Tag Archives: Lesbian Musical

Check Out ‘And The Moon’ – A New Black and White Lesbian Musical

Do you remember the first time you realized you were in love with a girl?

Maybe it was your first kiss with the shy girl in your biology class. Maybe it was when you first laid eyes on that cute girl with an afro at a poetry slam. Maybe it was when Kristen Stewart helped you make Totinos Pizza Rolls and had sex with you on a counter during the Superbowl.

The new queer musical explores that moment through music, dance and film.

The producer, Dan Bindschedler, says:

And the Moon” is a musical short about a woman’s journey to allow herself to be vulnerable, to fall in love, and to openly embrace her desire for another woman. Late at night, at the end of a promising date, a young woman is caught off guard by her date’s open, direct desire for her. During their dance of seduction, time suddenly stands still as she considers her own feelings of love and the erotic attraction that she feels towards this other woman. Wordlessly, through dance, she grapples with her fear about publicly owning her queerness, as well as the universal fear of being vulnerable enough to fall in love with another person.

The film will be shot in high-contrast black and white. The producer aims to emulate the romanticism of 1950s European art film, with an eye trained on Luchino Cisconti’s Le notti bianche. (Will this make the film insufferably artistic and self-important? It’s too early to tell.)

Because the musical is about women, the producer prioritized women when assembling a crew. The writer-director and choreographer are both women, as are every member of the cast.

The cast is notable for its diversity. Several women of color play the starring roles. It stars Gabby Beans, Adrianna Aguilar, Raquel Chavez, and Maria Diez, most of whom are new to film, but not to acting.

The film isn’t quite ready yet. They’re still raising money at their Kickstarter with the hope of submitting it to festivals in 2018 – everything from LA Outfest to NYC Newfest, with perhaps Sundance in between.

The producer has a dedicated schedule of when the film will be submitted and released online, so you can be sure that come hell or high water, you’ll be able to get your hands on it. Donors will get to see it first.

To contribute, head over to the “And The Moon” Kickstarter.

‘Liberty’s Secret’ Is A Hilarious, Political Lesbian Musical

What if Sarah Palin were secretly a lesbian?

That idea is essentially the crux of Liberty’s Secret, a lighthearted movie-musical that follows a conservative Republican candidate’s harebrained election campaign. During the campaign, one of the candidate’s advisors, Nikki (Cara AnnMarie), falls for the all-American, squeaky-clean campaign spokeswoman, Liberty (Jaclene Wilk). Conservative outrage and lesbian hijinks ensue.

A Catchy, Creative Soundtrack

The highlight of the movie is definitely the musical numbers, which range from jazz to Latin ballroom to light classical. The witty songs had me laughing so hard I whistled – “Girls Like Boys” is a three-minute failed ode to gender norms that include claims like “Girls like picking roses, and boys like punching noses.”

The more heartfelt songs made my eyes prickle with tears. The operatic I Dare Not Speak Your Name is worth a listen even if you don’t watch the movie.

Most Lovable Character Award Goes to…

My personal favorite character was the presidential candidate, a lovable George Bush caricature who trips over himself whenever he tries to express an original opinion. At a time when the real-life President-elect is a horrifying, racist, fascist Republican, it feels cathartic to have a well-meaning Republican candidate to laugh at instead of fear.

Room for Improvement (Spoilers)

Granted, the film is far from perfect. While Liberty’s character was spectacular, Nikki felt wooden, and I didn’t believe that they were in love. When Nikki told Liberty that she loved her, I rolled my eyes because it felt forced.

It would also have been nice to see Liberty wrestle with her sexuality more. She was raised in a sheltered, fundamentalist Christian home, yet she accepts her sexuality in stride. She leaps headfirst into a relationship with Nikki after a four-minute stay at a Christian reparative therapy facility.

Yet Another Sassy Black Stereotype

The handling of the character Yolanda was also less than stellar. While she got a (very flimsy) romantic subplot with Liberty’s father, she seemed to exist solely to give advice and ensure that the privileged white characters lived happily ever after. The Magical Negro is alive and well. Still, it was refreshing to see POC representation in a Republican environment.

Side-Splitters

Despite its flaws, Liberty’s Secret is a funny and satirical romp through American politics. The soundtrack alone makes it more than worthwhile, and you’ll fall in love with Jaclene Wilk.

Some of the most hilarious lines:

  • When being coached on how to answer questions like a politician, Liberty says, “Don’t say ‘global warming.’ Say, ‘This too shall pass.'”
  • In a church, parishioners sing about God’s forgiveness. “Rub, dub, dub, bubble and scrub! My blackened soul is white!”
  • Liberty says, “You don’t even know what real love is. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about doing things for others. Doing the right thing even if it’s not the thing you want. Giving up your own life for someone else’s. That’s real love.” Nikki shoots back, “No, that’s codependency. There’s a big difference.”

 

Final Verdict

Liberty’s Secret is a funny, very gay movie that I will be returning to again and again, if only for the soundtrack. I highly recommend it!

Listen to a few of the best songs here, and purchase the movie on Vimeo for $2.99 or Amazon for free with Prime. Learn more at the official website. Check out the trailer below.

Official summary: Liberty Smith is the perfect, all-American girl: preacher’s daughter, straight-A student, and aspiring Christian Pop singer. So when a struggling presidential campaign needs a bridge to Rust-Belt evangelicals, they believe they’ve found their poster child! But when ingénue Liberty meets Washington insider, Nikki Levine, the campaign takes a tailspin — and so does Liberty. Smart, sexy, and sophisticated, Nikki is everything Liberty has ever dreamed of. Can their love song bring the country together, or will fear and politics drive them apart?

Sacha Baron Cohen Is Developing A Lesbian Musical (No, Really)

Sacha Baron Cohen is currently planning on a new project – a lesbian musical.

Yes you heard us correctly.

The Lesbian is a true story inspired by a Hong Kong woman, Gigi Chao, who came out to her billionaire father, Cecil Chao, in 2012. Though she’d married a woman in France, her father publicly offered $65 million to any man who could seduce her back to heterosexuality.

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The offer made international headlines, but was rescinded in 2014 after Gigi penned an emotional letter persuading her father to accept her homosexuality.

At a recent press event, Cohen told JoBlo that he’s currently developing the project, which is now a musical:

I’m developing a musical called The Lesbian at the moment, which is based on the true story of a billionaire whose daughter tells him she’s getting married to a woman and he offers $65 million to any man who can turn her straight. It’s a true story, but we’re doing the twist on it.”

Smash-Hit Lesbian Musical ‘Fun Home’ Wins Big at Tony Awards (Video & Pics)

Fun Home, the smash-hit Broadway musical based on lesbian author Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel, took home five awards at the 69th Annual Tony Awards last night.

The show not only won the award for Best Musical, but also saw Tonys handed out to Michael Cerveris for Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role, Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Direction of a Musical for director Sam Gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4bV3IP_Zww

The show is based on the best-selling memoir by graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, who is openly lesbian, whose father was closeted and ran the family funeral home.

Lisa Kron, who was interviewed in HRC’s Equality magazine, said.

This is extremely deep work. We have put our heart and souls into it. We had no idea whether the show would fly or not… [Fun Home] not just on a lesbian protagonist, but it’s a butch lesbian protagonist … one of the most invisible creatures in the cultural world.”

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