Welcome to the Archive Version of the online On the Purple Circuit, which ran from 2000-2021. Bill Kaiser founded the Circuit as a newsletter in 1991, and, in 2000, Demian joined as co-editor. Demian programmed the site, expanded the scope of the Circuit, as well as retouched all the images. Demian needed to stop working on the Purple Circuit in order to realize his other projects, such as publishing the book “Operating Manual for Same-Sex Couples: Navigating the rules, rites & rights,” now available on Amazon, and to publishing his “Photo Stories by Demian” books based on his more than 6 decades as a photographer and writer. QueerWise and Michael Kearns have committed to offering a continuation of the Purple Circuit. The new Web address is purplecircuit.org. Bill Kaiser continues as editor and can be reached at purplecir@aol.com Bill and Demian express their appreciation for the hundreds of writers, directors, actors, and publicists who sent their articles and play data. They have toiled mightily to bring our gay, lesbian, trans, and feminist culture into public view, and appreciation. |
| Bill Kaiser, founder (1991), publisher, editor - purplecir@aol.com - 818-953-5096 Demian, associate editor (2000), Web builder, image retouch (since 2003) Contents © 2022, Purple Circuit, 921 N. Naomi St., Burbank, CA 91505 |
The Q Guide to Broadway by Seth Rudetsky The Q Guide to Oscar Parties and Other Award Shows by Joel Perry Book Reviews by Steven LaVigne © February 26, 2007, Steven LaVigne |
The Q Guide to Broadway We’ve all seen those “Dummies” books. In the Ordway lobby during Minnesota Opera productions, they even sell “Opera for Dummies.” Now, Alyson Books has released a series of “Q Guides, Pop Culture Out There” books on topics as diverse as “The Golden Girls,” “Soap Operas,” the two titles reviewed here, and two more to come shortly. Seth Rudetsky is responsible for the “Guide to Broadway.” I reviewed his solo off-Broadway show, “Rhapsody in Seth” a few years ago. He’s worked on and off Broadway and hosts a Sirius Radio show called Broadway Chatterbox. To be sure, Rudetsky is an expert in this field, and its a dazzling read, but unfortunately, “The Q Guide to Broadway” isn’t anything special.
Ken Mandelbaum’s “Not Since Carrie,” and Ethan Mordden’s “The Happiest Corpse I’ve Ever Seen,” part of an exhausting study of the Broadway Musical in seven volumes, cover similar material with more authority than Rudetsky. The Q Guide to Oscar Parties Joel Perry’s “Guide to Oscar Parties,” on the other hand, is superb. A regular contributor to Instinct Magazine, Perry covers in detail, and with a lot of humor, not only the Oscars, but such events as the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the Tonys. His gay perspective on the Academy Awards is an absolute pleasure, and with only one minor mistake, his knowledge is authoritative. The error: he states that Bill Murray is the only “Saturday Night Live” performer nominated for an Oscar, but Dan Aykroyd was also nominated, for “Driving Miss Daisy.” Among Perry’s recommendations are parties with a theme, and they include everything from “Planet of the Apes,” “Valley of the Dolls,” to “The Sound of Music.” He discusses bargain-basement shopping for party favors, be they minimalist, trailer-trash or a kid’s theme. Perry includes recommendations for party games — be they filled with trivia or drinking — menu items and gift bags.
After reading “The Q Guide to Oscar Parties,” the question arises as to how soon Joel Perry will join Brini Maxwell on cable to plan that gathering to end all Oscar gatherings. The Q Guide to Broadway:
Stuff you didn’t even know you wanted to know … about the hits, flops, Tonys, and life upon the wicked stage by Seth Rudetsky Alyson Books, 160 Pages, $12.95 The Q Guide to Oscar Parties and Other Award Shows by Joel Perry Alyson Books, 180 pages, $12.95
© 2007, Steven LaVigne
|