What happens to a straight man when he
musters-up the courage to come out of the closet in a town called
Gaytown?
Such is the dilemma of Owen Benjamin,
a straight man who resolves himself to turn his straight sexual
misfortune into a positive in a town where gay is in and straight is
out.
Gaytown is part of a 13 week
series of original comedy shorts created especially for the Internet
and mobile media. The ad supported channel is called C-Spot and is
being distributed by Sony Pictures Television. The new channel is
available on Crackle.com (www.crackle.com/cspot),
YouTube (www.youtube.com/cspot),
AOL Video (www.video.aol.com),
Hulu (www.hulu.com), Verizon Wireless' V Cast video service, and
direct to Sony Bravia TVs via Bravia Internet Video Link.
Gaytown is a funny look at what
would happen if gay was the norm. Owen's weekly series follows him
as he breaks-up with his fake boyfriend Pierce (Payman Benz),
approaches the woman he secretly loves, Lina (Lina Miller), and even
comes out to his father, the rhinestone king of Gaytown.
Owen Benjamin, who created, wrote and
executive produces Gaytown, is a top MySpace comedian. He
also appears in the upcoming feature film The House Bunny
opposite Anna Farris and Colin Hanks.
Gaytown appears on C-Spot, a new
episode premiering each Wednesday.
As if Gaytown wasn't
counter-culture enough, along comes the gay rap opera BASH'd!
BASH'd, which has had a recent
run of hot press after winning the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding
New York Theater -Off-Off Broadway, is the work of Canadians Chris
Craddock & Nathan Cuckow.
BASH'd is nasty, in-your-face,
high-energy rap, as rap is, but carries a serious message. On its
MySpace page, the pair open with, “If we yell FAGGOT and you think
it's whack, well f**k that, it's our word and we're taking it back!”
The opera tells the story of a pair of
lovers. When one is bashed the other decides to take revenge. It is
loosely based on the real-life spike of gay related hate crimes
occurring during Canada's national debate to legalize same-sex
marriage.
The official BASH'd website
says, “[BASH'd] is told entirely through rap, spoken word
and poetry, turning the often homophobic musical genre to our own
purpose.”
BASH'd begins a three-month
Off-Broadway run in June. Theater yet to be determined.
Gay Entertainment Report is a
feature of On Top Magazine and can be reached at
ontopmag@ontopmag.com