Will Clark World

TONIGHT, JUMPSTART MEMORIAL DAY WKND WITH WILL CLARK & BROOKLYN PRIDE #brooklynpride #willclark

Start the weekend out EARLY and RIGHT by joining us at Bingo for the rev up to your holiday with Brooklyn Pride and Tina Turner impersonator, Ron B! XXX flicks and theatre tix plus much more!

PLUS we have Jackie Beat tix as well as tix to a new off Broadway show, BIG EXCELLENT 20TH REUNION starring Bianca Leigh!

Cheap booze, hot men and Bingo Bingo Bingo!

About Brooklyn Pride

Brooklyn Pride is a 501(c)(3) wholly volunteer-managed, tax-exempt, non-profit organization working for and on behalf of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Brooklynites and all others who support the struggle for equality of this community. In the spirit of Stonewall, Brooklyn Pride welcomes the participation of all the residents of Brooklyn and the outer boroughs, regardless of age, creed, gender, gender identification, HIV status, national origin, physical, mental or development disability, race religion or sexual orientation.

About Ron B

2012 Co-Host of the annual Brooklyn LGBT Pride Twilight Parade

"Tina Turner" celebrity impersonator and "No Boundaries - Up Close & Personal" MNN TV host

Ron B., is a nationally known Tina Turner celebrity impersonator and TV host of her own show, "No Boundaries - Up Close & Personal" on Time Warner Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN).  Ron B. graces the entertainment stage as host and is a recognized major motion film actor appearing in such recent films such as “Arthur”,  ‘Angels In American”, “Man on a Ledge”, “Another Night In Suck City”,  and on television, special guests appearances include ‘Law and Order Special Victims Unit”, “Smash”, “30 Rock” and “Sex In The City” to name a few!

Ron B. has led the inaugural march of the Screen Actors Guild National LGBT Committee in the Heritage of Pride produced, “Pride March 2011”, has served as host and Official MC for Brooklyn Pride Parade and for many years has performed her energetic show for the millions who attend Pride festivals across the nation.  As an accomplished theater actor,  Ron B. has made appearances in a series of staged short plays written by notable playwright Lawrence Schwabacher on the Journey’s of women particularly playing a Transgendered woman whom embraces whom she really is.  Always one to support New York area red carpet mega-events, just recently Ron B gave a command performance for the Bronx Pride Center Gala held at Slate and performed for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz at the kick off of Brooklyn Pride at Brooklyn Borough Hall.  Noted performances included supporting GRIOT Circle and SAGE and nightclub appearances at the legendary Ice Palace for “The Fire Island Invasion”.

A Staten Island native, Ron B. in using her celebrity in a positive light, strives to serve as an advocate to ensure equality across the board for the LGBT Community and to provide a positive role model for Transgendered people, in hopes to make inroads toward equality and understanding. Ron B. states, “I am most proud as a firm supporter of equal opportunities for my Transgendered brothers and sisters, to have been selected to sit on the distinguished LGBT Panel held at Pace University along side Kate McDonough, lead organizer of the Empire State Pride Agenda.  Selected to impart in "Gender in the Binary" was a defining moment for me.  My message is simply that, “There are No Boundaries if you believe in yourself.”

Visit Ron B. on facebook or in person at the Brooklyn LGBT Pride Twilight Parade on Saturday, June 9th.  The fun kicks off at 7:30 pm til 9:30 pm along 5th Avenue continuing down Union Street, with the reviewing stand at 4th Street and 5th Avenue.

About Vanessa Valtre

Vanessa Valtre has been entertaining audiences in the Tri-State area for almost 13 years. What started out as a Halloween joke has now made her a very well respected entertainer with a plethora of attributes.  As a former Ms. Big Apple and Miss Tri-States, she now hosts her own show at the Albatross Bar in Astoria and Drag-oke. in TJ's one's every other month.  Though life has thrown her a couple of curve balls, her high resiliency factor has helped her maintain a respectful, humble and professional outlook in her work.  Now participating in her second year at NYC PRIDEFEST, she’s been given the honor to be one of the hostesses at several PRIDEFEST Celebration in New York City and other pride events .

Marriage Equality, Homophobia and "What Makes You Beautiful" #marriageequality #anythinggoes #broadway

Good morning peeps!

It's dark and gloomy in New York City today but you don't have to be (dark and gloomy). Sure, the recent events from North Carolina and all the buzzing from Biden and Obama to Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton seem to have given every homophobe in the country reason to be openly hateful (and stupid) but hey at least the public - the ones that are somewhere in the middle on their opinion of teh gayz and same-sex marriage are seeing what we've seen all along - just how rude and ugly things are for us.

Contrary to others who are wishing them to stop - I hope every homophobe weighs in with their crazy opinion so that the world can really see what they sound like - because sometimes when it's a comment here and a comment there, I think the general American public just doesn't really get how awful they themselves sound.

Naturally this will be validation for some (ie a public figure institutionalizing homophobia) but I think, in the end, these open and virulent attacks simply underscore the need for laws in place to protect the LGBT community. And of course they wouldn't be quite so intense if this rapidly shrinking group of people didn't on some level recognize that the time of this being acceptable conversation is, at last, over. No one fights harder than when they know the end is near.

And for some, especially closet cases *coughRickSantorumcough* being anti-gay is the shield they protect themselves with against having to deal with the truth of their own selves. I'd rather think that they are simply lashing out at us out of a sense of self-presevation (not because the LGBT community will cause -what nonsense- the end of humanity, but in the fragile protection that being anti-gay gives them) than that they are just batshit crazy or downright mean.

To wash away this negativity, please take a few minutes to watch this video made by the cast of ANYTHING GOES. It's a lip-sync of "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. I want to meet the hottie with the shaved head.. he seems like he's awesomely fun! :)

Enjoy!

 

 

Terese Genecco Tonight April 26th on The Will Clark Show starting at 7pm!

I know, I know, I'm like a kid in a candy store today pumping info about tonight's guests out like crazy - I can't help it, I'm just beyond thrilled about tonight's show - and I hope that if you're here in NYC and like hot male studs and delicious jazz/cabaret singers, and you support Marriage Equality, that we'll see you from 7pm to 9pm to play some Bingo at the Ritz.

As you might remember, I've had Terese Genecco on the show before but it's been a couple years and I'm so excited to see her again especially since she'll be bringing along her fiancee Shaynee Rainbolt, an established performer in her own right. :)

If you haven't been to Terese's monthly event at Iridium, then you're simply missing out on one of the singular pleasures that New York has to offer - seriously. If you pay the big rents here, you owe it to yourself to check out this gem of a show. I've been with friends a couple times and it's just a dynamite time - the show is incredible and of course there are drinks and food.. so it's a whole evening for you and your pals ... actually writing this reminds me that I haven't been in a long time and it's high time I make a plan to round up some friends and go (maybe for the next show, Tuesday May 29th?? Care to join me?)

In the meantime, see you all the Ritz TONIGHT!

Terese Genecco (pronounced "Teh-REECE Jeh-NECK-oh") & her 8-piece "little big band" is currently the "longest-running nightclub act on Broadway," appearing as a headliner at The Iridium NYC on the 3rd or the last Tuesday of every month, now going into its 4th year of monthly performances.

Originally from San Francisco, Genecco was recently cast as the co-lead with Broadway stars Eric Kunze and Alexandra Wailes in "Brindlebeast!" a brand new musical gearing up for produced staged readings in New York City and Hartford, CT in the fall of 2012.

Terese recorded her 2008 MAC Award-winning debut CD, "DRUNK WITH LOVE: A TRIBUTE TO FRANCES FAYE!" (her live tribute show) over a week in October of 2006 at The Metropolitan Room in NYC. It was released on the BUG:OUT:MUSIC label in April of 2007, and can be considered a companion piece to Ms. Faye's "Caught In The Act" LP's, which are currently available through GNP Crescendo Records and distributed online through iTunes, http://www.Amazon.com and other music retailers.

Genecco recently recorded, "If I Was A Boy," now available through CDBABY.COM, iTunes, http://www.Amazon.com, etc. The song was written by Maria Gentile and Caren Cole and was nominated for "Love Song Of The Year" and "Single of The Year" by the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts in December 2010. Sean Harkness plays guitars and bass and Joe Abba is on drums.

"Terese Genecco & Her Little Big Band Live From The Iridium NYC" was released on the BUG:OUT:MUSIC label on March 20, 2012, recorded live at The Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan on October 12, 2012.

Tonight, April 26th The Will Clark Show feat. P*rno Bingo at the Ritz! A Benefit for Marriage Equality!

TONIGHT bring your honey --- or come to find one -- and join us for a night to benefit Marriage Equality New York featuring award winning jazz musician Terese Genecco (2 Bistro Awards and 4 MAC Awards including 2012 MAC Awards for “Show of the Year” and “Major Artist – Female or Duo”) and her fiancée, singer and Bistro and fellow MAC Award winner Shaynee Rainbolt

PLUS because with every marriage a little sex must fall, Lucas Entertainment  stud Vito Gallo will be on hand to promote his latest work and be the first stud to auction off their jockstrap at our new home!

Erotic prizes, happy hour prices and mid-town men - a recipe for awesome!

Danny Blu's "Set Me on Fire" (OMG I'm a father!!) #dannyblu

You might remember that a couple years ago I played a homeless man in an off Broadway show, WHEN JOEY MARRIED BOBBY. It was a pretty terrific experience and best of all, I've stayed in touch with some of my castmates and ended up having cast member Danny Blu on The Will Clark Show last year. Then he asked me to portray his father in a music video he was producing.

There is a kind of amusement that I had when asked about this because you know, like many men, I still see myself as a twentysomething able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and so forth.

But realistically, I am 48 and yes I can easily play a 24 year old's dad. EASILY. Yikes. :)

So here's the video - the music may wake you up on this snoozy Monday morning...so  enjoy!

 

Will Clark's Journal: The Torez Tango #torez #willclark #biancaleigh

As a producer (talk show host? emcee? what am I today?) booking my friends on the big show is of course a lot of fun. I know what's going on with them and so the interview is easy.

And the March 28th show was just like that - talking to Bianca about her one woman show at the Laurie Beechman or talking to Torez about him going back to high school so that he can move on to higher education.

Plus, we raised funds for Brainpower, a new org that helps LGBT homeless kids get the skills and experience to work in the comic book industry.

Thanks to our friends Jase, Heriberto, Brian, David and many others who joined us for a really awesome evening!! Click here to see the gallery of pics (Photos by AB).

Will Clark's Journal: Feb 15th's 7 Year Anniversary! #daviddrake #rockandrawhide #willclark #bingo

Back on February 16th, 2005 we started with what would become an ongoing show here in New York - and through the various changes we've gone through over the years - volunteers, guests and organizations come and go - but we still have one hell of a good time every week doing what we do best - entertaining while fundraising and getting to know all the awesome people in the community.. and let me tell you that I am pleased as fucking punch to have what I consider to be one of the best jobs in New York - oh God, 'job' indicates that I think what I do is 'work' which I absolutely do NOT! How can anyone consider it work to play with your friends for two hours every week? So, thanks to all the incredible artists of all so many stripes who have joined us for some really incredible experiences over the years - and of course we've raised nearly $200k over the past seven years so you know, nothing to sneeze at. :)

On this night we returned to our roots and the event benefited our very first charity - the Gay and Lesbian Anti Violence Project!

And we definitely had a good time getting to play with actor David Drake who's "Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" was a milestone in gay theatre 20 years ago when it was The show that you HAD to see. And now, David is experimenting with a new character, the slightly simple but unwaveringly effervescent Tawny Heatherton. This isn't yet another 'drag' show with the lead performer portraying a bitter broken down performer and calling it "art".. no, David is doing something a little different and while I think he's still evolving the character, the show we were promoting that night, his show at the Laurie Beechman which would ultimately sell out it's run, was hilarious and surprisingly touching.

Anyway, it was a joy to have him on the show and get to have that first glimpse into the new character. I'm sure we'll hear much more about Tawny over time! :)

My other guests were, without a doubt, awesome in their own right - singer Vicky Modica (who joined us representing Rock and Rawhide) blew us away with her vocal talents and stripper Jay Roth as always gave us good show (love you Jay!) :)

You can catch pictures from the night by clicking here (thanks to AB for snapping so many good ones!)

Tonight, Actress & Playwright Florencia Lozano Gets BUSTED! #onelifetolive #oltl #florencialozano

Even casual readers of this blog or my Facebook page know how much of a soap afficianado I am and so when I had former One Life to Live star Florencia Lozano on the big show last year, I was over the moon - especially when she treated us to one of her trademark screams (like she did on the show the time she accidentally pushed her rival Blair Cramer out of a second story window, sending her careening into a press conference set up by her aunt Dorian, the then Mayor of Llanview). And as you all know, Lozano isn't just an awesome actress but a talented playwright as well (not to mention my evil twin but that's a whole 'nother story).

Last autumn, AB and i had the pleasure of taking in a readthru of Florencia's BUSTED. It's a clever piece about four friends reuniting in a broken down bar and what secrets come tumbling out. Along the way, there's some winks to her former cast mates (and one hilarious shoutout to a mutual friend that only AB and I recognized and howled out loud about) and it was quite an enjoyable evening.

If you missed it, you have the opportunity to catch it again tonight, Saturday April 7th at 8pm. Best of all, the one night only presentation is also a fundraiser for The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors aka HOLA (one of my favorite organization acronyms ever). It's at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre at 304 West 47th Street (off of 8th Ave in NYC). Admission is a mere $25 which includes light refreshments after the reading.

I wish I could make it but I'm at a same sex wedding that night (or, as we will call it in the future, just "a wedding") but you don't have to miss it. You can reserve your tickets by calling 212 253 1015 OR if you're not able to make it and you would like to contribute, click here: http://www.nycharities.org/donate/c_donate.asp?CharityCode=2256 and make sure you first type WILL CLARK in the "in honor of" box (just so they know where you saw the listing) and in the box that asks for the name of the fund, write HOLA BENEFIT READING.

Enjoy the show, and below a little description of the work that HOLA does..! (and keep your eyes out for Lozano to return to daytime in the next few weeks - more on this as soon as I can officially announce it!)

The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) is an arts service and advocacy organization dedicated to expanding the Hispanic artists in entertainment and media through the cultivation, education and recognition of emerging artists. Founded in 1975 by a group of Hispanic actors concerned with the images of Latinos in the media, HOLA now functions as a leading advocacy group in the industry for such actors working on stage, on television and in films. Most recently, HOLA made national headlines when it questioned the casting practices of a regional theater who was producing Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Mother#@$%er With The Hat. Ultimately, HOLA strives for an accurate, informed and non-stereotyped portrayal of the full spectrum of Latino culture and heritage in all entertainment and media industries. For more information, click thru to http://www.facebook.com/HOLAonFB or here at http://www.hellohola.org

Good Morning Peeps - I Love My Life #willclark #newyork

I love my life. I really do. And I love living in New York. Where else can you do the things we do here without really much thought - theatre, concerts, fundraisers, the park, the subway, etc.. and there's always something going on.

Like the other day I was in Grand Central and the Rangers were doing an impromptu jam session on the platform while people from the team handed out what looked like Ranger themed cum towels (I'm sorry, but they were small terry cloth towels larger than a washcloth and not quite big enough to be hand towels.. it was totally a cum towel!!)

I even love this city when you can't ride the subway without being serenaded by a "Johnny Depp as a Pirate" clone or hang out waiting for your train without being serenaded by a homeless woman who sings better than anyone I've heard  on The Voice (seriously).

And never underestimate the joy of catching one of New York's kookiest completely by accident - why just earlier this past week I was on a bus on W. 125th Street and saw a very hot, muscular guy doing chin-ups on the intersection signal post. Just out of the blue. Apparently if the kids sitting near me on the bus were to be believed, he does a whole workout on that corner (Lenox and 125th) every day around 3pm.

Oh, and when you see this guy, well, you're welcome. :)

On Wednesday I hope you'll come and join us for a really fun night featuring one of my favorite New Yorkers - Roger "Yolanda" Mapes. I went to Yo's wedding during the Halloween parade, dressed like a sailor. Roger was dressed in an outfit befitting a Queen and his huzband to be dressed sort of like an Emu complete with beak.

Roger will talk about his upcoming drag gospel shows and perform his favorite tunes at what is going to be a very special edition of The Will Clark Show feat. P*rno Bingo.

Can't say much in advance but if you've been a fan of the show at Pieces, it would be a good idea for you to join us on Wednesday April 11th. 8pm sharp! :)

More later, but be sure to get out of the house and have a amazing day today!

 

TONIGHT MARCH 28TH: THE WILL CLARK SHOW'S BANNED LINEUP SHINES!

TONIGHT March 28th I've got hottie Torez and super talented singer/actress Bianca Leigh as my guests on the Will Clark Show .. this is the night that a certain gay/lesbian human rights org had agreed to benefit from but backed out because the show poster was deemed too hot for their org!

Their loss is the gain of homeless LGBT youth who benefit from our new beneficiary for the evening, Brainpower!

Come on by tonight to find out exactly what Brainpower does to help affected youth rise up out of their situation and get real professional arts training as a way to get off the street and back into the world.

Naturally I'll have the usual erotic items to give away as well as tix to Bianca's one woman show (final night, tomorrow night, Thursday March 29th).

That's starting at 8pm (sharp) with myself, our photographer AB and the newest addition to the Will Clark Show team, DJ Chauncey Dandridge! No cover, $1 bingo cards gets you playing!