UPCOMING HAPPENINGS, MOVIES, LIVE COMEDY, AND MUSIC IN MANHATTAN!
by Jed Ryan
Last Updated: Monday, May 13, 2002

Note: This is BY NO MEANS a complete guide to GLBT-interest events in New York City. As you know, New York City's scene of theater, cinema, concerts, and more is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and always changing. New options are being added every day. This is just a sample. For more choices, check out:

• The Village Voice, NYC's free newspaper, or check out VillageVoice.com
• HX ("Homo X-tra") and Next, two well-made, ultra-hip, and free magazines
  covering gay and lesbian Manhattan life, including the more salacious sides
  of NYC nightlife. Check out www.HX.com or www.nextmagazine.net.
• There's ALWAYS something going on at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
  Transgendered Community Center, on 208 West 13th Street. Call (212) 620-7310
  or log onto www.GayCenter.org. You can also get a free monthly newsletter
  delivered to your home, which has regularly scheduled events (Date Bait,
  Center Dances), special events, and meetings for GLBT groups as diverse as
  Orthodox Jewish Lesbians ("Orthodykes") to Gay Vegetarians. Many events are
  free.

MICHELLE SHOCKED
Wednesday, May 8 and May 15th
Village Underground
130 West 3rd Street
(212) 777-7745
8:30 PM
The VillageUnderground.com
Tickets: Ticketweb.com or 1-866-468-7619

Michelle Shocked, born Karen Michelle Johnson in 1962 in Dallas, TX, is a lesbian music icon and one of the most talented musicians in the new generation of folk artists. Her admirers point out that she difficult to describe, always changing her style and looking to new sources of inspiration. Her last CD, "Kind Hearted Woman" was back in 1996. The new one will be called "Deep Natural" and is a two-disc set due out this week. Be the first to hear it-- live!

RENO: REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE
The Zipper
336 West 37th Street
$40-$45
In previews; call (212) 239-6200 for show times and dates

Openly lesbian comic Reno enjoyed a successful four-month run at La MaMa's Club with her new show "Rebel Without a Pause," a series of "unrestrained reflections" about life in New York after September 11th. This is comedy Reno's way, baby! Reno, who was nominated for a Cable ACE Award for an HBO adaptation of her off-Broadway hit "Reno in Rage and Rehab," also starred in a feature film called "Reno Finds Her Mom" in 1998. She's pals with that OTHER lesbian funny lady, Lily Tomlin, who co-executive-produced Reno's previous show for cable's Bravo channel, "Citizen Reno." Now Reno brings her latest show to The Zipper. Just don't expect the dainty comedy of funny lesbians like Ellen or Rosie-- the Voice sums it up when it states: "Can't stand it when a woman shoots her mouth off? Reno's the optimal cure-- next to her outrage and outrageousness, virtually all other female expression seems modest, demure, and soft-spoken."

Read our review of RENO: REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE

INDIGO GIRLS
"Become You" Summer Tour
Radio City Music Hall
June 4th
Get tickets through:
Ticketmaster: (212) 307-7171, (212) 307-7200, or Ticketmaster.com

From Atlanta, Georgia, the Indigo Girls -- Amy Ray and Emily Saliers-- are the most creative, popular, and enduring female duos in the music world. They have a new CD, "Become You." On their official web site, IndigoGirls.com, you can hear a sample of the CD's first single, "Moment of Forgiveness"-- plus biography, news, lyrics, photos, and much more. Check out their web site-- and then check out these lesbian icons live this June! Can you think of a better way to kick off Gay Pride Month?

NAKED BOYS SINGING
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 8 PM
Saturday 7 and 10 PM,
Sunday at 3 and 7 PM
Actor's Playhouse
100 7th Ave. So. (below Christopher)
$35-$55, VIP tickets: $70
For tickets: Telecharge (212) 239-6200
www.NakedBoysSinging.com

The title says it all! There's 8 men, 16 songs, and plenty of eye candy. But more than just a flesh-fest, "Naked Boys Singing" has been praised for its clever and well-directed blend of song, dance, and comedy. Now in its third year, this smash off-Broadway play continues to delight and titillate audiences. Located in the heart of Gay New York, in Greenwich Village, the Actor's Playhouse is right smack in the middle of a great selection of restaurants, cafes, small shops, and nightspots. A surefire night of fun! It ain't Shakespeare, but didn't we read enough Shakespeare in high school?

17TH ANNUAL AIDS WALK NEW YORK
Sunday, May 19th
Starts in Central Park
Register at www.AIDSWalk.net
or call (212) 807-WALK

This 10 kilometer walk benefits Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) as well as other tri-state AIDS organizations. Think that one person can't make a difference? Your wrong! A great way to make new friends, get a good workout, and most importantly, raise money for this ongoing war against HIV/AIDS.

THE PET SHOP BOYS
Release 2002 Tour
Hammerstein Ballroom
311 W. 34th Street
(212) 564-4882
May 21 and 22
Tickets: Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171
www.PetShopBoys.co.uk

At a party and bored? Play "What's your favorite Pet Shop Boys song?" game. (Mine is "Suburbia".) One of the most enduring and influential pop duos, these British boys are back with a new CD, "Release", which hits stores on April 23rd. The 10-track CD is reported to have "more guitar" and "more percussion," giving more of a rock sound, but there's no shortage of electronic technology, including vocal distortion, a la Cher in "Believe." One of the songs on the new CD is "The Night I Fell in Love," a tongue-in-cheek parody about homophobic rapper Eminem falling in love with a schoolboy! The CD will be out just long enough for you to warm up to hear the Boys live.

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

Northeast AIDS Ride
350 miles, 4 days
June 23rd, Bear Mountain to Boston
Log onto "BeThePeople.com" and click on "AIDS Rides USA" icon

The First National Gay Erotic Expo
Webster Hall, NYC
November 10 and 11th
For sponsorship and exhibition information call (212) 352-3535

The 2002 Gay Life Expo
Jacob Javits Convention Center, NYC
November 16th and 17th
For info call (212)352-3535

Also See:
What's Going On... (in Long Island)