Climbing
Volume 3 Book 5 Part 14 of
Living in the Bonus Round
(The Big Voice Chronicles)

Macauley Culkin and Seth Green at big Hollywood event.

[ Book 3-4 ] -- [ Pt 1 ] [ Pt 2 ] [ Pt 3 ] [ Pt 4 ]
[ Pt 5 ] [ Pt 6 ] [ Pt 7 ] [ Pt 8 ] [ Pt 9 ]
[ Pt 10 ] [ Pt 11 ] [ Pt 12 ] [ Pt 13 ] [ Pt 14 ]

July 10-14, 2003.
It's Celebrity Photo Time!

BUT... as much as I hated leaving Dallas, that's how much more I loved being home. Thurber and Steinbeck are their delicious selves. The other morning I woke up early (as usual). It was still dark outside. I went up to the loft to work on music. I was sure that I was alone up there.

After about an hour, I needed to go downstairs and as I passed by the other side of the desk, there were the two cats lying together in the exact same pose. I had been "grouped" and I didn't even know it!

Lots to do this week. Multiple doctor visits. Dr. Goldman, my eye doctor says my eyes look good. No pressure, no nerve degeneration. They're still googly but they aren't getting worse.

Dr. Fleshner said the ulcer in my colon is improving. He still believes I may avert surgery if I continue doing what I'm doing -- heavy fiber, non-pressure bowel movements, etc. -- but that it would still take 8 to 10 months so I should be patient. I told him that was fine with me. I can be patient. I do notice, however, that I've upped my Metamucil intake to one tablespoon three times a day.

Dr. Mills, my AIDS doctor, took tons of blood and will give me the results on Tuesday of next week.

OUTfest!
In the midst of all these doctor visits, journalist, author and film critic David Ehrenstein invited me to the opening of "Outfest," the gay and lesbian film festival. The opening night was to be at the historic Orpheum Theatre downtown. The thing about downtown Los Angeles is that it's known more for being a slum than a downtown. All the workers go there during the day, but at night, for the longest time, it's a ghost town except for the night people who live on the streets.

David Ehrenstein, representing Variety, in front of the Orpheum

The city is trying to change that, however. They've always been trying to change that. Still, during the early heydays of Hollywood, they built these majestic and beautiful theatre palaces along Broadway.
 

The Orpheum. I love the razor wire and neon marquee.
The inside lobby. (This pic is dark because the lights were low.)

Outside in the courtyard we found food and silent auctions.
This was the VIP reception!

kd lang was there.

The movie showing this night was called "Party Boys," which I had been reading about for some time. It's about some very gay party kids from New York who became very famous for doing nothing more than dressing up in outrageous costumes and going to nightclubs. They became the toast of downtown nightlife and a national sensation. But it all ended in drug addiction and murder. The thing about this movie is that it stars Macauley Culkin and Seth Green as the party boys. I've been dying to see it, so getting this preview was a real treat.

David Ehrenstein with one of the writer/directors of "Party Boys".
He's either Fenton Bailey or Randy Barbato.

House organ. Big red curtain.

The interior box seats.

Jane Anderson won an award. She directed one of my favorite movies,
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

The cast and creative team of Party Kids.
Up on the screen you see Macauley seeing Seth.

The next day, a true celebrity arrived! Bob Stillman, who's in town rehearsing a production of Dirty Blonde in San Diego in the role that got him his Tony nomination.

Bob Stillman joking with Jim Brochu.

Bob and I spent the first two minutes telling each other how good the other looked. How is it he gets younger and I get older? I look like his grandfather, too. I'm beginning to think that my dream of an American Idol might be fading. Y'think?

Bob Stillman with Steve Schalchlin.

On that note, I've had a few readers write and tell me I look too skinny. Well, maybe, but that's not what's happening to my face. See how the skin on my face is kind of loose? That's a side effect of the AIDS drugs. It's called facial wasting. So, I'm not really as skinny as my photos would indicate. Some people shoot collagen and stuff into their faces to make them look more normal but I don't. What's the point?

We met outside where I quizzed Bob with some questions from his fan club.
Suddenly I'm a gossip columnist!
His new CD "Come Down Angel" will be released soon.

On Tuesday I get back my test results from Thursday and then we are doing a big mailing out to a bunch of theatres to see if we can pick up some last minute gigs for The Big Voice. We're doing this because, though most theatres book their seasons a year in advance, many of them leave holes open in their schedules. Given how strapped most theatres are for cash these days, a show like Big Voice, which requires only "a keyboard, a table, two chairs and a mirror ball," can be very attractive. But first they have to find out about it!

[ Book 3-4 ] -- [ Pt 1 ] [ Pt 2 ] [ Pt 3 ] [ Pt 4 ]
[ Pt 5 ] [ Pt 6 ] [ Pt 7 ] [ Pt 8 ] [ Pt 9 ]
[ Pt 10 ] [ Pt 11 ] [ Pt 12 ] [ Pt 13 ] [ Pt 14 ]

© 1996-2003 by Steve Schalchlin. You have permission to print from this diary and distribute for use in support groups, schools, or to just give to a friend. You do not have permission to sell it.