CATS:THE JELLICLE BALL

When I went to NYC recently, the main reason was to visit the clan, and we all had plans to go see the Broadway show Cats: The Jellicle Ball. New York City on a Saturday night and the excitement was building as show goers queued up all the way down the block, for Broadway's latest sensation.

This revival I found to be a vibrant, queer-centric reimagining of the iconic 1981 musical. Instead of felines at a literal junkyard, the show sets the production in the underground LBTQ ballroom and house scene rooted in New York City. The characters still compete to be chosen for a new life, but they do it through fierce vogueing, runway and dance battles judged by "Old Deuteronomy. The stage is transformed into an underground ballroom. The songs become competition categories where "cats" perform on a runway to win favor with the judges, who rotate each week with different celebrities. The show pays homage to the legendary real life ballroom community. And the cast! It gave a new reason to cheer! For costumes, voguing and even for the laughs. Not to mention, I've never seen any live production with so many trans people, more important than ever. Here's an idea: have more roles for gay/trans/drag! Give them a chance to shine and they will. This production proves it!

 I am Tempress plays Grizbella and to the hilt!! She is styled as an older trans woman whose silicone has dropped...and the makeup team actually painted her face crooked so that her mouth drooped. Tony winner Andre DeShirlds ruled as Deuteronomy. He holds one note that lets you know right ways why he's a Broadway legend. It was also nice to see Junior LaBeija, from Paris is Burning who played Gus and Tempress who is from the House of Margiela. It's a huge bonus to see the ballroom community showcased and thrilling the mainstream I say. And DON'T get me started of Sydney James Harcourt who plays Rum Tum Tugger!! That man and his moves gave me the vapors honey!!! Excuse my French, but that man is fucking scorching, sexy as hell. Nina West is friends with him, I must get the tea on him darlings. Another reason I liked the show was to see costumes by Qween Jean, who has gotten raved over her costume designs.

My own critique, the story is told through song. But the music is louder that the cast's vocals. If you can't hear the lyrics, you can't quite follow the plot. The good news? It doesn't matter. Don't over think it. The show is fun, electric and spine tingling to watch. This version of Cats is arguably superior to the standard one, wrote one review. I agree. Go see it if you get to NYC. Now it remains to be seen if it will be hot and crazy or a huge hit...but the nominations say different, and are a good sign, as the show has only been open for a little over a month.

YES CHILDERN! 

Happy Gay Pride.

The other show we saw was also sold out.

A FRIEND OF DOROTHY

Over the weekend, I caught this. Just proves a film does not have to be a full feature theatrical film to be good. I dare say this is the best work and film I saw all year, even over full films. And I adore Miriam Margolyes, who can do no wrong. The film got me in so many emotions for only 20 minutes. Dorothy is a lonely widow whose body is failing her, but her mind is still very sharp. When JJ accidentally kicks his soccer ball into her garden, he upends Dorothy's daily routine and unlikely friendship blossoms, despite being worlds apart, the two come to find they have more in common than they could have imagined. Books and art.

Young people take note. By being self-absorbed by age, you will miss out on things and not learn from another generation. I have befriended much older people and enjoy the company and their musing and get first-hand accounts of stories, times, life and camp going ons. If you get time watch. You won't be disappointed.

A WHO'S WHO

 A blast from the past!!! A great skit of PETA'S animal-themed Laugh-In skit from 99' featuring many big names and an appearance from one of the friends of the Casa du Borghese's and reader. And it isn't that cow Lady Bunny. I was howling when I received it.

PLAINCLOTHES

With two nice weekends in the books getting caught up at home, I also am getting caught up with some flicks I wanted to see. So far three, Plainclothes, Death of a Unicorn, and The Ugly Stepsister. All wonderful watches, the last a very disturbing and horrific take on Cinderella. But his post is my take on the surprisingly wonderful film, Plainclothes, one I was shocked I didn't hear more about. Fellow blogger Dave also mentioned it and seemed to enjoy it too. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival of January in 2025. and got one award and many accolades. Having just watched the movie, it's easy to see why. The cast, especially the two leads, is fantastic, bringing an emotional depth to a difficult story. Leading the award-winning cast is the hot Tom Blyth who plays a young twink-ish undercover cop, Lucas, who is assigned to patrol a shopping mall restroom to entrap the gay men who cruise there. A time I remember well!! Yes, this did go on. Lucus is already racked with anxiety about his own sexuality and the difficult predicament he finds himself, things are complicated when he falls for one of his targets, a silver haired daddy, Andrew, played by Russell Tovey. HUBBA HUBBA. Just when DID Tovey become a hot daddy? I digress. Set in upstate New York in 1997, the tense and moving thriller drama moves between the past and present, as Lucas grapples with his unresolved feeling.

The relationship between Lucus and Andrew feels effectively raw, largely thanks to the performances from Blyth and Tovey. The expectation of the casual hookups that was synonymous with the era amidst the AIDS crisis proves difficult for Lucas, who longs for something deeper. I also can relate to that too. While I was out and active after the AIDS crisis...I do recall once or twice when I started exploring sex wanting more from casual hookups...confusing sex with feelings. Hey, it's how many of us gay boys learned. I like that the director didn't shy away from showing the sexual nature of their relationship, with fairly graphic depictions of their physical encounters.

Plainclothes is not an easy film to watch, it's uncomfortable and raw and explores a world some know little of, but the way that the director so fearlessly chooses to depict the conflicted nature of his subjects is impressive. I don't know the ideas presented here are new, but they're certainly presented better than many of the films that have come before it. For me it may be a new classic gay film to view periodically as I said it stirred memories of my young gay years, with hook ups, and in some cases trying to go on dates, knowing full well, it was just an excuse to get together to have sex...like in the theater scene in this film. I know that situation well. The film also has a hell of a ending, and a couple twist and turn plots I so did not see coming. I highly recommend a watch.

TRANS ON FILM

As most in the LGBTQ know, November is Trans Awareness month. Never more important than ever in these times. With this gross administration it's important to support the trans community. I don't know if any of you have caught TCM this month, but wow...did they shove a big one up the administrations ass. Yes...I have been enjoying it all month and YES, TCM has celebrated trans movies through special programming most notably through their series of Trans Images on Film. The series is often presented with trans critics and authors who discuss the film and the history of trans representation in cinema. So far films such as Ma Vie en Rose, Dog Day Afternoon. Paris is Burning, Dressed in Blue, The Christine Jorgenson Story. Some of My Best Friends Are, and Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, a great movie I hadn't seen in sometime, and forgotten that Karen Black, Cher and Kathy Bates were in it and were incredible. I found the month to be very purposeful. The month-long series shed light on the history of trans identify in cinema and provide a more complete picture of trans experiences on screen, and not to mention what the trans goes through in life. I had seen most of the films but two, and were they excellent films.

The first was Some of My Best Friends Are.

This film starred Fannie Flagg, Rue McClanahan and a great performance by Candy Darling. The movie takes place on Christmas Eve 1971, in Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and lesbians meet at the mob owned Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships.

Candy Darlings performance was something I can't help but wonder if many trans went through. In once scene she is embarrassed in front of the whole bar when a male patron discovers she is really a man. The scene was a bit hard to watch. But Candy Darling gave a hell of a great performance, an authentic portrayal of someone hiding inner heartache behind a public persona, which was a powerful and personal reflection of Darlings own life.

The seond treat this month has been another film I never saw, Ma vie en Rose, a 1997 Franco-Belgian drama film directed by Alain Berliner.

It tells the story of Ludovic, a transgender girl, and depicts her family and community struggling to accept her gender identity. Ludo find only rejection, isolation and guilt, as the intense reactions of family, friends, and neighbors strip away every innocent lace and bauble. As suburban prejudices close around them, family loves and loyalties are tested in the ever-escalating dramatic turns in this feature. It loved the film.

What a colorful and great film it was, and a powerful film. I think the film depicted more than any other film featuring a trans, what a trans person really goes through and the torment they face from those around them and even question their own path at times. Everyone in the film does a great job, but what a power delivery from the actor, Georges du Fresne, playing the main part of Ludo. What a performance by him who was at the time just a child. It was one of the best movies I've seen in some time. 

If you get a chance check these out . Have you seen any of these films?

HESTER FRUMP

If there is one thing I love, it's a campy, snarky, fashionable character. And as we are aware I watch very little American tv offerings, but one I fell in love with was Wednesday, a take on the life of Wednesday Addams. The first season was incredibly done. Plus, it had Gwendoline Christy. As if it could get any better, Burton went this season and added a Patron Saint of mine, the stunning Joanna Lumley to the cast as Hester Frump! A huge fan since the days of Jam and Jerusalem and, of course, Absolutely Fabulous...the actress can do no wrong. She has given a new life and purpose to a character we knew little of from previous incarnations of the show and movie, and grandma was basically nothing more than a bumbling mumbling side piece that time forgot in a gothic mansion. Lumley at 79, joined the cast at Tim Burton's request and so she lends her talents across this side of the pond playing Hester Frump as the wealthy and fashionable matriarch of the Frump family, and the owner of the largest outcast business in America, Frump Mortuaries. She is snarky, insulting, cold and sharp tongued, and is also the mother of Morticia Addams and Ophelia Frump. And while she has a good strong understanding relationship with her granddaughter Wednesday, she as a ghastly one with her own daughter Morticia. Staring with her disapproval of her marriage to Gomez. Needless to say, she is the first character in some time I have loved on a program. I dare say Absolutely Ghastly!

Her first appearance of the season was excellent! The only way to make me orgasm would be to add Helena Bonham Carter to the cast yet.

EVIL QUEENS

I loved Disney animated movies when I was a wee one. And I was always drawn to the evil queens in them. Now... I'm on the fence with this new release from Disney. The Seven Dwarfs as CGI??? Wouldn't it have been better to pay working actor midgets for the parts? I have no idea who Snow White is, but she does look wholesome and annoying enough like Snow White to get the part. But from what I've seen from many clips, Gal Gadot was a perfect choice for the Evil Queen. When it comes to Wicked Queens----and I have known my fair share kids, having at times been one myself- the evil queen from the 1937 animated classic is unsurpassed. but other than Gal, the rest of the cast is from Nowheresville. She looks like the 1937 Evil Queen come to life, in every detail.

Gal Gadot was working consistently before her breakout role as Wonder Woman, and since then has cemented her place in Hollywood as an action star. This reliance on a certain kind of role and lack of character range has led to some of the criticism pointed towards Gadot...which made her casting as the Evil Queen all the more surprising. Gadot doesn't give the Evil Queen an action make over but plays her from what I hear relatively straight. Despite not having much experience playing villains before taking on the role in Snow White, Gal Gadot's best moments in the film seem to be delicious, she just might have potential playing antagonist. And looks like she played it with gusto. I'm not sure who is casting the villains in these live action movies, but they are brilliant in their job. The first was Angelina Jolie as Maleficent. She NAILED that. The casting and look and evil, the voice and laugh, couldn't have been done better. It was like the animated Maleficent came to life right from the cartoon film.

Then they nailed it again, with the fabulous Cate Blanchett, one of the Casa's all-time favorite actresses, who played Lady Tremaine with comic, snarky, snobbish evil behaviors.

And they did it again, with Emma Stone who portrayed Cruella Devil, who couldn't have been more perfect to play the eccentric, obsessed, manic fashion maven and thief and who adores dalmatian fur. Now that we saw how Cruella became the woman she is, it will be interesting to see how and if they continue to show the more evil and bad Cruella in the forthcoming sequel.

I took a pass on the Little Mermaid. Never was a fan of the movie. And it also didn't feel as dark as the selections here. But I do believe Gal Gadot is going to continue the traditional of bringing home a very striking performance and likeness to the Evil Queen, like her predecessors have done. And who knows, maybe she will start playing more evil roles. I have also loved most of the Batman movie trilogies, so I think Gal could possibly be a shoe in for an excellent Poison Ivy.

A DIFFERENT MAN

When we got our first snow two weeks ago, I spent the day watching movies. One of which was A Different Man. I love Sebastian Stan, and he has had quite the year with movies. Following his portrayal, eerily accurate of the Orange Orge, where he said he had many sleepless nights acting as the Dump...and now this movie. he nailed both beautifully. Have you seen this film yet? It was one of the darkest satires I've seen in some time. Sebastian Stan plays Edward, who has a troubled life, not only because of his deeply disfigured face, but also due to the way he carries himself. When he participates in an experimental drug trial that drastically changes his appearance, he finally starts to live the life he's always wanted, with his sexy body and handsome face, although the peeling face thing was a bit unnerving. This dream life quickly turns into a nightmare when a play his neighbor writes and produces, sparks Edward's desires to change and he becomes obsessed with trying to reclaim what he once was and lost.

From the very start of the movie, I knew that I was witnessing a totally unique artistic vision. Director Aaron Schimberg has a tight control of every frame, the high-quality production value of this film is undeniable. At the beginning of the movies, before Edward's transformation, feel very different than what follows. His life is riddled with anxiety, and the audience feels every bit of it. You also feel the discomfort that Edward has because he looks different. Which I might add, Stans make up is some of the best that will come all year I suspect. I actually questioned the make-up, if there were two different actors playing Edward in the beginning of the film. Sebastian Stan gives a performance I was unaware he was capable of, especially on a physical level. And the scenes with Peason are gold.

The supporting cast were excellent too. Reante Reinve and Adam Pearson who is a British actor, presenter and campaigner, who has neurofibromatosis in real life, are also very good in this. Pearson, who plays Oswald has the life that Edward wants and can't understand how Oswald is so outgoing and fears nothing, enjoys life to the fullest, even with the disfiguring disease, yet Edward, who is cured of his disfigurement, isn't happy, and still doesn't have the life he wants. And Reinsve feels like she is giving two different performances from where we first meet her and where her arc ends up. Ingrid is an incredibly flawed person whose morals are never known and Reinsve makes every scene she's in a fascinating watch. The scene where she tells Edwards to go put the disfigured mask on during sex was quite something. I don't want to give the whole plot away. And Pearson is incredibly charismatic and a pure scene stealer for sure. Overall, A Different Man is an original achievement that I absolutely adored. It is certainly not for everyone, what with some of the disturbing imagery, but I was always immensely entertained. And nothing wrong with catching a glimpse of a very naked and revealing Bucky Barnes!!!! 

I may have to watch again. My next movie I want to watch is the Substance. Adore Demi Moore.

FRIDAY INTERLUDE.....

...with the Triadisches Ballet!

One of my favorites. The Triadisches Ballet is a ballet developed by Oskar Schlemmer. The ballet became the most widely performed and one of the most avant-garde artistic dance ballets, and while Schlemmer was at the Bauhaus from 1921 to 1929, the ballet toured, helping to spread the ethos of the Bauhaus. I have always enjoyed it. Now you understand what it's like in my mind!!! Just throw in a few naked men and your there. Very visually stunning. Enjoy the show kids!

HILARITY OF KATHY BURKE

I'm not sure how many Americana are familiar with the very funny, and the hilarity of comedian Kathy Burke. My first experience with her was of course on Absolutely Fabulous, who played Patsy's fast-talking, power lunching, Cockney-accented magazine editor Magda. Here she is as Magda along with two of her other clips from shows, that get me howling with laughter every time. 

From Psychobitches....

From Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie...

I know just how Linda La Hughes feels. I had mornings like that the day after some of my South American boys have visited.

ALONG THE SEINE

What did I miss over the weekend whilst I was gone? Apparently quite the performance by Lady Gaga, who won the gold along the Seine River, as she transformed the Parisian waterway into a recreation of spectacle for the Olympics. I saw it once I was back, and while I'm not the biggest fan of Lady Gaga, this might be the best performance I have ever seen her give.Now remember, a performance for me has to have FABU ensemble, be campy, and have a memorable spin and she checked all the boxes not to mention she recreated a performance by one of my favorites, the late great and fabulous French star, ZiZi Jeanmarie, who only passed away in 2020 at the ripe old age of 96.  Gaga made quite the entrance on the staircase along the Seine with dancers, powder puffs and huge amounts of bead, feathers and marabou, looking like a Parisian dancer of yore, gave a song and dance and even tickled the ivories on a grand piano! Lady Gaga channeled the same aesthetic, costuming and vocal intonation of the late great ZiZi in the singers "Mon Truc En Plumes." ZiZi Jeanmarie originally did this as a performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Brava to Gaga for this performance and for giving now gone performers some more recognition. I approve. Now I need to figure out how to get my mits on the ensemble? I'd settle for just one of the pink pom-pom hats.

In case you missed kids.....

THE MAESTRO

I think it is safe to say, that the Queen of Queens, the ultimate winner over all queens, Jinkx Monsoon just might be the biggest success yet to come off Drag Race. Her talent and range seem to know no bounds, and I'm here for that. She was belittled and not a favorite in the workroom, I dare say even picked on a bit by the other queens, but who's laughing now? Jinkx Monsoon who is a two-time winner of Drag Race has landed her biggest role yet, as recurring guest star in the new season of Doctor Who. Jinkx plays the evil, twisted Maestro, a malevolent force that attempts to abscond with all the world's music if the new Doctor Who and his sidekick, Ruby Sunday can't stop Maestro's nefarious efforts.

I have never been a huge viewer of the show, mostly only seeing that of the original series, but I did stream some of the new season, and I'm here to tell you Jinkx NAILED this part...she played it will such twisted, crazed, and disturbing talent. I had goosebumps watching her. What a delicious character this Maestro is and played beautiful by Jinkx, of course.

Russel T Davies from the past Doctor Who, created the Maestro role and wrote the episodes specifically for Monsoon after seeing her stage show, Together Again, Again. I even read the producers invited Monsoon into the conversation about Maestro's look early in the process, which Jinkx considered a show of respect for her as a drag entertainer and transfeminine actor. She had input from the wardrobe to the wigs and right down to the make-up, having plenty of experience in that area. I think it's great to see a queen like Jinkx take drag in a whole new direction. This may be one of the biggest parts yet for a drag queen in such a huge and reputable franchise as Doctor Who. I tell you; she was phenomenal. I can relate to the part of Maestro too, I'm a bit crazy. Critics are already hailing her performance as "blistering and "an absolute scene-stealer." I would agree.

And there is no slowing down. Jinkx is about done wrapping up her turn as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors on Off Broadway, and has just learned she will be reprising her role as Mama Morton in Chicago, back on Broadway, as well as make her grand debut in February of 2025, with a one night only show at Carnegie Hall.

Look out! The drag queens are taking the Hall kids!!!!

Now, a small sample of Jinkx's amazing, if not crazed performance.