For the unacquainted, Tales of the City is a classic fish-out-of-water “tale” about a young midwesterner named Mary Ann Singleton who after visiting San Francisco suddenly decides to make the city her home. Growing up in Cleveland though couldn’t prepare her for life in San Francisco in the mid 70s. The culture shock and non-stop debauchery the city is famous for is almost more than she can handle. But thanks to her new friends Mona, Mouse and Bryan, and her eccentric joint-rolling landlady Anna Madrigal, Mary Ann eventually comes out of her shell, adopting the city as her own.

Tales of the City A New Musical is directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q) with music and lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and John Garden, and Libretto by Jeff Whitty. Back in 2006 Whitty came up with the idea of taking the beloved novel and turning it into a musical after watching the critically-acclaimed 1990s mini-series, and fortunately for us the show survives the transition from book, to mini-series, to stage, its spirit intact.

Betsy Wolf brings a sweet, unassuming innocence to the role of Mary Ann, and its a pleasure to watch her character grow and transform on stage as she finally takes a bite out of the lotus that Tennyson wrote about and that her landlady Ms. Madrigal so fondly quotes.

While Mary Ann may be the heart of the show, Anna Madrigal is its soul. Played by Tony-award-winner Judy Kay, the almost ephemeral landlady steers the denizens of Barbary Lane through the turbulent 70s, offering her tenants pearls of hippy, counter-culture-infused wisdom, and providing them with the sense of family they never had.

There are many standout performances including Mary Birdsong who plays the exuberant and occasionally bare-breasted Mona Ramsey, Kathleen Elizabeth Monteleon as Dede Halcyon-Day, and Richard Poe as Edgar Halcyon, who shares an amazing chemistry with Anna Madigral on stage which is simultaneously full of both joy and sadness.

The show runs nearly 3 hours but moves briskly and hardly feels its length. Early in the first act the transitions between character introductions and musical numbers did seem a tad uneven, and the mild applause by the audience seemed to bear that out. But by the time Mona rips with abandon into the “Crotch” song during a presentation with a sexist client, the show finally finds its footing and the audience responds in kind. It’s clear sailing after that.

Like the books and the miniseries that preceded it, Tales of the City A New Musical is a story about family. And not necessarily the one that brought you into this world. Sometimes its the one you create  yourself.

Tales of the City A New Musical can be seen at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco through July 31.

On a more personal note, Armisted Maupin’s Tales of the City played a small but significant role in drawing me to San Francisco in the mid 90s. It seemed a rather idyllic place where people were accepted for who they were, and could lead the lives they wanted rather than those demanded by society, or even family.  And while San Francisco had changed a great deal by the time I had arrived, and further still today, the heart at 28 Barbary still beats, and its rhythm is what keeps me here, and keeps me hopeful for the future.

Mike, with all those daughters, there’s a good chance one of them doesn’t like your country very well either.

Now back to you’re regularly scheduled programming…

As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state – shames us.

I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.

In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year, you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and “heads would roll.” You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded press release, which praised the church’s human rights record and took no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.

The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.

I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally. I saw the organization – with all its warts, growing pains and problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.

But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential “PR flap” you allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the church’s words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.

Tom Davis also appeared on ABC’s Nightine last week, where he stormed out of an interview with Martin Bashir when questioned about Xenu the galactic overlord and souls living in volcanos. Clip below:

And you thought the Mormon church was cooky.

“Even before she became notorious for that answer and the ensuing media storm, Ms. Prejean was already causing difficulty,” the K2 counter-suit states.

“With her new-found notoriety, an inflated sense of self, and the lure of financial gain available to her, Ms. Prejean turned even further against the Miss California USA organization.”

The new suit accuses Prejean of missing events, lying about semi-nude photos, negotiating an unauthorized book deal and using her title without authorization to help promote the National Organization for Marriage’s “campaign of intolerance” against gay marriage.

K2 asks for the proceeds from Prejean’s planned book, the $5,200 from the breast surgery and other relief.

“She attempts to cast herself as a virtuous young woman and the victim in a supposed conspiracy against her,” the cross-complaint states.

Prejean is currently suing the Miss USA Pageant for religious discrimination.

I remember back in the day, thinking her song “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” was “Blue Heaven is a place on Earth”. Please donate to the “No on 1″ campaign in Maine and let’s make it a “Blue Heaven” here on Earth where anyone can marry the person they love.

Pathetic human being. Can I have my money back for the Wrestler? I don’t care how much I enjoyed it. And we soon have to suffer him in the new Iron Man movie.

President Jarrett Barrios of GLAAD was swift to respond…

“This is a slur that, regardless of what Mickey Rourke has convinced himself that it means, is often the last word that gay people, and gay youth in particular, hear before they’re bullied, harassed or assaulted.

Rourke is showing himself to be painfully ignorant of how this vulgar, abusive slur feeds a climate of anti-gay hatred, intolerance and violence. Rourke either needs to figure this out, or media needs to stop giving him a platform for promoting these kinds of slurs.”

Rourke also received a lot of negative press last November when he threatened to break a “faggot” writer’s legs.

And some stills…

The trailer for Moore’s new film below: