Category: Entertainment

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My Favorite Thing Today: Jeremy Ryan

You are not ready for Jeremy Ryan dancing with himself (screen capture)
  What do you do when you’re a fabulous creative artist hit with 2 devastating events in the course of just a year? You create in order to keep from losing your mind. And that’s just what photographer/director/lighting & set designer Jeremy Ryan did. In the past 12 months, Ryan’s husband left him, and then the coronavirus pandemic hit and the world erupted. To cope with the bad hand that life has dealt him lately – and to keep busy during self-isolation – he rolled up his sleeves, got to work, and did what he does best: CREATE! “Art has been my saving grace,” says Ryan. “My therapy. My path to healing. My gateway to vulnerability. I’m finding new ways to express it every day.” Pouring his heart and soul into self-expression, Ryan posted these videos, the fruits of his labor, on YouTube. It’s important to point out that everything you see was created by Jeremy by himself – set design, build, lighting, videography…everything. Before I write anything else, hit the first play button. Warning: you are not ready for this.

Sharing that disco-tastic dream vision on Facebook, Ryan wrote, “Just me dancing alone in my loft having my own dance party.” But wait! There’s more! “What do you do when you’re stuck in quarantine alone for weeks in your loft that’s also your studio with tons of gear?” asks Ryan. “Well, you set up a stage, slap on some heels and program a stage light sequence and dance your heart out to Celine.” Ryan’s unabashed, unfiltered joy here is undeniably irresistible.

I have to add the videos were sent to me from a friend in Nashville, and I clicked play thinking I was previewing a new singing artist. What I got was a whooooole lot better 🙂 When not dancing in the dark with himself, Ryan’s work as a creative director includes artists like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Emily West, Jamie Lynn Spears, Chingy, Keb Mo, Kelsey Ballerini, and more. If you click over to his website, you can check out his amazing portfolio of work. You can follow Jeremy Ryan on Instagram here, and on YouTube here.

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Out Music: Tafari Anthony’s Addictive New Track ‘Live In A Dream’

Tafari Anthony (photo: Elliott J. Tilleczek)
Toronto-based recording artist Tafari (pronounced Ta-far-eye) Anthony’s latest single, “Live In A Dream,” shares a message of empowerment as the search for personal contentment churns within all of us. Influenced by artists like Prince and John Legend, as well as contemporary artists like Lennon Stella and Charlie Puth, Tafari has been described as a blend of Sam Smith and MNEK. His music has been nominated for a Toronto Independent Music Award, receives regular airplay on CBC Radio, with one of his singles being named one of CBC’s Most Influential Songs of 2016. Tafari wrote ‘Live in a Dream‘ in January of 2018, as he took time off to focus on writing and explore new facets of his personal soundscape. “I was in a very reflective space at the time and thinking a lot about how much I was obsessing about other’s successes compared to mine,” shares the artist. “To the point where I really was feeling like I was working so hard and no matter what good would come my way it wasn’t good enough.” The inspiring new single encourages others to dream like we used to when we were children – dream despite the obstacles, setbacks, and alternate routes that try to stop us.

Fight for what you want, take back your power, and find contentment in your current situation.

Musically, Tafari’s powerhouse vocals are framed in a sonic soundscape featuring elements of pop, reggae, and Afro-beat. The result is a totally infectious earworm. Hit the play button below. You can follow Tafari Anthony on Instagram here and Facebook here.

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Jeb Havens, Matt Zarley & Julie Garnye Cover ‘You Will Be Found’

L-R Jeb Havens, Julie Garnye, Matt Zarley
Another week, another Hump Day, another look out the window as the pandemic continues and I contemplate our relative solitude. Lately, I’ve listened to the urging of my better angels and find myself reaching out to check on friends, or as I call them, ‘family.’ Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, says “loneliness is thought to be a biological drive that motivates us to reconnect.” So, I’ve been making those calls and video chats that get put off to make sure folks don’t feel ‘forgotten in the middle of nowhere.’ Which brings me to this gorgeous new cover of “You Will Be Found” from the mega-hit Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen. Recording artists Jeb Havens, Matt Zarley, and Julie Garnyé collaborated on the music video long-distance from their respective isolations during the pandemic lockdown. I’ve profiled two-time OutMusic Award winner Zarley and the handsome Mr. Havens before on TRR, but this is my first chance to share Ms. Garnye’s talents here as well. All three have lengthy resumes that reflect their vocal gifts and “Found” proves to be the perfect vehicle for the talented trio. Havens leads out alongside a spare, pensive piano accompaniment, and is soon joined by Zarley and a soothing cello line. Next stop – the chorus, tightly-woven harmonies, and that key change you know is coming. Like a powerful clarion call, Garnye sings as the beat kicks in:

There’s a place where we don’t have to feel alone / Every time that you call out, you’re a little less alone If you only say the word / From across the silence your voice is heard

Beat, beat, beat, accelerando, more harmonies (excellent musicianship, btw) and we get to the big gorgeous ending that seems our due. Big props to Zarley who edited the video. Three solo shots could have been a real snore to watch, but the whole shindig takes on such visual dynamics it feels like having a whole Broadway ensemble on my screen. Enough of my prattling, though. Hit play, kick back and feel good. The right message at the right time.

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Broadway Mega-Hit ‘Hamilton’ Will Stream on Disney+ July 3

Broadway fans are about to lose their minds! The filmed version of the mega-hit musical Hamilton – originally scheduled to hit theaters on October 15 – will now premiere on Disney+ on Friday, July 3. The televised version was shot over three days in July 2016 with the original Broadway cast. Squee!!! Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator, and Bob Iger, executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company, made the surprise announcement Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

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Netflix: ‘Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall’ To Debut May 20

(image via Instagram)
Netflix has dropped the trailer for the upcoming ‘Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall‘ scheduled to debut on the streaming platform May 20. The concert (filmed on September 29, 2019) included tracks from the Tony Award winner’s debut solo album, Sing to Me Instead, as well as selections from a very personal songbook. In the trailer, Platt shares with the audience, “I’m a very anxious person, so I live very much in my head. I have a really hard time being present where I am, and one of the most special ways for me to do that is music.” “The greatest gift of music is it’s something that can really bring people together,” says the Dear Evan Hansen star. “It can help you see someone in a way that you don’t expect to, and see someone’s perspective.”

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InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition

Gustavo Naspolini and mom (via Instagram)
Welcome to this weekend edition of InstaHunk Round-Up. First up, we honor and send bestest wishes to all mothers in whatever fashion it manifests! We start off with Gustavo Naspolini (above) wishing his mother her well-deserved recognition. Pierre Vuala celebrated fitness victories large and small:  

Nathan McCallum was working out (for a change) his back and biceps with those band thingies that I totally keep meaning to order:  

Trans bodybuilder Paulo Batista was sweating out a major pump in his garage gym:  

 

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Garage sweat for #humpday🐪. #quarantinelife wacky beard #quarantinebeard❤️ @flexcomics

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Out in the sunshine, Ramses Principe offered up some new ways to workout abs:  

Gymbear Wes Dupree was delivering while distancing in Seattle:  

 

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#deliveringwhiledistancing #Amazon

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Petr Hollesch went on a walk with his cute pup:  

 

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My little puppy #amstaff #spring #southmoravia #czech #gay #daily #instagood #instaphoto #tbt #igers

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Fitness model (and Britney Spears’s main squeeze) Sam Asghari got pumped taking a neighborhood bike ride:  

 

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Neighborhood bike rides 💪🏽

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Ignacio Pérez Rey took his Madrid morning slow:  

 

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late morning

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AND – there were some great tributes to the 100th anniversary of Tom of Finland:  

 

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#tomoffinnland #toms100 #throwback to the great shoot with @kikodionisio_photography

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Grooving On A Sunday With Aretha Franklin & Tom Jones

L-R Aretha Franklin and Tom Jones (1969)
Get your groove on with Aretha Franklin and Tom Jones singing together live in 1969. My college friend Gary sent this to me knowing I’d LOVE it! And he was right 🙂 Here’s how he set the scene:

We begin with a particularly lively Aretha, looking fantastic, delivering a SPECTACULAR “I Say A Little Prayer.” (Seriously, my head almost exploded.)

Medley next, with Tom and Aretha, both at the top of their powers, with no hint of competitive elbowing – just a mutual admiration society (Toms knows who’s in charge here) – “ It’s Not Unusual” / “Seesaw”* / “Spirit In The Dark”

“Seesaw” (4:30 to 6:47) is a perfect example of what I thought life would always be like — inclusive of vocals, visuals, and vibe.

Last up, “The Party’s Over,” with Aretha looking gorgeous in white beaded mini dress (!), sporting a perfect fro do (!!) and Tom reminding me why he was my first – and best – imaginary celebrity boyfriend.

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Saturday Slowdown: Betty Buckley ‘Souvenir’

Tony Award winner Betty Buckley sings Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem “Souvenir” set to music by Ricky Ian Gordon and played on the piano by Kenny Werner. The delicate arrangement, brimming with emotion, was a collaboration between Werner and Buckley. “I love this poem and the song,” says Buckley. And the connection is apparent in her deeply human, artful performance. Miss Betty contributed the recording as part of the Edna St. Vincent Millay Poetry Challenge. If you look up the definition of the word “sublime”…

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Little Richard, Rock & Roll Pioneer, Dead At 87

Rock and roll icon Little Richard (screen capture)
Little Richard, the raucous 1950s music star whose 1950s hits help launch the rock and roll revolution, has died at the age of 87. From Variety:

The musician, whose birth name was Richard Penniman, was 87, although some sources say he was older. His death was confirmed by his son, Danny Jones Penniman, who told the New York Times the cause was cancer.

Richard’s manic 45s for Los Angeles indie label Specialty Records — “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Rip It Up,” “Jenny Jenny,” “Keep A-Knockin’” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” — became major crossover hits in the pop sphere and influenced succeeding generations of rockers.

Pompadoured, mustachioed, slathered with pancake makeup and popping his mascara-painted eyes — “Ooh my soul, I’m the prettiest man in rock ‘n’ roll,” he declaimed — and graced with an ego as outsized as his personality and his voice, the daringly androgynous musician established himself as the wildest performer of his musical era.

Little Richard was an inaugural inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. Over the years, the flamboyant artist seemed to have had a complicated relationship with his own sexuality. Ebony reports in 1995 he told Penthouse Magazine, “I’ve been gay all my life and I know God is a God of love, not of hate.” In 2012, he shared with GQ Magazine, “We are all both male and female. Sex to me is like a smorgasbord. Whatever I feel like, I go for. What kind of sexual am I? I am omnisexual!” But then in 2017, during an interview with Three Angels Broadcasting Network, he seemed to recant it all:

“Anybody come in show business, they’re going to say you’re gay. Are you straight? Are you a homosexual something? They’re going to say it. But God, Jesus, he made men, men, he made women, women, you know? And you’ve got to live the way God wants you to live.”

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Award-Winning 2015 Production of ‘The King And I’ Streaming Free Tonight

Lincoln Center Theatre will stream (for free!) it’s Tony Award-winning 2015 production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I (2015) tonight, May 8, at 8PM ET on BroadwayHD. Directed by Bartlett Sher, starring Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe, and Ruthie Ann Miles, the production was honored with 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival. If you can’t make it tonight, don’t worry – the show will be available to stream for free for 48 hours following the viewing party. If you like to do the Twitter participation thing, use the hashtag #RNHMovieNight to watch along with other Broadway fans. This screening is being presented in support of The Actors Fund, an organization near and dear to my heart 🙂 To donate, visit: ActorsFund.org/TheKingAndI