…seems like an unlikely venue for one of the two chorales representing the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, but last night they were there. Our friend and ex-neighbor Nick flew to SF for work. We took him to Sebastopol, where Jadyne and I were treated to a wonderful dinner, then VIP tickets to the Gay Men’s Choir performance. The theme of the evening was a takeoff on Broadway, parodies of songs that we’ve all heard in the pop musicals that draw in thousands of people for thousands of performances. We weren’t aware of all the songs, but the quality of the singing, as we’ve heard many times before, was stellar. Each member brought his own costume, and if they weren’t coordinated in costumes the musical and dance coordination was all there.
A small part
Jean Valjean. Les Miserables was well-represented in song.
And of course, many of the songs were brought up to current standards. He didn’t sing the takeoff on “On My Own” from Les Miz, but it was transposed in one song to “On My Phone.”
A favorite image.
Tina Turner, with the whole cast behind her singing an a capella “Proud Mary.” Had the moves, the spins. I wish Tina could have seen her.
Nick’s friend David
The costume, the makeup, the voices. Words fail.
And they did have fun…so did we.
The Gay Men’s Chorus went on the Red State Tour five years ago, performing in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. We walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with them fifty some odd years after Martin Luther King made the same march. It was life-changing for them. And for us, unforgettable.
The director spoke about the issues that these men face daily, the catcalls, the names, and sometimes it’s physical. Many of them recently performed in an Oakland school and talked about their lives, the challenges they face, hoping that just as they did five years ago in the South, open a few minds.