First
Join
WANZIE & SUSAN for
High Tea
at
3 PM
In Footlight Lounge
&
BABES IN BONNETS
Easter Bonnet Parade, Show, &
Auction
Featuring
Darcel Stevens, Wanzie, Sassy
Devine,
Bridget Galore,
Wanda Woolworth
Doug Fish as Ernestine Tomlin,
And others!
4 PM
Then
Have Dinner in the
Rainbow Café
Followed by pre-Leslie Cocktails
Then See
Leslie Jordan
In the intimacy of the Footlight
Theatre
Just prior to his Broadway Debut
A Fabulous way to spend Palm
Sunday!
Only At The Parliament House!
Leslie Jordan's
ALL-NEW
FROM WHENCE I CAME
Sunday, March 28 at 8 PM
Select-A-Seat Now!
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2009 Wave Award Winner for Favorite LGBT
Blog |
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Dear WANZeGRAM Reader,
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This week's WANZeGRAM is all about
Pictures!
Which reminds all of us here at the
WANZeGRAM World Headquarters of the
pre-show presentation of a certain theme
park attraction, which featured a song
with the following lyrics, which we find
appropriate to this edition:
Making memories
Making memories
Taking pictures is making memories
Catching little pieces of time
Makin' em yours and makin' em mine
Great vacations and celebrations you
may forget in a year
But when you're making memories
Happy days can re-appear
Can you name the attraction?
(*Answer can be found at the end of The
Note From Wanzie)
Enjoy your GRAM. Enjoy your day.
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Making
Memories On Stage at the Parliament House
Resort |
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Frank McClain Wanzie Miss Sammy
Opening Night of
55 WEST
A High Rise Church Street Comedy
Photos by Margo Dixon
Are we seeing double? Orange County
Commissioner Linda Stewart shares a
laugh with Wanzie (sporting the Mayoral
candidate's hair style) along with
Stewart's hairdresser - Venus - from
Shear Madness Salon.
Miss Sammy shows
off her good side as official WANZeGRAM
staff photographer - Margo Dixon -
prepares to blow out the candles on her
birthday cake. 55 West's Costumer to
the Stars - Marcy Singhaus - is
presenting the cake, while Wanzie's
Make-up artist and stylist - Mike
Neshiem - rises above the crowd taking a
drag off his cigarette, just above
Wanzie in drag.
55 WEST: A High Rise Church Street Comedy
Continues at the Footlight Theatre at
The Parliament House, Saturdays at 8 PM,
through April 3
Select-A-Seat Now |
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National New Play Network Rolling World
Premiere at Shakes |
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The National New
Play Network is an alliance of leading
nonprofit theaters that champion the
development, production, and continued
life of new plays. NNPN strives to
pioneer, implement, and disseminate
ideas and programs that revolutionize
the way theaters collaborate to support
new plays and playwrights.
SHOTGUN
by John Biguenet has been
selected by the alliance of theaters for
a "Rolling World Premiere" wherein the
play receives an ongoing fully staged
premiere production at all the theatres
in the network, one city at a time,
utilizing local talent in each city. The
Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, as an
active participant in the network, is
pleased and honored to present SHOTGUN,
under the direction of David Lee,
in the wonderfully intimate Goldman
Theatre.
The Play:
Four months after hurricane Katrina, a
white man and his teenage son rent half
of a shotgun duplex apartment from an
African American woman and her father.
Seething racial tensions bubble to the
surface when love begins to bloom.
Rus Blackwell as
Beau, and Brandon Peters as Eugene,
in the Orlando
Shakespeare Theater production of
SHOTGUN.
Dennis Neal
as Dexter
Rus
Blackwell (this time with his
shirt off) as Beau,
and
Chantal Jean-Pierre as
Mattie.
Chantal
Jean-Pierre as Mattie, and Barry
White as Willie.
SHOTGUN
Written by
John Biguenet
Directed by
David Karl Lee
NOW Playing
through April 11, 2010
John & Rita
Lowndes Shakespeare Center
The Goldman
Theater
WEDNESDAY &
THURSDAY, 7 PM
FRIDAY &
SATURDAY, 8 PM
SUNDAY, 2 PM
SENIOR
MATINEES: Wednesday, March 31 &
April 7
SPECIAL WANZeGRAM OUTING
Thursday
evening, April 1, 2010
(Post show
talk back after this performance)
SAVE $18
SIMPLY DIAL
407.447.1700
Reserve for
the Thursday, April 1 Performance
Ask for
discount code WANZeGRAM
WANZeGRAM
group discount is NOT available
through the website - only by phone,
and only for the April 1
Performance.
Meet at 6:30
PM for pre-show cocktails at Savoy
For all other
performance dates, you may order
tickets on
Online:
www.orlandoshakes.org
or by calling
407.447.1700
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DOUG
TURNS 50 - GETS ROASTED! |
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It's time for our 2nd
Celebrity Roast for Fun and Charity
Our Honoree will be
none other than DOUG in celebration
of his 50th birthday.
Wanzie
will serve as Roast Master, and Comedian Jeff Jones will have the coveted final
slot/shot at lampooning and lambasting the
multifaceted and unique individual that is
DOUG.
Other roasters on this
Comedy-Central/Dean Martin-style celebrity
dais will include the lovely and talented Janine Klein, and the hilarious
Carol
Lee, as well as Surprise Roasters
from Doug's less public life.
Doug has chosen The
Paul Wegman Memorial Scholarship Fund to
be the beneficiary of his birthday roast.
There will also be a
raffle and/or silent auction. Among the many
fabulous items available to win will be a
framed oil painting, restaurant, theater,
and hotel vouchers, Two Tickets to Every
Gay Day Concert/Party event at the
Parliament House, and 2 tickets to see
Joan Rivers at Hard Rock Live!
A minimum donation of
$10 cash-at-the-door is requested.
All donations made at
the door will be for general admission only.
Reserved seating is available for a donation
of $25,
and may be arranged only through the
WANZIE.com on line box office.
100 % of the proceeds
from entry donations and raffle/silent
auction will go to the charity.
The Celebrity Roast of Doug
Monday, March 29th at 8 PM
Footlight Theatre at
The Parliament House
Select-A-Seat NOW! |
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Seth
Rudetsky: Deconstructing The Brady Bunch
Variety Hour |
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 Seth
Rudetsky will be presenting an evening of
doing his favorite thing: "Deconstructing"-
And he'll be deconstructing at the
invitation of Wanzie Presents at the
Footlight Theatre for one night only - Friday, April 9, 2010 at 8 PM.
It's a new show!
For his return
engagement at the Footlight Theatre, Seth
will be focusing on the short-lived but
mind-boggling series, The Brady Bunch
Variety Hour. The show debuted in 1977
and was (not surprisingly) cancelled the
same year, but there are nine delicious
episodes that merit severe analysis. You
will explore: The bedazzled outfits, the
horribly executed dance steps, the swimming
pool (ripped off from Donny and Marie's Ice
Skating Rink), the disco song medleys
including "Shake Your Booty," and the hot
budding romance between Alice the maid and a
real estate agent played by...Rip Taylor.
Plus a special section focusing on the
moving sub-plot of Greg moving out of the
house (in his mid-twenties), and Carol
Brady's ensuing depression...all enacted in
song. Finally, most shockingly, you will see
the singing and dancing fake Jan!
Seth Rudetsky, who
delighted Footlight Theatre audiences during
his Orlando debut last year, is the Broadway host on Sirius/XM Radio every
afternoon as well as a weekly columnist for
Playbill. He's been on Broadway as a
pianist, conductor, and actor, and has is
best known to television audiences as the
real-life vocal coach on MTV's LEGALLY
BLONDE: THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT ELLE WOODS.
As a comic,
Seth won the title "Funniest Gay Male in
NY" at Stand-Up NY, had a long-running
show at Caroline's Comedy Club, and spent
two years as a comedy writer on THE ROSIE
O'DONNELL SHOW (three Emmy nominations).
As an actor he played Arnold in the Gallery
Players production of TORCH SONG TRILOGY,
had roles on ALL MY CHILDREN and LAW
AND ORDER: C.I., and in 2007 made his
acting debut on Broadway in THE RITZ
directed by Joe Mantello for The Roundabout
Theater playing Sheldon Farenthold and
singing "Magic To Do" in a (devastating)
unitard.
Seth's books, "The Q
Guide to Broadway" and "Broadway Nights,"
are about to enter their fourth printing,
and his
audible.comversion
of "Broadway Nights" stars himself,
Kristin Chenoweth, and Jonathan Groff.
Since his last
appearance at The Parliament House, Seth was
in London and Liverpool filming a British TV
show, and spent August performing his new
show, Seth's Broadway 101 to
sold-out audiences in New York. This Spring
Seth will be featured on an episode of the
Emmy-Award-winning Kathy Griffin Show
on Bravo.
The Amaaahzing
SETH RUDETSKY
Starring
in
DECONSTRUCTING
One Show Only
Friday April 9, 2010
8 PM
The Footlight Theatre
Tickets
Now On Sale
Exclusively through the WANZIE.com Box
Office
$25
Select-A-Seat Now
Seth Rudetsky's AUDITION MASTER
CLASS
IN ORLANDO FOR ONE DAY ONLY: Come
learn to love auditioning for
musical theater, and learn how to
get hired on Broadway.
Seth will help
you get the right audition song and
stop singing the wrong song (or 16
bars) at auditions.
These
questions are all answered by Seth:
Where do I
look when I audition?
How do I end
this song?
What do I
think about when I'm singing?
What should I
do with my body/hands?
Can I sing
this song at an audition for (fill
in the blank)?
Stop hating
the song you're using at auditions.
So many singers have a signature
song, but no longer enjoy singing
it.
Seth's master class will help you
learn to
love your song and book the job!
Seth has played piano for more than
a dozen Broadway shows
including RAGTIME, LES MIZ,
and PHANTOM, and was the
vocal coach for the LEGALLY
BLONDE reality show on MTV. He
was the Artistic Producer/Music
Director for the first five
annual Actors Fund Fall Concerts
including DREAMGIRLS with Audra MacDonald (recorded on
Nonesuch Records), and HAIR
with Jennifer Hudson
(recorded on Ghostlight Records,
Grammy Nomination).
Seth Rudetsky's
AUDITION MASTER CLASS
Orlando
Saturday,
April 10th
11 AM - 2 PM
The Footlight Theatre at The
Parliament House Resort
410 North Orange Blossom Trail,
Orlando Florida 32805
Class fee:
$100
Interested
singers should register ASAP by
logging onto
http://sethrudetsky.com/blog/see-me-live/
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Advertisement |
Wanzie to co-host annual
Easter Bonnet Parade & Auction
Event with
Darcel Stevens
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Now on Sale in our Box Office! |
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Select-A-Seat NOW!
(All Dates On Sale)
THIS
SUNDAY ONLY!
Select-A-Seat Now!
LOOK WHO'S GETTING SKEWERED!
$10
entry donations accepted only at the
door for general admission seating
on a first come, first served basis
For a donation of $25 you
may request a specific reserved seat
through our online box office, for
which you will receive a
confirmation:
Select-A-Seat NOW!
SETH RUDETSKY
Starring in
DECONSTRUCTING
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
One Show Only
Friday April 9, 2010
8 PM
The Footlight Theatre
Tickets Now On Sale
Exclusively through the
WANZIE.com Box Office
$25
Select-A-Seat Now
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Tchotchkes Big & Small |
A free marketplace for WANZeGRAM
subscribers:
Subscribers
are invited to submit items you wish to
offer for sale in this
complimentary-listing section.
Non-business listings only. The
WANZeGRAM accepts no responsibility
for/takes no active role in the private
transactions between sellers and buyers.
Listings must include an item header,
brief description of item, price, your
name, and a means of contact. (Pictures
optional / posted at our discretion.)
Garage sales may also be listed here
free of charge. PLEASE NOTE: we at the
WANZeGRAM do not advocate or encourage
the exchange of funds other than in
person after the buyer has inspected the
item on offer. This is a local market
place for our Central Florida
Subscribers. We reserve the right to
limit listings. The WANZeGRAM does not
endorse any particular listing/seller,
and the WANZeGRAM warrants no claims.
Submit A Listing
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Woof
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We've Got Mail!
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Hi, Michael!
This is Scott Bibb, co-author of
"Citizen Eve," and I just have to
tell you how much I've been enjoying
your Wanziegram since finding it a
few days ago! It's so fun...yet
conscientious...
just marvelous! My collaborator,
Jerry, and I are wildly excited to
see and hear you as Charles Foster
Kane, and of course, we're just as
excited to meet you out of
character!!
Thank you for writing those
supportive and encouraging comments
about "Citizen Eve," and Jerry and I
would LOVE to see one (or more!) of
your productions at venues other
than OST while we're in town!!
Hugs!
Scott Bibb
(for Scott Bibb and Jerry Rice)
Dear
Scott,
We at the
WANZeGRAM World Headquarters,
inconveniently located in
Melbourne, Florida with
Satellite offices in Orlando,
Lake Mary, and the Swan &
Dolphin Hotels at Walt Disney
World, are delighted you have
found the Gram and that you are
an astute enough individual to
recognize this fine e-magazine
as being "Marvelous." I, of
course, have a small team of
equally marvelous people who
provide the technical know-how
and the occasional kick in the
butt to inspire me to keep
churning out this shit.
Please be
assured that your most
interesting play, concerning one
of my most favorite films, is in
great hands with Kenny Howard
directing. I know you are going
to be pleased with the rest of
the cast, but I feel you should
be forewarned: I have never once
ordered food from an unseen
drive-thru cashier or spoken to
a telephone operator who didn't
mistakenly address me as ma'am,
and I have a slight lisp. I
think Kenny may have been high
when he offered me the role of
Charles Foster Kane. But we
suffer for our art. I apologize
in advance for your suffering.
Speaking
on behalf of everyone who
actually matters (in a good way)
in the Orlando theatrical
community, we are all looking
forward to meeting you and
Jerry.
You are
both invited to be my guests at
55 WEST: A High Rise Church
Street Comedy should you be here
over a Saturday evening during
your visit to O'town.
Thanks for
taking the time to write in and
share your kind words.
Hugs,
WANZIE
- Wave-Award Winner: "Orlando's
Favorite Spiritual Leader"
(For Michael, Jeff, Rich, Val,
and Gary)
We at the
WANZeGRAM are always just as pleased
as punch to receive, post, and
answer our mail in this public
forum. But it takes two to play!
Send your email to WANZIE!
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Short Takes: |
"Although the particular inclination of
the homosexual person is not a sin, it
is more or less strong tendency ordered
to an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the
inclination itself must be seen as an
objective disorder."
-
Pope Benedict XVI...
..."But apparently it is just
dandy when a priest sexually
violates innocent children, to
simply move that priest to
another parish without warning
the next congregation that their
new priest has a propensity for
child molestation. The present
Pope is a real life villain and
a criminal who was and remains
very much aware of and
responsible for just such
unacceptable church sanctioned
bullshit. His recent
disingenuous 18-page apology to
the victims of church-sanctioned
abuse in Ireland
notwithstanding, Pope Benedict
XVI belongs in a prison cell --
not in a Vatican palace. I
remain bewildered and perplexed
as to why anyone would put one
red cent into a collection plate
of the Catholic Church!"
- Wanzie
"In every country and in every
age, the priest has been hostile
to liberty. He is always in
alliance with the despot,
abetting his abuses in return
for protection to his own."
-Thomas
Jefferson
"Every religion is true one way
or another. It is true when
understood metaphorically. But
when it gets stuck in its own
metaphors, interpreting them as
facts, then you are in trouble."
- Joseph
Campbell
"Religion to me is a bureaucracy
between man and God that I don't
need."
- Bill
Maher
"Religion has caused more misery
to all of mankind in every stage
of human history than any other
single idea."
-
Madelyn Murray O'Hair
Submit YOUR
Short Take directly to WANZIE at
michael@wanzie.com.Be sure to type
"Short Take" in the subject line.
Short Takes submissions must be
received no later than midnight on
each Tuesday, for inclusion in the
following Friday GRAM. A strict
limit of 30 words maximum is
imposed. You must provide your first
and last name, which will be printed
following your submission. Your name
will not figure into your word
count. All postings will be at the
sole discretion of the management
team at the lovely WANZIE.com World
Headquarters, with offices
inconveniently located in Melbourne,
and Lake Mary, Florida.
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My Two Cents:
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I really miss Walt.
--
Gary
Submit YOUR TWO CENTS: My Two Cents
submissions must be received no
later than midnight on each Monday
for possible inclusion in the next
Friday GRAM. A strict limit of 350
words will be imposed. Please submit
your column directly to WANZIE at michael@wanzie.com
and kindly type "My Two Cents" in
the subject line. |
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COMEDY - Lewis Black
- TONIGHT
Lewis Black's live performances
provide a cathartic release of anger
and disillusionment for his
audience. Lewis yells so they don't
have to. A passionate performer who
is more pissed-off optimist than
mean-spirited curmudgeon. Lewis is
the rare comic who can cause an
audience to laugh themselves into
incontinence while making compelling
points about the absurdity of our
world.
 In
Orlando - Tonight Only - Friday,
March 26, 2010
HARD ROCK LIVE!
Universal Studios CityWalk
8 PM
$55 First 2 Rows and Lower Balcony
$45 Reserved Main Floor
$35 Reserved Upper Balcony
407-351-LIVE (5483)
SPECIAL
EVENT - Philip Seymour Hoffman
Actor Philip
Seymour Hoffman will be appearing live
on stage, Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 PM
at the John & Rita Lowndes Shakespeare
Center. In an "Inside the Actors Studio"
type of interview, Jim Helsinger will
talk to Hoffman about his career in
film, theatre, and new plays.
Individual tickets
are priced at $50, $75, & $100 with some
student tickets available at $25. For
further information and ticket purchase:
407.447.1700 /
www.OrlanoShakes.org
THEATRE -
CITIZEN EVE
A reading under the direction of
Kenny Howard. In this fascinating
play centered around the writing of the
film All About Eve, Orlando actress and WANZeGRAM fav
Rebecca Fisher will once again
assume the persona of Bette Davis
which she so amazingly embodied in the
critically acclaimed Me And
Jezebel. Other familiar actors
appearing in CITIZEN EVE include
Joe Swanberg, Alan Finic,
Michael Ealy, Heather Leonardi,
Katherine Skelton, and our own Wanzie.
The Play: It's 1950 and Joe Mankiewicz
is toiling and troubling over the script
of "All About Eve." Enter the
supernatural and things get even
bumpier. Enter Bette Davis and,
well...fasten your seat belt!
Citizen Eve
By Scott Bibb & Jerry Rice
Directed by Kenny Howard
Sunday, April 4, 8 PM
Friday, April 9, 7:30 PM
Only $5:
OrlandoShakes.org
This event is part of
April 2 -
11, 2010
PlayFest is a ten-day theater event packed
with dynamic new plays and new play
programming for anyone who loves great
theater!
The complete schedule of events, the dates,
times, prices, and ticket purchasing are all
now available by logging onto
OrlandoShakes.org
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Coming Attractions: |
Upcoming events which are not
listed elsewhere in this edition
of your WANZeGRAM. Please note
that only opening dates are
indicated. Some events may have
extended runs. Please check with
the venue for additional
information.
A
comprehensive listing of most
performance venues in Central
Florida, including web links and
phone numbers for ticketing, may be
accessed if you simply
CLICK HERE
TONIGHT March
26 RENT - UCF Conservatory
Theatre
March 27 EROTICA - PH
April 4
LISA LAMPANELLI Hard Rock Live!
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Now Playing: |
Ongoing
attractions currently being
presented which are not featured
elsewhere in this edition of your
WANZeGRAM
Through May 3 -
INTERNATIONAL FLOWER &
GARDEN FESTIVAL - Epcot
Through April 17 - MARDI
GRAS - Universal Studios
Fridays 10PM -
MAMA'S COMEDY SHOW - Sleuth's
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Performing Arts Reservation Links & Numbers: |
Our
companion website -
WANZIE.com -
is pleased to host a permanent
listing of Central Florida
theatrical & concert venues, as
well as most area performing
arts companies, with phone
numbers and web links for
ticketing and reservations. If
you are interested in any event
listed in the sections directly
above, you may quickly access
venue/ticketing information when
you
CLICK HERE.
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A Note From Wanzie:
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More pictures from our recent events-
Carol Lee was Guest Hostess of
The Footlight Players
Female Impersonation Show on March 13:
THE
SINGHAUS' ANNUAL OSCAR VIEWING PARTY:
My 53rd Birthday Party at PH on
March 6, 2010:
I'm
WANZIE and That's All
I Wrote!
P.S. We at the
WANZeGRAM love Orlando City Commissioner
Daisy Lynum.
*ANSWER: Magic Journeys 3-D Film, sponsored
by Kodak, at the Imagination Pavilion at
Epcot.
email
me
2009 Wave Award Winner for
Favorite Local Spiritual
Leader
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