Powerful Pink
While most of the guys were glued to Oscar on Sunday night, the gals descended on Amway Arena for a sold-out Pink concert. And it appears with this tour the stunningly athletic singer has entered super-stardom. For opening number “Raise Your Glass,” Pink demonstrated that she has charisma – even when dangling upside down. And for her latest hit, the powerful anthem “Try,” she began suspended in a harness above the ecstatic audience. Reviews were glowing. “Pink was amazing, and I’m spent,” Sue-Bee Laginess posted on Facebook immediately after the show. “It was nice to see every girl I know – and every gay boy – in one place!”
Paint the Town Dead
Beginning Thursday, February 28 Madame Peevira of Orlando Fringe fame will host her own ghoulish take on Elvira’s Movie Macabre. Night of the Living Queen,” a weekly horror drag show at Hammerheads Beer & Wine, will feature deadly drag, campy horror-ible films and special contests. This month, Madame P will screen the original black and white classic Night of the Living Dead. Along with special performances, there will also be a zombie costume contest! For more info on this cinema carnage, visit facebook.com/madamepeevira
Brokeback Goes Broadway
The second edition of “Brokeback Mary’s at Cheyenne Saloon” on Feb. 17 was a huge success. Attendance doubled to around 450 people, and the extravagant Broadway performances had the audience raining money for Orlando’s effort to host the 2018 Gay Games. The Minx and Watermark WAVE winner Ginger Minj hosted this fundraiser. Fellow WAVE winner Chrysanthemum offered a crowd-pleasing rendition of Jessica Lange’s “The Name Game” from the American Horror Story: Asylum TV series. This past Dec. 30, Hamburger Mary’s Orlando owners Mike Rogier and John Paonessa opened the historic locale for a night of larger-than-life production numbers followed by a street dance. After number two, the plan is to make it a regular monthly event.
Local Artists Make Good
Dawn Rosendahl and Brendan O’Connor received two of just eighteen coveted Artist Development Grants from United Arts of Central Florida. The winners, announced earlier this week, were chosen from more than 50 applicants. Rosendahl worked as an artist at Disney before opening a scenic design studio with partner Cheryl Turner. She is a sculptor and painter, and currently has a show at the City Arts Factory. O’Connor is also a painter, sculptor and all-around creative guy. He’s responsible for the eclectic chairs that pop up at bus stops throughout Orlando, and for many of the whimsically painted electrical boxes. He lives with partner Scottie Campbell in the Mills 50 District.
