Friends,
This weekend, due to it being public record, I learned that a Mr. Scott Eckerd, Artistic Director, California Musical Theatre (where "HAIRSPRAY" was performed last year, one of our first licensed regional theatre productions) donated $1000 towards YES on Prop. 8

Well, I did what I felt I needed to do, I called him right up. "Hi, it's Marc Shaiman, co-creator of HAIRSPRAY, would you please call me back?" He did. I asked him how a man who makes his life and living working with (and I assume befriending and loving) gay men and women could possibly think we were less entitled to the same basic rights he enjoys. He basically said "it's not a personal thing against people, it's my belief regarding the protection of marriage…etc. (I'm paraphrasing his words, but that is the gist of it).

I then told him the idea that money from his salary that was, in a small way, made from a production of HAIRSPRAY had now been put to use to pass this bigoted Proposition truly hurt and sickened me and that no future project of mine would ever play his theatre.

(Oy, let's hope I have some future projects!)

So, ladies and gentlemen of the-ay-tuh, what can we do? We can picket (our own shows!), deny rights, etc. And I am all for that.

But how can we CHANGE MINDS?

Oscar Hammerstein (what a guy!) wrote "You've Got To Be Taught". That's what gets me. People aren't born with the belief that gays are "sinners", they HAVE TO BE TAUGHT. All of religion is TAUGHT.

As the pie of reality hit me (and so many others) in the face last week about how many people still believe that one sentence from one lovely book "proves" we are an "abomination", (a book that also allows for the stoning of wives or people who wear two different threads of material and don't get that book started on shellfish…) I believe I must now greet every person I meet with "Hello, my name is Marc, God made me gay and I think that THAT and He are both fabulous."

Or maybe "Hi, God made me gay, so please doll, take it up with Him"

I have a gospel station programmed in my car radio, and when it came on yesterday morning, I found myself turning it off due to quotes I've read these last few days. For me personally, there is nothing more gut-wrenchingly sad to me than that moment. I joyfully bypass talk radio, I enjoyed muting the TV when Sarah Palin came on or changing the channel anytime Bush appears, but TURNING OFF GOSPEL MUSIC? It was then that I truly realized I have got to do something to start changing minds because people, I AM NOT GIVING UP GOSPEL MUSIC!!

I'm blabbering now, and to people I have great respect for, so, what am I trying to say here?

Please contact Mr. Scott Eckerd, Artistic Director, California Musical Theatre

http://www.californiamusicaltheatre.com/index.cfm?page=572414

and ask him why he thinks I (and maybe you) am less a person than he. I don't want to attempt to affect the livelihood of folks who work at this particular theatre (as if that was in my power) but we have GOT to stop sitting back and accepting this bigotry, particularly from people in our own field.

No more apathy! I believe we all thought there was NO WAY discrimination could actually be written into the constitution, but WE WERE WRONG. And what the hell (pardon the pun) happened to the separation of church and state??

Today I will read my morning paper, and take a plane to New York and do many other things that people who believe as Mr. Eckerd will profit from it and I can't YET figure out how to live an entire life without inadvertently supporting folks like that, but for the love of God (pardon the pun), can we all start putting our money where our mouths are??!