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Monday, July 16, 2018

Jewelle Gomez Talks New Play “Waiting for Giovanni” (AUDIO)














In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with playwright Jewelle Gomez about her new play “Waiting for Giovanni” that runs now through August 4th at The Flea Theater at 20 Thomas Street in NYC. Written in collaboration with Harry Waters Jr. and directed by Mark Finley the play addresses author James Baldwin at a pivotal moment in his career in 1957 as bombs are exploding in Black churches and lynchings are a fact of life for many across America. From these ashes a young Black writer emerges to become a literary celebrity bringing with him both his boundless talent and personal insecurities. Director Mark Finley stated, “In Jewelle's play, Jimmy wrestles with his identity as a black writer and a gay man as a newly noted author and a truthful creative vessel. It dramatizes not only the creative process but also relationships between creative people how we love and limit each other and how we love and limit ourselves.” The New York premiere of “Waiting for Giovanni” is presented by TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), the city’s oldest LGBTQ theater and performed as part of the company's partnership with the Flea Theater. We talked to Jewelle about what inspired her to write “Waiting for Giovanni” and her spin on our LGBTQ issues.

When asked how she sees our LGBTQ community or any minority moving forward in this Trump administration, Gomez stated, “I feel like this administration is presenting us with a really great challenge to have someone so obvious in their distain for equal rights, distain for the Constitution, distain for Democratic institutions and for individuals. That’s so obvious it’s horrifying but it also says to me this is where we as a community an LGBT community can step up. He’s kind of a plague and we have faced plagues before and we stepped up and pulled together and worked to change for better lives and to me this is very similar. We need to think individually and as groups. What are the acts we can take once we cry and moan and complain and harmonize; then we need to say what is our next step whether it’s voting whether it’s supporting some of these nonprofits that are stepping in to do the work the administration would like to cut. We can think about individual act; it’s all about individual acts that we can commit to. It takes a couple of individuals to figure out to do something to make change and to be relentless about it and to not think ‘okay well I’m going to go on this march and I’m done and now things are going to be better’. It’s something that you do in your everyday life.”

Playwright Jewelle Gomez is the author of eight books including the Lambda Award-winning classic, “The Gilda Stories” which has been in print since 1991. Her play “Bones and Ash” based on “The Gilda Stories” was commissioned by the Urban Bush Women Company. “Waiting for Giovanni” is the first play of her trilogy about African American artists in the early part of the 20th century. In 2017 the second play, “Leaving the Blues” about singer/composer Alberta Hunter premiered at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center where she is Playwright in Residence. She is currently working on “Unpacking at Ptown,” the third play in the trilogy which will premiere in 2021. “Waiting for Giovanni” runs now through August 4th at The Flea Theater at 20 Thomas Street in NYC.
For More Info & Tix: theflea.org



Monday, July 9, 2018

Tab Hunter In His Own Words A Personal Reflection (AUDIO)














Very sad news out of Hollywood that screen legend and LGBTQ Icon Tab Hunter has passed away. A few years ago Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ had the opportunity to talk to Tab in this exclusive audio interview about his work and autobiography “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star” by Eddie Muller and Tab Hunter that was made into the fabulous documentary by filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz. Interestingly Hunter talks about the importance about writing his biography in his own words rather than having it written by someone who didn’t know him after he died.

When asked about the documentary Tab stated, “Well you know we’re all on a journey and that was my journey, take it or leave it, that was it. Unfortunately we couldn’t put everything in it, there’s just so much you can do in that amount of time.” Our interview is filled with Hunter’s personal Hollywood stories that we feel so privileged to share with our global audience. One especially moving was when asked what advise he would give young LGBT kids dealing with bullying Tab stated, “I’m not a good one on advise, but I have to tell you a story that’s really interesting. Years ago I was doing a television show with Geraldine Page who was a brilliant actress and I said ‘God you know Gerry, the press they love you and they just hate my guts. They’re just despicable to me and I feel terrible about this.’ She grabbed hold of my arm and said ‘Remember this Tab. If people don’t like you that’s their bad taste.’ I thought Whoa, that’s powerful. I thought, I’m going to apply that to my life and furthermore pass that along to every person I know particularly young people because they don’t have the support and guidance while they’re growing up.”

Tab Hunter appeared in over 40 films. His breakout role in 1951 at age nineteen was with Samuel Goldwyn Studios in “The Lawless”. His Southern California “golden boy” good looks catapulted him to overnight matinee idol stardom and he enjoyed a robust film career throughout the 1950’s and 60’s. The 1970’s started out strong including a leading role in John Huston’s “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” starring Paul Newman but work began to wane in the later 70’s. A call from filmmaker and fan John Waters catapulted Hunter back into the limelight and took him into a new, freer direction with the now cult classic comedy “Polyester” in 1981 starring the infamous drag icon Divine.

Tab Hunter is survived by his partner Allan Glaser, who is currently working on a film about Tab’s relationship with actor Anthony Perkins.
For More Info: tabhunter.com