A Chorus Life: Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Third week of rehearsals and more people are complaining about the amount of choralography that they have to learn so far. And that's just for two numbers. I heard one of the older members just got up and grabbed his coat on breaktime and declared, "I quit." Sometimes it can be too much but they have to understand that these elements are vital for a show like Big Gay Sing. 

Meanwhile, Charlie lashed out on the chorus for "sitting with friends" rather than sitting with their section members. We on the lower baritones were pretty much set but the tenors 1, 2 and basses were in a bit of a disarray. 

Shafikh, featured here previously with his solo of 'You Raised Me Up,' volunteered to do the solo of Habanera from Carmen and he did a great job. Homeboy did his homework and sang the song from memory. 

And here to formally announce her campaign for queen comes Lily Putian. Mini Monarch postcards were distributed all over the seats and just before breaktime, Lily, accompanied by some friends, made her entrance in a pink dress and adorned with pearls. This makes Lily as the second candidate for Queen, next to the Baroness. There are still no signs of candidates for Butch, especially that rumors are swirling that John Galloway might consider backing out because of workload. 

Oh well. Just another week with the chorus. 

Rejoiced with Kelly

First concert of the year and what better way to start it with the amazing Kelly Clarkson. I watched the show with my BFF, Enol, for her birthday and we had a blast.

Kelly made her pitstop in NYC in her Stronger Tour last night in Radio City Music Hall. Kelly kept saying she's very excited and kept "woohoo-ing" with the audience. She then reveals that it was her first time in RCMH and couldn't have been prouder to be staging a show there. 

Show highlights for me include  her singing a Broadway song, in this case, "My Man" from Funny Girl. She said she shares the same birthday as Barbra Streisand. Then there's the Carrie Underwood cover of "I Know You Won't" which she totally rocked at Troubadour and now has been a staple in her setlist. And then Breakaway and Mr. Know-It-All. Other surprises include her cover of Florence and the Machines' Heavy In Your Arms, a tribute to Etta James via "I'd Rather Go Blind" and mentioning that Reba McIntyre was in the audience when she sang "Because of You." Of course, it's always nice to hear the hits. 

Overall, it was an amazing show and Kelly just showed she is a phenomenal singer. There were no lavish costume changes or backup dancers or moving sets and otherworldly visuals. It was just Kelly and her band -- she in tight-fit jeans and boots and alternating her tank tops, adding a sequined vest or blazer here and there. 

The concert was front-acted by the sexy Matt Nathanson. I adored his commentaries and interaction with the audience. Great songs, too.

My Man: (courtesy of @muumuse)

I Know You Won't: (courtesy of jelly10100)

I'd Rather Go Blind: (courtesy of krazieekimx0x)

Because of You: (courtesy of jelly10100)

A Chorus Life: Shake That!

Second week of rehearsals and I was introduced to my very first ever chorus buddy, Tyrone. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. What if I don't like him and he doesn't like me? Not that we have to but it will make for a good chorus buddy relationship if we got along. 

Surprisingly, Tyrone is great and easy to talk to. I remember how it was like being a new member and I just took it from there. My then chorus buddy, Tim, who's now a bass, now refers to himself as a grandpa. So cute. Now my goal is to make sure Tyrone stays in the chorus and at least finish this concert. Chorus buddies feel like it's a big accomplishment if their buddies perform on their first concert and from the looks of it, Tyrone said that he's having a good time and is sort of determined to perform in this show so that's really a plus.

On the rehearsal front, we learned more choralography this time to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. My friend Tyler, who's playing co-choreographer in this show, took on the spotlight and showed us the moves. Meanwhile, my good friend, Edwin, feeling nostalgic and emotional, volunteered to sing the solo for Adele's Someone Like You and he did a marvelous job. He's going through something personal and the song just happens to best describe the situation he's in so he emailed Charlie and got the gig and nailed it. Proud of you, gurl!

Also, Loopee, the costume headmistress, took my measurements at the beginning of rehearsals. At this point, our roles and characters were yet to be determined but I'm expecting some drag will be happening since he measured me as both male and female. 

The show is really beginning to take shape and I cannot contain my excitement so I'm just gonna "shake that!"

Check out this LMFAO vid for reference and shake it wit me:

A Chorus Life: Big Gay What?!

The fourth installment of Big Gay Sing 4 is in its infantile stages as we began rehearsals last Monday. Jeff Lettiere, the show's director and creative consultant, took the stage to inform us, chorus members, of what's expected to happen in this much-anticipated chorus show every year. There still seemed to be no definitive theme unlike last year's supposedly 3D (Disco, Diva and Disney) which morphed into "Dreams Come True" because of intellectual property rights concerning the use of Disney. The secondary show title is yet to be determined, if there is one at all, but that's not to say that the show doesn't have the oomph and the glitz than its 2011 counterpart had. Based on the first five songs that we learned that night, the show promises to be as equally fun as BGS 3D. 

Expect to see some Tina Turner, Carmen, LMFAO and yes, Adele. 

Dance rehearsals are set to begin next week and I'm really, really getting excited.

We also welcomed a few good additions to our family last night. Auditions were held shortly after New Year's and according to my sources there were about 36 guys who showed up. Sixteen people made it through the cut and a few were on the 'reserves' list. The reserves was made if as it happens that the new people decided to quit. There were a handful of returning members as well -- those who didn't sing at the Christmas show a few weeks back. 

I'm still lazy to put up the vids from the Christmas show but some members already got their hands on them and have been posting them on Facebook. I shall be posting very soon. Sooner than you thought. Alright, who am I kidding? Been such a slacker these past few weeks so it'd be no surprise if soon equals a few more weeks later. Just keep checking the blog for more updates!

Happy 2012!

And so it begins.

2012 seemed to be a fierce mother-effer of a year as within its first four hours, we were greeted with an unexpected demise. It's been awhile since I worked at the hospital on New Year's. At the stroke of midnight, as the charge nurse, I gathered my crew in one of the empty patient rooms as we witnessed the countdown being done on CNN by Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. All this while pouring sparkling apple-grape cider and later on, toasted to and wished everyone 'Happy New Year!' Then we had our little fiesta at the break room, taking turns watching the patients. It didn't take long before we were back to our usual grind as we attend to our patients' needs. Until 4AM when one of the patients, unexpectedly so, become unresponsive and pulseless. We called the code, the room was swarmed with doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists as we strived to revive the patient. But to no avail.

It could be any other night but it happened on the first day of the new year. I think 2012 is trying to tell me something -- to always be on my toes and never underestimate 'it,' whatever this 'it' might be. So bring it on, 2012! Let's kick some ass together!

A Chorus Life: Silver Bowler Hat

We're down to our final week before showtime. Next week, rehearsals with Lillias are underway. I'm just a little bummed that Lillias, star of Dreamgirls and The Life, is not singing '... And I'm Telling You.' 

We practiced staging. The chorus was divided into two. Rows 1-3 will be coming up from behind, from the audience, and Rows 4-6 will already be on stage. With around 150+ men in the chorus and Town Hall being relatively small, this has always been our challenge. There is not enough space for dancers. Hence, we're utilizing the orchestra aisles and the balcony. It sucks because some of these choreography are meant to be viewed onstage. I happen to have only one number on stage and that's the finale. The one dance that I really, really liked, in which I'm wearing a silver bowler hat, I'm performing it in the balcony. So you, balcony people, I'm going to take your eyes off away from the stage! Be warned. 

Our dress rehearsal for the dance was really something. The dances really pop out because of the costumes. It was also an eye-opener for me -- there were steps that I just take for granted and I don't have them down pat yet. It's crunch time, people! I'll do my best this week, our final week, to perfect all the moves. There's just one number that I'm not really comfortable with --- the part where I'm supposed to woo a girl. Me, of all people! I should be the one to be wooed. Well, this calls for some major acting chops. Thank God I grew a 'stache and a beard. Helps out with the character. 

One more day to use code: GMCFRIEND to get 10% discount and then GMCHOLIDAY until Dec 17. Get your tickets now. 

A Chorus Life: Interfaith and Multicultural

After the highly debated gospel and spiritual concept of this year's holiday concert, Charlie surprised us with the inclusion of Hindu and Arabic chants as performed by one of our members, Asim, who happens to know both languages. He gave us a sample two weeks ago and he sounded fantastic. Like we were transported to some Hindu temple or an Arab mosque. The chants were chosen to coincide with the holiday theme and will be featured in the show. A week later, we were taught an African song to help segue Little Drummer Boy. The song is from the Yaruba culture in West Nigeria which views the birth of a healthy child as a spiritual blessing. One verse of the song translates to "To have this child is to have joy in life." Expect a lot of riveting drum solos on this one. 

We had a couple of run-throughs of the whole show already, including choralography, solos and the dances. The concert is in two weeks and we will have two rehearsals with our guest, Lillias White. She has two solo numbers plus a minor role in one of the skits. We're still sorting out costumes and props. The biggest challenge will be the staging, since Town Hall has a relatively small space to accommodate the chorus, the dancers and the band.

Here's this year's design for the concert poster as created by JimVivyan, one of the chorus basses. Get your tickets here, folks. 

Drama Queers

Yesterday, I had the chance to meet one of my favorite authors, Frank Anthony Polito. He wrote the controversial 'Band Fags' and the sequel (well, sort of), Drama Queers. He,with fellow gay writers, Tom Mendicino and Michael Salvatore, has a new book called Remembering Christmas, a collection of Christmas stories. There was a reading and signing event at Barnes and Noble last night and can't say I wasn't excited. You see, Frank and I had been talking via Twitter for quite sometime after my blogger-friend, Kenneth, in a way introduced me to him (via Twitter, of course). I knew of his books before, but that 'introduction' paved the way for me to read them just in time for our supposed 'meeting.' Thankfully with the new book and the reading/signing event, I was finally ready to meet Frank. 

Behold:

Frank would be the third gay author that I had the wonderful chance of meeting. Last year, I met Augusten Burroughs and Marc Acito. You're up next, David Sedaris. 

A Chorus Life: Joyful Joyful

Lots of updates in the chorus front but my laziness has been kicking in of late and I'm back in the same slump where I just leave this blog in a state of abandon. But here we shall resume.

Two weeks ago, our special guests were revealed by Charlie. It was announced that Tony Award winner, Lilias White, and Bishop Gene Robinson will be part of Holiday House of Love. I'm not really familiar with Lillias except for her stint in Fela! on Broadway about a year ago. When I watched Fela!, she was already replaced by Patti LaBelle. Here Wikipedia page says she's known for her role as Effie in Dreamgirls, more popularized by Jennifer Holiday and later on, Jennifer Hudson. (So expect some "And I'm Telling You" powerhouse performance on the show.) She won the Tony for her role as the prostitute Sonja in the musical called 'The Life.' 

Here's an amazing rendition of 'Don't Rain On My Parade' by Lillias:

Bishop Gene Robinson, on the other hand, is the first openly gay man ever consecrated as bishop in the Anglican branch of Christianity. He conducted the chorus during the 9/11 memorial at St. John the Divine. Perhaps Bishop Robinson will do some conducting again in the show. As I mentioned in my previous posts, this Christmas show has a lot of gospel feel so I guess having the bishop is only apropos. 

Meanwhile, the NYCGMC website has been recently revamped. It debuted its new look last Thursday. Most pictures posted were from the recent Accentuate The Positive concert last June and the Singathon held in September. Even the avatar has been changed -- now only says GMC. I hope there would be more  photos and videos in the gallery soon. During the summer, members were asked to submit pictures and videos of the shows they were in and other chorus events for archival purposes. I haven't submitted mine yet but I'm hoping to turn them in in the near future. There should be more content for the NYCGMC fans to browse on. 

If you're a fan of Sister Act, especially Sister Act 2, I think you'd love this concert. We are doing our own version of Lauryn Hill's Joyful Joyful sans the rap part, unfortunately. But expect it to be an energetic number. 

As held annually, there's an auction for the chance to conduct the chorus during the Christmas concert. This year, the honor goes to Guy Jacobs from the bass. I wonder how much money he raised to get the gig. Well, the song is called 'Vamos A Bailar' which will allow Charlie and Aaron to play together in one piano, which is pretty neat. 

Guy conducting us yesterday

Charlie & Aaron playing together on 'Vamos A Bailar'

A Chorus Life: Big Fab Gay Wedding

Last Sunday, I attended my first gay wedding. Well, attending is really a stretch since I wasn't at the ceremony or reception for that matter. I was singing with the chorus as we greeted guests (about 600 of them) arriving on blue, red and white carpets at the lobby of the Seagram Building on Fifth Avenue as they walked towards their way to the Four Seasons Restaurant. It was the wedding of Bill White and Bryan Eure, a high profile gay power couple. Bill is the president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, among other things, and Bryan is on the board of trustees of the High Line, among other things. The couple had celebrity guests in the entertainment, media, politics, business and the army (or is it navy?) world. 

We stood by the lobby as we sang Katy Perry's Firework, Lady Gaga's Born This Way, Edith Piaf's Non Regrette Rien, Do You Hear The People Sing from Les Miz, a Spanish song called Vamos A Bailar (which will be showcased in our upcoming Christmas concert), Dusty Springfield's Son of A Preacher Man and America The Beautiful.  The acoustics in that lobby was terrific and hid our flaws and we sounded amazing. The guests loved it. Some stopped by to listen, take pictures and videos and would nod to us in appreciation as they enter the restaurant. Of course, our eyes were doing double duty looking at Charlie's conduction and spying on the who's who as they passed by. We saw Joel Grey, Barbara Walters, Gayle King (minus Oprah), NY ex-governor Paterson, some CNN anchors, and others I don't recognize. We heard Aretha Franklin provided entertainment during reception but we didn't see her come in. Prop 8 lawyer, David Boies, officiated the ceremony. We sang two sets and walked off. 

To Bill and Bryan, congratulations. You make a handsome couple. 

photo credit: Leandro Justen/Patrick McMullan

We were mentioned briefly in this article on the New York Times.