Broadway Bares XXI

Last night Father Tony and I attended the 21st annual edition of Broadway Bares, the bawdy and deliciously raunchy fundraiser by Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS in which dozens of buff chorus boys and girls writhe and expose it all to the delight of several thousand gay men. See Tony's possibly NSFW slideshow here. Among last night performers were Tony winner and the evening's emcee, Beth Leavel, as well as David Hyde Pierce and Judith Light. It really is one of the most spectacular events on Broadway.

Tony Attendees On Tracy Morgan

Neil Patrick Harris Opens The 2011 Tonys: It's Not Just For Gays Anymore

Watch this now, it'll get yanked from YouTube.

2011 Tonys: Totally For The Gays

Despite host Neil Patrick Harris' fantastic opening number which promised that "Broadway isn't just for gays anymore," tonight's Tony Awards were extra super gay with lots of gay on the side. Not only did Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart win three awards, the show featured Martha Wash performing It's Raining Men, and there was a lot of thanking of same-sex partners from the stage. Here's the list of winners:

Best Play: "War Horse."
Best Musical: "The Book of Mormon."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Mark Rylance, "Jerusalem."
Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Frances McDormand, "Good People."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Ellen Barkin, "The Normal Heart."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: John Benjamin Hickey, "The Normal Heart."
Best Direction of a Musical: Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, "The Book of Mormon."
Best Direction of a Play: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, "War Horse."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz "Catch Me If You Can."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Sutton Foster, "Anything Goes."
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: John Larroquette, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Nikki M. James, "The Book of Mormon."
Best Book of a Musical: "The Book of Mormon."
Best Revival of a Play: "The Normal Heart."
Best Revival of a Musical: "Anything Goes."

Normal Heart Cast For NY Marriage

LISTEN: The Book Of Mormon

JMG reader Evan tips us that NPR is streaming the cast recording of The Book Of Mormon, which garnered 14 Tony nominations last week. Today only, folks.

Broadway Legend Arthur Laurents Dies

Openly gay Broadway legend Arthur Laurents has died at the age of 93. Theater Mania reports:

Laurents was best known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim, including writing the books for West Side Story and Gypsy (earning Tony nominations for both), Anyone Can Whistle, and Do I Hear a Waltz. Early in his career, Laurents wrote such plays as Home of the Brave and The Time of the Cuckoo. In later years, he wrote and directed the musicals The Madwoman of Central Park West and Nick & Nora. Laurents directed the 1975, 1989, and 2008 revivals of Gypsy, each of which earned Tony Awards for its respective leading ladies, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and Patti LuPone. He also directed the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story.

Laurents was temporarily blacklisted during the McCarthy era after a review of one of his plays was published in the Communist Party USA newspaper.

NOTE: Laurents asked that his obituaries include this line: "He was predeceased by his partner, Tom Hatcher, with whom he had lived in happiness for more than 50 years."

14 Tony Nominations For Book Of Mormon

The Book Of Mormon led this morning's 2011 Tony Awards nominations with 14 nods across all major categories. The musical garnered a dozen Drama Desk nominations last week. Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart won nominations for Best Revival, and for cast members Joe Montello (Best Actor), John Benjamin Hickey (Best Featured Actor), and Ellen Barkin (Best Featured Actress.) Best Play nominees: War Horse, Jerusalem, Good People, The Motherfucker With The Hat. Best Musical nominees: Sister Act, Book Of Mormon, Catch Me If You Can, The Scottsboro Boys.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Brian Bedford, The Importance of Being Earnest
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherfucker with the Hat
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
Al Pacino, The Merchant of Venice
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
Frances McDormand, Good People
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Vanessa Redgrave, Driving Miss Daisy
Hannah Yelland, Brief Encounter

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture

12 Drama Desk Noms For Book Of Mormon

The Book Of Mormon led this morning's Drama Desk nominations with a dozen nods, including for Outstanding Musical. The show also received nominations for music, lyrics, choreography, and for the show's lead, Andrew Rannels. The revival of Anything Goes followed with ten nominations. Legendary playwright, actor, and drag performer Charles Busch received the Best Actor nomination for his performance in his play, The Divine Sister. Also nominated for Outstanding Musical was Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert.

VIDEO: In the clip below, Broadway Speaks OUT's Marti Gould interviews Drama Desk presenters Audra McDonald and Liev Schreiber, followed by the nomination announcements.

HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer

"Please know that AIDS is a worldwide plague. Please know that no country in the world, including this one, especially this one, has ever called it a plague, or dealt with it as a plague. Please know that there is no cure. Please know that after all this time the amount of money being spent to find a cure is still miniscule, still almost invisible, still impossible to locate in any national health budget, and still totally uncoordinated.

"Please know that here in America case numbers continue to rise in every category. In much of the rest of the world — Russia, India, Southeast Asia, Africa — the numbers of the infected and the dying are so grotesquely high they are rarely acknowledged. Please know that all efforts at prevention and educations continue their unending record of abject failure. Please know that there is no one in charge of this plague. This is a war for which there is no general and for which there has never been a general. How can you win a war with no one in charge?" - Larry Kramer, from a letter handed to patrons attending the revival of his landmark play, The Normal Heart.

Read Kramer's entire letter.

MONDAY IN NYC: Ali Forney Center's Fifth Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant

The Ali Forney Center holds its fifth annual Broadway Beauty Pageant this Monday at Manhattan's Symphony Space, where Broadway's hottest and most talented chorus boys compete to win the prized tiara. It's a fun, sweet show hosted by four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh and the house is always packed with the movers and shakers of musical theater. Highly recommended.

Judges include Bruce Vilanch (six-time Emmy Award winner/comedy writer, who made his Broadway debut in Hairspray), Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live") and Carson Kressley ("Queer Eye," "How To Look Good Naked," "Carson-Nation"). This year's contestants comprise Matt Anctil, La Cage aux Folles; Mikey Cusamano, Chicago; Ray Lee, Anything Goes; Brandon Rubendall, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark; and James Tabeek, Mary Poppins. Conceived by Jeffery Self and directed by Ryan J. Davis, The Broadway Beauty Pageant is musically directed by Christopher Denny. The evening is produced by Wil Fisher, Ryan J. Davis, Jeffery Self and Matthew Oberstein.

Get tickets here.

Johnny "Tangerine" Boehner

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of the show's producers, today's Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to the premiere Broadway musical production of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert, which begins previews this week.

Get Ready for THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE! PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT: THE MUSICAL is the feel-good theatrical experience of the year! Based on the smash-hit movie, PRISCILLA is the heart-warming, uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they could have ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of outrageous costumes and a hit parade of dance-floor favorites, this wildly fresh and funny new musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!

Tickets for Priscilla are now on sale and you can follow the show and cast on Twitter and Facebook. Enter to win your tickets by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your entry. If you cannot be in Manhattan to attend the show, your winning entry is transferable to your favorite show queen. Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

Carol Channing Turns 90

Broadway legend Carol Channing turns 90 today and the three-time Tony winner has granted a rare video interview in which she reminisces about her career and her status as a gay icon. Hit the link for the clip.

Ashes Of Slain Journalist Carlos Castro Poured Down Times Square Subway Grate

Saying they were fulfilling his wishes, yesterday family and friends of slain Portuguese journalist Carlos Castro poured his ashes into a subway grate in Times Square, just steps away from Broadway's famed theaters.

A funeral was held in Newark yesterday for Castro, 65, who was allegedly castrated with a corkscrew by his 20-year-old lover, male model Renato Seabra, on Jan. 7 in a room at the InterContinental Hotel in Times Square. After the service, his sisters and a friend took a limo to Broadway and 43rd Street and quickly dumped his ashes without saying a word, said photographer Leandro Badalotti. It wasn't immediately clear if the family had authorization to dispose of his remains in public.

Many subway grates are directly above passenger platforms and it's possible that Castro's ashes landed on riders. Today the mayor's office says Castro's family did not have permission.

Broadway Friday

- Spider-Man lead Natalie Mendoza is permanently leaving the accident-plagued show, citing continuing dizziness from a concussion suffered during the first preview. In other incidents, one actor broke both his wrists, another broke both his ankles. Mendoza's replacement has not been announced. The show continues in previews towards a February 7th official opening.

- Tony nominee John Leguizamo's new solo show, Ghetto Klown, begins previews at the Lyceum on February 21st for a 12-week limited run.

- Andrew Lloyd Weber will launch a U.S. reality show search for the lead in his stateside production of The Wizard Of Oz. His West End production opens in February with added numbers by Weber and his longtime collaborator Tim Rice.

- Women On The Verge will close three weeks early this Sunday.

-Well-known Manhattan cabaret singer David Gurland suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage on Wednesday. Gurland is a frequent performer at The Duplex and Don't Tell Mama.

- Billy Crudup and Raul Esparza will star in the revival of Tom Stoppard's stage comedy, Arcadia, which begins a limited run on February 25th.

- The creators of South Park come to Broadway on March 24th with their musical look at the founding of the Mormon Church, The Book Of Mormon.

- Sunday's blizzard did a number on Broadway attendance, with even tickets for the eternally sold out Wicked coming available at the last minute. Still, a number of houses did record-breaking business for the holiday week.

- Ann Harada (Avenue Q, Les Miz) will star with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus at their gala fundraiser on February 28th.

Jennifer Hudson Pays Tribute To Oprah

At the Kennedy Center Honors, the newly-slim Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to honoree Oprah Winfrey with I'm Here from the Oprah-produced The Color Purple. Hudson was joined by the choir from Oprah's alma mater, Tennessee State.

Harvey Fierstein To Join La Cage

Four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein will join the Broadway revival cast of La Cage Aux Folles on February 15th for a 12-week limited run. Fierstein won the Tony in 1983 for writing the show, but this will be his first time actually appearing in it.

"I've loved watching this new production of LA CAGE and think director Terry Johnson and the wonderful company at the Longacre have really mined the material for its humor as well as its heart and humanity," Fierstein commented. "I'm thrilled to get the chance to play Albin a mere twenty-five years after creating him. It will be a challenge to follow in the footsteps of all the brilliant actors who have portrayed the role before me. But I do have one secret weapon - I know how to reach the author for rewrites."

Both current leads in the show, Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge, will leave the production when Fierstein comes on. Grammer's replacement has not been announced.

November 22nd In NYC: Broadway Stars To Perform In Benefit For Trevor Project

On Mondays, most Broadway houses are dark. But next Monday the stars of Broadway will gather for a special benefit performance for the Trevor Project. Lea DeLaria will host. Also scheduled to appear:

Betty Buckley, Ricky Ian Gordon, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Marc Kudisch, Aaron Lazar, John Tartaglia, Seth Rudetsky, Lea Delaria and Jeanine Tesori, as well as Emily Albrink, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Attila Joey Csiki of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Jason Forbach, Constantine Germanacos, Joe Lodato, Matthew Morris, Todd Palmer, Kate Pazakis, Nurit Tilles, Erin Quill, Tony Yazbeck and Jennifer Zetlan.

Tickets are only $25! Betty Buckley! Get tickets here.

Broadway Stars - It Gets Better

Susan Blackwell of the Tony-nominated [title of show] brings together Nathan Lane, Wilson Cruz, Terrence McNally, Denis O'Hare, Cherry Jones and dozens of other well-known Broadway stars for their It Gets Better message.

(Tipped by JMG reader Beau)