Pride Month

June is Gay Pride Month. It not only commemorates the Stonewall uprising of 1969, but celebrates sexual diversity in all its forms. It is also the perfect time of year for the annual JTMF AIDS Fundraiser event.

This is our seventh year, and it seems like we've almost gotten it down to a science. The show is almost ready for performance; the caterer is in place and ticket sales are booming.

This coming week is known in theatrical circles as "Hell Week." It's when all the elements come together to create the show as a whole - acting, sound, lighting and scenery finally combine into one amazing creation that defies the laws of physics. No one who has ever been part of a play knows how it happens. It just does. Those of us in the business know and accept that it is (and always will be) one of Life's Great Mysteries.

But this post is not just about the Miracle of Theatre. It is about how far we (the LGBT Community) have come since 1969.

Judy may have died the night before the infamous NYC riots, but what happened to us all since then has been nothing short of miraculous. Six states now recognize same-sex marriage. Even more reject discrimination against sexual oriention. We may not get there in my lifetime, but I can foresee a day when sexual orientation is no longer an issue in America and every person, regardless of race, creed, or sexuality is treated equally. It's simply a matter of time.

So, in the spirit of how far we've come (and just because they're so damned funny), here a a few videos from the past (and one from the present) that I hope will amuse you.

Boys: Beware!

I hope this doctor is long dead:

And finally - a parody of the disease one can catch: The Gay:

I hope you will all join me in celebrating Pride this month. And I also hope that I will live to see the day when Pride Month will no longer be a necessity in America.

More, anon.

Prospero