Arts & Entertainment
Prolific producer Craig Zadan, an appreciation
Zadan and Neil Meron produced ‘Footloose,’ ‘Hairspray,’ the Oscars and more


Craig Zadan (left) and Neil Meron (Photo courtesy Zadan Meron Productions)
The entertainment world was shocked to learn that prolific gay producer Craig Zadan died Monday night, Aug. 20, at his home in the Hollywood Hills of complications from shoulder replacement surgery. He was 69.
Zadan and Meron productions have earned six Oscars, 17 Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, two Peabody honors, and a Grammy, Variety reported. The team’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” for NBC on Easter Sunday is nominated for 13 Emmy Awards, as is their Lifetime TV movie “Flint,” produced with and starring Queen Latifah, about the water contamination crisis in Flint, Mich.
I met Craig and Neil in 1995 to talk about their NBC movie “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” about a respected Washington National Guard Colonel who was forced out under the gay military ban. The film was co-produced by Barbra Streisand and the film’s star, Glenn Close, and co-starred Judy Davis.
They were genuinely attentive, ebullient and passionate. Craig’s broad smile buoyed his description of their mission: 1. bring back musicals; 2. elevate biopics; 3. unapologetically infuse diversity into all their endeavors.
And they did, with soul. In 1997, they produced Disney’s “Cinderella” for ABC with singer/“Moesha” actress Brandy as Cinderella, co-producer Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, Bernadette Peters as the evil stepmother; Filipino actor Paolo Montalban as The Prince, Whoopi Goldberg as his mother and Victor Garber as his father. It was groundbreaking.
“Seeing a princess with box braids like mine and a fairy godmother like Whitney, who could have been my own mother or any one of my aunties, gave me and girls who looked like me a glimpse at an early age of why it is necessary to demand representation of all types of people playing all times of roles in films,” Martha Tesema recalled on Mashable in 2017.
Craig and I stayed in touch periodically via email, important during controversies such as when CBS refused to air “The Reagans” in 2003. A leak revealed a scene with President Ronald Reagan (James Brolin) turning to wife Nancy (Judy Davis)—who suggested helping people with AIDS—and replies: “They that live in sin shall die in sin.” There’s no evidence Reagan actually said that—but he might have. The TV biopic aired on Showtime.
“By being out and proud, Craig Zadan helped blaze a path for so many others in Hollywood to follow,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “He was a truly visionary leader who spoke to our hearts and souls through his prolific and profound work…[O]ur hearts go out to all who loved Craig, especially his life partner, Elwood Hopkins, and his producing partner, Neil Meron.”
“We met when Craig was doing Cinderella in the nineties and geeked out over all things musical,” friend Brad Bessey, former executive producer for Entertainment Tonight, told the Los Angeles Blade.
“Craig’s gift was that it was never about him, it was always about honoring the material, the music, the artists, the legacy, and the audience. Being the ultimate fan made him the ultimate creator.”
Books
A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat
New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages
Happy is the bride the sun shines on.
Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.
He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.
He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.
But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.
Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.
Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.
What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.
In short, this book is quite stunning.
Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.
If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.
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