Instagram Creators Eric Seppala (@olivianewtonjohnisadoll) and Ruston Harker (@dolldecree): "Playing With Dolls In A New Way"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 12/24/2024
2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 2 w/ Scott Williams & Cam Clarke
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In Part 2 of his annual Holiday Gift Guide, Dennis talks to creative entrepreneurs Scott Willams and Cam Clarke. Scott discovered a passion for ceramics during the pandemic and has since launched a side business called SEW Ceramics, based in Cambria, California. His Strata line of clay lamps are his most popular items to date. Each is one-of-a-kind because, as Scott quips, "I couldn't duplicate them if I tried." Scott talks about how getting his hands dirty has served as an escape from the stresses of modern life, the crafty grandmother who inspired his artistic side and how he comes up with...
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2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 1 w/ Jackie Beat & Brian Gryphon
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In Part 1 of his annual Holiday Gift Guide, Dennis talks to creative entrepreneurs Jackie Beat and Brian Gryphon. First up, is drop dead gorgeous, larger than life, world famous drag superstar Jackie Beat who, earlier this year, happened upon an artistic side-hustle in the most unlikely of places: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. The discount store was selling 12" by 12" art prints featuring an oddly-hued rainbow over the word "Together." Jackie found the image both tacky and earnest so she bought a bunch of them and turned them into subversive, one-of-kind art pieces that say things like...
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Director Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along): It's a Reminder To Call Your Best Friends
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Maria Friedman director of the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along as well as the new filmed version of that Tony-winning stage production (which hits theaters on December 5th). Maria talks about her long history with the Stephen Sondheim musical as both actor and director, the themes that were on her mind as she approached this new version and what it was like to bring out the dark side of the ever-sunny Jonathan Groff. She also responds to the way Dennis experienced the show as a tragedy with Franklin Shepherd as its tragic hero. Other topics include:...
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Boots Writer & Producer Greg Cope White: "Believe In The Story You Want To Tell"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Greg Cope White to talk about the Netflix series Boots, which is based on Greg's memoir about joining the marines as a young gay man The Pink Marine. Greg talks about the long journey of getting the show on the air, working with his mentor Norman Lear on the project, the thrill of finally having it out in the world and the amazing reactions he's gotten from viewers all over the world. He also talks about working in Hollywood at 65, how wonderful it is to have out gay actors playing the gay characters on Boots, what the show has to say about modern masculinity...
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Author Brian Schaefer (Town & Country): "I’m Very Excited That It’s A Physical Thing Now That’s On My Own Bookshelf"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Manhattan by Brian Schaefer to talk about his wonderful debut novel Town & Country. The book is about a congressional election in a small rural town called Griffin between Chip Riley, a conservative bar owner who's lived in Griffin for decades, and Paul Sands, a young ambitious liberal gay man who bought a house in Griffin with his rich husband about a year earlier. Brian talks about taking inspiration from the Hudson Valley town where he and his husband have had a second home for 12 years, the long road to getting the book published and how it feels to...
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Actor and Interior Designer Francisco Chacin (Matlock): "Oh, I Have To Go Be Mean To Kathy Bates"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor and interior designer Francisco Chacin who plays Beau Bridge's fastidious assistant Stuart on the hit CBS drama Matlock. Francisco talks about the thrill of booking the gig, getting paid to be mean to Kathy Bates, basing Stuart on certain "clipboard gays" he's observed in the real world and his dream that maybe Stuart can coach pageant contestants as a side business. He also talks about growing up in Venezuela then moving to Canada with his parents, at 20, when the political situation in Venezuela got too dangerous. He recalls his bold decision to leave a...
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Filmmaker Yen Tan (All That We Love): "Just Be Grateful That You’re Still Doing It"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined by filmmaker Yen Tan whose latest movie All That We Love starring Margaret Cho and Jessie Tyler Ferguson is opening Outfest Next this week and hitting cinemas and streaming soon after. The film is about a woman in midlife who loses her dog and how she carries on after that loss and how she manages the relationships in her life, including her grown daughter, gay best friend and estranged ex-husband. Yen talks about the real life experiences that inspired the film, shooting in Los Angeles after making most of his previous projects like Ciao, 1985 and Pit Stop in Texas. Other...
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Writer Dennis Osborne & Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "He Had The Youngest Energy Of Anyone In The Room"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
For the second part of Dennis's conversation with Matching Minds With Sondheim author Barry Joseph, Dennis invites his old friend Dennis Osborne to join the Zoom. Dennis was a good friend of Stephen Sondheim's for the last 35 years of his life and spent a lot of time playing games with him. In this conversation, Dennis and Barry talk about Sondheim's obsession with computer games like OXYD and Myst, that time Sondheim was on Password and crushed it, Sondheim's feelings about the escape room craze and they both delight each other with show-and-tell moments. Other topics include: Stephen...
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Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "This Whole Book Was a Puzzle For Me To Solve"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Barry Joseph, author of the new book Matching Minds with Sondheim, which is all about the legendary Broadway composer and lyricist's love of puzzles and games. Barry talks about being inspired to write the book in 2022, a few months after Sondheim's passing, and how writing the book became like a puzzle for him to solve. He also talks about his love of Sondheim's musicals, from listening to the West Side Story cast recording as a kid to going to see Passion on Broadway during its first previous (and not appreciating it much at the time.) He goes into detail about...
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Candied Camera Live! Creator & Star Nora Burns: "I Don't Let People Go"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Dennis is joined by his queer sketch comedy queen friend Nora Burns to talk about her new stage show Candied Camera Live!, which is based on a real public access TV show she produced and hosted back in the 1990s. Nora talks about the material on the show that would definitely get her cancelled today, using a sex club with a camera in it as a studio and thinking for decades that the Candied Camera tapes been lost forever only to find they had been donated to a NY library and she could access them Nora also shares her excitement about returning to LA for the first time since before the...
info_outlineDennis is joined via Zoom by two of his friends from the Xana-crew; Eric Seppala and Ruston Harker who have something unique in common. They both created passion projects during the pandemic involving Barbies and Instagram, which continue to today. Ruston's account is @dolldecree and it features short animated vignettes involving Barbie and her friends, saying pithy things and looking fabulous. Eric's account is @olivianewtonjohnisadoll and it's exactly what it sounds like. Using Barbie dolls, Eric has painstakingly recreated looks from Olivia's career; from her breakout days in the 1970's to Xanadu to the Physical era to her more recent memoir launch. Both men talk about what inspired them to start the accounts, their different creative processes--Ruston uses AI, Eric is totally old school--their most popular posts, and what having this side project has brought to their lives. Other topics include: the shame attached to wanting to play with Barbies as a boy, the Christmas gifts they'll remember forever, the joy of connecting with other Xana-fans, and constantly wondering if you're crazy for putting so much time, money and passion into these doll projects. The episode ends with a special musical moment; a bangin' cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Under the Mistletoe" performed by Dennis's past guests Matt Zarley and Kathy Deitch. Happy Holidays, everyone!