to one of our favorite movie houses, The Music Box, last Sunday night to be sure not to miss "Weekend".  The film promised to be a contemporary story about two young men who fall in love and have a life-changing weekend together. A few of the reviews were rapturous.

Maybe we're so starved for realistic screen depictions of gay life, that we gladly support any little film that comes our way.  And a film like "Weekend" does deserve a vote of confidence for trying to fill a void. It's earnest, and sincere...but unfortunately, a little bit flat and empty.

Russell (Tom Cullen) picks up Glen (Chris New) in a London bar, and they go back to Russell's apartment for a one-night stand.  Russell is a lifeguard who is struggling with the closet; Glen is an artist and activist on his way to America to live openly.  The two have sex, drink a lot, take drugs, talk about nothing in particular, have more sex, drink, and finally, after about an hour's running time, have one heated and interesting conversation, before a tearful, embraceable farewell at a train station, filmed in an effective slow zoom-in.

That is about all.

Say what you will about the documentary-feel, and the almost improvisatory unfolding of action (minimal) and dialog, "Weekend" has almost nothing new to say.  Even though the actors are natural in their roles, there's little for them to do, and not much at stake.  There's a general ennui hanging over the film, and an aura of self-importance that keeps it firmly in adolescent territory with mere pretensions to exploring more mature themes about gay life. 

I had high hopes for this film, and as it meandered on to a fairly gripping final twenty minutes, I felt all the more disappointed at the tiredness of what came before.  When the first couple left the theater after about 30 minutes, I was surprised. When the second couple got up and walked out 15 minutes later, I wasn't.

"Weekend" also suffered from some of the worst sound recording I have ever encountered in a professional movie, independent or otherwise. I would think that director Andrew Haigh's experience as an assistant film editor on films like "Gladiator" and "Black Hawk Down" would make him sensitive to the importance of crisp sound in a film that depends so much on dialog and relatively little on visuals or cutting. 

The argument between Russell and Glen toward the end of their weekend, when they confront their falling in love (or not), the meaning of their lives, and their difference of opinion about things as fundamental as marriage and coming out, seemed like the only bit of dialogue that was really thought-out or significant.  Glen's idea that he could live openly in the United States felt more naive than we had come to expect from this character. Maybe the script contained idealistic notions about "liberal" America, or perhaps the script was written before Prop. 8 was passed in California.  Either way, despite its quaintness there were real emotions and real issues in this scene.

Don't get me wrong, I love cerebral films, and action is not always my cup of tea.  But  "Weekend" might have benefited from a little more activity and a lot fewer banal ideas and cliched self-reflection. 

End of an Era: Gays Can Now Serve Openly in US Armed Forces

At 12:00 this morning (September 20), "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the US military policy that prevented gay and lesbian personnel from serving openly, officially ended.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will discuss the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law today at a news conference

More here in subsequent posts.  (Read the Reuter's article here.)

A Few Emotional After-Midnight Thoughts...

I have been away from my journal for a while, owing to our storm and power failure, a nagging cold, and a mild writer's block which was more exhaustion than lack of material....


The momentum returns....


Yes, the word Midnight in the title of this post is a foreshadowing of my next review, "Midnight in Paris", which is long overdue.  The experience has mellowed, and I have grown fond of the movie and cannot wait to share my views and re-view.


My mother is home now, a relief, but a whole new set of challenges, and acceptance of her inability to remember things.  Thanks to those who have given me much encouragement.  I think we're on a good path again....

It was an emotional week for gays in this country, and especially in Chicago.  After the Windy City Performing Arts Pride Concert (See review in the post below), and on the heels of Illinois recognizing Civil Unions for gay couples, New York passed a gay-marriage law. 


What an exciting and symbolic image, to see celebrations outside of the Stonewall Inn, where gay men in 1969 stood up to mistreatment and oppression and encouraged gays to stand with them. Thus the GAY Pride movement was born.

But then, just before yesterday's Chicago Pride Parade, dozens of tires were slashed on floats stored in a South-Side warehouse.  I salute the resourcefulness of the organizers and their mechanics who purchased new tires all over town, replaced them, and got the parade underway.

We missed the parade due to other obligations yesterday.  It was bittersweet.  Now that we feel more connected to Chicago's gay community than ever, we felt isolated in our own activities.   On the other hand, we were glad to be away from the huge pressing crowds.  Until we have a chance to be in the parade itself, as we were five years ago, it might be best to enjoy the highlights shot by our fine Chicago news cameras.

Please enjoy the review below of the June 16 Windy City Performing Arts Pride Concert.

Windy City Performing Arts, and Pride

The concerts of the Windy City Gay Men's Chorus and Aria are among my most eagerly awaited events of the year.  One year ago, Mark performed in his first concert with this group.  Last Saturday, he sang in his fourth, another wonderful, moving and hilarious revue called "Road Trip!"

Artistic Director Stephen Edwards used "Journeys" as his unifying theme for this year's concerts.  Last March the group took us on adventures around the world. For this, the Spring Pride show, the travel was close to home, as a way of demonstrating the beauty and strength of the contributions gay people have made all over America.

In its new venue, the Auditorium at Senn High School, the Chorus had a larger stage, with more room on the risers, leading to a more relaxed performance, and more room for their unique brand of comic mayhem.

The first act was more subdued, with songs that were like wistful reflections on our life's destinations as gay people, the possibilities still before us, and the meaning of home.  Act two was raucous and unbridled, a true road-trip, complete with sing-alongs, a touch of good-natured drag, Broadway satire, sailors and Texas Aggies, Muppets and Madames, freaks and a cheerful declaration of Pride.

The show distilled the hope that is the essence of every Road Trip, and in this case, the very special hope for lives of extraordinary journeys.

"You can take the color out of Colorado,
You can take the Mary out of Maryland...
As John Philip Sousa said
I can't march if I can't hear
The Boys in the Band..."

The sweet voices of the Aria Women's chourus kicked things off with their characteristic wordless vocal arrangement from the Republic of Georgia, "Satamasho", a song which children might sing while playing. A gentle plea from France followed, "Vois sur ton chemin"calling for us to take the hands of lost and forgotten children, to lead them to other tomorrows.  Next, a lovely, quiet version of "Rhythm of Life" from "Sweet Charity" reminded us of the powerful heartbeat of life.

"Everything Possible" was unexpectedly moving, a song that might be sung by a parent to a gay child, filled with love and encouragement for us to be who we are, and pursue the path that feels right to us.  It is a song many of us wish, in fantasy, that our parents had sung to us when we were children.

Mark appeared then, in a small ensemble, for "The Road Home", an emotional double-whammy after "Everything Possible", a song that might be sung by a grown child who cannot return home, and is looking for a new road, an new place to belong.  The beautiful vocalizations suggested, to me, the men's chorus used in the mountain scenes of "The Deer Hunter".

The Men's Chorus assembled then for a trio of Old-English melodies by Ralph Vaughn Williams from "Songs of Travel". 

And in a thrilling departure, the Chorus tore through a wildly rhythmic and energetic "Wedding Qawwali" by Slumdog Millionaire's A.R. Rahman.  This was the most difficult piece of the evening, and it was put over wonderfully, with subtle support from a drummer and guitarist.  The song was also  fascinatingly interpreted by the group's agile Sign Language performer.

After Intermission, we got some lighthearted pieces that many remembered from their childhoods, the Muppets' "Movin' Right Along", and "Ease On Down The Road" from "The Wiz".  With that, the road trip was underway!

"You can't take the sissy out of Mississippi
He's there and he's going to stay!..."

Aria came back with that staple of '60's Easy Listening radio, "Route 66", followed by an homage to the open road, "Wide Open Spaces".

A quartet of especially zaftig good sports hammed it up in size 12 pumps and "Maude"-style dresses for a round of "Let's Get Away From It All". 

What's a road trip without a sing-along in the car?  So, the group decided that the Lesbians would rock out to Four Non-Blondes' "What's Up" ("I said hey---What's going on?"), and the Gay Boys would channel their inner Cher ... with four of her biggest hits. All of these were presented with projected lyrics, and the audience had a blast.

In an Oscar-worthy departure for the Men's chorus, "The Aggie Song" from "Best Little Whorehouse...", almost had me convinced that these were all horny young football players on their way to get "made" at that famous Texas establishment......

"You can't kick our asses out of Massachusetts

Or subtract the ten percent from Tennessee

Utah could never be the beehive state

If the hairdressers went absentee..."

Not to be outdone, Aria offered their own special Broadway number, a version of "There is Nothing Like A Dame" from "South Pacific", that worked extremely well, without changing a word of the song!

Perhaps in the funniest, most original number, a bitchy and inclusive Pride anthem that might have been written by the Steel Magnolias or Golden Girls themselves, the Men's Chorus belted "Color Out of Colorado", from the 1996 Broadway comedy revue "When Pigs Fly", parts of which I have been quoting throughout this piece:

"Chicago without chic

Would be boring in a week

And you cant have New York City without.................Queens!!"

And to keep the energy and hilarity high for the finale, the whole Company joined, in home-made costume, for "Freak Flag", from the Broadway musical "Shrek".  In it, Pinocchio is afraid others will discover he's not "a real boy", and everyone from the Three Pigs to the Wicked Witch convince him to "let your freak flag fly", that being a "freak" is not so bad, and can be celebrated.

It was a special evening of two concerts. Our friends Jillian and Phillip joined us for the first show, and their presence and show of support meant a lot to us.  Especially poignant for Mark was that his youngest son came home from college for the weekend just to attend the show.  He loved it.

So now, the group is off for the summer (barring any special-request appearances) and will re-group again in September to rehearse for the ---dare I say it???---Holiday Concert.

Another Bravo to my friends of the Windy City Performing Arts.

"You need us

To make the U.S.A.!!"

The Film Version of "Maurice": Second in the Forster Trilogy

Preface: A few weeks ago when our Border's bookstore had its store-closing sale, I picked up a 2-DVD version of "A Room With A View", owing to a renewed interest in the work of Helena Bonham-Carter.  This was the film that first introduced me to her.   After I watched it again, and reviewed it here recently, I was motivated to have a look at the Ismael Merchant-James Ivory-Ruth Prawer-Jhabvala trilogy of films based on E. M. Forster novels.  In 1987, a year after "A Room With A View" was received with critical and popular acclaim, the team filmed Forster's controversial "Maurice", and in 1992, they released hugely successful film version of "Howard's End".

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There is speculation that the novel "A Room With A View" was Forster's veiled story of a homosexual man who defied a traditional arranged engagement with a woman, and found love in the arms of the man who stirred his passion.  When Forster completed his novel "Maurice", an honest account of homosexual attraction in 1920's England, he deemed it too dangerous to publish in his lifetime, owing to harsh public and legal attitudes toward homosexuality.  The book was finally published in 1971 after Forster's death.

Maurice (James Wilby) and Clive (Hugh Grant) form an intense attachment while they are students at Cambridge, circa 1917.  Maurice wants a genuine romantic coupling with Clive, who at first encourages Maurice's impulses and tries to break through his defenses.  But Clive soon recognizes the threat to his own person and his position in a society in which homosexuality is scorned and criminalized.  Clive marries a woman and lives an unhappy charade, while Maurice, heartbroken, soon becomes fascinated with Clive's groundskeeper, Eric Scudder.  In spite of their class differences, Maurice and Scudder share an intense and fulfilling physical relationship, with the suggestion that they will find their way together in a hostile world.

The film version is typically sumptuous, intelligent, and passionate.  Ruth Prawer-Jhabvala's screen adaptation of the novel is faithful to the ominous undercurrents of the story, while fleshing out the characters and their motivations.  There is not one uninteresting line of dialog in the whole piece.  Although I might have tightened the scenes involving Ben Kingsley as an unscrupulous hypnotist, he does deliver one of the film's best lines from the novel:  "England has always been disinclined to accept human nature." James Ivory's direction is well-observed and sympathetic.  As a gay man, Ivory was especially sensitive to the emotional subtelties of each character.   

However, the film version of "Maurice" was not as popular as the other two films in the trilogy.  Even in the 1980's, audiences were squeamish about forthright portrayals of gay romance.  Also, the film was released during the developing AIDS panic, so the timing was unfortunate for a gay-themed film that did not deal with the epidemic.  A story about society's oppression and one man's rebellion against the forces that sought to keep him in the closet was not deemed relevant.

It's a more demanding film than "Room With A View", too, and not as warm.  Even so, the adaptation of Forster's work was once again expertly handled.  As a portrayal of a society in which it is dangerous for gay people to live openly and honestly, the film is both a cautionary tale, completely relevant to our current divisive and regressive political hate-mongering; and a model of the triumph of honest love against innuendo and ignorance. 

Special mention should be made of the three top-billed performers here.  James Wilby exudes tentativeness and playfulness equally well.  While he sometimes overdoes the stiff-upper-lip, he nevertheless ages convincingly as his character gradually finds the courage to follow his desire.  Hugh Grant is surprisingly good in the early Cambridge scenes, and reminds us how charming and intelligent a screen presence he was before selling out to generic romantic comedies.  And Rupert Graves is darker here (both physically and emotionally) as the brutish, earthy groundskeeper.  Graves does a complete turnaround from his silly, playful Freddy in "Room..." and his acting seems richer, his screen persona dangerously appealing. 

(By the way, Helena Bonham-Carter makes a cameo appearance in this film during the cricket-match scene.  She is the only actor to make an appearance in all three films of the trilogy, and is a nicely appropriate on-screen thread that ties the films together.)

Forster's novels were perfect material for the talents of the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team: intelligent stories about love, self-discovery, self-deception, told with humor and intelligence in gorgeous surroundings.  "Maurice" is a surprising and mature transition between the satiric and gentle romance of "Room With A View" and the stunning, penetrating look at class barriers to love and friendship of their masterpiece "Howards End".   

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Postscript: I miss this filmmaking trio (Ismael Merchant died in 2005).  Their films were unmatched in visual splendor (with impossibly small budgets), intelligence, and identifiable characters.  Director Tom Hooper had been criticized for making a career out of period-piece, costume-drama "award bait" (John Adams", "King's Speech", and the new film musical "Les Miserables").  Maybe if Hooper teamed up consistently with the right producer and screenwriter, he might help fill the void left by this brilliant team of artists.