Arts & Entertainment
Show must go on- Lil Nas X’s embarrassing wardrobe malfunction on SNL
NEW YORK – Montero Lamar Hill, known by his stage name Lil Nas X, was performing his latest hit single ‘Call Me By Your Name’ from his album MONTERO on NBC’s Saturday Night Live when his pants ripped at the crotch.
The openly out singer-songwriter- rapper glanced down then back up at the audience, covered the affected area with his hand and kept singing in what reviewers and commentators are calling “the gayest performance ever on national television” and “iconic.”
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Queer writer reflects on assault, drug use, more in āMean Boysā
An interview with Geoffrey Mak
Queer Chinese American writer Geoffrey Mak takes the personal essay to new, and sometimes unsettling, heights, in his book āMean Boys: A Personal Historyā (Bloomsbury, 2024). Described as a āmemoir-in-essays,ā Mak, the gay son of an evangelical minister, takes readers on his volatile and visceral personal journey, which includes the techno clubs of Berlin, various illicit substances, his sexual assault, and ultimately an examination of mass-murderer Elliot Rodger. Mak generously made time for an interview in advance of his November appearance at the Miami Book Fair.
BLADE: In the authorās note for your book āMean Boys: A Personal History,ā you said, āI wrote most of these essays for the Internet,ā and that awareness of your readership extended to āwhat they wanted to hear, and what they were wearing.ā Is that still your target audience or were you looking to expand it with the book?
GEOFFREY MAK: If I could go back in time and inspire my 26-year-old self to keep writing, I would say, āBabe, in 10 years, youāll get everything youāve ever dreamed of, just online-only.ā I still see the natural habitat of the personal essay; yet the internet has a tendency for fragmentation and bubbles. When I decided to write a book at a mainstream press, I thought a lot about how a bookāunlike a paintingāis a mass-produced object, which makes it a more democratic medium, almost humble. I thought a lot about the opportunity to reach readers in Idaho or Oregon or Arkansas, and, in fact, I now get emails or Instagram DMs from readers in all those states. I wanted to explore universal themes that anyone can relate to, such as the wages of status in a high school cafeteria, or the process of forgiving oneās own father.
BLADE: You also mentioned James Baldwin and Joan Didion, as well as Ed White, Hilton Als, and Alan Hollinghurst, among others. How important are these writers to you in your work?
MAK: I love that you called him Ed, because he is Ed. Each of those writers gave me something that is a part of me. Baldwin: conviction. Didion: cadence. White: self-mythology. Als: voice. Hollinghurst: sex.
BLADE: Another writer, Wesley Yang, is featured prominently in the āIdentity Despite Itselfā essay. Do you know if heās aware of being the essayās subject? If so, has he told you how he feels about it?
MAK: Marco Roth, a friend, was one of the founding editors of n+1, and commissioned and edited Wesley Yangās remarkable essay, āThe Face of Seung-Hui Choā when it came out in 2008. After Marco read my book, he sent it to him. In Marcoās view, I had at last given Yang his due: taking him as seriously as he deserved, which is something any writer should be flattered by. And I did take him seriously, calling him into account for his internalized Asian racism and transphobia. As to what Yang actually thinks, I have no idea. Can you believe it: Not a single person I wrote about in the book has reached out to me about it?
BLADE: In āMy Father, The Minister,ā you address religion, not only as the son of a religious leader but also as a gay man. Religion continues to make headlines, whether itās the role itās playing in the 2024 election, the ongoing sexual abuse scandals in the various churches, or the war in Gaza. What role, if any, does religion play in your life at present?
MAK: I pay close attention to the religious life of this country. Two-thirds consider themselves religious. A lot of what I read disturbs me, nothing is surprising to me. I was heartened when, earlier this year, the United Methodist Church rescinded a ban on gay clergy. It was a rare victory because sexual difference remains the greatest divisive factor in American churches today. The articulation of the queer, Christian subject might be my highest priority as a writer today. (Out of all my essays, I consider āCalifornia Gothicā my greatest work.) I donāt participate in organized religion, but I still study the Bible and read queer theology, particularly the work of Marcella Althaus-Reid and Linn Tonstad, major influences of mine. I count theologians as some of my closest friends. I was actually just emailing with the writer Garth Greenwell about how 4th-century apophatic theology has parallels with queer theory today. Iām currently writing a novel about a trans-femme protagonist who finds her way to God. Iām quite serious. Sometimes, I dream that if this whole writer career doesnāt pan out, I might go to Divinity School.
BLADE: You also write honestly about your drug usage in āMean Boys.ā Thereās a line in the āCalifornia Gothicā essay that reads: āAfter psychosis, and after addiction, I knew that whether I would recover came down to a single test: Could I find grace in the ordinary?ā Where are you now on that journey?
MAK: I happen to be sober now, but I have cycled through periods of limited drug use and sobriety since I finished that essay. I belong to a harm reduction community that keeps me accountable to my self-stated goals. For several years, I have had a buddy system, which differs from a sponsor relationship because itās non-hierarchical, with a friend Iām extremely close withāwe regularly check in with cravings, take stock of our weekly stressors, talk about books. If we ever call the other, we know to drop whatever weāre doing and pick up, because itās an emergency. One night, he called me when he relapsed on meth, and I ran straight to his apartment, we flushed out the syringes, and cried in each otherās arms until the sleeping pills kicked in. Since then, heās been sober for almost two years. Recently, Iāve been talking to him about ājunk time,ā which are the late-night brain rot hours when I canāt read and crave drugs the most. I need to start finding grace in the ordinariness of junk time. Thanks for the reminder.
BLADE: What was involved in your decision to write about the aftermath of your sexual assault in the essay āIn Arcadia Ego?ā
MAK: OK, so the first section of that essay originated as a Facebook post. People reached out with caring words, although the writing partly explored my reaching a limit with caring words. The material was so raw that I put it down for at least a few years. After I had some distance from my own assault, I picked up the essay again and suddenly realized I was bored of my own pain. It wasnāt going to teach me anything, because suffering isnāt a university. I wanted to party, so I wrote about that. Nothing about this was virtuous or wholesome or dignified. I got fucked up and screamed with my gays on the dance floor like sorority girls at a bachelorette party. In a previous era, you had a party to commemorate an occasion. My friends and I partied for no reason; the party justified itself. Life is like this, too. You never need a reason.
BLADE: Was the lengthy, titular essay that closes out the book, the first essay written for the book, and therefore the inspiration?
MAK: It was the last essay I finished. In fact, we delayed the release date of the book because I couldnāt finish it. Itās my most original writing and original thinking. Itās also not for everyone.
BLADE: In the āMean Boysā essay, you write about the ultimate mean boy ā mass-murderer Elliot Rodger. Did that essay begin as being about Rodger or did that come later?
MAK: This was one of the first essays I wrote where I didnāt outline it or know where it was ending up in advance. I started with an imageāthe Lacoste polo with the popped collarāand just kept writing. Itās meandering, because thatās how I wrote it, working through the innate turbulence of each paragraph until a door appeared into the next paragraph. I eventually found my way to Rodger. There was a time I thought I could write the essay without reading the manifesto, until I realized, cāmon, I was being chicken, I had to read the manifesto. Once I finished it, I knew I had to rewrite the entire essay.
BLADE: Have you started writing or thinking about your next book project?
MAK: Iām working on a novel about degenerate ravers in Berlin. While the UK and Germany have novels about raving, America curiously doesnāt have one. So, I decided to write one.
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Citrine, Andromeda and Silver WareĀ Sidora celebrated their birthdays at JR.’s Bar with a drag show on Saturday, Nov. 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
Signatureās fresh take on classic āForumā
Actor Mike Millan says āitās like a new work in many waysā
āA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forumā
Through Jan. 12
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
$40-$126
sigtheatre.org
For out actor Mike Millan, Signature Theatreās production of āA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,ā couldnāt feel fresher.
Set in ancient Rome, the 62-year-old Tony-winning hit (music with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart) borrows from Roman comedy, farce, and a dash of bawdy vaudeville to the tales of slaves, soldiers, courtesans, and a lovesick young man.
Millan plays Hysterium, a nervous slave in the House of Senex, whose tagline reads āI live to grovel.ā
āIāve never done āForum,ā so to me itās like a new work in many ways,ā he says. āAnd because itās older and has a classic musical point of view and weāre doing it now, itās as if weāve been given a lovely opportunity to make it our own.ā
And indeed, they are doing just that. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, the Signature production is introducing new bits and playing with gender: the central character Pseudolus, a sly slave role created by Zero Mostel, is played by Erin Weaver; Erronius is played by Sherri Edelen in drag; and two male actors and one nonbinary actor play courtesans.
Though Millan, 35, is based with his partner in Los Angeles, he regularly travels to New York and is pleased to make Signature in Shirlington an additional destination on his bicoastal work journey. Recently, the affable actor took time to talk about Signature and āForum.ā
WASHINGTON BLADE: A little about the brilliantly named Hysterium, please.
MIKE MILLAN: As a gay actor, I can say that Hysterium is one of the gayer characters Iāve ever played. Heās a sort of fop and heās in drag most of the second act. How can you not see him as a queer character?ā
When the part was written it was sort of gay coded and now itās just abundantly clear, you donāt think twice about it.
BLADE: āForumā is unapologetically fun. Is now the right time for a romp?
MILLAN: The show comes with a level of escapism that is really infectious. During these tense times, it feels great to be doing a silly musical. Weāre doing fart jokes in tunics, and the material and jokes really hold up. Youāll feel better leaving than when you came in.
BLADE: All that and a Sondheim score too?
MILLAN: Heās the reason Iām here. In high school, I discovered his āInto the Woodsā and remember locking myself in my room until I knew every word to āGiants in the Sky.ā
āPassion,ā āFollies,ā I love it all. Heās so singular because he writes from a perspective of acting and storytelling; Sondheim touches me in a way that feels quasi-religious.
When I think about the number of times I sang āLast Midnightā alone in my car, it fills me with a joy that Iāve never gotten from any other composer or jukebox musical.
BLADE: In 2022, you played Idina Menzel super fan Jeff in āWhich Way to the Stageā at Signature. Are you glad to be back?
MILLAN: Yes, Iām happy to be employed. Itās a tough business. Not only are we asked to be great singers, dancers, actors, and performers but weāre asked to have a social media presence and to be the most popular kid in school.
Signature provides a safe environment to try something new and different, to experiment with a community that respects doing that. Also at Signature, it never feels like any audience members are being dragged by their partners to see a show. Itās a supportive community.
BLADE: Speaking of partners, do you miss being away from home?
MILLAN: Sometime itās nice to have that time away from each other; it builds a little mystery.
BLADE: Will your performance change between now and January?
MILLAN: In recent years, Iāve changed my acting approach from cracking the code on how to play a character to inviting the audience on a journey and making them part of the process.
I was raised in musical theater, but by doing comedy, standup, and improv, Iāve come to find the joy of failure freeing. And I like being part of a changing show. I like the idea of somebody being able to say āI was there the night Patti LuPone yelled at the guy who took a picture.ā
BLADE: An unexpected moment.
MILLAN: Of course, I go in with certain things I have planned out, but I like the element of excitement that anything might happen. And I think the audience should feel that way too.
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