March 25, 2011
Boston Gay Men's Chorus Offers 'Prayers,' 'Fireworks,' More This Weekend
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The Boston Gay Men's Chorus tackles the issue of GLBT youth and suicide in this weekend's concert, but that's not to say the show is a downer. Plenty of uplifting tunes are also on the program, from the soaring 'Defying Gravity' (from the smash stage play Wicked) and 'Electricity' (from Billy Elliot) to Katy Perry's 'Firework' and Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors.'
"What was really interesting was it kind of reached a tipping point where it became part of pop culture and Christine Aguilera and Katy Perry and countless others, straight people, started coming out with songs saying, 'You are beautiful as you are. Let the fireworks in yourself go off, don't be somebody else," says artistic director Reuben M. Reynolds in a video preview at the BGMC site.
"This concert is not about us, it's about youth," adds Reynolds. "It's about celebrating everything in our community that makes us stronger, by facing up to the fact that there is a moment when we find the strength in ourselves to be ourselves. That's what we want to celebrate in this concert."
The core of the Spring Concert's program is "Prayers for Bobby," a suite of songs with lyrics drawn from the journals of Bobby Griffin, a young gay man whose mother attempted to "cure" through religion. Bobby's tragic suicide in 1983 led to the book and, eventually, the film that share the composition's title.
Bobby's words soar and resonate today, especially in the wake of last year's media scrutiny of GLBT youth suicide rates. What the mainstream is now only starting to realize is what the GLBT community has known for generations: gay kids are at risk because of societal and familial rejection.
That speaks to the chorus' central artistic mission: the create a more just and accepting society through the power of music. The Spring Concert's program could be more timely, more powerful--or more uplifting and hopeful.
The Boston Gay Men's Chorus presents its "True Colors" concert Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27, at 8:00 p.m. both nights. The performances will take place at the New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, at 30 Gainsborough Street in Boston. Tickets are available online or by calling 617-542-SING.
Kilian Melloy is a singer and board member with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
