David Carroll (July 30, 1950 - March 11, 1992)

Born in Rockville Center, New York, in 1950, David Carroll (sometimes billed as David-James Carroll) is best known for his work in musical theater. At Dartmouth College, where he was an undergraduate, he helped found the repertory company. In 1974 he was an understudy in the Circle in the Square Theatre's revival of Frank Loesser's Where's Charley?, and in 1975 he was an original cast member of the revue Rodgers & Hart at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

In the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 1976 production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Biblical musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – the first major production of Joseph in New York – Carroll played the title role.

In 1981, he played Eastern Mousada in Valenti and Driver's short-lived musical Oh Brother! at the ANTA Playhouse (now called the August WilsonTheatre). In Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982), a musical based on the 1954 film of the same name (with a book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay; music by Gene de Paul, Al Kasha, and Joel Hirschhorn; and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha, and Joel Hirschhorn), Carroll played Adam in the original Broadway cast.

At the Public Theatre in 1984, playing opposite Linda Ronstadt's Mimì, Carroll sang Rodolpho in a new version of Puccini's La bohème, offering a convincing portrayal of a sensitive romantic who could also, as the New York Times noted, "deliver the score forcefully in pop terms."

In 1985, Carroll played Rat in the musical based on Kenneth Grahame's classical children's tale The Wind in the Willows. The musical – by William Perry, Roger McGough, and Jane Iredale – earned two Tony® nominations, for Best Book of a Musical and for Best Original Score. At the Imperial Theatre in 1988, Carroll took the lead part of the Russian chess master Anatoly in Chess – a musical by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (both of ABBA fame) and Tim Rice – for which Carroll received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

( Read more... )

Source: http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/david-carroll

( Further Readings )

More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Gay Classics

Kevin Oldham (August 30, 1960 - March 11, 1993)

Kevin Oldham, a pianist and composer who left his hospital bed to perform his own piano concerto with the Kansas City Symphony just 2 months before his death, died on March 11, 1993, at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. He was 32 and lived in Manhattan. He was survived by his companion, Stephen Rotondaro, of Manhattan, a Muppet Workshop designer, and winner of four Emmys for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling for Sesame Street, as well as working on puppet costumes for various other Muppet and Sesame projects. (P: courtesy estate of Kevin Oldham)

According to Rotondaro, Kevin composed music from childhood, but after he was diagnosed he became more driven to write new songs. In the final verse of one of the motion picture’s most heartrending pieces, “Not Even if I Try,” with words and music by Oldham, the composer expresses longing for a lost love and trying to keep a connection between life and death.

“I search the stars
I watch the clouds look down to me
My thoughts are clear
My heart is aching
You’re oh so far away
I close my eyes and hold my pillow
And say a prayer for you
I won’t forget. I can’t forget
Not even if I try.”

Mr. Oldham was born in Kansas City on Aug. 30, 1960. He began his formal studies at Northwestern University and won several piano competitions during his three years there, but decided in 1981 to move to New York to study at the Juilliard School. He made his recital debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1985.


AIDS Quilt

( Read more... )

Source: www.nytimes.com/1993/03/12/obituaries/kevin-oldham-32-pianist-who-started-composing-in-illness.html

More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Gay Classics

David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963)

David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American commercial photographer, fine-art photographer, music video director, film director, and artist. (P: Gampe. David LaChapelle at the launching his exhibition in Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, 2011)

He is best known for his photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His photographic style has been described as "hyper-real and slyly subversive" and as "kitsch pop surrealism." One 1996 article called him the "Fellini of photography," a phrase that continues to be applied to him.

David LaChapelle was born in Fairfield, Connecticut and lived there until he was nine years old. Then he moved to North Carolina with his family, where they lived until he was fourteen, before moving back to Connecticut. He has said to have loved the public schools in Connecticut and thrived in their art program as a child and teenager, although he struggled with bullying growing up. He also attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and School of Visual Arts in New York City. His first photograph was of his mother, Helga LaChapelle, on a family vacation in Puerto Rico.

He was bullied in his North Carolina school for being gay. When he was 15 years old, he ran away from home to become a busboy at Studio 54 in New York City. Eventually he returned to North Carolina to enroll in the North Carolina School of Arts.

LaChapelle was affiliated in the 1980s with 303 Gallery which also exhibited artists such as Doug Aitken and Karen Kilimnik. After people from Interview Magazine saw his work exhibited, LaChapelle was offered to work for the magazine.

When LaChapelle was 17 years old, he met Andy Warhol, who offered him his first job as a photographer at Interview magazine. Warhol reportedly told LaChapelle "Do whatever you want. Just make sure everybody looks good." His photographs of celebrities in Interview garnered positive attention, and before long he was shooting for a variety of top editorial publications. LaChapelle's friends during this period included Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.



( Read more... )

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_LaChapelle

( Further Readings )

More Photographers at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

It Happened Today: March 11

Christopher Rice (born March 11, 1978): http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3496026.html

Christopher Travis Rice (born March 11, 1978) is an American author. Rice has written five best-selling novels: A Density of Souls, The Snow Garden, Light Before Day, Blind Fall, and his latest book, The Moonlit Earth, which was published in April 2010 by Scribner. In A Density of Souls, there's murder, suicide, and madness at the heart of this rather clumsycoming-of-age story, which focuses on the youthful friendship of Stephen Conlin, Meredith Ducote, Greg Darby, and Brandon Charbonnet.

David Carroll (July 30, 1950 - March 11, 1992): http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3496251.html

David Carroll is particularly remembered for his portrayal of Baron Felix von Gaigern, a role he created in the 1989 musical Grand Hotel (book by Luther Davis, music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, additional lyrics and music by Maury Yeston). The musical won 5 Tony Awards®; Carroll earned both Tony® and Drama Desk nominations for his performance. He was in the process of making the original cast recording in 1992 when he died, at age 41, of a pulmonary embolism.

David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963): http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4253604.html

David LaChapelle is an American commercial photographer, fine-art photographer, music video director, film director, and artist. When LaChapelle was 17 years old, he met Andy Warhol, who offered him his first job as a photographer at Interview magazine. Warhol reportedly told LaChapelle "Do whatever you want. Just make sure everybody looks good." His photographs of celebrities in Interview garnered positive attention, and before long he was shooting for a variety of top editorial publications.

Dora Carrington (March 29, 1893 – March 11, 1932): http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4252815.html

Giles Lytton Strachey was a British writer & critic. Dora Carrington was a British painter and decorative artist, remembered for her association with the Bloomsbury Group. Though Strachey spoke openly about his homosexuality with his Bloomsbury friends, it was not widely publicised until the late 1960s, in a biography by Michael Holroyd. In 1921 Carrington agreed to marry Ralph Partridge, not for love but to secure the 3-way relationship. She committed suicide two months after Strachey's death.

John C. Wells & Gabriel Parsons: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4252944.html

John Christopher Wells is a British phonetician and Esperanto teacher. In September 2006 he signed a civil partnership with Gabriel Parsons, a native of Montserrat and his partner since 1968. Wells is a professor emeritus at University College London, where until his retirement in 2006 he held the departmental chair in phonetics. He is a member of London Gay Men's Chorus and has featured in their It Gets Better video. He is also a player of the melodeon and has uploaded videos to YouTube.

June Arnold & Parke Bowman: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3496609.html

June Arnold immersed herself in the rich cultural diversity of the Village. There she established her feminist as well as lesbian identity. Her first novel, Applesauce, dealt in part with her marriage and her difficulty in fulfilling the traditional roles. Arnold also began a relationship with Parke Bowman, a lawyer who became her long-time partner. Bowman and Arnold together with novelist Bertha Harris and political theorist Charlotte Bunch, founded Daughters Inc., Press in 1973.

Kevin Oldham (August 30, 1960 - March 11, 1993): http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4253377.html

According to his companion, Stephen Rotondaro, Kevin Oldham became driven to write new songs. In the final verse of one of the most heartrending pieces, “Not Even if I Try,” the composer expresses longing for trying to keep a connection between life and death. “I search the stars, I watch the clouds look down to me, My thoughts are clear, My heart is aching, You’re oh so far away, I close my eyes and hold my pillow, And say a prayer for you, I won’t forget. I can’t forget, Not even if I try.”

2014 Rainbow Awards Submission: Daughter of Mystery

Lesbian Fantasy Romance
Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones
Series: Novel of Alpennia
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bella Books (February 18, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594933804
ISBN-13: 978-1594933806
Amazon: Daughter of Mystery (Novel of Alpennia)
Amazon Kindle: Daughter of Mystery (Novel of Alpennia)

Margerit Sovitre did not expect to inherit the Baron Saveze’s fortunes—and even less his bodyguard. The formidable Barbara, of unknown parentage and tied to the barony for secretive reasons, is a feared duelist, capable of defending her charges with efficient, deadly force.

Equally perplexing is that while she is now a highly eligible heiress, Margerit did not also inherit the Saveze title, and the new baron eyes the fortunes he lost with open envy. Barbara, bitter that her servitude is to continue, may be the only force that stands between Margerit and the new Baron’s greed—and the ever deeper layers of intrigue that surround the ill-health of Alpennia’s prince and the divine power from rituals known only as The Mysteries of the Saints.

At first Margerit protests the need for Barbara’s services, but soon she cannot imagine sending Barbara away—for reasons of state and reasons of the heart.
Heather Rose Jone debuts with a sweeping story rich in intrigue and the clash of loyalties and love.

Charities Donation program progress:
25$ YouthCare: www.youthcare.org/
25$ Point Foundation: www.pointfoundation.org/
25$ CARE: careprogram.org/
25$ Lost-n-Found Youth: www.lost-n-found.org/
25$ Lambda Legal: www.lambdalegal.org/
50$ Wes for Youth: wesforyouth.privacemail.com/
83$ COLORS: www.colorsyouth.org/
125$ Cancer Research Institute: www.cancerresearch.org/
132$ Galop: www.galop.org.uk/
140$ SAGE: giveto.sageusa.org/
160$ UCAN: www.ucanchicago.org/
300$ Ali Forney Center: www.aliforneycenter.org/
TOTAL: 1115$*

* more than 150$ is a direct donation from a supporter of the Rainbow Awards who isn't submitting; while some authors were more than generous, arriving to donate 5 times the suggested amount, being the submission fee a non mandatory and voluntary direct donation, we were struggling to raise the same amount as last year and there is who decided to cover part of it. I thank you for all you are doing, and if you wish to donate to the above links, please drop me a note with your donation and I will update the total.

2014 Rainbow Awards Guidelines: reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4162490.html

UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet: Lisa Worrall

Starting from March up until June I will feature authors attending the UK GLBTQ Meet in Bristol (June 7 & 8, 2014: ukglbtfictionmeet.co.uk/2014-registration/2014-attendees/).

Today author is Lisa Worrall: "I live in a small seaside town just outside London and am ordered around by my two children and a dog who thinks she's the boss of me. I've been writing seriously for two years now and am loving giving voice to the characters clamouring inside my head--although sometimes they ignore me completely and do exactly what they want! I write M/M erotic romance/mystery/thriller/paranormal/shorts - heavy on the romance, because who doesn't need a little love in their life and life in their men? I am also branching out into the world of M/F erotic romance under the name of JAE J JENSEN."
Website: www.lisaworrall.com/‎

Lisa Worrall is offering a copy of UnExpected to one commenter on this blog. You can comment on LJ or DW if you have an account (I will send a PM to the winner), if you don't have an account, please leave a comment on DW with a contact email.

Un-Expected (Left at the Crossroads) by Lisa Worrall
Publisher: White Stiletto Press (February 24, 2014)
Amazon Kindle: Un-Expected (Left at the Crossroads)

Little Mowbury is a sleepy English village deep in the Cotswolds. The kind of village where you’re only a local if your lineage can be traced back to the dinosaurs. Where you can find everything in the single shop from morning newspapers to dry-cleaning, and getting your shoes mended. And, of course, where everybody knows everybody else’s business. It’s easy to find… you can’t miss it… just ask anyone and they’ll tell you… “It’s left at the crossroads.”

After being dumped on graduation day by the love of his life, Harry Boyd, Micah Lewis returned to the sleepy village he grew up in. Living next door to his mother wasn’t his best idea, granted, but when your heart was broken, there really was no place like home.

Six years later, secure and content in his job as midwife for a local birthing centre, the last person he expected to move into Lilac Cottage across the street from him was Harry Boyd. Seeing Harry again sends Micah into a tailspin and opens wounds he thought had long since healed. Although, Harry himself isn’t the only issue Micah has to face. That would be Harry’s very beautiful and very pregnant partner, Selena. But is everything as it seems?