Recently in Theater Category

The Russian-based Imperial Ice Stars show -- featuring former Olympic and world champion skaters -- caused a bit of an uproar at its premiere in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday night. Artistic Director Tony Mercer presented his updated version of Cinderella to a packed audience.

In the performance, though the Cinderella story is roughly the same, two male characters (pictured) share a romantic scene together on the ice. "Gay couples are part of contemporary society," he told the Herald Sun. "I don't think there is anything offensive about including a gay couple. You see them day in, day out on the street."

Not everyone agreed. Australian Families Association national secretary Gabrielle Walsh said the gay dance, by skaters Yuri Salimanov and Andrei Benikov, was inappropriate. "We need to protect our children," she said. "They don't need to grow up any quicker."

However, Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Stephen Jones applauded the move. "To have visibility in the mainstream media that same-sex couples are the same as everyone else is fantastic," Mr Jones said.

Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Joe Tucci also defended the scene. “It’s helpful as a way of breaking down prejudices,” Dr Tucci said.
 

The winner of this year's GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theater – Off–Off Broadway is headed for a three-month off-Broadway run in June. BASH'd is a gay hip-hop opera that began in an Alberta gay bar and toured the fringe festival circuit in Canada before hitting the NY International Fringe Festival last summer.

Performed by Edmonton actors Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow, BASH'd! chronicles the tale of a pair of lovers, one of whom is bashed, prompting the other to take revenge. It is told entirely through rap, spoken word and poetry. The show is loosely based on the real-life spike in hate crimes in Alberta during the national debate that resulted in the legalization of marriage equality. Though the topic is serious, the play is high energy and full of laughs.

"Originally, hip-hop music was used to draw attention to the social and political injustices against minorities, specifically African Americans," note performers and writers Craddock and Cuckow. "We think that using this form of music for gays to express their frustration with the current social climate is a natural evolution of hip-hop music, and an interesting and complex way to tell our story that will challenge the preconceived notions of what 'gay' is."