After a recent rainstorm here in the Bay Area, many people shared photos of a double rainbow across the San Francisco skyline. And also, in rainbow news, the classic kids' Reading Rainbow show is getting some attention. Of course it was a classic on public television with actor LeVar Burton as the host, but the new host, Mychal Threets, is also engaging.
And of course, the rainbow connection will make you think of the Muppets, particularly Kermit the frog. Frogs have been in the headlines with anti-ICE protests. Armed thugs are being confronted by the witty and hilarious inflatable costumes of frogs and other creatures in Portland, and those protests are spreading the other cities. It's a truly unique way to confront fascism.
But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to share the reason why I haven't been writing fiction or even blogging here for several months. It's because I've been writing so much for work with the Bay Area Reporter. Here are several of the stories that I recently self-assigned.
A toast!
This year is the 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the classic film about sexual liberties. If you read my blog or stories, you know that I've included fictional versions of my time briefly is part of a shadow cast for Rocky Horror at Kent State University in 1979, in one of my novels as well as a short story.
So I decided to do several stories, including a feature interview with the Strange Journey film director Linus O'Brien. He is the son of Richard O'Brien, the creator of The Rocky Horror Show, which became the basis for the subsequent film that became a cult classic.
In our interview, Linus talked about the fans, the shadow casts, and how he managed to snag interviews with pretty much every living actor and several of the creative & production crew for the film version of Rocky Horror.
I also did a roundup of upcoming Rocky Horror events, including Nell Campbell, who's coming to San Francisco for a screening of the film with a shadow cast and Q&A.
Tim Curry, in a case of good timing, released his memoir Vagabond and I did a short review of that. It doesn't "tell all," but what he shares about his career in film, theater, and of course Rocky Horror, is fascinating.
Another treat for Rocky Horror fans is the posthumously published book of photos by Mick Rock, who had the great idea to hang around on the set back in 1974 and document the behind the scenes looks of the actors and crew.
Also in books, I devoured the new oral history Q&A with painter Don Bachardy, who was of course the decades-long partner of author Christopher Isherwood. A lot of fascinating celebrity stories are documented and transcribed by Michael Schreiber.
And two older favorites include a review of the Lady Gaga concert in July at the Chase Center. It was an absolutely fantastic concert. If you missed it, there are several bootleg videos of her complete concerts on YouTube.
Gail Ann Dorsey
Music marvels
June included two very enjoyable interviews with two music greats. Gail Ann Dorsey, known for her solo music, but also being the bassist for David Bowie for several years, was a gracious and fascinating interview subject. I got to see her as part of the Blackstar concert at Davies Symphony Hall, and afterward got to hang out with her and the brilliant John Cameron Mitchell, whom I interviewed a few years back.
And since he was performing an array of Queen covers at Feinstein's at the Nikko, I simply had to interview Reeve Carney. He's been in multiple Broadway shows, including debuting the lead role in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. His TV roles include Penny Dreadful. But his concert of Queen covers was pretty amazing. He played multiple instruments at the same time while singing brilliantly.
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| Laura Benanti |
Also Feinstein's at the Nikko, in May, formal local favorite and now turned international superstar Justin Vivian Bond had a concert and our little advanced interview was cute. The show was hilarious and sweet.
In September, I got to interview the very funny and sweet Laura Benanti for the second time. She had a show at Berkeley Repertory that she's touring in a few cities. It's a very deft examination of her life and the travails of motherhood and show business.
It's the arts!
I also wrote some expansive fall arts preview features on art galleries and museums as well as live music events throughout the season in the Bay Area.
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| Luigi the Musical |
Speaking of art, while he’s only been in San Francisco for almost five years, painter Luis Felipe Chávez has already exhibited at several local galleries with his impressive array of work, ranging from personal portraits to architectural symbolism. His recent exhibit, “INTERmedio,” opened at Jonathan Carver Moore Studios in August. We had a nice chat.
One of my most controversial articles was a review and short advance on Luigi the Musical. The satirical extended one-act includes songs lightly parodizing the jailing of alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione. I even ended up being a guest on a CBC podcast to discuss it.
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| Bob Mizer Foundation |
And while Luigi got the clicks, my extensively researched feature on the Bob Mizer Foundation is a favorite. Here in San Francisco in the Tenderloin, at the former home of The Magazine, the archives hold thousands upon thousands of prints, negatives, films and even props from Mizer's physique fims and photo shoots. I was invited on a tour to see how the volunteer staff is preserving Mizer's archives. It's a pretty amazing project. I hope you'll read that in particular cause I spent a lot of time on it.
And last but not least, on Oct. 16, I will moderate a panel at Manny's with Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, the co-authors of Loving II: More Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s-1950s.” It's a beautiful book with hundreds of photos of men being affectionate. If you're looking for a perfect gift for a friend or loved one, this is it.
Okay, that's my roundup. I hope you buy my books and read these articles and have a good autumn. It will probably be several months before I do another blog.