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Monday, November 25, 2019

Jeffrey Solomon Talks “The Santa Closet” Premiere (AUDIO)














In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with playwright/performer Jeffrey Solomon about his play “The Santa Closet” that will have its premiere Tuesday December 3rd at Teatro Círculo Theater at 64 East 4th Street in NYC with a limited engagement through Sunday December 22nd presented by Houses On The Moon. “The Santa Closet” is an updated version of Solomon’s acclaimed solo play “Santa Claus is Coming Out” which premiered Off-Broadway in 2009. On the 10th anniversary of that production this new version reflects the advances and nuances in our understanding of LGBTQ lives and remains as timely 10 years later as when it first broke ground. In “The Santa Closet” little Gary's gender atypical gift request sent to the North Pole is denied. A series of subsequent heartfelt letters from the child nudge Santa Claus out of the closet right into the center of a heated culture war. The play is directed by Joe Brancato with the creative team including Claire DeLiso (scenic design), Christopher S. Chambers (lighting design), Yana Biryukova (projections design) and Obadiah Eaves (sound design/original music). The Production Stage Manager is Jamie Rose Bukowski. We talked to Jeffrey about what he hopes to accomplish with “The Santa Closet” and his spin on our LGBTQ issues.

Jeffrey Solomon is the co-founder of Houses on the Moon Theater Company a New York City not-for-profit with a mission to amplify unheard voices. Jeffrey wrote and directed two original Houses productions, “Building Houses on the Moon” (Lucille Lortel Theatre, City Theatre, Pittsburgh, Winner: Best Play for an Ensemble, Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival) and “De Novo” (59E59 St. Theaters, Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop, Palacio Tecleño in El Salvador). He is also the playwright of “Tara's Crossing” which appeared at the Queens Theatre’s Immigrant Voice’s Project and had its world premiere run at the Tenement Theatre in New York. Solomon's original teleplay for "CityKids" (ABC/Jim Henson Productions) received an Emmy Nomination for Best Children's Special as well as winning an Ollie Award for excellence in Children's Programming. “The Santa Closet” runs from December 3rd to 22nd performing on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7P, Fridays at 8P, Saturdays at 2P and 8P and Sundays at 3P with an additional performance on Tuesday December 3rd at 7P. Tickets are $35 with special reserved seating available at $55.
For More Info: housesonthemoon.org




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Friday, November 15, 2019

Joshua Lyon Talks New Edie Windsor Memoir (AUDIO)












 

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with author Joshua Lyon about Edie Windsor’s memoir “A Wild And Precious Life” published by St. Martin’s Press. Lyon began collaborating with Windsor before her passing in 2017 and completed the memoir with cooperation from Edie’s spouse Judith Kasen-Windsor who provided Edie’s extensive archive of personal papers dating back to the 1940s. “A Wild And Precious Life” shares intimate fascinating details of Windsor’s personal life, career pursuits and loves from her adventures in Greenwich Village lesbian bars in the 1950s while pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics at NYU to her extensive work at IBM as well as her activist awakening and epic love affair with Thea Spyer. Edie met Spyer in the 1960’s whose Dutch Jewish family had fled the Nazis and went on to become a successful clinical psychologist whose work was crucial during the AIDS crisis counseling our LGBTQ community. Their partnership lasted 44 years until Thea’s passing in 2009. With the federal government refusing to acknowledge their Canadian marriage Windsor was then required to pay $363,053 in federal estate taxes on her wife's estate which led to the 2013 Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor that successfully overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act leading to marriage equality becoming the law of the land in 2015. Edie found love again marrying Judith Kasen-Windsor in 2016 who stated, “With irreverent and unexpected stories this memoir chronicles the struggles and passions that drove her extraordinary life. It’s an important part of her legacy, a gift to all who will continue her message of hope, strength and courage. Edie proved that love does, in fact, win.” We talked to Joshua about what he hopes to accomplish with this book and his spin on our LGBTQ issues.

 Joshua Lyon is an American journalist and the author of “Pill Head: The Secret Life of a Painkiller Addict”. He has ghostwritten several New York Times bestselling memoirs for celebrities and LGBTQ icons and activists. Lyon stated, “Collaborating with Edie was the most thrilling and humbling experience of my career. I’m so excited for the world to learn even more about this fiercely intelligent and wildly funny woman, a true lover and fighter who continues to inspire.” The title of the memoir “A Wild And Precious Life” comes from a line in the poem “A Summer Day” by Mary Oliver which Hillary Clinton quoted in her eulogy for Edie.
For More Info: us.macmillan.com






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