Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

The Second City salutes Pride
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2019-06-22

This article shared 2518 times since Sat Jun 22, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The Second City's Salute to Pride is waving a welcoming flag this June with an all LGBTQ identifying cast. Head upstairs to UP Comedy Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and there you will find drag queen Lucy Stoole presenting a show with a variety of people from our community. The troupe combines sketch comedy, improv, music and drag to create a show that's inclusive to everyone.

Evan Mills is one of the openly gay cast members and is also the creator and writer of Queer Eye: The Musical Parody, running this month at The Playground Theater on Halsted St. If that's not enough, he also performs as a comedy music duo Evan & Mary Jane.

Mills met up after a recent performance to give readers a behind the scenes story.

Windy City Times: Where are you originally from?

Evan Mills: Michigan. I am half filipino and half white. I came to Chicago in 2010. I was pursuing filming had gotten a degree in film and photography. I stumbled upon this place in 2012. I got a job here and started watching shows every single night.

I had no original plans of doing this when I moved to the city, but I am glad I am doing it!

WCT: Did you come out of the closet at a young age?

EM: I came out when I was 22. I was living here. I told my dad first on the phone. Mom was coming to visit me on the same day. I knew I had to tell her or she would be really mad!

WCT: What does Pride month mean to you?

EM: It's very important to me. My dad is also gay. He came out when I was four. My parents separated. I learned at a very young age what their relationship was and how my dad was, but it took a while for me to figure it out myself. When I did come out, luckily I have the most supportive family. I am an only child, so there's more pressure on me when I am the only kid. I was really nervous about coming out. My family was a hundred percent supportive and really wonderful.

Pride is super important to me. I celebrate it every month! I love doing a Pride show. My parents are coming to see it closing weekend.

WCT: Did you tour some with Second City?

EM: I did the Bob Curry Fellowship two years ago, from that I went to DC and did a summer show called Generation Gap there at the Kennedy Center. In December, I started understudying for the touring company. Now I am an official member of the touring company. I am on it with Jordan Stafford, who is in the Pride show with me.

WCT: How did the troupe create this show?

EM: A few of the cast members were in the show last year and that was all archived material. This year, they took three cast members from the last show and three brand new ones, which was me, Jordan and Laurel Zoft Pelton. We spent about three weeks writing it together. It's all original content, which is amazing. This building is known for its archive material and improv, but this time it's all new.

It's fortunate that all six of us were really good friends prior to the show. It was easy to work with each other. All six of us have such a unique style and voice. It was really great seeing everyone bring in their own point of views and meld it together.

Having Lucy Stoole in here was unbelievable. We asked her if we could write her into some sketches and she said, "Bitch, please!"

WCT: What topics did you want to focus on?

EM: I came in and just really wanted to collaborate. I wrote the song I did based on a real thing that happened to me two months ago. There were a lot of things we wanted to say and I liked that we did it together. People came in with ideas and we molded it as a group. As a collective we came together and made it our own show.

WCT: Does improv happen within the show?

EM: Kind of. Now that we are set in what we are doing, we like to play around with each other. We think something will work and we try it. Audiences can tell when it happens because it throws everyone off. Someone will break up onstage.

It's fun because we all trust each other. There is no set spots for improv, but there's definitely moments of it.

WCT: So this only runs in June?

EM: Yes, but we are saying it shouldn't just be a Pride show. We would love to do the show in lets say September. Why box us in? Let's just do a regular gay show for Second City!

WCT: How does your project the Queer Eye parody work with copyrights?

EM: When I started it I brought on my music composer who works in the industry. We found ways to get around it, especially in the title. As long as you say "parody" you are okay, since it's based on characters and not real people. We did a lot of research on what we could get away with. We are not making fun of them. We are heightening their tropes.

It's been really great. We sold out our entire last run, now we are back for Pride.

WCT: How are you doing both shows?

EM: We schedule Queer Eye around my schedule [laughs]. Well, and everyone else's schedule, too. It runs Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

WCT: Who do you play in Queer Eye?

EM: Tan France. Jonathan Van Ness got us fourth row tickets to his recent show. He reposted our story on his Instagram.

WCT: Have you met any of them?

EM: We haven't, but we wrote in Betty Who and she said she would try to come see it when she's in town. The cast is very active on our social media and they are aware that we exist.

WCT: Do you have a favorite song in the parody?

EM: "Bobby's Song." It's the first song I wrote for the musical. I won't give too much away, but we know he's the interior designer and gets the least amount of screen time, although e does the most amount of work. We pick on him during the show, but I wanted a redeeming number.

People cry and go crazy after the song is over. It feels really good to know people are getting the message. The response for this show has been great. I would like it in a bigger theater or travel it around the country.

Salute to Pride tickles funny bones on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June at The Second City's UP Comedy Club, 230 West North Ave. Tickets start at $26 and are available at 312-337-3992 or SecondCity.com .

Queer Eye: The Musical Parody marches on at ThePlaygroundTheater.com with more information and schedule on the website.


This article shared 2518 times since Sat Jun 22, 2019
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Pride 365 event emphasizes year-round support for LGBTQ+ employees 2024-03-07
- Queer employees are queer all year-round. The need for employers to accordingly support and uplift them year-round was the core message at Howard Brown Health and Citywide Pride's Pride 365 "Out of Office to Out in ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted to host trans youth & family summit 2024-02-19
- Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., has announced that its Trans Youth & Family Summit 2024 will take place March 16. This year marks the sixth annual event, which partners between Youth Services' Pride Youth ...


Gay News

Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret Valentine's Day Feb. 17 2024-02-16
--From a press release - Lakeside Pride Wilde Cabaret puts their own spin on Valentine's Day with a show celebrating things done and sacrificed for love - not just romantic love, but love for pets, friends, family and art. Join the ...


Gay News

GLAAD, NFL host third annual pre-Super Bowl event 'A Night of Pride' 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD, along with The National Football League (NFL), hosted the third annual "A Night of Pride" at Caesar's Palace in Super Bowl LVIII's host city of Las Vegas, a press ...


Gay News

Chicago Fire FC announces 2024 theme nights; Pride Night will be June 1 2024-01-19
--From a press release - CHICAGO (Jan. 18, 2024) — Chicago Fire FC announced the club's theme nights for select home matches during the 2024 regular season, driven by Carvana. The Club's 2024 calendar features 11 theme nights, including the return ...


Gay News

WORLD Austria proposal, conferences, Pride marches, tennis player, Gay Games 2023-11-03
- In Austria, a historic proposal by the country's Ministry of Justice sees 33 million euros (approximately $35 million U.S.) set aside to compensate those who were persecuted or convicted of consensual same-sex acts—although critics say th ...


Gay News

NHL reverses decision to ban Pride Tape, allowing players to show support for LGBTQ+s 2023-10-24
--From a press release - (New York, NY - October 24, 2023) Today the National Hockey League (NHL) reversed its decision to ban Pride Tape and other displays of support for LGBTQ people on the ice, stating: "After consultation with the ...


Gay News

THEATER Company of 'Wolves': Redtwist's Dusty Brown on gay Riding Hood retelling, Grindr, gender identity 2023-10-16
- It's all about Pride in 2023-24 at Redtwist Theatre. The 19th season for this North Side black-box theater includes three very different productions, starting with Wolves, called a "gory, gay reimagining of 'Little Red Riding Hood.'" ...


Gay News

NHL bans Pride Tape from hockey games and practices 2023-10-11
- The National Hockey League (NHL) has designated that athletes will no longer be able to show support to the LGBTQ+ community while playing, according to Out, which cited Outsports. The league has issued a ban of ...


Gay News

GAY HISTORY MONTH George Harris reflects on his late husband and Dallas activism 2023-10-10
- Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of Dallas Voice and the LGBT History Project. When George Harris and Jack Evans became the first couple to legally marry in ...


Gay News

Illinois colleges make list of most unsafe places for LGBTQ+ youth 2023-10-05
- Campus Pride has released its list of the worst places for LGBTQ+ youth—and several Illinois colleges and universities are on it. According to a press release, "the Worst List identifies the 'absolute worst, most unsafe campuses ...


Gay News

GAY HISTORY MONTH Putting an end to the myths of Stonewall 2023-10-02
- Special to Windy City Times. In recognition of Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of the LGBT History Project and Philadelphia Gay News. For years, people have debated what actually happened that night in June ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ 'Sex Education' star, Rotten Tomatoes, Jessica Lange, Queer/Art 2023-09-08
Video below - Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa officially came out during an interview with Elle UK, according to Out. "I remember being at Manchester Pride, going through the streets with all my boys, shaking my cha-chas, living it ...


Gay News

Brave Space Alliance holds Post Pride Mixer 2023-08-30
- On Aug. 27, Brave Space Alliance held its Post Pride Mixer at popular lesbian-owned bar Nobody's Darling. The social gathering celebrated past accomplishments while looking forward to new horizons for both the service organization and the ...


Gay News

UIC among nation's top 30 campuses for LGBTQ+ students 2023-08-25
--From a press release - The University of Illinois Chicago has been named one of the top 30 colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students, according to Campus Pride, a national organization serving LGBTQ+ and ally student leaders and campus organizations in ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.