DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
"A podcast about making things up and making things happen." L.A.-based writer-performer Dennis Hensley believes that art and creativity make the world go around and make life worth living. Each week, he interviews a different creative person each about what they do, why they do it, and how they manage the ups and downs of a creative life. Some guests are famous, some are less so...all are what Dennis describes as "beautiful strugglers." Past guests have included authors, actors, photographers, musicians, screenwriters, acrobats and one visual artist who makes cartoons centered around dead houseflies.
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2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 2 w/ Scott Williams & Cam Clarke
12/11/2025
2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 2 w/ Scott Williams & Cam Clarke
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 cool names for his lamps, like Astra, Flint and Lumen. https://www.sewceramics.com/ Next up is Cam Clarke, the man behind the gorgeous new coffee table book Now They're All Here about The King Family of entertainers, which Cam is a member of. Cam reveals the slightly petty reason he took on the project, the discoveries he made along the way and what having the family's life and career documented in this way has meant to his relatives. He also talks about his career as a performer and voice-over artist (he was the OG voice of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!) and recalls the moment when he was 6 years-old and demonstrated a flair for the fabulous on live TV. https://camclarke.com/
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2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 1 w/ Jackie Beat & Brian Gryphon
12/06/2025
2025 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Part 1 w/ Jackie Beat & Brian Gryphon
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 Let’s spitroast a twink together, Let’s have anonymous sex together, Let’s be super gay together, Let’s like dogs more than people together and many more. She also takes commissions where she'll put whatever you want on there. E-mail her directly to buy and inquire at And to learn about where you can catch her Christmas show, visit: Dennis's second guest, Brian Gryphon, is a graphic designer who, among his many creations, has designed a fabulous deck of oracle cards inspired by the pioneering queer musical duo Romanovsky and Phillips. Each hexagon-shaped card features a different R&P lyric, chosen to help you along your way. Brian talks about how he first became a fan of the duo, getting to know them in real life and why their music speaks to him. He also talks about his need to express himself and does so in a way that resonates with Dennis and so many past Dennis Anyone guests. Brian's need to create is something he can't deny, so he often asks himself the question: "I have to create it. Can I be happy with not sharing it?" To learn more about Brian and order his oracle decks and other offerings, visit
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Director Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along): It's a Reminder To Call Your Best Friends
12/03/2025
Director Maria Friedman (Merrily We Roll Along): It's a Reminder To Call Your Best Friends
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: Daniel Radcliffe's Chaplin-esque appeal, the trouble with the uber rich, as depicted in the play and in modern day America, the idea that it's not too late to reach out to the old friends we've lost touch with and what her friend Stephen Sondheim would think of the show's success and new filmed version.
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Boots Writer & Producer Greg Cope White: "Believe In The Story You Want To Tell"
11/26/2025
Boots Writer & Producer Greg Cope White: "Believe In The Story You Want To Tell"
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 and how it felt to walk onto the sets, which were painstakingly created to match the real places. Other topics include: ongoing giant poo contests, what his mom thinks of the show and Vera Farmiga's portrayal of her, and the reason he decided to leave the marines after six years and the current status of Season 2.
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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"
11/19/2025
Author Brian Schaefer (Town & Country): "I’m Very Excited That It’s A Physical Thing Now That’s On My Own Bookshelf"
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 finally have it out there. Brian also talks about why it was important to him to explore the themes of addiction, marriage equality and economic hardship in the book, the 2-person book club he's in with his mother and how it impacted Town & Country and Dennis has him read a scene from the book involving the 19 year-old recently out local boy Will, a gaggle of rich, sexy city gays and a borrowed turquoise Speedo. Other topics include: Brian's appreciation for dance, the years he lived, worked and studied in Tel Aviv, Israel and the moment in the book that made Dennis cry.
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Actor and Interior Designer Francisco Chacin (Matlock): "Oh, I Have To Go Be Mean To Kathy Bates"
11/13/2025
Actor and Interior Designer Francisco Chacin (Matlock): "Oh, I Have To Go Be Mean To Kathy Bates"
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 corporate job in Canada to pursue his creative dreams in Los Angeles without really knowing anyone except the filmmaker Darren Stein, who he had met when Darren visited Toronto. Other topics include: Francisco's unique and gender-fluid way of dressing, the way people react to to his unique way of dressing, the dominance of pageant culture in Venezuela, being married to fellow actor--and past podcast guest Kasey Mahafey--and how they help each other with self-tapes and the internship that led to his thriving side career as an interior decorator to L.A.'s rich and fabulous.
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Filmmaker Yen Tan (All That We Love): "Just Be Grateful That You’re Still Doing It"
11/04/2025
Filmmaker Yen Tan (All That We Love): "Just Be Grateful That You’re Still Doing It"
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 topics include: his movie poster design side hustle, having an Evil Dead full-circle moment on set and watching Showgirls over and over during the pandemic.
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Writer Dennis Osborne & Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "He Had The Youngest Energy Of Anyone In The Room"
10/30/2025
Writer Dennis Osborne & Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "He Had The Youngest Energy Of Anyone In The Room"
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 Sondheim's humility and generosity, how Sondheim's love of puzzles and games helped him cope with his chaotic childhood and that time Dennis Osborne gave Sondheim a note about reversing this acts in Sunday In the Park With George and cemented his value as someone who would give honest opinions with Sondheim and not just fawn over him. www.matchingmindswithsondheim.com
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Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "This Whole Book Was a Puzzle For Me To Solve"
10/23/2025
Author Barry Joseph (Matching Minds With Sondheim): "This Whole Book Was a Puzzle For Me To Solve"
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 Sondheim's legendary game nights and treasure hunts and talks about Sondheim's stint as the crossword puzzle editor for New York Magazine in the late 1960's and that time Games magazine did a five-page profile on him, complete with photos of his extensive game collection. Other topics include: Barry's favorite Sondheim musical, the idea of creating order out of chaos, what drives him to do the work that he does and that surreal evening when actor Anthony Perkins ended up being the murderer in a Sondheim party game just a few months after appearing as Norman Bates in Psycho. https://matchingmindswithsondheim.com
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Candied Camera Live! Creator & Star Nora Burns: "I Don't Let People Go"
10/16/2025
Candied Camera Live! Creator & Star Nora Burns: "I Don't Let People Go"
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 pandemic and enlisting Dennis to be one of her long-in-the-tooth gogo boys. (He was an immediate yes). Other topics include: how she keeps friendships going for decades by never letting people go, what her grown children think of her gay sketch comedy lifestyle, her first time in a gay club, her obsessions with Dreamgirls,The Poseidon Adventure and disco and the special skill she picked up growing up in Massachusetts that might surprise people. www.cavernclubtheater.com
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Poet Steven Reigns (Outliving Michael): "I'm Comforted Every Time I Remember Him"
10/09/2025
Poet Steven Reigns (Outliving Michael): "I'm Comforted Every Time I Remember Him"
Dennis is joined by his friend Steven Reigns to talk about his new collection of poetry, Outliving Michael, which is about a friend of Steven's named Michael Church who died of AIDS in 2000. Steven talks about meeting Michael first as his drag persona Blanche before getting to know him out of drag and becoming close friends. Steven reads several poems and talks about what made Michael so unique, from his withering wit to his love of gay nightlife (Michael was a bottle boy at Studio 54 for a summer) to his support of Steven as a writer. Steven also talks about what it was like to be a caretaker for Michael and why he feels like he would be much better at it today. Other topics include: Steven's ongoing art project The Gay Rub, where he collects rubbings from LGBTQ gravestones and monuments from around the world, how he knows when a poem is finished, whether or not that is cocaine on the coffee table pictured of the book cover and what he thinks Michael would think of Outliving Michael. https://www.stevenreigns.com/
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My Buffet-Style Birthday Bonanza
10/02/2025
My Buffet-Style Birthday Bonanza
In this special Birthday Crossover Episode of Dennis Anyone and Dennis Hensley's Happy & Gay, Dennis breaks down his five days of birthday activities, which included two films (Almost Famous & Magnolia), one museum excursion (the Queer Lens exhibit at the Getty Center), one game day at Lawless Brewery and one marvelous outdoor play; Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. Dennis also sings the praises of the returning TV shows The Morning Show and English Teacher as well as his friend David Kittredge’s wonderful new feature film documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the director John Boorman and his movie Exorcist 2: Heretic. In the Observation Deck segment, Dennis’s recent podcast guest Rob Loveless, host of the A Jaded Gay podcast, recalls a time he felt totally starstruck. Dennis ends the episode with two happiness-related quotes from Andy Warhol and shares a recent experience related to his new game Search Party where he had to put on his big boy pants and lived to tell about it.
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A Jaded Gay Podcast Host Rob Loveless: "I Hope It's Creating a Conversation"
09/25/2025
A Jaded Gay Podcast Host Rob Loveless: "I Hope It's Creating a Conversation"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Rob Loveless, host of the A Jaded Gay podcast and one of Dennis's fellow nominees for Best LGBTQ Podcast at this Sunday's Podcast Awards. Rob talks about what inspired him to start the podcast, why he loves doing it and how he balances it with going to grad school and working full time in the corporate world. He also talks about deciding how open to be when it comes to sharing details about his life. Other topics include: crying on the pod, having killer seats to Kylie Minogue, the difference between a Demon Twink and a Chaotic Twink, why he starts every episode by drawing tarot card, the book The Velvet Rage and how he always seems to go for guys with tattoos, snapbacks and bad attitudes. www.ajadedgay.com
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Filmmaker Spencer Cohen (The Compatriots): "This Is a True Bromance"
09/18/2025
Filmmaker Spencer Cohen (The Compatriots): "This Is a True Bromance"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Boston, MA by writer-director Spencer Cohen to talk about his film The Compatriots, which is about young undocumented gay man from Peru named Javi and his quest to be who he is. Spencer talks about how he based the story on his real life best friend since middle school Beto, who is a gay, Peruvian and undocumented Dreamer, just like Javi in the film. Spencer recalls not knowing Beto's immigration status until several years into their friendship and how that knowledge explained so much about Beto's behavior and the things he was not able to do. He also talks movingly about suffering a personal loss during the shooting of the film and how he was able to get through it. Other topics include: the film's timeliness in the era of Trump 2.0, having an I.C.E. raid in the film but not knowing to put the agents in masks, having people at film festivals share their own immigration stories and how his friend Beto is doing now. https://www.thecompatriotsfilm.com/
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Author Jon Kinnally (I'm Prancing As Fast As I Can): "I'm Too Tired To Prance & My Back Hurts"
09/11/2025
Author Jon Kinnally (I'm Prancing As Fast As I Can): "I'm Too Tired To Prance & My Back Hurts"
Dennis is join via Zoom from Sitges, Spain by writer Jon Kinnally to talk about his new memoir I'm Prancing as Fast as I Can, which features stories about his life, from his childhood in Syracuse, New York through his career in Hollywood as a longtime writer on Will & Grace, the original incarnation and the reboot. Jon talks about where his title comes from, having "book envy" over other writers who've had books published and trying to communicate to younger generations what it was like for gay people in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Jon also talks finding out he and his writing partner, Tracy Proust, had gotten hired on Will & Grace on the same day he learned that the bankruptcy that he had applied for had gone through. He recalls writing a "lost episode" of Will & Grace called "Will Works Out" that was too edgy for syndication. He also discusses co-writing an episode from the reboot that he's particularly proud of, where Grace reveals that she never read the letters Will wrote her after first coming out to her as gay. Other topics include: moving to Spain with his husband Chris, losing his previous boyfriend Luis to leukemia at the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City, being part of a chunky Chorus Line in college and the enchanting private Madonna moment he got to witness when the pop icon was guest-starring on Will & Grace.
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Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest (Art Above Everything): "When Everything Is Impossible, Anything Is Possible"
09/04/2025
Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest (Art Above Everything): "When Everything Is Impossible, Anything Is Possible"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Stephanie Elizondo Griest to discuss her latest book Art Above Everything: One Woman's Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life, which is so up Dennis's alley. (Actually, a listener reached out to Dennis and said, "You need to check out this book. It's what you talk about all the time.") Stephanie talks about the through line that many of the women she profiled share, how the big things that happened in world while she was working on the book--COVID, her own cancer diagnosis, the #metoo movement, Trumpism--impacted her work and the question for artists that lies at the heart of the book; Is it worth it? Stephanie also talks about the alternative paths she could have chosen, how even the safe roads in life aren't safe anymore and what she's observed about young people since she started working as a writing professor in North Carolina. Other topics include: the boyfriend she had when she was living in Russia who was given an offer to kill someone for money, her complicated relationship to belly dancing, getting to spend time with one of her heroes. author Sandra Cisneros, the Ugandan playwright she interviewed who saw where Trumpism was heading way back in 2015, how various foreign countries support their artists and how American's Karen-esque sense of entitlement may be what ends up saving us all. https://stephanieelizondogriest.com
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Dennis Hensley's Happy & Gay: Carrie'd Away (by the Finale of And Just Like That...)
08/28/2025
Dennis Hensley's Happy & Gay: Carrie'd Away (by the Finale of And Just Like That...)
This week, Dennis shares his thoughts on the finale of And Just Like That...and also sharing quotes from an interview he did with Carrie Bradshaw herself Sarah Jessica Parker for British Premier magazine in 1995. He also talks about his recent day trip to the Film Out San Diego LGBT Film Festival where he caught two very different movies; Sauna from Denmark and #300Letters from Argentina. He also shares some movie-related Observation Deck questions from his recent guest, Cinecon producer Bryan Cooper. Dennis also talks about Saturday's bonkers MisMatch Game: Future Shock Edition and shares some good news around dance auditions. Finally, in the Happiness segment, Dennis sings the praises of the book Into the Magic Shop by James R. Doty M.D. and the Alphabet of the Heart that Doty came up with to remind himself of his values.
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Cinecon 61 Producer Bryan Cooper: "We're Getting a Stretch Limo for Mamie Van Doren"
08/21/2025
Cinecon 61 Producer Bryan Cooper: "We're Getting a Stretch Limo for Mamie Van Doren"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Bryan Cooper who is one of the producers of Cinecon 61, a Labor Day weekend film festival in Los Angeles dedicated to rarely-seen classic films and the people who love them. Bryan talks about this year's honorees who will be appearing in person: Ann-Margret, Mamie Van Doren and Juliet Mills whose award will be presented to her husband Maxwell Caulfield from Grease 2. Bryan talks about how he learned to love classic films from his father as a child, his pubescent obsession with pinup girl Betty Grable and how in his home, there were often two VCRs recording classic movies at the same time. Other topics include: Cooper's great uncle Billy Gilbert who voiced Sneezy in the original Snow White movie, mimicking Mildred Pierce fierceness during arguments with an ex, the Carmen Miranda movie he's seen more than any other film and why it's important for him to keep Cinecon going. www.cinecon.org
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Actor/Author Jeff Hiller (Actress of a Certain Age): "This Poor Delusional Middle-Aged Queen"
08/14/2025
Actor/Author Jeff Hiller (Actress of a Certain Age): "This Poor Delusional Middle-Aged Queen"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Jeff Hiller to discuss his new memoir Actress of a Certain Age as well as his recent Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for the HBO series Somebody Somewhere. Jeff talks about being completely surprised by the nomination, his plan to enjoy every moment of the Emmy experience and how happy he is to get to share it with the series' star Bridget Everett who is nominated in the writing category. He also talks about what it meant to play such a kind, nuanced character like Joel after years of often snarky smaller parts with names like Flight Attendant and Waiter. He also talks about making a vision board that was eerily similar to Joel's and he made his long before he even knew about the show. He also recalls spending a semester as an exchange student in Namibia in college and the story in his book hat made Dennis cry about receiving a very gay sign from his mother after she passed away. Other topics include: why he likes auditioning, how doing a lot of improv helps him in day-to-day life, carving up a twink on American Horror Story and loving it, that time Ryan Murphy ordered more cockrings and why you should never let a new guy you're dating come to your improv show.
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XanaCrew Six-Pack: "We Feel Like Our Whole Lives Have Been Leading to This Moment"
08/05/2025
XanaCrew Six-Pack: "We Feel Like Our Whole Lives Have Been Leading to This Moment"
On the eve of Xanadu's 45th Anniversary, Dennis is joined by six of his fellow Xanadu superfans--the XanaCrew--to preview the events they have organized for this coming weekend in Los Angeles. The events include a sold out screening on Saturday, August 9th featuring a Q & A with Michael Beck and multiple muses...bookended by a tribute concert on Friday, the 8th and a picnic on Sunday, August 10 from noon to 3 at Pan Pacific Park. The six XanaCrew members who appear on the pod do so in pairs: singers Lisa Donahey and Eric Seppala sneak preview their ONJ/Xanadu tribute concert on Friday; husbands Mykel and Jeff Crerie share the amazing story of how Xanadu brought them together as a couple and Bill Morgan and Matt Tunia recall a Xanadu-themed birthday party that started this whole ball rolling and share what the movie and being part of the XanaCrew means to them. www.xanaduexperience.com
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Happy & Gay Bonus Episode: I Am Here To Make Friends
08/04/2025
Happy & Gay Bonus Episode: I Am Here To Make Friends
In this episode, Dennis describes reuniting with his former cruise ship dancing colleague Monica who he hasn't seen in 35 years, sings the praises of the HBO Max movie Mountaintop, the classic rom-com Pretty Woman and DTLA's Summer Dance Nights. He also talks about the importance of friendship in his own life and shares insights from the famous Harvard Study on longevity and well-being and touts the new crowdfunding pre-order campaign for his new party game Search Party.
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The Crazy Kids Behind XANADU: THE MUSICAL at The Wisteria Theater play You Don't Know My Life!
07/31/2025
The Crazy Kids Behind XANADU: THE MUSICAL at The Wisteria Theater play You Don't Know My Life!
There's a new theater company that opened about a mile from Dennis's home in North Hollywood called The Wisteria Theater and it's a magical place. The show that's currently running there is Xanadu: The Musical, based on the iconic Olivia Newton-John movie musical that Dennis has been obsessed with since 1980. In this episode, Dennis welcomes the team behind the show to play a couple rounds of his game You Don't Know My Life! The five guests are Renée Wylder (Producer and Wisteria Theater co-founder), acress Lexi Collins (Kira, Wisteria Theater company co-founder), actors Connor Bullock (Sonny) and Kelby Thwaits (Danny) as well as the show's director Brayden Hade. The two questions posed during the game are 1) "Xanadu is a story about dreams. When was a time in your life when you thought, OMG, this is a dream come true?" And 2) You come across an old diary entry with the headline A Night at the Theater I'll Never Forget. What happens in it?" Their stories involve everything from scoring big career breaks to on stage mishaps to trying to do a show in a tornado to pigging out on chips and tacos at Salsa y Beer down the street from the Wisteria. Xanadu runs at the Wisteria through August 10th www.wisteriatheater.com
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Ellen Geer (Co-Director of Strife):"You Can Make Cities Out Of Mud"
07/24/2025
Ellen Geer (Co-Director of Strife):"You Can Make Cities Out Of Mud"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-director-producer Ellen Geer who is the Producing Artistic Director of one of Dennis's favorite spots in Los Angeles, The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topange Canyon. Dennis has been going to see plays at the outdoor amphitheater since the early 90's and has seen Ellen perform in scores of shows there as well as seeing just as many that she directed and produced. This season, she co-directed the play Strife by Nobel Prize-winning writer John Galsworthy. The show, about a labor strike in rural Pennsylvania, was written in the early 1900's but feels like it could have been written in 2025. The wealthy board of directors feel like the today's financially insatiable oligarchs and the workers are dealing with the same type of injustices that workers face today. Ellen talks about why she chose Strife for this "Season of Resilience," her own history as an activist and the pleasure of co-directing with her daughter Willow Geer. She also discusses the rich history of her family and the property, which was acquired by her parents in the 1950's when her father, the actor Will Geer, was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era and the entire family was ostracized from Hollywood and their Santa Monica community. In the 1950's-60's, the Botanicum property became a safe place for blacklisted artists to seek refuge and practice their craft. In the 1970's, after Will Geer found fame as Grandpa Walton on The Waltons, the place officially opened to the public as The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. Ellen talks about her favorite spot on the property, her encounters with animals like bears, deer, mountain lions and rattlesnakes and the challenges of doing theater in such a unique outdoor place. Other topics include: why her father loved plants, losing all her friends as a child because of the blacklist, Jimmy Stewart being sweet to her on The Jimmy Stewart Show, how the current resistance movement could use some good folk songs, and that time her father taught her that reading Shakespeare could be just as enlightening as going to therapy. www.theatricum.com
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Queer Authors Panel at Pride Live Hollywood
07/17/2025
Queer Authors Panel at Pride Live Hollywood
A few weeks back, Dennis was invited to moderate a Queer Authors Panel at the first-ever Pride Live Hollywood festival. The panel was so fun, interesting and, in a few instances, downright dishy, that Dennis thought it would make a great podcast. The authors featured are Nancy Beverly (Shelby’s Vacation), Curtis Chin, (Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant), Jim Colucci (Golden Girls Forever), Frank DeCaro (Disco: Music, Movies, and Mania Under the Mirror Ball), Alonso Duralde, (Hollywood Pride), Rasheed Newson, (My Government Means to Kill Me), Mark B. Perry (And Introducing Dexter Gaines) and Bruce Vilanch (It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time). In addition to talking about their individual books and what inspired them to write them, the authors share stories about the books that rocked their worlds as readers and talk about what it means to them to finally have their precious babies out in the world.
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Filmmaker-Performer Juan Pablo Di Pace (Before We Forget): "It's A Russian Doll Kind of Movie"
07/10/2025
Filmmaker-Performer Juan Pablo Di Pace (Before We Forget): "It's A Russian Doll Kind of Movie"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Los Angeles by Juan Pablo Di Pace, the writer, co-director and star of the new film Before We Forget. The film is about an Argentinian film director in his 40s named Matias (played by Di Pace) who's struggling to finish a movie he's making based on his first love, 25 years ago, when he was a student at an international boarding school in Northern Italy. The movie is inspired by Juan Pablo's own experience at the same school where they shot the film, the United World College in Duino, Italy. Juan Pablo talks about the challenges he faced getting the film made, finding the perfect actor to play himself at 17, getting permission from his old school to shoot there and co-directing with his friend since childhood, Andrés Pepe Estrada who actually came to visit Juan Pablo when he was at the boarding school and is a character in the film. Juan Pablo also talks about one of the central themes of the film; that great loves from our younger closeted lives can leave marks that impact us well into adulthood. Other topics include: landing TV icon Norman Lear as an executive producer on the film, going almost all the way on Dancing With the Stars, appearing in Mamma Mia, playing an intense Marriage Story-like argument scene in the film The Mattachine Family, why it was important for him to be out in his career, the sneaky voyeuristic quality of VHS footage, getting his mother to play his mother on screen, playing Jesus Christ in the TV movie AD and shooting the crucifixion scene on Day 2 and the important role delusion plays where you're trying to make your creative dreams come true. www.beforeweforgetmovie.com
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Writer-Director-Actor Leah McKendrick (Scrambled): "If Nothing Is Real, You Have To Be The Real Thing"
07/04/2025
Writer-Director-Actor Leah McKendrick (Scrambled): "If Nothing Is Real, You Have To Be The Real Thing"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by his dance class friend and rising star, writer-director-actor Leah McKendrick to talk about her breakout comedy from last year Scrambled as well as this month's reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, which she has a story credit on. Leah talks about how Scrambled was inspired by her own journey of freezing her eggs as single woman in her 30's, how she was able to get the film made, the challenge of wearing so many hats on the project and how audiences would often want to hold and comfort her after seeing the movie. She also talks about her realization that if she wanted her Hollywood dreams to come true that she had to start creating her own projects. She also talks about bursting into tears when she saw Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar on the set of Last Summer because she was such a superfan of the original. Other topics include: writing Harry Shum Jr. a love letter to ask him to appear as "the one who got away" in Scrambled, how she was able to score Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" for the film before it was everywhere, writing and performing scenes featuring bad sex, being a Britney-obsessed pop girlie through and through and falling in love with a man she met on Hinge, getting engaged and becoming the kind of wedding-obsessed woman she made fun of in Scrambled.
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Filmmaker Fernando Andrès & Actor-Producer Jacob Roberts (Rent Free): "Film Is My Religion"
06/26/2025
Filmmaker Fernando Andrès & Actor-Producer Jacob Roberts (Rent Free): "Film Is My Religion"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by two of the men behind his favorite indie of the year so far Rent Free, co-writer and director Fernando Andrès and actor-producer Jacob Roberts. The film is about two queer, down-on-their-luck best friends Ben (Roberts) and Jordan (played by David Trevino) who hatch a plan to live rent free for a year in Austin, Texas--on friends' sofas or whatever they can fanagle--while they save up to move to New York City to pursue their dreams. Fernando talks about his goal of making a buddy comedy set in a bleak contemporary economic landscape focusing on a kind of queer friendship that's very familiar to him but underexplored in cinema. Jacob talks about the finding the comedy in cringey hookup scenes, and recalls shooting a key emotional scene with Austin-based actor Bill Wise as Jacob's eccentric and empathetic father. Other topics include: Jacob writing and appearing in several iconic Hasty Pudding musical shows while at Harvard, Fernando being mentored by Austin-based filmmaking legend Richard Linklater, the upside of taking a film from the idea phase all the way through production and distribution in a relatively short period of time, what it's like to live in Austin post-tech boom and why they made one of the most obnoxious characters in the movie a gay "Facebook Guy with a good salary."
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Author & Photographer Frankie Frankeny (Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality): "We Need To Go From Fear To Fierce"
06/19/2025
Author & Photographer Frankie Frankeny (Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality): "We Need To Go From Fear To Fierce"
Just as we're hitting the 10th Anniversary of Federal Marriage Equality in the US, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Frankie Frankeny, the driving creative force behind the gorgeous and comprehensive new coffee table book Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality. Frankie recalls how she first became passionate about the cause of marriage equality decades ago, doing entensive research for the book and discovering stories she never knew before and her hope that the book will be available in schools so queer kids can learn their history in a way that her generation never did. She also talks about contributing her own photos to the book and her hopes that, aesthetically speaking, the book will be something two lesbians in Tennessee or the chic designer Tom Ford would be proud to put on their coffee table. Other topics include: the pressure LGBT couples involved in court cases feel to be perfect and the stress that puts on a relationship, attorney Evan Wolfson's emotional Harvard thesis on the topic, boundary-pushing straight allies like Phil Donahue, Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom, her successful career as a cookbook photographer and why she loves that work and coming out for the first time as a kid to her beloved pet dachshund by saying, "I’m going to have a wife one day." www.justmarried.us
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Documentary subject Kellie Maloney (Knockout Blonde): "I’ve Mixed The Good Of Frank With The Good Of Kellie And Became A Much Better Person"
06/12/2025
Documentary subject Kellie Maloney (Knockout Blonde): "I’ve Mixed The Good Of Frank With The Good Of Kellie And Became A Much Better Person"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Portugal by former U.K. boxing manager Kellie Maloney to discuss the new documentary about Kellie's life and transition Knockout Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story. The film, which is now available on VOD, documents her previous life as successful boxing promoter Frank Maloney through her transition to Kellie in 2014 and its aftermath. Kellie talks about falling in love with boxing as a child, taking Lennox Lewis all the way to the Heavyweight Champion, how the physicality of boxing allowed her to vent the stress she was feeling inside and that time Frank the promoter experienced the petty, bullying side of Donald Trump. Kellie also talks about how in her dreams, she's always been female, the back-to-back tragic losses that happened in her life that led to her finally deciding to be true to herself and the decision to go on the Big Brother reality show just eight weeks after coming out publicly as trans. Other topics include: her most surprising supporters, the people close to her who dropped her like a brick, staring with envy at her ex-wife Tracy when she would get ready to go out, the difference between the British press and the American press, having a row with Leslie Jordan in the U.K. Big Brother house then later becoming friends, the full frontal moment in the documentary she tried to have cut, doing female breast exercises when he was alone in the gym then switching back to sparring exercises when someone walked in and the immense relief she felt after she transitioned when she was finally able to face the world as herself.
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Broadway producer and author Jeffrey Seller (Theater Kid): "Write That Letter & Make That Call"
06/05/2025
Broadway producer and author Jeffrey Seller (Theater Kid): "Write That Letter & Make That Call"
In this special Tonys week episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller to discuss his book Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, which documents his journey from a childhood of family dysfunction and always feeling like an outsider to thriving as a Broadway producer with four Best Musical Tonys to his credit (Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights and Hamilton). Jeffrey talks about why he decided to write the book, the elementary school teacher who saw what was special in him, always having the self belief to take big swings and confessing his love to his college best friend, who happened to be future Broadway composer Andrew Lippa. He also recalls an early workshop of Tik Tik...Boom! where he was exposed to the work of Jonathan Larson for the first time. He was so knocked out he wrote Larson a long, passionate letter, which led to Seller producing Rent five or so years later. He recalls being similarly knocked out by Lin-Manuel Miranda's talent at an early workshop of In the Heights. Other topics include: the current renaissance of new musicals on Broadway, why he chose to write so frankly about sex in his book, that time his process server father decided he wanted to become a circus clown, what it was like to start making really good money after growing up poor in a neighborhood of Detroit known as "Cardboard Village," the year his underdog puppet musical Avenue Q beat out Wicked for Best Musical, what Hamilton represents during the second Trump administration, Jonathan Larson's tragic and untimely death just as Rent was about to explode on the scene, what Larson's parents told him on the night after they lost their son and much, much more.
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