BWW Q&A: Bruce Vilanch of Dancing Queens at Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) is pleased to present its Season 46 finale and Pride concert, DANCING QUEENS! This musical tribute will feature over 20 iconic songs spanning every genre, performed by GMCLA’s 200-member Chorus on Saturday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 22 at 3:30 p.m. at the historic Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. This electrifying evening, conducted by GMCLA’s Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison and choreographed by Ray Leeper (GMCLA regular, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars), features special guest artist dance-music diva and super-ally Kristine W (17 #1 singles, tying Mariah Carey for the sixth- most Billboard #1 dance hits) and Broadway star, Emmy-winning writer, legendary performer, and advocate Bruce Vilanch (Broadway and National Tour of Hairspray as Edna Turnblad).

DANCING QUEENS is an eleganza extravaganza as GMCLA’s 200 singers perform the most iconic dance melodies from Broadway musicals like "Singin' in the Rain," "The King and I," "Hairspray," and "The Producers" and music from artists that include Madonna, Lady Gaga, Luther Vandross, ABBA, Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa, and Earth, Wind & Fire. And, of course, Donna Summer!

Bruce Vilanch is a multiple Emmy-winning writer, actor, comedian and stripper, if you'll let him, who spent a number of years as a Hollywood square, just to the left of Whoopi, if that's possible. He starred on Broadway and on a national tour as Edna Turnblad, housewife-superstar, in the musical HAIRSPRAY, and has been in projects as diverse as The Morning After, with Jane Fonda, The Ice Pirates, with Anjelica Huston, and Celebrity Fit Club, where he lost thirty pounds that he promptly found. He co-wrote 25 Oscar telecasts, as well as Grammys, Tonys, Emmys—he's an EGOT of award writers, whatever that means—and, perhaps of more interest here, has organized, written, hosted, or cavorted in a tsunami of benefits for AIDS and LGBT charities, as well as other diseases and persuasions, list upon request. He is frequently mistaken for Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna. Google her and you'll see why. ​​

You’re joining GMCLA for their grand finale, Dancing Queens, what drew you to be part of this fabulous celebration?

I've been going to their shows for over 40 years. I love them. They're a fabulous operation. I never thought they'd ask me to perform. I figured they'd only give me an award, but here I am singing too, and I’m glad I am doing it. I get to revive Hairspray, which I did for two years and haven’t done in 20 years. GMCLA is such a positive force in the community. Visibility is key.

With ABBA and Broadway energy colliding, what kind of Bruce Vilanch flair can audiences expect on stage?

Well, my own personal flair, I suppose. "Dancing Queens" really says it all. This is who ABBA was writing about. I actually wrote for ABBA once in 1978 at a concert at the U.N. They didn’t speak English very well, so it was a fun challenge. Their earliest fans were gay because their music always sounded like show tunes you could dance to. That’s the spirit of the evening.

GMCLA has long used music as a form of joy and activism. How does it feel to lend your voice to that legacy?

If you can marry those two things, you'll be a happy person. Working towards what's right while being happy about it, what could be better than that? And it's hard not to be happy when you're surrounded by music, especially joyous music.

You’ve often been behind the curtain as a writer, what’s it like being in the spotlight yourself?

As a writer, I now understand what other people go through when they have to perform, and I think that is a gift I have been given because most writers are never in that position. They do not have to get up and perform. They hand it off to the performer, but I get to see it from both sides. It is almost technical, but knowing what it is like to be out there makes a difference.

You recently released your book "It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time," what inspired you to finally share your wildest stories?

Young people kept asking me about shows I wrote in the '70s and '80s. Some of them were legendary disasters, and I had no idea how they even saw them. Turns out, YouTube. You can’t escape anything anymore. I realized my past is full of lessons and bite marks. So I thought, there’s a book here about how I wrote the worst TV shows and how they survived. I was getting to the point in my life where I was thinking about writing a memoir. I didn’t want a standard memoir, so this was my way in. And if it works, maybe I’ll write about the good stuff next.

If you were writing a one-sentence review on your book, what would it say?

A work of rare genius.

And finally, if your life were turned into a Broadway musical, what would the opening number be called?

It’s already been written. Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote it for Ethel Merman in a show called "Happy Hunting," where she played a wealthy woman trying to get into Grace Kelly’s royal wedding, and after failing that, decided to find her daughter a richer husband than Prince Rainier of Monaco. The daughter ends up falling for a penniless lout, of course. The show was a flop, but it opens with Merman belting out a number called “Gee, But It’s Good to Be Here.” It’s a great, hysterical song and unbelievable moment. And honestly, it fits.

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