Documentarian Marc Saltarelli & Gay Icon Bruce Vilanch (Studio One Forever): "Think Mark Zuckerberg With An Afro and a Large Penis"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 07/14/2023
Photographer Brian Aris (Celebrating George): "This Is The Guy Who Taught Us How To Pose"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined by renowned British photographer Brian Aris to discuss his new book Celebrating George: Three Decades which showcases the many photographs Brian took of George Michael throughout his career. Brian talks about the first time he shot George, as part of Wham, at the end of a day that included earlier shoots with Billy Joel and Mick Jagger. He also talks about why George was one of his favorite subjects to shoot, the love he feels from the "George Michael Lovelies" who attend his book events and the intentionality that George brought to all his photo sessions. Other topics...
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Olivia DuFault, Elena Luo and Griffin Kelly (For Want of a Horse): "This Has Ruined Me For Other Plays"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by three of the artists behind the Echo Theater Company's new play For Want of a Horse; playwright Olivia DuFault, director Elena Luo and actor Griffin Kelly. The play is about a romantic and sexual triangle between a married couple and Q-Tip (played by Kelly) who happens to be a horse. Olivia talks about the New York Magazine article that first inspired her to write the play, the range of emotions she felt reading it and what it's like to receive emails after the show from people who identify as zoophiles. Elena talks about what drew her to the project as a director,...
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Actor-Writer Michael McHale (Searching For Robert Hennessey): "I Would Just Look For Magical Things All The Time"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-writer Michael McHale to talk about his one-person show Searching For Robert Hennessey, which recounts the decades-long search Michael went on for his biological father after his single mother told him the man's name on his 18th birthday. It's an odyssey that involves making out with a guy he met at the Eagle and discovering they may be related, spending years in--and then escaping from--a Christian cult, being diagnosed with HIV/AID and never giving up the hunt, although he wanted to many times. Michael also talks about what it was like to grow up in...
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Singer-Author Mike Maimone (Guess What? I Love You): "When I Have To Sing Sweet Caroline, A Part Of My Soul Escapes Through My Nose"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by singer-songwriter and author Mike Maimone to talk about his new memoir--as well as its companion album--both called Guess What? I Love You, which documents the most extraordinary year of his life. A few years back, Mike met the well-known Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman on Scruff and within a few messages, they both knew it was something real. A whirlwind long-distance romance ensued and soon they were getting a place together in Nashville, where Mike then lived, and talking about their dream wedding. But within a year of that first Scruff...
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Playwright Gabe Rivas Gomez (Level Up!): "I Should Not Let My Words Get In The Way Of The Play"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Gabe Rivas Gomez, the writer of the visually stunning and very moving new play Level Up! which is about a trans tween named Desi whose quest to be who she really is takes her into a spectacular and dangerous video game world. Gabe talks about where the original inspiration came from, finding the trans actress to play Desi, Mathias Brinda, several workshop productions ago and watching her grow up before his eyes and the technical challenges of trying to depict a video game on stage. He also talks about producing this show at a time when trans youth are under attack...
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Bookends filmmakers Noam Ash & Mike Doyle ("It Was Like Adult Summer Camp")
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by the duo behind the new gay comedy Bookends, writer-star Noam Ash and director Mike Doyle. Bookends tells the story of an aspiring writer named Nate whose life in Manhattan falls apart and he ends up moving in with his grandparents--played by Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham and Caroline Aaron--in their retirement community. Noam talks about how the story was inspired by his own experience living with his grandparents, what he learned from the experience and what his grandparents--who both passed away in their 90's before the film was shot--would think of the finished...
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Dennis Hensley's Happy & Gay Crossover Episode: Oscars Schmoscars
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis recounts the recent MisMatch Game: Bad Luck of the Irish Friday the 13th Edition, shooting pre-Oscar interview with host Conan O’Brien, attending the early morning taping of Live with Kelly & Mark at the Dolby Theater on the day after the Oscars, and have the first-ever table reading of his first-ever play Trade-Offs and crying through much of it. At the cinema, Dennis catches the new movies Nirvanna the Band The Show The Movie and Project Hail Mary, both of which he loved, and revisited an oldie Grease 2, which is...
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Author Mark Malkoff (Love Johnny Carson): "Johnny Was a Comfort"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis is joined by author Mark Malkoff to talk about his book Love Johnny Carson about the iconic Tonight Show host and what made him an American institution. Mark talks about how he first became obsessed with Carson as a kid, conducting 400 interviews for his book, celebrities whose careers were made by Carson like Bette Midler, David Letterman and The Potato Chip Lady and what Carson was like off-camera. He also talks about Carson's career before the Tonight Show, his problems with drinking, his progressive attitudes around race and homosexuality and why Dana Carvey's SNL...
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Writer-Performer Mike Albo (Hologram Boyfriends, Unitard): "It’s Hard to Find Someone Who Is Ready To Sit There"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by writer-performer Mike Albo to talk about his new audio original Hologram Boyfriends as well as his upcoming appearance as one-third of the comedy troupe Unitard at the Cavern Club Theater in Silver Lake (March 20-22). Hologram Boyfriends, from McMilan audio, is a series of personal essays about love, sex and connection before and after the advent of the smartphone. Mike talks about why he wanted to the examine the topic, the process of writing and recording it and how once he committed to do it, all these weird things started happening to him. He also talks why...
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THE YEAR IN MOVIES 2025 Part 2 w/ Queer Review Senior Film Critic Glenn Gaylord and actor-writer-film lover Drew Droege
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Once again, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic at The Queer Review and star of the YouTube channel Glenn Hates Everything and actor-writer-film enthusiast Drew Droege to talk about the movies of 2025. Part 1 was last week. Here's Part 2 and the films discussed include: Song Sung Blue, Hamnet, Blue Sun Palace, Before We Forget, It Was Just an Accident, The Parenting, A Nice Indian Boy, Sirat, Friendship, A Night Like This, Pee-wee As Himself, Lurker, Marty Supreme, The Naked Gun, Wicked: For Good, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sentimental Value, F1, Superman,...
info_outlineDennis is joined via Zoom by Marc Saltarelli, the director of the new documentary Studio One Forever, about the legendary Weho disco Studio One. Dennis is also joined by writer-performer Bruce Vilanch, who appears in the film and was a regular at the club back in the day. The pair discuss the colorful and sometimes controversial history of the club, the club's treacherous back stairs, and how Studio One is often thought of as a rip-off of Studio 54 but it's actually the other way around. They also talk about the club's founder Scott Forbes whose vision didn't always include people who didn't look like him, like women and people of color. They also talk about the early AIDS benefits that happened in the Backlot cabaret space. One of these was headlined by Joan Rivers and caused such controversy at the time that her family received death threats. But the show went on! Other topics include: the treasure trove of Studio One photos that was discovered in a most unlikely place, the courage it took gay men of the era to line up on Robertson Boulevard to get in and the songs that always remind Bruce and Marc of Studio One.
https://www.facebook.com/studiooneforever/