Category Archives: HIV
Meningitis outbreak among Gay Men in New York City
A deadly meningitis outbreak among gay men in New York
City has led the city to recommend that every gay man who is basically
sexually active, and not in an exclusive relationship, to get a
meningitis vaccination.
The CDC is saying,
“Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective
membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges.”
The alert was issued two weeks ago – I didn’t hear a word about it until yesterday when the Huffington Post wrote about it.
The New York City Health Department’s recommendation for who should get vaccinated…..The Health Department issued new recommendations today for vaccinating
against invasive meningococcal disease – commonly known as meningitis –
after an increase in cases. Vaccinations are now advised for men,
regardless of HIV status, who regularly have intimate contact with other
men met through a website, digital application (“App”), or at a bar or
party.
Read more at the America Blog
New York Historical Society Present AIDS in New York: The First Five Years
early history of the AIDS epidemic in New York City—from the first
rumors in 1981 of a “gay plague” through the ensuing period of intense
activism, clinical research, and political struggle—will be the subject
of a major new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, AIDS in New York: The First Five Years, on view from June 7 through September 15, 2013.
With a wealth of materials drawn from New-York Historical’s archives
as well as the archives of the New York Public Library, New York
University, and the National Archive of LGBT History, the exhibition
will use artifacts including clinicians’ notes, journal entries,
diaries, letters, audio and video clips, posters, photographs,
pamphlets, and newspapers to revisit the impact of the epidemic on
personal lives and public culture in New York City and the nation.
“For those who lost partners, children, siblings, parents, and
friends, the memory of the fear and mystery that pervaded New York at
the beginning of the AIDS epidemic remains vivid,” said curator Jean S.
Ashton. “For many people today, though, these years are now a
little-understood and nearly forgotten historical period. Yet the
trajectory of HIV/AIDS changed paradigms in medicine, society, politics,
and culture in ways that are still being felt, and the disease remains
with us, affecting some 100,000 New Yorkers and more than one million
Americans today. This exhibition explores a history that we continue to
live.”
The exhibition will begin by recalling life in New York in the
pre-AIDS period, especially the exhilarating sense of artistic and
sexual freedom that followed the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which establishes
the social and political context for the earliest reports from medical
professionals of the physical decline and deaths of previously healthy
young people afflicted with diseases usually found only in the aged.
This section will feature the personal stories of the first AIDS
patients and their caretakers and give voice to the doctors who cared
for these patients. Because more than 80 percent of those infected were
homosexual males, rumors of a “gay plague” circulated. Anchor objects in
this area of the exhibition include a copy of the national medical
bulletin Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report that first mentioned the disease, the July 3, 1981 New York Times article that was the first national media story, and a variety of reports published in the gay press.
As cases of this new epidemic were discovered outside the gay
community, in heroin drug injectors, babies, and people who had had
blood transfusions, the challenges posed to researchers and those caring
for the sick intensified. Racing at once to discover the possible
cause or causes of the disease in order to contain its spread and to
alleviate the social and political impact of the growing rate of
infection and death, scientists, social workers, and members of the
affected populations and their friends struggled together to raise funds
and influence research priorities. By the middle of 1983, responses
from the community, including increasingly militant victims of the
disease, began to take shape to demand support for social services and
raise new monies for research. In New York, even more than elsewhere,
AIDS was a political issue, pitting the Mayor against a vocal
constituency that demanded action.
The second section of the exhibition will explore the impediments
that prevented any quick solution to the growing problem. An epidemic
of fear swept the city, fueled by rumors and stoked by exploitative news
coverage, as funeral directors refused to embalm the bodies of AIDS
victims, parents protested the admission of AIDS victims to public
schools, and some hospitals refused to admit people suffering from the
disease.
The third and final section traces both the progress of
research on the causes of the epidemic, the development of AIDS
philanthropy, and the growth of the anger and mistrust that would
explode after the founding of ACT-UP in 1986. On display in this section
will be slides and documents from the 1984 Park City Utah conference
where Jean-Claude Chermann, a virologist from the Nobel-Prize winning
team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris electrified the room by
presenting evidence announcing the discovery of the retrovirus which
would ultimately be identified as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),
and would make possible the development of the first commercial test kit
for the presence of the virus (also on display).
and other philanthropic organizations, and the strengthened role of the
Gay Men’s Health Crisis, also documented here, would enable the
successful public outreach of the following decades. The gallery will
focus on the landmark New York production of Larry Kramer’s powerful
call to action, The Normal Heart, and will end with the highly publicized illness and death of movie star Rock Hudson in October, 1985.
Also included in the exhibition is a panel from the AIDS quilt
memorializing Roger Gail Lyon, an early victim of the epidemic whose
plea that he not die of “red tape” articulated the frustration of the
AIDs community.
The years documented in AIDS in New York: The First Five Years
preceded the founding of ACT-UP, whose commitment to activism and
dramatic achievements will be illustrated in an exhibition at the New
York Public Library entitled
Generous support for AIDS in New York: The First Five Years is provided, in part, by Ford Foundation and by The New York Community Trust.
New York City AIDS Memorial for St Vincents Park
Manhattan’s Community Board 2 approved a new design for a New York City AIDS Memorial in Greenwich Village on a 17,000 square-foot triangle-shaped plot of land .
The design calls for a grove of trees reflected infinitely by
12-foot-long mirrors was selected for New York’s first large-scale
AIDS memorial.
The winning proposal, from Studio a+i, a Brooklyn, N.Y. architecture
firm, beat out 474 other entries in the AIDS Memorial Park competition.
Hosted byArchitectural Record, Architizer, and the
AIDS Memorial Park organization, the competition challenged designers
and non-designers to create a park for an unused triangular lot in
Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood.
The fenced-in site, which is next to the former St. Vincent’s
Hospital—one of the first in the nation to offer HIV treatment—has
17,000 square feet on the street level, as well as 10,000 square feet
below-grade, which the winning plan proposes to use as exhibition space.
Connected by tunnels to St. Vincent’s, the site had been used as a
loading dock as well as for storage of liquid oxygen tanks, until the
hospital closed in 2010.
read more.
Help Nick Adams Raise $$$ For AIDS Walk NY
How can you resist that face???
Every year BEST GAY NEW YORK.com supports the AIDS WALK New York. (May 20, 2012)
AND since we are huge fans of Priscilla, and secretly in love with NICK ADAMS (ok, so it’s not a secret) we like to put our support behind Nick for the AIDS WALK.
Nick gives, and gives and gives whenever he can to great causes like
Broadway Bares and AIDS WALK NY. (He has even been crowned Broadway Hero by GayLifeNYC.org.) “I enjoy giving my time to great causes, and it makes me feel good to know I can help in some way.”
Nick sent us this note, to share with our readers….
and with your help was able to raise over $20,000! This year I want to
surpass that total.
Nick Adams
Nick Adams’ Donation Page for AIDS WALK NYC
ACT UP commemorates 25th Anniversary April 25 with Wall Street protest
ACT UP COMMEMORATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY
BY RETURNING TO WALL STREET
FOR MASSIVE PROTEST
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
To Be Joined by Occupy Wall Street For an End to Financial Crimes
Against People with AIDS and the 99%
To commemorate its 25th anniversary,
the AIDS activist group ACT UP will return to its roots and stage a massive demonstration and march on Wall Street — on Wednesday, April 25 — starting at 11 am at City Hall and ending on Wall Street. Hundreds of protestors are expected to converge for a daylong siege in Lower Manhattan.
ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) will be joined by Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the organization making history this year and last with its public encampments and series of protests against the global
financial community. The groups are joining forces to pump up the volume on a growing nationwide outcry for a “Financial Speculation Tax” (Fi.S.T.) on Wall Street.
The groups are calling on local, state, and federal legislators to “give Wall Street the FiST,” which is needed to fill AIDS funding gaps and — once and for all — provide universal healthcare in the US. It’s time for effective healthcare to be made available to everyone — to the 99%, not just the 1%.
The Fi.S.T. does not target individual investors, and would not affect regular bank transactions. Instead, it would place a small tax — a mere fraction of one percent — on speculative trading by Wall Street investment banks, hedge funds and other large financial institutions.
HIV treatment saves lives — by preventing new infections and keeping those already infected from reaching end-stage AIDS. However, only 44% of people in need worldwide have access to the treatment they need.
More than 8 million people do not. In the United States today, 3,840 people who qualify for federal assistance to pay for HIV treatment are on waiting lists — or in other words, are at risk of dying from AIDS.
“The AIDS crisis is not over,” says veteran ACT UP New York member Ann Northrop. “But, we know it could be,” she adds. AIDS treatment — when combined with simple prevention interventions — is the key to breaking the back of the epidemic worldwide. In addition to saving lives, early HIV/AIDS treatment reduces the risk of transmission of HIV by 96%. And so, with sufficient funding for treatment and prevention, we can turn the tide on AIDS. Globally, HIV/AIDS has claimed over 30 million lives.
Both ACT UP and OWS suggest the revenue from a Financial Speculation Tax would be significant — potentially in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The revenue from this tax should be used to fund the end of the AIDS pandemic, i.e. to fill in US budget gaps in the fight against HIV/AIDS at home and abroad. It should be used to provide treatment, services and prevention to thousands of Americans and millions around the world. The groups also say the tax could help pay for universal healthcare in the US.
“We are organizing this historic united front to bring our message to governments and to Wall Street financiers who are sitting on the key to ending the AIDS epidemic,” according to Eric Sawyer, a founding member of ACT UP New York.
“There is no excuse. We have the know-how to end AIDS. It is lack of funding and political will that keeps us
from reaching universal access to HIV treatment worldwide.”
Additional organizations are expected to join the demonstration in New
York City, including Housing Works, Health GAP, National Nurses
United, OWS Healthcare for the 99% Working Group, Visual AIDS, MIX
NYC, Le Petit Versailles, Queerocracy, Queering OWS and others.
For more info visit www.actupny.com or @actupny on Twitter.
Gran Fury Read My Lips Exhibition Jan 31-March 17
Gran Fury was an activist/artist collective that came together in 1988.
The
first comprehensive survey documenting the important AIDS activist art
collective’s work from 1987 to 1995 is set to open on January 31 at 80WSE. The exhibition, curated by Gran Fury and 80WSE Assistant Director Michael Cohen, runs through March 17, 2012.
Angered
by the political sphere’s refusal to address or react to the AIDS
crisis that devastated NYC beginning in the ‘80s and continuing through
the ‘90s, a group of designers and artists formed the collective, Gran
Fury, after meeting through ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash
Power).
Photographs
and records from the period help convey the urgency of the early AIDS
crisis that lead many into the streets to demand reforms that changed
public policy and saved countless lives. Gran
Fury’s work raised public awareness of AIDS and put pressure on
politicians, while sparking debate in sites ranging from the Illinois
Senate to the tabloid press of Italy.
Much
like today’s global activists leverage technology and social media to
organize and inform, Gran Fury utilized the tools available to them at
the time. Through media including billboards, postcards, video, posters,
paintings and giveaways, the group was able to heighten public
awareness of AIDS, while compelling politicians into action.
This is such an important piece of our history!
EVERYONE should go see this!
“Gran Fury: Read My Lips” Exhibition Information
80WSE Galleries
80 Washington Square East in Greenwich Village (Between West 4th Street and Washington Place)
Exhibition Dates: January 31 to March 17, 2012
Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30am to 6pm
The exhibition and panel are free and open to the public
Nearby Subways: A, B, C, D, E, F, M, N, R, 4 and 6
BestGayNewYork.com
NEXT Magazine Interviews Michael Cavnaugh of GayLifeNYC.org
Gaylifenyc.org and HIVHERO.org
are websites for
HIV Experience Resources Organization (HERO) – a non-for-profit company
operating in New York State. It features Entertainment News and On The
Town updates.
It’s also dedicated to helping people getting around, get
through and get over the system that hinders timely assistance for the
newly diagnosed & people living with HIV/AIDS. And it’s dedicated to
entertaining you, and keeping your spirits up where they should
be. HERO is 100 % Volunteer based.
Web series host Michael Cavnaugh really loves chorus boys and the world of entertainment. The
47-year-old creator of GayLifeNYC.org, promotes HIV/AIDS
awareness through interviews with Broadway and entertainment celebrities. He picks one chorus
boy each month to feature on his site, someone who has donated their time and energy into helping the AIDS crisis.
NEXT Magazine turn the tables on Michael this week with a little Q&A
GayLifeNYC.org
AVANTGARDE the Musical on CD this Month!
The Classic Broadway HIT Musical “AVANTGARDE”
Soundtrack… will finally be released via Famous
Records/EMG/UMG INC.
New York singer/songwriter Ernest Kohl explains, “When I was 16 I starred in a Broadway musical that had a huge wonderful
successful opening and was eventually moved uptown to B-way & was selling
out every night to great reviews. It was AVANTGARDE.
Well, Actors Equity unfortunately went
in to new rules and 4 big musicals closed. Ours was one of them- the Original Cast Recording was
never released and because of that, it put a lot of actors out of work.
It is very sad, that over the years ALL of the guys in the original cast, outside of me, have passed away from
AIDS.
All the woman are still living and many have great
careers & TONY’s now!
I promised my best
friends on their deathbeds, I would get this Cast Album out- Somehow, some day. And over the years, this has been my goal.
Finally on December 31st – The Original Cast Album of “AVANTGARDE” will be released! I am so excited. It has
been fully restored & remastered & with a special bonus track
added (it did not fit on vinyl back then).
Now it will
finally be out on CD & on Digial Download for the world to experience it’s
magic.
I succeeded in my mission.
There is even talk of a revival if the
album does well…it would have to be re-done & up-dated. But that’s why
this legendary Cast album (that’s now has huge cult appeal ) must come
out & we had so many requests for it.
It is exciting that the original Cast Musical
“AVANTGARDE” will be released & the beautiful voices of our lost men
to Aids will finally be heard by the world and I was able to keep my promise to
them! We are dedicating it in memorial trubite to the guys lost.”
Pre-order NOW – Under $10 @ AMAZON! Avantgarde – The Musical
THIS ALBUM IS RELEASED IN MEMORY OF: CHRIS SEPPE,
CHARLES CARTER, DARYL CARPENTER, STEVEN LEWIS & JEFFREY
L. ROBBINS.
* AVANTGARDE WILL FEATURE “SPECIAL” HOT NEW REMIXES
BY “THE NEW YORK REMIXERS” Which currently have the
#1 Comp. on the World Chart “THE LEGENDS OF DANCE”
HIV Positive Man Punched by Cop at Occupy Wall Street
In the video, it appears an NYPD officer in a white shirt struck a man in a green shirt. The man immediately fell to the ground and was assisted by others nearby. After knocking the man down, the officer looked as though he was moving in to make an arrest, but the man on the ground was pulled away by another man nearby. The alleged altercation caused other protesters to react with dismay, and they started shouting. Some of the protesters attempted to force their way to the scene, but other police officers held them off to prevent the incident from escalating. According to Gothamist, the man who was punched is Felix Rivera-Pitre, an HIV-positive protester. Rivera-Pitre told Gothamist he was walking slightly in front of the police on William Street, and he admitted he “shot the cop a look.” ( see the video on Animal NewYork of the look! followed by the attack!) “The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face,” Rivera-Pitre told Gothamist. “It tore my earring out. I remember seeing my earring on the ground next to me, and it was full of blood. I was completely dumbstruck. I’m HIV-positive and that cop should get tested.” Rivera-Pitre managed to escape arrest. “The cops were pulling me by my feet and the crowd was pulling me by my hands, and I was suspended in the air,” he added. “But there were more people than cops, and they pulled me out.”
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING!
A video allegedly showing a New York Police Department officer striking a male Occupy Wall Street protester in the face and knocking him out was making the rounds on YouTube last night. But it seems to be disappearing and yanked by YouTube today….you can still see it on Huffington Post.
RENT’s Sean Michael Murray
Gaylifenyc.org
chats with the super handsome and talented star of Rent at New World Stages.
Sean Michael Murray!
He talks about his Broadway debut in American Idiot, his quirks, stupid human tricks and some great messages about living your life to the fulllest.
Please check it out.
Gaylifenyc.org is a website for (HERO) HIV Experience Resources Organization – a non-for-profit company operating in New York State. It features Entertainment News and On The Town updates. It’s also dedicated to helping people getting around, get through and get over the system that hinders timely assistance for the newly diagnosed & people living with HIV/AIDS. And it’s dedicated to entertaining you, and keeping your spirits up where they should be. HERO is 100 % Volunteer based.
New Yorks Broadway FLEA MARKET & AUCTION Sept. 25
Broadway dreams can come true as you find showbiz treasures, meet the stars and bid on once-in-a-lifetime items and experiences at the 25th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction. Make your plans now to spend Sunday, September 25 with Broadway Cares and thousands of other theatre fans in Times Square and along West 44th Street for those one-of-a-kind keepsakes. This not-to-be-missed event for any serious Broadway theatergoer is free and open to the public and has been called one of the “Best Once-a-Year Markets” in New York City. From photos with your favorite Broadway star to buying that lost cast recording, signed show posters and Playbills, rare costume sketches or special gift for a theatre-lover you can’t find anywhere – this year’s Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction promises to offer something for everyone. Autograph Table & Photo Booth | Grand Auction Pre-Bids New for 2011 are special “flash auctions” which feature instant experiences with Broadway stars live on the Grand Auction stage, including: Among the shows signed up for tables are The Addams Family, Anything Goes, The Book of Mormon, Follies, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, The Phantom of the Opera, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Rock of Ages, Sister Act, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Wicked and Cirque Du Soleil’s Zarkana, as well as Actors’ Equity Association, The Actors Fund, Broadway Impact, The Broadway League, Givenik, Paper Mill Playhouse, Seth’s Broadway Chatterbox and United Scenic Artists. You also can place early bids now on dozens of unique theater items and experiences that will be offered throughout the day in the silent auction and in the day’s exciting finale, the live auction. Online pre-bidding ends at 12 pm ET on Saturday, September 24. For the first time ever, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction will encompass all of 44th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and will stretch across Broadway into Times Square, filling the wide pedestrian plaza between 43rd and 44th Streets.. “We look forward to turning this year’s construction challenge into a golden, sun-drenched opportunity to expand into Times Square’s wonderful pedestrian plazas,” BC/EFA executive director Tom Viola said. “Filling Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets, there will be booths overflowing with theatrical memorabilia and at the end of the afternoon the Grand Auction. I hope you will take the few steps across Seventh Avenue with us, as you enjoy the high energy and activity that every year stretches down 44th Street to Eighth Avenue. Whatever the terrain, the best of Broadway shows up for the Broadway Flea Market. I hope you will too!” Dozens of tables from Broadway’s most popular shows will set up shop for what Time Out New York calls one of the “Best Once-a-Year Markets” in New York City. Fans can buy that lost cast recording, signed show posters and Playbills, rare costume sketches, props and special gifts theatre-lovers can’t find anywhere else. Silent auction lots offered every half-hour will give way to the live Grand Auction at the end of the day featuring a collection of unique items and experiences that will offer something for everyone. One of the most popular sites at Broadway’s “one-day sale” is the Celebrity Autograph Table at which your favorite stars from Broadway and Off-Broadway sign autographs and pose for photos in exchange for donations to BC/EFA. Last year, some of the big prizes at the grand auction included a chance to appear in “Wicked” that sold for a whopping $16,500 and a tank top worn by Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain” and signed by Craig and co-star Hugh Jackman that fetched $6,500. The auction and market, which cost about $60,000 to produce, plus three other Broadway Cares/Equity Fight AIDS events – the Easter Bonnet Competition, Gypsy of the Year and Broadway Bares – helped the group last year award some $10 million in grants to The Actors Fund and to more than 400 AIDS and family service organizations.
Times Square & West 44th Street, NYC
• Spamalot karaoke with Tony Award-nominated Spamalot star Christopher Sieber
• An on-the-spot appearance in the hit Web series “Side by Side by Susan Blackwell“
• A coaching session with Chicago star Kara DioGuardi, former American Idol judge and head judge on Bravo’s Platinum Hit
• Your favorites tunes sung especially for you by Rent star Anthony Rapp and Wicked star Julia Murney
• Your outgoing voice mail message recorded in the voice of the diva of your choice by singer and comedian Christine Pedi, known for her spot-on impersonations.
It’s a flea market like no other!
Some of the celebrities this year willing to sign autographs for a $25 donation – or pose for a photo for $10 – are Adam Godley, Nick Adams, Patina Miller, Sutton Foster, Tony Sheldon, Rory O’Malley, Alice Ripley, Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Gad, Joyce DeWitt, Nikki M. James, Patrick Page, Victoria Clark, Roger Rees, Adam Pascal, Montego Glover, Beth Leavel and Charles Busch. (All appearances subject to change.)
BID RIGHT NOW LIVE ONLINE –
all kinds of cool things – like
DRINK UP WITH THE “GIRLS” OF PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Please check the website, Facebook and Twitter for an update on
Sunday morning and throughout the day if clouds are gray.
See you there!
BestGayNewYork.com
Russell Fischer of Jersey Boys is Broadway Hero of the Month
THIS MONTH, Gaylifenyc.org interviews the handsome and super talented, Russell Fischer from the Broadway hit show, Jersey Boys. He talks about the incredible way he got the role, his creative halloween costumes, his charity work and so many amazing messages.
It is so great to live in a city where people really care.
The gay community does more than give lip service.
People like Michael Cavnaugh from GAY LIFE NYC.org is out there donating countless hours to his site. Not only scurrying around town, doing fabulous interviews, but also constantly gathering and updating HIV and AIDS resources on his site.
Broadway actors are out there donating their time to worthy causes. It’s really a great community we have here!
These interviews are so great – and so inspirational – check it out!
Jack Mackenroth Releases Scorching Hot Calendar for Charity!
New Yorker Jack Mackenroth competed in the fourth season of Project Runway. Mackenroth was the first openly HIV-positive contestant in the show’s history. Proceeds Benefiting amfAR — As the first television personality since Pedro Zamora to be vocal about his HIV status, Jack Mackenroth has quickly become the most visible, out HIV+ advocate and educator in the country. . . if not the world. With the release of his 2012 calendar, he hopes to raise both money and awareness for AIDS research, and to show through his photographs that a person living with HIV can be in top physical form, healthy and sexy. All proceeds from the calendar will go to amfAR (Amfar.org) to help find a cure for AIDS. Mackenroth has been living with the disease for 22 years. Designer, athlete and HIV/AIDS activist and educator Jack Mackenroth has had the priveledge of shooting with some of the best photographers in the business. Each month of the 15 month calendar will feature a different photographer with a very different style. Jack is a role model to many people in the HIV community and a fitness model that many aspire to emulate. Photographers taking part in the project include Adam Bouska, Rick Day, Carsten Fleck, Frank Louis, James Franklin, Karl Giant, Tommy Synnamon, Mattheus Lian, Richard Gerst, Ray John Pila, Sonny Tong, Thomas Evans, Krys Fox and Preston Cros. “I have amassed such an amazing collection of images that I wanted to put out a calendar that will help to combat the silence and stigma associated with being HIV-positive,” says Mackenroth. He adds, “If I can raise money for HIV/AIDS research, it’s even better.” Jack has been a vocal and visible advocate of the HIV community, touring the country through numerous speaking engagements and special appearances at events. He continues to speak around the country and will be planning calendar signing events in the upcoming months. His memoir, “Making Lemonaids” will be released this winter. The autographed calendar will be available for pre-sale starting in mid-August, with shipping starting Sept. 15, 2011. All proceeds benefit amfAR—The American Foundation for AIDS Research. (Amfar.org) The calendar’s dimensions are 8.5 x 11 inches, and are available through (ONLINE NOW) for $14.95 (plus tax and shipping).
This month he launches his 2012 Calendar with 100% of
The American Foundation for AIDS Research
For additional information, please visit Jackmackenroth.com.
BestGayNewYork.com
House of Boys Movie to Open at Cinema Village July 29
HOUSE OF BOYS has been playing the LGBT Film Festival Circuit – now it is coming to New York City July 29th!
A colorful and raw coming-of-age story set in the emerging gay dance club scene of Amsterdam 1984.
House of Boys tells the story of Frank, a high school kid who leaves home and falls into the exciting
new world of free sex, music and dance.
When Frank’s new world is suddenly turned upside down, his struggle for courage in the face the unknown gives him a new and deep understanding of the true
meaning of love.
Director Jean Claude Schlim says, “Thirty years on, the fight against AIDS is far from over:
more than 25 million people have died and an estimated 40 million people are infected. AIDS has turned out to be one of the most urgent topics that needs to be addressed in unison, worldwide, in order to avoid a major disaster for humanity.
As UNAIDS spokesmen Kofi Annan and Bill Clinton so poignantly underscored the urgency and
immensity of the crisis, in just three words: “Talk about it!“
For myself, as an artist, House of Boys became the central focus of my creative work, in order to keep fighting, but also to awaken an urgent consciousness in the younger generation. As a survivor, by all means I have to keep up the fight. The key image of House of Boys has always been this terrifying one of a young guy dying from AIDS. Images such as these are so powerful and far-reaching. I had this image of horror beyond description deep inside me, as I saw my boyfriend die in 1995 at age 27.
this experience. I had to build a story around this central image; oddly enough I turned it into a kind of fairy tale, where the only evil character would be the disease.
The ‘80s were the apex of gay culture, an historic moment in a community coming out. The music
was outrageous, extravagant fashion and night-clubbing were a way of life, born out of the hippie
generation but also completely new. We called it the New Wave: the first beats of electronic music and gay culture were completely leading the way, a period where sex was fun and fearless. It was a new beginning, a new hope, summed up by the anthem, “Welcome to the Pleasure Dome!”
In House of Boys music plays an important role in the sense that the main character was driven by night-clubbing and I wanted a mix of scenes to reflect that: clubs, concerts, cabarets, as well as some romantic tracks to underline the more intimate aspects. Some of the songs were already mentioned in the script and were expressly meant as tributes to artists that died of AIDS.
I’m very fond of the soundtrack, which I created with a mix of classic themes and new electronic music, including Klaus Nomi, DAF, Dangerous Muse, Soft Cell, Steve Harley, Roy Orbison, Jimmy Somerville, Mahalia Jackson, Laurent Garnier, and Cyril Collard.
House of Boys has been a very rewarding experience for me; I am very proud that this film is my directorial debut. It is my small contribution in talking openly about a terrible disease, that is still taboo, especially for people living with HIV who very often cannot even speak about their disease for fear of rejection and stigmatization.
The inhabitants of the House of Boys live outside society in their own little fairy tale world. They are misfits, characters outside society, yet all beautiful, strong and good as in any fairy tale.
The main character describes himself as a survivor; we all live among the adversity of tragic events, that’s life I guess, that’s what makes us strong…This is the message of my film.
The global message I think is one of hope. Tremendous medical milestones have been reached since the dark ages of the disease, as portrayed in the film. In that sense the message to young generations should be: Enjoy life, have fun, you’re entitled to have fun. Our world is full of sadness, so be proud of being gay. It’s very important for me to fight against AIDS within the gay community. It’s our duty. Our engagement must be more focused than ever as there are many urgent issues to deal with.
I dedicate this movie to all HIV positive people and to those who fight against frightening and unacceptable serophobia in our society!”
HOUSE OF BOYS TRAILER
Open Friday July 29th, Cinema Village, New York!
House of Boys on Facebook
Broadways ALEX RINGLER talks with Gay Life NYC.org
chats with the very handsome
Broadway Veteran, Alex Ringler
about his experience on Broadway in
West Side Story, his touring the World with A Chorus Line, Stupid Human Tricks, About Broadway Bares on Fire Island and Broadway Bares in NYC June 19th.
He talks about playing with his pussy…cat, I mean. And his virginity! As a Broadway Bares and Fire Island Newbie.
Check out this amazingly
elegant and super hot guy!
Alex Ringler and GAY LIFE NYC
Gay Life NYC.org
Nick Adams Raises $25,000 for the NYC Aids Walk
The AIDS WALK NYC took place this past Sunday and all the stars came out to support it!
Check out the super hot Matt Bomer from White Collar, The Cast of Modern Family, From The Event, Laura Innes, Michael Ruiz, Jack Mackenroth, Broadway Hunk, Nick Adams, and much more!
NICK ADAMS was Over $25,000 thanks to Nicks fans and readers of this site! Funds were still trickling in at press time! YAY!!
“I am so overwhelmed by peoples generosity, ” said Nick.
Michael Cavnaugh from GayLifeNYC.org did some great interviews!
Interview with MATT BOMER and NICK ADAMS
and there is a great piece of the Priscilla Cast performing!
BestGayNews
BestGayNewYork
Broadway Bares XXI MASTERPIECE June 19th
MASTERPIECE
will be held on
Sunday, June 19
with two performances
at 9:30 pm & Midnight
at Roseland Ballroom,
239 West 52nd Street
in New York.
A benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, BROADWAY BARES XXI: MASTERPIECE will offer up a modern-day burlesque show packed with museum-quality human canvases that would make an art critic blush.
It’s been said that “all art is erotic” and 200 of Broadway’s sexiest bodies will prove that to be true as the 21st edition of BROADWAY BARES takes you inside an auction too hot for Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
The most delectable dancers in New York will emulate the art world’s seductive nudes and give life to history’s sultriest sculptures. Handle these masterpieces with care or fig leaves, sunflowers and water lilies just might fall off into the crowd. Get your bidding paddles ready before these Broadway bodies of art are “going, going, gone.”
To see the New York Times’ exclusive first look at the posters for this year’s BROADWAY BARES and to read an interview with BARES photographer Andrew Eccles.
BROADWAY BARES XXI: MASTERPIECE is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, executive produced by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Catch Me If You Can, Legally Blonde) and will again be directed by Josh Rhodes (Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, The Drowsy Chaperone, Working at the Broadway Playhouse in Chicago).
BROADWAY BARES, the hotly anticipated annual event combining the naughtiness of burlesque and the razzle-dazzle of Broadway, has been a smashing success since its inception in 1992. The event features the hottest male and female dancers on Broadway and has become one of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ signature events. The first Broadway Bares featured seven dancers performing choreographed stripteases on a bar and raised more than $8,000. In all 20 editions, BROADWAY BARES has collectively raised more than $7.5 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Tickets can be purchased online at Broadwaycares.org or by calling 212.840.0770, ext 268. For more information and merchandise, visit Broadwaybares.com.
Monda Guerra at AIDS Walk New York May 15th
from “Project Runway”
will be at AIDS Walk New York
on Sunday, May 15
on behalf of his HIV education campaign, Living Positive By Design.
Mondo (from last season Project Runway) is leading the national HIV education campaign Living Positive By Design alongside fellow show alum Jack Mackenroth.
The two will come together for the first time on Sunday, May 15 at the 26th Annual AIDS Walk New York in Central Park, where Mondo will address the anticipated 45,000 attendees and discuss his personal journey with HIV.
Mondo has been HIV-positive for ten years, and since his courageous disclosure of his HIV-positive status on “Project Runway,” has become an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness. Living Positive By Design is a partnership with Merck, and encourages people living with the disease to maintain a positive outlook on life while working with their doctors to manage their disease.
Through the campaign, Mondo hopes to combat the stigma associated with the disease and share his experience with HIV. He’s also encouraging people living with HIV to work with their doctor to find a treatment regimen that is right for them.
More information on Living Positive By Design is available at LivingPositiveByDesign.com.
Opening ceremonies for AIDS Walk New York start at 9:15am, with the Walk beginning at 10am.
Lots of celebrities will be on hand for the event!
BestGayNewYork.com
DID YOU KNOW???
· More than one million people are living with HIV in the United States, and more than 107,000 of them live in New York City, the epicenter of the disease
· AIDS case rates in New York City are almost triple the national average
· HIV is the third leading cause of death for New York City residents between 35 and 54
· Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for more than half of new HIV infections diagnosed in men each year, in New York City
–The risk is especially high for Black and Latino men, who account for most of the new HIV diagnoses, in New York City
Gay Life NYC.org does Michael Cusumano, Jeffrey Cares, Broadway Boys Bare and MORE
Broadway Hero- Mikey Cusumano from Chicago, talks about his role in the show as well as being the youngest person ever to be a dancer with ABT.
Then they were at the Jeffrey Cares Fashion show – watch the Hightlight video of the hot guys from Fashion show with some stunning male models.
More gorgeous men get naked with Broadway Bares Solo Strip– the hottest guys on Broadway Strip for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS- highlights.
Amazing Celebrity Videos from The Point Foundation Honors–
Point Foundation Executive Director Jorge Velencia, White Collar star, Marsha Thomason, Broadway Star Mentego Glover and Grammy Winner, Matchbox20, Rob Smith
Plus Andy Cohen, Kelly Ripa, Super Model, Iman, Sam Champion.
Also chats with Judith Light (who is in Lombardi), Sandra Bernhard, and Real Housewife Teresa Guidice
WOW! What an awesome organization.
GAY LIFE NYC.org
Please support this awesome site as well!
