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JANUARY 19. 2007
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Actions Speak Louder
Than Words
A Broadway legend comes to town
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hen I heard that 85-year-old Carol
Channing was replacing 96-year-
old Kitty Carlisle Hart as the guest
at Pink Martini’s New Year’s Eve
concert, I wasn’t sure if I should
pay more or ask for my money back.
Channing has been a musical theater star since
breaking out as Lorelei Lee in 1949’s Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes. But during the ensuring 57 years, her
persona barely changed a whit—big eyes, big lips, big
smile, big wig. Her appearances often descended into
a caricature (think bad drag) that was sometimes
painful to watch.
On top of that, last November she had a fracas
in the gay press. When asked why she had such a
loyal gay following, she replied: “I’m grateful that
they seem to like me. They’re terribly loyal to me.
But I’m knee-deep in the Bible, and you know what
it says about that.”
Queers were shocked. Channing had been at
the forefront of the AIDS crisis, raising money for
underfunded social service agencies from the very
start. She sang with the San Francisco Gay Men’s
Chorus; she was the grand marshal of the West
Hollywood Pride Parade. She couldn’t be homo-
phobic, could she?
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meets Carol Channing backstage.
So, you can imagine my misgivings as Pink
Martini leader Thomas Lauderdale introduced her.
Yet, on she strode confidently (although a bit fee
bly), the smile just as broad as ever. She greeted us
by saying: “Hello, Portland. Pm so glad to be your
disappointment act.” And while someone who’d
never heard her before might think, “Please get
Grandma off the stage before she embarrasses her
self," 1 was hooked.
And not disappointed. Her voice may rummage
in her purse searching for the right note, and she
loses her place as her stories ramble on, but she has
m unmistakable energy that comes across the foot
lights, and she projected a vulnerability that made
the audience embrace her.
Sitting in the theater (thank you, Jason Mitchell
ind John Brodie of Pink Martini) I realized that I was
old enough (and mature enough) to appreci-
ite an entertainer for the memory of the joy she
wrought me. Couple that with all of the good
Channing has done for the gay community during
the past half-century, and the possibility that her
advanced age makes her reach for religion as she
prepares for her final curtain call (a very common
occurrence), and 1, for one, am willing to forgive.
So, as she sang, “Lixik at the old girl now, fellas”
during a rousing version of “Hello, Dolly,” I thought,
“It’s so nice to have you back where you belong.”
Another performer who definitely belongs on
the stage is Wade McCollum, who made his final
appearance as Berlin’s most famous transvestite in
Portland Center Stage’s I Am My Own Wife (or, as
my workout buddy Mike Long calls it, Tranny Get
Your Gun). Wade is now off to New York City with
boyfriend Noah Jordan (who
appears in the Oregon Lottery’s
print campaign targeting gam
bling addiction) to take a bite
out of the Big Apple.
In the audience was Just Out
film reviewer Yvonne Behrens,
a native German speaker, who
praised Wade’s pronunciation
and accent as impeccable. She
sat with Ann Smith, who’s busy
designing a Web site for her
antique business. Portland Art
Museum chief curator Bruce
Guenther was there with
boyfriend Eduardo Vides, who
is finally moving to Portland
from Tri-Cities, Wash. Also in
attendance were Will Knuths
and Zurain Imam, who’s fea
tured as a submissive spy tied up and tortured by a
female dominatrix in a music video banned on
Pakistani TV.
There were gays aplenty at Drew Lee and Bob
Stoico’s holiday party, including Oscar Clark,
a massage therapist who’s studying health adminis
tration at Portland State University. Vikram Reddy
told tales of the White Party in Miami, where he
danced all night in his underwear. Ryan Howe told
me about his collages that incorporate his inner
thoughts and feelings with contemporary pop
culture references, and Kevin Gervais talked about
the Sufi Secrets of Life.
Which brings me back to Carol Channing, who
told me that her secret to staying young is “doing
what I love.” I’m making that my new year’s resolu
tion. Life is short, and pretty soon, we’ll all be Out
Going. ©
FLOYD S klaver wants to know about your event.
E-mail him at floydsklaver@comcast.net.