How Chad Beguel Rtored Howard Ashman's Origal (Gayer) Aladd On Broadway

Contents:

• DO THE ‘PROUD BOYS’ KNOW THEIR ANTHEM WAS WRTEN BY A GAY JEW?
• IT'S NOT JT FROZEN: MOST DISNEY MOVI ARE PRO-GAY
• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG
• ULTIMATE PRI PLAYLIST: THE 50 BT GAY SONGS

DO THE ‘PROUD BOYS’ KNOW THEIR ANTHEM WAS WRTEN BY A GAY JEW?

In s choice of name the group, which claims to not be racist or poe whe supremacy — while at the same time boastg an imprsive number of whe supremacist lks and openly advotg for the safeguardg of whe masculy — is vokg a song wrten by the Jewish poser-lyricist team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the latter of whom was gay. While at first seems bafflg that a group whose members spew homophobic slurs durg attempted asslts and whose founr ma a vio lled “10 Thgs I Hate About Jews” (before changg the tle and claimg he is not antisemic) would have the song as their namake, actually fs their whole hateful gimmick. Do the ‘Proud Boys’ know their anthem was wrten by a gay Jew?

IT'S NOT JT FROZEN: MOST DISNEY MOVI ARE PRO-GAY

Ironilly, that particular "Aladd" song was wrten by Jewish poser-lyricist team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the latter of whom was gay. Proud Boys members have spewed homophobic slurs durg vlent attacks, and McInn once rerd a vio tled "10 Thgs I Hate About Jews" before changg the tle.

Yet, for playwright Chad Beguel--who is rponsible for the book and lyrics of Aladd on Broadway--his reer has e full circle thanks to two productns wrten by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the award-wng llaborators behd Aladd, Bety and the Beast, and The Ltle what he lled his own "really gay story, " Beguel was spired to bee a wrer after his father took him to see an Off-Broadway productn of Ltle Shop of Horrors, one of Ashman and Menken's earlit llaboratns.

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

Beguel, however, was the shadow of Ashman, an openly gay man who died 1991 at the age of 40 om plitns wh AIDS. "It was a crazy magic rpet ri, " he said, speakg whOut about the prsur of livg up to Ashman's legacy, workg wh one of his reer idols, and what Aladd means to a gay gettg volved wh Aladd and cidg to rtore Ashman's "lost songs:"Beguel: When I was origally approached, was asked jt to do a very straightforward versn of the show; was never aimed at Broadway. "What Ashman's "lost songs, " cludg "Proud of Your Boy, " mean to a gay dience:"Proud of Your Boy" is one of those songs that I thk everyone n relate to bee at some pot, no matter how horrible your relatnship wh your fay is, you do want to make your parents proud.

I don't want to speak for Howard, but I know for me, there is another level to beg gay, that moment when you realize and you wonr what your parents are gog to Aladd is an allegory for g out and acceptance:I thk there's the msage that you don't have to be somebody else and the more you try to be somebody else and pretend to be somebody else, the worst thgs are gog to go. It's Not Jt Frozen: Most Disney Movi Are Pro-GayBy preachg acceptance and qutng genr, the pany's kids films offer a queer-studi crash urse. Elsa hidg her ice-powers uld be read as a metaphor for the closet, the Osr-wng “Let Go” plays like a g-out anthem, and a character the film evok the qutn of whether homosexualy is a choice by quirg of Elsa’s powers, “born wh or cursed?

ULTIMATE PRI PLAYLIST: THE 50 BT GAY SONGS

Through both s rporate practic and the ntent of s films, Disney for s has implemented the so-lled "gay agenda"—which is to say, helpg make the world a more acceptg start the most obv place: As a bs, Disney has long held a progrsive attu toward LGBT people.

Gay pri events have been hosted at Disney World sce 1991, and the pany started offered s gay employe health surance benefs for their partners sce 1995, a cisn that wasn’t entirely popular back of the most poignant exampl of the pany’s tolerant atmosphere is the se of lyricist Howard Ashman, who was openly gay and died of AIDS 1991. In this way, even though Disney films ually offer a tradnal happy endg wh a heterosexual marriage, the journey always volv rejectg parental and societal expectatns, and exercisg a “eedom to marry whomever you love” spir that is enmic to gay, many Disney romanc are exampl of “impossible sire, ” a trope that is ccial to the queer experience, as genr-studi theorist Heather Love argued Feelg Backward. In The Queer Child Kathryn Bond Stockton argu that queerns is not jt about homosexualy, but also about growg abnormal ways that mak the child an outst.

Years later, artists like Joe Phillips or David Kawena spired me anew wh their radiant visn of a gay life, as normal and happy as a straight one... ) "Mariage Pour To“ support of gay marriage fely had the biggt impact: all the hate-mails, sults, threats and lost iendships!