Reality TV Update: Tears for Fears

The origin of Dr. Mid-Nite
so Alana from King of the Nerds will never forget it.

Everybody was crying their little hearts out on my reality shows this week. On King of the Nerds, Genevieve bawled like a baby when Kevin Smith criticized her performance in a debate on superheroes. On Project Runway, Ben broke down because his past difficult relationship was causing him to make a lousy dress. On the new show The Job, everybody was weeping because they were all out of work. Join the crowd, hons.

There is so much reality I must watch these days, I had to DVR everything. Thursdays will be especially bad when Comic Book Men returns next week. Then Kevin Smith will be on opposite the Nerds and Project Runway. I guess I'll have to DVR the late-night rerun of one of them. Plus, Amazing Race starts next Sunday as well.

News for This Week: Of Cats, Moose, and Supermen

There will be a casting call for the role of "Cat" in the upcoming production of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Send your cat's headshot and owner contact info to kittygolightly@oandmco.com This reminded me that the last live real cat to star on Broadway was the feline who played opposite Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage. I'll never forget her acceptance speech when she won the Tony Award. "My friends said I should thank the cat," Dame Maggie archly said. "And I do thank the cat, but it had better behave itself, because it's getting entirely out of hand." 

At the opening of Moose Murders.
Yes, it has come to this.

I had reviews for Moose Murders  Women of Will and Clive at the Backstage website this week. Moose Murders is one of the biggest flops in Broadway history and this tiny company called Beautiful Soup Theatre Collective decided to revive it. The playwright had "shamelessly revised" his script, but it was still awful. Opening night was also the first night they invited critics and everyone was there including John Simon who brought his Playbill from the original production. Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Jackie Hoffman were also in the audience which was not a smart move. It led me to think how much better the production would be with these funny people in it. At least they would know how to camp it up and make this script so bad it would be a riot, as it was it was just bad. They actually had the celebrities--me included--pose with a guy dressed as a moose. Hanging around in the lobby was more fun than watching the show.

Obama and the Man Card

About drones--There is definitely cause for concern that the president is setting his rules and not allowing due process, something Adams, Jackson, and Lincoln also did. But, aside from the legality of it, I do find it fascinating that the GOP calls Obama weak and vacillating when he's probably the most badass President we've had in a while. I mean this guy kills our enemies with drones yet Republican senators feel free to accuse him of being limp-wristed when it comes to America's defense. If W. launched those drones, they'd be cheering. This week Glenn Beck had the nerve to call Obama a woman because the president said on 60 Minutes that if he had a son he would be reluctant to allow him to play football. And then there are the shots of Obama shooting skeets as if to prove he's a real guy to the gun-owners of America. What is this with all this macho crap? I found that ad about owning a Bushmaster meaning you've renewed your man card offensive.

Which leads us to the ironic use of women in the NRA's twisted cry to stop the assault weapons ban. In testimony before the Senate committee and taken up by their stooge Lindsay Graham, the NRA made the argument mothers alone need Bushmasters and high-capacity magazines with 30 or 40 rounds to defend themselves and their sweet little babies against possible intruders. They actually used the words choice and accused gun control advocates of limiting women's option when it comes to self-defense. So women should have choices about their deadly assault weapons but not their pregnancy? And another thing, if we have to register our cars and have leases to our homes, what's the big deal about registering guns?

Oscar Animated Shorts 2013

The sure way to win the Oscar pool at work, a party, or your local bar is to familiarize yourself with the obscure categories. Even seasoned oddsmakers who've seen every Best Picture nominee can trip up on Documentary Short Subject (Maggie Smith's favorite category in California Suite!) When that slot plus Animated and Live-Action Short are announced, most people go to the bathroom. So if you can get the winners for these "minor awards," the big prize of that chocolate statuette or cookie or $50 can be yours. Usually Oscar pool participants simply go by titles. In some pools, they actually drop these categories. When I ran the Oscar pool at a previous job, a few cowards actually complained I included them or insisted they be worth fewer points. That's the mark of a wuss.

Gay Progress and Setbacks on Super Bowl Weekend

This has been a week of advances in mainstream acceptance of us gay people, but we've also seen examples of backward homophobia (Yes, AP, I'm still using that word.) At the age of 82, Hawaii resident Jim Nabors, aka Gomer Pyle, finally came out of the closet and wed his longtime partner in Washington state. The Boy Scouts may be lifting their ban on gay troupe members and leaders. Same-sex couples are included in proposed immigration reform. But there was also Cissy Houston telling Oprah she would have had a problem if Whitney told her mom she was gay and closeted Ed Koch passed away without ever declaring which way he cut his jib (and yes, it does matter that we know.) Ironically, the former mayor died on the day a biographical documentary was released as if he were timing his demise for maximum publicity.  There was a mini-firestorm when a San Francisco 49ers cornerback (whatever that is) made antigay remarks about homosexuals not being welcome on his team on a radio show. He did quickly apologize; he does play for a San Francisco team after all.

Reality TV Update: Geek Vs. Chic

As I had posted on Facebook, I am probably the only person in America who likes both Project Runway and King of the Nerds. How many gay fashion-loving guys do you know who also get off on Batman, Doctor Who, Star Trek, and the Big Bang Theory? (On Beauty and the Geek, I was probably the only audience member who answered correctly the quiz questions on Stella McCarthy and The Incredibles.) I'm that weird combination of fashionista and fanboy. This past Thurs., I was in a pickle because the first half-hour of Nerds (ep. 3) overlapped the last half-hour of Runway (ep. 2). I know, there is a thing called the DVR but I like to watch live. For the first time geek won over chic and I watched Nerds live. What will I do next week when Smash starts on NBC on the same night? I supposed I'll have to go to ON Demand with one of these shows since you can only DVR two programs at a time.

I opted for Nerds live because Runway looked a bit tired in its first episode this 11th season. The producers  had to come up with some kind of season-long twist and they decided to make each challenge a team one. Blah. The first week was not really a team effort. Everyone had to make a dress inspired by NYC--how original--and then listen to everyone else on their team offer critiques. I was glad when Patricia, the designer from New Mexico, got high praise from the judges for her innovative print dress after her fellow competitors called it too artsy-craftsy. Suck it, team bitches! This week, the idea was to make uniforms for the waitstaff and "ball boys" at this Ping Pong club owned by Susan Sarandon. So that's what she been doing with herself these days. Boring! You know you're in trouble when the designers are better dressed than the models.

Cumming in Macbeth: Broadway Season Just Got Interesting

Things just got interesting on Broadway. I had previously posted 2012-13 was an exceptionally busy but dull season. Now the situation is spicing up, not only is Christopher Durang's wild comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike moving from Off-Broadway to Broadway, Alan Cumming's acclaimed one-person interpretation of Macbeth will be playing a limited engagement at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with previews starting April 7, opening April 21. In this bizarre rendering of Shakespeare's tragedy which has played the Lincoln Center Festival and the National Theatre of Scotland, Cumming is the sole patient in a mental institute acting out all the roles in the story of the Thane of Cawdor's bloodthirsty rise.Macbeth is popular these days with Sleep No More Off-Bway and a segment devoted to the play on PBS's Shakespeare Uncovered hosted by Ethan Hawke.

This spices up the solo category for the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards with Bette Midler, Holland Taylor, Fiona Shaw, and now Cumming in the running (the Tonys don't have a separate solo actor category so it will be interesting to see who among the one-person people will get nominations for Best Actor or Actress).