A Letter to NYC
Dear New York,
When I stepped out of the grungy, dirty, Port Authority Bus Terminal a mere nine-year-old Texas boy surrounded by his Texas family in awe of you and the energy you created, I knew I wanted to live inside you. The first thing you did was hit me with a taxi (true story) and yet I still wanted to live inside you. When I returned to Texas everyday from that point on was a day I knew would draw me closer to you. I would watch your movies and TV shows and think “one day I'm going to live there.” You drew me like a butterfly to a trashcan-fire. When I moved to you, first to Staten Island to finish my college program, the culture shock was unreal. This Texas boy only knew how to make others happy, what it was like to be surrounded by people who looked and thought just like him, but this Texas boy quickly learned that you would have none of that. You taught me that to survive in NYC, you have to be ready to fight. You have to take late night subway rides and...
Is Love Compromise?
I’ve been with my husband Stephen Hanna for 10 years now! (You can watch our Broadway Husbands video to learn how we met.)
I’m veering off of my regular career-focused blog posts on such a fitting day to talk about how love can fit into our lives. Stephen and I were recently asked an interesting question, “Is love a compromise?”
At first, I thought this seemed like a loaded question. Who am I to define love for someone else?
When I was single and dating, I thought that I would have to give up so many things in order to be in a relationship. Perhaps this idea came from the movies and plays I had watched, or the relationships I’d witnessed firsthand.
Truthfully, I didn’t know what a healthy relationship with another man could be like then.
I was playing catch up from my adolescence since most people got to date in high school and college. I wasn’t even allowed to talk about my sexuality when I was younger, which certainly...
Is Broadway Missing the #MeToo Movement?
A widespread shift is sweeping through the entertainment industry, and it’s impossible to ignore. The #MeToo movement has dominated the Facebook newsfeed, the national news, and the red carpet for the past six months. Women (and men too) are raising their voices in outrage over the decades of sexual harassment and systemic oppression within the industry that has long gone unpunished and ignored.
I’m incredibly moved by the people who have courageously come forward to share their experiences. As a gay man, I’m especially moved by the men who came forward about harassment from Kevin Spacey. To them, and all those still not yet ready to express their stories, I stand with you in solidarity, grief, and hope.
The use of sexual exploitation has been rampant in the entertainment industry (and society) for generations. The descent makes sense as it’s a commercial “for profit” business, and sex sells. Yet, while we’ve seen the jettison of powerful...
