LGBTQ news and entertainment
JoeMyGod points out this developing story that 3 more suspects have been taken into custody regarding the Boston bombings.
From Boston.com:
Three college students have been arrested in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, a Boston police source said this morning. The Boston police official Twitter account said that three additional “suspects” had been taken into custody. The source said the three had been arrested by federal authorities.
Appearing in the Denver Post today:
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| Michael and I with Vanessa Williams after her glowing performance in A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL on Broadway |
Michael and I saw the beautiful new production of A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL last night starring Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr. and the FAB Vanessa Williams.
The nominations for awards are pouring in for the production, and the box office is doing hefty business as the theater community welcomes Cicely Tyson back to Broadway for the first time in 30 years. The production also marks Cuba Gooding Jr’s Broadway debut and Vanessa’s return to the Broadway stage since her gorgeous performance in SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM three years ago.
THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL is Horton Foote’s masterpiece about memory, mortality and the undeniable, universal yearning for home.
The Wall Street Journal calls TRIP, “is unforgettably excellent. I’ve never been more deeply moved by a theatrical production of any kind.”
The Associated Press says “The casting here is splendid. Not only is Tyson feisty and funny and glowing with inner light; Vanessa Williams is politely savage as her preening daughter-in-law, icy without becoming a dragon. Cuba Gooding Jr. nails the kind man unfortunately caught in the middle of these two women. The care and love all the creators have for this play pours out from the stage.”
EW wrote about the show “Tyson gives an awe-inspiring performance. She sings, she dances, she does everything but cartwheels. She’s well matched by Vanessa Williams – wickedly funny as her bossy daughter-in-law.”
As regular readers of TRR know, I’ve known Vanessa for years; and I am very proud of Vanessa for her work in the play. Her role as “Jessie Mae Watts” is deceptively difficult as she sets the tone and environment that incites Cicely Tyson’s character to head home to Bountiful. Vanessa drives the entire beginning of the play with constant business and energy. And she brings the pitch perfect touch of humor to the role, as only Vanessa can.
Make sure you see A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL at the Stephen Sondheim Theater on Broadway. I loved it, as did the sold-out audience I saw it with.
For more info, visit the show’s official website.
I posted recently about a possible “cure” for HIV/AIDS being researched in Denmark. Since that story came out, many in the medical research field have waved their hands in the air saying “wait, wait, wait! Not yet!”
The NY Times’s Donald G. McNeil Jr. explains the unusual cases in which HIV has seemingly been killed with drugs, and what can be learned from them.
Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/10q0jAG
At the end of a press conference today, President Obama returned to the microphone to fully articulate his support for Jason Collins, who “came out” yesterday to much fanfare.
Calling him a role model for LGBT youth who are struggling, and a sign of increasing recognition in America, President Obama praised the country’s first openly gay active player in a major sport:
“I told him I couldn’t be prouder. One of the extraordinary measures of progress that we’ve seen in this country has been the recognition that the LGBT community deserves full equality, not just partial equality, not just tolerance, but a recognition that they’re fully a part of the American family.
“Given the importance of sports in our society, for an individual who’s excelled at the highest levels of one of the major sports going to say ‘This is who I am. I’m proud of it. I’m still a great competitor. I’m still seven foot tall and deliver a hard foul’ … for a lot of young people out there who are gay or lesbian who are struggling with these issues, to see a role model like that who is unafraid, it’s a great thing.
“I think America should be proud that this is just one more step in this ongoing recognition that we treat everybody fairly, and everybody’s part of the family and we judge people on the basis of their character and their performance and not their sexual orientation. So, I’m very proud of him.”
(via Instinct)
NBA player Jason Collins talks to Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos about his “coming out,” his aggressive style of play, the support he’s received and why he chose to wear number 98 this past season.
Bryan, we’ve been in the showers all along. And you know that. That’s what fuels your hate every day.
Remember?
(via Right Wing Watch)
President Obama called NBA center Jason Collins today after news broke that the pro basketball player had come out of the closet.
From Raw Story:
President Barack Obama called NBA player Jason Collins on Monday to praise his courage after he became the first star in big-time American professional team sports to come out as gay.
Collins, currently a free agent who has played for six teams over 12 seasons, made the announcement in a blockbuster article in Sports Illustrated. “The President called Jason Collins to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage,” said a White House aide, on condition of anonymity.
