The New Old Gay: Take It To Broadway

Because the old school gay is fast becoming the new modern man, AKA William theater contributor Ben Rimalower is back and more new old gay then ever! Every week Ben will document exactly how, when, and where everything old becomes new again.

Straddling the line between old school showbiz cheesiness and contemporary short attention span whateverness, Ben is the New Old Gay. He loves Patti LuPone.

Did anyone else notice that last week’s “Glee” was essentially a commercial for the current Broadway revival of Promises, Promises starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth? The musical theme of the episode was Burt Bacharach and Kristin actually sang “A House Is Not A Home”– as seen on Broadway.

Has a narrative series ever given a Broadway show such product placement before? Kinda cool, although it’s pathetic that I’m so shocked a TV show would deign to be associated with a lowly Broadway musical, like I can’t believe Theatre is famous enough to be on TV.

What really struck me on the last “Glee,” though, was how beautifully they handled the challenges in High School gay Kurt (Chris Colfer)’s relationship with his father (Mike O’Malley) as the dad begins dating straight jock Finn (Cory Monteith)’s mother and bonding over sports with Finn. I certainly related to Kurt’s asking “When was the last time you were that engaged in a conversation with me?” Light years beyond a token gay character or sturm-und-drang-fraught coming out cliché, it was extremely moving and real to watch Kurt, the drama queen, tears rolling down his face, exclaim, “What I want is for you to appreciate how hard it is for me to watch you bond with the son you’ve obviously always wanted.” And his father’s simultaneously loving and insensitive response: “Suddenly I’m not the guy who sat through Riverdance three years in a row?” In this modern show where gays exist as real people, these are the nuts and bolts of our day-to-day feelings and relationships, the gray areas of our lives. Very excited to watch again tonight!

Unfortunately, “Glee” promo aside, it has not been a banner time for Broadway. It’s so absurd how they keep boasting about yet another year of record-breaking box office. That’s because ticket prices have skyrocketed to an obscene $120! It’s beating a dead whore at this point but the prices are reflective of prohibitive production costs and thus, a scarcity of new shows. The Tony nominations were announced today. Not much to be excited for. Of the four nominees for Best Score (conveniently renamed Best Music and/or Lyrics), two are straight plays!