NYT Reports On Aging With HIV

The New York Times has published a look at the growing population of older people living with HIV and the health challenges they face.

This group of almost 50,000 men and women moving through middle age is a living science experiment, entering medical and psychological territories that are largely uncharted. What are the consequences of long-term exposure to the virus, or to the medications? How do these interact with the effects of normal aging? And how, after you have braced for death, do you turn around and create a new life, often without the friends and loved ones who gave your life definition? Interviews with a dozen members of this population elicited a mixture of wonder and anxiety. Some said they were healthier and better adjusted than they had been for decades. But for others, survival has come with consequences, both medical and social. Many said they felt forgotten by a city whose attention has turned away from H.I.V. and AIDS, and by a gay community whose activism long ago shifted to same-sex marriage.

Among the six people profiled in a sidebar to the above-linked report are my pal, songwriter Steve Schalchlin, and Dr. Perry Halkitis, who moderated the Broadway Cares panel that I appeared on last month.

LONDON: AIDS Musical Earns Raves

My pal and longtime JMG reader Steve Schalchlin is earning raves for the London production of his award-winning AIDS-themed musical, The Last Session.

HIV-positive US songwriter Steve Schalchlin's musical is a beautiful cry of pain with a surface smoothness that conceals an honest and heartfelt engagement with the messy realities of intolerance, artistry and terminal illness. Its familiar themes and cast of characters suggest cliché, but this is short-circuited at every turn by Schalchlin's bold refusal to accept easy answers and convenient oppositions. Darren Day excels as Gideon. The power of his voice was never in question, but he ably proves his acting chops in a challenging and multi-layered role. AJ Dean is equally superb as Buddy, and Ron Emslie provides crotchety comic relief as long-suffering studio owner Jim. But the real star here is Schalchlin. Opening ballad 'Save Me a Seat' could reduce the Westboro Baptist Church to tears, and 'Friendly Fire', which describes Gideon's painful medical treatments as a self-defeating military conflict with no hope of victory, is fiercely intelligent. This is a terrific, little-known musical, and one that deserves considerable success in its London debut.

Read more about The Last Session and purchase tickets.

Jim Brochu Wins Drama Desk Award

JMG reader Jim Brochu won the Drama Desk Award last night for Outstanding Solo Performance for his stunning turn as Zero Mostel in the one-man show, Zero Hour. At the podium, Jim thanked his husband of 25 years, Steve Schalchlin (also a JMG reader!) Congrats to both! Watch Jim's funny and touching speech below.

RELATED: Other winners are here. Of note: The cast of The Temperamentals (the play about the formation of the Mattachine Society) won Best Ensemble. La Cage Aux Folles won Best Revival.

Jim Brochu Rings NASDAQ Closing Bell

Yesterday JMG reader Jim Brochu rang the closing bell at NASDAQ in recognition of his critically raved performance in his Off Broadway one man show tribute to Zero Mostel, Zero Hour, which is now running at the DR2 Theater. Jim's partner, Steve Schalchlin, recently had his show New World Waking! performed by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Get tickets to Zero Hour here.

Magical: New World Waking!

At Davies Symphony Hall on Monday night, I attended the sold-out world premiere of Steve Schalchlin's New World Waking!, performed by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus on their 30th anniversary, with Jennifer Holliday appearing as their guest vocalist.

I was there because I've been a huge fan of Steve's work for years, but also (as I semi-bragged here) because the third song in the work was Joe's Song: Dead Inside. I'm going to bet that this is only time you'll find the words "Inspired by the writings of blogger Joe.My.God" in a symphony program.

The evening began with a cocktail reception featuring a performance by the Lollipop Guild (a small ensemble of chorus members), then the start of the show had to be delayed because of the long lines at the box office. "My" song was amazing and I managed to hold it together even though I could feel people looking at me during its performance. (You really should read Steve's excellent recap of the evening.)

But like many in the audience, I lost it during the two songs dedicated to two mothers, Gabi Clayton and Carolyn Wagner, whose sons were the victims of anti-gay violence. Together they founded Families Against Hate and were in the audience and recognized from the stage, to many tears. Here's Steve's backstage video of the women meeting the chorus members. There's a few laughs in the clip, but you should get a hanky.

Via Bev Syke's Funny The World, here's a short montage of the world premiere of New World Waking!

Here's a short slideshow of the evening. Full-screen versions plus captions are here.

It was an amazing evening, a total triumph for Steve Schlachlin and the chorus. I was deeply honored to have been a small part of it.

New World Waking!

I'm heading back to San Francisco this weekend to attend the SF Gay Men's Chorus' world premiere of New World Waking!, the latest work by my fabulous pal Steve Schalchlin, whom you may recall from his recent Off Broadway hit, The Big Voice: God Or Merman? Three-time Oscar nominee Piper Laurie will introduce the evening, which features Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday as a guest vocalist. The show takes place Monday night at Davies Symphony Hall, get tickets here.

The night will be very special for me, because the closing song of Act 1 of New World Waking! is about me, sort of. Years ago, I belonged to an online discussion forum for aspiring writers and other artsy types, which is where I first met Steve Schlachlin. Back in January on JMG, I talked about how I met Steve in that forum, and explained how the song came to be:

Steve is a long-term AIDS survivor and he and I spoke many times about the horrors of the epidemic and the people we have lost. Discussion on the forum also often turned to the topic of dating, as those things usually do, and when questioned by Steve and other participants about my very long-running singleness, I would usually reply flippantly that I was burned out on losing people and was now officially "dead inside".

Steve was intrigued by the concept of the emotional surrender implied by the phrase "dead inside" and thought it could make an interesting platform for a song. He asked me for some sample lyrics and being the great songwriter that he is, he immediately discarded my very lame attempt and went to work. A few months later, he sent me an audio file of his performance of Dead Inside and I was instantly wrecked. He nailed it. Last year he recorded another version using noted Chicago-based transgender cabaret singer Alexandra Billings. You can download the demo of the recording here.

It's a beautiful/tough song - mournful and wistful - and I'm sure I'll be a complete wreck by the second bar. Steve writes about how his conversations with me brought about Dead Inside:

In describing his life, he would frequently use the term "Dead Inside," as a way to describe himself and other people who had simply stopped even trying to love because of the pain they've experienced. Expanding on his theme, "Dead Inside" evolved into a song about the kind of lost lives some GLBT people suffer as a result of homophobia that evolves into a kind of self-inflicted violence. In the song, which takes place in a bar, a man warns a prospective suitor that he has lost the ability to love only find out that that is precisely what the other man is seeking.

Luckily, there will be another nine songs in the show, during which I can hopefully pull it together enough to walk out under my own power. Below is a clip of the chorus rehearing the closing number, My Rising Up, which will be led by Jennifer Holliday. I hope to see and meet lots of you there.

JMG & The SF Gay Men's Chorus

Well, sorta kinda. Ish. Very ish.

Years ago I belonged to an online chat forum populated by aspiring writers, artsy types, and other regular mo's. One of the forum members I befriended was Steve Schalchlin, the award-winning musical theater writer and performer that I have mentioned here many times. Some of you know Steve from his hit Off Broadway shows such as The Big Voice: God Or Merman.

Steve is a longterm AIDS survivor and he and I spoke many times about the horrors of the epidemic and the people we have lost. Discussion on the forum also often turned to the topic of dating, as those things usually do, and when questioned by Steve and other participants about my very long-running singleness, I would usually reply flippantly that I was burned out on losing people and was now officially "dead inside".

Steve was intrigued by the concept of the emotional surrender implied by the phrase "dead inside" and thought it could make an interesting platform for a song. He asked me for some sample lyrics and being the great songwriter that he is, he immediately discarded my very lame attempt and went to work. A few months later, he sent me an audio file of his performance of Dead Inside and I was instantly wrecked. He nailed it. Last year he recorded another version using noted Chicago-based transgender cabaret singer Alexandra Billings. You can download the demo of the recording here, or listen below in the embedded player.

But here's the big news. Steve has worked Dead Inside into a "cantata for peace" titled Pantheon Bar & Grill which will be performed in December by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus with a full orchestra at Davies Hall as half of their annual Christmas concert.

From Steve's blog:

I began writing this piece four years ago, beginning with a core of four lyrics written by my friend, Rev. Peter Carman, who you might remember is the pastor of Lakewood Baptist Church in Rochester, New York.

Beginning with those songs, I began adding numbers one at a time as pondered the philosophies of relentless non-violence and watched the conflicts in the Middle East. If you're been reading this blog and following the videos, you've seen some of the songs: My Thanksgiving Prayer and Holy Dirt are but two.

One new song, which you might enjoy listening to, examines the deadening result of violence on the soul. It's called "Dead Inside" (title inspired by my friend and blogger, Joe.My.God.) and the demo recording is sung by Alexandra Billings.

[snip]

And as exciting as it has been for me to have written the scores for two off-Broadway shows, the idea of sitting in a huge concert hall and having my songs sung by a 250-voice choir accompanied by an orchestra on a major anniversary of the community I love so very much is about as thrilling a notion as I can possibly imagine.

So a song (sort of) about me will be sung by the SF Gay Men's Chorus. Weird, exciting...but also, more than a little unnerving. I hope to make it out there for show in December, if I get brave enough, that is. Congratulations to Steve Schalchlin on his exciting news.