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L👀K! The Tony and Grammy-winning 'Dreamgirls' comes to life in this awesome retelling by @redmtntheatre. Directed by Henry Scott, this hit musical will be the talk of the town throughout its entire duration. It runs from May 12-28 at RMTC Cabaret Theatre on 19th Street North. Tickets start at $19. For more info and tix purchases, go to redmountaintheatre.org. #dreamgirls #broadway #offbroadway #theatre #redmountaintheatre #rmtc #bham #ala #magiccity #photography #downtown #citylife #thingstodo #instagrambham #happeninsintheham #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham (at Red Mountain Theatre Company)

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Today is DINING OUT FOR LIFE! And the 'Ham has over 30 participating restaurants to choose from. Eat out and watch these hot spots donate from 25% to 50% to @aidsalabama. Check out the full listing of area restaurants participating here: http://bit.ly/2qaVyRg #diningoutforlife #aidsalabama #eating #diningout #dining #hiv #aids #charity #instafood #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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Dining Out for Life 2017: Check Out Who’s Participating in the ‘Ham

Since 1991, Dining Out for Life, a worldwide charity campaign aimed at helping local HIV/AIDS services and programs, has helped raise millions of dollars nationwide through the partnership of participating restaurants donating portions of meal purchases to charity. And since its launch in the state of Alabama in 2009, AIDS Alabama has raised over $100,000. Thanks to Birmingham’s dynamic food culture and scene and also landing on hit lists for Zagat (listed number 14 as the Hottest Food Cities of 2016), Thrillist and Eater, foodies will have access to a number of the area’s hot spots for this event.

“All you gotta do is eat,” Tony Walker, AIDS Alabama coordinator, stated in a Facebook Live post. “You eat [and] they give us money. I can’t think of any thing simpler in this world than to eat.”

And he’s right. Dining Out for Life, one of the largest annual fundraisers for AIDS Alabama, has to be one of the easiest and popular charity events around. This year’s festivities should merit more of the same. Kicking off this year’s events in the ‘Ham a day early, The J. Clyde — named one of Thrilllist’s 33 Best Beer Bars in the nation — donated 50% of their proceeds. They along with 30 other area restaurants will be giving 25% or more this Thursday during lunch and/or dinner times. Topping the 50% donation list with J Clyde is Silvertron Café (lunch or dinner). At the 35% level, the next highest percentage, are places like 5 Point Public House Oyster Bar, Bamboo on 2nd, Bistro V and Five Points South’s Ocean. Also making the list of participating eateries are newish restaurants The Filling Station (25%), Highland Park’s Rojo, Frank Stitt’s Chez Fonfon, a host of Lakeview popular spots (Slice, Jack Brown’s, Sky Castle, Moe’s BBQ — lunch only, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken — lunch only) and many others.

To see a full list of participating restaurants, view the official listing below or by clicking here.

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Broadway star Todrick Hall (Kinky Boots) brings his new off-Broadway musical, Straight Outta Oz, to the 'Ham this week. Read more: http://bit.ly/2qbGLoO #todrickhall #straightouttaoz #broadway #lgbt #bham #ala #magiccity #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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Another “oops” moment during Trump’s first 100 days as president. 

BREAKING: Judge grants request to halt Pres. Trump’s executive order that threatens funding for sanctuary cities.

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Todrick Hall’s ‘Straight Outta Oz’ Heading Straight to the ‘Ham

Broadway sensation Todrick Hall (Kinky Boots) will be bringing his off-Broadway musical, Straight Outta Oz, to Birmingham this week. The April 27 stop at the historic Carver Theatre — home to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame — was recently added to his 30-city tour. Longtime fans of Hall in the area will get a chance to witness Hall’s adrenaline-filled creativity on the stage with this colorful Wizard of Oz spoof, a crafty merger of Wicked and flashy adult contemporary R&B and pop show tunes.

Before rising to fame as the eccentric guest panelist on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Todrick Hall made his splash on the pop cultural landscape as a season nine contestant on American Idol. While climbing to the Top 16, his tenure on the FOX hit show was relatively brief. But that didn’t stop the handsome Arlington, TX-born singer/songwriter from cultivating his talent around an entrepreneurial enterprise that included a bevy of well-choreographed flash mob uploads on YouTube, catchy jingles, new music and a successful social media apparatus. Now Hall’s work is getting much notice and drawing big celebrities to his fingertips, which includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jordin Sparks and Glee’s Amber Riley. All three mentioned are featured on a self-released 48-minute visual album of Straight Outta Oz (borrowing inspiration from Beyonce’s visual album concept for Lemonade). Already the YouTube version of the visual album has tracked more than 800,000 hits since it was uploaded a month ago.

Straight Outta Oz will play at the Carver Theatre starting at 7 pm. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $80 for VIP (includes meet & greet with Todrick Hall after the show, a photo after the show and an autographed poster).

For more information, go to todrickhall.com or visit the Facebook event page by clicking the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1695373257426647/

STRAIGHT OUTTA OZ | TRAILER

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Two Birmingham Softball Teams Take Home the Gold at 2017 Southern Shootout

Photos: 35th annual Southern Softball Tournament, George Ward Softball Complex / Equinox Birmingham

The 35th annual Southern Shootout Softball Tournament took place this past weekend, drawing an impressive 58 teams from across the country to the Magic City. Billed as the longest consecutively running gay softball tournament in the US, this annual three-day tourney presented by New South Softball League wrapped up late Sunday evening at the George Ward Softball Complex with two Birmingham teams taking home the big prize — a first in the tournament’s longstanding history. The Birmingham Twisted Hitters defeated the Washington DC’s Envy, capturing first place in the C-Division. Meanwhile, #ONCEWAS won first place in the D-Division. Atlanta’s Outkast won first place in the B-Division with the Knoxville Cyclones and Carolina Pitch Slap winning second and third place respectively.

A list of the top three teams in each division is presented below.

B Division 1ST - OUTKAST - ATLANTA 2ND - CYCLONES - KNOXVILLE 3RD - PITCH SLAP - CAROLINA

C Division 1ST - TWISTED HITTERS - BIRMINGHAM 2ND - DC ENVY - WASHINGTON DC 3RD - ORLANDO FURY UNLEASHED - ORLANDO

D Division 1ST - #ONCEWAS* - BIRMINGHAM 2ND - QUEST DISCO NINJAS - BIRMINGHAM 3RD - TAMPA BAY JOKERS - TAMPA

* non-NSSL team

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Birmingham Kicks Into High Gear for ‘RPDR’

Photo: Al’s on Seventh / Watch Party (March 24, 2017)

Extra boost comes from Season 9 star and Birmingham area native Trinity Taylor

Now on Fridays and in high-definition video, Emmy-winning RuPaul's Drag Race, hosted by drag legend RuPaul Charles, suddenly moves from Logo to VH1 and has provoked gay bars across the country to make drastic changes to their weekly scheduling. At gay bars in many major cities, the popular drag queen reality-TV competition proved to be a perfect hit in its original slot on Monday nights, adding a new wave of culture to dry and low-activity nights. Now the big programming shift adds a new flavor of competition to already established Friday nights. In most cases, like in San Francisco, New York City and South Florida, the show cuts into drag shows usually locked down by industry-established drag queens and bar cast members. The qualms were reported in several large metro gay papers like SFGate.  “I liked Mondays because the show kind of owned the night," said San Francisco resident Tom Bellino. "You could be sure that everyone at the bar was there to watch it. Now that it's on on Fridays, there might be random people at the bars who didn't come to watch, and will be talking over it.” One bar owner, according to the same publication, called the move to Fridays “unfortunate.”

:: WATCH LADY GAGA MAKE HER BIG ENTRANCE ON RPDR S9 ::

For gay bars and fans of the show in Birmingham, the hometown for Season 9 competitor Trinity Taylor, the transition comes across as a lucky charm. Al's on Seventh and Spike's Leather Club, both located in the Lakeview business district, are using RPDR viewing parties as kickoffs to their late Friday night itinerary. With RPDR viewings beginning around 7 pm (when it airs on VH1 in Central Standard Time), drag fans can load up on the show’s fierce competition, lip sync challenges and weekly eliminations while also being treated to the back-talking shenanigans of local area drag queens.

A careful footnote to insert: Trinity Taylor performs regularly at Al's on Seventh, sometimes 3-4 times a year. Taylor's last appearances at the venue were on 2016's New Year's Eve and in February at the Mystic Krewe of Apollo Bal Masque after party, only days after Taylor was announced as a drag contender for the forthcoming season. 

This Friday, Trinity Taylor, now residing in sunny Orlando, travels home this week for a round of appearances. The first will be at a fundraising event from 6-10 pm at WorkPlay for Steven Edmondson, who was recently injured on March 4 in a horrific head-on collision. Much later, Taylor will return to Al’s on Seventh for drag performances with the DREAMCAST at Al’s on Seventh starting at 11:00 pm.

For those who may miss the Friday episodes on VH1, Logo will be airing encores on Friday and Monday nights.

Sidenote: The move to VH1 seems to have hit a new career milestone. Viewership of the season premiere, featuring Lady Gaga as a guest judge, nearly multiplied triple-time since last season, nearly hitting the 1M mark.

:: ALSO CHECK OUT ::

Blessed Trinity: Drag Sensation Trinity Taylor Opens Up Abut Life, Career and Almost Everything Else

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Bounce queen Big Freedia will be twerking things up on Planet Saturn (Saturn Birmingham / @saturnbham ) this Friday. You don't want to miss this hot gig. Tickets can be purchased at saturnbirmingham.com. Check out our latest write-up on the meteoric rise of Freedia: http://bit.ly/ #bigfreedia #queenofbounce #bounce #hiphop #dance #lgbt #bham #ala #magiccity #saturnbham #thingstodo #upcomingevents #instagay #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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Big Freedia Wiggles Back to the ‘Ham

Big Freedia, often dubbed the Queen of Bounce, certainly knows how to turn the party up. With an onslaught of booty-shaking beats, aggressive street hip-hop and repetitious chants, the New Orleans native has made an indelible mark on the soundtrack of underground clubland. Freedia's recent meteoric rise to fame came through a reality television show (Fuse TV’s Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce), crossover homage by Miley Cyrus via “twerking,” landing several cameos on RuPaul's records and a memorable appearance on the opening segment of Beyoncé's Grammy-nominated hit single "Formation."

The timing of those events couldn't have come at a better time. A few months after the Beyoncé collaboration, the ever-evolving performer plead guilty of federal government theft related to Section 8 housing vouchers. The bounce rapper narrowly avoided jailtime after being sentenced to serve time in a halfway house Being cornered by a fumble of financial setbacks, these allegations and charges painted an icky stain on the performer’s resume. Now Freedia, openly gay but also comfortable with being branded with female pronouns, is bouncing back and taking things to the next level. With a critically-acclaimed debut album (2015′s Just Be Free) on the record and a new full-length disc on the horizon, Freedia is poised to wiggle to higher heights.

Big Freedia at Saturn, 2016 (Source: Jeff Richards / Facebook)

Unless you’ve been living under a Red Mountain rock, Birmingham has proven to be quite a hot destination for Freedia's touring. Back in 2013, the now-defunct Bottletree Cafe made the plunge of booking her first and selling very well. A second appearance at the venue came a year later. When Saturn Birmingham in Avondale opened in 2015, venue manager Brian Scott Teasley, once a Bottletree concert promoter, strongly committed to bringing Freedia to the new venue. And they did just that in the fall of 2016 with co-headliners Tank & the Bangas. Marked with high attendance, Freedia’s October stint sparked an encore slot for the first quarter of 2017. After a mild touring hiccup which promoted a rescheduled date, Freedia will once again play Saturn on Friday, March 24. The timing of such a return may be another omen for Freedia. This week, it was announced that Saturn landed on a list of Greatest American Music Venues by Consequence of Sound. And on that list of 100 entries, Saturn sits at No. 50.

Freedia also has one more upcoming Alabama date on her itinerary: The SouthSounds Music & Arts Festival held in Mobile. Ala. on April 7-9.

Tickets for the March 24 concert at Saturn Birmingham can be purchased at saturnbirmingham.com. More info can be found here.

WATCH “DROP” | BIG FREEDIA, DIPLO AND DJ SNAKE

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Sidewalk Film Festival lead programmer Rachel Morgan introducing Strike A Pose, a moving doc about Madonna's legendary dancers during her successful 1990 Blonde Ambition World tour, at @alsonseventh. The film was part of Sidewalk Film Fest's ScreenTalk series and co-presented by SHOUT LGBTQ Film Festival, the only film festival of its kind dedicated to LGBT film in the state of Alabama. #sidewalkfilm #shoutfilmfest #lgbt #film #strikeapose #strikeaposedoc #madonna #blondeambition #alsonseventh #bham #ala #magiccity #instavideo #instagay #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham (at Al's On Seventh)

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The ABC miniseries 'When We Rise' premiered this week to very low ratings. This event is our 'Roots', so why aren't we treating it as such? EQB editor J Matthew Cobb chimes in. Read more: http://bit.ly/2mgwgSV #whenwerise #television #news #headlines #coverstory #opinion #lgbt #lgbtq #history #dustinlanceblack #instapic #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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#jmattspeaks: ABC’s ‘When We Rise’ Is Our ‘Roots’, So Why Don’t We Treat It As Such?

Dustin Lance Black’s adaption on Cleve Jones’s breathtaking memoir is a milestone in television, but for some reason its low ratings (so far) paint a painful reality

For the last five years, ABC and ABC Family has been home base for LGBT-friendly programming with sitcoms like The Real O'Neals, Modern Family, ShondaLand's How to Get Away With Murder, Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, all featuring a trove of memorable gay characters. This week, the network rolled out the new Dustin Lance Black-directed mini-series When We Rise, a first of its kind for prime time programming focusing on LGBT history. And after watching the first portion of this episodic film on Monday night, with a storyline introducing activists and prolific persons to the gay and women's liberation movement such as Cleve Jones, Roma Guy, Harvey Milk, a relatively unknown Ken Jones along with a small introduction to gay icon/dance diva Sylvester. It follows important timeline moments in 20th century dating back to the aftermath of the Stonewall riots and the migration of LGBT youth towards an Utopian San Francisco only to experience troublesome barricades towards equality and justice. As it paces forward this week, Jones's profile will rise as he becomes the voice behind the NAME Project's AIDS Memorial Quilt. It's abundantly clear, with all of these historical excavations, that this is the 'Roots' for the LGBT community. Unfortunately, the ratings so far have failed to reach the levels of the Alex Haley-penned '70's juggernaut.

On night one, When We Rise failed to surpass the big networks of CBS, FOX and NBC. Despite earning positive reviews (now earning an 83% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes) and going into the night with major buzz for all its glowing starpower (Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Guy Pearce), the show pulled in 2.95 million viewers. It's a nice number, but was far less than CBS's Superior Donuts and Two Broke Girls and even the police drama show APB on Fox. It did surpass CW's Jane the Virgin, which brought in less than a million viewers. But following The Bachelor, a ratings king for ABC, it seemed like When We Rise was destined to be a winner. Instead it fell short.

Today, Advocate magazine's Daniel Reynolds published his analysis on the ratings blunder for the mini-series in an epic rant stressing the importance of the LGBT community backing the show with its viewership. "If you were watching Two Broke Girls instead of a groundbreaking depiction of our history then, well, you're part of the problem," the magazine editor wrote. “In an era when LGBT folks, people of color, and their rights are under attack, positive representations of us and our movement are more essential than ever to preserving progress."

While mentioning the Oscar big win for Moonlight, the first in LGBT cinema to win Best Picture, Reynolds brings up the perfect timing for the series and our need to support film that's made by us and for us. "#OscarsSoWhite was a wonderful wake-up call to the entertainment industry that they must create and honor diverse productions; but if no one sees these productions — and if we, as queer consumers, do not accept some responsibility for the content that is created, and match our outrage for erasure with a movie ticket — then there is no financial reward for Hollywood to make more," he adds.

At the same time, the op-ed failed to address two major points of the ratings failure thus far. In a Trump America, as more conservatives become more aligned with President Trump's policy-making and divisive rhetoric, the consistent stories on LGBT life or anything minority-focused may now have reached a limit. As our stories become part of everyday conversation and is normalized, it give weight to their argument that they are being inundated with our culture. When We Rise then becomes just another talking point for the angry far-right and the Steve Bannon-charged alt-right movement who want to resurrect "gay agenda" conspiracies and theories. Heck, LGBT people simply want equal rights, not a tyrannical takeover or some nonsensical societal brainwashing. The story of When We Rise easily portrays that, chronicling the lives of people who have been oppressed and only want a better life in a country that promises that. And these fights are continuing even now.

The uneven tone of our divided politics today might also explain why the critically-acclaimed Moonlight, a relatively low-budget indie feature, racked up the fewest box office figures of all of the Oscar-Best Picture nominees. And why the crime-drama show Doubt, which starred trans activist and 'Orange Is the New Black' star Laverne Cox playing a transgender character in a prime time sitcom, also failed to gain viewers and was ultimately yanked off the air after posting a dismal 0.8 and 0.6 for its the two episodes it ran.

Also, an important point to stress is that people just aren't watching much television these days. Gone are the days when American Idol was a common worship practice in our living rooms. Deadline noted how networks are simply struggling to land the big numbers they want. This week, The Voice was down 9%, Emerald City, also a highly-anticipated NBC show, is tanking. Taken, a made-for-TV spin-off of the Liam Neeson-starring blockbuster franchise, is also reporting “so-so” numbers. Factor in the fact that we are still in midseason, a time when networks drop lower-budget sitcoms and limited-run shows into their programming as a build-up for summer and fall, and things doesn't seem as terrifying. Hopefully after When We Rise finishes airing, it will find life on streaming services like Hulu or Netflix and will gain a significantly larger audience through ABC's in-demand online option.

It still has three more nights to redeem itself and flex its muscles. The series, directed by Milk director Gus Van Sant, continues on Wednesday, Thursday and will culminate on Friday at 9/8 CST.

WATCH TRAILER FOR ‘WHEN WE RISE’

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What a moment! Like it was a scene stolen from a good (or bad, depending on who you ask) movie, the wrong winner for Best Picture was read aloud by presenter Warren Beatty at the Academy Awards on Sunday. The directors of 'La La Land' spotted the card error and announced the winner as 'Moonlight.' We will be talking about this all year round. 😳🤔👀 #moonlight #lalaland #movies #oscars #oscars2017 #cinema #lgbt #film #instafilm #instapic #instagood #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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Yesterday the Trump White House ended trans youth protections in public schools that were put in place during the Obama administration. These harmful transphobic policies are already affecting trans parents and agencies here in Alabama. In a social media post on Facebook, Magic City Acceptance Center's Amanda Keller declared "we will never give up on trans and LGBTQ youth." To learn on how you can help or donate to the Magic City Acceptance Center, go to magiccityacceptancecenter.org. #trans #protecttranskids #lgbt #politics #news #headlines #nowtrending #bham #ala #magiccity #instalike #instalove #instagood #instashare #like4like #like4likes #follow4like #follow4likes #equinoxbham

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The Golden Girls superfan Elle King covers “Thank You For Being A Friend”. hulu.tv/GoldenGirlsOnHulu