We Got Bruce
Bruce Vilanch To Receive REAF’s Lifetime Achievement Award 7/14/2024
By Mister D
July 10, 2024

The Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation presents Help is on the Way: 30th Anniversary Concert & Gala on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at the Marines’ Memorial Theater (concert) and Beacon Grand Hotel (VIP after party with the cast). This show will feature cast members for the Broadway touring cast of Mrs. Doubtfire, with the lead actor, Rob McClure, hosting the evening as Mrs. Doubtfire.

This year’s event, honoring Bruce Vilanch (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Delta Dental of California (Corporate Partner Award), whose support has never required pulling teeth, will be preceded by a silent auction in the theater lobby and a VIP After-Party at the nearby Beacon Grand Hotel.

In 1994, the groundbreaking decision was made to cast openly gay, HIV-positive Cuban-American Pedro Zamora as part of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco. Zamora’s time in the Real World house on Lombard Street brought a face to the AIDS crisis. The darkly handsome, funny, surprising, and in-your-face activist died at 22 just after the final episode aired.

That same year, Peggy Ermet lost her son to AIDS and joined lifelong friend Barbara Richmond, whose son John died in 1990, to launch a special kind of musical AIDS benefit to honor their sons — it would become Help Is on the Way: San Francisco Cares. Later in 1999, REAF began the “One Night Only” cabaret performances utilizing touring casts of Broadway shows appearing in San Francisco. These fantastic nights give the entertainers a break from the scores they perform every night by offering their chosen music.

Help Is On The Way: 30th ANNIVERSARY: BROADWAY & BEYOND
6:30 pm: Limited silent auction in the theater lobby
7:30 pm: Performance
9:45 pm: VIP After party with the cast at the new
BEACON GRAND HOTEL, 450 Powell St. at Sutter (formerly The Drake)
for tickets or additional info: REAF-SF
$39 – Reserved, Performance only/ Balcony tickets
$59 – Reserved, Performance only/ Dress Circle tickets
$150 – Reserved, Performance & VIP After Party/ Orchestra tickets
$500 & up: – VIP & Gala Individual Sponsor Tickets 

JASON BROCK Top 10 from X-Factor/cabaret star
DEBBY BOONE Grammy Award-winning recording star
DAVID BURNHAM Broadway Star (Light in the Piazza, Wicked)
FAITH PRINCE Tony Award-winning (Guys & Dolls) Broadway Star
LISA VROMAN Broadway Star (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miz)
JENNIFER LEIGH WARREN Broadway Star (Big River)
PAULA WEST Jazz / Cabaret Star
BRUCE VILANCH Broadway (Hairspray) / TV Star Comedian
CAST MEMBERS from the BROADWAY TOURING CAST of MRS. DOUBTFIRE
Featuring Rob McClure hosting as Mrs. Doubtfire

Musical Director MICHAEL ORLAND
Producers: KEN HENDERSON & JOE SEILER
Honorees: BRUCE VILANCH, Performer Lifetime Achievement Award)
DELTA DENTAL OF CALIFORNIA, Corporate Partner Award

The post Bruce Vilanch To Receive REAF’s Lifetime Achievement Award 7/14/2024 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

The Hollywood Reporter
‘Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution’ Review: Trailblazing Queer Comics Get Their Due in Entertaining Netflix Doc
BY DAVID ROONEY
June 15, 2024

In the opening section of Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, you might be forgiven for thinking this is an extended Pride Month promo to breathe new life into Netflix’s 2022 special, Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. But in a Q&A following the rousingly received opening-night screening at the Provincetown Film Festival, director Page Hurwitz clarified the chicken-and-the-egg situation, explaining that she produced the event at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, which assembled 22 prominent queer comics on the same bill, as a foundational building block for this documentary surveying the rich history of LGBTQ+ comedians.

At a time when a new generation of queer comics from across the sexual and gender identity spectrum has emerged into what appears to be a thriving scene, this is an invaluable primer on the many performers who kicked down resistant doors to make today’s greater representation possible.

Even if it only served as a vehicle for the rediscovery of the hilarious Robin Tyler, the first lesbian comic to come out on national television in 1978, the doc would be invaluable. When Tyler and her partner Pat Harrison, who performed as the comedy duo Harrison and Tyler, took on anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant — “I don’t mind them being born again, but do they have to come back as themselves?” Tyler asks — ABC promptly canceled their deal.

Gay comedians like Charles Nelson Reilly, Paul Lynde and Rip Taylor were all over television in the 1970s, but they remained closeted; the thinking at the time was that coming out equaled certain career death.

Even a comedy titan like Laugh-In veteran Lily Tomlin, despite making no secret of her relationship with her longtime partner and now wife Jane Wagner, says that actually declaring herself a lesbian back then was unthinkable. But the fabulous Norman Seeff shot of Tomlin looking fierce in an “Evolve or Die” muscle T-shirt makes it clear that by the mid-‘80s, she was hiding nothing.

Tomlin is one of several heavy-hitters whose interviews and comedy clips provide insight into both the barriers in place and the subversive ways many comics got around them. Going back to the Black vaudeville circuit of the 1920s with performers like “Moms” Mabley, queerness has long been a factor in stand-up, whether implicit or explicit. Sandra Bernhard, Margaret Cho, Rosie O’Donnell, Wanda Sykes, Marsha Warfield, Eddie Izzard, Hannah Gadsby and Bruce Vilanch are among those weighing in with illuminating commentary.

One of the most moving aspects of the film is how it highlights the mentor-mentee dynamic of queer comedy, with each trailblazer passing on an expanded legacy to the next up-and-comer. Both Bernhard and Cho talk of Tomlin as a major inspiration, while Joel Kim Booster acknowledges that queer women in comedy were his chief influence.

Another thread that emerges is the one-step-forward-two-steps-back factor of queer representation in comedy. The advances of each decade keep hitting a wall of backlash, whether it was Bryant’s “Christian” crusading in the ‘70s or AIDS hysteria and the family values push of the Ronald Reagan years or the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” mentality of the ‘90s, when Bill Clinton was in office.

One of the most exhilarating clips has Bernhard appropriating the disco classic “Do You Wanna Funk?” as a rallying cry for sexual freedom, provocatively skewering the stifling conservatism of public figures like Reagan and Jerry Falwell.

Several commentators make the point that unapologetically anti-gay comedy remained widely acceptable through the end of the last century and beyond, whether it was the goofy gay-panic humor of Mel Brooks and Sid Caesar or the outright homophobia of Eddie Murphy’s stand-up specials. The flip side is Richard Pryor’s appearance at a 1977 gay rights fundraiser at the Hollywood Bowl, where he talks frankly about the joys of sex with men before turning on the well-heeled, predominantly white audience for their absence from the Black rights struggle.

Input from Scott Thompson of Canadian comedy group The Kids in the Hall is especially poignant as he talks of having to create characters to hide his sexuality behind. His acerbic bar fixture Buddy Cole was notable as “the first gay character who fucked.” Elsewhere, tacit pressure made it clear that straight audiences could get on board with queer comedy so long as they didn’t have to think about actual gay sex.

Cho was another disruptive force against that unspoken rule, with a defiantly raunchy brand of personally revealing comedy. This was precisely what queer comics were told not to do, instead being encouraged to make their material “palatable.”

The prevailing coyness around the nitty-gritty of queer sexuality in comedy is echoed also in the famous guest appearance of Ellen DeGeneres on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, where she jokingly came out as “Lebanese” and O’Donnell played along, adding that she might be Lebanese too. It’s significant that while O’Donnell’s popular daytime variety and talk show ran for six seasons in syndication and had a writers’ room filled with queer comics like Judy Gold, the host still operated under the assumption that coming out was a career killer.

Many of the interviewees discuss the experience of being unable to land a booking after their sexuality became public knowledge. One of the more emotional moments features Todd Glass recalling his successful breakthrough years as a staple of late-night comedy, never even contemplating coming out, until a heart attack and a hospital visit from his partner gave him the courage to take that step. Sykes had a different means of arriving at that point, more or less accidentally coming out by mentioning her wife during a public appearance.

Hurwitz, a former comic herself, has a great eye for choice material, clearly having dug like a truffle hound through decades of archives to find clips that often remain eye-wateringly funny today.

Inevitably there are conspicuous absences — among them Kate McKinnon, Bowen Yang, Cole Escola, John Early and Jerrod Carmichael, perhaps partly justified by the choice to focus largely on comics who participated in the Greek Theatre event — and areas where the doc could have pushed harder. Any discussion of homophobia getting a pass for way too long in comedy should include the infamous Tracy Morgan rant, when he told a Nashville audience that he would “pull out a knife and stab” his son if he were gay. Even Dave Chapelle’s inflammatory transphobic material gets only cursory coverage.

If there’s a significant flaw in the doc it’s that for a film so willing to contextualize queer comedy in the political landscape of the past, it’s surprisingly reticent about the alarming climate of the present, with a concerted push well under way to roll back many of the gains of LGBTQ+ rights. Surely somewhere on the cutting room floor someone voiced an opinion about all that’s at stake in the upcoming election?

Even so, Outstanding makes a persuasive, highly entertaining case that the evolution of queer comedy is inextricably bound to broader developments in representation, and that emerging next-gen queer comics could learn a lot from their forebears.

The post ‘Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution’ Review first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Live Nation
Bruce Vilanch To Host A Benefit Concert For The Billy Barnes Foundation, April 7, 2024
Sun Apr 7 2024

The Billy Barnes Foundation and Fraser Entertainment Group Present
 
INTRODUCING BILLY BARNES – A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE BILLY BARNES FOUNDATION
Music Director – Todd Schroeder, Hosted by Bruce Vilanch
 
Doors open at 11:30 AM. Show at 1PM. Tickets $35 plus 2-drink or brunch minimum.
 
All proceeds benefit The Billy Barnes Foundation, an organization dedicated to building and educating an audience for future generations through music and theatre education. Billy Barnes was one of the most influential composers and lyricists of the 1960s and 1970s. This inaugural year, the Foundation will award two full-tuition scholarships to the Young Actors Theatre Camp, a non-profit organization in the Santa Cruz Mountains, that focuses on discovering and developing each individual student’s talents in ALL areas of the performing arts.
 
Scheduled to appear: Eileen Barnett, Kay Cole, Nancy Dussault, Shelly Goldstein, Jane A. Johnston, Jackie Joseph, Roslyn Kind, Karen Morrow, Shawn Ryan, Todd Sherry, Joanne Tatham and Jo Anne Worley – plus young artists from YATC. 
 
https://www.thebillybarnesfoundation.org/
https://www.fraserentertainmentgroup.com

The post Bruce Vilanch To Host A Benefit Concert For The Billy Barnes Foundation, April 7, 2024 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

The Projection Booth Podcast
Special Report: Bruce Vilanch Makes the Yuletide Gay
By Mike White
Dec 25, 2023

The podcast episode features an interview with Bruce Vilanch discussing the holiday special “Making the Yule Tide Gay” and his experiences working with Paul Lynde.

The post Podcast: Bruce Vilanch on Paul Lynde first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Soap Opera News
Cady McClain Stars In New Drama
December 2, 2023

Three-time Daytime Emmy Award Winner Cady McClain stars in the award-winning episodic audio drama Around the Sun created by Brad Forenza. Though Cady is heard in several episodes, her starring episode alongside The Sopranos’ Robert Funaro drops on November 29, 2023. Cady’s episode can be heard here: https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/podcasts/around-the-sun/305-xmas-past-robert-funaro-cady-mcclain/27 

Cady is part of the EGOT-winning cast of Season 3 of Around the Sun. The season launched in October of 2023, with new episodes scheduled to drop every two weeks throughout fall 2023 and into early 2024. The audio trailer is here. 

Three-time Daytime Emmy-winner Cady McClain states, “I am so excited to have worked on Around the Sun. I’ve been hoping Brad would ask me, as I really love his writing and what he’s done combining the worlds of theater and podcasting. It was a true pleasure to explore this complex and heartbreaking character and getting to work with Robert Funaro was an absolute delight. I was thrilled to be included in this season of Around the Sun and excited to hear all the performances of the talented actors Brad has brought together! I can’t wait for you to hear this very special podcast!”  

Created by actor/writer/producer Brad Forenza,  Around the Sun Season 3, called “Pinecones” is a scripted audio drama with a continuing story. Cady is no stranger to scripted drama, having been in All My Children, As the World Turns, Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives. Along with this role, Cady recently appeared on Law and Order SVU with Ice T and Kevin Kane and at Cape May Stage in the lead role of Shirley Valentine. She is also the Artistic Director for Axial Theatre.  The company brings edge-cutting new plays and classic plays to life both in New York City and the Westchester area. 

This season’s story – about the Pinecone family and friends, is voiced by an EGOT-winning cast. The ensemble includes Francois Clemmons (Grammy winner, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood), Brad Forenza (A Case of Blue), Robert Funaro (The Sopranos, The Irishman), Judy Gold, (Emmy winner, She Came toMe), Wilson Jermaine Heredia(Tony winner, Rent), Terry Hu (Never Have I Ever), Cady McClain (Daytime Emmy Winner – Days, All My Children), Estelle Parsons (Oscar winner, Bonnie and Clyde)and Jai Rodriguez (Emmy winner, Queer Eye). The series is presented via the Broadway Podcast Network and available “wherever you listen to podcasts.” 

“Season 3, Pinecones– is a miniseries, with our voice acting ensemble integrated throughout the season, in a continuous, ongoing conflict,” explains Forenza. “That said, most of the episodes can still be enjoyed independently, reminiscent of prior seasons. And, of course, we’re still exploring human connections, made and missed, with an existential flare, as brought to fabulous life by our celebrated ensemble of voice actors.” 

The overarching conflict pertains to the Pinecone family matriarch (played by Oscar winner for Bonnie and Clyde, Estelle Parsons), who is called away from her mountain home by a familiar, omniscient voice (played by Grammy winner for Porgy and Bess, François Clemmons). The Pinecone family children (played by Emmy winners Judy Gold, Cady McClain, and Jai Rodriguez) and her caretaker (played by series creator Brad Forenza) are then forced to reconcile their past, present, and future selves. Helping them to cope is an all-knowing bartender (played by Sopranos alum, Robert Funaro), a new age-y therapist (played by Tony winner for Rent, Wilson Jermaine Heredia), and the matriarch’s younger confidant (played by breakout Disney star, Terry Hu). It is a story that will bring you into the lives of the characters as they deal with the reality of the world today. Each episode is under 13 minutes making it perfect for something to listen to in the car, on a walk, exercising or just as a break in the day. 

Robert Funaro of The Sopranos fame adds, “We’re all in this together, and Brad’s writing offers a cornucopia of what could be our past and how it shapes our future. He is an honest writer unafraid to tackle the adversities we all face… I was truly moved, and also honored to be working with Cady McClain, who brought to her role as ‘Grace’ what every actor hopes for: simply the truth.” 

Season 2 of Around the Sun is set in a seemingly defunct part of the American southwest, brought to rich, dramatic life by the voices of: Adassa (Encanto), Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), Brad Forenza (By Any Means), Richard Kind (Inside Out), Richard Kline (Three’s Company), Jennie Kwan (California Dreams), Piper Laurie (Carrie), Taylor Purdee (Killian and the Comeback Kids), and Bruce Vilanch (Hollywood Squares).

Around the Sun is a Best Version of Yourself production, created by Brad Forenza, and presented via the Broadway Podcast Network. Associate Producers are Duane Scott Cerny, Suzanne Ordas Curry (Producer, Tainted Dreams)and Diana Prano. Sound design and theme music by Shane Curry. Around the Sun Podcast available for listening wherever one listens to podcasts. Continue the #AroundTheSunPodcast conversation via the show’s creator (fb: @BVOYLLC; IG @BradForenza; Twitter: @BradForenza), and Around the Sun’s compendium website: www.aroundthesunpodcast.com.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We also have Facebook groups for each show: The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless. Join them all for all the latest breaking news, spoilers, and recaps and to interact with numerous soap opera fans across the globe. Soap Opera News is your number 1 source for all things soap operas.

The post Bruce Vilanch Joins The Award Winning Audio Drama “Around The Sun” first appeared on We Got Bruce!.