We had a gay old time

Today, we had a full day planned. We were going to see Broadway on Broadway, then to a movie and then out for drinks. So Marc and I got up at what I consider an unspeakably early hour for a Sunday and headed into Manhattan where we met up with our friend Jeff.

Things started in Times Square, where the stage was set for Broadway on Broadway and thousands of people crowded into the closed streets. Before the show ever started, I saw one thing that I found interesting: two British bobbies in full uniform, mingling with New York police officers. Apparently, they were in New York on some kind of exchange program. I'd read about these things, but I never saw British officers in uniform on New York streets.

Of course, there's a clear opportunity for learning and an exchange of knowledge in this arrangement. I'm looking forward to the day when I hear New York City Police Officers using phrases like "quite right, old chap." On the other hand, things in Britain might require some adjustment after the first formal ceremony for the Queen when their Officers are heard to respond to questions with "Fuckin' A!"

Well, they can use something new, being so stuffy at times. :)

Now, about Broadway on Broadway. It's a sampling of tunes from various Broadway shows, some new and some long-established, performed by each show's cast members. It drew a nice crowd; not huge by New York standards, but pretty big for any regular town (about 50,000 people). Here's a cellphone picture from our vantage point:




The selections in this year's event were the following:

"My Darlin' Eileen" from Wonderful Town
"For Good" from Wicked
"I Wanna Be a Producer" from The Producers
"All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera
"Shadowlands" from The Lion King
"What You Own" from Rent
"SOS" from Mamma Mia!
"Astonishing" from Little Women
"Run and Tell That" from Hairspray
"Life After Life" from Dracula, the Musical
"All I Care About" from Chicago
"Once Upon a Time" from Brooklyn, the Musical
"Shakalaka Baby" from Bombay Dreams
"A Change in Me" from Beauty and the Beast
"It Sucks to Be Me" from Avenue Q
...and a dance was performed from Forever Tango

Some numbers were certainly better than others, but I'll save my opinions for another time, except for one. I think we'll be seeing Brooklyn, the Musical when it opens. We definitely were impressed by that performance.

After the B on B festivities ended, we grabbed a cab and headed to the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas to see the new movie Testosterone. It received some pretty bad reviews, but we thought it was okay. Not amazing, but okay. Of course, the lovely boys in it made it much more palatable than other "okay" movies. Add to that a nice, if brief, shot of the penis of Antonio Sabato, Jr., and the movie became a real winner. ;) Speaking of that, the boy's good looks are matched by a lovely piece of meat, from what I could see in that quick shot. As for the movie itself, as I said, not bad, although the events in the movie were described by one of my movie-going companions as "too fucked up for words."

After the movie, we headed to the West Village...




There, we went to an old favorite bar, The Monster...




It's a nice bar, but the crowd seems to have gotten older since our last visit. I have nothing against an older crowd, but it was old enough for me to feel out of place. While there, Jeff's new friend/boyfriend (Jeff's still trying to decide where it's going), Steve, joined us, so we had the pleasure of meeting him. After a little while and a single drink, Marc and I said goodbye and headed home, so Marc could make dinner and I could vacuum and do some laundry. We took the subway back up to Penn Station...




...and then the Long Island Rail Road back home.

Oh, one last note: to our various friends whom we invited to join us for Broadway on Broadway but still declined, don't worry. We won't report you and put your FAG Cards* at risk, despite the shocking manner in which you failed to flock to Broadway on Broadway. ;)

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*Definitions:

FAG Card
n.
A flat, rectangular, laminated document, issued to members in good standing of the Federation of American Gayboys, the national licensing body for male homosexuals. Failure to adhere to the standards and by-laws of FAG can result in suspension or revocation of homosexual licensure. (Examples of violations include demonstrated dislike of show tunes, failure to respect Broadway show-related events, inability to coordinate clothing colors, etc.)

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Post-script (10:54pm): MAK tells me he never got my text-messaged invitation to join us, so that explains his otherwise shocking disregard of FAG standards. ;)