It’s pretty common for my husband to skip songs on my playlists while I drive. Our musical tastes have plenty of overlap, but mine can be a bit more eclectic.
Or dated, depending on who you ask. I have a handful of playlists I’ve carefully cultivated over the years and one that he regularly tries to avoid is named “Throwback Ry’s-day.”
Like my more modern playlist, it has music I’ve loved for most of my life. Its 29 hours just doesn’t include anything that couldn’t have aired on “Total Request Live.”
For readers who don’t have to take a daily antacid, “TRL” premiered 25 years ago on MTV, when the network used to play music videos. Its original run dominated after-school airwaves for folks my age from 1998 until 2008, ranking the Top 10 most requested videos on live television as determined by viewer vote. Democracy at work.
So given my musical tastes, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I was excited for the recent 90s Con at the Tampa Convention Center. It was the third time “the raddest celebration this side of the millennium” had ever been held and its first time coming to Florida.
Its impressive array of over 50 guests included Backstreet Boys Nick Carter and AJ McLean, *NSYNC member Joey Fatone and T-Boz and Chilli from TLC. All artists regularly featured on my throwback playlist.
90s Con was an easy sell from the get-go for someone with my pop culture tastes, particularly with its promise to “bring stars from your favorite 90s shows such as ‘90210,’ ‘Full House,’ ‘Saved by the Bell’ and many more to the city of Tampa.” Then I saw its full guest list.
Nestled between the casts of “Boy Meets World” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” were three names that cemented my attendance, Disney Legends all. Jodi Benson, the original speaking and singing voice of Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” Paige O’Hara, who did the same for Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” and Linda Larkin, who voiced Jasmine in “Aladdin.”
If there’s something I love more than pop music from my youth, it’s the Disney films that helped shape it. That’s clear from another playlist my husband tends to avoid, “Disney Daze,” which was created for our drives to Orlando as annual Disney passholders.
Our passes were a casualty of the pandemic, so the playlist now serves as an intermittent pick-me-up or a nice change of pace when I’m feeling more princess than pop. I also found out that it can help calm my nerves before meeting three iconic voice actresses in person for the first time.
O’Hara and Larkin were absolutely darling, and thankfully I’d already met Benson virtually. Some of the pressure was alleviated because I had the opportunity to interview her when she released her book last year.
At the time, we discussed “The Little Mermaid” and its LGBTQ+ legacy at length — from the original fairytale’s writer having same-sex romances to the film’s openly gay lyricist Howard Ashman and Divine, Ursula’s drag queen inspiration. I was forever changed.
“Like so many people in and outside of the LGBTQ+ community, ‘The Little Mermaid’ helped shape who I am today,” I wrote in my column afterwards. “As a little gay boy growing up in poverty, the movie gave me the courage to find my voice, showing me that I could reach for more in life and get it. Just like Ariel.
“I was given the opportunity to tell Benson that directly, something I’ll never forget or take for granted,” I continued. “She was everything I wanted her to be; Ariel herself proved that sometimes you really should meet your idols.”
I can now happily confirm that includes in person. Benson couldn’t have been sweeter, and in addition to a hug I was able to give her a copy of the Watermark that our interview ran in. I had her sign a second copy for me to take home.
Meeting Benson, O’Hara and Larkin was the definition of Disney magic for me, and proof of the lasting impact a film can have on someone. It’s one of the reasons cinematic celebrations like the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival are so important, particularly for LGBTQ+ audiences.
We detail the first part of their upcoming 34th celebration in this issue. We also preview the return of other events like Come OUT St. Pete and Girls in Wonderland Beach in Tampa Bay, as well as Come Out with Pride in Orlando. In arts and entertainment, we speak with advocate and author Mercury Stardust, better known as the “Trans Handy Ma’am.”
Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.
