INTERVIEW: Cyndi Lauper on Trump, #MeToo and opening for Rod Stewart

by MK Scott

Cyndi Lauper is still a legend after 35 years since her breakthrough album, She so Unusual. I last communicated with her four years ago, while she was on tour with Cher’s Dressed to Kill Tour. Now Lauper, 65 (yes, really) is teaming up with Rod Stewart and hitting the Seattle area on September 1st at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn. After four years, Lauper opened Kinky Boots in London, and is currently writing another Broadway show. Lately Lauper has been active with the #MeToo movement and has opened up about a personal issue. I chatted with her this week by email.

EXCLUSIVE: American Idol Alum, DeAndre Brackensick on Coming Out, Belonging and Music!

By MK Scott

Saturday, July 21st will mark the 4th Annual Alki Beach PRIDE with the years theme, COME OUT and Float at the Beach. From 11a to 6pm, join performers and FREE food and hang out at the beach. Hosted by Thadayus with music by DJ Ms Cruz Entertainment & DJ Fred Eddison and LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: Louvel, Visage “Legs” LaRue, Izohnny, Lakin, and DeAndre Brackensick.

From 2009 to 2012, I was proud of my work as being the only NW LGBT media to cover the American Idol tour. It was 2012 at the Key Arena, where I met DeAndre Brackensick. I could tell there was something magic about him. He had lots of passion when talking about his gay fans and that he had family that were gay and grew up around lots of drag queens. So, I was still surprised when he confirmed that he is Bisexual. I could find no mention of this on line, just a short-term relationship with Season 11 runner up, Jessica Sanchez. Despite this revelation, I management to ask the heartthrob, now 23, some questions (by email on July 17) about performing this weekend.

Melissa Etheridge: ‘Making An Impact’ 25 Years Later

By MK Scott

It is hard to believe that it has been over 25 years since Melissa Etheridge first made it big with her Grammy-winning album, Yes I am. Who could forget such hits as “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window.”

Etheridge is back in the Seattle area playing the Tulalip Amphitheater on July 14 with another classic diva, Leann Rimes. I had a chance to speak Etheridge by phone.

(OUTview NW) EXCLUSIVE: Broadway and TV star Jeremy Jordan to appear in Seattle Symphony's 'Broadway Today' Seattle Pops concert January 12-14!

by MK Scott


Hard to believe it was a year ago when I had the opportunity to meet Megan Hilty backstage at Benaroya Hall after her 'Luck Be a Lady' concert with the Seattle Symphony as part of their Seattle Pops concert series.

Next week (1/12-14) Seattle Symphony presents another Seattle Pops concert as Steven Reineke leads the Seattle Symphony and Broadway stars Betsy Wolfe and Jeremy Jordan in a concert of today's greatest Broadway hits.

Hits will include selections from The Phantom of the Opera and Cats as well as showtune modern classics 'Falling Slowly' from Once, 'You and Me (But Mostly Me)' from Book of Mormon and 'Suddenly Seymour' from Little Shop of Horrors.

I have been following Jeremy Jordan's career since 2011 when he was cast in the lead role of Jack Kelly for the Broadway production of Disney's Newsies. He then hit TV in the second season of NBC's Smash and is now appearing as office geek turned government techie, Winn, in The CW's hit series 'Supergirl.'


I had to chance to chat with Jordan by phone last month and following is our conversation.

(OUTview NW) Out NPR co-host Ari Shapiro returned to his native Portland last month for his international-themed one-man show, 'Homeward'!

by MK Scott 

I first heard of Ari Shapiro two years ago. I knew he was someone from my hometown of Beaverton, OR and was a nationally known journalist working for NPR (National Public Radio) who'd become a co-host of the famed 'All Things Considered' program. We listen to him daily, here at the SGN offices.

I personally met Shapiro, 39, last fall at the Association of LGBTQ Journalists Convention in Philadelphia. About a month later I was thrilled to learn he would be in Portland to perform his one-man show, 'Homeward,' which he presented at the World Trade Auditorium in Portland last month. (On other occasions when he's in Portland he performs with the Portland-based band, Pink Martini.)

(OUTview NW) Chris Botti jazzes up Seattle Symphony's Seattle Pops concert!

by MK Scott

After years of missing famed trumpeter, Chris Botti, perform live in Seattle at such local venues as Jazz Alley, I finally got my opportunity, but this time he was part of the Seattle Symphony's Seattle Pops concert - one of my favorite series - at Benaroya Hall this past weekend.

Botti performed with one of the top jazz pianists around, Geoffery Keezer, along with drummer, Lee Pearson and Michael Olatuja on bass.

The program included some incredible solo work by violinist, Caroline Campbell, guitarist, Leonardo Amuedo, and vocals by Sy Smith and Rafael Moras.

Accompanied by the Seattle Symphony conducted by Lawrence Loh, this concert was a mixture of familiar ballads, jazz, rock and American songbook standards.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: It was an 1980's Party with all-new Nu Shooz and Animotion at Everett's Historic Theatre.

by MK Scott

While the 1990s was the era for Seattle music (Nirvana, Pearl Jam), it was Portland in the 1980s that was the birthplace of three incredible bands. I am talking about the legendary sound of Quarterflash (headed by Pat Benatar-like Rindy Ross), the percussion-heavy Dan Reed Network (headed by dreamy Dan Reed, with a Jon Bon Jovi-like smirk) and finally the Pop/R&B/Funk style of Nu Shooz (led by Valerie Day with husband, John Smith).

After a lengthy hiatus from the world of Pop/Funk and Soul (to raise a family and play other styles of music) Valerie and John have revived the original Nu Shooz sound. The husband and wife team are back on the road as part of the Super Freestyle Explosion Tour with their live eight-piece band, Shoo-Horns, and are playing shows for the first time in 25 years.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Hometown girl Megan Hilty earns standing ovation at Benaroya Hall with Seattle Symphony Pops

by MK Scott

It was a full house at Benaroya Hall this past Saturday, January 14th, when Bellevue-bred turned Broadway and TV star, Megan Hilty, returned to Benaroya Hall for the first time since 2010, when she was the guest artist in the Seattle Men's Chorus' 'Holiday Glee' concert. This time she was invited by guest conductor Steven Reineke (from the New York Pops) for the Seattle Symphony Pop series.

The energetic Reineke led the full symphony with a montage of musical songs featuring Blondes, before introducing special guest, Megan Hilty (wearing a blue ball gown) singing Loesser's 'Luck Be a Lady.' The theme of the concert actually was 'Luck Be a Lady: Megan Hilty Sings Sinatra and More.' The seven-months pregnant, Hilty, 35, showed off her baby bump and announced she was expecting a boy to join her two-year-old daughter, Viola, due in March.

(OUTview NW) Best of 2016 For NW Music and Theater!

Olivia was FAB!

In 2016, OUTview NW continued to RE-view Concerts, Theater, and Comedy/Cabaret in Both Seattle and Portland. Here are Our Top 5 Faves in each category:

Top 5 Concerts:

1) Olivia Newton-John (Aug)
2) Duran Duran/Chic (Sept)
3)  Dolly Parton (Sept) and Bernadette Peters (Nov)
4) Weird Al (July)
5) Culture Club (July)

The Devil made us all squirm!   (Sound)

Top 5 Theater:

1) The Last Days of Judas Iscariot  (Sound)
2) Luna Gale (Seattle Rep)
3) Parade (Sound)
4) Really Really (Artswest) and Disgraced (Seattle Rep)
5) Psycho Beach Party (Fantastic Z)

You should see them without clothes!

Top 5 Comedy/Cabaret:

1) Who's Afraid of Bianca Del Rio? (June)
2) Seattle Vice (Jan)
3) Disney After Dark (March)
4) Andy Cohen with Anderson Cooper (Jan)
5) Realish Housewives of Seattle (Feb)

(OUTview NW) RE-view: SMC's Silver and Soul is Bittersweet with the Old and the New!

 (John Pai)

by MK Scott

It wasn't easy last season for the Seattle Men's Chorus as they prepared to say farewell to Dennis Coleman who was retiring after being the artistic director for 35 years. With a new conductor at the helm, Paul Caldwell is headed for a slow, but positive start.

If you hadn't heard about Caldwell being a victim of a Hit and Run, you were missing out. As we learned more about Caldwell we learned he is slowly returning and has lots of respect to preserve the Coleman Legacy. As a speaker, Caldwell inspires more so then the mild-mannered Coleman.

With no Guest artist, the first time in over a decade, it was just the chorus and the audience getting to know Mr. Caldwell.

The small orchestra was the best in recent memory and the songs had a different sound.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Bernadette Peters at Benaroya Hall was truly a night to remember!

by MK Scott

It was a full house at Benaroya Hall this past Saturday, when Broadway diva Bernadette Peters took the stage in a solo performance to demonstrate what an incredible performing artist she truly is.

Accompanied by a 12 piece orchestra, headed by the legendary Marvin Laird, who was the musical director for Peters' starring performances on Broadway in 1999's Annie Get Your Gun and 2003's Gypsy. The band was in top-notch form as Peters came out onto the stage in a long, violet-colored, sequined gown, singing 'Let Me Entertain You.'

Peters talked about her love of Stephen Sondheim, but also sang a few songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, including South Pacific's 'There is Nothin' Like a Dame.'

(OUTview NW) CONCERT RE-view: It was all about the legendary Nile Rodgers at the Chic/Duran Duran double play in Everett!

MKS

by MK Scott

The number one concert on my bucket list was finally realized when Duran Duran played the Xfinity Arena in Everett on Thursday, September 1st.

Ever since I was 14 years old, I wanted to be Simon Le Bon. Some would say the same about bass guitarist, John Taylor (the cutest), or keyboardist, Nick Rhodes (super-androgynous). But with Simon, he had great hair, clothes and voice.

Even today, Le Bon, 57, is gorgeous, and a little rugged with facial hair. Taylor, 56, is looking kind of burned out, in a Keith Richards (the Rolling Stone's lead-guitarist) kind-of-way. Rhodes, 54, announced in June that he was taking time off toward the end of the summer tour; and during the concert said who else would fill Rhodes' makeup and high-heels but Amanda Warner - yes, a woman.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: Olivia Newton-John at Snoqualmie was simply a magical 'Twist of Fate'!

(Snoqualmie)

by MK Scott

Olivia Newton-John is an icon and is clearly a pioneer as a crossover artist and I realized just how much like Taylor Swift she was when I learned of Olivia's journey as a crossover artist from country to Pop in the mid-70's to being a cultural icon from Grease to Xanadu to, of course, the 'Physical' phenomenon in the '80s and once again re-inventing herself in the '90s and beyond.

In my interview published in the SGN August 19 she was ecstatic to be back in Seattle and that the Aug 25th concert would at Snoqualmie Casino's Outdoor amphitheater. The show started only 15 minutes late with no opening act. Olivia, wearing a black suit with a gorgeous white jacket brought back the 'Magic' and 'Xanadu.' Then 'Suddenly,' with one of her back-up singers, she took on the Cliff Richard part.

(OUTview NW) Concert RE-view: For the first time in 15 years Culture Club is Back, Mature and really Wowed Chateau Ste. Michelle!

Photo: Drew Lienau

by MK Scott

Another concert on my bucket list was finally fulfilled on Thurs, August 11th, when Culture Club toured the US for the first time in 15 years with a visit at Chateau Ste. Michelle's summer concert series in Woodinville.

With Boy George's muse (and ex-lover), Jon Moss taking center stage at his drum set and followed by Roy Hay and Mikey Craig and finally Boy George, 55, himself belting out Church of the Poison Mind without Helen Terry, but with the key backupsinger mimicking her voice perfectly. Boy George's voice sounded lower (ongoing throat issues) but didn't disappoint.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: After 32 years, 'Weird Al' is Still Ageless and Weird-ly Funny!

MKS

by MK Scott

It was 1984, when I first heard this singer/comedian hit the airwaves with parodies of hit songs from Madonna and Michael Jackson and while those music videos were comic gold, we thought he had disappeared from the spotlight until a few years ago with some you song, but it was eminent that "Weird Al' Yankovic has always been in pop culture and even the punchline in many TV shows and films as evidence on his Seattle stop on July 26th at Woodland Parks' Zoo Tunes.

The concert was family-friendly and started at 6:00 pm on a Tuesday night, and most probably had no idea of 'Weird Al's' iconic status.

(OUTview NW) MK's Exclusive Chat with Well-Strung's Edmund Bagnell on their Return to Seattle Next Week!

"Thrilled to be Back in Seattle!" (MvR Photography)

by MK Scott

Take this, a String Quartet plus vocal group of Young Gay men, called Well-Strung. Are they a Boy band? Are they a Chamber Group or a Singing String quartet? All the above, with a little Il Divo added! What a Revelation!

Had the pleasure of catching this group the last time they hit Seattle's Neptune Theater in November 2014. 


If they hadn’t come up with a surefire concept, who knows where Edmund Bagnell (first violin) along with Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Seattle Native, Trevor Wadleigh (viola) would be? All have classical music training and, with the exception of Marchant, who was performing 'Naked Boys Singing' in PTown.

I had a chance to catch up with Bagnell who gives us a preview of Well-Strung's return to the Emerald City's Neptune Theater next week:

(OUTview NW) Comedy RE-view: Seattle Gays and Real Housewife Fans Flock to Andy and Anderson's AC2 Tour!

Cohen (L) and Cooper (R) Dish!     (MATT)

 by MK Scott

It was Silver Fox Night at the Seattle Paramount Theater when the long awaited AC2 Tour arrived in the Emerald City and not really knowing if this was a sit-down interview or a comedy performance, but actually it was both and surprisingly most were there for Andy Cohen as Anderson Cooper was reduced down to a supporting player. Cooper did confess that this was beyond his comfort zone, and that he was getting better at loosening up.

Both Cooper and Cohen came out in J-crew sport coats and with Cohen wearing jeans and Cooper wearing slacks. We could easily call them the odd couple, but they are NOT a couple, but BFFs.  Both Gay and both Silver Foxes and around the same age, In a Montage, Anderson tells Andy's story of growing up in St. Louis and obsessed with Celebrity, while Andy tells Anderson's story of growing up Vanderbilt around celebrities.

(OUTview NW) Concert RE-view: Coleman's Farewell SMC Season Sparkles with Home for the Holidays' Greatest Hits!

DIVA: Saving the Best performance for his Final Season!

by MK Scott

The Dennis Coleman 35th Season and Final Seattle Men's Chorus Holiday show premiered this past Saturday and it was a Greatest Hits show of his favorite songs from Holiday concerts past.

By tradition, the first 2 performances featured an appearance by a special guest and this years was no exception with Broadway turned comedy star, Tituss Burgess (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and the running joke of the night was no rain in Seattle and Titus was unhappy with the weather. From the song King of the world to Mr. Grinch to the soulful, A Gift to Be Simple, brought down the house.

(OUTview NW) RE-view: SWC's Season Begins in the Hallows with Spirits Rising!

The Iconic Coleman in the Historic St. Marks   (Tapado)

by MK Scott

I must confess that this was my first Seattle Women's Chorus Concert in its 13 years of existence, so I went this time, only to pay my respects to my mentor, Dennis Coleman, who is scheduled to put away the baton for good for SWC and most importantly the Men's Chorus after 35 years in June 2016.

Another reason for attending SWC's current show, Spirits Rising is because it is their annual Hallows in the Cathedral  show at Seattle's St. Marks Cathedral. The acoustics sound SO GOOD, and it reminded me when my High School Choir would travel to places like Grace Cathedral in San Francisco just experience the sound.

(OUTview NW) Concert RE-view: Madonna Returns to Portland after 30 Years (8 Tours Later) and made History all over again!

(Rettenmund)

by MK Scott

It took me 30 years to attend a Madonna Concert and it took 30 years for her to return to Portland on Tour. Why so long? Well, opportunity and money was my excuse. What was Madonna's? Hard to believe that when Madonna last performed in Portland, it was the Reagan Administration, and the Virgin Tour stopped in Portland, according to Wiki,  for 2 shows on April 15 and 16, 1985, not at the famed Coliseum, but at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall, the Portland Sister to Seattle's Paramount Theater where she performed 3 times from April 10-13, 1985. This was after 'Desperatlely Seeking Susan" but before the Playboy and Penthouse Pictorial and Live Aid. So that means, Portland missed the Who's that Girl, Blond Ambition (The Best), The Girlie Show, Confessions, MDNA and others. We could only watch Ambition and Girlie Show on HBO or visited Seattle, which most Portlanders don't (and still) believe that Seattle even exists.