David Dean Bottrell is no stranger to shape-shifting — whether he’s embodying eccentric characters on screen or pouring himself into authentically intimate self-portrayal on the stage. With a career encompassing television, film, writing and teaching: does he ever sleep?

Bottrell has carved out his own space where vulnerability and comedy intersect. His most recent project, “Teenage Wasteland: Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,” is currently touring the country and will soon land in Los Angeles, inviting folks into the honest, funny and often cringey reality of adolescence.

In this interview, Bottrell opens up about the awkward photo that sparked the show, the shock and joy of his first standing ovation and the significance of queer storytelling in today’s cultural climate. Bottrell brings both heart and humor to every story he tells. Whether you grew up a theater girlie, an outcast, or just someone who grew up feeling like they never had the right answers, “Teenage Wasteland” is sure to feel like a long overdue conversation with younger you.

Your new show is currently touring the country and is soon to hit Los Angeles. What was the spark that inspired the creation of “Teenage Wasteland?” Was there a particular memory, milestone, or meltdown that motivated you?

I was looking through some old photos and found this truly hideous picture of myself when I was thirteen.  I’m not kidding.  It was mortifying.  I remembered the day it was taken.  I remembered the shirt I was wearing, so I instantly knew I wanted to write not just about adolescence, but early adolescence — when you go from being a cute child to this ugly little rodent with bad skin who suddenly needs to wear deodorant. 

It’s such a tough time, probably one of the hardest chapters of life.  So much is happening and it doesn’t feel safe to even ask the most basic questions.  You usually just have to take your best guess and sometimes you guess horribly wrong.  

“Teenage Wasteland,” is subtitled “Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen.” What did those three years mean to you? Any stories from that time in your life you’d like to share with the class?

Absolutely!  As anybody who’s seen shows can attest, I’m nothing if not a “sharer.”  Something I often say at the top of the show is: ‘if you had a happy early adolescence, you should probably just leave now.  This show isn’t for you.  It’s for the rest of us.’  When I think about that time, the word “survival” comes to mind.  The stories are mostly about all the big scary discoveries that keep coming at you. 

The show opens with me talking about my first orgasm — which was totally spontaneous and terrifying — and happened in a very awkward and bizarre location.  My family was super religious and very uptight about sex, so I’d been told nothing.  Not a word about what was happening to my body.  I almost asked to be taken to the hospital.  Oh, and that hideous picture I found — It’s now on the poster for this show.

You’ve performed your shows on both the east and the west coasts. What’s the biggest difference between an east coast audience and a west coast audience? Do you have a preference? I can keep a secret…

Christ, I hope not.  I’m counting on you to blab this to everybody. Surprisingly, the differences are pretty subtle.  My shows aren’t stand-up. They’re each a collection of these weird funny stories that all weave into each other.  I sometimes describe them as sort of like National Public Radio (NPR), but with a lot more swearing.  L.A. audiences like to ride the rollercoaster.

The nuttier the story, the more they love it.  New Yorkers love to see how far down the elevator shaft I’ll go. They seem impressed when I download some really uncomfortable shit and still manage to make it funny.  I’ve spent my adult life bouncing back and forth between the coasts and I honestly love both groups of people equally — and that’s not me dodging the question. 

That’s actually true.  

You’ve shared the screen with folks like James Spader, Angela Bassett and Dolly Parton.  Tell us, who would’ve been your high school bestie and who would have been your arch frenemy?

Oh man, Dolly would have been my best buddy for sure. She’s a Tennessee gal and I’m from Kentucky, so there’s a strong chance that we’re distantly related.  I’ve seen great pictures of her in high school.  I’d have happily stolen a can of my mom’s White Rain hairspray and helped Dolly put a few extra stories on those skyscraper beehives she used to wear.  I’d have been way too scared of Angela.  When I worked with her she was fresh out of Yale, but she already seemed like royalty.  I don’t mean she was snooty.  Quite the opposite!  She was lovely, but she had this beautiful confidence even back then — something I did not have in my high school days.  So, I imagine James would’ve been the frenemy.  He’s such a brilliant guy and very kind.  But he plays his cards close to his chest and he can be a little hard to read.  I would never want to compete with him for anything like Prom King.  I’m pretty sure he’d have devised some brilliant way to wipe the floor with me.   

You wrote the screenplay for Kingdom Come, you’ve directed, you teach and you wrote a book. What haven’t you done yet? Any frontiers you’re looking to cross next?

Other than two years of acting class, I have almost no education, and I bluffed my way into most of those jobs.  Primarily because I needed the money.  Lately, I’ve been thinking that I might try pole dancing next.  I hear the tips are fantastic.   

From lawyers to killers and even a blood-thirsty vamp on HBO’s “True Blood,” you have portrayed quite the array of characters throughout your career. In “Teenage Wasteland” you will be sharing part of your own story. What made now the right moment to embrace vulnerability and go autobiographical?

Prior to doing these shows not many people knew my backstory.  I tended to hide it.  The first time I performed “David Dean Bottrell Makes Love: A One-Man Show” at the Comedy Central Stage in L.A., I had a panic attack ten minutes before the show.  I suddenly thought, ‘what the fuck are you doing?  You can’t say this stuff?’ 

But it was too late and the place didn’t have a back door.  I was really sweating when I walked out on that stage, but as soon as I said the first line, they started  laughing and for the next hour they didn’t stop.  I love acting because — at its best, I get to disappear into some odd character that was written by someone else.  It’s wonderfully safe in there.  But in storytelling, the goal is the opposite.  You certainly want people to be entertained; you want to make them laugh, but if you’re not transparent — if you’re not willing to tell a little more truth than you probably should be telling — you won’t be able to hold them.  They didn’t come to this show to listen to you say something ‘easy’ and there is nothing funnier than the truth.  

You also appeared on “Modern Family,” a show that not only helped normalize queer families for a mainstream audience but also portrayed them with humor and heart. What are some messages that you think the show got right that many politicians today still do not grasp?

I was honored to have been on “Modern Family.”  The thing about being queer in a primarily straight world is you have to come out like once a week — to the new person at work.  To the dry cleaner.  To the doctor.  Your new neighbor.  It feels endless.  Sometimes you feel like you have be a perfect gay Barbie and educate everyone that, for the most part — life is life.  We all want respect.  We all want a family of some kind.  We all want to understand how our iPhones work. 

Shows like “Modern Family” just presented these wonderful queer characters with real jobs, real kids, real families and I think it made a big impact.  It demystified our existence. 

Unfortunately, politicians since the beginning of time, win by creating fear and that sometimes means appealing to the most basic gross instinct of humanity that the ‘others’ are not to be trusted and that they’re up to no good.  

You grew up in Kentucky before Ellen was out and RuPaul had a budget. When you look at today’s state of queer storytelling, what makes you hopeful? What still feels hollow to you?

There’s been an incredible, big happy tsunami of change since I was a kid.  I remember how important the queer film festivals used to be because we got to come together and see our lives depicted honestly on screen.  Now our lives are on streaming services. When I saw “Fellow Travelers” which, granted, was a period piece — some of it was so raw, I felt I should get up and close the curtains.  It was thrilling. 

I’m really optimistic about what’s possible now, especially with all the super-popular queer stars who can hopefully continue to keep pushing us forward.  I feel bad saying this, but I didn’t love “Mid-Century Modern” because (despite being unapologetically gay, which I liked) it still felt a little like “The Golden Girls” in drag.  It seemed like the show could’ve been less jokey and maybe taken a fresher look at a group of men walking nervously into a new, possibly less sexual chapter of their lives.  

Let’s say a teenage version of yourself sneaks into your show. How do you think they would walk out feeling? What do you hope they walk out feeling?

Wow.  Good question.  Well, I hope they’d walk out the door excited about their life and a little proud of themself.  I never thought of myself as being particularly brave when I was kid.  But writing this show made me realize I was much stronger than I thought.  I came from a family that wasn’t exactly what you’d call ‘lucky,’ but somehow  I instinctively knew how to take my lemons and make lemonade.  I had a lot of cousins — and some peers — who took their lemons and planted a lemon grove.  

What is something the audience might not expect from “Teenage Wasteland?” Is there a moment that reverberates to your core when you perform it live?

Yes! There are several of them.  I think the biggest thing that rings true in the stories is that growing up different; being on the edge of things, can sometimes make you feel lonely or angry or scared.  But it also teaches you how to navigate, how to walk yourself home, how to laugh really hard, how to earn love.  Most importantly, how to forgive everybody including yourself.  

It’s that time of year again, when everyone’s ranting about getting their perfect summer body ready for beaches and pool parties. While working out to feel good is great, let’s be honest – the societal standard for a hot summer body leans heavily toward being thin and having a lack of body hair.

Singer-songwriter Tom Goss counters this narrative through his new single “Bear Soup,” featuring Brooklyn-based rapper Chris Conde. Instead of dropping the usual skinny, twink summer anthem, Goss is serving a body-positive bop that centers bears – the big, hairy, rugged guys who hold a reputation for knowing how to party.

“Bear Soup” marks the fourth and most ambitious entry in his bear song anthology series following the three iconic tracks “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places” and “Nerdy Bear.” 

“Well, simply put, I love bears,” exclaimed Goss. “To me, it feels important to make something bear-centered every couple years.”

It would be unfair to solely attribute Goss’ bear series to his personal love for bears, so he also emphasizes an important message regarding body positivity.

“If these songs, videos, and messages can help someone see themselves in a more positive light, and have a happier life as a result of that, I have done more than I could ever have dreamed of in this world.”

Taking inspiration from bold, confident artists like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice and Flo Milli, Goss set out to create a track that would be right at home on the dance floor. From the very first listen, it is evident that he wanted to make a song that anyone — regardless of body type — could party to. The accompanying music video brings that vision to life, overflowing with fun, freedom and unapologetic self-love.

“As a bear guy myself, I understand the trepidations a chubby gay guy might have if [or] when invited to a pool party. In a culture fraught with rigorous body conscious expectation, the opportunity to create visuals for a song like “Bear Soup” are both freeing and exciting for me,” said Michale Serrato, director of the song’s music video.

The music video is exactly how Serrato describes it: It follows Goss at a lively pool party being completely enamored with the sea of bears around him. From playful swimming scenes to a marmalade wrestling match — with plenty of skin on display — it’s a celebration of body confidence and queer joy.

Conde delivers a powerful, high-intensity verse that balances the song’s playful pop vibe with raw energy. Goss describes Conde as being “unapologetic in who he is” with Conde’s feature elevating the track to the next level. 

For Goss, making these videos is more than just fun — it is about creating a space where people can show up as their full selves.

“These videos provide an environment that allows everyone to exude joy, fully and completely loving themselves in the process,” he said.

He even recalls background extras opening up about lifelong insecurities right before filming. But in the affirming, body-positive space Goss fosters, those fears quickly melted away.

“As soon as people arrive and are embraced so warmly, they shine brightly, take off their clothes, and accept themselves freely and effortlessly,” said Goss.

Goss understands the impact his work has had on others, yet he remains humble and never makes it about himself. He’s quick to clarify that he doesn’t take credit for anyone’s coming out or self-discovery, but he acknowledges the meaningful responses he’s received.

“I’ve had countless people tell me they discovered their sexuality or expanded their sense of attraction after watching my videos,” he said. “I’m not taking credit for their sexuality, but I do believe these videos give people permission to see the world and themselves in ways they might not have considered before.”

Although “Bear Soup” has been made and is set to release, Goss has even more in store.

“I have another song and video coming out soon, called “Gay Stuff,” followed by a full album,” he shared. Above all, Goss’s mission is clear: to spread positivity, joy, and encourage everyone to fully embrace who they are. And with a smile, he reminds us to “keep that bear love flowing.”

Actor Craig Taggart has had a colorful career that has transported him from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

Taggart made his L.A. stage debut in Del Shores’ revival of “Southern Baptist Sissies” and began a decades-long professional relationship that led to his appearance in a variety of “sordid” incarnations: in repertory in 2006’s Season of Shores in “Sordid Lives,” “Sordid Lives: It’s a Drag,” and then on TV’s “Sordid Lives: The Series” where he made his TV debut.

Los Angeles audiences have been privileged to see Taggart take the stage in a number of sketch comedies and hilarious parodies. One of his most popular runs has been portraying Bette Midler for “Rise n’ Shine” with Midler and Juliette Lewis, a surreal morning talk show hosted by the duo, played by comedy partner Chris Pudlo. Nowhere on Earth would these two stars be hanging out on a TV show, but the pairing works and the result is hilarious. We really would love to see the return of this dynamic duo.

Taggart will step into the emcee shoes this coming week while regular MuMo host Darin Sanone is traveling Europe. Taggart will present the very popular MISCAST edition, a fan-favorite segment of Musical Mondays that features actors performing roles that are far from their intended casting. From gender swaps to reinterpretations, MISCAST at Mumo is often hilarious, and many times poignant. We can’t wait.

We caught up with Taggart to talk about the power of musical theatre, his career and his fascination with divas.

What inspired your early love of musical theatre? 

The first time I fell in love, I was in the third grade watching my grammar school’s performance of Cinderella…a leading lady — in this case a pre-teen girl — on stage singing a torchy power ballad. Smitten!

What was your first professional appearance on stage? How did it go? 

Made my professional debut in The Miss Kitty’s Saloon Show at Six Flags St. Louis. 6 shows a day and getting to ride roller coasters when your shift is over…best summer job I ever had!

What was your journey from St. Louis to Los Angeles? What took some time getting used to? 

There’s a saying in St. Louis: “If you don’t like the weather here, hang out for 24 hours. It’ll change. And boy, would it! What sold me on Los Angeles was the temperate climate all year long. Weather in Missouri is all over the map…the consistency of Mother Nature here in L.A. has helped, pun intended, weather the career fluctuations over the past couple of decades.

How has being part of the theatre changed your life? 

I wouldn’t say theatre really changed my life. It defined my life, for the most part. It’s where I first experienced community. It’s where I was allowed to be myself and be celebrated for it.

 We need more Bette and Juliet! Any plans to see more of these lovely ladies? 

Funny you should mention that…we’ve been tinkering with the idea of bringing those broads back. I think a reunion show would be in order. Seems everyone’s getting a reboot these days…why not those gals?

Gender bending roles in the theatre have become very popular. What role would you cast yourself in? 

I would throw a Little Mermaid into oncoming traffic to get to play ‘Ursula’ onstage.

What has been a personal triumph for you in your theatre career and why? 

I made my NYC stage debut off-Broadway starring in “Wounded” by Jiggs Burgess and directed by my dear friend Del Shores this past year. Being involved with it from the initial zoom readings to its multiple award-winning run @ The 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival to it garnering a residency at The SoHo Playhouse as its Overall Excellence Award Winner from the 2024 International Fringe Festival…that has been the cherry on the cake of my career on-stage so far. 

What was your first exposure to Musical Mondays? 

Wow…I honestly can’t recall my first time. Not that it wasn’t memorable–it just seems so ingrained in my DNA that I find it harder to think of a time when I  DON’T recall being exposed to MuMo!

What is it about Musical Mondays that the community loves so much? 

I’d say it’s due to the unabashed and unapologetic reverence for the genre.

Why is celebrating musical theatre so important right now? 

Celebrating is a ceremony of respect…and with so much vitriol and animosity and negativity in the world these days…this artform–which, at its core, is one rooted in a reality where a story is only able to be told in so many words before it has nowhere else to go but through song–to me that is the purest form of joy. The purest expression of the soul. It’s art in multiple forms. It sings. It dances. It uplifts. It inspires. It unites and it’s defiant. In a world that stresses conformity, where we’re witnessing the ostracization of marginalized groups, it’s this beloved universe that decries “I Am What I Am”–with spotlights and sequins and showtunes–which, in my humble opinion, is the best antidote to all the ugliness we’re currently facing. Musical Theatre has got my undying and eternal respect…and it’s not only my job, but my duty and my honor and my purpose to celebrate it.

What can we expect from your upcoming appearance at MuMo? 

To quote Miss M herself: “Did I sing the ballad yet? Was it wonderful?”

What do you love most about performing at MuMo? 

Being a part of a crowd that wholeheartedly loves this art form like I do. 

What is your message to Mumo fans? 

No one says it better than Sondheim…so in my best Ethel, Angela, Tyne, Bernadette, Bette, Patty, & Audra…”Hold your hats, and Hallelujah! Mama’s gonna show it to ya!”

MuMo takes place every Monday at The Chapel at The Abbey; Los Angeles Blade serves as a proud media sponsor

Back in 1963, there really wasn’t such a thing as “Queer Cinema.”

Of course there had been plenty of movies made by queer people, even inside Hollywood’s tightly regulated studio system; artists like George Cukor and Vincente Minnelli brought a queer eye and sensibility to their work, even if they couldn’t come right out and say so, and became fluent in a “coded” language of filmmaking that could be deciphered by audience members “in the know,” while everyone else – including the censors – remained mostly oblivious. 

Yes, the movie industry was adapting to the demands of a generation that had grown increasingly countercultural in its priorities, and topics that had once been taboo on the big screen, including the more or less open depiction of queerness, were suddenly fair game. But even so, you’d be hard-pressed to find examples of movies where being queer was not tied to shame, stigma, and a certain social ostracization that remained, for the most part, a fact of life. Hollywood may have been ready to openly put queer people on the screen, but the existence it portrayed for them could hardly have been described as happy.

Yet this was the setting in which a Manhattan artist named James Bidgood began a filmmaking project that would dominate his life for the next several years and eventually become a seminal influence on queer cinema and queer iconography in general – all executed, with the exception of an ambitious climactic sequence, in a cramped New York apartment utilizing elaborate handmade sets and costumes, which would define an entire queer aesthetic for decades to come. Though disputes with the film’s financiers would eventually cause him to remove his name from the project, resulting in years of anonymity before finally being credited with his work, he has now taken his rightful place as one of the architects of modern queer sensibility.

The movie he made – “Pink Narcissus,” which has been newly restored in glistening 4K glory and is currently being screened in theaters across the U.S. after an April premiere at Manhattan’s Newfest – didn’t exactly take the world by storm. When it finally premiered on “arthouse” theater screens in 1971, it was slammed by mainstream critics (like Vincent Canby of the New York Times, who compared it to “a homemade Mardi Gras drag outfit” as if that were a bad thing) and largely ignored, even as a new spirit of creative freedom was bringing more and more visibility to openly queer content. A screening at 1984’s “Gay Film Festival” reintroduced it to an audience that was finally ready to embrace its feverishly stylized, near-surreal fantasia on gay obsessions, and since then it has loomed large in the queer cultural imagination, providing clear and directly attributable influence over the entire queer visual lexicon that has developed in its wake – even if it has remained widely unseen among all but the most dedicated queer cinema buffs.

With a running time of little more than an hour, it’s not the kind of movie that can be described in terms of a cohesive linear plot. “Official” synopsis efforts have typically framed it as the story of a young male hustler who, while waiting for a call from a favorite “trick,” fantasizes about various erotic scenarios in his spangled and bejeweled apartment. But since it is a film with no spoken dialogue that takes place largely in the imagination of its central character, it’s difficult to place a definitive construct upon it. What’s certainly true is that it presents a series of daydreamed fantasies in which its protagonist – played by sultry lipped Bobby Kendall, a teen runaway who had become a model for Bidgood’s “physique” photography and also his roommate and (probably) on-and-off lover – imagines himself in various scenarios, including as a matador facing a bull (who is really a leather-clad motorcyclist in a public restroom), a Roman slave thrown to the mercy and pleasure of his emperor, and both a Sheik and a harem boy obsessed with a well-endowed exotic male belly dancer. Eventually, the young man’s thoughts venture into the streets outside, where he is immersed in a seedy, sordid world of sexual obsession and degradation, before facing a final fantasy in which, as an “innocent” nymph in the woods (perhaps the human embodiment of the film’s titular butterfly), he is engulfed and consumed by his own sexual nature, only to be reborn in his apartment to face the inevitable transformation from “twink” to “trick” that presumably awaits all gay men who dedicate their lives to the transgressive sexual desires that drive them.

All of that, to modern sensibilities, might read like a series of stereotypical and vaguely demeaning tropes symbolizing little more than the degradation that comes of a hedonistic lifestyle in which pleasure and punishment are intertwined with all the surety of fate; but what sets “Pink Narcissus” apart from so many early examples of queer cinema is that, despite its reliance on the often-campy trappings of “rough trade” and the performative “tragedy” of its overall arc from youth and beauty to age and corruption, it exudes an unmistakable attitude of joy.

We’re talking about the joy of sensuality, the joy of self-acceptance, the joy of partaking in a life that calls to us despite the restrictions of societal “normality” which would have us deny ourselves such pleasures; in short, the joy of being alive – something to which every living being theoretically has the right, but which for queer people is all-too-often quashed under the mountain of disapproval and shame imposed upon them by a heteronormative society and its judgments. Considering that it was made in a time when the queer presence in film was mostly limited to victimhood or ridicule, it feels as much an act of resistance as it does a celebration of queer sexuality; seen in a cultural climate like today’s, when joy itself seems as much under attack as sexuality, identity, or any of the other personal traits which separate us from the supposed “norm” imposed by prevailing political attitudes, it becomes an almost radical act, a declaration of independence asserting our natural right to be who we are and like what we like.

That’s why “Pink Narcissus” looms so large in the landscape of queer filmmaking. It’s the irrefutable evidence of queer joy singing out to us from a time when it could only exist in our most private of moments; it’s unapologetically campy, over the top in its theatricality, and almost comically blatant in its prurient obsession with the anatomy of the anonymous male models who make up most of its cast (and Kendall, who seems to dress himself in various outfits only to undress for the next erotic daydream), but it feels like a thumb on the nose to anyone who might shame us for for celebrating our sexual nature, which Bidgood’s movie unequivocally does. 

Restored to the vivid (and luridly colorful) splendor of its original 8mm format, “Pink Narcissus” is currently touring the country on a series of limited screenings; VOD streaming will be available soon, check the Strand Releasing website for more information.

On Friday, May 30, WeHo Pride and OUTLOUD will kick off the weekend full of festivities with a free WeHo Pride Presents Friday Night outdoor concert. 

WeHo Pride and OUTLOUD Music Festival have come together this year featuring a lineup of LGBTQ performers and LGBTQ-focused programming for all ages. 

The kick off event is free, but requires an RSVP to secure the complimentary tickets and registration for tickets officially opens on Friday, May 16 at 10a.m. The headlining performer will be Maren Morris, a GRAMMY award-winning, singer-songwriter who came out as bisexual during Pride month last summer and released her fourth album earlier this month. 

The OUTLOUD Music Festival will continue on Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, with a two-day concert experience spotlighting a dynamic lineup of LGBTQ+ artists including Lizzo, Remi Wolf, Kim Petras and Paris Hilton — all set to perform on the mainstage. Lil Nas X was also set to perform, but has been taken out of the lineup due to health issues. 

The SummerTramp stage will have Honey Dijon as the headliner, and feature sets from Horse Meat Disco, salute, Meredith Marks, Brooke Eden, and others. The Saturday and Sunday concerts are not free and do require tickets to be purchased in advance. 

“WeHo Pride Weekend is nearly upon us. Hosting WeHo Pride Presents Friday Night at OUTLOUD with free-entry tickets is more than symbolic — it’s a declaration that equality and inclusion matter,” said Chelsea Lee Byers, mayor of West Hollywood. “In West Hollywood, we celebrate queer lives and artists. At a time when LGBTQ communities face a surge of attacks across the country, West Hollywood remains committed to raising visibility and vibrantly celebrating our community. I’m so proud that the City of West Hollywood stands firm in the fight for LGBTQ rights and creative expression. I hope to see everyone out on Friday Night at OUTLOUD!”

WeHo Pride Presents Friday Night at OUTLOUD will begin at 6p.m. on Friday, May 30. The free WeHo Pride Street Fair will then take place on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1, beginning at noon. Both days will feature live entertainment, drag performances, activities and dyke-tivities such as the Dyke March and Women’s Freedom Festival on Saturday, taking place at the WeHo Pride Community Stage. 

“This event is all about showing up, celebrating loudly, and creating space for queer joy and none of it would be possible without the incredible support from the City of West Hollywood,” said Jeff Consoletti, founder and executive producer of OUTLOUD. “We’re beyond grateful to have our partnership extended through 2030 and can’t wait to keep building something unforgettable together year after year.”

Weekend and single day passes are on sale now. 
For more information, visit the OUTLOUD Festival website.

A new exhibition celebrating the artistry and resilience of drag culture is set to open next Thursday, May 22 at the One Gallery in West Hollywood.“It’s Where I Belong,” will be part of the city’s 40th anniversary celebration, running through June 29, aligning with Pride season festivities. 

The exhibition curated by University of Arizona professor and renowned drag performer Lil’ Miss Hot Mess, draws from rarely seen materials housed at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries alongside community-sourced ephemera. Visitors can expect a dazzling collection of photographs, videos, flyers and costume pieces documenting decades of drag performance and activism in WeHo.

The show features appearances and contributions from legendary names, including RuPaul, Bette Midler, Jackie Beat, Diana Ross, Chappell Roan and groups such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the Imperial Court. The curated selection illustrates drag’s vital role in challenging gender norms, celebrating queerness and resisting political oppression — all with style, humor and heart.

WeHo has long been a hub for drag excellence, from historic protests and iconic nightclubs, to drag brunches, parades, magazines and more. “It’s Where I Belong” honors that local history, offering a narrative arc that connects the city’s past with the present, a time when drag performers are once again under attack.

Just last month, Lil’ Miss Hot Mess was singled out during a congressional hearing by far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a baseless attempt to smear drag artists and LGBTQ communities. The incident highlights the ongoing need for cultural spaces that affirm drag’s legacy as both resistance and joy.

The exhibition officially opens to the public on Friday, May 22, with gallery hours from 1p.m. to 6 p.m. every Friday through Sunday. A special opening reception will take place Thursday, May 22 from 8p.m. to 10 p.m., immediately following the city’s annual José Sarria Drag Pageant, which will run 6p.m. to 8 p.m.

The reception is free and open to the public and guests will have the opportunity to meet the curator and enjoy light refreshments while exploring the exhibit.

Parking is available at the West Hollywood Library with two-hour validation.

“It’s Where I Belong” is presented by the One Institute with support from the City of West Hollywood. For more information on the exhibition or to RSVP for the opening, visit the One Institute website.

Actor and advocate Danny Pintauro is not one to shy away from a difficult conversation and with his latest project, he’s diving right into one.

Starring in the benefit reading of Right Before I Go for Mental Health Action Day, Pintauro isn’t just lending his voice to a powerful script — he’s putting his own lived experience on the front lines of a conversation that, quite honestly, needs to happen. With a cast full of talent, a story grounded in authenticity and truth, and a discussion that promises real dialogue, this is not just a night at the theater but a call to action.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to connect with Pintauro and talk about what drew him to this project, how his own journey informs his advocacy, and why we all need to ‘kiki less, talk more.”

Spoiler alert: things get honest, unfiltered, and refreshingly hopeful.

You’re starring in the benefit reading of Right Before I Go  for Mental Health Action Day. What drew you to this particular project? 

Stan Zimmerman, the creator of this piece, sent the script to me quite a while ago and I was intrigued after reading. So we’ve been waiting for an opportunity to work on this together. The timing is perfect with May 15 being Mental Health Action Day. The Curtis Theater in Brea is also very hands on with this piece and is providing a mental health professional for the talk back after the show. To work with Mindy Sterling, Juliana Joel, Philip Smithey and Kalinda Gray — is a dream.

The play is built around the true story of Stan processing the loss of his friend Kevin from suicide and how that journey of understanding led him to read numerous notes that various people, both famous and not, have left behind. While telling his story, the other four actors, including myself, read the various letters that impacted Stan the most.  This play is an opportunity to get people thinking about suicide and mental health, and any opportunity to affect even a small group of people in this way is important. Safe spaces are important and we’re going to provide one on May 18. 

As someone who’s been open about your own health journey, how does this play resonate with your personal experiences? 

Look, we’ve all had a moment in our lives where things were so bad,  ending your life seemed like the only way forward. If someone tells you they have never had that moment they’re lying. That moment when you are convinced the only solution in front of you that makes sense is to not be alive anymore. I have had multiple instances in my life where it was right there, right on the tip of my tongue. Whether it be in my early 20s when I was outed by the Enquirer, my late 20s when I found out I was HIV positive, or my early 30s when I filed for bankruptcy and felt completely lost. 

We’ve all been there, we just — we have to start talking about being there, share the journey with others- that’s the fastest way for us to make change. 

According to the CDC, nearly 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023 — that’s one every 11 minutes in the U.S., with the numbers being disproportionately higher for minority groups. The Trevor Project reports that 18% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide that year, with trans individuals being 72% more likely to do so.

What if removing stigma created safe spaces — starting with ourselves — that allowed people to talk before it’s too late? Just opening up in our friend groups could make a world of difference, especially for young LGBTQ people who might feel seen and supported for the first time.

Depression is a major driver of suicide, but anxiety plays a huge role too. Think about it —suicide can feel like a form of relief when fear and panic become unbearable. My husband, for example, has severe anxiety and claustrophobia on airplanes. When stuck on a tarmac too long, his panic gets so intense that his brain starts convincing him the only escape is to end his life. He’s logical, emotionally stable, and still this happens. That’s how powerful anxiety can be—and why we have to talk about it more. Kiki less, talk more.

In the past, you have always been open and honest about the challenges of living with HIV and overcoming addiction. How have these experiences impacted your approach to mental health advocacy?

As I mentioned, finding out I was HIV positive in 2003 was rough. At the time, we barely understood what the future looked like for people on medication and the drugs themselves were still harsh on the body. There weren’t many examples of people living full, happy lives with HIV — it felt like a death sentence. On top of that, I also contracted Hep C, which can accelerate HIV progression. I truly believed my time was limited. Thankfully, my Hep C resolved itself, but that initial realization — that I’d need to take a pill every day or die — sent me into a tailspin that brought me inches from suicide.

Addiction and mental health[care] are just as tightly connected. One rarely exists without the other and both carry heavy stigma. Talking about either can change how people see you, which is why it’s critical we create a culture of understanding and compassion. We’ve come a long way, but in 2025, it’s still shocking how much judgment exists around suicide, addiction and even depression.

We have to do better.

Right Before I Go  digs deep into heavy themes of suicide and mental health. What message do you hope audiences take away from this performance? 

You’ll find the keyword of this interview will be action and how we must all take action when it comes to mental health. For our own sakes and for those around us. We must all reach a place where speaking openly and honestly about our personal struggles is easy and we feel heard. That requires education, for both the person suffering and those around them.

So, this play will hopefully give people who are struggling, a safe space to speak about it [during the talkback portion after the play]. [This part] will also get the audience members thinking about who in their lives might be struggling and maybe help them understand why they are struggling in the first place, or even help them understands what the signs are. So few people talk openly about suicide, we are left to read the signs. 

Lastly, yes, the play is specifically about suicide, but suicide is a byproduct of mental health and we need to remember that mental health is intrinsically tied to overall health. Everyone can agree that poor mental health leads to poor physical health, both in the short term and long term. I experience this on a daily basis — my anxiety can get so severe that my doctors are worried I will develop ulcers. And if you believe in energy, having your body flooded with the negative energy your mind is creating throughout the day is sure to affect your health.  So we all need to take action to make sure our brains are cooperating as fully as possible. What does ‘action’ look like for you? Therapy? Medication? Both?

You’ve been a vocal advocate for de-stigmatizing HIV. How do you see the parallels between the stigma surrounding HIV and that of mental health issues? 

They used to be inseparable. Thankfully we have come so far with HIV treatments that we can finally separate the two – through research and through meeting others living happily with HIV you can reach a place where any misgivings, worries or fears can be put away in a box and burned. Every time I encounter someone on my live streams or in my messages who is in a dire state about their HIV diagnosis, it becomes clear right away that they haven’t done their research and are simply living in the stigma.

To be clear, I’m not judging them for not having done their research. I’m simply acknowledging that the act of finding out your positive is so overwhelming and intrinsically tied to shame and fear, you don’t know what to do. Ten years ago, I was always hopeful and positive when responding to people who had just found out. Now I can tell someone with confidence that they can and will live a happy healthy life, even with HIV. The fear dissipates quickly once they realize that taking their medication, as prescribed, will allow them to live long lives — I mean, I’m 20 years positive and in the best health of my life. Learning that (U=U) is real and viable and that taking PrEP can prevent transmission and can remove the shame surrounding being sexually active again. Meeting others who are living full lives should clear any remaining stigma. 

That’s when you ‘pop out and into’ your new world with a new passion for life. That’s my personal mantra for a lot of things, when I find myself worrying about my acting career for instance — I try to ‘pop out’ of the negative mindset and ‘pop into’ my manifestations or the very least, ‘pop into the present moment.’

What role do you believe the entertainment industry plays in shaping public perceptions of mental health? 

As I’ve always believed, the entertainment business creates opportunities to change public perception every day. I said 100 times already that one of the ways to end stigma and bring mental health issues more to the forefront is through education. But not everyone is going to pick up a pamphlet and decide to become more educated about suicide or depression — at least not until they’re faced with it personally.

But those same people are watching more and more film, TV and social media and if we present them with honest, real and relatable examples of people with suicidal tendencies, depression, mental health issues, etc… while also presenting them with examples of how to help those people — bam, they’ve become educated.

I’ve been saying this since 1997 about the LGBTQ community — one of my jobs in coming out was [and] is to be an honest, real and relatable example of someone who is gay. The more examples, the more acceptance, education and understanding. 

Right now, one of the things we are not seeing much of at all in film and TV are people living happily with HIV and having sex. We need to start seeing more examples of this [because] it will help everyone understand and learn. It will make it easier for people just finding out to move through the stigma, it will show how far we’ve come and it will educate people.

I constantly have people ask me how I’m ‘doing.’ And it’s always clear they actually mean, ‘I know you’re dying from HIV, how long do you have?’ If we can start showing people that we are doctors, nurses, teachers, politicians, parents and friends, we can get them to believe we’re not all dying. The only difference between you and me is that I have to take a pill every day, hell, some people get a shot every three months now, that is truly the only difference in our daily lives. 

Given your diverse career, from acting to animal rescue, how do you balance your personal passions with your advocacy work? 

You know, I wish I could say I was more of an advocate. I wish I was more like Alyssa Milano or Wilson Cruz, just every day taking on the challenges of being vocal about multiple causes. Compared to them, it really feels like I’m not doing anything, It’s also hard to be as prevalent as they are when your daily life is filled with so much uncertainty.

Since coming back to the entertainment business in 2022, I have had minimal success due to everything that’s affected the business since then. I know success is just around the corner for me. I can feel it — but right now we worry about paying our bills, not so much about being an advocate. I think just existing in this world as an example of a healthy, happy HIV [positive] gay man with addiction issues, is going to have to be enough for now. 

For people struggling with mental health challenges, what advice would you offer based on your own journey? 

My journey is unique, and while I’m not a mental health professional, I always encourage anyone struggling to seek real help because it’s easier than ever to find. What I can share is what’s worked for me.

I talk about this a lot during my TikTok lives: you’ve got to live in the present. That’s one of the main reasons I’ve survived everything I’ve been through. I’m great at letting go of the past, but my anxiety keeps me living too far in the future. Staying grounded in the moment takes work — deep breaths, mindfulness, and yes, therapy.

When I feel myself spiraling, I remind myself: in five years, I don’t want to look back and regret wasting time stuck in a mental health hole. While it’s not always easy to spot when you’re slipping, the key is awareness — what I call my mantra: ‘pop out and pop into.‘ Be conscious enough to pop out of destructive thoughts and pop into the present. Grieve, process, heal — but then live.

Because you’re the only one you truly need to live for.

If you’re stuck in the past or paralyzed by the future, find a therapist. If your mental health isn’t where you want it to be, talk to a doctor about medication. And yes — that stigma still exists. Why is it so taboo to say [to yourself], ‘my brain needs help and I’m choosing medication so I can fully live?’

Our brains aren’t perfect — some need support. That’s not weakness, it’s wisdom.

To my trans brothers and sisters: I see you. I hear you.

According to The Trevor Project, suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth rose by 72% in the wake of anti-trans legislation. I know what it’s like to not feel safe — I came out at a time when being openly gay was a radical act. We’ve made huge strides, but our trans friends don’t always have the same safety. We must protect them.

We lost a trans friend in Austin this year. It hurts and I can’t help but think — if the political climate were different, maybe they’d still be here. But we will get through this. When I came out, we barely had two gay characters on TV. Now queer people are everywhere on screen — and that visibility saves lives. So stay visible. Stay here. It does get better.

 Looking ahead, how do you envision continuing to contribute to mental health awareness and support? 

Hopefully by continuing to read this play in other places around the country. But it will not be hard for me to always be vocal about mental health considering I suffer from it. That’s really the key, people need to talk more openly and freely about their mental health issues — to breakdown stereotypes, to help others see they are not alone, to learn more about yourself — all of it. 

What do you hope people remember about your involvement in Right Before I Go  and your advocacy efforts? 

I hope that people remember the collective moment we get to have after the show in our talk back – that’s where the real work begins!

Right Before I Go: Curtis Theatre, Sun, May 18th, 2025 at 5:00 pm: Tickets Here

Late last year, L.A Blade founder and publisher Troy Masters passed away, leaving behind a legacy which has continued to thrive regardless of the current state of LGBTQ media. He not only founded the L.A Blade, but he also pushed for more diverse representation in LGBTQ media and created space to celebrate the accomplishments of those on the frontlines. Eight years ago, Masters started hosting the Best of LGBTQ L.A Awards.

This year, the LGBTQ community is facing some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation on a local, state, national and global scale. Here in L.A, some community members were directly impacted by the January fires and many even lost their homes and businesses.

Despite all of this, the Blade — L.A’s premiere LGBTQ media outlet, the nation’s only LGBTQ Media member of the White House Press Corps and sister newspaper of the historic Washington Blade in D.C. — refuses to lose our spirit as we gear up to celebrate the Best of LGBTQ L.A on Thursday, May 22, at The Abbey in West Hollywood. This event will be presented in part by Visit West Hollywood.

The evening will be co-hosted by socialite and entertainment personality Billy Francesca and L.A Blade publisher Alexander Rodriguez, and will include performances from pop singer Robert Rene, Bring It To Brunch’s Cake Moss, viral influencer and comedian Allison Reese, and go-go and performer Prince Joshua, with a reading from West. Hollywood’s 4^th Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace.

This year’s Local Hero Award will be presented to Pickle, the City of West Hollywood’s Drag Laureate, founder and executive director of Drag Arts Lab, for her activism, support of the queer community continued visibility.

It is both a scary and exciting time for our community. The excitement comes from our community’s resilience and refusal to stay silent. I am thrilled that we can continue to honor L.A’s choice for the best of the best this year in such a fun way. I am grateful for our readers coming together to pick the nominees and to come out and party. I am also thankful for our power partners for their support.

This year has already proven to be a true testament to the resilience and power of L.A’s queer community and we continue to celebrate and remain powerful.

Nominees across 38 categories were submitted by the community, recognizing some extraordinary pioneers of LGBTQ life in SoCal, businesses, agencies, political leaders, entertainers and allies. The top nominee recipients in each category were added to the final ballot and over twenty thousand of our readers voted for the winner. We congratulate each of this year’s winners and final nominees.

“This is my first year being a part of the celebration and I could not be more excited to share a night of queer joy and celebration with my community,” said Gisselle Palomera, editor of the L.A Blade. “Events like these are crucial for us during these politically oppressive times to celebrate each other, ourselves and to plan for what’s to come next for us. Remembering that queer joy is our ultimate act of resistance, this year’s nominees either bring us that joy, or do everything in their power to protect it and they deserve our recognition.”

This year’s Best of LGBTQ L.A nominees are:

Best Drag Performer

• Allusia
• Cake Moss
• Kyra Jete
• Lolita Colby
• Mauro Cuchi
• Salina EsTitties

Best Drag Show

• Beaches Drag Brunch
• Bring It To Brunch
• Brunch Service at The Abbey
• Fat Slut at Precinct LA
• Rocco’s Rocc-ettes Drag Brunch

Local Influencer of the Year

• Allison Reese
• Cosmo Melrose
• Eden and Jay (Preciosa Night)
• Jesse Sulli
• Rose Montoya
• Tony Moore

Best Musical Queer Artist

• Chappell Roan
• David Archuleta
• Doechii
• Frankie Grande
• Lil Nas X

Best LGBTQ Bar

• Akbar
• Hi-Tops
• Mickys
• Precinct
• Rocco’s Weho
• The Abbey

Best Happy Hour

• Bayou
• Fiesta Cantina
• Gym Bar
• Hi-Tops
• The Abbey

Go-Go of the Year

• Jake Mathew
• Jean Paul
• Josh Flores
• Prince Joshua
• Steven Dehler
• Victoria Shaw

Best Restaurant

• Bavel
• Bottega Louie
• Casita Del Campo
• Mas Mananitas
• Mi Corozon
• Ysabel

Best Radio or TV Station

• 99.1 KLBP
• CHANNEL Q
• LatiNation
• Out TV
• REVRY

Best Cannabis Retailer/Lounge

• Artist Tree Lounge
• CCA Silverlake
• Elevate
• Green Qween
• The Woods WeHo

Best LGBTQ Owned Business

• Andrew Christian
• Fan Daddies
• JJLA
• MISTR
• Underdog Bookstore
• Wildfang

Best LGBTQ Social Group

• Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles
• Outloud Sports
• Pride Business Leaders
• T Boy Wrestling
• Unique Woman’s Coalition
• WeHo Dodgeball

Best House of Worship

• Congregation Kol Ami
• Founders Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles
• Hollywood Boulevard Episcopal
• Hollywood United Methodist
• InVision Church Los Angeles

Activist of the Year

• Bamby Salcedo
• Chris Baldwin
• Edwin Soto
• Rose Montoya
• Tristan Schukraft

Public Official of the Year

• Chelsea Byers
• Eunisses Hernandez
• John Erickson
• Lindsey Horvath
• Rick Chavez Zbur
• Ysabel Jurado

Best Local Pro Sports Team

• Angel City FC
• LA Chargers
• LA Dodgers
• LA Lakers
• LA Rams
• LA Sparks
• Los Angeles FC

Local Ally of the Year

• Abbe Land
• Andrew Solomon
• Chelsea Byers
• Natalie Sanchez
• Steve Galindo

Best Doctor/Medical Provider

• AIDS Healthcare Foundation
• APLA
• LA LGBT Center
• St. John’s Wellness
• UCLA Health – Williams Institute

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Workplace

• AIDS Healthcare Foundation
• City of West Hollywood
• JJLA
• Los Angeles LGBT Center
• Trader Joe’s

Non-Profit of the Year

• Equality California
• GLAAD
• Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
• Project Angel Food
• The Queer 26
• Trans Lifeline

Best Local Actor

• Cameron Esposito
• Jason Caceres
• Lena Waithe
• Rain Valdez
• Shaan Dasani
• Trevor Dow

Best Queer Art Space

• Circus of Books
• Junior High
• Museum of Latin American Art
• Superchief LA
• Tom of Finland House

Best Local Theatre

• Center Theatre Group
• Geffen Playhouse
• LA Opera
• Laguna Playhouse
• Pasadena Playhouse

Local Musical Artist of the Year

• Jordy
• Prince Joshua
• San Cha
• Tom Goss
• Vitamina C

Best LGBTQ Event

• Dinah Shore
• GLAAD Awards
• LA Opera Pride Night
• Out at the Fair
• Outloud Music Festival at Weho Pride

Best Regional Pride

• DTLA Proud
• Hermosa Beach
• Long Beach Pride
• Palm Springs Pride
• WeHo Pride

Best News Source Ally

• CALÓ News
• Glendale News-Press
• KTLA News
• Los Angeles Times – De Los
• Spectrum News 1 SoCal

Athlete of the Year

• Anthony Bowens
• Cece Telfer
• Christen Press
• Freddie Freeman
• Tom Daley

Best Promoter of the Year

• Beau Byron
• DJ Lez Ortiz
• Eden and Jay
• Paul Nicholls
• Stefano Rosso
• Tony Moore

LGBTQ Professional of the Year

• Abogada Jess
• Brian Holt
• Kate Sosin
• Oliver Alpuche
• Queen Victoria Ortega
• Tristan Schukraft

Best Bartender

• Addie Rae – Fiesta Cantina
• Hayden Bebber – Gym Bar
• Manny De Cielo – Schmitty’s
• Matt Stratman – Motherlode
• Max – Trunks
• Sumner Mormeneo – Beaches

Best DJ

• Cazwell
• DJ Lez Ortiz
• DJ Preciosa
• DJ SRO
• DJ Vick Jagger
• Paulo Ramirez

Best Local LGBTQ Podcast

• Cool Cool Cool
• Sloppy Seconds
• Sorry for Asking
• Today in Gay
• Very Delta

Best Salon/Spa

• Bautis LA
• Folklore Salon & Barber
• Project Q
• Serenity on Sunset
• Shorty’s Barber Shop

Best Music Venue

• The Disney Concert Hall
• The Hollywood Bowl
• The Roxy Theatre
• The Troubadour
• The Wiltern

Best Fitness/Workout Spot

• Barry’s
• Equinox on Sunset
• Gold’s Gym
• John Reed Fitness
• LA Fitness, Hollywood

Best Hotel

• Andaz
• Edition Hotel
• Hotel Ziggy
• Kimpton La Peer Hotel
• SoHo House

Best Tattoo Shop/Artist

• Ale from B36 Tattoo
• Cindy Ortega Tattoos
• June Bug Tattoos
• Plant Daddy Tattoos
• Salvavida Tattoos

With live performances, special presentations, the announcement of our winners and the electrifying buzz of recognition, it’s an event no LGBTQ Angeleno should miss — unless you’re looking to get some serious FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Join us on Thursday, May 22, as we raise a glass to the trailblazers and storytellers who illuminate our journeys and light the path towards a brighter future.

Let the L.A Blade Awards be your beacon of hope, where you show off your Pride, and make it an unforgettable night of belonging and radical queer joy.

Stay tuned for further updates on nominees, presenters, and exciting surprises ahead of the celebration.

In the meantime, mark your calendars and let’s prepare to celebrate the brilliance of the LGBTQ+ community at the 2025 Los Angeles Blade Best Of LGBTQ+ Los Angeles Awards!

The Abbey | May 22, 2024 | 7:00 p.m.

Crowds filled the seats and halls to the brim for the LA Opera production of Ainadamar: The Fountain of Tears at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion last week. The Los Angeles Blade was on hand for Pride Night as the diverse crowd engaged in lively chatter about what they had heard about this truly stunning production.

This Argentinian opera by composer Osvaldo Golijov is a standout from this year’s season. It is not only a sultry and moving score with international stars leading the way, but it is also a celebration of pageantry with flamenco-inspired choreography and sounds, presented in a breathtaking environment of outstanding visuals.

This is not your grandmother’s opera. At an hour and twenty minutes, this is an opera that even non-opera goers will fall in love with.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LA Opera (@laopera)

The story celebrates the tragic story of Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca, who was arrested in Granada at the onset of the Spanish Civil War, stemming from his political beliefs and works, and homosexuality.

Lorca was executed in Ainadamar and buried in an unmarked mass grave. The opera is a mix of reality and the surreal as it tells his story through the eyes of his long-time muse, actress Margarita Xirgu, and the main character in Lorca’s play Mariana Pineda, his first theatrical success, a real-life political heroine.

The minute the curtain rises, you know you are in for something different. The opera features a top-notch cast that includes a diverse and moving ensemble, there is no weak player here. But in addition to the main roles, there are other stars in this production. Lighting, sound, and set design are literally breathtaking. The audience murmured many times as beautifully stylized projections coupled with intoxicating sound effects as performers moved through a number of dazzling and sleek set changes.

A scene from Ainadamar (Photo: Cory Weaver)

Fluidity is key here. The performers dance and engage in beautifully crafted, stylized movement.

This isn’t just the opera , it is an experience.

Black fans, shirtless flamenco dancers, cultural percussion and plaintive musical lines all add to the Latin flair. Whereas some Latin presentation can come across as kitsch or overplayed, this is subtle, sensual, erotic, and emotionally tragic. The audience is not just a witness to a beautiful production, they are transported. You could hear a pin drop to the last very note, until the audience sprang to their feet with a well-deserved standing ovation and never-ending shouts of “Bravo.”

Daniela Mack, hailing from Argentina, plays Lorca in gender-exploring casting. The result is a truly moving performance that is both sultry and sad. We celebrate Lorca’s love of language, his devotion to divas, and his refusal to remain quiet.

A scene from Ainadamar (Photo credit Cory Weaver)

Ana María Martínez, who is Puerto Rican, commands the production as Lorca’s muse, Margarita Xirgu. We are watching a true artist at work who captures the pathos of the production.

A scene from Ainadamar (Photo: Cory Weaver)

Debuting in 2003, Ainadamar comes at crucial time when the government continues to try and silence the queer voice both politically and artistically. No one needs an interpreter to correlate Lorca’s persecution with what is happening today.

This production was a perfect match for LA Opera’s Pride Night, and the audience was full. Copies of the Los Angeles Blade were passed out at the evening’s post-opera party, presented by LA Opera and the Opera League of Los Angeles. The queer folk were out in numbers, but the Pride Night gathering was extremely diverse, brought together by this provocative production.

Ainadamar runs only one more weekend, closing on May 18^th. This is a perfect production for someone who has never been to the opera, or doesn’t consider themselves opera-goers.  

Visit the website for tickets.

I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of music consumer who purchased music on impulse. When I stumbled across “Things Here Are Different,” Jill Sobule’s 1990 MCA Records debut album on vinyl in a favorite Chicago record store, I bought it without knowing anything about her. This was at a time when we didn’t have our phones in our pockets to search for information about the artist on the internet. The LP stayed in my collection until, as vinyl was falling out of fashion, I replaced it with a CD a few years later.

Early in my career as an entertainment journalist, I received a promo copy of Jill’s eponymous 1995 Atlantic Records album. That year, Atlantic Records was one of the labels at the forefront of signing and heavily promoting queer artists, including Melissa Ferrick and Extra Fancy, and its roster included the self-titled album by Jill. It was a smart move, as the single “I Kissed A Girl” became a hit on radio and its accompanying video (featuring Fabio!) was in heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played videos).

Unfortunately for Jill, she was a victim of record label missteps. When 1997’s wonderful “Happy Town” failed to repeat the success, Atlantic dumped her. That was Atlantic’s loss, because her next album, the superb “Pink Pearl” contained “Heroes” and “Mexican Wrestler,” two of her most beloved songs. Sadly, Beyond Music, the label that released that album ceased to exist after just a few years. To her credit, the savvy Jill had also started independently releasing music (2004’s “The Folk Years”). That was a smart move because her next major-label release, the brilliant “Underdog Victorious” on Artemis Records, met a similar fate when that label folded.

With her 2009 album “California Years,” Jill launched her own indie label, Pinko Records, on which she would release two more outstanding full-length discs, 2014’s “Dottie’s Charms” (on which she collaborated with some of her favorite writers, including David Hadju, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, and Jonathan Lethem), and 2018’s stunning “Nostalgia Kills.” Jill’s cover of the late Warren Zevon’s “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” on “Nostalgia Kills” was particularly poignant as she had toured with him as an opening act.

Jill was a road warrior, constantly on tour, and her live shows were something to behold. My first interview with Jill took place at the Double Door in Chicago in early August of 1995, when she was the opening act for legendary punk band X. She had thrown her back out the previous day and was diagnosed with a herniated disc. To be comfortable, she was lying down on a fabulous-‘50s sofa. “I feel like I’m at my shrink’s,” she said to me, “Do you want me to talk about my mother?”

That sense of humor, which permeated and enriched her music, was one of many reasons to love Jill. I was privileged to interview her for seven of her albums. Everything you would want to know about her was right there in her honest lyrics, in which she balanced her distinctive brand of humor with serious subject matter. Drawing on her life experiences in songs such as “Bitter,” “Underachiever,” “One of These Days,” “Freshman,” “Jetpack,” “Nothing To Prove,” “Forbidden Thoughts of Youth,” “Island of Lost Things,” “Where Do I Begin,” “Almost Great,” and “Big Shoes,” made her songs as personal as they were universal, elicited genuine affection and concern from her devoted fans.

While she was a consummate songwriter, Jill also felt equally comfortable covering songs made famous by others, including “Just A Little Lovin’” (on the 2000 Dusty Springfield tribute album “Forever Dusty”) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (from the 1997 Laura Nyro tribute album “Time and Love”). Jill also didn’t shy away from political subject matter in her music with “Resistance Song,” “Soldiers of Christ,” “Attic,” “Heroes,” “Under the Disco Ball,” and the incredible “America Back” as prime examples.

Here’s something else worth mentioning about Jill. She was known for collaboration skills. As a songwriter, she maintained a multi-year creative partnership with Robin Eaton (“I Kissed A Girl” and many others), as well as Richard Barone, the gay frontman of the renowned band The Bongos. Jill’s history with Barone includes performing together at a queer Octoberfest event in Chicago in 1996. Writer and comedian Julie Sweeney, of “SNL” and “Work in Progress” fame was another Chicago collaborator with Sobule (Sweeney lives in a Chicago suburb), where they frequently performed their delightful “The Jill and Julia Show.” John Doe, of the aforementioned band X, also collaborated with Jill in the studio (“Tomorrow Is Breaking” from “Nostalgia Kills”), as well as in live performances.

On a very personal note, in 2019, when I was in the process of arranging a reading at the fabulous NYC gay bookstore Bureau of General Services – Queer Division, I reached out to Jill and asked her if she would like to be on the bill with me. We alternated performing; I would read a couple of poems, and Jill would sing a couple of songs. She even set one of my poems to music, on the spot.

Jill had an abundance of talent, and when she turned her attention to musical theater, it paid off in a big way. Her stage musical “F*ck 7th Grade,” a theatrical piece that seemed like the next logical step in her career, had its premiere at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The unique staging (an outdoor drive-in stage at which audience members watched from their cars) was truly inspired. “F*ck 7th Grade” went on to become a New York Times Critic’s pick, as well as earning a Drama Desk nomination.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Jill’s eponymous 1995 album, reissue label Rhino Records is re-releasing it on red vinyl. Jill and I had been emailing each other to arrange a time for an interview. We even had a date on the books for the third week of May.

When she died in a house fire in Minnesota on May 1 at age 66, Jill received mentions on network and cable news shows. She was showered with attention from major news outlets, including obits in the New York Times and Rolling Stone (but not Pitchfork, who couldn’t be bothered to review her music when she was alive). Is it wrong to think that if she’d gotten this much attention when she was alive she could have been as big as Taylor Swift? I don’t think so.