The Get OUT Awards at XL NIghtclub NYC

In a sense, the Get OUT! Awards was the longest-running show in the 42nd Street Off-Broadway theater district, full of drag queens, bar and club awards and live performances that ran on and on and on. Talk about an embarrassment of riches. And bitches! It was not only Night of 100,000 Drunk Santas Pub Crawl but a holiday season marathon of entertainment at Manhattan's snazziest gay venue on 42nd Street, XL, just west of 10th Avenue.

You have to enter the club through a hotel and then walk through labyrinthian corridors and detours that are, in themselves, an adventure in nightlife. I was impressed with the pop art adorning the walls:

It was indeed, an Alice in Wonderland experience getting to the club

By the end of the event, however, I got to shoot a bazooka full of confetti at the evening's ultimate performer, Eric Alan. How Freudian is that?! So it was a kind of  a trippy, Wonderland type of a night. You can call me Alice. And I don't live here anymore.

For the first time ever, Queens Our City Radio station manager Barbara Sobel and I met in person! We hugged and got cozy together in a plush booth on the second tier. I savored Barbara's running commentary on the talent at hand. Founder of Sobel Records/Sobel Promotions, this lady has a fine-tuned radar for vocal artistry, and I loved her critical asides, sweet and sour, on the roster of performers.

Eric Alan & his cousin, Sandy @ XL. Black is back!

We were the club's guests and Queens Our City Radio was exclusively the only press allowed at sound check. We watched Eric Allen's rehearsal for his big number that closed the show, "L.O.V. & E." It was a masterpiece of precision choreography and vocal pyrotechnics. Eric and I shook hands, chatted and he basically charmed me into firing the confetti cannon later in the night, which was great fun.

Check out the official video of his new song that he performed live at the awards:



There was a live, three-piece band onstage and, although it was a snowy night, the club ultimately filled  up with glitterati. However, over the course of the three-hour extravaganza, people began to file out into the slushy, sleety New York night.

Highlights of the evening included Michael Musto ~ in a gorgeous, sparkling jacket ~ accepting the Best Blogger/Writer of the Year Award (two reasons I felt envious) plus an astounding performance by Miss Victoria Chase, a vocal powerhouse, who blew Barbara and I away. Ari Gold also appeared, performing a lively extended rendition of "Wave of U."

Even the toilet is swank @ XL

The divine Australian comedian Pam Ann was Skyped in, her audio to the audience so distorted, she was sadly unintelligible. I'm certain she was saying something hilarious. Too bad we couldn't hear what that was.

Tan Mom showed up in an unadvertised cameo (typically messy and still tanning, obviously) in a mess of a production number that defines "klutzy," with a lanky, unchoreographed dancer and Adam Barta as vocalist. Without a semblance of stage direction, this was distinctly the disaster of the evening; a Titanmom catastrophe.

The night largely included a myriad of awards to bars, clubs and lounges throughout the boroughs and in Long Island and New Jersey. Major winners included Boots & Saddle, The Duplex, Uncle Charlie's, XS, Therapy, Barrage, The Monster and Candle Bar.

There were many no-show recipients and, when Go Go Boy of the Year failed to pick up his award, someone in the crowd shouted, "He's escorting tonight!"

Barbara Sobel lays lucky hands on Eric Alan before his act

All in all, less would be more; the show should be tightened up; the band should be allowed to cut off long-winded speeches like they do at the Oscars; Barbara Sobel should stage manage, and working the confetti gun should be my annual moment of grandeur, kind of like dropping the ball at Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Congratulations to the winners and I am thankful for the Get OUT! Awards and Get OUT!'s push to get people back to the clubs and bars. So, New Year resolution: get out there more and shake it on the dancefloor.

Disco Bloomingdale's

Disco is back big-time, to the point that it seems you can't avoid seeing a mirror ball at least once sometime during your day. Dj Buddy B feels he and this blog were in the vanguard of this revival. In March 2012, I interviewed Johnny Morgan about his disco bible, Disco: The Music, The Times, The Era, which made me realize there was something in the air because of its commercial success. (http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/03/dj-buddy-bs-q-with-author-johnny-morgan.html). The coffee-table book, sumptuously illustrated, is still selling at Manhattan's gay general store, Rainbows & Triangles.

The back-to-disco diversion has positively glitter-balled into a movement. Manhattan clubs, like B. B. King's, have showcased disco artitsts; Michael Musto has a recurring Disco Night at 54 Below (the club beneath the old Studio 54); the new Resorts International casino in Flushing frequently books disco entertainers (The Village People; the upcoming First Ladies of Disco night) and, across the nation, clubs, bars and lounges are multiplying with classic disco night offerings. This phenomenon deserves closer inspection, but for now, let's focus on Bloomigdale's disco-themed windows on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Coming out of the subway this morning, this first-class window design caught my eye. I feverishly snapped photos with my cell.

The window series highlights designer fashions sold at Bloomy's, with retro-progresso surroundings of undeniable dancefloor fabulousness.

Have a look at the photos below. And put on your favorite dance tunes for background music as you do. With disco, baby, style and ambience are everything!

Michael Musto Moves On

Crier au scandale!

I was quite surprised to hear that Michael Musto, among other seasoned staff writers, was laid off by The Village Voice. Maybe not such a smart move on the paper's part as Musto's column is one of the reasons a lot of people check that rag. Why, Musto's gossip column, La Dolce Musto, is such a prominent feature in the Voice, it was stirring up fictitious trouble just last week on Smash!

I first started reading Musto back when he wrote the nightlife column for the Soho Weekly News before he moved to The Village Voice in 1984.

Michael Musto, I truly only see this as liberation for you. You can write your own ticket and move on to bigger and better things, I am certain. As Sybil Bruncheon posted on your Facebook page: "We all look forward to the new and even more fabulous Michael Musto coming our way!!!"

Truly, you were much to good for the current Voice, dahling! Their latest lay-offs only take them further into irrelevancy.  But you? As hep as ever.

Divas, Queens & Billboard

There are a select few popular, contemporary artists on the dance-music scene whom I abhor; Nicki Minaj first and foremost. I just don't get her! I watched Ms Minaj, from L.A., on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and the bitch was not rockin' me at all! So, the very fact that she is sitting atop the Billboard Dance chart, at #1, with the cacophonic, David Guetta-produced "Turn Me On," turns me off. However, I do not believe there is any shortage of talent in the current disco-diva pool. Indeed, I think we are going through a disco renaissance in terms of proficiency and flair, be it in terms of divahood, production quality or remixer inventiveness and excitement!

Michael Musto commented this week, in The Village Voice (very accurately, I thought), regarding the theater: "We're in the middle of a musical-diva golden age thanks to Patti, Bernadette, Donna, Audra, Sutton, Jan, Kelli, Kristin, and Alice, but you still hear theater queens murmuring, 'There are no stars like the old days!'" Well, the same goes for dance music. Disco dinosaurs grumble but they don't go to clubs any more or immerse themselves in the current dance-music scene. I feel this is more of a misinformed attitude or belief that has no foundation in reality. A lot of the disco, hiNRG and house music stars of the 70s, 80s and 90s are still around. And many new artists do the dance floor proud. Go out and see what I mean. (Just try to choose a good dj.)

Gladys Knight is a divine and (dare I add?) much loved, vocalist who's not necessarily associated with disco, though she has, with the Pips, dabbled in the genre. This week, remixes of "I Who Have Nothing" came across my desk and, babies, Gladys blew my mind (on a midnight train to Bay Ridge)! I think this will get ample dance-floor play, especially via the mixes by Redtop and Tony Moran. Hot stuff coming through! And I understand you can download these mixes via iTunes.

Apparently, the rumors are true! Rolling Stone confirmed, just a few hours ago, after Britain's The Daily Star leaked it:

Adam Lambert is reportedly the new singer for Queen, replacing the American Idol winner's own late idol, Freddie Mercury. Lambert broke the news to the U.K.'s Daily Star.

"The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some fucking great songs," he said. "It's to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would've been proud of." Queen previously toured with former Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers taking Mercury's place.

Speculation has been high since Lambert was joined by surviving Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor during his Idol finals appearance in 2009. In November, they performed together at the MTV EMAs in Belfast.

Lambert said he had no intention of replacing Mercury, who died in 1991. "That's impossible," he said. "The way I'm choosing to view it is that it's a great honor and one I'm in no way going to shirk." Lambert's second solo album, Trespassing, is due in March.

A representative for Hollywood Records tells Rolling Stone, "The Daily Star item only mentions that Adam may perform with Queen at Sonisphere. This is not confirmed. Nothing has been signed. However, if this were to happen, Queen would be returning to the setting of their final concert with Freddie Mercury, which took place in 1986."

Sounds promising! (Any thoughts on Lambert filling Mercury's platform boots? Feel free to comment here on this post.) At least, when it comes to Queen, we've got one dynamic queen substituting for another. And Lambert can hit all of Freddie's notes.

Now, to briefly run down what interests me on the latest Billboard dance chart:

"Shake It Out" by Florence + the Machine dropped from #4 to 8, so I think its chance to get to the #1 spot is unlikely. But it shook its way to 4 and that's shaking me up, too. "Drifting," by Plumb, drifts ever upward with its trancey mixes to the 10th spot, while Gaga's "Marry the Night" currently nestles at #9 in its gradual descent from #1.

The delicious "Waiting on You" (Ultra Nate & Michelle Williams) up to 11 from 12. (Love to see this groove make its way into the top ten by next week.) "If It Wasn't for Love," by diva deluxe Deborah Cox, hits the twelfth spot this week, descending from a lofty #1 as well.

Erasure's "Be with You" nicely risen from #17 to #14 this week, and Kelly Clarkson taking "Stronger" to the following 15th spot, upwardly mobile.

For the full top-25 Dance/Club chart on Billboard, please go to billboard.com.

Peace, love, happiness & disco to everyone all over the world!

Pray for Destiny's Child!

On Facebook, Joan Rivers notes: "Beyonce said that she delivered her baby naturally, which for her meant no wind machine or backup dancers."

The diva's pregnancy delayed shooting on her next film which, ironically, is the Clint Eastwood musical remake, A Star Is Born. The Golden Globe nominee was cast, due to begin filming next month. But Eastwood agreed to delay shooting until Ms Jay-Z is back to full strength. And now, apparently, a star is born, silver spoon firmly in mouth.

"As you know, megastars Jay-Z and Beyoncé spent $1.3 million to turn six rooms at Lenox Hill Hospital into two luxury suites so Beyoncé could pop out her baby in some real style," Michael Musto confided in his Village Voice column, La Dolce Musto. "If you've got money and want to spend it, be my guest. Just don't act like your wealth makes you above the law, or beyond humanity and good sense.

"The Z's ran into trouble when a Brooklyn man claimed the couple's guards prevented other people from getting to wards, waiting rooms, and even hallways in the hospital.

"If Beyoncé's having a baby, I guess no one else can! (Or if they do, you can't visit them.)

"Has celebrity entitlement gotten more annoyingly entitled than ever?"

The New York Daily News reported: "The freshly renovated 'executive' maternity digs look more like a Four Seasons spread than the drab hospital accommodations afforded most mere mortals.... Little Blue Ivy Carter came into the world with her choice of four flat-screen TVs, lushly upholstered gray and cream sofas, silken throw pillows, modern brushed-chrome accents, mahogany walls and a posh kitchenette with a gleaming tile backsplash."

How did Lenox Hill respond to that? Says the Daily News, "Lenox Hill Hospital has denied claims it constructed the five-star accommodations at Beyonce's behest, saying instead the superstar singer was simply lucky enough to be the first patient to get them." Oh, please, honeys, the next time I come down with deadly pneumonia and have to be quarantined, I'm having Dr Frank Spinelli admit me to Lenox Hill and try to get that fucking room for me, I tell you!

Now, yesterday, New York State health officials dismissed patients' complaints. Why am I not surprised to hear that? Occupy that hospital!

At the top of this post is the picture of the $13,000 plexiglas crib for baby Blue Ivy Z. (I think it's hideous, frankly.)

"The superstar couple's new child has reportedly had at least £1million spent on her in gifts and a fantasy land nursery.

"Among the treasure trove awaiting [Ivy Blue] is a solid-gold, hand-made rocking horse said to be worth £390,000... while her high chair [seen below] is worth close to £10,000 and dripping in Swarovski crystals," reports the UK's Metro.

But ya are in the highchair, Ivy, ya are! (Can't wait to see what ever happens to Baby Ivy as she grows up!)

Meanwhile, while on the topic of demon spawn, Perez Hilton blogged, "Looks like Roman Polanski‘s classic [Rosemary's Baby] was supposed to have a bit more star power! Rutanya Alda, best known for Mommie Dearest, was Mia Farrow‘s stand-in for the flick." (Alda played Carol Ann, Joan Crawford's assistant, in the movie.) Below, Van Johnson, Mia Farrow, Joan Crawford, Roman Polanski and William Castle.

Says Michael Musto who broke the story: "Rutanya Alda -- best known as Carol Ann in Mommie Dearest -- just told me a remarkable story. Rutanya was Mia Farrow's stand-in for the 1968 suspense classic Rosemary's Baby.

"When Mia was late to shoot a bit where she and a girlfriend go to see the Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, director Roman Polanski decided to start shooting with Rutanya standing in.

"Part of the scene had screen icons Joan Crawford and Van Johnson (as themselves) being spotted by Rosemary in the lobby...."

William Castle, who directed Joan in the camp classics, Straight-Jacket and I Saw What You Did (and I Know Who You Are), probably insisted on this, I'm guessing, as he was Polanski's producer and never passed by a tacky gimmick.

Musto goes on: "Remembers Rutanya: 'Joan came over to me and said, "Hello! I'm Joan Crawford!" She thought I was Mia Farrow!'

"Or maybe she just knew she'd just spotted the future Carol Ann," Michael adds in a hilarious aside.

"Another wacky mishap happened when Van Johnson first spotted Polanski, particularly his striking schnoz.

"'Who's that, Pinocchio?' quipped Johnson, completely clueless. This sent the excitable Polanski into a tizzy of horror. 'Get off my set, everybody!' he shrieked, clearing all the stars and non-stars away. Joan obliged, but not before grandly intoning, 'You should learn to have the manners of a William Castle.'"

William Castle responds: "Not sure that is how I remember it all going down...but it's Hollywood where everything and anything is possible!"

Reader comments from The Village Voice blog included "Too bad Joan was cut. When Rosemary's baby gurgled 'mommie,' Joan could have snapped 'Mommie WHAT?'"

"The real life Joan Crawford meeting the later Carol Ann is spooky. Like when Charles Manson encountered Sharon Tate months before the killings."

And "I'm sure I spotted Joan Crawford in the coven of witches when Mia Farrow gets raped."

"Name your favorite color, plant and ex-President," Ruth Buzzi Tweeted. "Those were instructions in a maternity ward last week where BLUE IVY CARTER was hatched."

OK, babies, that's it for now! Mommie needs her beauty sleep!

Below, Joan, obviously acting under the influence (but quite bejeweled, nonetheless), in William Castle's I Saw What You Did.

Where The Boys Were

Making the Boys: The Story Behind The Boys in the Band is a documentary that is so much more than its title suggests.

I bought the dvd on a recent trip to the gay "general store," Rainbows and Triangles, in Chelsea (8th Ave. between 18th/19th Streets, NYC) and it blew my mind! It starts in the Swingin' '60s, when being gay was not swingin' at all. Still considered a mental illness, police harrassment against open congregations of gay people was not only legal, but routine.

It was the sweltering June night Judy Garland died that brought about The Stonewall Riots. The queens weren't suffering it again that night, honeys! Enough was enough was enough was enough! And so Gay Pride Day was born and, too, the Gay Liberation movement as we now know it.

Making the Boys is nothing short of amazing. Great archival footage of pre-Lib gay life of the 1960's and beyond, accompanied by talking heads the likes of Michael Musto, Paul Rudnick, ex-Mayor Koch, Dominick Dunne, Terrence McNally, Tony Kushner, Robert Wagner, Cheyanne Jackson, film's director William Friedkin and creator/playwrite Mart Crowley.

A fascinating look into the past, through a glass darkly, as well as a study of the genesis of The Boys in the Band, from play to film, the documentary opened my eyes to what a great friend Natalie Wood was to the gay community, and how the Polish-American princess was so essential in getting her dear friend, Crowley's, play off the ground.

Crowley was a Hollywood screenwriter whose credits included a serious re-write of the pilot for Bette Davis' proposed, Aaron Spelling-produced sitcom, The Designer, which was, maybe, a tad too gay and AbFabish before its time. It was not picked up and never aired.

Edward Albee appears (with a static-cling cowlick somebody should have attended to) to say that yes, The Boys in the Band owes a structural debt to his Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , but he doesn't mind and thinks that's hunky-dory, praising Crowley.

Laurence Luckinbill (Lucie Arnaz's long-time hubby) and Peter White are the two still-living members of the original cast to comment herein on the play and film, sadly. Many members have passed from AIDS. Straight Cliff Gorman, who, oddly, played the biggest queen, Emory, in the original film and play, died from other causes.

Truly ironic, there was an immediately post-Stonewall reaction to The Boys in the Band, when activists felt the characters in the groundbreaking play were gay Stepin Fetchits, and not p.c.

I can't recommend this documentary highly enough. Please, whoever you are, do not take your rights for granted, especially in today's climate. And see this film! (Available at http://www.amazon.com/Making-Boys-Edward-Albee/dp/B00551QQHK/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1326161845&sr=1-1 Just cut & paste into your browser.)

From 1960, written by Neil Sedaka and voiced by Connie Francis: