Carol Channing And Justin Vivian Bond Put On A Show In Cherry Grove

I was out on Fire Island this weekend and was lucky enough to attend this one-night only show at the Ice Palace--Carol Channing and Justin Vivian Bond. I wrote about it for NEXT magazine's blog, which you can read here. It was really a special night to get to see these two performers talking, gossiping and even singing. I had previously seen Carol a couple years ago at a Broadway benefit at the New Amsterdam Theatre where she came out kicking with a line of chorus boys. At 92, she is not a little more frail but still sharp, funny and somewhat wicked too.

She is really quite the storyteller as well--one of my favorites was a touching tale she told about the Kennedy's, post-assasination. She'd been to the White House for a couple dinners and invited Jacqueline Kennedy to bring John and Caroline to see HELLO DOLLY on Broadway. Before the show, they met the star backstage and Caroline fancied one of her prop purses and Carol gave it to her--much to the chagrin of stagehands who said they could not come up with a new purse before curtain. Justin started the night with songs about love and the evening was a true lovefest; the audiences love for this iconic performer and her love of her especially devoted/obsessed LGBT fans.

The Lovesong Of J. Gordon Leavitt

So this is cute: an adorkable guy on Fire Island in a trendy tank plays a ukelele love song to Joseph Gordon Leavitt. In the song he refers to him as JGL which is fortunate because are all sorts of great words that rhyme with "L", as he demonstrates in this 3 minute song. At the end, his friends say that this will get him on THE ELLEN SHOW. Well, with the new and final DARK NIGHT opening this Friday, starring JGL of course, they just might be right.  5,000 hits today and counting....

BREAKING NEWS--Fire on Fire Island Destroys the Pavilion

A fire broke out at the Pavilion complex in the Fire Island Pines community last night, destroying  a dance club, a real estate office, a grocery/gift store, the Sip'N'Twirl bar and a number of other small businesses.

It was apparently a fast moving blaze that started around 9:15pm on Monday night. More than 100 firefighters from Long Island and other Fire Island communities worked hard to bring it under control. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the other buildings like the Canteen, the hotel and the Blue Whale and no one was injured.

Towleroad has all the details, including this photo of the interior of the destroyed Pavilion.  This is where we shot part of the TV pilot "Half-Share" last season and we had our wrap party for that shoot at the Sip'N'Twirl.  It's sad to see this place that is a central part of the Pines community now in ruins.  The remains of the building will likely be razed according to a statement from the owners.  Here's an excerpt below:

Tomorrow morning, Seth, Matt and I will begin the process of renewing this beautiful property and making it even more spectacular than it was before. Our hearts go out to Nicole LaFountaine, Patrick, PJ, Bob Howard and others in the LaFountaine building, and we will help one another get the commercial district ready for summer 2012. There is a lot of hard work ahead for all of us.

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Trailer For A New TV Series HALF-SHARE Hits Web

Last fall, I worked on a hilarious pilot for a TV series about Fire Island called HALF-SHARE.  It's about the antics in a group house of gays in the FIP, featuring Alec Mapa (UGLY BETTY, THE VIEW) as the ultimate house mother.  The show has an incredible cast of talented comic actors, including Sam Pancake (SHIT MY DAD SAYS), Jack Plotnick (GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS) and gay rom-com "queen" Jesse Archer (SLUTTY SUMMER, VIOLET TENDENCIES), who wrote and directed the pilot with Sean Hanley.

You can now watch the trailer on YouTube where it is blowing up....over 2,000 hits in less than 24 hours!  There's more info about the show too on the official website including lots of fun and sexy behind-the scene pics. Hopefully this will be coming to a net-werk near you soon....LOGO, are you listening?

The Fairy Schedule

There is a new website up just in time for summer weekends that combines the LIRR schedule and the Fire Island ferries schedule for the Pines and the Grove. Genius. There is even an app that you can get for your iPhone that has the same info. Now all you need to do is find a friend's house with an extra chaise lounge to crash on. :)