marQ's ish

Weekend in New England

2012-02-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

Late in January, Mark, Rob and I had a weekend retreat in Boston. It has been in the planning stages for more than month ever since finding out that our buddy, Vince Oddo, got the gig as an ensemble member in the touring company of the musical, Green Day's American Idiot. Boston is the closest tour stop to NYC and I've never been to Boston so I was pretty excited. I was in charge for the show tickets and Rob, who's been to Boston before, took reins in our travel and hotel accommodations.

We left on a Friday afternoon via the Peter Pan bus line. The travel clocked in at about 4 and a half hours, not bad for a Friday and rush hour at that. We arrived at Hotel Nine Zero, a luxury boutique hotel in Downtown Boston just before 10pm. We scouted the area and looked for The Opera House where American Idiot was being staged. We saw some fans lining up and some actor from the show was signing autographs. No sign of Vinnie though. We then headed to Chinatown for some dinner and had drinks at gay bar called The Alley before settling in our comfy hotel beds.

Next day, I took a little stroll at Boston Common early morning then reconvened with the guys for some gym time at Equinox using our all-acess membership. The Franklin St Equinox was built in what used to be a bank. The locker room/showers area for the guys used to be a vault. Pretty cool. While Mark and Rob attended the VIPR class, I took Power Yoga.

Lunchtime, we headed to the North End, their Little Italy, while walking through Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Lunch was glorious at Cafe Florentine. In the afternoon, the duo opted to check the New England Aquarium while I jetted out to Cambridge taking the T and inspected the Harvard grounds. I was geeking out once I stepped in. I remembered reading Erich Segal novels, most of them situated in the halls of Harvard. I sought out Harvard Law School and relive an Elle Woods moment from Legally Blonde. I happily went back to the hotel to find out that the couple weren't able to get in The Aquarium because of long lines. They took a nap instead.

Quincy Market, the GO PATS! sign would be irrelevant in the next week

Faneuil Hall

Harvard Law School

Our hotel hosts a wine hour every 5pm at the lobby so we took advantage of this. Finding a dinner spot was difficult so we ended up at MacDonald's before heading out to the theater for American Idiot. The Opera House is a divine space with luxurious chandeliers. We settled in our super-great house seats and eagerly cheered for our friend.

The Opera House

Vinnie played Favorite Son during the Boston run and we actually lucked out because someone else is taking over the role in Chicago. The guy was fantastic and had awesome stage presence. So proud of him. I have seen the show on Broadway before and with Billy Joe Armstrong no less and I have to say, the touring company didn't disappoint. We met up with Vinnie and some of the cast at stagedoor after the show.

with Vince, Favorite Son

with Jake Epstein, Will

with Van Hughes, Johnny

To cap the night off, the three of us had drinks at another gay bar called Fritz, but then Rob got hungry so we got back to the hotel and ask advice from the concierge where to have some late-night grub. We were pointed to Barracuda Tavern just a few steps away and had our fill.

Sunday morning, the two went to church while I stayed in bed. We had lunch at Quincy Market, bought some cannoli at Rick's Pastry and shopped at H&M. By 2pm, we were en route back to NYC.

A Chorus Life: A Place Where Nobody Dared To Go

2012-02-07T19:35:00.000-05:00

Monday night rehearsals as ush. I walked in and found out that we were to be seated according to the concert formation. Some were boggled by this, especially the new members, because their names were missing from the seatplan and some were not happy with how they were placed. I'm seated in the front by the far end for the fourth time, which allows for quick exit for costume changes and I do have a few for this show.

Charlie started off with a review of Xanadu, the infamous Olivia Newton-John song featured in the movie of the same title, which became a successful Broadway musical. The chorus is expected to leave their "masculinity" at the back door in some parts of the song and do their best Olivia impersonation in their falsettos. In the actual production, the song, like the movie and musical, will feature some fierce rollerskaters. I, unfortunately, won't be one of them since I don't know how to skate, but I shall be a featured muse. I still don't know what that entails.

The rest of the night were just basically reviews of the songs we have so far. It's week 5 and Charlie says we're halfway done with the repertoire and ahead of schedule. Expect for a review of Proud Mary, no other choralography was done that night.

Other interesting stuff concerning the candidates running for Queen and Butch this year. A new butch candidate, Doug Roach, greeted chorines as they were arriving and handed out postcards. John Galloway dispelled rumors that he was not running and brought out leather-clad members, including Rex, Shafikh's leather doggie alter-ego. Clearly, leather is big among these bitches, I mean, butches.

As for the Queens, the Baroness, again with her minions, announced her campaign with a short skit. And Kashmira Schall, in her courageous first outing in drag in a sari no less, formally announced her candidacy.

Things are really heating up for this Chorus Royals business. Wait till they see one more Queen candidate in the weeks to come. Somebody is about to emerge!

John with "Rex" and Nathan

"Rex" being petted by Filip

Kashmira Schall

The Baroness

Doug's Postcard

A Chorus Life: I Know Him So Well

2012-02-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

So last night, Thursday, was the big solo auditions for Big Gay Sing 4. I must say that I was mentally preparing for this ever since that debacle which was my solo audition from last year, which was messy enough to warrant a critique from Charlie that next, "be prepared." So I kinda did. Kinda, being the operative word. In as much as I want to engage in vocal exercises and finding the right song, I was just lazy and lacked the motivation. It doesn't help that the chorus has 200 or so talented bunch of bitches and some of them have musical theatre backgrounds and are already used to auditions. I can sing in front of Charlie but in front of all those people, it's nerve-wracking.

Since last year's audition, I have been trying to search for the perfect audition but I crammed and chose my song last week. I was toying on the idea of singing one of Lea Salonga's songs in Miss Saigon (Movie In My Mind, I Still Believe, or I'd Give My Life For You), but then scrolling my iPod playlist directed me to former American Idol runner up, Justin Guarini's version of Oleta Adams' Get Here.

As for the songs from the show, I chose the 2011 Tony Awards opening number, "It's Not Just For Gays Anymore" sung by Neil Patrick Harris. The challenge of this song is mastery of the lyrics and how to "perform" it. I knew I had memorize the lyrics somewhat but my fears got the best of me and I relied on my iPhone to check on the lyrics so that totally interfered with my take on the song. I just wished I was confident enough that I do know the lyrics. Anyway, that's that.

The first round had the boys sing the selections from the concert that they want to audition for. Most people opted for 'I Know Him So Well" from Chess, a widely popular choice that night. Second most popular was Habanera from Carmen, then the Broadway bit (I think there were 5 of us who did it) and 3 people did Love Boat. Props to Nathan who was lone in singing "The Nanny," Paul for doing a song from the "Mad About the Boyfriend" medley and Aaron for singing 'Love Shack."

The second round was a song of your choice in a capella. At this point, I sung Get Here.

It is interesting to see my friends from the chorus in a different light and showcase their talents. When they're in the zone and just singing their asses off, they can really blow your mind. I was happy to receive some compliments and coming from people who did solos before. I have to admit that it did boost my confidence a little bit.

At this point, I'm just glad it's over. And it just gave me fuel for the next audition. It's still pretty scary but the more you get to do it, the less difficult it becomes.

Here's the Neil Patrick Harris number:

And here's the Justin Guarini version of Get Here:

A Chorus Life: Bang, Bang, Bang On The Door, Baby!

2012-01-31T12:16:00.000-05:00

I was MIA from the chorus rehearsal last Saturday because of a much-anticipated trip to Boston (more on this later), so I was really looking forward to seeing the guys last Monday. Upon entering the top floor of The Center, the Baroness, who's running for chorus queen, is all dolled up in a velvety lavender ensemble, greeting the chorines as they come up and her minions are coaxing the guys to take a picture with her holding a mirror frame of sorts. I took one and jazzed it up. Waiting for the pic to appear on Facebook anytime soon.

I have heard of how physically taxing the Saturday rehearsal was -- learning tons and tons of choralography for songs like Proud Mary, the opening number and Love Shack. I was hoping, along with the other guys, that the Monday rehearsal would be a little subdued, but to no avail. Early on, skipping the usual stretches, Tyler proceeded to review the moves from Proud Mary. And shortly after that, Tym, a returning member, took over and reviewed Love Shack. And I have to agree -- there's a lot to take in, which doesn't mean they're not fun. Tym made it fun to follow -- he's like your personal trainer and cheerleader at the same time. I heard less comments from the boys. Charlie just had to explain that it was necessary to really learn them now along with the music and that we're two-thirds done with all the choralography in the show. Wonder what the remaining one-third is gonna be like.

At breaktime, I had the chance to talk to Loopee about how I was missing out on trying on dresses and costumes for the show. He then told me about my supposed roles in the show. Holy crap! I get to be a musical icon! One more reason to watch this show, bitches!

And speaking of reason, I forgot to mention that our guest co-host for this show is the fabulous and absolutely outrageous, Jackie Hoffman. I've been missing out on her one-woman shows at Joe's Pub and the recently-concluded The Addams Family, where she played the grandma, so I'm really excited about this. I loved her in Xanadu and I saw her in an off-Broadway production with Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson.

Catch this parody of Lady Gaga's Alejandro that she did as Grandma:

A Chorus Life: Follow The Yellow Brick Road

2012-01-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-01-17T02:09:00.001-05:00

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?!

2012-01-16T12:53:00.002-05:00

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!

2012-01-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-10T00:58:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-05T03:31:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-18T11:21:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-15T08:16:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-26T12:06:00.000-04:00

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.

A Chorus Life: New Members Party

2011-10-20T08:31:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday was the first weekend retreat for the chorus at the Church of Holy Trinity. It's basically a whole day of rehearsals. While the 'singers' got down and dirty with new material, the dancers were called to practice our moves in a little daycare room on top of the church. We made do with what we had in terms of space. Downstairs, the chorus had a short workshop on diversity initiative. The dancers missed most of the discussion and there were some interesting points being raised. Then we were asked to show a couple of dances that we learned in front of the guys.

Night time was the new members' party at Monster. The past royals were there in full glam and glitter and possible prospects who would run for queen this season. I decided not to dress up as a lady. I so wanted to but the exhaustion that day was already wearing me out and didn't have the energy to go in drag. I did meet some of the new members. I was in their shoes last year. Of course, the shenanigans ended with some alcohol consumption, showtunes, and overall good times.

some new members

the royals

reigning queen, Skinay Biatch, performing for the crowd

A Chorus Life: The Holiday House of Love

2011-10-15T09:43:00.000-04:00

That's the title of our holiday show this year. Yep, Holiday House of Love. I have not delve into how the 'powers that be' in the chorus came about this title. It's too...I don't know...wholesome? Nothing witty or tongue-in-cheek like Sing Your (Br)Ass Off from last year. Charlie is getting some flak for the choice of music being used for this show that he put a blog to facilitate discussion among members their feelings about the situation. People are saying that it's too religious for their own comfort. The chorus, with its 200+ members, come from different racial as well as religious backgrounds. We have people who practice Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, atheism, the usual Catholics and Christians. Most have no problem singing Christmas songs, but praise and worship songs might be a different story. There are really interesting things in the responses for Charlie's blog and I might be able to extract a thing or two from there and post it here. Might need to ask permission, of course.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to say that I'm a member of the dance team for this show. Dance auditions started three weeks ago and we have had two rehearsals ever since. It's interesting that director/choreographer for this show, Christopher Anderson, who masterminded our Bollywood moves from last year, has a flair for upbeat 'music video' type of dance moves, which really suited me. We were also happy to see new members getting in on the action. Based on the dance routines we've had so far, it's hard to tell what the general feel for the show is, but definitely it will be fun and awesome.

And just some general observation: the chorus is just plain guys now. Emily had to move out of state for school. And word is that there is another straight guy from the new batch. So Leo isn't the only one. Leo joined us early this year during Big Gay Sing 3D.

Scenes from dance auditions:

Crashing Tammy Haney's Party (Or Something)

2011-09-28T13:43:00.001-04:00

After dinner, we proceeded to Upstairs NY, the penthouse club of Hotel Kimberly, to continue the party sans the Tagwatini. Unfortunately, the place was packed and I didn't make any reservations, so we had to get in line and wait for 15-20 minutes before we were allowed to get in. Eventually we made our way up and met some of our friends who were already there. Indeed, the place was too crowded; not the same Upstairs that I went to during the winter where it's subdued and just no people. The views, however, were magnificent. The Chrysler Building with its illuminated spires is just astounding.

I knew there were a couple of friends who were still on their way to the event so I had to think of something to expedite the process. One friend already left the line and the party altogether (there was another party to attend to) so I didn't wanna let the others suffer the same fate that she did. And so I was determined.

I befriended one of the hostesses of the bar, who possessed a clipboard that contained the names of the celebrators. I playfully asked, "What's the name of the birthday person on the left side? I seemed to know a couple of people there." She looked at her clipboard and pointed out Tammy Haney's name. I said my thanks and immediately texted my two friends that they should mention Tammy Haney's name and they should be able to skip the line (that's what guests did when we were in line before). I got so excited. I really thought my scheme would work. I looked in the direction of Tammy's party and they seemed to have a really good time.

So here comes the fun part, waiting for the results if my scheme was a success. One friend debated and decided not to use it, thinking that the line wasn't that long and that she wouldn't mind waiting. My other friend used it and was told that nobody was celebrating a birthday named Tammy Haney. WTF! Tammy's freakin' here! I didn't know how she looked personally but as I could tell from her spot with her group of friends, she's definitely here! My friend didn't wanna argue with the bouncer and decided to leave. He was wearing sneakers, too, and that was against the rules. So...there's that.

I proceeded to drinking and entertaining my friends till Upstairs closed at 2 AM. Except for that glitch, I had fun.

More pics here:

birthday2011

The Tagwatini

2011-09-28T12:20:00.001-04:00

After a sensational glitterfest that is my dragtastic birthday last year, I decided to turn it down a notch this year and just go for the usual dinner and drinks with my closest friends. I was able to arrange a small dinner at Trestle on Tenth in Chelsea, where my friend Tom is the general manager. In the morning of my birthday, he asked how do I like my cocktail and I said sweet, citrusy/fruity. I mentioned that I would love it if it included edible glitter.

So that evening, I was surprised that not only did he concocted this drink according to my specifications but also named it after me -- the Tagwatini! It's vodka with honey, aperol, lime juice and with a Filipino twist, the kalamansi. It was delicious or dare I say, Tagwalicious!!! Also, there was a special menu for me and my guests. It was mad cool.

I had four of the Tagwatinis (I just couldn't get enough but sadly we had to leave the place) but glitter was all over my lips that night.

A Chorus Life: Seizure

2011-09-20T12:38:00.000-04:00

It was bound to be just another one of those rehearsal Mondays. Mundane. Nothing crazy. We are learning another version of 'Joy To The World' which has a gospel feel, like in church or in Sister Act The Musical. It was going on very well. We had a sampler of a new member's vocal prowess, new Tenor 2 Philip (who's gotten exponential Facebook requests in the aftermath) as he delivered a very R&B-esque solo to it. It was later revealed to me by my friend John that the song was from Whitney Houston's The Preacher's Wife soundtrack. Which made much more sense now, given the kind of treatment Philip gave to the piece.

Then we proceeded to do 'O What A Night,' which probably will become more interesting as the soloists will be put in the mix. Then finally at 8:35 pm, we were given a 20-minute break. I was chatting with a couple of friends when I saw somebody on the floor. It seemed odd that only a few people noticed it. A couple of other members were already attending him. My nursing instinct had me go up to their location and found out that one of the members was having a seizure and it was still happening. He was foaming in the mouth that I quickly ran to the men's room and grabbed some paper towels. The two other members and the guy's partner were there to assist. The seizure stopped. He lay on his side for a bit and started gaining consciousness but still look dazed and confused. He got up a few moments later and started to feel fine. I left the scene soon after.

I was talking to a friend about what happened, who's who got involved and stuff. The chorus is such a big group that the incident wasn't even noticed by many that I thought about what made the 'responders' did what they did. I actually wondered why they were there, which possibly made them think the same way about me. I later found out the two other guys were doctors. I'm not sure if they know I'm a nurse but I guess people in the medical field always get that instinctive feel to help out. The chorus is a huge family that it's nearly impossible to know each other's work background. Now I'm glad that I know. It's been a year and there are still lots to learn about my chorus family.

Anyway, here's a sampler of the Whitney song. We will perform this along with a bunch of other holiday tunes on December 18 at Town Hall, NYC.

A Chorus Life: The New Season Unfolds

2011-09-13T15:58:00.000-04:00

Time flies by and look, it's been a year since my audition with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. It's been a wonderful year singing, dancing, performing, having new friends, drinking a lot of cocktails and for some of us, doing drag.

After a short summer break, the chorus is back for our 31st season this 2011-12. It's like back to school for all of us, reclaiming our usual spot on the third floor of the LGBT Center on Monday nights. There's a lot of hustle and bustle as old friends greet each other, checking out who got fat and who got lucky (some got boyfriends which warranted a change their Facebook statuses from 'single' to 'in a relationship'). But it was also time to meet the new guys. That was me in their shoes last year. I recall being incredibly nervous and actually quite overwhelmed, not knowing what to expect. My then-buddy Tim eased me into it and before you know it, I've been here for over a year.

Charlie said there were about 92 who auditioned over the course of three days and unfortunately, only 25 were asked to join (as opposed to about 46 out of 80-something). Not that they weren't good but only 220 can only be accommodated in the chorus right now. There's already 195 old and returning members this season. A reserved list was created in case a few of the current members wouldn't be able to fulfill their commitments this season. Also of note are those members from the last three concerts who decided to go LOA this season. It is kind of unfortunate not to see their faces in the rehearsal room.

The hottest news this season were the hot basses! Prior to the new season, Charlie was hell-bent on making the chorus sound more colorful by bulking up our bass section, even asking a few of the baritones to move voluntarily. I think there were two volunteers but needed 8 more. Charlie noted that if there were no more volunteers, he would personally handpick those members who he thinks would be right for change. Being a lower baritone, I was dreadfully anticipating that phone call or email but none came. I was happy to remain as a baritone but later found out that my former buddy Tim was now moved to the bass section. It was interesting to see some of our baritone colleagues in a different seating area. It shouldn't be that bad because some of the hottest new members are basses! Hopefully we'll get to see their faces on this blog soon.

We were back to our regular programming after Charlie's introduction. It's back to the stretching and the back massage, a fun way to break the ice. We went straight to business as we started learning 3 new songs for the holiday concert and towards the end, we had to rehearse 8 songs from Big Gay Sing 3D and Accentuate The Positive for the fundraiser this weekend called Sing-A-Thon. More on that after it happens this Saturday.

So yeah, the chorus is back. And so is this portion of the blog. Until next time.

Scammed!

2011-09-10T08:05:00.002-04:00

Everything's a rush in New York City and New Yorkers have adapted to the pace that they have to catch up and walk really fast. I was one of those New Yorkers last night. I was ten minutes late meeting my friend, Kevin, in a bar in Hell's Kitchen and I still needed to stop by Duane Reade for the Chase ATM. I was walking along 49th Street in such hurried fashion, trying to pass over a group of people to my right, who were obviously taking their time, and also trying to avoid a guy walking toward me. I managed to escape the guy in front of me, but for some unknown reason, bumped into the nearest guy to my right, who now I realized wasn't part of the group. He's a lanky black guy, a little taller than me, perhaps in his mid-30s or younger, and the group was an Indian family who were obviously tourists. His eyeglasses fell to the ground during the collision. I said "sorry, man" and proceeded my way in the same pace until I had to stop, waiting for the "walk" sign on 8th Avenue.

That's when I felt somebody tugging on my shoulder. The same black guy, who now claims that I broke his eyeglasses (he showed me the crack) and that I needed to pay for it. He says it's brand new and it cost him $135 and he needs his glasses badly. Holy shit! Now I have to give this guy money? I told him I have no cash and he suggested that there's an ATM across the street. WTF! Obviously this guy wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't pull my iPhone out to make a call because I thought it would be apparent that I am a little 'loaded' considering the kind of phone I have. I was scared but at the same time, I was thinking to myself, why didn't I walk slower? I bumped into people countless occasions but now, clearly there are repercussions to that. And fuck, I'm going to lose some money. As we were walking toward the ATM, I was debating how much should I give this guy. $135 is too much. If I give him $50, he might create more trouble, so I settled with $100. He took my money and took off. I was relieved that he was gone but I felt so stupid and helpless at the same time.

When I narrated the whole story to my Kevin, he said it's a scam. But how could it be a scam? It was totally my fault that I bumped into him and poor guy is now walking with cracked eyeglasses, considering the limited space and the crowd we were at, the bump was bound to happen. Still, he insisted that it's a scam. It has happened to him and a couple of his friends, where some black dude (on all occasions) would bump into a potential victim, let his glasses fall to the ground and demand cash for it. His friends paid the guy, like I did. But in Kevin's case and given my friend's gifted ability of argumentation, he didn't pay the guy and threatened to call the cops to settle the issue, at which point the guy just took off.

I felt so vulnerable but given my previous experience of nearly getting mugged (read here), I would gladly depart with my cash than get physically hurt.

So fellow New Yorkers or tourists, I know you can't escape the crowds, especially in the Times Square area, but beware of these guys. Settle the case with the cops. I don't know why I didn't think of it but learn from my experience. It's a scam.

Broadway Et Cetera

2011-09-09T13:46:00.000-04:00

I have been neglecting this blog in favor of a much easier project that I could do on a daily basis. It's called stagedoorwhore.tumblr.com, in case you didn't know. But for all intents and purposes, I wanna give a brief description and of course, the pics, of the shows I have watched in the last few months. I initially thought that once I moved to the UES, with my rent triple in cost, that I would never see the light of a Broadway stage yet again. Surprisingly, I've seen more shows in a given period of time than when I used to live in Queens. I'm not sure if it's because I'm managing my finances more efficiently or the proximity of the theater district to my current residence. But I'm loving it.

Let's do it from the recent one.

Silence The Musical.

This is an authorized parody of Silence of the Lambs being performed in a small theater in the LES by St. Mark's Place. Music and Lyrics are by Jon and Al Kaplan with book by title of show's Hunter Bell. It's funny as hell! With songs like "If I Could Smell Her C*nt" and "I'd F*ck Me" and choreography and acting and dialogue that are brilliantly hysterical, no wonder the shows are always soldout. I have not seen the movie but I guess if you have, it'll be a lot funnier to know the inside jokes that only folks who saw the movie could perhaps understand. The night I came in, there was Joan Rivers with hordes of cameras giving her rave reviews of the show. Show ends its run on September 24.

Death Takes A Holiday.

Based on Alberto Casella's play La Morte in Vacanze, this was actually a movie back in 1934 and was remade as the more popularly known Meet Joe Black, with Brad Pitt, Clair Forlani and Anthony Hopkins. It's all about Death taking a mortal form (his holiday) and falls in love. Maury Yeston adapted it into a musical with such luscious score and beautiful songs and lyrics. The original Death, British actor Julian Ovenden, was unable to fulfill his obligations due to illness and was replaced by Kevin Earley who did an amazing job. Kudos to the rest of the cast, including Jill Paice, Max von Essen, Matt Cavenaugh, Rebecca Luker, among others. The show closed its limited run yesterday.

Kevin Earley

Max von Essen

Jill Paice

Matt Cavenaugh

The Legend of Julie Taymor, or the Musical That Killed Everybody.

It was my first attempt to catch a show at the Fringe Festival and I'm so thrilled to see this one. While creator Travis Ferguson claims this is not a parody, it is based on how the Spider-Man the Musical came into form, but instead of using Spider-Man, they call him Spider-dude. There were a number of character name changes, including Julie Paymore, U-squared (as opposed to U2) and Bruno (as opposed to Bono). The songs are hilarious and the cast is simply outrageous. Legend also played to soldout performances.

Follies.

This is my second Bernadette Peters musical and my third Sondheim. I was excited that the cast is actually super-stellar than I initially thought. There was Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein, Ron Raines, the fabulous Elaine Paige, Terri White, Jayne Houdyshell, Mary Beth Peil (Dawson's Creek's Grams), among others. Highlights for me include Terri White with the girls in a dance extravaganza in "Who's That Woman," Elaine Paige's "I'm Still Here" and Bernadette's "Losing My Mind." Follies is on a limited run.

Bernadette Peters

Jan Maxwell

Terri White

Master Class.

I am ignorant of Maria Callas so I checked in at Terence Mcnally's Master Class to get schooled. What I learned was that Tyne Daly is an incredible actress. Sierra Boggess and Alexandra Silber also delivered. The show ended its limited engagement yesterday.

Sierra Boggess

Tyne Daly

Baby, It's You.

I got to see this show for free. I love Beth Leavel but this show is a wannabe Jersey Boys-slash-Memphis. While the songs provide nostalgia, the presentation was mediocre, the choreography seemed uninspired and the story isn't uplifting.

The Normal Heart

I've never cried this much on a Broadway show. Phenomenal performances by a superb cast. A great story everyone should not take for granted. A definite eyeopener.

Luke Macfarlane

Jim Parsons

Lee Pace

Joe Mantello

John Benjamin Hickey

Catch Me if You Can

I really wanna see this because of Aaron Tveit, Kerry Butler and my friend Nick Kenkel who did some assistant choreography on the show and acts as the swing. While I love Aaron's soaring solos and enjoyed watching him break it down and dance, not to mention Norbert Leo Butz's Tony-winning performance and Kerry Butler's amazing song, I'm not such a big fan. Nick wasn't in the cast when I watched it that night.

Aaron Tveit

Arcadia

Got a free pass to watch a matinee of this show courtesy of my friend, Brian. We didn't know what were in for. Granted that the actors did a good job, the story was something else. It was nice to see Raul Esparza though.

Anything Goes

I enjoyed this revival and not just because of Sutton Foster. Those sailor boys are freakin' hot! Loved Anything Goes and Blow, Gabriel, Blow. That Joel Grey is so damn funny, Laura Osnes is divine and Colin Donnell is just charming. Nice to see a Cole Porter musical on Broadway these days.

Colin Donnell

Laura Osnes

Intimate Night With Queen B

2011-09-02T11:38:00.000-04:00

Before Beyonce announced her pregnancy in the recently concluded MTV VMAs, she did an intimate 4-night concert at NYC's Roseland Ballroom in support of her latest album, 4. I managed to score tickets on August 16, the second night of the show.

The line was insanely lengthy, covering the entire block of 52nd Street, which snaked through Broadway, then 53rd Street through 8th Avenue. They started letting people in at 8pm, supposedly the time the show starts. We had two hours of wait before B took centerstage. In between those hours, we were entertained by a DJ, while celebs and R&B artists like The Dream, Neyo, P Diddy, Russell Simmons, Kim Kardashian and Beyonce's hubby, Jay Z, started arriving in the VIP section. The crowd went wild, of course.

The Queen B started her schtick with a monologue-slash-song-and-dance, narrating the events that led her to what she is today, starting with Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are," her favorite song in her childhood. Then it was her story with the formation of Destiny's Child, leading up to her solo career, her moviestardom, leading up to the new album, 4.

Beyonce sang the entire new album with the exception of Start Over. And with the exception of singing "Run The World (Girls)" first before closing with "I Was Here," she sang the songs according to tracklisting. I really loved the album so the idea really appealed to me. How I wish she did this with B-Day because I really wanted her to sing 'Resentment' live. Every song is a highlight but my favorites were (in no particular order) 1+1, Best Thing I Never Had, Love On Top (with an additional octave, similar to her VMA performance), Coundown and The End of Time.

I really enjoyed the show and Beyonce is an astounding performer. I think the only flak that she got was using a teleprompter to assist her with her monologue. There was this huge screen in the back that I initially thought was just for lyrics, but apparently, everything that Beyonce said that night, including her interaction with the audience, was written in that teleprompter. Which I guess doesn't really matter, especially when you're all the way in the front. Why would somebody focus his attention on the teleprompter when the star of the show is right there on the stage? The critics were basically criticizing Beyonce's power of memorization but considering the amount of time this show was put together, (clearly she needed to perform these songs before she'd go on a pregnancy hiatus), I think she didn't have the time or maybe pregnancy hormones got in the way. Either way, she did a superb job, like always. The only thing I don't like about B is when she claims she's written this song or that song when she should give credit where credit is due. I don't think you could qualify as a songwriter when you only contributed a line or two. If B owns up to not being a songwriter like Whitney, I think she'd be genuine artist. There are many artist-musicians out there who have not written their own songs, which is totally fine.

Anyway, I love Beyonce and I'm glad I got to see her again (my third Beyonce concert) and wishng her congratulations on the bun in her oven.

1+1:

Best Thing I Never Had:

And here's the MTV VMA performance of Love On Top:

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

Tumblrin' Down

2011-08-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to start another blog, this time on tumblr. I wanted it to be an extension of marqsish.com but a little more specific. It took me awhile to figure out the essence of this tumblr blog but I was so excited when I finally decided to push through with it. Anyway, drumroll...it's called stagedoorwhore.tumblr.com.

Basically, it's all about the photos and perhaps, a little bit of anecdote if there's any attached, to all my stagedoor experiences. I was gonna make it exclusive to theater and but I decided I'd include those from concerts as well. I love meeting the actors and getting their autographs and things of that nature so I guess it just makes perfect sense that I do this blog. It also inspires me to watch more theater and more shows and challenges me to take that elusive photo-op with bigger-named stars, just so I could put them in my blog. I am hoping for a positive direction it will take.

So yeah, head on out to stagedoorwhore.tumblr.com. Still fine-tuning the look of the site since I'm still learning the ways of tumblr, but essentially the posts are up and running. I aim to post daily on there, which allows me to dig in my stagedoor past of the last 5 years or so. I'm still maintaining this blog obviously and I desire to have more posts up this month.

Hope you keep on reading.

Poppin' With Mary

2011-07-31T22:04:00.003-04:00

Finally I had the chance to see Mary Poppins on Broadway last night. The show premiered in 2007 and it took me 5 years to check it out. Of note is that the role of Mary Poppins is being played by the actress who originated the role in London and won the Olivier Award for it, Laura Michelle Kelly. Also, Gavin Lee, who originated the role of Bert in London and in Broadway, is back on the show.

I was a little skeptical about my audience experience seeing a lot of antsy kids and their parents coming in to the theater. Thankfully, they were all behaved during the show.

The show had a lot of showstoppers. First and foremost is the 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' number, and another, 'Step In Time' in which Bert walked and tapdanced upside down on the ceiling. It helps that the amazing Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake) did the choreography. You could witness Mary Poppins flying in the air and over the audience in the finale.

It's a good show visually, a lot of 'How'd they do that' moments. While the adults did an amazing job, I have to say the kids in that show are the stars. From the British accents to memorizing their cues and the singing and dancing, these kids are brilliant. I can tell the children in the audience are jealous of them. Heck, I'm jealous of them for being in a Broadway show at such a tender age.

I enjoyed the show thoroughly. I would love to learn the choreography to Supercali... and fly on that umbrella. Highly entertaining.

the amazing Laura Michelle Kelly

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:

Step In Time

Electric Youth Revisited

2011-07-31T17:17:00.001-04:00

When 80's pop icons Debbie Gibson and Tiffany announced that they were going on tour together, I knew I had to see them. They were my favorites growing up pre-teen, singing and dancing to their songs in school programs and contests. I waited for the tour to come to NYC, but alas, no plans of an NYC stop were made, so I dragged my ass to Westbury, Long Island, a short ride at the LIRR to catch the first leg of the tour in NYCB Theater. The stage is in-the-round and rotates to accommodate the viewing pleasure of the audience.

The show is called Journey to the 80's; hence, the duo performed not only their hits but popular songs from the 80s as well. The show started promptly at about 8:10 sans an opening act. The two came out performing the Eurythmics/Aretha duet, "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves," and then Toni Basil's "Mickey." After that, Debbie left Tiffany with her band for Tiff's set. She started with a John Mellencamp classic, "Crumblin' Down," then Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" and finally, Guns 'N Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine." Then she did an acoustic medley of her ballads, All This Time, fan favorite Could've Been, and Feelings of Forever, followed by an updated version of "I Saw Him Standing There."

Tiff took the opportunity to promote her latest country album, Rose Tattoo, and sang Feel the Music, Love You Good and He Won't Miss Me. She closed her set with an updated version of "I Think We're Alone Now." After that, her band disassembled and out came Deb's band. It was about a good 20-minute intermission.

Deb came out singing to "Shake Your Love," complete with two back-up dancers, including one who's worked her from the beginning and went to high school with her. She hammed it up for the hometown crowd. Then she took over the keyboard and performed her first number one hit, Foolish Beat. After that, she did a medley of 80's pop hits, including Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean," and Madonna's "Like A Virgin," among others. That was followed by "Electric Youth," including the original choreography, and "Out of the Blue." After a quick costume change, Deb showcased her Broadway side and performed a couple of showtunes. Then she took hold of the keyboard again and did impromptu 80's songs, asking requests from the audience. She did "We Could Be Together" briefly. I kept shouting "No More Rhyme" to no avail. The whole thing was only a prelude to her performance of "Lost In Your Eyes." She concluded her set with "Only In My Dreams."

The two came out again for an encore of Heart's "What About Love" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

I waited with a bunch of fans at the stage door and was lucky enough to get a picture with TIffany. She was very gracious and took time with each fan to sign autographs, pose for a pic and chitchat. We waited for Debbie for another half-hour after Tiffany left but we were told she had already left. She took to Twitter to explain that she had a respiratory infection and had to get some rest. Oh well. The show was fun, if only for the nostalgia. Tiffany's voice is still in good shape. Debbie, however, did pretty amazing considering her sick "condition." I'll probably see them again should they decide to play in NYC.

More pics here.

Tiffany: All This Time/Could've Been/Feelings of Forever

Electric Youth

Foolish Beat

Out of the Blue

Lost In Your Eyes

Sister Act

2011-07-22T11:01:00.001-04:00

Who knew nuns would look good in glitter and sequins?

I found that out last night after watching Sister Act The Musical at the Broadway Theater. This is one of those surprisingly good musicals with a good mix of comedy, heartfelt drama and singing extravaganza that would send us to the high heavens. I'm not familiar with the Sister Act movies except that I know Whoopi Goldberg was in it, now in the role of a Broadway producer for this particular show that got initial foothold across the pond. Patina Miller is a surefire diva that delivers excellent comedic timing and phenomenal riffs that could rival the Arethas, the Mariahs and the Beyonces of this generation.

The rest of the cast, including Tony winner Victoria Clark, Chester Gregory (whom I have seen in Dreamgirls), Demond Green (which we really enjoyed in Toxic Avenger) and Marla Mindelle (who has such amazing pipes!), are just as amazing. Kudos to Alan Menken and the rest of the creative staff for putting the music, story, costumes and sets come together.

If you want to see a feel-good show with all the elements of fabulousness, raise your voice and come see Sister Act.

Victoria Clark, who played Mother Superior

Tony nominee Patina Miller, who played Deloris Van Cartier

Here's a preview:

The Tony Awards performance:

Post-Pride Event at The Met

2011-07-21T07:55:00.001-04:00

I have been a recipient of Hugh Hysell's The Men Event emails for years now and have partaken in some activities like Boys' Night in the theater and gotten free tickets to off-Broadway shows and things of that nature. I am yet to sample the speed dating events though. Anyway, last night was this by-invitation only event at The Metropolitan Museum. It's a post-Pride gathering of homosexuals and their friends to basically drink booze for free and perhaps, enjoy the museum without the hassle of having tourists.

The invites were so limited and I was lucky to register just in time to avail of two tickets. My friend Dom was in waitlist but eventually got through. I brought my friend Ariel with me to the event, since it's been awhile that we haven't caught up.

While waiting for fashionably late Ariel at the entrance and seeing hordes of gays in various display of sartorial taste enter the doors, I was really curious as to what's going on inside there. Once in, we were treated to a museum-ful of gay men mingling and interacting and taking full advantage of the open bar. So we did just that. I met my friend Dom and Toti and spotted a couple of members of the chorus. We also saw Mike Ruiz of the A-List and much earlier, Cheyenne Jackson, who was on his way out after gracing the initial ceremonies together with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Quinn later on made a little statement about the same sex marriages about to happen in the city. We didn't explore the museum. We had to leave our wine glasses at the lobby and we weren't really excited to part without them so we just stayed there and got them refilled each time. Hysell's team were taking pics of the event and got one of ours and can't wait to see them on The Men Event website. Can't wait to do it again next year.

Update:
Here's our pic at the event taken by the event staff:

The rest of the pics can be found here.

NYC Pride 2011: It Gets Better and Better

2011-06-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

I have been attending the NYC Gay Pride parade for the last six years. The first time I was severely overwhelmed that I think I nearly cried. And then the next few years, although I still feel the empowering feeling of being out and proud, the parade became more of the same (floats, costumes, politics, eyecandies) but every year, my gay social network has become bigger and bigger. I was reading old posts regarding the parade and I'm actually impressed with how far I've come in terms of being an out gay person in New York City.

2011 marks my first year being IN the parade. I marched with my fellow chorines of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. Interestingly, I had blogged last year that I aimed to join this group when they passed by at my spot during the parade and it actually happened. Now I'm marching with them! Unbelievable.

The 42nd anniversary of the Stonewall riots is also very significant not just for me but for all gay New Yorkers and their allies because of the passage of the marriage equality bill last Friday. The atmosphere even at the starting grounds where marchers assembled was very positive and full of energy. Everybody seemed cordial and friendly and just glad to see and greet each other. That translated to the onlookers and the expectators on both sides of the streets.

The chorus wore tees that were worn during the AIDS Walk, the yellow/purple one designed by Mondo Guerra of Project Runway. There was even a mini-Project Runway challenge as we styled our shirts in many different ways, mostly cutting off the sleeves and the hem to show off some abs. Clearly, there was a lot of effort to show some skin as people were mostly wearing shorts. I wore the shortest pair I own and even folded the edges to make them even shorter. Two members went shirtless.

We received positive reception with our rendition of Firework and Born This Way with a small chorus band and supported by a backing track. Charlie made it clear that we're supposed to save our voices for the Wednesday concert (well, those who are singing in this concert, at least). But with the response of the crowd, we just couldn't help but sing our hearts out. It was amazing. Those two songs along with the traditional wedding march were one of the most played songs in the parade.

The parade went by swiftly. Thankfully we were in the first section so we finished early. The only downside to being in the parade is that you don't get to see the others marching in the parade. I missed seeing the Grand Marshalls, Dan Savage and Terry Miller, of the It Gets Better project and Manila Luzon of RuPaul's Drag Race in the Boxers float. I did see Reichen of The A-List New York among the crowd. Some of my friends texted me that they saw me and some I got to meet along the way. It was awesome!

It was the best Pride parade ever. And every year, it just gets better and better. Definitely looking forward to next year.

Gathering around pre-march

the chorus car

Aaron with the bass drum is actually our chorus pianist

chorus queen and chorus butch

with David

with Skinay, the chorus queen

My friend David took these next pics of me from the crowd...

Strangely, the pics captured me in a not-so-jubilant mood

And this one captured me using my phone, perhaps texting or tweeting something.

New York for Marriage Equality

2011-06-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

My internet connection is finally back and how timely it is that I'm able to blog about a momentous occasion that happened last night. New York became the sixth state to approve same sex marriage after a 33-29 vote in an intense senate proceedings in Albany late Friday night. For the last few days this week, I've been relying on Twitter for updates. I would sleep coming from the night shift with this hope of waking up to some fabulous news later in the day. It has been like that in the last couple of days and yesterday was no exception. After attending dance class and dinner in the East Village, I had no other option but to keep refreshing my Twitter timeline to extract the latest news, keeping my dinnermates abreast with what's happening.

It was overwhelming when the news finally broke out. Marriage equality is now a reality in New York. I certainly wished I had been in Stonewall last night to celebrate with some chorus members and the rest of the gay New Yorkers who were present in Sheridan Square. Mark B, Rob and I decided we'd just hit our favorite bar, Posh, in Hell's Kitchen to celebrate the evening.

I've been quite inactive in this year's fight for marriage equality. I remember in 2009, I joined rallies and even did phone-banking with Broadway Impact, emailed my friends to call and email their senators. I may have laid low this time around but the intention has always been there. I still can't fully grasp that what I've been fighting for together with the gay rights activists, marriage equality fanatics and straight allies is now a reality. Kudos to Governor Cuomo, the 33 Senators who voted yes, the gay rights leaders and their constituents and everyone who believed in marriage equality. This is our triumph.

Now, if only I could find a groom.

2011 Tony Awards Highlights

2011-06-13T12:19:00.000-04:00

It was a big night for me. I waited for months for this and it finally arrived. I felt like I did see a lot of shows beginning with the fall season and I saw most of the nominated shows and have interacted with some of the stars at the stagedoor. Anyway, I feel it was one of the best Tony Awards so far. In fact, one of the best award shows ever. They should keep hiring Neil Patrick Harris who could do no wrong in my book. It's kinda hard to believe that CBS owns the right to telecast the Tony Awards because it's not among the top gay channels and yet, it churned out the gayest show of the year. Never mind the fact that the attempt to sway heteros into watching theater by coming up with an opening song titled, "Broadway: It's Not for Gays Anymore" couldn't be more of an epic fail when it coincided with the NBA Finals. Yeah, right.

Here are my favorite highlights:
Except for Brooke Shields' teleprompter fail, this opening is flawless:

Then we have the Hugh Jackman-NPH duel. Who's the bottom? Who's the top? Who cares? It was A. Ma. Zing.

Seeing Daniel Radcliffe sing and dance is divine. It didn't hurt that hottie Charlie Williams was featured prominently.

The star-studded cast of Company that I sorely missed at the Carnegie last month.

I adored this show when I saw it just recently. Sutton Foster in Anything Goes is phenomenal; well-deserved win for Tony. The sailors are smokin', especially when I saw them from the fourth row.

Other fine moments were NPH's Spiderman jokes, when he came out on top of the War Horse, Nikki James's heartfelt speech, a number from the Scottsboro Boys and the Book of Mormon number featuring Andrew Rannells.

There were some lowlights for me, aside from Brooke's. The Priscilla number should have just focused on the three stars of the show, although parading those costumes (which they won a Tony for) was a bright idea. Spiderman musical could have chosen a much more energetic song to showcase on Tony night and not some boring ballad, although Jennifer Damiano and Reeve Carney are just hot. Laura Benanti's loss in the Best Featured Actress in a Musical category and Norbert Leo Butz's and John Larroquette's wins in their respective categories are minor duds.

Anyway, it was great night overall and a big win for the Broadway community. Now all eyes are on which show will close shortly after the Tony Awards. Till next year!

A Chorus Life: PBS Out In America

2011-06-11T10:57:00.003-04:00

As posted two days ago, the New York City Gay Men's Chorus took part in a special PBS telecast of Out In America, a look at lives of a diverse group of LGBT people in celebration of Pride month. Debut telecast was last Wednesday, June 8th on WNET Channel 13. We sang 'Firework' by Katy Perry. The other song that we did during the taping, Dusty Springfield's 'Son of A Preacher Man,' was not used in the telecast.

Check out our performance and then a brief interview with our artistic director, Charles Beale.

P.S. The vids are low quality since I only used my Flip to record my TV, which is sadly not HDTV. The next telecast of PBS Out In America will be on June 12 at 9:30PM on WLIW Ch. 21 in the tri-state area. Unfortunately, not all PBS stations will show the documentary. Check your local listings for the airings in your area.

A Chorus Life: Our TV Debut

2011-06-07T12:13:00.001-04:00

It was a tough decision for me and unfortunately, I am not doing the chorus' Pride concert called, (Accentuate the) Positive. I had trouble with my work schedule plus the whole stress of finding an apartment and moving was just too much to handle that it was best for me to go on LOA for this show. But that didn't mean my chorus activities were put to a halt. I got chosen to be part of this gig on PBS (WNET Channel 13). PBS has this documentary special about being gay in America, called Out In America, and the NYCGMC was among those chosen to be part of it.

There were 15 of us from the chorus, a three-piece band and Charlie, of course. We sang Firework and Son of A Preacher Man. The taping was held on May 17 at the PBS Studios and since it was a legit taping, we had our makeup done and retouches along the way. The taping took nearly four hours. We had several takes for different camera angles. It was really an interesting experience. The lighting guy provided the eye-candy and while the others find him inspiring, I found him distracting. It was difficult to concentrate on the lyrics.

Because I didn't want to interrupt the taping while the director was giving instructions, we failed to take pictures during the performance. Instead, we have these taken at the studio lobby. We hope somebody YouTubes our performance so you can check it out here. In the meantime, if you have PBS, set your DVRs for June 8 at 8PM. Additional airdates are June 10 at 1AM & 9:30PM on Thirteen and June 12 at 9:30PM on WLIW 21.

Matt Alber Live

2011-06-07T11:33:00.000-04:00

I was en route to Joe's Pub last Monday night for an evening of music with Matt Alber from the hit, End of the World. I saw him two years ago for a brief acoustic set at The Ritz and now, he's having his first ever show in NYC. He had a full-on band, which he claims, they had met only 16 hours early to rehearse.

I love Matt Alber and I enjoyed his first album, Hide Nothing, but nothing prepared me for how awesome of a live performer he is. Matt brings a different dimension to his songs when he performs them live on stage. It helps that the arrangements of the songs (with the live band) seemed way better than on the album. I loved the acoustic piano version of "Walk With Me" with the enchanting lyrics of the chorus really coming to the forefront and made me love the song all the more. He also did Field-Trip Buddy, Rivers and Tides, among others (from his album) and premiered a couple of new songs which he says will be in the new album coming this summer. I love the new songs which have the Jack Johnson vibe to them. Matt performed a couple of covers including Katrina and The Waves' Walking On Sunshine and Madonna's Take A Bow as encore.

I also like Matt's spiels on stage. He's just so adorable. As a way of giving back, he says parts of the proceeds of the show goes to the Hetrick-Martin Institute which helps out homeless gay youth. He also mentions his growing up in the Midwest with a strict religious upbringing and then something about moving to Vashon, WA to finally be with his long-distance boyfriend and their two goats, Goren and Sylvia.

Matt Alber is amazingly talented. I've never felt sooo good after a show. Like my heart was filled with warmth and that fuzzy feeling inside knowing that you just witnessed something really amazing. Matt met the fans at the door after the show and I was able to get a quick photo-op. I also took a couple of videos using my iPhone so quality isn't that great but the sound is crystal clear. Can't wait to hear new music and see him again live.

AIDS Walk 2011

2011-06-03T05:40:00.000-04:00

It's been a few weeks since my first AIDS Walk in New York.

I remember there was a heavy downpour early in the morning of May 15th. The chorus had an 8 AM call time to rehearse some songs that we were performing that day at the Rumsey Playfield Stage, the same stage where I had the legendary photo-op with Mariah and Oprah back in 2009. It was nearly impossible but there we were together with thousands of New Yorkers who were walking rain or shine for this AIDS benefit. The chorus wore this yellow tee designed by Project Runway Season 8 runner-up, Mondo Guerra, and highlights the chorus upcoming concert, (Accentuate The) Positive. By 9:30, sans actual rehearsal, the group performed in front of the audience at Rumsey. We sang Firework, Son of A Preacher Man, Non Regrette Rien, You Raise Me Up and Born This Way, all songs from our highly successful Big Gay Sing 3D last March. Then it was time for the 10K walk. Occasionally we'd encounter some showers but it was nothing crazy. It was my first walk so I was really excited.

In another part of Central Park, the opening ceremony was held attended by stars of Modern Family, Glee, White Collar and others. The cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert musical performed "We Belong" and Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald sang "You'll Never Walk Alone." In its press release, the event was able to attract 45,000 participants and raised about $6.2 million. I was able to exceed my goal of $500 so I was pretty happy.

Aside from it being for a very good cause, the walk enabled me to get to know some of the chorus members better. The group then proceeded to Lips for a brunch organized by the Chorus Royals. It was a wet afternoon and we were exhausted but it was definitely worth it.

Charlie and a volunteer

the Chorus royals, Skinay and Allen

The first 2 pics were from Scott Skinner. The rest is from Howard Fritz from the AIDS Walk Flicker site.

Savage Beauty

2011-06-02T21:20:00.000-04:00

So I guess I'm back to blogging. It's been a hectic month of May with the move and a quick trip to San Francisco that just made me put stuff aside and boy, they are piling up. And I'm screwing chronological order here so whatevs.

First up -- Savage Beauty, the Alexander McQueen exhibit at The Met. This is my second time at the Met and believe it or not, the only museum I've been to so far in my 7-year residency in New York. I arrived at the museum around 11AM, paid the $20 admission fee with the sole purpose of viewing this particular exhibit alone. There was a big crowd but not big enough for me not to be able to inspect each piece carefully.

And just wow! I was so overwhelmed and empowered by the genius of this man. The craftsmanship and the degree of creativity that dwelt in the rooms of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall were astounding. Also, kudos to Andrew Bolton, the curator of this exhibit, and his team for coming up with the surface treatments for the collection. Aside from the pieces from the House of McQueen, they also used videos and music that Lee, as his friends called him, utilized in his shows over the past 19 years, providing a similar feel that you're attending one of his runway shows.

It was eerie at first. I mean, the guy responsible for all the amazing stuff in this exhibit actually took his own life (he hung himself on February 11, 2010). And then it became breathtaking. I get to examine the collection and strangely, I was having images in my head of how each piece was conceived and constructed. There were philosophies of McQueen scattered over the walls. And then it became inspiring. Very inspiring as a matter of fact. I remember as a kid, one of the first indications that I thought I was gay was my proclivity to creating drawings of dresses and ensembles on paper dolls. I pioneered paper doll fashion among my sister and female cousins back when we were young. I actually thought I could have a career in fashion design but of course, that's not what a valedictorian was supposed to pursue in college. Well, not that I'm going to pursue it now but being able to appreciate McQueen's vision at that vantage point is truly a remarkable experience.

One of the highlights of the collection was the "Jellyfish" ensemble (with the now famous armadillo boots) from Plato's Atlantis, spring/summer 2010, which Lady Gaga wore in her Bad Romance video.

The exhibit runs until August 7, 2011. But starting June 6, The Met is offering to serve the people who want to see the exhibit on Mondays when the museum is usually closed for a nifty price of $50. I'd say go there early when the museum opens at 9:30AM to avoid the crowds. I was pretty lucky it wasn't that intense when I visited. I wasn't sure if no flash photography was prohibited because I didn't see anybody taking pictures. I was planning to just buy magnets as mementos but I had to shell out $45 for the book of the same name. I think it's worth it. For those who cannot visit The Met, The Met Blog captures the essence of the exhibit. It features photos, videos and audio transcripts used in the show.

"Jellyfish" ensemble featured prominently in Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

photos courtesy of The Met Blog

Walking for AIDS

2011-05-14T11:37:00.000-04:00

I'm joining my New York City Gay Men's Chorus family for the 2011 AIDS Walk NY. The chorus is an active participant and a big fundraiser to this yearly event and I'm really psyched to join them this year. I've been wanting to do this, especially that I have gained friends who are inflicted with HIV and I feel like it's a really great way to show my support for them, aside from being their good friend, of course. So allow me to use this platform to ask your kind hearts for any donation to help this cause. The walk is tomorrow, rain or shine, in Central Park. The chorus is performing a few songs from our last concert and I heard he cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert Musical will also be there.

Click this link to view my donation page.

In Transition

2011-05-14T11:12:00.000-04:00

A lot of things have happened in my mini-hiatus. Bin Laden died, Prince William and Kate Middleton got hitched, my favorite diva Mariah finally gave birth to twins and a slew of other things. Well, here in the homefront, basically, I have a new homefront. I finally made the big much-anticipated move from Queens to Manhattan. I have lived in Elmhurst, Queens with my roomies, Enol and Joyce, for the last 5 years and recently, there have been developments in their personal lives (getting married and stuff) that it was best that we move our separate ways. Initially, I wanted to move in to hospital housing so it'll be closer to the workplace and perhaps a tad cheaper, but the hospital real estate people are giving me a hard time. Which I think was a blessing in disguise, because I found this nice one-bedroom in the Upper East Side, also a few blocks from the hospital.

So basically I'm an Upper East Sider now (eat your heart out, Blair Waldorf!). I just had my cable and internet stuff wired as you can see now that I'm back to blogging slowly but surely. There's still a lot of work to be done in the new place (it's only been 5 days), a lot of home stuff to purchase and basically adjusting to living by myself -- which is all kinds of awesome! I'm also exploring the neighborhood and getting myself acclimated to living in Manhattan. I'm in a big transitional phase in my life right now and I'm really excited what the coming months may bring.

So I guess, all I have to say is sit back and relax and just stay tuned to more fabulous adventures here on MarQ's Ish. Just wanna say hi and thank you to new Google Connect followers and those who regularly visit the site.

On the Road with Priscilla

2011-04-30T19:31:00.000-04:00

A few days after the chorus concerts, I took my friend Thomas to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theater. I was really excited for this production not just because of its fabulosity and acclaim from Australia, London and Toronto but also, A) I'm anxious to see Will Swenson again, who I loved in Hair as Berger, B) the star-turning role of Nick Adams who will become Adam/Felicia and C) J Elaine Marcos' take on the Filipina featured in the film.

First of all, I don't remember seeing the film in its entirety. I think I have seen bits and pieces. So I'm actually surprised that Priscilla is the name of the bus. Alright, don't confiscate my gay card because of that. Anyway, the costumes are over-the-top magnificent and all kinds of fabulous. The pop-dance songs from the 80's and early 90's are featured heavily. I found out they had to replace Kylie's songs with Madonna's here in the Broadway version.

The show is such a joyous spectacle and one big party. I'm really impressed with Nick Adams here, finally in a starring role. Tony Sheldon is a delight and that scene with Will Swenson's character and his son was so adorable. I cried a little. J Elaine Marcos was hilarious. The accent was spot on!

Priscilla holds the crown for being the gayest show on Broadway this season, now that La Cage is closing. Absolutely fierce and fabulous. Catch it now on Broadway.

I wished Tony Sheldon a Tony nomination.

Will Swenson

second time with Nick Adams

Drag Race Fever

2011-04-30T17:59:00.000-04:00

My friend Mark B and I were really obsessed with RuPaul's Drag Race this year. He'd show up on Monday nights at Boxers where fan favorite, Manila Luzon, hosted a viewing party, while I am rehearsing with the chorus. Last Monday was the big season finale and naturally we wouldn't miss the viewing party held at Providence. I missed rehearsals as did some of the chorus members as we planned to meet inside. Mark and I were at the line by 7PM where it already snaked through 8th Avenue. Some of the queens who were early greeted the revelers and were happy to take pictures with us. We got a pic with Stacy Layne Matthews and I had one with Mimi Imfurst. Mark wanted to meet Yara Sofia so bad but she skipped our area. As the other ladies started arriving and mingling with the crowd, security started to allow people to come in that we naturally had to leave the girls and proceeded to go in. There I met two members from the chorus. The rest were still in the line outside.

The place was packed like sardines. It was difficult to move around. Around 9:30, Shangela took the stage and became the viewing party host. She introduced all the queens, including the ones from previous seasons like Jujubee, Tatiana and former winner, Bebe Zahara Benet. Viewing party commenced at 10 and the crowd was bursting with energy. Absolut Vodka, the show's sponsor, helped out in making the festivities even more interesting. Really loved Shangela's commentaries during commercials. She's one hilarious queen. Spotted in the VIP section was RPDR judge and fan, Kelly Osbourne.

The crowd went wild when the TV got cut. Thank heavens for DVR, the Providence crew had to rewind the whole thing, which only made the anticipation worse. Anyway, Raja was crowned the winner, which is no surprise when you consider a spoiler alert on Perez Hilton back in February. Manila was first runner-up and Alexis Mateo was second runner-up.

Mark and I left after the proclamation of winners and we were surprised to see still a lot of people waiting to get in. We heard all of the queens performed that night. But we now know from experience what to do next year when these things happen.

Anyway, congratulations to Raja and all the fierce bitches. Can't wait for the next season.

Stacy Layne Matthews

Mimi Imfurst

Look at Mimi's hair accessories

Mariah Balenciaga inspired by Black Swan

Alexis Mateo in a gorgeous gown

the day before, we met Shangela and Alexis at Tiffany's show

Shangela workin' the stage

Mimi and other queens in the VIP

Raja was crowned by Bebe

Raja revealed that all this was filmed back in August. She's known for awhile.

the top 3 performed for the crowd

Alexis is workin' it!

a blurred pic of Manila

How To Succeed Meeting Charlie Williams

2011-04-30T17:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, after all the hype that is the Royal Wedding, I came to see Daniel Radcliffe in his clothed and musical glory in the revival of 'How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.' Earlier in the day, I panicked when I thought I saw him featured on TV as one of the wedding guests so I googled and relieved to find out that he's not among those invited. Thank God. But still that wasn't enough until I actually see him on stage. Nowadays, due to the celebrity status of actors and not disappoint audiences, the announcements of "Tonight, the role of ____ will be performed by ______" are done in addition to the fliers that come with the Playbill. The flier didn't list Daniel's name and neither did the announcement mention him, so he really was performing. Big relief.

But Daniel wasn't the only one I wanted to see that night. My Broadway crush from last year, Charlie Williams, is also in this production. I missed him in Memphis when I watched it last year. I was totally psyched.

So the show. Anderson Cooper's voiceover makes you think that he's really in this production and would pop out any minute. Anyway, it's interesting to see Dan Rad dancing and singing. The price of the ticket is really worthy for that alone. Numbers like 'Grand Old Ivy' and 'Brotherhood of Man' showcased all that. As for Charlie, he's also heavily featured in this production. The guy has amazing skills. Also in this production is veteran actor, John Larroquette, who I first saw in an off-Broadway play last year called Oliver Parker. The costumes and set design all worked but it was Rob Ashford's vibrant and energetic choreography that really pops in this production. I have seen his work previously in Promises, Promises last year.

I didn't finish the curtain call to get ahead in the stagedoor and I wasn't really surprised when it was already crowded. I really could have a good look at Dan when he'd come out but I gave up my spot when I saw Charlie already running out of the way from the crowd. I had my Playbill signed by John Larroquette and told him about how I enjoyed Oliver Parker and then I did a mad dash to catch up with Charlie. Charlie had his earphones on so he didn't really hear me when I called him out. I tapped his back and he finally turned around. We had a quick chat about how I'm a big fan with Broadway Bares, Broadway Beauty Pageant and how I missed Memphis and that I came to see the show because of him. (Dan Rad is really secondary). We had a pic and he signed my Playbills. I can't believe this already happened and I was nervous throughout the whole proceedings. I was really ecstatic.

I tried to go back to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre stage door but it was just impossible. My mission is already accomplished anyway.

John Larroquette

signed by Charlie

Me + Charlie...at last!

An Evening With Tiffany

2011-04-26T10:56:00.001-04:00

I got so excited with the discovery that late 80's - early 90's popstar, rival to Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, was playing at the BB King on Easter Sunday. I was joined by my friend, Mark B, and Andrew, who's visiting from Austin, Texas. I grew up singing along to Tiffany and Deb's songs with my siblings and cousins back in the day and this is such a big thrill for me to see her perform live.

It was my second visit at the BB King following an evening with Eric Benet back in 2005. It's been 6 years so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We were there early to have dinner and grab good seats. Jenna Andrews opened for Tiffany, an upcoming Island Def Jam singer-songwriter. She reminds me of Sara Bareilles and Mandy Moore. She had some good songs, too.

And then it was time for Tiffany. She's backed up by two guitar players and a female percussionist. She's actually promoting her new album of country songs called Rose Tattoo. Her repertoire is mostly from the new album, which we really enjoyed. I'm not a big fan of country at all but the songs are fun and Tiffany definitely made it easier to love them. But the biggest thrill for me was when she did one of her classics, 'Could've Been.' I love that song. She went on to say that back then, the producers didn't allow her to include this song in her album when she recorded it at 14 years old. Like who would believe a 14-year old singing about a breakups and heartbreaks? But she convinced them and it became her second number one hit.

Tiff mentioned an upcoming tour with Debbie Gibson which I'm really excited about. She closed the show with a great rendition of 'Me and Bobby McGee' and a different version of her earlier hits, 'I Think We're Alone Now' and 'I Saw Him Standing There.'

We didn't have any photo-ops with her but Ru Paul's Drag Race contestants, Shangela and Alexis Mateo in non-drag, were in the audience and Mark and I took the opportunity to chat with the guys.

Definitely a fun night with Tiffany. I'll be on the lookout for tickets when the Tiffany-Debbie tour hits the road soon.

What a drag: L-R, Me, Shangela, Mark B, Alexis Mateo

Could've Been

I Think We're Alone Now

Nurse Mark's Tales: Irreplaceable (Not!)

2011-04-24T12:21:00.002-04:00

In my profession, it really helps to be a people person. Which I'm usually not. I'm really shy and doesn't really initiate conversation in any given situation. But it's part of my job to have a little Miss Congeniality in me, which I have developed over the course of my nursing experience. I get by being a nurse by basically pretending, acting. After getting report from the previous shift, the curtains are up, spotlight is on me and the hospital unit, or more specifically, the rooms of my patients become the stage. I mean, the care is genuine and my clinical skills are ready but I kind of require a so-called script to jumpstart the interaction. But once I get to know my patients and they get to know me, the show almost always becomes a smooth production. Except for the hardcore difficult patients from the get-go, I generally don't have problems with patients assigned to me. Which brings us to Mrs. W.

I had Mrs. W for about two weeks now, non-consecutive. We bonded through our love of theater and we let our guards down. We discussed the brilliance of Brian Bedford in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and discovered we both have subscriptions to Roundabout Theater Company. She gushed about the exquisite production of 'Anything Goes' and she practically squealed when I told her I have tickets to that show. Naturally, I took good care of her -- when she's having panic attacks because she couldn't breathe, when she's having atrial fibrillation while she's sleeping, when she's in pain. She said that next to her call bell, I'm her best friend. She loved the idea when she knows I'm back the next night.

Just recently, I had her as my patient again. We did the same dance, like nothing was changed from our past encounters. Only that her condition is getting worse. But still, it didn't explain the fact that when I came back the next night, I was told that she refused me as her nurse. Well, her exact words were "I want a female nurse tonight." Which really bothered me. What did I do wrong that previous night that made her change her mind? I was really baffled by this. I recall in my experience, I was only refused once by a patient because of my race, but that never really got to me. And in some instances, some patients request me to be their nurse. I had good rapport with Mrs. W but why did she feel that I had to be replaced? I can never fathom her motivation to do what she did, but whatever the case, I was hurt. I wish her well though. I don't know if I'd get to take care of her in the future but this for certain puts a strain in our relationship. Which means, I have to act and pretend all over again.

Update:
Mrs. W died the next day when I was off.

An Encounter with a Porn Star

2011-04-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

The night before the Big Gay Sing concerts, I met up with my friend Mark to see a gay porn star perform live. But before you get any ideas, here's a brief lowdown. Mark gave me gay porn DVD as a gift last year. One of the "stars" on that DVD who really caught my eye was Gus Mattox. Months later, receiving a routine email from one of the gay lifestyle websites, I discovered that Gus Mattox (a 2006 GayVN awardee for Best Performer), who's non-porn name is Tom Judson, is performing a series of shows in NYC. There I found out that Gus, err, Tom, is a gifted musician, composer, singer, actor and instrumentalist way before he ventured into gay porn. Needless to say, I bought tickets and dragged Mark down to Dixon Place in the Lower East Side.

Tom Judson's show entitled "Canned Ham" is not just a showcase of Tom's talents but also his story. In fact, it's a love story. He narrates his journey from falling in love with this guy whom he lost to AIDS, to his funny encounters in the "musical" business (he was cast in the national tour of Cabaret and 42nd Street), his songwriting (he wrote a song for Nickolodeon, some commercial jingles and film scores) and his arrival in the porn industry. These he did with a knack of playing the accordion, the piano, the trumpet and 9 other instruments. Which also meant that he displayed his wonderful baritone voice in between. And where was Gus Mattox in all of these, you ask? Well, naturally he expects that his audience would be looking forward to seeing Gus than Tom, so there's an obligatory opening scene in only his jockstraps. Which was really sexy.

The good thing about this show is you really get to know Tom beyond his porn star alter ego and I think he's a really good guy and a talented artist. You can't say that for every porn star in the industry.

Trip to Wonderland

2011-04-18T12:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I attended my first opening night of a Broadway show, thanks to my friend, Brian, who scored almost last-minute comp tickets to the show (courtesy of a dear friend of his who is in the cast). I immediately said yes to the invitation and got really excited. Unfortunately, I missed all the red carpet Kodak moments and failed to check out the who's who. I was just thrilled to be invited and watch a Broadway show for free -- yes, sir!

Wonderland is a reimagining of the Lewis Carroll classic, Through the Looking Glass, and features a grown-up Alice (Janet Dacal) frustrated with her job as a schoolteacher and wannabe children's book writer and with her marriage, she lives in with her daughter Chloe (Carly Rose Sonenclar) and mother-in-law in Queens. As she was pondering what happened to her life, she encounters the White Rabbit, that led her to the elevator shaft, aka, the rabbit hole. She then meets a triumvirate of allies (a caterpilar (E. Clayton Cornelious), the Cheshire cat (Jose Llana) and a white knight (Darren Ritchie)) in Looking Glass-land who were out to help her find her way back home. But of course, she has to face the villains, a dominatrix-type Mad Hatter (Kate Shindle) and the Queen of Hearts (Karen Mason). To make the long story short, Alice found her way home and got reunited with her husband.

The production is decent and entertaining at best. Everyone's vocal chops are soaring here. Of particular mention is Carly Rose, who's a gifted singer at a young age. She has a bright future ahead of her. Also notable are Janet Dacal, who I admired from In The Heights and Kate Shindle, who also rocked a villainess role back in Legally Blonde The Musical. I loved the choreography by Marguerite Derricks, though it featured parodies of boyband moves and if you'll really look closely, some dance moves taken from Lady Gaga videos. Costume design is evident in the Queen of Hearts's gowns. I'm not familiar with Frank Wildhorn's music but the songs border on pop territory which is not terrible at all. He did succeed on the Queen of Hearts' token solo, Off With Their Heads. The one scene that I thought could still use some work though is the confrontation scene between Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and the White Knight. It wasn't flashy and creative as I thought it would be. Like the Mad Hatter isn't as wicked as you think she might be and that the Queen of Hearts is easily fooled.

Because it's opening night, the producers of the show made a few remarks after the last number. I saw Playbill.com's photocall and it seemed that there were a number of Broadway luminaries who came to watch the opening last night.

The critics may have been a little harsh on the production but judging from the audience's reaction after every number, Wonderland might make a decent run on the Great White Way. I enjoyed it very much.

I didn't have photo-ops for this show because the cast was headed to the afterparty but I might venture to Wonderland again someday.

A Chorus Life: Life Is A Celebration

2011-04-16T10:31:00.000-04:00

Second week of rehearsals for Accentuate The Positive and I was late. I came from dance class, which was really much needed after about three weeks of not moving and grooving, but left me really exhausted and I felt I was really not up to rehearse. It was ironic that the guys started to learn "Life Is A Celebration." It was pretty upbeat and very uplifting and I really like the arrangement but somehow I was uninspired. The past few weeks I felt like I was stuck in rut. My friend David told me that he was a little depressed, too, after Big Gay Sing 3D was over. I guess it's not uncommon to be feeling this way after experiencing such a great overwhelming high after those two shows. Incidentally, I spoke to another chorus member, Richard, who's been with the group for 20 years and he told me to stick with it. That at the end of the day, it will be gratifying that I did this show. There's usually a big dropout in attendance for the third concert not only because the people are exhausted, but also it seemed that the subject matter is heavy and political that is not really appealing to some members. With Richard's encouragement, I shall try.

In other news, my chorus buddy, Tim, came back after his Big Gay Sing hiatus. It was nice to see him in rehearsals again. Since Skinay is now Chorus Queen, she has delegated her announcing duties to other members by holding an "audition." Last week was Corey who did a pretty good job.

The biggest news that week was about posting pictures and videos from Big Gay Sing 3D. I spoke to Charlie after last week's rehearsal about this and apparently there was a deliberate discussion with the board, not only about the recent concert but also from previous ones. In BGS 3D, we did a Disney theme that might not be in accordance to the policies of Disney copyrights and what-not. Hence, we are forbidden to post pictures and videos that involved that. Which is a major bummer. BGS 3D was such an awesome show that it needed to be seen by a lot of people, not just the ones who paid tickets at NYU Skirball. It would definitely up the group's coolness factor and entice more audience to come see our shows in the future, considering what we're capable of. The board decided to take a more solid approach with this issue by asking permission to the proper authorities/companies involved so we can post our stuff without getting sued. Which means I can't really post videos from this past awesome show and have to take down past videos I posted on YouTube.

Oh well, I'm still working on posting stuff from the retreat and BGS 3D (with pics that are not off-limits) so stay tuned.

A Chorus Life: Totally F**ked

2011-04-07T02:45:00.000-04:00

I got really sick after the two shows we had over two weeks ago now. Yes, Big Gay Sing 3D was such a total hit and I'm still getting goosebumps reminiscing about how awesome the shows were. But we're not gonna talk about those just yet. I think I'm gonna have to wait till my Mac gets fixed so I can load up some of the pictures and videos from the show and from the chorus retreat as well. I'm gonna skip those for now and talk about what happened this week on A Chorus Life.

So we had a week of rest but that didn't stop chorines from meeting. There were birthday parties and Broadway gatherings that were attended to. Meanwhile, I had to go back to work in full swing after taking a two-week vacation (which involved the retreat and the concert weeks). I really wasn't too happy about it since I was having fever and chills but I had no choice but to report back.

Then Monday came -- our first rehearsal for the our final concert this season, Accentuate The Positive. A lot of people were quite excited to come back judging from their Facebook statuses. I was a little bit excited to see the guys again but not really thrilled to rehearse. I just wanna hang out.

Anyway, I came in and Clete Larkey, the choreographer for this show, started doing the warmups. It was pretty intense, I think. I'm not sure what Clete's background is but the movements involved some serious stretching. I don't think the guys were expecting that and neither did I. Everyone was so quiet. Like didn't we just do a very, very fun show? Where's the energy?

We were then introduced to the new songs. I feel like I'm still reeling from the BGS experience that I'm not really into learning new songs right now. We did Twelve from Sesame Street. Charlie was explaining that this is sorta like a transition song as we introduce statistics and numbers throughout the show.

Then we did Falling Slowly which was arranged by one of our applicants for the pianist position. He did a really good job. I love this song by Glenn Hansard and Marketa Iglova. It won the Oscars for Best Song in 2009. So that was pretty fun. Pretty fun for the tenors, too, because they had to do falsettos on that one.

But the song that really kept my interest that Monday night was this song from Spring Awakening called "Totally Fucked." Charlie asked the chorus if anybody is offended saying the word "Fuck" or is uncomfortable singing the song. There was an issue before from the last concert for Lady Gaga's Born This Way because of the word "Orient" in the lyrics. Some Asians were not really happy about it.

So "Totally Fucked" was really cool. I think I'm gonna audition for a solo on this one. Rafael did it for us that night and it was really cool. Anyway, the "blah blah blah" part is ringing in my head. Just enough to end this post. Till next time!

Lip Synched For My Life

2011-03-27T16:26:00.001-04:00

On the third weekend of March, I experienced my first ever Chorus Retreat with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus in Berkeley Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It's actually part-rehearsal, part-show, part-party and part-talent extravaganza. I was really excited to experience all these and more, plus it's a great opportunity to get to know more people in the chorus.

Anyway, before I proceed to recall the events, let me just get this out of the way. For the 'No Talent' Show held on Saturday night, I introduced Mirage to the chorus and lipsynched to Beyonce's Crazy In Love. I was a nervous wreck. It didn't help that there were wardrobe malfunctions during my performance -- the trench coat won't come off, my belt got unclasped and an earring flew.

Thanks to Edwin for taping this. Watch!

7 Years

2011-03-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

Today I'm celebrating 7 years in New York. Can't believe it's been that long. Just wow! WOW! I love this city so much. Incidentally, like I do every year, I wanna pay homage to my favorite pregnant diva, Mariah Carey, since it's her "anniversary" (she doesn't do birthdays!). Our picture together is 2 years old now but I don't get tired of reminiscing about it. A classic New York moment indeed!

My Life in Stilettos

2011-03-18T11:40:00.001-04:00

When I did drag for my birthday last year and gave birth to Mirage, I knew it was a one-time thing. I just wanna prove to myself that I can pull it off after being inspired by RuPaul's Drag Race, La Cage Aux Folles and Hedwig. And I think I did it in flying rainbow colors and glitters to match. Now, after being in the New York City Gay Men's Chorus for about 6 months now, I had no idea that opportunities to perform in drag are a dime a dozen. Back in November with dance team auditions, I bagged one of the princess roles and then later on, several roles that required me to be a lady followed suit. I think I mentioned Dreamgirls and Donna Summer in my older posts, which required me not only to wear stilettos but also dance in them. The latter is especially scary since it's disco -- like a subdued version of Dancing With The Stars. Not only that, I am used to being the lead (being the male) in our ballroom classes in college and now, being a lady, it just throws me off the wall and I get disoriented. It really takes a lot of practice and confidence. I fear that I might fall in those heels or my wig will fall off and a bunch of other factors. I know I just have to really get it together. Good thing I have full trust and confidence in my dance partner, which really helps.

The other thing I'm worried about with this drag thing is that I don't do my own makeup. For a quick remedy, I enlisted the help of my fabulous friend Rosey and went makeup shopping yesterday and spent about $200 (Ouch!). We had quick tutorials with some help of videos on YouTube. I am definitely struggling in that area (especially doing my eyes) but at the end of the day, we accomplished what we needed to accomplish. I just needed basic knowledge really.

Tonight is the start of a fabulous weekend for the chorus retreat in Asbury Park. I already shaved almost 90% of my body. Maybe 95. I have a small number for the No Talent show, which I'm hoping will turn out okay. I'm also involved in another number with the gaysians and honorary gaysians. Both numbers will be done in drag (shocking!). Anyhoo, I'm pretty excited about this. This is my first retreat and I've heard crazy things about it and I hope it's going to be a blast.

Shoes I'm wearing for the concert

Tutorials seems a success!

A Chorus Life: No Regrets

2011-03-15T12:23:00.000-04:00

chorus pianist, Aaron Dai

Past queens

crowning Steady Mess, in a pink gown

past queens of the chorus

It's just 2 weeks before the concert and we have perhaps less than five remaining rehearsal events left. Later this week is the chorus retreat and while that's very exciting, we still need to fix minor glitches in some of the songs in the repertoire. Mostly, it's all about remembering the dynamics and Charlie's making extra effort to ensure that everything's engraved in our heads. Also, a lot of people were still reading their books, including myself, and the pressure to memorize all these by Sunday is just too much to handle at this point. Which doesn't mean that we're not having fun, by the way.

We kickstarted by reviewing choreography to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Another Op'nin', Another Show. Then we reviewed French pronunciation to Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf. The idea for this song is similar to what we did with 'Silent Night' from last concert, some monologue will be spoken in between verses. This time, it's a prelude to our June concert about HIV called Accentuate the Positive., so the monologue will revolve around that story.

At some point, I got fitted for one final costume for the show which I will wore during Born This Way. It's interesting to get some tips from veteran drag queens because I needed them oh so much. I'm really such a baby at this game.

After the break, we were treated to a coronation of reigning chorus queen, Steady Mess, for her work with the chorus and Imperial Court of New York. All the past queens and royals were there to support and witness the momentous occasion.

After that, we're back in the rehearsal grind reviewing more songs. Excitement building up for the retreat this weekend, that's for sure. Will definitely blog the shenanigans from Asbury Park as they come.

rehearsing choreography to Another Op'nin, Another Show

A Chorus Life: Do You Hear The People Sing

2011-03-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

We are counting down the days till the shows. They're almost there. Very, very palpable. Still, there are a lot of stuff to learn and relearn. And that's just the singing part. Some of us who are in the dance team are also learning various moves and blocking and walking in our high heels. I just found out that I'm gonna be in the Donna Summer dance so another drag look to come up with. But this one's easy because it's to the tune of 'Bad Girls.' A skimpy red outfit should do!

There was one issue that Charlie needed to address with regards to Chris Sieber being our host and guest performer. Last week, Chris just took up the job of replacing Jeffrey Tambor in La Cage Aux Folles on Broadway. Jeffrey left the production abruptly. With Chris starting La Cage, playing the role once portrayed by Kelsey Grammer in this revival, there were concerns from the chorus if he's still doing OUR show. It appears that Charlie has been in contact with Chris' management and he's still on board with our concert. Which is very much a yay! I can't wait to meet him!

So it was time to relearn the Donna Summer songs again. And something we haven't done in awhile, 'Do You Hear The People Sing' from Les Miz. The way it's conceptualized, there will be a second chorus, a smaller group similar to what we did in the holiday concert.

As for the race for Chorus Queen, Skinay B and Baroness Schaeder were in full glamor mode. That night, the reigning Queen, Steady, brought out all the candidates and made them dance for their lives via a short clip of 'Born This Way.' I was caught off-guard when John came up to me with his version of a lapdance, minus the lap and the dance. It was quite hilarious. The rest of candidates campaigned within their voice groups. John is a baritone like me. Skinay, believe it or not, is a bass. Allen is Tenor 1 and the Baroness is Tenor 2.

Also coming up next week is the Chorus Retreat at Asbury Park. This is a chorus tradition to spend a three-day weekend in a resort to do some fellowship and rehearsals. There are a lot of shenanigans involved in this based on the stories I've heard so it's really something to look forward to.

with Skinay B

A Chorus Life: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

2011-03-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

Wednesday of last week wasn't our usual rehearsal night to give in for that Monday's Harmony event, the chorus annual fundraiser which I believed was a giant success. Then, we learned choreography to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, that song from Mary Poppins, which is part of our Dreams Come True medley, aka, songs from well-known Disney movies. Very energetic but quite confusing choreography, especially for the not-so-young folks. But it's brilliant and it's gonna work well with the audience and the folks know that, too, so they're kinda hell-bent, or more like knee-bent in learning the hand movements to a tee.

The race for Chorus Butch is getting intense. This time around, Allen, was in charge of the bake sale. I don't know how much he made selling cookies without a shirt on and tight jeans. Some discussions among old members, aka, those with the chorus for far too long, include how should they vote for this contest. I heard someone saying that John is cute, but Allen, not that he's not cute because he is adorable, has served the chorus longer in miscellaneous aspects. It's kind of a friendly competition anyway so it's anybody's ball game.

More drama in the costume department as David (who's playing Jasmine) and I tried on our costumes. Loopee, head costume designer, was not in a good mood and he kinda threw it on us. Later, he apologized that there were some of the pants for the Transylvanians were not constructed right, hence, the hissy fit. All was forgiven and we went home with our Dreamgirls gowns in tow.

Charlie reviewed the Donna Summer songs and by rehearsals' end, we practiced our pyramid formation for 'You Raise Me Up.'

A Brilliant 'Earnest'

2011-03-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

By the grace of my quite pricey subscription to Roundabout Theater Company, I found myself on the second row and center for the Broadway staging of "The Importance of Being Earnest" late last month. I'm not familiar with the story and of Oscar Wilde's works so I didn't really know what to expect. Needless to say, I'm astounded by this production. First of all, as soon as the curtains rose, I was awed by the grandiose stylings of the set design and (later on) costume design by Desmond Heeley. Acting-wise, Santino Fontana (as Algernon Moncrieff) sets the tone of the show with his flamboyance and notoriety as friend of John Worthing, aka Earnest, (David Furr). And then when Lady Bracknell enters, played by Brian Bedford, also the show's director, the audience was in rapture. Like we know we're in the presence of a genius, a true theater royalty and we were about to witness his brilliance and he did not disappoint. The rest of the cast including Gwendolen (Sara Topham), Cecily (Charlotte Parry), Miss Prism (Dana Ivey) and Rev. Canon (Paxton Whitehead) were at the top of their game. The three-act comedy is winning rave reviews and has just been extended till July.

Sidetracked

2011-03-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

I'm back! It seemed like ages and honestly, I didn't feel like coming back. Well, not a 100% but I don't think I'd be able to abandon this blog now that there's some spark of interest brewing in the chorus front. Kind of the main reason was that after a pre-Valentine romance that failed to develop and more than an ounce of drama in the chorus dance team (which I may or may not divulge -- I haven't fully decided), I felt this increasing stupor in my blogging. I just didn't have the energy nor enthusiasm to carry on. Yeah, I'm just being lazy. My schedule doesn't allow me to take a breather and my mind is constantly in machinations with regards to the upcoming chorus retreat and concerts that to contemplate on writing a post is just too much of an ordeal. But I'm back. I'm not sure if I'm solid as ever but some special energy is slowly creeping in my system that somehow reignite that blogging spark. Let's do this, shall we?

A Chorus Life: Defying Gravity

2011-02-22T07:09:00.000-05:00

It's been three non-stop days that most of the chorus members were together. Saturday rehearsals, a mini-show on Sunday at the 'Break the Silence' gig with two other choirs, and of course, our regular Monday rehearsals. I failed to attend the Sunday show because I was still recovering from bronchitis plus I had to report back to work that night so I didn't show up. From what I gather, the chorus did a great job and was well-received by the audience. Hits were 'Son of a Preacher Man' and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.'

Monday rehearsals started off with the Monster Medley. I'm getting myself acclimated with the full choreography this time. I had only memorized Time Warp because for the most part, I had been out trying on a costume when they're teaching choreography on this. Then we did the Dreams Come True Parts 1 & 2 which are basically songs from Disney classics. Break time, John who's running for butch, spearheaded the bake sale, which is really strengthening his campaign. I don't know what the other candidates have on their sleeves.

some chocolate cupcake and banana pumpkin cake (I think)

The remaining half of rehearsals was dedicated to Defying Gravity, which is this year's competition song for the Big Gay Idol, which is similar to American Idol, except there's no Simon or J Lo for that matter. The judges will be the audience on the night of the show. Entries will be pre-selected by a panel from NYCGMC and three finalists will be chosen who will get to sing with us on the first act. The winner, chosen by the audience, will sing the entire song with us on the second act. So it's really quite a treat, a big chance for all those Wicked divas out there. For more info, click here.

Anyway, one point of interest last night (actually there's two but I'm not gonna say it yet) is that Edwin mentioned that when he Googled Chris Sieber, who is going to be our host and featured performer for the concert, my picture with him popped up in the image search. Whoa!

A Chorus Life: Born This Way

2011-02-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of chorus stuff happening lately that I couldn't keep up blogging about them. There's music rehearsals on Mondays and dance rehearsals on Wednesdays and some Saturdays for extra-rehearsals and auditions for solos.

Anyhoo...

Two Saturdays ago, after barely making out to dance rehearsals, I accompanied my friend, Edwin, who's bent on auditioning for a solo. Before I knew it, I was auditioning with him, no preparations at hand. I just searched the lyrics to my go-to audition song (Where Do I Go from Hair) on my iPhone and did the thing. I felt so embarrassed being unprepared and all but it is what it is. I didn't screw up in a major way (except for hitting falsetto during the chorus of Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind pt 2 -- which is the ambitious solo I was going for), but definitely it was a learning experience. The audition was held in the presence of other auditionees so it was nerve-wracking in a sense.

Monday, fresh from the first public performance at the Grammys, we started learning Lady Gaga's latest, Born This Way. Kudos to Charlie who did the arrangement over the weekend, considering the song only came out on Friday. Also that Valentine's Day, one of the chorus queen contender, Skinay, made her appearance in a tight-fitting sequined beige mini-dress and announced her "candidacy."

Saturday was all about fitting our princess costumes and other dresses for the 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' bit. The "girls" were having a field day with Paul Malucci's (aka Loopee Chenille) bag of goodies. I scored this red-black gown with this chiaroscuro effect. It was gorgeous. Although I don't know if I'm gonna wear it for the number itself.

We also learned Disney, ...er, "Dreams Come True" songs. Charlie briefed us that due to possible copyright issues, we are refraining from using Disney in our promotion paraphernalia. Which means Big Gay Sing 3D is no longer Disco, Divas and Disney. Also interesting news is that Chris Sieber (Shrek, Spamalot) is going to be our special host and featured performer. This is so exciting!

Here's a sneak peek of my princess costume. I guess by now you know which Disney princess I am!

A Chorus Life: Life Is A Cabaret

2011-02-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

Another Monday, another candidate for Chorus Butch surfaced in our midst. Allen S, dressed in tight Levi's, shirtless and just a harness on, handed out his "Butch It Up" campaign sticker. We know there's theree guys in the running for Butch but Nelson G has not made his move yet. Rehearsals went on usual. Emphasis was on the remaining songs from the Monster Medley plus choreography. Charlie mentioned how the solo auditions went and that there are more parts available. After breaktime, reigning Chorus Queen, Steady Mess, came out with the butch candidates (John, Allen and Nelson) for a short number. She flubbed her lines to 'Cabaret" a la Christina Aguilera (fresh from her booboo of the national anthem at the Superbowl). Freakin' hilarious. She was promoting this Chorus & Court Coquette Cabaret to help the Trinity Shelter. John J brought more wigs and I was able to try on my princess wig. It's not what it's supposed to look like yet but things are really heating up for this show. We have less than two months left for Big Gay Sing 3D! Ticket information will be available soon.

A Chorus Life: Wigged Out

2011-02-05T13:10:00.000-05:00

Charlie was fiery last Monday at rehearsals. One would think he'd be worn out from a whole day of rehearsals last Saturday like most of the guys, but he's just like the Energizer bunny. In preparation for an upcoming gig called Break the Silence, a collaboration with Believe Out Loud, a trans-denominational movement that promotes LGBT inclusion in the Christian Church, featuring NYCGMC, Annua Crusis Women's Choir and Lavender Light Gospel Choir, the new members were requested to come up front while the old members rehearsed songs we did from the Holiday concert -- songs that will be part of the repertoire in the gig. It's interesting how we grappled with our memory to sing songs we haven't sung in about a month and a half. That night, candidates running for Chorus Butch and Queen in the upcoming Chorus retreat made their appearance, or in the case of John G, his postcard did. And during break, another chorus member named John J came with our wigs for the fittings. My princess wig is not ready yet but my Dreamgirls wig is! Can't wait how it all fits with the costume and heels and the whole shebang! More updates next week.

Back to BDC

2011-02-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

After years and years, I finally dragged my ass to Broadway Dance Center after a good coaxing from my dear friend, Mark B, to attend Sheryl Murakami's jazz funk class. Sheryl's a renowned choreographer and most notable for doing Beyonce's Ego, among other accomplishments. I was glad that they still accepted my ID after almost five years of not being used. I was actually very excited and scared at the same time. It's all those 'first time in a long time' jitters and the pack of young'uns waiting outside the studio making me intimidated. Good thing, Mark was there to give me support. And once the class started, it's all fun and thrill and all of those good things. We did Robyn's Criminal Intent. My body's sore the next day but I was so happy I can still move along with those kids. It surely kicked my ass but all in good fun. Can't wait to be back.

Here's Sheryl's take on Katy Perry's Peacock:

Gilmore Girl'd

2011-02-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

After a quick change of plans last night, I found my way in line at Westside Theater in Hell's Kitchen to avail of the 20at20 promo offer for Love, Loss and What I Wore. As you know, 20at20 is $20 tickets 20 minutes before showtime. It was freezing cold to be waiting out in line but there was a decent amount of people when I got in. I figured the weather would dissuade people from coming so more available tickets for us.

Love, Loss and What I Wore is nothing but a reading of a collection of memoirs of women in various stages in their lives and the accompanying article of clothing that marked their significance. The show is written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the book by Ilene Beckerman. There's a rotating cast of five women every three-four weeks or so. Previous cast members include Jane Lynch (Glee), Rosie O'Donnell, Kristin Chenoweth, Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), among others. This season features Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray), Anita Gillette, Judy Gold and Pauletta Washington. Unfortunately, Nikki was MIA and understudied by Monique Fowler.

The cast was great. The monologues assigned to them played to their strengths, although clearly Alexis, being the youngest, seemed a little out of place. Of course, I always picture her being Rory from Gilmore Girls the whole time. I was able to meet her and snap a pic with her after the show. This only means that I already met both Gilmore Girls! I met Lauren Graham in 2009 from Guys and Dolls. No pic with her though.

A Chorus Life: Dreamgirl

2011-01-30T12:37:00.001-05:00

Our first Saturday rehearsals for this concert and I was exhausted. First of all, I came from work the night before. Been up since 7pm the previous night to do my shift and then proceeded to attend rehearsals at 10 in the morning after getting out of work by 8. Needless to say, I was in bad need of caffeine. Luckily, it was a pretty interesting day. Charlie made sure all of the details of each song were pointed out. We did choreography for Time Warp, which is a first for me since I missed it last Monday having to try on a costume. And speaking of costumes, I just found out I got picked as one of the Dreamgirls in an opening number. I had to fit the gown which was worn in the concert last year in the Dreamgirls number. Note to self though: I really need to be mindful of the underwear I have on during rehearsals because there's just no way of telling when I need to strip to try on the costumes. Thankfully, I had a decent pair of boxer briefs on yesterday.

One other thing that never ceases to amaze is the amazingly talented people in the chorus. It's just a lovely group of very talented homos and you're just bound to discover them at one point or another. For this concert, there are number of solo opportunities and Charlie makes it a point to ask for volunteers for solos during rehearsals (final selection of the solos will be made after the solo auditions). For 'You Raise Me Up,' Shafiq took the spotlight. Great job, Shafiq!

Shafiq (in black on the background) certainly 'raised something up'

Thinking of uploading the video. Might have to ask his permission.

Update: Shafiq agreed for the video to be posted. Here it is:

Anyhoo, I went home after lunch break. Sooo dying to sleep.

Spider-Man: Turn On The Spectacle

2011-01-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

Out on a whim, I decided I'd catch Spider-man: Turn Off The Dark yesterday even on grim weather conditions. I needed something to take my mind off of emotional stuff of late and I was thinking that maybe together with Spider-man's harness, I would be lifted up. And it kinda did.

Spider-man as a musical is a visual and special-effects spectacle. And I think it ends right there. Julia Taymor is a visionary but the book is kind of a mess and the music is not any good. I guess if you are a big U2 fan, you would have at least a bit of appreciation. With the exception of 'Rise Above,' which I think will be the anthem of the show and the equivalent to Wicked's Defying Gravity (as opposed to Turn Off The Dark), the rest of the songs seem like rehashes from U2's B side collections. I'm not really familiar with Bono as a songwriter but there's one song, supposedly the ballad of Peter Parker and Mary Jane that's just trying too hard to be clever lyrically and failed.

The book is another story. There's a group of geeky teens who acted as narrators but for what purpose? It may seem that the premise is that these kids are coming up with a Spider-man plot for a contest or something and the story on the show is their entry. There were a lot of loopholes, including Peter's sudden entrance to the Daily Bugle, among others. And I didn't fully understand the concept of Arachne and her motive. I love her character though, played by TV Carpio whom I adored in Taymor's Across The Universe. I love Arachne's sequences in the show --- always something to look forward to. Maybe TV will get a Tony nom for best featured actress this year.

The aerial stunts are really interesting but don't expect this to be another Cirque du Soleil production. Hardly. It comes off as amateurish. First of all, these actors were primarily singers and dancers before they were trained to become aerialists but kudos to them for having the guts to do so. Thankfully, there were no mishaps at last night's performance. There was one Spiderman who missed his landing but it was barely noticeable.

I highly recommend Spider-Man for the the merits of its coolness factor. But don't go looking for major substance or really, really great songs that you'll take with you once the show's over. It's a must-see only because it's visually spectacular (look out for the giant Chrysler Building and a mini 7 train, among a hundred others) and who's not in need of spectacle these days.

the stage during intermission

stage before the start of the show

Spidey merchandise on display

It was too snowy to do stagedoor but I would have loved to meet TV Carpio and Reeve Carney, the main Spiderman. Maybe next time. The show is still in previews and officially opens on March 15. It will probably be an entirely different show by then with rewrites and stuff.

A Chorus Life: Time Warped

2011-01-27T00:56:00.000-05:00

Another chilly Monday night for chorus rehearsals. Earlier that day, we received emails of who made it to the dance team so that was pretty exciting. Maybe it's the cold weather and some people were sick that the rehearsal space wasn't as cramped as it had been in the last two weeks. Charlie focused on the Monster Medley that featured songs from Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Second half of rehearsals was devoted to the choreography so that was pretty fun. I had to miss most of it though because Paul, the costume designer, had to snuck me out and do a preliminary fitting of my princess costume. It was at this time when I discovered more info about the show and a snippet of the plot which totally blew me away. Totally brillz! Can't wait to do the show.

Leather and Levi's

2011-01-24T17:31:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, I got my country western on with members of the NYCGMC at Leather and Levi's, an annual hoedown presented by Big Apple Ranch, NYC's biggest and best gay and lesbian country western dance club. NYCGMC is one of the beneficiaries of the proceeds of the event. The event included half-hour lessons on two-stepping and line dancing, a special number by the chorus and the Manhattan Prairie Dogs (the official award-winning dance team of Big Apple Ranch), and open dancing till 1 AM. So I got my tartan shirt on and some boots and a belt with the biggest buckle I could find. I was late for the two-stepping class so Greg filled in as my dance instructor. I've done some line dancing before but not in the country western variety so that was a first. Open dancing commenced at 9 and then a short program and raffle at 11. For our part, the chorus did 'Sing A Song,' a cut from our recently-concluded holiday concert, while the Prairie Dogs graced us with two vibrant numbers in very interesting costumes via Judy Garland's Get Happy and a version of Proud Mary (not sure whose). It was a great night with the chorus people dancing to western and the ranch had a hot crowd there as well. It was super fun we practically screamed Yee-haw!

Unfortunately, I don't have pics during the dancing parts and my battery died prematurely.

Portland-Bound

2011-01-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

My new friend, Russ Ross, is leaving for Portland in the next few days and we had our semi-final get together last night together with our friend, Ariel. It's so sad to see friends leave NYC. Good luck in Portland, Russie Cheeks!

A Chorus Life 2011: Another Openin', Another Show

2011-01-18T12:31:00.000-05:00

Monday rehearsals are always fun. With Jamie (choreographer) involved heavily in this Big Gay Sing concert, he now leads the exercises at the beginning of rehearsals. Very similar to warmup stuff we do in dance class, although tamer. Then we finished the whole song and choreography to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. At such tight space and we're burning up from intense heat, we actually made it work. Then we did this song from the musical, Kiss Me Kate -- an interesting piece that will feature several soloists. I think this number would be fabulous considering the concept that they came up with. I'm thinking of auditioning for a solo. We continued with the rest of the new songs and exchanged pleasantries with the new members. Dance rehearsals starts next week.

Here's a sneak peek of the Kiss Me Kate piece.

Flipzoids

2011-01-18T11:56:00.001-05:00

My friend Greg dragged me to see this Filipino play courtesy of his friend, Richard. The play's called Flipzoids, currently playing in Peter Jay Sharp Theater in Playwrights Horizon. Written by Ralph Peña and directed by Loy Arcenas, Flipzoids was originally staged in 1996 by Ma-Yi Theater Company. The lead female character, Ching Valdes- Aran won an Obie Award for her role as a 70-something recent Filipino immigrant. Now 15 years later, Ma-Yi reissued Flipzoids with Ching reprising her role and I was glad I was able to see it. It talks about the lives of Filipino immigrants in the States and their concept of home. It's pretty funny and enlightening. One of the characters is a nurse so that right there is reason enough for the story to resonate so well with me. I love the Filipino English accent that the nurse used. And I haven't heard of it before but FLIP means fuckin' little island people? Really? Hmm...

It's a great little production with a lot of soul and depth and humor, too. Catch it on its limited run till February 6. Click here for tickets.

Nurse Mark's Tales: Married with Children

2011-01-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

My co-worker was having a hard time inserting a foley catheter to her 70-something female patient that she called a bunch of us to assist. I was in charge retracting the labial folds to expose the urethral orifice, while my friend was busy preparing the supplies, ready to 'dive in' the process. Another nurse was concerned about the emotional status of the patient and started chatting with her, trying to calm her down, easing her down with the procedure by giving step-by-step narrative of what's going to happen. The patient seemed really worried and confused and concerned that it might be painful. So I asked her, "So...Isabel (not her real name, of course!), are you married?" "Yes. And I have 6 kids," she replied. "Wow! 6 kids. So this should be a piece of cake for you!" With that, foley catheter was in.

Nurse Mark's Tales: Shining Star

2011-01-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

One thing that I miss from my first New York hospital (Good Sam in Long Island) was the written comments from patients about their hospital stay and the service of the staff and hospital in general. I never really received any but it was always interesting to see what patients thought of us. This was clearly missing from St. Vincents, although some patients and families leave cards and write their words of appreciation there. At Cornell, this program is called Shining Star -- recognizing excellent service from the staff, including housekeeping and food servers, etc. So...I was actually surprised that my name was among those mentioned for the month of October (it is compiled on a monthly basis in our unit). And judging from the comment, I'm thinking it must be from one of my gay patients.

A Chorus Life 2011: Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-uhn!

2011-01-15T11:43:00.000-05:00

Second Monday of the year and it's first day of rehearsals for the chorus. We had a three-week break after our successful holiday concerts. The rehearsal room was buzzing with energy, like it's the first day of school. An hour earlier, new members who auditioned the week before had their orientation. There are 44 new members! I feel like it was only yesterday when I joined and now, there are 44 new ones after me (there were 46 of us in our batch). It is a very diverse group race-wise.

I was really excited to meet the guys again. Like three weeks was just too long. There were other members who weren't present during the concert but are returning to this one in spring. The rehearsal room was really crowded.

Charlie didn't waste time. We started immediately with a Cyndi Lauper pop classic, which after a few minutes, Jamie Harris, got up front and already started teaching choreography. Wow! That was fast! First day and we're already dancing.

Later on, Jeff Lettiere, director of our upcoming concert called Big Gay Sing 3D: Disco, Divas, Disney, introduced the show and the staff and their function for this project. It seems like really such an exciting time.

This is from the first BGS.

My 2010 Broadway Yearbook

2011-01-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

January

Started my year with Finian's Rainbow with Cheyenne Jackson.

Then an off-Broadway show called Loaded and back to Broadway with Bye, Bye Birdie with John Stamos and Gina Gershon.

March

I took the roomies to watch Extinction off-Broadway that featured Psych actor, James Roday.

Then watched Yank! twice. And then caught Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw in Pride.

Then Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises.

April

At the New York City Center for Anyone Can Whistle where I met Raul Esparza and blinded Sutton Foster.

Then Billy Elliot and South Pacific.

May

I attended my first concert at Carnegie Hall that featured Broadway favorites, Cheyenne Jackson, Michael Cerveris, Norm Lewis, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Tartaglia and Michael Urie. Then it was all off-Broadway with The Kid, Looking for Billy Haines and Oliver Parker.

June

Spent all off-Broadway with Perez the Musical at Joe's Pub, met Reichen at My Big Gay Italian Wedding, and lastly, A Night in Vegas.

Of course, it's the month of Broadway Bares with Strip-opoly.

Revisited the cast of Hair with Ace Young, Kyle Riabko (90210) and Diana Degarmo and got featured in the Hair video. (Unfortunately, the video no longer exists on their website.)

August

Had a grand time at La Cage Aux Folles (minus Kelsey Grammer) and met Douglas Hodge and Nick Adams.

September

Started off with West Side Story then got all bloody with the cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which I watched again on New Year's Day being my first show of the year as it closed the next day. Benjamin Walker is just all kinds of hot.

For my birthday, I watched Wicked finally and caught Billy Joe Armstrong in American Idiot.

October

Attended my first New York Musical Theatre Festival with Anthony Rapp's Without You. Then went to see previews of Scottsboro Boys, which tragically ended shortly. Colman Domingo is such a great talent.

Then got smitten by the male swans of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

November

Got a glimpse of 'A Life in the Theater' with Sir Patrick Stewart and TR Knight (Grey's Anatomy).

And got confused and dizzy with 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.' But fell in love with Brief Encounter, which I watched again in December as my last show for 2010.

December

Watched Fela! Back off-Broadway with Devil Boys from Beyond.

Revisited my favorite Next To Normal (closing on Jan 19) and met Kyle Dean Massey.

Finally got to see Memphis (but ultimately sad that Charlie Williams was no longer in the production) and got to meet Chad Kimball.

Lastly, had 'A Little Night Music' with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.