Category: Entertainment

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Sunday Slowdown: Kevin Spirtas “I’d Rather Leave While I’m In Love”

I’ve always loved the Pete Allen/Carole Bayer Sager song, “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love.” Rita Coolidge had something of a comeback with the tune in 1979 when she hit #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. My pal Kevin Spirtas shared this today and I had to hit repeat a few times. I’ve written about Kevin on The Randy Report several times in the past. While daytime fans know him from his years on Days of Our Lives as Dr. Craig Wesley, his most recent triumph was winning ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series’ for his performance in After Forever. He also won for ‘Outstanding Writing for a Digital Daytime Series’ and the top prize, ‘Outstanding Digital Drama Series.’ The Broadway veteran (A Chorus Line, The Boy From Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis) also sings and dances,  oh, just a bit LOL Many folks may not know that Kevin was Hugh Jackman’s standby for the Broadway run of the Peter Allen bio-musical, The Boy From Oz. You most probably don’t know that because Hugh never missed a performance, so Kevin never got the chance to step into his Peter Allen shoes. But trust and believe, he was ready. This is just a taste of what audience MIGHT have gotten back then. Enjoy.

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Podcast: Gerald McCullouch Chats On New Film ‘All Male All Nude – Johnsons’

Today I’m chatting with award-winning filmmaker Gerald McCullouch – whose acting work you know from movies like Daddy, the Bear City franchise, as well as his ten seasons as ‘Bobby Dawson’ on the hit TV series, CSI. Gerald has spent years exploring and documenting the world of male strippers. Two years ago, he shared his acclaimed documentary ‘All Male All Nude’ which took a look behind the scenes of Atlanta’s famous Swinging Richards strip club. Now he’s back with a second feature-length documentary titled, ‘All Male All Nude: Johnsons.’ Here’s the official synopsis:

Journey into the unique world of male stripping at a small gay strip club located in America’s Second Gayest City.

‘All Male, All Nude: Johnsons’ is set in Florida’s newest gay strip club, Johnsons, located in Wilton Manors, Florida and new home to the creator and owner of Johnsons – Matt Colunga, an award-winning bodybuilder, who has been in the male entertainment industry for 23 years and was introduced in the first documentary film.

The cast of characters in the film range from Matt, to a hunky 26-year-old who spends his days dressed as Spider-Man creating early memories for children at kid parties and then spends his nights stripping down to his G-String for gay men, to single fathers putting themselves through college with their stripping income, to entertainers in the adult film world.

The men who compose the heart of Johnsons are diverse, unique, and captivating.

Hit the play button to hear my chat with the always-awesome Gerald McCullouch:

‘All Male, All Nude: Johnsons’ will have its official premiere in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday, September 15 at 6:30 PM at the Gateway Theater (1820 E. Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304). A pre-reception for VIP guests which will begin at 5 PM at the Modern Sixties Wine Lounge next to The Classic Gateway. As well as an exclusively catered VIP afterparty following the premiere at Johnsons the club, complete with an open bar where guests are welcome to mingle with the chiseled centerpieces of the film. Plus, guests attending the premiere will be treated to a special performance by acclaimed NYC musician Corey TuT performing songs from the film’s soundtrack. Click here for ticket information: tickets.completeticketsolutions.com/OSFF/On…E53D31B

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‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!’ Announces Las Vegas Residency

All tea, no shade! Some of the most famous drag queens in the world are taking over the Las Vegas Strip when RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! hits the stage at Flamingo Las Vegas in early 2020. From the creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning series RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! will be the most sickening eleganza extravaganza in Las Vegas herstory. The revue is everything you love about the TV show and then some. “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! is an immersive, interactive thrill-ride for everyone who loves to laugh, dance and sing-along when a fabulous drag queen shakes her padded ass on stage,” said RuPaul. Each live performance is packed with outrageous comedy, eye-popping fashions, over-the-top singing and dancing, heartwarming moments, plus twists and turns that will leave the audience “gagging” for more. The atmosphere of the show is interactive and encourages audience members’ participation, as if they were attending a live episode of the world-famous competition. Directed by RuPaul and award-winning choreographer and filmmaker Jamal Sims (Aladdin, Step Up, When The Beat Drops), RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! is produced by World of Wonder, the creative team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, with Voss Events. The show will feature RuPaul’s hit songs from the past 11 seasons of Drag Race, plus original show-stopping numbers created especially for this residency. Seven queens will be featured in each show from a rotating cast of Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Coco Montrese, Derrick Barry, Eureka O’Hara, India Ferrah, Kahanna Montrese, Kameron Michaels, Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls, Shannel and Yvie Oddly. Presale tickets will be available starting Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. PT at rupaulsdragracelive.com, and fans can sign up for access beginning today. WOW and Voss Events subscribers will also receive presale access by email. Caesars Rewards members, Caesars Entertainment’s loyalty program, as well as Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers will also have access to a presale beginning Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. PT. RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! will perform Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 p.m. starting in January 2020. Tickets starting at $49, plus applicable tax and fees, go on sale to the public beginning Friday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. PT. For more information and a complete show schedule, please visit ticketmaster.com/dragracevegas. (via press release)

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‘The Blond One’ Explores Visceral Attraction Amid Latin Machismo

With five acclaimed indie features under his belt, Argentine director/writer Marco Berger (Taekwondo, Plan B, Hawaii) delivers his latest exploration of the male psyche, The Blond One. The film, which premiered at Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival in February and took home the prize for Best LGBTQ Film at the Molodist International Film Festival, is a testament to the power of understated performances and confidently relies on artful silences between the two protagonists. Set in Buenos Aires, Gabriel (Gastón Re) and Juan (Alfonso Barón) are coworkers who find themselves roommates when Juan invites Gabriel to rent a spare bedroom in his flat. One furtive glance leads to another, a brush of a hand here or there, and even though Juan’s multiple girlfriends casually come and go, the attraction between the two men is palpable. Of course, this leads to a physical connection, but both men then have to search themselves for what this means. Latin machismo battles with visceral sexual attraction as the film circles around latent romantic possibilities.

Juan, apparently bisexual, finds the need to put walls up and delineate roles by offering macho statements like, “Don’t make me explain myself like you were my girlfriend,” to a puppy dog-eyed Gabriel. Gabriel, the sensitive, single father (the mother of his daughter passed away some time ago) who seems to quietly identify as gay, finds himself looking for an emotional anchor. Whether or not that ends up to be Juan, you’ll have to check out the film to find out. The subtle, heartfelt performances – brimming with sexual tension – are intimate, honest and emotionally raw. The Blond One opens today in Los Angeles for a weeklong run at the Laemmle Music Hall with home video release to follow. In Spanish with English subtitles – running time 111 minutes. Rating: 5 stars – highly recommended (all photos courtesy of TLA Releasing)

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PEOPLE Names Billy Porter One Of The ‘Best Dressed Of 2019’

Chalk up another title added to POSEstar Billy Porter’s list of accomplishments: the Tony Award-winner has been named one of  PEOPLE’s Best Dressed of 2019. And for so many reasons. The red carpet ninja killed it throughout the recent awards season. From his stunning Christian Sirano designed black velvet tuxedo ball gown worn to the Oscars; to his embroidered suit complete with pink-lined cape at the Golden Globes; to his ‘Sun God’ inspired fashion for this year’s Met Gala; and his glorious hot pink/red Celestine Couture ball gown for the Tony Awards, Mr. Porter is just beginning to own his fashion statements. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuSF3dEl_e0/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsjd6p6FVDd/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BxJbaXfFerw/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bygz46zjuNF/ “As a man, I really want to make a different kind of statement and show up in a way that could also be transformative, that could also be political,” Porter told PEOPLE. “My goal was to be a walking piece of political art. When I show up that’s what my goal is. Put a man in a dress and it’s controversial, doesn’t make any sense, but okay. Let’s keep having this conversation until we can change something.” It wasn’t until he began working on his groundbreaking FX series POSE that he “realized how gender fluid” his fashion instincts had been. “It kind of cracked my brain open and helped me get to a different space and understanding about myself,” said the 49-year-old actor. “The dilemmas I was putting on myself, even just about what I can wear, what was acceptable, what was masculine enough, what was acceptable.” Porter also noted that he’s not the only public figure exploring gender-fluid fashion like Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and Grammy Award-winner Sam Smith. “There’s a few of us trying to do it. But I think it’s really transforming something,” opined Porter. “It’s really making a difference. I’m seeing more and more men playing in that way.” With his historic Emmy Award nomination for his work on POSE as ‘Best Actor in a Drama,’ Porter advises we all stay tuned for his upcoming look. “It’ll be a fashion moment,” he assures. “I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s going to be a moment. It has to be a moment now! I’ve created something where I have to show up, it has to be a moment. I don’t know if it’s going to be a dress or anything like that but we’ll see.” Congratulations to Billy for blazing his own trail and showing folks we don’t have to fit into someone else’s mold. Here are a few more fashion statements by the Grammy Award winner. https://www.instagram.com/p/ByMEAeVFTmI/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BtXKpFElm6t/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BzVpkQHFLJu/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt96EvzlJ4K/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BxxYi7qFOS-/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B17TvFbltiH/

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Randy Rainbow Skewers Trump With ‘Cheeto Christ Stupid-Czar’

Political satirist Randy Rainbow’s latest hysterical offering is his mashup of tunes from the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice classic musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. But in this iteration, Rainbow riffs on Donald Trump’s recent headlines when he tweeted about a political pundit referring to him as the “King of Israel,” and when he looked up to the sky and said, “I am the chosen one.” So, Randy mixes his magic on three songs from the show: “King Herod’s Song,” “Everything’s Alright,” and the title track. “Cheeto Christ, Cheeto Christ / He’s like if Jesus were pumpkin-spiced.” Hit play below for the uber-clever word-play:

Randy is currently on tour where crowds are flocking to experience his very funny sense of political theater. Click here for details about the tour.

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New Music: Stewart Taylor “Mess Your Hair Up”

Out singer/songwriter Stewart Taylor encourages his fans to be playful and adventurous with their significant others with his latest music video, “Mess Your Hair Up.” The R&B funk track was inspired by Taylor’s own long-distance relationship.  “I had recently moved to LA from New York and my partner sent me a super sexy picture,” he shares about the genesis of the new song. “I told him I wanted to jump on him and mess his hair up! The chorus of the song came to me almost immediately afterwards.” “Everyone deserves to be happy in and outside of the bedroom,” he reflects. “While ‘Mess Your Hair Up’ may appear simplistic and perhaps more superficial than my previous tracks, sometimes simple and fun is better. One of my favorite Prince songs is literally about wanting his lover’s ‘extra time and their KISS,’ and it’s still iconic.:   His optimism shines through in the colorful music video for “Mess Your Hair Up.”   “The video celebrates white, black, Latino, and even drag queen hairstyles because all of it is beautiful to me,” he adds. “I also had the privilege of working with LA-based choreographer Johnny Rice (Taylor Swift, Adam Lambert) on the dance numbers in the video, so hopefully it makes people want to get up and dance, too.” Visit www.stewarttaylorofficial.com for more info on Stewart. Hit the play button and bounce through Hump Day a little easier.

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Lara Spencer Apologizes For Mocking Boys Taking Dance Class

Good Morning America host Lara Spencer apologized for her faux pas when she laughed on air at the idea of Prince George’s curriculum including ballet classes, which he reportedly enjoys. I posted some of the dance world’s response the homophobic giggle Spencer shared when she reported that news. On GMA this week, she offered a humble, sincere apology for “screwing up.” She also welcomed three major forces from the dance world to talk about the impact of laughing, mocking and shaming boys who dance: 2-time Emmy Award winner Travis Wall, ballet star and soon-to-appear in the film adaptation of CATS, Robbie Fairchild, and Joffrey Ballet’s Fabrice Calmels. When she first issued a mea culpa via Instagram, being married to a publicist the text seemed a bit “the network said I have to do this.” But watching her in this GMA segment, I take her at her word that she realizes her mistake. As a guy who has danced for 40 years, and thankfully enjoyed a career of incredible opportunity thanks to dance, I accept her apology and appreciate that it comes across as authentic and sincere.

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Taylor Swift Promotes Equality Act During Acceptance Speech At VMAs

Taylor Swift won big at the MTV Video Music Awards Monday night as she scored the trophy for Video of the Year for her LGBTQ anthem, “You Need To Calm Down.” Taylor opened the night’s festivities performing “YNTCD” as well as her new single “Lover.” The Hollywood Reporter has the details.

Dancers dressed in colorful ensembles moved around the stage before the drag queens featured in the music video appeared next to Swift as she sang the anti-hate anthem. The first number concluded with the words “Equality Act” largely written behind the performers.

Swift has been an advocate for the Equality Act and has urged her followers to sign a petition in its favor on social media. The House of Representatives passed legislation in May that protects those living in states where it’s legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity when it comes to housing, employment and other services.