Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 523
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
Featuring content from the hottest gay and gay-friendly spots in New York, each (free!) issue of Get Out! highlights the bars, nightclubs, restaurants, spas and other businesses throughout NYC’s metropolitan area that the city’s gay a population is interested in.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
OCTOBER 5, 2023 | ISSUE <strong>523</strong><br />
MJT/GOOTH ENTERTAINMENT
NF35_<strong>Get</strong><strong>Out</strong>-Cover.indd 1<br />
9/30/23 4:51 PM<br />
getoutmag.com week in pictures<br />
>Photos by Mike Todd<br />
KARYN WHITE AT CITY WINERY NYC<br />
OCTOBER 5, 2023 | ISSUE <strong>523</strong><br />
MJT/GOOTH ENTERTAINMENT<br />
ISSUE #<strong>523</strong><br />
PUBLISHER MICHAEL TODD<br />
MIKE@GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
DESIGN AGOTA CORREA<br />
AGOTA@GETOUTMAG.COM<br />
CELEBRITY INTERVIEWER EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
@EILEENSHAPIRO3<br />
NYC’S NIGHTLIFE AWARD WINNING BLOGGER/<br />
WRITER & INTERVIEWER JIM SILVESTRI<br />
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER WILSONMODELS<br />
JEASO86@HOTMAIL.COM<br />
The publications of MJT/GOOTH ENTERTAINMENT, getoutmag.com or any<br />
other related print or Web publications or social media accounts, their images,<br />
quotations or articles should not be construed to be an indication of the sexual<br />
orientation of anyone portrayed therein.<br />
All Content © Copyright 2019<br />
MJT/GOOTH ENTERTAINMENT<br />
25-21 45TH STREET ASTORIA, NY 11103<br />
GET OUT OF THE HOUSE ENTERTAINMENT EST. 2009
BRAND NEW WINE BAR IN HELLS KITCHEN<br />
WINE BAR - FOOD - AFTER THEATRE BITES<br />
HAPPY HOUR - MOCKTAILS - LOVE<br />
MAKE RESERVATIONS HERE<br />
BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY WITH US NOW AT...<br />
SD.REDSTACHE@GMAIL.COM<br />
401 WEST 52ND STREET NYC (BETWEEN 9TH AND10TH AVE)
BY EILEEN SHAPIRO<br />
CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT<br />
CANDACE BUSHNELL<br />
“TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS<br />
AND SEX AND THE CITY”<br />
@ THE GREEN ROOM 42<br />
PHOTOS BY FADIL BERISHA<br />
It’s often said that when you write about<br />
something, it’s best to take it from things<br />
you know and from personal experience.<br />
Candace Bushnell took her column in the<br />
New York Observer<strong>–</strong>“Sex In the City” <strong>–</strong>so<br />
personally that she could have easily taken<br />
the role of Carrie Bradshaw without even<br />
acting….. And now she will be presenting<br />
her spectacular one-woman show at the<br />
Green Room 42 (570 10th Avenue, inside<br />
the Yotel Hotel) with four performances<br />
from October 11-15, 2023.
Hello, Candace. What can fans expect<br />
at your show?<br />
Basically, the story of how I created Sex<br />
in the City. How hard I worked to get<br />
there. Why I invented Carrie Bradshaw.<br />
And what happened to me afterwards.<br />
Along the way, I answer some of fans’<br />
biggest questions, like “Was there a<br />
real Mr. Big? Did I really have three<br />
friends like the ones that were on the<br />
TV show<strong>–</strong>a Charlotte, a Miranda and a<br />
Samantha?” And of course, in answering<br />
all of that, in a sense, it’s the origin story<br />
of Sex and the City, combined with<br />
pieces of my life story. How I came to<br />
New York and some of the things that<br />
happened to me along the way and how<br />
I got Sex in the City and beyond.<br />
What inspired you to want to do that?<br />
It was actually something that I just<br />
said “Yes” to. And it took off. I met this<br />
man named Mark Johnson. He’s one<br />
of the producers of the show. David<br />
Foster has a one-man show. And Mark<br />
Johnson basically developed it with him<br />
and I happened to meet David Foster<br />
and I met Mark Johnson and he said, “I<br />
think that you two can do a one-woman<br />
show.” It was something that I never<br />
thought about doing, but I just said,<br />
“Well, I’ll give it a try.” So, I wrote a script<br />
and people really liked it and before I<br />
knew it, we had a Broadway director<strong>–</strong><br />
Lorin Latarro. We raised money and we<br />
took it to Bucks County Playhouse to<br />
develop it and I did it at the Daryl Roth<br />
Theater off Broadway.<br />
When you go up onstage and do a<br />
show, it’s obviously way different<br />
than being an author. Are you<br />
nervous? Are you excited? What are<br />
you feeling?<br />
I am really excited. I’m not nervous<br />
about doing it. I think if I were really<br />
nervous about doing it, I wouldn’t do it.<br />
If I felt uncomfortable or if it stressed me<br />
out, I wouldn’t do it. I mean, it is stressful<br />
because you have to rehearse a lot and<br />
there’s a lot that goes into the show. A<br />
lot of behind the scenes stuff. But it’s<br />
not something where I feel like “Oh,<br />
my God. I don’t want to do it.” It’s kind<br />
of a side of my personality that I guess<br />
I never explored before when I was<br />
younger. Now I’m in my 60s and this<br />
came along and I said, “Yes, why not? If<br />
not now, when?”<br />
I actually heard that you were trying<br />
to turn it into some kind of TV series.<br />
Is that true?<br />
Well I wrote a book called Is There Still<br />
Sex in the City? That was sold to be a<br />
TV series, but it fell apart, like a lot of<br />
things during the pandemic. I have a<br />
couple of other TV things that I have<br />
been working on, but now there’s a<br />
strike. So, some things are on hold and<br />
we’ll see what happens.<br />
What was it like to be the reason for the<br />
most popular show on the planet?<br />
Honestly, it’s not something that I really<br />
spend any time thinking about. I’m<br />
always working. Usually, I’m writing a<br />
book. I mean right now, I’m not writing a<br />
book because I’m doing the stage show<br />
and hopefully a couple of other things.<br />
Honestly, after the pandemic I just don’t<br />
feel like locking myself away and writing<br />
a book, which is something I’ve done for<br />
years. After the pandemic, I was like, “I<br />
want to go out and see people, I want to<br />
be around people.” But I’m always working<br />
on something new, so I’m usually thinking<br />
about that thing. Not the TV show. The<br />
TV show is great and it has been a great<br />
experience, but I still have to get up and<br />
work every day.
When you wrote your column, were you<br />
living out Carrie Bradshaw’s fantasy or<br />
was she living out yours?<br />
Well, Carrie Bradshaw was my alter ego.<br />
So, Carrie Bradshaw was me. I’d been<br />
writing professionally for 15 years when I<br />
got that Sex in the City column. It wasn’t<br />
something that just came to me. I had been<br />
working<strong>–</strong>writing about women, money,<br />
power, relationships. So, Sex In the City<br />
for me was really just a continuation of the<br />
work that I had already been doing for 15<br />
years. The column was a success because<br />
I knew what I was doing. And living that life.<br />
A single woman and chronicling living in the<br />
city and society and how people behave<br />
socially.<br />
These guys, Kim Cattrall and all of them,<br />
they were your real friends. I mean their<br />
characters.<br />
As I say in the show, I had lots and<br />
lots of girlfriends. Obviously,<br />
living in New York for years,<br />
I had lots of girlfriends<br />
and I have been writing<br />
about women and<br />
women I know for<br />
years. So, there were<br />
lots of different types<br />
of women before<br />
a TV show. They<br />
don’t want you to<br />
have hundreds<br />
of characters. If<br />
there are too many<br />
characters, you can’t<br />
keep track.<br />
I know you had<br />
a lot to do with<br />
the actual<br />
production<br />
of the show.<br />
When it came<br />
out, were<br />
you disappointed? Was there anything<br />
you would have changed? Is there<br />
something you would have rather had?<br />
No. When it came out, I was thrilled.<br />
What are you most looking forward to at<br />
The Green Room 42?<br />
I love performing in New York. New York<br />
City audiences are great. I’ve done this<br />
show a couple of times at the Carlyle and<br />
a couple of times off-Broadway at Daryl<br />
Roth Theater. I’m just looking forward to<br />
doing it in New York. There is audience<br />
participation, and it’s really fun.<br />
So one last question. Was there really a<br />
Mr. Big?<br />
That is one of the questions that I answer in<br />
the show. And it was<strong>–</strong>and I tell the story of<br />
the real Mr Big.<br />
CONNECT<br />
WITH CANDACE<br />
INSTAGRAM:<br />
@CANDACEBUSHNELL<br />
CANDACEBUSHNELL.COM
BY MIKE TODD<br />
COMPOSER<br />
RANDY EDELMAN<br />
WELCOMES CLIVE DAVIS TO HIS EPIC PERFORMANCE<br />
@ CHELSEA NYC 9/22/23<br />
Fate whispers to the warrior: “You cannot withstand the storm”. The warrior whispers<br />
back, “I am the storm”…I’m sure whoever wrote that had to be referring to musical<br />
warrior Randy Edelman, songwriting nobility who leaves his audiences raptured and<br />
breathless. In an intoxicating performance at the chic new nighttime hotspot Chelsea<br />
Table and Stage in the heart of New York City on September 22, Randy Edelman killed<br />
it. The audience was swinging from the rafters, and the sold out space was swollen with<br />
icons and rockers from every species of music, including one of the most prominent and<br />
divine living legends on the planet, aside from Randy himself.<br />
PHOTO CREDIT: BILLY HESS<br />
Celebrated record producer Clive Davis entered the venue with his entourage, wearing<br />
a dapper, verdigris attire, and carefully chose his seat to the slight right of the piano.<br />
It was apparent that he was excited to see Randy perform. He watched and listened as<br />
the award winning symphonist took command of the stage and captured the audience<br />
from the moment he sat down at the piano and began to play. The crowded room<br />
was noticeably touched and silent as Randy honored Davis with the story of his<br />
quintessential song, “Weekend In New England” (as recorded by Barry Manilow).<br />
While in the UK, Randy received a long distance call from Davis, requesting the<br />
song for Manilow, and the rest became music history forever, while the rocky<br />
beaches of New England’s shore rode the wave of fame.<br />
Through his music and stories, Randy shared the ever changing<br />
direction of the soundscape of his career. There was no sun,<br />
there was no moon, no direction, no sense of time….just fine<br />
musical notes swirling up and around the room like thunder<br />
screaming across the sky.
He featured songs including “If Love Is Real” (recorded by Olivia Newton-John), an<br />
emotional “You” (as recorded by the Carpenters), and Randy’s own charted hits, “The<br />
Uptown, Uptempo Woman” and “Pretty Girls” (used in the film The Beast Inside). And<br />
there was much more music to enjoy as well.<br />
He shared the riveting melange of his film scores in an enraptured showcase of<br />
emotion and passion. The crowd remained entranced by the poetry and the intimacy of<br />
his musical display. They could feel what he felt….and what he felt was intense.<br />
A musical heterodox at times and certainly an anomaly, Randy speaks in all genres,<br />
some not yet invented or known publicly to the wider world encapsulated within his<br />
musical soundtracks including “Last of the Mohicans”, “My Cousin Vinny”, “While You<br />
Were Sleeping”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Ghostbusters ll”, “Dragonheart”, “Beethoven”,<br />
“The Bruce Lee Story”, and over 100 other film and television scores.<br />
There is a wistful elegance to Randy songs, whether they be about the demise of<br />
romance, the echoing of a dream or the longing for deeper love. Randy Edelman<br />
has emerged as a solo artist with an exuberant mystique connected to his one-man<br />
shows, proven by the well deserved standing ovation he received from a congregation<br />
that included artists like Grandmaster Caz, Screamin’ Rachael (Queen of House<br />
Music), DJ So Gaudy, actor Apache Ramos, Desmond Child, representatives from the<br />
UN, and a host of others…
BY JIM SILVESTRI<br />
MEET THE NEW MISS FIRE ISLAND:<br />
GIA BIANCA<br />
STEPHENS!<br />
Hello, Gia. Congratulations on being<br />
crowned Miss Fire Island! Thanks so<br />
much for finding time to chat with us after<br />
this whirlwind week. Are you still super<br />
happy and energized or are you already<br />
focused on the next crown, lol?<br />
Thank you so much! I am still taking some<br />
time to enjoy this huge win. This means the<br />
world to me, and I want to soak it up over<br />
the next year. As far as the next pageant is<br />
concerned, I actually qualified for Miss Gay<br />
America 2024 a few weeks before Miss Fire<br />
Island…so my preparations were already<br />
well under way.<br />
What made you want to try out for Miss FI<br />
this year?<br />
I always love any experience that connects<br />
me to our queer history. Any dedicated<br />
competitor should know about the rich<br />
tradition that is Miss Fire Island. In my<br />
mind, the contest itself is an institution, and<br />
everything in my gut was telling me to give it<br />
another go. I registered to compete without<br />
hesitation as soon as they began accepting<br />
contestants.<br />
I see you’re currently in Salt Lake City,<br />
your home town. That must be an<br />
interesting town to have a drag career!<br />
What’s been your experience with that?<br />
It’s been amazing. My out of town guests are<br />
always shocked at the passionate drag fans<br />
and thriving queer community we have here.<br />
I’ve been performing, hosting and fundraising<br />
for over a decade, and being a small part<br />
of so much growth and exposure for drag<br />
artistry has been a real honor.<br />
So, how many pageant crowns have you<br />
collected so far…and is there one that<br />
holds the most sentimental value for<br />
you?<br />
I’ve collected a dozen titles over the years.<br />
Each crown has its own glory<strong>–</strong>but aside<br />
from Miss Fire Island, my most important<br />
and special crown was Miss Gay New<br />
York America 2022. I competed earlier that<br />
year for a different MGA prelim and wasn’t<br />
successful. I wanted to challenge myself, so<br />
I took another package to NYC a few months<br />
later and won. I put in the work, I asked for<br />
feedback and I won the crown. I’m proud<br />
of myself for taking my drag to one of the<br />
fiercest and most competitive drag markets<br />
in the country. That win instilled so much<br />
confidence in me and proved I’m on the right<br />
path. The best part is, I won the title on my<br />
36th birthday.<br />
What would your best advice be for a<br />
girl who’s considering entering national<br />
pageantry?<br />
Oh wow…That’s a big question! First, I’d say<br />
to do your homework. Every system has its<br />
own standards and scoring methods. Read<br />
the contestant handbook cover to cover,<br />
many times. Bring your best possible self to<br />
the stage, and remember: If you want to be<br />
the best, you have to compete with the best.<br />
IG: @giabiancastephens<br />
Photo: Jeff Eason
getoutmag.com week in pictures<br />
RED EYE GRAND OPENING<br />
>> BY WILSONMODELS / wilsonmodels.blogspot.com