Tag Archives: Gay

An HIV Positive Gay Man’s Advice on Living in the Age of Covid

Posted on June 27, 2020 by dannyashkenasi

My friend Tim Cusack posted this on Facebook: “For all the straight white people whining about how wearing masks is inconvenient and uncomfortable, how you miss human contact and all the things you used to be able to do, bemoaning … Continue reading →

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The Sound of Recovery Music

Posted on July 21, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

Not your childhood van Trapps…   The same friend who treated us to the SCA benefit performance “Snow White and the Seven Hos” invited us to see that show’s impresario Michael Roth’s latest romp “The Sound of Recovery Music”.  Once … Continue reading →

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PRIDE MONTH DAILY MOVIE PLAYLIST

Posted on June 18, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

And so the daily LGBTQ movie shout out commences: Call that blog post by its name here.   That Queer Movie blog post is its own country here.  

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The Belligerent Homophobe Who Ruined Rocketman For Us

Posted on June 1, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

  The three or four loud sneezes that erupted behind us during the 20 minutes of previews were a warning shot that all would not turn out alright for us during this screening of “Rocketman” in midtown Manhattan. But the … Continue reading →

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BROOKLYN PRIDE

Posted on June 11, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Park Slope Comes Out! Highlights from the June 9 Brooklyn Pride Street Fare and Parade     We are Family – Sisters Sledge  

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WEDDING MUSIC – 25 Years Together, 20 Years Married

Posted on April 25, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

“So, where did the two of you meet?” we are often asked. “In the back of a Greyhound bus,” we respond by rote, and await the inevitable follow up question. It was exactly 25 years ago, April 25, 1993, on … Continue reading →

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CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, SAM, and then Play It Again

Posted on November 7, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

I took a Swoon Dive this weekend.  I read André Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name” while playing Sam Smith on endless shuffle.  It was almost irresponsibly intoxicating. Say It First – Sam Smith I first heard about the Gay … Continue reading →

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The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Plays The Soundtrack to Our Story

Posted on April 10, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

Saturday night we attended the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band performing a concert at Symphony Space titled “Once Upon A Time … The Soundtrack to Our Story”, with music referencing and inspired by the history of the Gay … Continue reading →

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MOONLIGHT – the triple least “Oscar Baity” Oscar Winner

Posted on March 5, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

“I just hope the weird pandemonium doesn’t overshadow the fact that a $1.5 million independent film by a black director about black, gay, poor people was named Best Picture.  The process to get there was very weird, but it’s an … Continue reading →

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Ian Mckellen’s richly detailed and historically edifying “It Got Better” video

Posted on July 18, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

We’ve come a long way. @IanMckellen tells his @It_Got_Better storyhttps://t.co/7XBpAsvHGW — L Studio (@LStudio) July 18, 2016   Pretty cool video, an inspiring must see. And not that it really matters, but Sir Ian and I share the same birthday, … Continue reading →

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The SEVEN HOS are now WICKED ADDICTED!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

Last June I posted an impressed and irreverent report of of  “Snow White and the Seven Hos“, a Disney parody musical benefit for SCA (Sexual Compulsives Anonymous).  SCA supports gay and bisexual men with sex addiction issues.  Every year they … Continue reading →

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NfaC Pride Month Repost: THE NEARLY INVISIBLE BISEXUAL MALE

Posted on June 4, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

June is Pride Month.  So I thought I should make my first post of the month a post that deals heavily with LGBTQ issues.  And although my many posts related to my musical Speakeasy almost invariably deal with LGBTQ issues, … Continue reading →

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Cast Picture

Posted on March 17, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

  Jonathan Fox Powers (music director), Anne Bragg, Allie Radice, Amanda Thomas, Zachary Martin, Kristen Quinn, Rita McCann, Larry Johnson, Rebecca Marquardt, Brendan Mellette, Camille Atkinson, Tim Connell, Matias Polar, Darcy Dunn, Kayleigh Shuler, Brian Henry, Bri Molloy, Sebastian McCracken, … Continue reading →

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FINAL SPEAKEASY PERFORMANCES – Dance into the Light tonight, let Love have her way

Posted on March 11, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

Tonight and tomorrow, 8pm Final Performance Sunday, March 13, 3pm Theater for the New City, 155 1st Avenue Thank you to all, contributors, performers, production team, audiences, who have helped make this workshop production of Speakeasy possible.  May we all … Continue reading →

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“SPARKLING MOMENTS OF MUSICAL THEATER” – OffOffOnline’s Speakeasy Review

Posted on March 7, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

OffOffOnline posted their Speakeasy review.  Here a few highlights: “Kayleigh Shuler as Jane and Matias Polar as John are the heartbeat of the show; they are the flawless young lovers, never missing a note or a cue.” “As Jane’s best … Continue reading →

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The Inspiration for SPEAKEASY’S DUCHESS BENTLEY – Part 2 of The Terrific, Transgressive and Tragic Tale of Gladys Bentley

Posted on March 4, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

Gladys Bentley, the model for the character Duchess Bentley in Speakeasy, enjoyed a terrific career as deliberately outrageous Lesbian nightclub singer during the Roaring Twenties, but saw her prospects plummet during the far less permissive Great Depression.  Almost all homosexual … Continue reading →

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