well, That's Show Biz, 06-26-2022 13 Pride

Pride

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

6-26-2022

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman and each week I present music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and Commentary centered around a theme.

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• On June 28th, 1969, as they typically did, New York City police raided the gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn. That night, the police seemed to be particularly aggressive. And the patrons, many of them drag queens, started fighting back against the abuse. In the weeks that followed, more protests and demonstrations took place with groups demanding the right to live openly without fear of arrest. One year later, on the anniversary of the initial Stonewall Riot as it was called, the first gay Pride marches took place in several cities. Today, Pride events are held every year in June to honor the Stonewall riots and The Stonewall National Monument was established in 2016. Our theme today is Pride to honor those who fought for the right to live freely.

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• We are going to open with George Hearn singing the song “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles. Next, singer/songwriter Peter Allen was always coy about his sexuality. As an example of this he wrote the double entendre song, “Bi-Coastal” about living his life in both New York and California. The musical Rent is about young artists in Lower Manhattan trying to survive under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. We are going to hear Daphne Rubin-Vega and Adam Pascal sing the haunting “Without You”. And finally, The musical Avenue Q featured humans and puppets interacting with each other. Two of the characters were Bert and Ernie Sesame Street like characters one of which is gay and closeted. In the song “Fantasies Come True”, the puppet Rod has a dream.  First up, “I Am What I Am” from La Cage.

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• We just heard “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles, B- Coastal by singer/songwriter Peter Allen, the hauntingly beautiful “Without You” from Rent, and “Fantasies Come True” from Avenue Q as we celebrate Pride today on “well, That’s Show Biz!”

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• <PSA>

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• We are celebrating Pride today on “well, That’s Show Biz” and next up we have Elton John with “I Want Love”. The song is notable for having a pre-Marvel Robert Downey Jr. lip syncing to Elton John’s vocals in the video. In Victor / Victoria, Julie Andrews played a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. If it sounds confusing, that is part of its charm. Robert Preston played her gay friend who helped guide her through this deceit. Here they are singing “You and Me”. And finally, The Boy From Oz starred Hugh Jackman in his Tony award winning role of singer/songwriter Peter Allen, which used Peter’s own songs to tell his story.  The song “Once Before I Go” was written for Peter’s lover and lighting designer who died of AIDS. Here is Elton John with “I Want Love’”.

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• <Underwriting>

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• You just heard Elton John with “I Want Love”, “You and Me” from Victor / Victoria, and “Once Before I Go” from The Boy From Oz. We are celebrating Pride today on “well, That’s Show Biz!” on WRUU 107.5 FM. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman and if you want to contact me with theme ideas or song requests, you can email me at wruushowbiz@gmail.com.

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• We are going to open this set with another song from Avenue Q with puppet Nikkie singing to puppet Rod “If You Were Gay”. There have been many composers who have understood human psychology but no composer has ever been so clear, so concise, and so cutting as composer Stephen Sondheim. Here for example is Bernadette Peters singing the heartbreaking song “Losing My Mind” from Follies. And finally, we go back to Rent with “Seasons Of Love” from rent as we celebrate Pride.

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• We are celebrating Pride today and you just heard “If You Were Gay” from Avenue Q, “Losing My Mind” from Follies, and “Seasons of Love” from Rent.

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• <PSA>

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• Legs Diamond had a book partially written by Harvey Fierstein and songs written by Peter Allen who also starred. Taken out of context, the song “Sure Thing Baby” could be heard as a Pride anthem. Next we will hear two songs dealing with AIDS. First, Elton John’s “The Last Song” which was also featured over a closing montage of famous people who passed away from AIDS in the AIDS movie, And The Band Played On. Before Peter Allen died from AIDS related throat cancer, he wrote the AIDS song “Love Don’t Need A Reason”. And we will close out our Pride show coming full circle with drag queens coming to the rescue of the Kinky Boots with the rollicking finale “Raise You Up / Just Be”. Just try not to dance, I dare you.  Here’s “Sure Thing Baby” from Legs Diamond.

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• We concluded our Pride Celebration here at “well, That’s Show Biz!” with “Sure Thing Baby” from Legs Diamond, the AIDS anthems “The Last Song” by Elton John and “Love Don’t Need a Reason” by Peter Allen, and the finale from Kinky Boots “Raise You Up / Just Be”. That’s it for this week. If you enjoyed the show, please send a note to the station at WRUU.org and you can send me theme and song ideas to wruushowbiz@gmail.com.