DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley

Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-singer-writer-restaurantuer Mitchell Anderson to discuss his new autobiographical play You Better Call Your Mother, which takes its title from something a producer said to him backstage after he came out publicly onstage at the 1996 GLAAD Media Awards. This was while he was playing a gay character on the hit TV series Party of Five and made Mitchell one of the first--if not the first--leading man types to come out as gay. It was a huge deal and Mitchell talks about what led him to make that decision, the phone call he made to his mother afterward and the personal and professional fallout from the decision. He also talks about leaving Los Angeles a few years later and moving to Atlanta to be with the man who would eventually become his husband, Richie Arpino. Mitchell also talks about his second career as the chef and the owner of a pair of restaurants in Atlanta called MetroFresh and why he loves it. Other topics include: returning to acting after 18 years in the digital series After Forever, the strangest place he's ever been recognized, how a pair of overalls led him to quit Juilliard, the voicemail he played more over and over and the fact that he gets more fan mail for Jaws:The Revenge than for any other project he's done.

www.highwaysperformance.org

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Ryan Raftery, the star and creator of Mother of the Year: The Kris Jenner Musical, the latest in his series of musicals about complicated celebrities. Ryan talks about what drew him to exploring Kris, the nine months he spent researching her, what surprised him in his research and the words of wisdom from Kris that he's taken to heart. Dennis and Ryan also discuss the Kardashians generally, with Dennis sharing his impressions of their appearances on Fashion Police when he was a writer there and Ryan voicing his wish that they'll show up when Mother of the Year plays in LA on October 19th and 20th at the Bourbon Room. Ryan also talks about some of the other stars he's created shows around like Ivanka Trump, Andy Cohen, Martha Stewart, Anna Wintour and Andy Warhol and the stars he'd like to portray one day like Mariah Carey and Fox News' Roger Ailes. Other topics include: the time Ryan met Martha Stewart. his appearances on Law and Order: SVU, how he ended up with Anna Wintour's sunglasses, buying wigs and costumes on Amazon, why he doesn't want to perform as himself anymore and spending hours learning how to fold a fitted sheet to he could authentically portray Martha Stewart.

https://bourbonroomhollywood.com/tm-event/mother-of-the-year-the-kris-jenner-musical/

Dennis is joined via Zoom by cartoonist Carlo Quispe, one of the creators of Uranus Comics, who will be showing his work at the New York Queer Zine Fair on Saturday, October 7th. Carlo talks about when he first realized he could draw, winning a prestigious art contest as a kid with a little special help from mom and what it was like to move to the U.S. from Peru at 13. He also talks about his mentors and inspirations, the corner he often cuts in his drawing that comes back to bite him in the as and why he believes cartooning is one of the most intimate art forms. Other topics include: the Showgirl he spotted on the street in New York City, his mother finding his illustrated teenage diary and realizing her son liked guys from the explicit pictures, his religious parents coming around to accepting him just in the last year, the mural he painted in Washington Heights that caused a stir in the neighborhood and the piece of Mickey Mouse merch he's dreamed of all his life but never owned.

www.carloquispe.com

Dennis is joined via Zoom by singer and American Idol alum Jim Verraros on the day he releases his first new music in 12 years, a dance-pop single called "Take My Bow." Jim talks about what inspired him to step in front of the microphone again, how putting out music is different now than it was in the mid-2000s and why he loves a good double entendre. He also talks about his life post-Idol, being the first Idol finalist to come out, landing a record deal and and appearing in films like Eating Out and making the decision to leave LA and the business and return to Chicago. He talks about getting married and divorced and remarried, meeting his current husband Sean on Tinder and taking Sean to Vegas for his birthday to Kelly Clarkson perform. Jim also reveals that he hooked up with another contestant on the Idol tour bus, insists that Brian Dunkleman was way cooler than Ryan Seacrest and agrees with Dennis that Paula Abdul is a national treasure. Other topics include: how having deaf parents made him grow up fast, getting fan letters from prison inmates, getting slagged off in Simon Cowell's book, giving up gymnastics as a teen because he was getting bullied, getting married in Playa Del Carmen, the moment he realized Idol was a phenomenon and why he decided to pose in a jockstrap on Twitter. 

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Leonard Hyman, the emcee and a story producer for the L.A. stage show Mortified. Mortified is a long running stage show where performers get on the mic and share things they created as kids or teens, like diary entries, poems, home videos, things that were never intended to be shared with a roomful of stranger. Leonard recalls how he first learned about the show then went on to perform on it multiple times. He also talks about how he's kept a diary for most of his life and how he read one passage of it as part of his wedding vows--he reads that part for us, too, on the podcast! Other topics include: the fulfillment he gets with helping nervous performers craft their pieces, working a day job as a government auditor while doing Mortified on the side, the Tony-winner that may or may not have hit on him as a college student and the power of Mortified's credo: "We are freaks and we are fragile but we all survived." www.getmortified.com

Dennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Sav Rodgers to discuss his documentary Chasing Chasing Amy, a coming-of-age story set again the backdrop of Kevin Smith's controversial 1993 film Chasing Amy, which is about a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams) who falls in love with a straight guy (Ben Affleck). Sav recalls how the documentary sprung from a Ted Talk he gave called "The Rom-Com That Saved My Life," which was about how his adolescent viewings of Chasing Amy made him feel less alone at a time when he was being bullied for his queerness and battled thoughts of suicide. He also recalls what it was like to interview Kevin Smith and Joey Lauren Adams, whose brutal honesty in discussing all the dark stuff around the film--Harvey Weinstein was a producer-- was not was Sav was expecting to get from her at all. Other topics include: the awesomeness of his wife Riley, passing as a cis-straight couple when they go out together even though he's trans and Riley identifies as a lesbian, the parallels between the themes of Chasing Amy and his own life and marriage and the day from the shoot that he'll always remember. www.chasingamydoc.com

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Tom Gustafson & Cory Krueckeberg, the men behind the new gay movie-musical, Glitter and Doom. Tom directs, Cory writes and edits and they produce together. The film is a loosely autobiographical love story between two young men, a broody down-on-his luck musician named Doom (Alan Cammish) and a sunny aspiring circus performer named Glitter (Alex Diaz) In the interview, Cory recalls how he wrote the script on his own and then presented it to Tom on their 20th anniversary as a couple. Tom talks about the decision to shoot in Mexico City and recalls the international casting process, the duo's commitment to casting two openly queer leads and reveals that there were  a few straight actors who claimed to be gay in the hopes it would get them cast. The pair also describe their interactions with the Indigo Girls who lent 25 songs to the film and also appear in it. Other topics include: shooting a sex scene in a tent, casting bad-ass women like Tig Notaro, Missi Pyle and Kate Pierson from the B-52s in supporting roles and the time a festival rejected the movie because the programmer felt that it "appropriated lesbian culture." 

Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Manuel Betancourt to discuss his new book The Male Gazed:  On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men. In the book, which he describes as a memoir in essays about masculinity and desire, Manuel writes about such subjects as Ricky Martin's thirst traps on Instagram, Mario Lopez's wrestling singlets on Saved By The Bell, Antonio Banderas's tighty-whities in Law of Desire and why flamboyant Puerto Rican TV astrologer Walter Mercado used to make him squirm. Manuel also talks about getting rejected by a number of publishers and nearly giving up before his eventual publisher called to say they were interested. He also discusses watching American TV when he was growing up in Columbia, writing a thesis on queer fandom for his doctorate and whether straight actors should play gay characters. Other topics include: the difference between a hunk and heartthrob, his childhood obsession with Maleficent, the joy of wearing crop tops, the power of "phantom nostalgia," Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall and why we'd both let Jonathan Groff spit on us whenever he wants.

To promote this Saturday's Hot August Night Edition of The MisMatch Game, here are some clips from June's two Pride-themed shows. The panelists are Dante as Christopher Lloyd, Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Richard Halpern as Austin Powers, Tom Lenk as M3GAN and Zooey Deschanel, Felix Pire as The Mad Hatter, Rebekah Kochan as Jennifer Coolidge, Jackie Clarke as Ginni Thomas, James Adomian as Elon Musk, Nadya Ginsburg as Cher, Lory Tatoulian as Queen Camilla & Marc Samuel as Morgan Freeman. The questions take on such subjects as Rihanna's missing toe ring, Dorothy's stolen ruby slippers and what happened when homophobic televangelist Pat Robertson arrived at the pearly gates.

Tickets for Saturday's MisMatch Game: 

https://ci.ovationtix.com/36684/production/1173193?performanceId=11333330

Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-writer-director Craig Chester to discuss the upcoming 18th Anniversary screening of his gay rom-com Adam and Steve, which is happening on August 31st at the Mary Pickford Theater in Palm Springs. Craig shares memories of making the movie, including how he had to take over as director just a few weeks before filming, how he burst into tears after shooting the film's big, show-stopping western-themed dance number and what it was like to work with Malcolm Gets, Parker Posey and Chris Kattan. He also talks about his career as a TV writer, working on the series True Blood--where an episode he wrote pissed off both Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin--and he also shares his thoughts on the current writers strike. Dennis and Craig also share memories of working together on Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show in 2009. Craig also opens up about his journey to sobriety last year after losing virtually everything to crystal meth addiction. Other topics include: the power of dream boarding, the wisdom of Wilson Phillips, living in a 55+ community in Palm Springs, oversharing on Facebook, how getting Monkey Pox saved his life, getting help when he really needed it from folks like Stephen King, Jackie Beat, Illeana Douglas and Kate McKinnon, what it was like to be a 90's indie darling in films like Swoon, Grief and Frisk, and how he sometimes feels like a gay Forrest Gump.

 Dennis is joined via Zoom by historian JD Doyle to discuss his new book, "1981: My Gay American Road Trip, A Slice Of Our Pre-AIDS Culture." The book is comprised mostly of diary entries JD kept during a road trip he took in 1981 that spanned 24 states,180 gay bars and lots of hot hookups. In the interview, JD discusses how his father encouraged him to take the trip after he got laid off of his chemical engineering job, the '77 Skylark he took the journey in by himself with no air conditioning, using his background in gay media to network and how the entire experience changed him. He also talks about the matter-of-fact way gay men would hook up back then, his attraction to clones and how you could send a message that you were DTF by unbuttoning the bottom button of your Levis 501s. He also talks about his work as a historian and the founder of the Queer Music Heritage radio show, which is how Dennis first met JD in 2000. Other topics include: how the specter of AIDS hangs over the book, staying at the Coral Sands hotel in LA, encountering icons like Vito Russo, Armistead Maupin, Liza Minelli and Sylvester while on his journey, falling in love with and in Houston, Texas and his obsession with sassy T-shirts.

www.jddoylearchives.org

Dennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer Alex Alexander whose show Perception vs. Reality 101 returns to Los Angeles on August 12th. The show is about how sometimes the stories we tell ourselves about our lives and our pasts aren't actually true. Alex talks about getting inspiration for the show from her high school yearbooks, why she changed her name from Debra to Alex, getting caught up the Fatal Attraction backlash after changing her name to Alex and what her Southern Christian family thought when she decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. She also talks about how her 17-year marriage ended when her husband came out as gay and then later transitioned and how they both managed to navigate those changes and remain best friends. Other topics include: Alex's book The Line At Which I Stopped Reading The Online Dating Profile, dating montages in movies, her first impression of L.A., the worst costume she had to wear for work, working in the art department at Movieline magazine where Dennis got his start as a writer and the importance of setting boundaries. 

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Andy & Danny Vallentine, the husband-and-husband team behind the new movie The Mattachine Family, which is about a gay male couple in L.A. and their multiple attempts to becoming fathers. Screenwriter Danny talks about getting inspiration for the script from his and Andy's real life journey. Andy talks about working with the stellar cast, which includes Nico Tortorella (Younger), Juan Pablo di Pace (Fuller House) and Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek). The pair also talk about getting Zach Braff to sign on as Executive Producer, the day on set they'll never forget, why there's no blatant homophobia in their film and how they both turn to art when they need answers to life's big questions. Other topics include: what it's like to be named Vallentine, the shirtless kissing on MTV's Undressed, meeting each other in the Michigan State marching band, the timeless rumpled sex appeal of Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally and what it was like to become fathers in real life just one month after wrapping their film.

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Corey Sherman the writer-director of the film Big Boys, a delightful coming of age movie about a 14 year-old boy named Jamie who goes on a camping trip with his older female cousin and becomes infatuated with her hot bear of a boyfriend. Corey talks about where the idea for the story originated, exploring the theme of coming out to yourself long before you come out to anyone else and why unrequited crushes can be as formative and life-changing as full-blown relationships. Corey also talks about discovering and working with his lead actor Isaac Krasner who gives a breakout performance as Jamie, bumbling and hilarious one moment, articulate and heroic the next. Other topics include: why camping is fun, why he makes movies, the filmmakers who inspired him and the moment around the campfire involving a game of Taboo and a dance break that he'll never forget.

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Marc Saltarelli, the director of the new documentary Studio One Forever, about the legendary Weho disco Studio One. Dennis is also joined by writer-performer Bruce Vilanch, who appears in the film and was a regular at the club back in the day. The pair discuss the colorful and sometimes controversial history of the club, the club's treacherous back stairs, and how Studio One is often thought of as a rip-off of Studio 54 but it's actually the other way around. They also talk about the club's founder Scott Forbes whose vision didn't always include people who didn't look like him, like women and people of color. They also talk about the early AIDS benefits that happened in the Backlot cabaret space. One of these was headlined by Joan Rivers and caused such controversy at the time that her family received death threats. But the show went on! Other topics include: the treasure trove of Studio One photos that was discovered in a most unlikely place, the courage it took gay men of the era to line up on Robertson Boulevard to get in and the songs that always remind Bruce and Marc of Studio One.

https://www.facebook.com/studiooneforever/

Dennis is joined via Zoom by Rich Burns, the creator & star of the webseries The Disappointments, which is about three gay men in their late 50's who are dealing with the fact that their lives are not what they dreamed they would be, not even close. Rich talks about where the idea for the series first came from, the fun of writing Hollywood asshole characters, what fans can expect in Season 2 and how he came to act in the project after never having acting before in his life. Rich also talks about the thrill of winning a Humanitas Prize for the series, the importance of fitness in his--and his character Ray's--life and that time he scoped out actor Trevor LaPaglia at the bar that he worked at in Weho before offering him the role of his younger love interest. Other topics include: talking vintage cars with Jay Leno at Marix Tex Mex, creating fake vomit and fake cocaine for the shoot, Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now, how going gray changed the kind of attention he got from men, dreamboards, his most surprising fans and why there's no shame in cater-waitering. 

https://www.youtube.com/@thedisappointmentsseries

DNR STUDIOS hosts Romaine Patterson, Joselyn Contin, Derek Hartley, Ajay Sousa & Jonathan Valdez join host Dennis Hensley to play a special Summer Edition of You Don't Know My Life! Listen and laugh as the hosts serve up surprising and occasionally scandalous answers to the following questions: FIREWORKS STORY. GO. CONCERT STORY. GO and YOU FIND AN OLD PHOTO IN A DRAWER WITH THE WORDS "SUMMER LOVIN'" WRITTEN ON IT. WHAT'S THE PHOTO OF? The answers involve lesbian love, a male stripper coincidence, a Taylor Swift meet-and-greet, a need to pee really bad and much, much more. To book a YKDML Virtual Game for your crew, visit www.YouDontKnowMyLife.com or buy the boxed game on Amazon.

Dennis connects via telephone with his longtime friend Jude Hopkins to discuss her new novel Babe In the Woods. Here’s the official blurb: After living in Los Angeles, Hadley Todd returns to her hometown in rural New York to write and be near her father. Hadley hopes to channel her recent L.A. heartbreak into a play about the last moment of a woman's innocence. But she seeks inspiration. Enter Trey Harding, a young, handsome reporter who is the perfect spark to fire up her imagination. In the interview, Jude talks about how the novel began as a riff on Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, why she decided to make her heroine Hadley more complicated than most rom-com heroines, and why she decided to not aim for the HEA or “happily ever after” market. Jude also talks about never giving up on her dream of having a novel published and wonders why so many people do give up on their dreams. Jude and Dennis also reminisce about times they spent together in LA; recording song parodies, going to game show tapings, trying and failing to see David Cassidy perform at the Ambassador Hotel and crafting outgoing messages for Dennis’s answering machine. Other topics include: why Jude’s glad her parents ignored her growing up, when she fell in love with literature, why she loves teaching, being disillusioned by Alex Trebek, meeting Tina Turner and Paul and Linda McCartney when she worked at Capital Records and that glorious moment when she first held her finished novel in her hands. https://www.judehopkinswriting.net/

Dennis is joined via Zoom from Mexico City by Saul Franco, the founder of Divercitours, an LGBT tour company based in Mexico City. Dennis took a one-on-one walking tour with Saul back in May of the city center and it was the highlight of his time in Mexico CIty.  In the interview, Saul talks about how he came up with the idea of starting a tour company, learning things he never knew about his city during his research and his mission of leading his tours as if he were not just a knowledgable guide, but a friend who's just showing you around the city he loves. Dennis also asks Saul about things that came up on the tour, like the iconic waitress uniforms at Sanborns, why people in Mexico City stress out about earthquakes when September rolls around, what the new pink seats mean on buses and subways and why locals rarely wear wear shorts or skirts in public. Other topics include: how Salma Hayek inspired him, how the James Bond movie Spectre inspired the city to mount a Day of the Dead parade like the one in the movie, the difference between "cheap" food and "affordable" food, the real life gay scandal behind the recent Netflix film Dance of the 41, the ‘gay’ Zapata painting by queer artist Fabian Chairez that caused a major scandal at the Fine Arts Palace just a few years ago, the city’s Frida Kahlo fixation, accessible politicians and why his favorite part of his tours is the hug. www.divercitoursmex.com

Dennis shuts down Zoom for a change and ventures out into the world to meet playwright Eric Anderson in the lobby of his Burbank hotel. Eric and his husband flew in from Hawaii for the world premier of Eric’s play Back Porch. Back Porch is a gay twist on the American classic Picnic by the playwright William Inge, who was highly acclaimed and also very closeted. Eric talks about the real-life experience that inspired the play, which is that when he was 4 years-old, the film Picnic shot near his small Kansas town and Eric and his family got to be extras. Even though he was just a boy, he remembers it vividly. He also talks about the gay love story at the heart of his play, between Gary, an 18 year-old college-bound local, and Bill, William Holden’s handsome stunt double on the film, and why it was important to him to write a gay romance where homophobia doesn’t drive the entire plot. Other topics include: the arts scene in Hawaii, why drifters are awesome, the thrill of seeing his play finally produced after being delayed for three years because of the pandemic, the playwriting teacher that changes his life, small town busy-bodies and the movie he’s seen more than any other (Hint: It’s not Picnic).