Joel Grey Comes Out Publicly: 'I'm a Gay Man'- Page 6

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:42pm

Ha ha very funny Namo. And I have no problem with, as I am assuming you are referring to, the sexual discovery song in Fun Home; I only said that I have not seen the show so I can't say how good it is.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 02:42 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:43pm

You should listen to the recording and read the memoir ASAP, if you haven't.

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:47pm

I own the graphic novel, but currently I am reading Anna Karenina which will take a while, so when I'm done with that I might read the tragicomic next. I can't afford the cast recording and it isn't on Spotify, but I'll look for it when I go to the library next.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 02:47 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:53pm

"This thread has taught me that I need to talk to themysteriousgrowl about sexuality more."

Let's make that this year's FI theme.

No, wait. Let's NOT.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:57pm

I don't really call other men "girl" or "gurl" or "she." My courage-to-be-queeny moments are more about identifying with a female singer in a moment of extreme emotion, whether it is any of the Roses at the moment of "But I-I-I-I-I-I-I, at least got to try" or Judy running to the camera at the moment of "But fools will be fools--and where's he gone...to?" or Barbra at the moment of "Nobody, no nobody, is gonna rain on my parade!"

Those are the moments at which I don't care who sees me on the elliptical with my arms at 10 and 2.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 02:57 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 2:58pm

As well you know, growl, anything goes when it's 3am and you're sitting in the kitchen eating leftovers and talking about Mary Testa.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 02:58 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:02pm

Let's talk about Mary Testa!






Mary Testa: The Gentleman Is a Dope

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 03:02 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:02pm

"As well you know, growl, anything goes when it's 3am and we're sitting in the kitchen eating leftovers and queening out about Mary Testa."

Fixed that for you

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:05pm

If I get the half share in the Grove that I'm currently working out, we're all gonna need to sit around the table at three a.m. talking about Mary Testa.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:07pm

That is EXACTLY what we were doing.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:08pm

What? You think I don't believe you? Kween, PLEASE!

[Kad]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:11pm

That was in response to growl's fix!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:12pm

GOD?! NO! I WILL HELP MYSELF! I HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO HELP MYSELF!

[SweetLips]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:17pm

Ever since my early days in the theatre[70s] I[male] always had an unusual girls name that started with the first letter of my surname. It was a friendly familiar nick-name amongst cast members.
One name stuck and my 6 best friends very rarely to this day call me by my real name.
When I talk to myself[often], I always address myself by my feminine name.
Self revelation but I love the fact that I 'wear so many different hats' and different aspects of me are not revealed to everyone.

People in general love to speculate and even then don't want to believe the truth.
I would certainly never be called a masculine man but if you, as a poster above said-put me in a room of footballers[please!] I would appear most feminine but I have gone through life with a certain style, created by myself, copying others but my uniqueness is mine alone- 'I am my own special creation'-no wonder this is a gay anthem.

Joel Grey--look what you started--who knew?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 3:22pm

Why are there boys names and girls names?

If I had a son, could I call him Jessica? Would I dare?

Sorry, thinking aloud here.

Updated On: 1/30/15 at 03:22 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 6:31pm

For my first few years here, I had this photo of Dolores Gray as my avatar, just because I've always loved her abrasive outrageousness--and I've always loved the idea of a diva ending a musical number with her arms at ten-and-two. (Dolores's arms here are at eleven-and-five, because, well, Dolores.)



But at one of the early Joe's Pub gatherings, a female board member said, upon meeting me, "I expected you to come in drag!" When I asked why, she said, "Because of that icon."

Shortly thereafter, I switched to Gene Kelly pictures, not out of any shame at being thought of as female or in-drag, but because I thought a picture of Gene was more on-message with my screen name. Plus, he's nicer and everyone likes him. Dolores is the other side of me, the part that's abrasive and doesn't care if I outrage others.

I've thought of bringing her back, but each time I decided I don't really want to be her.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 7:37pm

FTR, my avatar is just a photograph I happened to have on my computer when I signed up. In real life, I don't wear hats of any kind. Does anybody still wear a hat?

"I think Joel Grey would be delighted to know that his thread occasioned one of the best conversations about a complex topic ever to occur on BroadwayWorld."

I think Pal Joey's review of this thread bears repeating. I have never been more informed or impressed here at BWW. (And God knows, we've all been through vocabulary wars in various places over the years!)

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 9:16pm

You name your son Jessica Smith, and he's gonna have some baggage, even if he goes by Jesse. You name your son Jessica Lange Smith, and he's gonna have some identity issues. You name your son Jessica Rabbit Smith, and you just home brewed a female impersonator.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 9:53pm

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 10:45pm

Oh Jessica- the first female genitalia most nineties kids ever saw on film.

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:02pm

It's been a while since I've seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but unless I'm mistaken, there are no genitalia of any kind seen in that movie.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 1/30/15 at 11:24pm

Disney went back and edited a couple things out for home releases - a middle finger and a couple frames from Jessica's dress hiking up (where you see the crotch AREA, with odd coloring, but you can't tell exactly if they were going for some sort of underwear or indeed an animator having fun) is what I remember.

Side note: Would The Little Mermaid have survived on Broadway if they included the penis-shaped castle in their designs?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:41am

You rented from Blockbuster. They censored their videos.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:43am

I was always made fun of for being effeminate when I was young. I don't know if I've modulated my behavior or if it's a code-switching thing or if it's because times have changed, but I'm always surprised when someone else expresses surprise when they find out I'm gay. All I know is that I never worry about whether or not I'm too queeny anymore. I encourage all gay men to let that crap go, too, because it's liberating. I always think it's sh¡tty when gay guys make fun of other gay guys for "being too gay" or whatever. THAT's usually when I whip out "Mary" this or "Mary" that, when I got someone worried about being straight acting that they are bordering on self-parody.

But still, I graduated high school in 1992 and I grew up in the Midwest, and sometimes it really does astound me how far we've come and how things of changed in the nearly quarter of a century since then. I do admit that I'm a little envious of the kids who get to have GSAs and let their queen flags fly nowadays, but I do hope gay kids out there general had it easier than I did. Or do, I guess, because I still get a couple of "faggots" or similar similar hurled at me out of the blue every few years.*

Now I'm one of the people on a Broadway message board who has a feminine screen name. I do think if I were part of a poof of gays that call each other ladies' names that I'd like to be calked Phyllis. Or Lisa.

And if we're sharing things that make us queen out, for me it is that moment in the Audra/Marin/Judy Kuhn ALW trio when they get to "I neve thought I'd come to this." Sometimes it makes me cry!



*It should go without saying that in situations where a gay guy thinks his personal safety may be compromised, he might want to downplay his queerness. There's nothing inauthentic or shameful about self-preservation.



Updated On: 1/31/15 at 12:43 AM

[Fantod]

Posted: 1/31/15 at 12:48am

I guess I'll have to watch it again and be on the lookout.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories.