Arts & Culture

Krofft Kon @ Orinda Theatre

Krofft Kon @ Orinda Theatre

  • TELEVISION
  • by photos by Steven Underhill
  • May 23, 2022

Fans of the wacky kids shows of the 1960s showed up at the Orinda Theatre on May 21 for the first KrofftKon, a celebration of Sid and Marty Krofft's innovative, campy and slightly trippy TV shows "HR Pufnstuf," "Lidsville," "The Banana Splits" and others.

Trailer triple-play: 'Bros,' 'Fire Island,' & 'Queer as Folk' reboot

Trailer triple-play: 'Bros,' 'Fire Island,' & 'Queer as Folk' reboot

  • MOVIES
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 18, 2022

It's not even June yet, but our inbox has already been flooded with a barrage of Pride-related products, movies and TV shows. Take a look at trailers for two gay movies and a new reboot of a classic series.

Queer Reading: Gay former MLB umpire pens memoir

Queer Reading: Gay former MLB umpire pens memoir

  • BOOKS
  • by Roger Brigham
  • May 18, 2022

Gay retired Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott has written a new memoir where he discusses his relatively easy coming out process.

'Downton Abbey: A New Era' - hit Brit sequel not so new, but not so bad

'Downton Abbey: A New Era' - hit Brit sequel not so new, but not so bad

  • MOVIES
  • by Brian Bromberger
  • May 17, 2022

'Downton Abbey' never pretends to be anything more than what it is, a romanticized frothy soap opera fantasy with expensive china that will warm you like a well-worn angora sweater. The sequel adds a movie crew and a French villa gifted to Lady Grantham.

Margaret Cho: comic actress on her TV/film triple play

Margaret Cho: comic actress on her TV/film triple play

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 17, 2022

Could there be an Emmy Award in Margaret Cho's future? In Hulu's "Fire Island," as well as on HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant," Cho's uncharacteristic restraint gives her queer characters, an admirable depth and humanity. She's also resumed stand-up gigs.

NCTC celebrates with 'Encore' : singing Happy Birthday with 40 years of music

NCTC celebrates with 'Encore' : singing Happy Birthday with 40 years of music

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • May 17, 2022

With the opening of "Encore" this weekend, San Francisco's stalwart gay stage celebrates its 40th birthday with a roster of dozens of songs from musicals staged at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Women on the verge: The Lavender Tube on 'Million,' 'Candy,' soap nuptuals, & 'Law & Order's big mistake

Women on the verge: The Lavender Tube on 'Million,' 'Candy,' soap nuptuals, & 'Law & Order's big mistake

Women take center stage in several TV dramas, from soap opera weddings to creepy killers making headlines, and passionate affairs.

Lady Zen: acclaimed Jazz vocalist at Oasis

Lady Zen: acclaimed Jazz vocalist at Oasis

  • MUSIC
  • by Laura Moreno
  • May 17, 2022

Lady Zen is one of the best singers you may never have heard of. With operatic training and a natural feel for jazz, country music and the fusion of all three, she has been called a "shockingly good" singer.

Nyle DiMarcos's 'Deaf Utopia' - a memoir and a love letter to a way of life

Nyle DiMarcos's 'Deaf Utopia' - a memoir and a love letter to a way of life

  • BOOKS
  • by Jim Provenzano
  • May 17, 2022

Along with sharing details of his private life and family upbringing, Nyle DiMarco, model, actor and activist, offers some backstage gossip from his route to winning two reality show competitions. But this is more than a personal story.

Welcome to the Muddleverse: 'Dr. Strange' sequel sinks in FX

Welcome to the Muddleverse: 'Dr. Strange' sequel sinks in FX

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 14, 2022

The muddled mess that is "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" piles on an endless array of special effects which, dazzling though they are, function to distract from the fact that there's no there there.

'Harts' Desire' - Mark Nadler's meet-cute musical at Theatre Rhinoceros

'Harts' Desire' - Mark Nadler's meet-cute musical at Theatre Rhinoceros

  • THEATER
  • by Jim Gladstone
  • May 10, 2022

San Francisco's Theater Rhinoceros hosts the debut of an altogether different 'Hart to Hart' (not the TV show) project from gay cabaret ace Mark Nadler, a solo show abrim with its own bonanza of queer bonafides.

'Port Authority' - Danielle Lessovitz's tales of the gritty

'Port Authority' - Danielle Lessovitz's tales of the gritty

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 10, 2022

Writer/director Danielle Lessovitz's "Port Authority" takes a present-day approach to New York's queer vogue balls and urban life, seen through the eyes of a newbie to the Big Apple.

'7 Days' - Sethi & Soni's trapped-together dramedy

'7 Days' - Sethi & Soni's trapped-together dramedy

  • MOVIES
  • by Gregg Shapiro
  • May 10, 2022

Co-written by gay life -and creative- partners Roshan Sethi and Karan Soni, "7 Days" brings Rabi and Rita together for a possible arranged marriage, only to have the couple trapped together at the first COVID outbreak.

I (still) want my MTV: queering the once-diverse music channel

I (still) want my MTV: queering the once-diverse music channel

Several months ago, MTV celebrated its 40th birthday, with no mention of the subtext of the channel: the open exploration of the use of ambisexuality as a visual and cultural hook. Let's take a queer look back at some music video highlights.