Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 446 November 27, 2019

5 0 0 W 4 8 T H S T .
N Y , N Y 1 0 0 3 6
ISSUE #446
NOVEMBER 27 2019
COVER: MICHAEL
LONGORIA
PHOTOGRAPHER:
WILSONMODELS
PUBLISHER MICHAEL TODD
MIKE@GETOUTMAG.COM
DESIGN AGOTA CORREA
AGOTA@GETOUTMAG.COM
CONTRIBUTOR THOMAS WHITFIELD
THOMASTALKSABOUT@GMAIL.COM
CONTRIBUTOR IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON
@IANMICHAELINWONDERLAND
CELEBRITY INTERVIEWER EILEEN SHAPIRO
@EILEENSHAPIRO3
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER WILSONMODELS
JEASO86@HOTMAIL.COM
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orientation of anyone portrayed therein.
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BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
MARTY
THOMAS
Slow Dancing With A Boy
PHOTO CREDIT: GINGERB3ARD MEN
Actor, singer, Broadway phenomenon Marty
Thomas will be unveiling his new release,
“Marty Thomas: Slow Dancing With a Boy,”
via Broadway Records on Friday, December
6, 2019. Recognized for Broadway
performances including Xanadu, Wicked
and The Secret Garden, as well as the hit
television shows “Grace & Frankie” and “2
Broke Girls,” Thomas has been a popular
nightlife personality for over a decade.
His new album “explores the music of
the young, closeted man’s coming-ofage
memories, and dares to question the
possibility of having lived those memories
honestly and openly,” he says. The 12-track
album is a heartfelt journey celebrated by
the elaborate and decadent vocal tones of
an inspirational and talented artist.
I had a conversation with Thomas, and aside
from finding him charming and eloquent, he
was completely open and honest.
INTERVIEW>>>>>>>>>
You’re about to unveil your new
album, “Marty Thomas: Slow
Dancing With a Boy.” What was
your inspiration?
I have a new album coming out on
Broadway Records that is officially
out on December 6. It’s out on
digital for presale on the 16th of
this month. It’s my very personal
project that I recorded called “Slow
Dancing With a Boy.” I’ll tell you just
a little bit about the project. It’s a
really personal project that I’ve been
working on for quite some time
because of the personal nature of
the content. A few years ago I came
across an article that was about a
boy who was going to prom. The
picture was very clearly the boy
going to the prom with another boy.
Being raised in the Midwest in the
‘90s, I had the assumption, kind of
a dark assumption, that something
awful happened to him, and that’s
why they wrote the article.

I opened it and was scrolling down,
expecting to see the worst, and was a little
bit horrified in myself to see that it was really
just a slice-of-life article about the boy going
to prom. It just so happened to be that his
date was another boy. There were pictures of
him at the top of the stairs with his date. His
mom was taking a picture of them, and they
were walking hand-in-hand. One of them
was named Prom King, and his friends were
dancing with him, not against him. It was just
normal, incredibly normal. It just stopped me
in my tracks. It marinated for a long time.
When I closed out of the article it really
didn’t close out for me for a long time.
Every once in a while a song would come on
the radio or something would happen that
was nostalgic from my teen years, and that
article would rage in my head, the picture
of those boys. It took me a while to figure
out why it bothered me so much. I finally
hit upon that it was anger—not at those
boys, just in my situation, that I felt really
robbed of that experience. Growing up very
religious in the ‘90s, we didn’t have that sort
of freedom and that support structure to be
able to look around the room and to be able
to organically choose who you wanted to
go to prom with. You got to a point where
your religion, and based on how you were
raised... I didn’t feel like I was worthy of that
experience. I deserved that experience that
my straight friends and my siblings got, and I
resolved myself to having to live a lie, having
to manipulate the scenario and having to
manipulate the situation, to hide.
I’m originally from Trenton, Missouri, right
up in the northwestern quarter by Iowa and
Kansas.
It had to be different for you growing up
there. In New York, I think it might have
been easier.
Very different. I was even lucky, because I
was a child actor. My parents were farmers,
and I got off the farm to perform and travel
a lot. I went to school in New York for middle
school, but even in New York there were kids
who were closeted in middle school and
high school out of necessity. Maybe because
it was just a different time, but in the ‘90s
it was just not all right to be a performer
and be gay. You aren’t going to rise above
as acceptable for a performer to be trans
or gay or different in any way. So even as a
performer in New York, you were faced with
a constant reminder to butch it up, be less
gay, less unique, fit the molds.
That had to be annoying.
But also I take a look at how I felt about it,
between my generational gap and between
the kids today that have such an easier
time. It’s still not easy, but it’s so much
easier. I think about my generation and the
generation before me, and I look at my
coming-of-age experience, and the things
that people went through pre-Stonewall
were unimaginable. At the time it was a
struggle, and that’s what people in the gay
community had to do.
This project was sort of my feeling, concept,
[that] once I started to figure out why I was
so angry about that article, and why I was so
angry about the situation of feeling robbed,
I started to take a look at that music. The
songs were coming back to me and sort of
haunting me. I was thinking back to how
beautiful that right of passage experience
that kids are supposed to get to have. But
the story rarely gets told that so many kids
don’t get to have that experience, because
they are not what’s on display by Hallmark.
That’s what you get for those teen years,
those coming-of-age experiences, unless
you were different.
Marty, where are you from?
youtube.com/user/MartyThomaslovesyou
soundcloud.com/officialmartythomas
facebook.com/MartyThomasfans

Right.
But with this project it’s sort of like
looking at the experience—we had
to do what we told ourselves we had
to do and try to take some of that
music back from a dark experience
to try to place it in the light. I took
a lot of the songs from my middle
school and high school years, and
songs that really meant something to
me and would have been a beautiful
experiences to slow dance to with
a boy at my prom, and rearranged
them and gave them new life. I
rearranged them to how I would
want to hear them and put them a
little closer to the light. It was a very
cathartic project.
If it helped you and it helps others,
that’s awesome. The album itself
was great musically.
Thank you so much for listening.
It became addicting after hearing
the first song. Along with your
story, it should be a very successful
record for you.
Thank you.
You have done lots of acting on
Broadway and television, and all
over the place.
I have. Right now I’m really solely
focused on the album. I’m doing
a concert on December 14 in the
city, downtown at a place called
Subculture. My album release party
in New York is January 5 at the
Greenroom 42 at 8 p.m.
That’s a great venue.
I love that venue. I love the sound,
and I love the vibe of it. For me it’s
perfect. So I am contouring a unique
party based on the album. I’m touring
a prom.
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That’s genius. I love that idea.
I hired a prom photographer, we’re
building a TV prom backdrop and I
hired a party band that will transition
into music after the concert. We will
just have a little dance. People can
dress up any way that they would like
to, to go to prom now. They can go
vintage or retro, or if they just want to
get dolled up or glammed up to get
their 2020 prom photo. I hope maybe
you’ll come and dance with us.
I’m in! Thank you.

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BY LARRY OLSEN
The Ideal Man
Erotic Artist Sam Morris Takes the Stage at Club Cumming
Queer erotic artist Sam Morris is
often called the modern-day Tom of
Finland. Like his predecessor, Sam
Morris’ work is stylized, fetish art that
depicts the quintessential gay male.
However, in his films, streamed via his
website, Morris embraces masculinity
while also recognizing a man’s inherent
femininity. “Wearing masculinity as
an outfit to conform is not healthy,”
he argues. “Men should express
both sides of their personalities freely,
without prohibition, how and when
they wish.”
The main message in his work is that
the body and sex can be explored in
a beautifully artistic way without being
smutty or cheap.
Morris will in NYC on Sunday,
December 1, to take the stage at
Club Cumming, where he will
present poetry he has written over
the years, as well as speak his views
on erotica and censorship—all while
nude.
We spoke to him from his home in
Berlin.
How does your work
reflect the modern
definition of masculinity?
I think masculinity nowadays
is way more flexible and
sensitive. I’ve shot guys who
are super hairy, with beards
and tons of testosterone,
but who have a sensitive
smile and painted nails. It
makes them sexier, more
relatable, than the hypermasculine
version of a man
we’re so used to seeing.
Past gay generations
equated manliness
with muscles. Has that
changed?
I think people are less
scared to fit into what are
deemed to be appropriate
gender categories now.
There’s more room for
natural self-expression, and I
think that’s great.
How do you identify?
It changes a bit. I guess I’m
a cis gay man, but I’m not
afraid to fuck with gender
and queer it up.
What drew you to erotic
art?
It was a way for me to
express myself both
artistically and sexually. I
overcame boundaries within
myself through creating the
work that I do. The male
form has always fascinated
me in photography and art,
and so it was something I
wanted to explore.

Who is your target
audience?
Anyone who appreciates
the male form and arty
gay erotica.
How do you select the
partners you have sex
with on film?
Chemistry.
Do you find beauty in all
shapes, sizes, ages and
genders?
I’ve met and
photographed some
fascinating people from
all over the world: those
who have had open-heart
surgeries, disabilities,
massive weight loss and
have overcome some
serious personal traumas.
Having those people
feel comfortable enough
to get naked in front of
me, and be vulnerable,
is invaluable and so
beautiful to me. With
each encounter, I have an
unforgettable experience.
What do you have
planned for your
evening at Club
Cumming?
I plan to challenge
the audience’s views
on nudity and sex,
and hopefully leave
them feeling a bit
free and a little less
judgmental.
Finish this
sentence: People
should open their
minds to…
Releasing
themselves
from the shame
and judgment
connected to sex
and nudity.
Sam Morris appears at Club Cumming (505 East 6th Street) on
December 1 at 9 p.m., with music by Nicole Brancato.
Visit sammorris.me.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
What is the most important information
I should know about BIKTARVY ® ?
BIKTARVY may cause serious
side effects:
} Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV)
infection. If you have both HIV-1 and
HBV and stop taking BIKTARVY, your
HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not
stop taking BIKTARVY without first
talking to your healthcare provider, as
they will need to monitor your health.
Who should not take BIKTARVY?
Do not take BIKTARVY if you take:
} dofetilide
} r i f a m p i n
} any other medicines to treat HIV-1
What are the other possible side
effects of BIKTARVY?
Serious side effects of BIKTARVY may
also include:
} Changes in your immune system. Your
immune system may get stronger
and begin to fight infections. Tell your
healthcare provider if you have any
new symptoms after you start
taking BIKTARVY.
} Kidney problems, including kidney
failure. Your healthcare provider should
do blood and urine tests to check your
kidneys. If you develop new or worse
kidney problems, they may tell you to
stop taking BIKTARVY.
} Too much lactic acid in your blood
(lactic acidosis), which is a serious but
rare medical emergency that can lead
to death. Tell your healthcare provider
right away if you get these symptoms:
weakness or being more tired than
usual, unusual muscle pain, being short
of breath or fast breathing, stomach
pain with nausea and vomiting, cold
or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy
or lightheaded, or a fast or
abnormal heartbeat.
} Severe liver problems, which in rare
cases can lead to death. Tell your
healthcare provider right away if you
get these symptoms: skin or the white
part of your eyes turns yellow, dark
“tea-colored” urine, light-colored
stools, loss of appetite for several
days or longer, nausea, or stomacharea
pain.
The most common side effects of
BIKTARVY in clinical studies were
diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and
headache (5%). Tell your healthcare
provider if you have any side effects
that bother you or don’t go away.
What should I tell my healthcare
provider before taking BIKTARVY?
} All your health problems. Be sure to tell
your healthcare provider if you have or
have had any kidney or liver problems,
including hepatitis virus infection.
} All the medicines you take, including
prescription and over-the-counter
medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins,
and herbal supplements. BIKTARVY
and other medicines may affect each
other. Keep a list of all your medicines
and show it to your healthcare provider
and pharmacist, and ask if it is safe
to take BIKTARVY with all of your
other medicines.
} If you are pregnant or plan to become
pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY
can harm your unborn baby. Tell your
healthcare provider if you become
pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.
} If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or
plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed.
HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in
breast milk.
You are encouraged to report negative
side effects of prescription drugs to
the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch,
or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Ask your healthcare provider if
BIKTARVY is right for you.
Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including
important warnings, on the following page.

KEEP
EMPOWERING.
Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.
What is BIKTARVY?
BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat
HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1
medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines
and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.
BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.
BIKTARVY.COM

(bik-TAR-vee)
IMPORTANT FACTS
This is only a brief summary of
important information about BIKTARVY ®
and does not replace talking to
your healthcare provider about your
condition and your treatment.
MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:
• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and
HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do
not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider,
as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.
ABOUT BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used
to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken
HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1
medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain
requirements.
BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that
causes AIDS.
Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:
• dofetilide
• rifampin
• any other medicines to treat HIV-1
BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY
Tell your healthcare provider all your medical conditions,
including if you:
• Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you
have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:
• Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines,
antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your
healthcare provider and pharmacist.
• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that interact
with BIKTARVY.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY can cause serious side effects, including:
• Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.
• Changes in your immune system.
• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.
• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious
but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare
provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being
more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast
breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands
and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.
• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell
your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin
or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine,
light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea,
or stomach-area pain.
• The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were
diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%).
These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare
provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.
Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health
before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.
HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY
Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.
GET MORE INFORMATION
• This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY.
Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.
• Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5.
• If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for
program information.
BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD,
and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or
its related companies.
Version date: February 2018
© 2018 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0051 06/18

BY EILEEN SHAPIRO
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT
MICHAEL
LONGORIA
Like They Do in
the Movies
The vibrant and talented Michael
Longoria has just released a new
cover album of movie soundtrack
songs. The Broadway star is best
recognized for his role as Frankie
Valli in the award-winning show,
Jersey Boys. He is also known for
his concert work as part of The
Midtown Men.
Raised in LA, Longoria attended Los
Angeles County High School for the
Arts and has been singing for as
long as he can remember.
His Broadway debut came in the
form of the award-winning musical,
Hairspray. Aside from Jersey Boys’
Frankie Valli, he has portrayed roles
including Peter Pan, Chino in West
Side Story, Mark in A Chorus Line
and Freddie, a role he created in
the heartfelt, off-Broadway play,
The View Upstairs.
Aside from his album, Longoria
will be doing a concert benefiting
Opening Act, an organization that
seeks to level the playing field for
students by specifically partnering
with NYC schools that have lowerthan-average
graduation rates (as
few as 33% of students graduating
in four years) and an evident lack
of theater programming. For 20
years Opening Act has given high
school students opportunities to
develop leadership community and
commitment through its innovative,
high-quality, free, after-school
theater program.
Guest starring at the event will be
Tony Award nominee Charl Brown
(Motown: The Musical), Olivier
Award winner Lesli Margherita
(Matilda the Musical), Daniel
Reichard (Jersey Boys), Jaime
Cepero (Smash) and Mario Cantone.
The concert will take place at
The Green Room 42 on Tuesday,
December 17, 2019, at 9:30 p.m.
I spoke to Longoria regarding
his new record as well as some
upcoming events. He’s funny,
excited and decadently animated…
and super romantically sensitive!

INTERVIEW
How have you been since we last
spoke?
I’m good, really good. I’m gearing
up for the holidays and releasing this
awesome album. It was a wonderful
October, and I’m kind of getting in
the spirit to get those layers on.
PHOTO CREDIT WILSONMODELS
You’ve been busy.
You’ve got some
really cool things
going on.
Yes, I just released
this album called,
“Like They Do in the
Movies.”

You just have to trust to ask me. I mean, I’m
I love your your instincts. original You song, say, “Kiss not Me afraid to answer
Like
“Hey,
They
I’ve
Do
had
in
a
the
good
Movies.”
anything. There is
Thank
run.”
you
I’m
so
going
much.
on
That’s
24
the
nothing
one
that I haven’t
years, which is kind said already. I’m one
I wrote for the album. I knew when I
of wild. I didn’t plan it of those where being
was
this
recording
far, so it’s
all
kind
the other
of
songs
baffled
that
by a question
I wanted
exciting
to
to
write
see
an
what’s
original song
never
for
comes my way.
this around album, the but corner. I didn’t But know I what it
was definitely going to don’t be about. think it’s I knew THERE’S that I GOT TO BE
wanted going it to to be be forever. in general something SOMETHING YOU’RE
to do with the movies. DYING TO BE ASKED.
ASIDE FROM
Well, I usually say it
PERFORMING, DO anyway. Have you met
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE me? Afraid of using
A LIFE?
words? Never!
Not really. I prefer it
that way. When you YES, THAT I KNOW.
commit to a tour, three WHAT’S THE BIGGEST
or four months on the CHALLENGE YOU’VE
road compacted... I EVER FACED?
kind of go from city to Oh, every day. It’s
city every day, and that called shaving! It’s
I enjoy. It works better the worst thing in the
for each show, for world. Shaving is a
continuity, and it works fucking nightmare! The
better for me. So I do other challenge is lost
enjoy it, and then when luggage. I can only say
I’m done I’ve been what is a drag queen
putting off buying a without their luggage?
home for the past three A man! I think I could
years. So I’m hoping survive anything but
maybe when the tour is those two things:
over I will get a minute. shaving and if you lose
But usually, thankfully, your luggage. It’s a
something else will nightmare.
come up, whether a
film or a musical, and I’VE SEEN YOU PAINT.
I’ll jump at the chance. I It happens. Once
also don’t pass up work, you’ve got it on, it’s
so I don’t really have fine. Setting up, laying
much of a life now. It’s everything out, it’s quite
a lot of organizing, but the challenge.
not much else is going
on. And it’s sad.
IF YOU COULD
HAVE ME ASK YOU
ANY QUESTION ON
THE PLANET, WHAT
WOULD YOU WANT
ME TO ASK YOU, AND
HOW WOULD YOU
ANSWER IT?
OMG, I’m asked a lot of
questions in interviews,
but there is nothing that
I think I’d want them
I USUALLY ASK
WHAT THE MOST
EMBARRASSING
MOMENT SOMEONE
HAS HAD IS, BUT IN
YOUR CASE, HAVE
YOU EVER BEEN
EMBARRASSED?
Yes, 24 years of drag!
I’ve been embarrassed
all my life. Ask my
father.
WELL, IS THERE
A MOMENT THAT
STANDS OUT IN YOUR
CAREER THAT YOU
ARE MOST PROUD OF
AND WILL REMEMBER
THE REST OF YOUR
LIFE?
I think the best moment
in my life was when
I had the chance to
do “In Bed With Joan
Rivers,” and the fact
that I’ve always been
influenced by her and
her brilliance I loved. To
actually make her laugh,
I’m so grateful that it
happened, documented
that it happened,
before she died. There
is nothing better to me.
How fucking lucky.
SO JOAN WAS A BIG
INFLUENCE IN YOUR
LIFE AND CAREER?
Oh, without a doubt.
Joan was obviously,
and so was Don Rickles.
They were my favorites,
not just because of
their comedy, which
was hilarious, but
also because they
kept working up until
they died. I think it’s
amazing, and I can
definitely relate to that.
I thought they were as
funny as ever. And what
a way to go.
IS THERE ANYTHING
THAT I HAVEN’T
COVERED THAT
YOU WANT TO TALK
ABOUT?
Well, that I’m excited to
do the tour in Europe,
and then I have the
U.K., and then the U.S.,
and New York! I’m
super excited to be in
New York, my second
hometown outside
of New Orleans. I’m
looking forward to
seeing everybody there.
PHOTO CREDIT WILSONMODELS

But like any artist, you
draw from your own life
experiences, and as I was
recording the album I was
going through a major
break up and questioning
all the notions of romance
that I’ve been taught and
taught myself. All the
romantic movies that I had
watched when growing up
thinking that it’s supposed
to be a certain way when
you get kissed... and all
of a sudden fireworks
start happening. That’s
ultimately the goal of this
song. The troubadour in
the song is asking his lover
to kiss him like they do in
the movies, and show me
that kind of romance that
we’ve seen happen. So
that’s how “Kiss Me Like
They Do in the Movies”
was born. It started as a
movie romance, and then
it kind of turned into my
own life, my own break
up, and my search for that
kind of movie love.
That song is so good.
Maybe you should break
up with some more
people.
Hey, that’s a great idea.
The other thing that’s
interesting and terribly
beautiful about this
album is that I chose all
of the songs about a
year ago when I was first
researching all movie
love songs. I started off
in the 1960s and went
through every decade.
I just kind of listened to
every song that was the
most popular of that year.
When a song made me
feel something, like I got
chills or goosebumps on
my arm or tears started to
well up in my eyes, even
if it wasn’t a sad song but
a beautiful song about
love, if I felt something, I
stopped in that moment
and wrote the title of that
song down. Little by little
I kind of narrowed it down
to 15 songs, but all of the
songs started with the first
emotional reaction that I
was feeling. Then I wrote
the 16th song. There is
also a music video as well.
I saw the video. It was
very emotional and
sweet.
Thank you. All of these
songs on the album have
some sort of longing in
them. The whole album
was inspired by this one
song called, “It Must
Have Been Love.” The
reason I was interested
in this song was because
I found a version for it
that was a Christmas
version. It’s basically a
break-up song, but in
this version it colored the
whole scenario with the
one word, Christmas. I
was fascinated with that
kind of duel message
of having a horrifying
break up during the most
beautiful time of the year.
It’s a beautiful time of the
year, there were carolers
singing, but you’re all
alone in your apartment
going through a terrible
break up. That’s what
that song was all about.
But when you changed
one word and took the
Christmas word out and
changed it to winter, it
became a generic break
up song. They put that
song on the “Pretty
Woman” soundtrack, the
movie with Julia Roberts.
I thought maybe I could
explore other songs like
this that come from the
movies that are about real
moments in someone’s
life, and also claimed
that duel world of a
beautiful background to a
heartbreaking lyric. A lot
of the songs have that; for
example, “I Will Always
Love You” by Dolly Parton
and made really famous
by Whitney Houston in
“The Bodyguard.” We all
fell in love with the pop
version of it, but when you
really break it down and
listen to the words, it’s
really a love song about
having so much love for
someone that you are
willing to let them go,
because you feel like
you’re not the best for
them.
Yes, I’m really familiar
with that one, one of my
favorites.
When you really take away
the glamour and shine of
the one we love, obviously
the Whitney Houston
version, and you just hear
it sung, you can really hear
the heart wrench, as in my
version. I have certainly
had experience where I
still loved somebody but
I knew that staying with
them was not right for
them. This album was
very real for me. For me,
“The Bodyguard” version
disappeared, and it
became a story of my own
life. That’s a testament
to a really great song.
You will hear it, listen to
the words and get lost
in the melody, and then
suddenly this song is your
story. I’m hoping that
that’s what people get
from this album.

That they will initially be
familiar with the song
and have the familiarity
about the words, but then
because they are hearing
it with a new voice, all of
a sudden hopefully it will
apply to their own life.
Well, people should
really get to know you,
because you tell a story,
and you are a romantic
and really sensitive.
I know, I know... I definitely
didn’t mean to have such
a heart-wrenching kind
of emotional experience
with this, but something
about the songs just made
my heart beat a certain
way. This whole collection
all became one project.
They really do make
sense together, which is
interesting. Originally I
didn’t set out to have any
kind of story arc or any
kind of emotional bond
with the songs, because
they are from different
decades. Some of them
are from bands, some
are from solo singers, like
Bette Midler or Celine
Dion. These are songs that
you wouldn’t ordinarily
think would make sense
on one album. But when
you hear them all from
start to finish, it really does
make you feel so many
things, the journey of this
album, that by the end
of it you definitely feel
happy. Sometimes you
need a really good cry to
make you feel better. All
of these songs do that.
Because of the words they
allow you to see them
and know them and speak
them
out loud.
Maybe
before
you didn’t
have the
words to
feel. For
example,
when you
hear the
Celine
version
of “My
Heart
Will Go
On” from
“Titanic,”
you think
of sexy
Leonardo
DiCaprio.
But when
you hear
it again,
all of a
sudden
the words
are just
human.
I lost my father recently,
and the words in that
song really gave me a
vocabulary to feel what
I was feeling, because
in a positive way they
never leave you. The past,
beautiful moments that
they spend with you, the
memories that you’ve
created live on in your
brain and in your heart.
When you say these
words, they come back.
Whoever wrote that song
knew what they were
talking about.
I want you to have the
best Christmas in life,
by the way, because I’m
the happiest person in
the world, but I really
feel bad for what you’ve
gone through.
I’m starting my Christmas
season in a very positive
way. On Tuesday,
December 17, I’m going
to be performing a holiday
Christmas concert for
a really great cause. It’s
an organization called
Opening Act. They are a
group that raises money
to fund after-school,
free theater programs
for any of the public
schools that don’t have
theater programs. I will
be bringing some friends
from the theater along—
Tony nominee Charl Brown
(Motown: The Musical),
Oliver Award-winning
Lesli Margherita (Matilda:
The Musical), Daniel
Richard (Jersey Boys),
Jaime Cepero (Smash) and
Mario Cantone—to the
Green Room 42 in New
York City at 9:30 p.m. The
organization specifically
targets kids that don’t
have the means for this
education.

You just have to trust to ask me. I mean, I’m
your I am instincts. a kid myself You who say, had not free afraid afterschool
I’ve art had programs a good and theater anything. There is
to answer
“Hey,
run.” programs I’m going where on I 24 would never nothing have that I haven’t
years, been which able to is afford kind to go to said those already. I’m one
of things. wild. I Somehow didn’t plan they it were of funded. those where being
this These far, so people it’s kind do that of kind baffled of thing, by a question
exciting and really to see does what’s change lives. never It comes my way.
around changed the the corner. trajectory But I of my life. It
definitely
not only
don’t
opened
think
my
it’s
mind
THERE’S
toward
GOT TO BE
going
the world
to be
of
forever.
theatre but it gave
SOMETHING
me
YOU’RE
DYING TO BE ASKED.
a voice to speak up.
ASIDE FROM
Well, I usually say it
PERFORMING, DO anyway. Have you met
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE me? Afraid of using
A LIFE?
words? Never!
Not really. I prefer it
that way. When you YES, THAT I KNOW.
commit to a tour, three WHAT’S THE BIGGEST
or four months on the CHALLENGE YOU’VE
road compacted... I EVER FACED?
kind of go from city to Oh, every day. It’s
city every day, and that called shaving! It’s
I enjoy. It works better the worst thing in the
for each show, for world. Shaving is a
continuity, and it works fucking nightmare! The
better for me. So I do other challenge is lost
enjoy it, and then when luggage. I can only say
I’m done I’ve been what is a drag queen
putting off buying a without their luggage?
home for the past three A man! I think I could
years. So I’m hoping survive anything but
maybe when the tour is those two things:
over I will get a minute. shaving and if you lose
But usually, thankfully, your luggage. It’s a
something else will nightmare.
come up, whether a
film or a musical, and I’VE SEEN YOU PAINT.
I’ll jump at the chance. I It happens. Once
also don’t pass up work, you’ve got it on, it’s
so I don’t really have fine. Setting up, laying
much of a life now. It’s everything out, it’s quite
a lot of organizing, but the challenge.
not much else is going
on. And it’s sad.
IF YOU COULD
HAVE ME ASK YOU
ANY QUESTION ON
THE PLANET, WHAT
WOULD YOU WANT
ME TO ASK YOU, AND
HOW WOULD YOU
ANSWER IT?
OMG, I’m asked a lot of
questions in interviews,
but there is nothing that
I think I’d want them
I USUALLY ASK
WHAT THE MOST
EMBARRASSING
MOMENT SOMEONE
HAS HAD IS, BUT IN
YOUR CASE, HAVE
YOU EVER BEEN
EMBARRASSED?
Yes, 24 years of drag!
I’ve been embarrassed
all my life. Ask my
father.
WELL, IS THERE
A MOMENT THAT
STANDS OUT IN YOUR
CAREER THAT YOU
ARE MOST PROUD OF
AND WILL REMEMBER
THE REST OF YOUR
LIFE?
I think the best moment
in my life was when
I had the chance to
do “In Bed With Joan
Rivers,” and the fact
that I’ve always been
influenced by her and
her brilliance I loved. To
actually make her laugh,
I’m so grateful that it
happened, documented
that it happened,
before she died. There
is nothing better to me.
How fucking lucky.
SO JOAN WAS A BIG
INFLUENCE IN YOUR
LIFE AND CAREER?
Oh, without a doubt.
Joan was obviously,
and so was Don Rickles.
They were my favorites,
not just because of
their comedy, which
was hilarious, but
also because they
kept working up until
they died. I think it’s
amazing, and I can
definitely relate to that.
I thought they were as
funny as ever. And what
a way to go.
IS THERE ANYTHING
THAT I HAVEN’T
COVERED THAT
YOU WANT TO TALK
ABOUT?
Well, that I’m excited to
do the tour in Europe,
and then I have the
U.K., and then the U.S.,
and New York! I’m
super excited to be in
New York, my second
hometown outside
of New Orleans. I’m
looking forward to
seeing everybody there.
@Michaellongoriasings
PHOTO CREDIT WILSONMODELS

THOMAS
TALKS
ABOUT: NO TAKE-
It’ll be five years ago
this February that I
got married. The first
couple years were
bliss, but the last two
years have been very
difficult. Right now,
we’re not even talking.
I thought we were
on the same page
when we got married,
wanting to settle down
and work on adopting
a baby. I settled down;
he did not. He still
goes out all the time,
and sometimes doesn’t
even come home. He
says he isn’t cheating.
I guess I believe
him, but it could be
happening. I’m trying
to build my career, and
I have to stay focused,
so I can’t be out all
night. He gets mad and
tells me I’m “lame.”
He also says he has
no interest in slowing
down. I feel like I’m at
a crossroads and not
sure what to do. Could
we have grown apart
so quickly? -Male, Gay,
32
It’s very difficult when
someone you love
has decided to take
a different path than
you. For some couples,
having separate
lives outside of the
relationship is perfect,
but not for everyone.
It sounds like you’re
ready to settle down,
and he isn’t. It also
seems like it’s unknown
if he will get to a place
where he wants to
settle down. You have
to make your decision
going forward with the
information you have
now and accepting that
he may never change.
If he doesn’t, will you
be happy? Is it possible
to compromise? Is he
willing to work on some
things to strengthen
your relationship? If
not, then you can either
accept him and the
relationship for what it
is, or go.
I asked my fiancé to
marry me, and now I
want to take it back.
When I decided it was
a good decision, we
had been fighting a
lot, and he kept saying
he wanted to know
we were going to be
together forever. I
just wanted to stop
fighting, so I bought
a ring. We stopped
fighting for maybe a
week, and now things
BACKSIES
are worse than ever.
It’s to the point I don’t
even want to come
home after work and
sometimes make up
excuses to stay late at
the office. The worst
part is, we already sent
invites, people made
plans... and now what?
Am I just supposed
to cancel? Part of me
hopes it’ll get bad
enough that he’ll call
it off, then I won’t
feel guilty. Another
part of me wants to
just go through it and
then end it later. It’s so
embarrassing. -Male,
Gay, 25
Dude, you’re 25, do not
marry someone because
you feel obligated. Just
end it. You’re going
to be miserable if you
go through with this,
spend a ton of money,
then spend more on the
divorce, and it’s just not
worth it. It’s not going
to be fun to end it and
cancel everything, but
that’s clearly the right
choice here. Going
through with it is only
going to cause more
pain in the long run.
Getting married is not
a good way to fix a
relationship.
Sex/Love/Relationship advice? Send your questions to: ThomasTalksAbout@gmail.com
@ThomasWhitfield84

BY IAN-MICHAEL BERGERON
@ianmichaelinwonderland
Turkey Day
Thanksgiving is a perfect
excuse to get out of the
city for a long weekend.
My first Thanksgiving in
New York, I was not so
lucky: I couldn’t afford
the time off from my
hourly job ($10/hour in
2012), let alone the $600
plane ticket (New York
to Iowa never fails to be
around $600 round trip),
so I stayed in, eating
McDonald’s by myself on
a mattress on the floor.
(We’ve all been there—
right?)
Last year, however, better
paystub in hand (and my
mattress on a bed frame),
I bought two tickets to
take my boyfriend home
for Thanksgiving.
Well, not actually
home: A year ago my
grandparents moved
from Iowa to Nebraska,
a few houses
down from my
mom’s sister,
and they’d
decided to
host there. I’d
never been
to Nebraska
before. The
North Platte
airport is
the smallest
I’ve ever
been in,
one plane
at a time.
I stepped
off the
plane in
a dusty
blue lace
Dolce & Gabbana
jacket and immediately
faced an old-school diner
attached to the airport.
(“Everyone loves it,” my
grandmother assured me
later.)
My grandfather
made six pies, as is
tradition. (That’s not
an exaggeration, and
if you’ve ever tried his
pies, you’ll know that all
six of them, homemade
crusts and all, were
devoured in entirety.)
For Thanksgiving dinner,
the Lawrences go ham:
with ham, turkey, stuffing
(always my favorite),
homemade cranberry
sauce, mashed potatoes
and noodle gravy (a
family secret recipe of
my late Great Grandma
Lawrence, which none
of us have quite gotten
right since her death); the
list goes on and on. My
grandparents, chefs at
heart, make everything
themselves from scratch.
It was the first time my
boyfriend met my family,
and both of our first
times in Nebraska. We
ate too much food; we
drank too much wine; we
watched the entire series
of “Brain Dead” with my
aunt and uncle; we got
a VIP tour of my aunt’s
library; we even found a
few Nancy Drew books
at a local bookstore,
guarded by a live-in cat.
(My boyfriend and I are
after the entire original
collection: The only rule
is we have to find them
in person at bookstores,
never online.)
It was an incredible time,
but my Thanksgivings
with family aren’t my
only memorable ones. I’ll
never forget the year I
stayed in New York and
brought cocktail shrimp
to a Friendsgiving. (The
food took a bit longer
than planned to make;
the cocktail shrimp
served as a perfect premeal
appetizer.) The key
to a perfect Friendsgiving
is doing a potluck: You’ll
get all kinds of food
you never imaged at a
Thanksgiving table, and
everyone always brings at
least one bottle of wine.
The more, the merrier!
Whether you’re getting
out of New York to see
family, or staying in New
York with the family
you’ve made for yourself:
Happy Thanksgiving. Eat
some extra stuffing for
me!

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