|
|
HIV+ musical comedy web series "Merce" premieres
From a press release
2015-07-17
|
|
|
|
New York, NY, July 16, 2015 —Being single, middle-aged and HIV+ in New York City isn't always easy, but Merce couldn't be happier! Hailed as "Seinfield with HIV" by Poz Magazine, Merce follows the adventures of an HIV+ Polyanna who sings and dances his way through life in search of self-acceptance and true love. With his gal-pal roommate, three gay guy fairies that appear to him in musical fantasy sequences, and his Mama ( on a webcam ) always at his side, he's gonna make it after all. The series is a surprising, bawdy look at HIV today, proving that life can be positive, even when you're HIV+.
Created by openly gay HIV+ writer/performer Charles Sanchez, Merce was inspired by the rich lives and bright spirits of people living with HIV today.
STATEMENT FROM CREATOR CHARLES SANCHEZ
"One of my biggest gripes about any HIV movie or TV show is that it's always tragic, always about 30 years ago when we were in the midst of the crisis. No one is really writing about what it's like to have HIV today. Merce is a modern HIV story. There is an amazing negative stigma attached to HIV, and it's outdated. It's unbelievable how the mention of HIV can still invoke fear in people, and the reality is that it's no longer the death sentence it was 20 or 30 years ago. It's considered a manageable, chronic condition, and although it's still serious, it's totally possible to live a full, complete, healthy, sexy, fun life while managing HIV. I made the show a comedy because comedy is the best way to show truth, and is a great way to change people's perceptions. Funny, like music or love, is an international language."
Charles Sanchez ( Writer/Merce ) is an openly gay HIV+ writer/performer. His acting career took him from Lincoln Center to Murry's Dinner Playhouse in Little Rock, AR. He's performed his original monologues at the PIT and Le Poissen Rouge, as well as in storytelling venues in New York. He conceived, wrote and starred in Manhattan Man-Travels, a comedy web series on YouTube, directed and co-produced by Tyne Firmin.
Tyne Firmin ( Director/Merce's Mama ) is a professional who's worked as a director, actor and teacher in the NY theater community for over 25 years. He's been involved in Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions, as well as film and video. Merce is his second video collaboration with Mr. Sanchez.
Ken Kruper ( Composer/Lyricist ) In addition to musically directing many productions throughout Long Island and NYC, including productions at Hofstra University, Molloy College, SUNY Farmingdale and St. John's University, Ken is also the composer of GRIMM: A New Musical which initially premiered at St. John's University in 2009 and was later presented at the 2012 NYC Fringe Festival. A graduate of SJU, he currently teaches piano privately, is Executive Director of BIG Theatre Co., a presenter at the NYSTEA Annual Student Conference since 2006 and is the composer and piano player for LI-based The Free Candy Band.
The cast includes Colleen Hawks-Pierce ( Broadway's Smokey Joe's Café, Boy from Oz, Shrek ), Rob Laqui ( Here Lies Love ) and Rich Graff ( featured in the upcoming AMC series, Making of the Mob as Lucky Luciano ). Every episode features an original musical number with music and lyrics by Ken Kruper.
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22 - series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...
|
| | WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21 - It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 - Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15 - Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08 - Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01 - Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctora film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...
|
| | Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27 - February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...
|
| | SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25 - Queer entertainers made their markalthough not a major oneat the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...
|
| | WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23 - The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23 - At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...
|
| | Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16 - In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16 Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...
|
| | GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07 --From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02 - In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...
|
| | Leather Archives & Museum announces 2024 Fetish Film Forum 2024-01-27 --From a press release - CHICAGO, Illinois—After a wildly successful inaugural year, including a 10-film series at the Leather Archives & Museum and a 5-film series at FACETS, the Leather Archives & Museum is thrilled to announce the continuation of Fetish ...
| |
|
|