Colonial's LGB lineup: Kate Clinton, Tommy Tune and Ani DiFranco

Tommy Tune is an idol for aspiring Broadway actors.

November at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield is going to be a rare and special month with three great artists - and members of the LGBTQ community - slated to hold forth on their stage. First up is Broadway's legendary Tommy Tune who at 6' 6" is likely the tallest song and dance man to ever grace the Broadway stage. Winner of many Tony Awards he brings the Manhattan Rhythm Kings plus a backup trio with him on Friday, November 12 at 8:00 PMas we detail in this advance story in Berkshire on Stage. Tommy came out in his memoir, Footnotes.

Kate Clinton is Lady HaHa.
The next night the funny and thought-provoking Kate Clinton brings her Lady HaHa tour to the Berkshires for a taste of the Provincetown Women's Week club scene in the naked Berkshires. (I am talking about the trees post-foliage season.) We had a wonderfully revealing chat with the former school teacher turned stand-up comic which you can also find in Berkshire on Stage, and she said she loved being the second oldest living lesbian comic, while naming the first. She also talks about her pal HIllary Clinton, Arianna Huffington and Al Franken, and speculates on the health of Dick Cheney, admitting she combs the obits every day looking for good news. Her November 13 9=8:00 PM performance at the Colonial sponsored by the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and The Rainbow Times is only her second appearance ever in the Berkshires. She will be appearing with Roy Zimmerman. More about him in this second Berkshire on Stage story.

Ani DiFranco and her daughter. Courtesy Parenting Magazine.
Then there is the bisexual Ani DiFranco who probably loves her guitar more than any particular partner, though not as much as her daughter Petah Lucia who is now approaching four. Her fluid sexual identity is as famous as her independence in the music business. My story on her is in the works, and will appear shortly. She is at the Colonial on November 16 at 7:30. She will be appearing with special guest Melissa Ferrick.

For tickets to any of these concerts, visit the Colonial Theatre website.

The angrier she gets, the more I love Kate Clinton...

My love affair with Kate Clinton continues unabated, and unrequited, and we do make the odd couple. Normally you wouldn't expect to hear our names in the same sentence, but politics makes strange bedfellows.

In her latest message to her loyal fans, she takes on the health care bill, gay marriage and "don't ask-don't tell." She talks about abortion too, and I almost fell off my chair when she came up with an idea of a "sperm tax" to pay for them.

She is just plain brilliant. Listen, laugh, and think about doing what she suggests:

Catch Kate Clinton in Chicopee Saturday June 13

Love that tee, Kate. Photo David Rodgers.
The Yes on K8! Tour arrives in Chicopee next weekend and a good time will be had by all us tuck-aways from the Berkshires, Litchfield Hills and the Pioneer Valley. If you haven't been to one of her shows, you have a real treat in store. Kate uses our special LGBTQ sense of humor as the building block of her show in which she leaves no role model unscathed. As Kate would (and does) say, "our long mental curfew is officially lifted - it's time for a little restoration comedy!"

"Trillions, schmillions, get off your troubled assets. It's time for some comic relief. Kate the Comic will tickle your stimulus package. Not to worry - there'll be drama with Obama - ponzi scum, rick warrens, and quagmires galore. And she'll always have the pope! Join Kate for version Stonewall 4.0. Don't be all gay shamey. Prop Hates and Het Offensives only mean we are too big to fail." And how.

Kate Clinton proves you can be both political and funny. David Rodgers photo.

Her solo appearance in Western Massachusetts will be at The Comedy Connection in the HuKeLau Restaurant and Dinner Theatre. 705 Memorial Drive, Chicopee. 413.593.5222. Show time is 9:00 PM and the ticket price is $27.00. You can buy tickets in advance here. You must be 21 with valid ID to get in.

For readers beyond Western Massachusetts, Kate will be in New York (City) on June 10-11, Boston on June 13 and then begins her long run in Provincetown during July and August. For news and updates on Everything Kate, she has a fabulous website to explore. We thank Kate for including a link to our modest (but loving) Gay in the Berkshires Blog in her May Newsletter.

Kate heard it gets chilly in our part of the state and bundles up. Don't worry Kate, you can leave your skis at home, unless you come back in, say, September. Photo - Donna Aceto

Kate recently reviewed the short list of sins for us. You know the ones - pride, envy, gluttony, lust (Eliot Spitzer did not get that memo), anger, greed, and sloth. She admits to being surprised. "I scanned the list twice, looking for the sin of homosexuality. It was not there!"

Kate Clinton: Thoughts on Mothers Day

Kate Clinton is feisty, funny and fabulous

Kate Clinton has a weekly vlog on her website and this week her two and a half minutes of seriousness were particularly touching as she spoke for all mothers and children. You have to go to her website to watch it, and if you have not yet bookmarked it, now is a good time to do it. (You have bookmarked Gay Berkshires, right?)

Kate Clinton's website is always worth a leisurely visit.

Clinton Reunion.
All About Kate:

Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. She has worked through economic booms and busts, Disneyfication and Walmartization, gay movements and gay markets, lesbian chic and queer eyes, and ten presidential inaugurals. She still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime and scoundrel time.

She has a new book, I Told You So which is due out soon. More on that later.

Kate and the gang at an Empire State Pride Agenda event, including Carson Kressley, Kate, Alan Cumming, Mario Cantone, Jimmy Fallon and Randy Harrison.

Here are a few of her upcoming appearances around the country. She will be coming to Western Massachusetts (Chicopee) in June and we will follow up with details and further information later. Even so, I sure wish our local GLBTQ community was bigger so we could justify bringing her to the Berkshires to the Colonial or Mass MoCA. She is also popular with the "straight but not narrow" crowd, too as her P-Town appearances regularly draw a diverse audience.

5/17
San Antonio Texas
Equality Texas
www.equalitytexas.org

5/22-24
PTown
Crown and Anchor
www.onlyatthecrown.com

5/27
Cambridge, MA
Brattle Theater
I Told You So reading
hosted by The Center For New Words
6pm
www.centerfornewwords.org/events/2009/02/kate_clinton.php

5/28
New York City, NY
Lambda Literary Awards
(International Book Fair is in New York this weekend)
5/30

San Francisco, CA
NCLR's 2008 Anniversary Celebration
Westin St. Francis
Ticket info: www.nclrights.org

Chad Allen Receives Special GLAAD Media Award Tonight

Chad Allen will accept The Davidson/Valentini Award tonight at the GLAAD awards ceremony, hosted in New York by comedian Kate Clinton. Chad has gotten close to the Berkshires, but has yet to appear here. He's been on stage at TheatreWorks in Hartford, and of course you can find DVDs of both his new films and old tv shows. He is one out and proud gay actor.

In 2008, Chad Allen produced and starred in the film Save Me which offered audiences a look into the world of so-called "ex gay" ministries. The film is nominated for Outstanding Film – Limited Release at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. You can read my take on it on the Arts America blog.

I have also chatted with Allen about his Donald Strachey Mystery series produced for here! television. Two of the films in the series, Ice Blues and On the Other Hand, Death, are nominated for Outstanding Television Movie at the GLAAD Media Awards this year. My conversation with him about On the Other Hand Death can be found here.

As an openly gay actor, Allen has demonstrated a commitment to bringing fair, accurate and inclusive images of the LGBT community to films and television and has advocated for marriage equality in interviews with media outlets including Larry King Live.

The Award is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD's first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini. The award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. Previous recipients include Ilene Chaiken, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Alec Mapa, Robert Gant, Sandra Bernhard, and the wonderful B.D. Wong who has appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.