Live from Chicago, it's Steven Brinberg as Simply Barbra on October 12

If you're a Barbra Streisand fan, I highly recommend that you go see the world's premier Streisand impressionist, Steven Brinberg, who is bringing his fabulous show, Simply Barbra, to Chicago for one night only on October 12. A two-time MAC and Bistro Award winner, Brinberg has performed all over the world as well as appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and with composer Marvin Hamlisch and the legendary Barbara Cook. And, of course, he will be performing songs from Streisand's new CD, What Matters Most, during his Chicago show.

The talented Mr. Brinberg will appear as Simply Barbra on Wednesday, October 12, at 8 pm at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret (1383 N. Milwaukee Ave). The cover charge is $23 with a two-drink minimum. For reservations, call (773) 278-1830 or visit davenportspianobar.com. He will also be performing at The Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, Michigan, on Thursday, October 13 (click here for tickets). For more information on Steven Brinberg, go to SimplyBarbra.com, and click here to read my 2010 Deeper Dish interview with him.

Below you can watch Brinberg as Simply Barbra sing "More Than You Know" from Funny Lady to a hunky Rod Stephens.

Groovy Music: Matt Doyle's "Arms Are Open"

Today I'm featuring the music of 24-year-old Matt Doyle, whom I was recently introduced to by the groovy music blog, Soundtrack to my Day (thanks, Howard). This talented and openly gay young man has appeared on Broadway in Spring Awakening and the 2009 revival of Bye Bye Birdie, and he is currently in War Horse at Lincoln Center Theater. Matt also played Jonathan Whitney, Eric van der Woodsen's boyfriend, on TV's Gossip Girl, and last spring he released his debut EP, Daylight, which is available on iTunes and Amazon. You can follow Matt on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Below you can watch Matt perform his original songs, "My Arms Are Open" and "Walls" (both co-written with Will Van Dyke), at the release concert for Daylight at (Le) Poisson Rouge on August 15, 2011, sing "You Made Me Love You" and a Bye Bye Birdie medley (with Katie Gassert) at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency on July 26, 2010, and perform "Lucky" with Wesley Taylor at Joe's Pub on May 3, 2010.

Dish of the Day #750: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll.



All it took was a glimpse of #743's fine goods to make him the runaway winner of last week's contest with 47.4% of the 171 votes cast. Everyone else lagged far behind - #741 (19.9%), #742 (17.0%), #744 (9.4%) and #745 (6.4%).

Dish of the Day #749: Cream Your Face Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Today's photographer is Dan Skinner, whose pics can be found at danthedanimal.deviantart.com.

Show Tune Showdown #4: 1973-75 Broadway Seasons

In the third Show Tune Showdown, Hello, Dolly! won the most showdowns - and the following songs will be moving on to a second round in 2012:

Hello, Dolly's "Elegance", "Put on Your Sunday Clothes", "Ribbons Down My Back", "Hello, Dolly!" and "So Long, Dearie"

Funny Girl's "I'm the Greatest Star", "Don't Rain on My Parade", "People" and "The Music That Makes Me Dance"

She Loves Me's "Will He Like Me?", "Vanilla Ice Cream", "Dear Friend" and "She Loves Me"

Anyone Can Whistle's "Everybody Says Don't", "There Won't Be Trumpets" and "There's Always a Woman"

Foxy's "Talk to Me, Baby"

High Spirits' "Home Sweet Heaven"

Here's Love's "Pinecones and Holly Berries/It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"

PLEASE NOTE: The next Show Tune Showdown will be on Friday, October 21.

Now on to our fourth Show Tune Showdown, which takes us back to two Broadway seasons - 1973-74 and 1974-75 - when the following nine musicals opened or closed during previews:

Dish of the Day #748: Cream Your Face Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Today's Dishes are Tom Wolfe and Chad Manning, and the photographer is Dan Skinner, whose pics can be found at danthedanimal.deviantart.com.

Top 10 Tuesday: What's Love Got to Do with Tina Turner's Groovy Tune?

Each week I feature 10 groovy tunes that reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the last 50+ years. You can vote for your three favorites, and the five with the most votes move on to the following week when five new songs will be added to the list. This week everyone who votes AND leaves a comment, listing their three favorite songs (as well as their name and email address), will be entered into today's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win a pair of tickets to a screening of the 1976 horror film, Carrie, at Chicago's Music Box Theatre on Sunday, October 9 (click here for more information).

Tina Turner's 1984 hit, "What's Love Got to Do with It", claimed the top spot last week, receiving 18 votes out of the 107 cast, while Jeannie C. Riley joined her in the Top 5 with her 1968 tune, "Harper Valley P.T.A." Now here is this week's Top 10 Tuesday, and you can vote for your favorites in the poll below.

Tuesday Trivia with Carrie White

Every week I post five trivia questions relating to television, film, theatre or celebrities, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award. Also, everyone who answers all the questions correctly will be entered in this week's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win a pair of tickets to a screening of the 1976 horror film, Carrie, at Chicago's Music Box Theatre on Sunday, October 9 (click here for more information).

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

This week's theme is all about the 1976 horror film, Carrie:

1) Who directed the film?

2) Who wrote the original 1974 novel that the movie is based on?

3) What future Tony Award-winning actress plays gym teacher Miss Collins?

4) What future Academy Award-nominated actor plays pig-killer Billy Nolan? And on what 1975-79 TV sitcom did he appear?

5) What Academy Award-nominated actress plays Carrie's mother, Margaret? And on what 1990-91 cult TV series did she later appear?

Groovy Gay Giveaway: Tickets to Carrie Chicago Screening on October 9

Today's Groovy Gay Giveaway is two pairs of tickets to the Camp Midnight screening of the 1976 horror film, Carrie, at Chicago's Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave) on Sunday, October 9. To kick off the Halloween season, this "scary" event begins at 2 pm with a pre-show hosted by Dick O'Day and featuring David Cerda (Artistic Director of Hell in a Handbag Productions), Ed Jones and Alex Grelle. It will include a Carrie costume parade (with "horrifyingly" good prizes!) and a sing-a-long at the Music Box organ. Then the movie will be screened, complete with an interactive audience guide and hilarious commentary from O’Day and Cerda. For further information on the screening, go to www.musicboxtheatre.com.

UPDATE (10/5/11): This screening has been rescheduled for Sunday, December 4, as A Very Carrie Christmas with actress Piper Laurie in attendance to discuss the film.

To enter to win this Groovy Gay Giveaway, you can either answer the questions correctly in today's Tuesday Trivia contest (via a private Facebook message or email) OR vote and leave a comment on today's Top 10 Tuesday post, listing your three favorite songs (please include your name and email address). Entries close at midnight on Thursday (CST). If you cannot be in Chicago to attend the screening, your winning entry is transferable to the person of your choice.

If you would like to give away something groovy and/or gay (DVDs, CDs, books, theatre or concert tickets) here on Deep Dish, please email me at deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Dish of the Day #747: Cream Your Face Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Today's photographer is Dan Skinner, whose pics can be found at danthedanimal.deviantart.com.

The Groove Tube #1: "It's Not Unusual" That I Loved Glee's Season Debut

Welcome to the first Groove Tube, a weekly recap of the highlights (and lowlights) of some of the scripted TV shows I'm watching (in order of preference):

TV Series of the Week: Glee

The show returned for its third season with its 45th episode, "The Purple Piano Project", which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Best Plot Twist: Having Blaine transfer to McKinley.

Most Disappointing Plot Twist: Having Lauren (played by the fabulous Ashley Fink) break up with Puck and leave the glee club.

Dish of the Day #746: Cream Your Face Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. And, FYI, that's Joe Namath and Farrah Fawcett in the Noxzema commercial.

Sunday Funnies #2: Kelly Ripa is Dancin' On Air

Below are three groovy videos that will take you back to 1986 when teenagers were dancing to Corey Hart's "I Am By Your Side" and Robert Palmer's "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On". And one of those teens was bubbly cheerleader - and future talk show host/actress - Kelly Ripa, who first appeared on television as a regular on Dancin' On Air, which was Philadelphia's very own locally produced American Bandstand. The show was broadcast live from 1981 to 1987, and in 1986, it was picked up by cable's USA Network, where it ran until 1992 as Dance Party USA.

Sunday Funnies #1: Sesame Street Goes Glee

Even if you're not a fan of TV's Glee, you gotta love this delightful spoof by Sesame Street, which begins its 42nd season tomorrow (September 26).

Dark Shadows Dish #4: Meet the Cast of the New Movie

Above is the first cast photo of the new Dark Shadows feature film, which I was quite excited to find in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (click on pic to enlarge it). Here are my initial thoughts about it:

All My Children: The End - or To Be Continued?

The daytime soap opera, All My Children, aired its last episode on ABC today after 41 years and 10,712 episodes of delicious drama. I would give the grand finale a grade of A for bringing back so many beloved characters and allowing their lives to continue on forever. Some fans might not be happy with the cliffhanger ending, but for me, it was almost perfect. Soap operas are not meant to have "happily ever after" endings. We watch them to be entertained by all their ongoing turmoil, so I enjoyed the tension-filled final hour, which left me wanting more - and hoping that the online series becomes a reality someday soon. "What's going to happen next?" is the question that AMC creator Agnes Nixon has always wanted her audience to ask with anxious anticipation - and today the show certainly succeeded in this task by making us want to "tune in tomorrow" to find out the answer.

Now here are some of my random thoughts on All My Children's final episodes over the past three weeks:

Dish of the Day #745: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll.



#738 won last week's contest with 34.8% of the 135 votes cast. #739 came in second with 20.0%, followed by #736 (18.5%), #740 (16.3%) and #737 (10.4%).

Soap Dish: The Top 150 Memorable Moments of All My Children, Part 2

To honor the daytime soap opera, All My Children - which will broadcast its final network episode tomorrow - I thought it would be fun to revisit 150 of Pine Valley's most memorable moments. But before we get to them, I want to pay tribute to original cast member Mary Fickett, who played Ruth Martin from 1970 to 1996 and in 2000. The actress, who died on September 8 at age 83, made her Broadway debut in 1949 in I Know My Love, a comedy starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. She also received a Tony Award nomination in 1958 for her performance as Eleanor Roosevelt in the play, Sunrise at Campobello. In 1973, Fickett became the first daytime soap actor to receive an Emmy Award for her AMC role, and she was also nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 1974 and 1978.

I also want to mention that ABC's The View (10 am CST) will honor All My Children tomorrow with a special episode featuring Susan Lucci (Erica), creator Agnes Nixon, executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, Darnell Williams (Jesse), Debbi Morgan (Angie), Cameron Mathison (Ryan), Rebecca Budig (Greenlee), Vincent Irizarry (David), Thorsten Kaye (Zach), Alicia Minshew (Kendall), and my favorite AMC couple - Laurence Lau and Kim Delaney (aka Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner Nelson).

And one final question: So who do you think is David's mysterious female patient? I would love for it to be Jenny, but she died in 1984 long before David ever showed up in Pine Valley - and probably before he was even a doctor. But, hey, it's a soap opera - I'm sure they could come up with a somewhat logical explanation. We'll just have to wait and see.

Now here are the next 25 historical highlights of All My Children in chronological order (click here for the first 25 moments)

Dish of the Day #744: I Am an iPhone Camera Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Dish of the Day #743: I Am an iPhone Camera Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Top 10 Tuesday of Groovy Tunes: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Miss Ross

Each week I feature 10 groovy tunes that reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the last 50+ years. You can vote for your three favorites, and the five with the most votes move on to the following week when five new songs will be added to the list. This week everyone who votes AND leaves a comment, listing their three favorite songs (as well as their name and email address), will be entered into today's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win tickets to an "Intimate Saturday Nights" concert at Chicago's Stage 773 Cabaret Room (click here for more information).

For the third straight week, Eurythmics is at the top with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", receiving 21 votes out of the 110 cast. And for the first time, two songs in the Top 5 are by the same diva - Miss Diana Ross, whose 1970 hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", joined her groovy 1980 tune, "Upside Down". Now here is this week's Top 10 Tuesday, and you can vote for your favorites in the poll below.

Groovy Gay Giveaway #2: Tickets to a Concert at Chicago's Stage 773 Cabaret Room

This week I'm featuring two Groovy Gay Giveaways (click here for tickets to Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp's Chicago concert on October 22). Courtesy of Lampkin Music Group, I'm giving away two pairs of tickets to any of the following "Intimate Saturday Nights" concerts at Chicago's Stage 773 Cabaret Room:

October 1 - Audrey Morris in The Best of the American Songbook
October 8 - Stephen Rader in Sings a Song He Wants To
October 15 - Joanie Pallatto in Who Wrote This Song?
October 22 - Carlo Chapelle and Kevin Pollack in At The Movies
October 29 - Jeremy Rill in All My Tomorrows (that's him in the above pic)
November 5 - Jeffrey Lyle Segal in Finally
November 12 - Andrew Brent and Jimmy Glen in Songbook
November 19 - Cheryl Szucsits with special guest Randy Kelly in As Long As I Can Sing
December 3 - Heidi Farris in How Glory Goes
December 10 - Suzanne Palmer in her cabaret debut

All performances begin at 8 pm at Stage 773 (1225 West Belmont Avenue).

To enter to win this Groovy Gay Giveaway, vote and leave a comment on today's Top 10 Tuesday post, listing your three favorite songs (please remember to include your name and email address). Entries close at midnight on Thursday (CST). If you cannot be in Chicago to attend the concert you select, your winning entry is transferable to the person of your choice.

If you would like to give away something groovy and/or gay (DVDs, CDs, books, theatre or concert tickets) here on Deep Dish, please email Marc at deepdishdrama@aol.com.

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be 'Rent'

Every week I post five trivia questions relating to television, film, theatre or celebrities, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award. Also, everyone who answers all the questions correctly will be entered in this week's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win a pair of tickets to a special Chicago concert performance of Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp on Saturday, October 22 (click here for more information).

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

This week's theme is all about the 1996 Broadway musical, Rent, which originally starred Pascal and Rapp:

1) Who originated the role of lesbian performance artist Maureen on Broadway?

2) What is the first name of Maureen's lawyer girlfriend?

3) Complete the song title: "Take Me or _____ Me"

4) What is Tom's last name? And who is his boyfriend?

5) Who originated the role of yuppie landlord Benny on Broadway? And on what TV drama does he currently appear as a doctor?

Groovy Gay Giveaway #1: Tickets to Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp's Chicago Concert on October 22

This week I'm featuring two Groovy Gay Giveaways (click here for tickets to an "Intimate Saturday Nights" concert at Chicago's Stage 773 Cabaret Room). Courtesy of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, I'm giving away a pair of tickets to a special concert performance of Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp on Saturday, October 22, at 8 pm. These two veteran stars from the original Broadway cast of Rent return to the stage for an evening celebrating their individual musical careers as well as the 1996 rock musical. Pascal is also known for originating the role of Radames in Elton John's 2000 musical, Aida, and for playing the Emcee in the 1998 revival of Cabaret - and he will be joining the cast of the Broadway musical, Memphis, on October 25. A native of the Chicago area, Rapp also performed the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, which had its pre-Broadway premiere at the North Shore Center.

To enter to win this Groovy Gay Giveaway, answer the questions correctly in today's Tuesday Trivia contest (via a private Facebook message or email). Entries close at midnight on Thursday (CST). If you cannot be in Chicago to attend the concert, your winning entry is transferable to the person of your choice.

Also, Deep Dish readers can get $10 off discount tickets for Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp by mentioning the code "DDB410". To purchase tickets, call the box office at 847-673-6300. The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9501 North Skokie Boulevard.

If you would like to give away something groovy and/or gay (DVDs, CDs, books, theatre or concert tickets) here on Deep Dish, please email Marc at deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Dish of the Day #742: I Am an iPhone Camera Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Steppenwolf Theatre's Clybourne Park: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

"That's not a modest bungalow," my partner observed as we recently waited for Bruce Norris's wonderful play, Clybourne Park, to begin at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. And I had to agree with him - the impressive living room set by scenic designer Todd Rosenthal seemed more likely to be found in an old Victorian home than a "modest" bungalow as stated in the play's description in the press release I received. But once the lights went down and Perry Como began to sing "Catch a Falling Star" and we were transported back to 1959, I forgot all about this minor criticism, which is the only one I had with the entire production.

Clybourne Park was written by Norris in response to Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun, about a black family's decision to move into an entirely white Chicago neighborhood named Clybourne Park. Two of Hansberry's characters are Lena, the matriarch of the family, and Karl, a white man from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association who offers them money in return for not moving into the neighborhood. In Norris's play, he brings back Karl in Act 1, which is set in 1959 as Karl's neighbors, Russ and Bev, are about to move away and sell their home to the neighborhood's first black family. When Karl tries to persuade them not to do this, the circumstances surrounding a prior tragedy are revealed. Then in Act 2, the story jumps ahead 50 years to 2009 as Lena, a black woman, is about to sell a house to a young white couple that belonged to her great aunt - who bought it from Russ and Bev. I loved how Norris connected the characters of the two acts - in more ways than one - and his play reminded me of two episodes of Norman Lear's groundbreaking sitcom, All in the Family, which gathered together opposing viewpoints each week to argue about an important - and often controversial - social issue. Now perhaps I shouldn't be comparing a Pulitzer Prize-winning play to a television series, but I mean this as a compliment of Norris's powerful writing, which takes the touchy subject of race and forces the audience to reflect upon it. And he achieves this through the words of his fascinating characters, who express their feelings with angry outbursts, poignant emotion and, most importantly, a sense of humor. Although there is a lot of drama going on in Clybourne Park, Norris wisely provides many laughs while telling his tale.

Groovy Music Monday: Blind Pilot's "I Buried a Bone"

I recently watched the 2010 film, Cyrus, on DVD, and although I liked the performances of John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei, it's much more of a drama than a comedy. However, one of the best things about the movie is today's groovy music, "I Buried a Bone" from Blind Pilot's debut 2008 CD, 3 Rounds and a Sound, which plays during the closing credits. This Portland-based indie band released their second album, We Are The Tide, on September 13, and for more information on them, go to blindpilotmusic.com.

PLEASE NOTE: Beginning next week Groovy Music will no longer be every Monday. Instead it will be featured on a more fluid schedule during the week.

The Modern Family Emmy Awards (starring six funny ladies)

Congratulations to Modern Family, which deservedly won five awards during last night's 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, including Best Comedy Series and Best Writing and Directing for a Comedy Series. I was hoping that Parks and Recreation - and its fabulous star Amy Poehler - might win an Emmy, but I guess there is always next year - or the year after that.

As for the awards show itself, let's take a moment to remember a few helpful suggestions I made after last year's Emmys:

Dish of the Day #741: I Am an iPhone Camera Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Web Series Worth Watching: Husbands, the first marriage equality comedy

Web Series of the Week: Husbands
Promoted as the world's first marriage equality comedy, this new web series tells the story of a flamboyantly out actor (Cheeks) and his professional baseball player boyfriend (a hunky Sean Hemeon), who wake up after a drunken Vegas weekend to discover that they are now legally married husbands. Created by Jane Espenson (who has written for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Torchwood: Miracle Day and Gilmore Girls) and Brad Bell (aka "Cheeks"), Husbands is a light and funny sitcom with two engaging leads (actress Alessandra Torresani is also a regular as Cheeks' best friend). My only complaint so far is that the episodes run less than two minutes, which barely gives the characters enough time to do anything. But I still find it a promising new LGBT series that is definitely worth watching - and it also certainly doesn't hurt to have actor Nathan Fillion (Castle) as a guest star in an upcoming episode.

TV Flashback: The Vintage Years of Falcon Crest

I was pleasantly surprised to recently stumble across the unaired pilot of one of my favorite primetime soap operas, Falcon Crest, which was originally called The Vintage Years. It was filmed in the spring of 1981, and there were some major changes made by the time the series debuted on December 4, 1981, on CBS, where it aired for nine seasons and 227 episodes. Below you can watch the entire pilot and read my likes and dislikes about it.

DVD Dish: The Complete Second Season of Glee (and the "Give a Note" Campaign)

With Glee returning for its third season this Tuesday (September 20), a great way to get caught up in case you missed an episode last year - or if you just want to relive a memorable musical moment like Blaine's "Teenage Dream" or Rachel and Kurt's duet of "Happy Days Are Here Again"/"Get Happy" - is to check out the show's Complete Second Season, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray this week. The 6-disc set contains all 22 episodes plus the following groovy special features:

The Making of "The Rocky Horror Glee Show": This seven-minute video goes behind-the-scenes of the episode, featuring interviews with the cast and director Adam Shankman.

Getting Waxed with Jane Lynch: This six-minute video follows the fascinating creation of the actress's Sue Sylvester wax figure for the Madame Tussauds museum.

Glee at Comic-Con 2010: This 15-minute video features the cast and creator Ryan Murphy answering questions about the show's first season and upcoming second season. I especially liked a question from a show tune enthusiast in the audience, who suggests to a receptive Murphy that the cast perform songs from the Golden Age of Broadway, including such musicals as Carousel (1945) and Guys and Dolls (1950).  So who knows, maybe we'll see someone singing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" one of these days.

Dish of the Day #740: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll. Also, if you have a pic that you would like to submit for consideration as a Dish of the Day, please send it to deepdishdrama@aol.com.



It was a very close race last week as #735 - with 32.9% of the 155 votes cast - barely beat #734 (32.3%). #732 came in third with 13.5% followed by #733 (12.9%) and #731 (8.4%).

Deeper Dish with Cloris Leachman

31 hilarious minutes of pure bliss. That's how I would describe my recent telephone conversation with the one and only Cloris Leachman, who was everything I imagined she would be - delightfully funny, a bit bawdy and very sweet. And I can't wait to see her perform Cloris! A One-Woman Show at Moraine Valley Community College on September 24 - I'm sure it will be a memorable evening filled with lots of laughs. She will probably cover all the highlights of her amazing life and career, including competing as Miss Chicago 1946 in the Miss America pageant, playing Nellie Forbush during the original Broadway run of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, winning nine Emmy Awards - more than any other performer - with two for her role as Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and appearing in such films as Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), The Last Picture Show (1971) - for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety (1977) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).

The 85-year-old actress has not allowed age to slow her down at all. In 2008 she became the oldest contestant to ever appear on TV's Dancing With the Stars, and she recently received her 22nd Emmy nomination for her role as Maw Maw on the Fox sitcom, Raising Hope. I am so honored to have the fabulous Cloris Leachman here on the Dish to discuss her career and answer a few pop culture questions.

Dish of the Day #739: The Dish Wore Tennis Shoes

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Also, if you have a pic that you would like to submit for consideration as a Dish of the Day, please send it to deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Live from Chicago, it's Schoolhouse Rock (and my Top 10 songs)

I first saw Theatrebam Chicago's enjoyable production of Schoolhouse Rock Live! in 1993 in the basement theatre of Café Voltaire, a vegetarian restaurant located on Clark Street. Now 18 years later, the show has moved up the street - and upstairs - to Mary's Attic (5400 N. Clark), where it is still as much fun as I remember. Directed by Scott Ferguson (who wrote and created the show), SRLive!'s simple but amusing plot about a nervous guy's first day as a teacher is just a good excuse for the talented cast of four (Danny Taylor, Christopher Walsh, Michelle Weissgerber, Angie Wendt) to perform 15 groovy songs that you will probably know all the words to if you ever watched ABC's Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. So go see Schoolhouse Rock Live! - you'll have a great time!

Schoolhouse Rock Live! runs through October 15 on Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays at 8 pm at Mary's Attic. Tickets are $11 in advance at www.schoolhouserocklive.net or $15 at the door.

Below you can watch a promo for the show as well as my 10 favorite Schoolhouse Rock! songs (in order of preference):

The 2011 Deep Dish Pop Culture Survey: Sexiest Man Alive

A Big Thank You to everyone who took the survey last month. I've divided the final results into five parts - Making a Better Dish, TV, Movies, Favorite Actress and Sexiest Man Alive - and here are the responses for favorite sexy guy:

Dish of the Day #738: The Dish Wore Tennis Shoes

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Also, if you have a pic that you would like to submit for consideration as a Dish of the Day, please send it to deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Top 10 Tuesday of Groovy Tunes: Diana Ross is "Upside Down"

Each week I feature 10 groovy tunes that reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the last 50+ years. You can vote for your three favorites, and the five with the most votes move on to the following week when five new songs will be added to the list. This week everyone who votes AND leaves a comment, listing their three favorite songs (as well as their name and email address), will be entered into today's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win a Chippendales 2011/2012 Sixteen Month Wall Calendar (click here for more information).

Eurythmics continued their reign at the top with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", receiving 32 votes out of the 133 cast last week. And Miss Diana Ross moved into the Top 5 for the first time with her 1980 hit, "Upside Down". Now here is this week's Top 10 Tuesday, and you can vote for your favorites in the poll below.

Today's Trivia is "For Ladies Only" (and gay men)

Every week I post five trivia questions relating to television, film, theatre or celebrities, and the first person who sends me the correct answers wins the highly coveted Auntie Mame Award. Also, everyone who answers all the questions correctly will be entered in this week's Groovy Gay Giveaway to win a Chippendales 2011/2012 Sixteen Month Wall Calendar (click here for more information).

Please send your answers for this week's questions to deepdishdrama@aol.com or via a private Facebook message (DO NOT post your answers on here where everyone can see them or they will be deleted).

This week's theme is all about the 1981 TV movie, For Ladies Only, starring Gregory Harrison as a stripper:

1) In what city does the movie take place?

2) What is the name of the strip club - Heaven, Club Max or Lady Killers?

3) Who made her TV-movie acting debut as casting agent Sandy? And who was her famous father?

4) What actress played unhappy wife Beth Doyle? And on what 1976-77 TV series did she star as another unhappy housewife?

5) What TV series was Harrison a regular on when he made this film?

Groovy Gay Giveaway: Chippendales 2011/2012 Calendar

This week's Groovy Gay Giveaway is two Chippendales 2011/2012 Sixteen Month Wall Calendars (September 2011 - December 2012), featuring International and Domestic cast members James Davis, Billy Jeffrey, Jaymes Vaughan, Nathan Minor, Juan De Angelo, Kenny King, Lind Walter, Jace Crispin, Chaun Thomas, Kevin Cornell and John Rivera. To learn more about Chippendales, check out their website at www.chippendales.com - and below you watch Jeffrey and Crispin on a 2009 TV appearance.

To enter to win this Groovy Gay Giveaway, you can either answer the questions correctly in today's Tuesday Trivia contest (via a private Facebook message or email) OR vote and leave a comment on today's Top 10 Tuesday post, listing your three favorite songs (if you leave a comment, please remember to include your name and email address). Entries close at midnight on Thursday (CST).

If you would like to give away something groovy and/or gay (DVDs, CDs, books, theatre or concert tickets) here on Deep Dish, please email Marc at deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Dish of the Day #737: The Dish Wore Tennis Shoes

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll. Also, if you have a pic that you would like to submit for consideration as a Dish of the Day, please send it to deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Today's Dish is Bryan Thomas.

Show Tune Showdown #3: 1963-64 Broadway Season

In the second Show Tune Showdown, Mame won the most showdowns - and the following songs will be moving on to a second round in 2012:

Mame's "Bosom Buddies", "Mame", "If He Walked into My Life" and "We Need a Little Christmas"

Sweet Charity's "Big Spender", "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now"

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever's "Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here", "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" and "What Did I Have That I Don't Have"

Man of La Mancha's "The Impossible Dream" and "Dulcinea"

The Yearling's "I'm All Smiles"

Drat! The Cat!'s "She Touched Me"

"It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman"'s "You've Got Possibilities"

Skyscraper's "I'll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her"

PLEASE NOTE: The next Show Tune Showdown will be on Wednesday, September 28.

Now on to our third Show Tune Showdown, which takes us back to the 1963-64 Broadway season when the following eleven musicals opened: