Katy Perry's parents pray

PopEater reports that Katy Perry's Evangelical parents don't like her hit single, "I Kissed a Girl," and that her mother bows her head and prays every time she hears the song. Promoting that "homosexual lifestyle" may get you in trouble with your parents, but it can also make you a lot of money. Matter of fact, I'm writing this post from my underwater mansion on a laptop made of diamonds. It's good to be MileHighGayGuy.

Here's the video for 'I Kissed a Girl':

I bow my head and pray every time I hear it too, but that's just because I think it's an awful song and I'm praying I never have to listen to it again.

Rage Against the Machine to rock out at the Denver Coliseum to 'End the War'

Rage Against the Machine has joined forces with the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Tent State University to perform as part of the "Tent State Music Festival to End the War" on Wednesday, August 27 at the Denver Coliseum. They will join the Flobots, The Coup, State Radio, and Wayne Kramer. Doors open at 9:30 AM, show begins at 11:00 AM.

Tickets are free and available by lottery. Sign up for the lottery, with a valid photo ID (person must be present) at Tent State University at Cuernavaca Park between 11AM and 6:30 PM (look for the Tent State Music Festival booth near the IVAW Tower) Sunday, August 24 through Tuesday, August 26 during the D.N.C. Winners will be notified by email Tuesday evening, August 26.

Go to TentState.org for more info.

Is internet stardom as simple as spandex?

The Frontier Brothers are nothing if not forward-thinking gentlemen. Take, for instance their name - implying, in a science-fiction/fantasy lexicon, their desire to climb to the next level of existence as a band. Or their music, a startlingly original blend of psychedelia, electronica, and - according to the band, space technology that make the songs "literally impossible not to dance to." But most apparently - if not most superficially - the band's preoccupation with the future reveals itself with their fashion sense, which revolves around the matching, colorful spandex bodysuits that have earned them a feature in Spin Magazine, a man-on-the-street interview with MTV's John Norris and - just in the last week, internet celebrity.

Cracked.com, compiling images for their article "Tech Zombies: 6 Technologies That Don't Know They're Dead," cropped a photo of - who else? - the Frontier Brothers themselves, in full spandex regalia, the crop basically capturing all three member's torsos down to the tops of their thighs. Upon learning of this, Brother Brett Moses sent a missive to Cracked.com, simply alerting them to the identity of the subjects of this crotch shot, and a link to their music. In doing so, Brett gained the band an additional set of fans in Cracked.com, who ran another feature, "A Psychedelic Space Rock Round-Up From The Future," thanking the band for "not suing us for running a picture of your crotches." Apparently, web traffic on the Frontier Brothers' myspace and website has been through the roof ever since.

Colorado native Bobby List starring in Denver production of High School Musical

(LtoR) Heléne Yorke as “Sharpay Evans” and Bobby List as “Ryan Evans” in Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL National Tour. ©2008, Disney.
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Casting has been announced for the Denver engagement of Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, playing the Ellie Caulkins Opera House July 22–27. Presented by Disney Theatrical Productions, the division responsible for smash Broadway hits The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins and the Denver-born The Little Mermaid, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is based on the 2006 Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel Original Movie. The touring company, which is scheduled to play 42 cities over 60 weeks in the United States and Canada, includes a live orchestra and a cast of 34 talented theatrical performers.

Fort Collins native Bobby List will play Drama Club enthusiast and brother of Sharpay, “Ryan Evans.” List, a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College–Conservatory of Music, played opposite Debby Boone in The Human Comedy at Barrington Stage and in The 60’s Project at the Goodspeed Opera House. List was born and raised in Fort Collins, graduated from Rocky Mountain High School, and attended University of Northern Colorado for musical theatre.


“Troy Bolton,” captain of the basketball team, will be played by John Jeffrey Martin, whose Broadway credits include Rocky Horror Show, Hairspray and Good Vibrations. He is a graduate of Syracuse University with a BFA in Musical Theater. Starring opposite Martin as the shy, academic student “Gabriella Montez” will be Arielle Jacobs. Jacobs’ theatre credits include Crazy for You, A Chorus Line and Cinderalla, and her film credits include The Stepford Wives and Water Lilies.

Veteran actor Ron Bohmer will portray Troy’s father and Wildcats basketball coach, “Coach Bolton.” Bohmer is known for his Broadway and national tour credits including The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White, Aspects of Love, Fiddler on the Roof and Sunset Boulevard. Troy’s best friend, “Chad Danforth,” will be played by Shakiem Evans who most recently appeared as “Eddie” in Broadway’s Mamma Mia! Evans’ off-Broadway credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona and Fame, and he is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Ellen Harvey is the drama teacher “Ms. Darbus.” Harvey’s Broadway credits include Thou Shalt Not and The Music Man, and her touring credits include Mamma Mia! and Doctor Dolittle. “Taylor McKessie,” the leader of the “brainiacs” at East High School, will be played by Shaullanda LaCombe, who was “Shenzi” in Disney’s The Lion King and “Charlane” in Ain’t Misbehavin.

Michael Mahany will introduce audiences to a new character written specifically for the stage production - “Jack Scott,” the crooning voice of East High School. Mahany’s credits include the off-Broadway production of Spring Awakening, a reading of Ella Minnow Pea, a workshop of Bill Russell’s Mister Fabulous and regional productions of Into the Woods and Annie Get Your Gun. The young composer “Kelsi Neilson” will be portrayed by Olivia Oguma, who has appeared on Broadway in Mamma Mia! and Les Miserables and off-Broadway in Sarah, Plain and Tall, La Dispute and The Scarlet Letter. Oguma’s film credits include Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Flamingo Rising and Strangers with Candy: the movie.

“Zeke Baylor,” the basketball player who loves to bake, will be portrayed by Jelani Remy, who is making his national tour debut and was last seen in regional productions of Cabaret and Parade. Lizzie Weiss will play the hip-hop brainiac “Martha Cox.” Weiss earned her BA in Theater from the University of California at Irvine, and was an original cast member of the Atlanta Theatre of the Stars production of High School Musical. The scheming Drama Club president, “Sharpay Evans,” will be played by Heléne Yorke, who received a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Michigan and appeared in the off-Broadway production of Walmartopia.

This new touring stage adaptation of Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is directed by Jeff Calhoun (Big River). HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL features a book by David Simpatico (adapted from the original movie script by Peter Barsocchini), and a score including all the songs from the original soundtrack plus two new songs written especially for the stage.

Commenting on the touring production, Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, said, “Our stage version of this great property has been mounted as a direct response to overwhelming demand. As someone who has been passionate about theatre since I was a kid, I am thrilled that we are touring this remarkably popular title as a fully realized stage production, and most certainly introducing countless young people to the world of theatre for the very first time. You can’t ask for more than that.” Schumacher adds, “It is a great joy and privilege for us to be able to produce and present the Disney Channel’s enormously popular property on stage.”

Disney’s HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is a contemporary musical comedy about a popular high school basketball star and a shy, academically gifted newcomer who discover they share a secret passion for singing. When they sign up together to audition for the lead roles in the school musical, it threatens East High's rigid social order and sends their peers into an uproar. In a desperate effort to maintain the status quo, the "jocks," the "brainiacs" and even the drama club regulars are soon hatching convoluted plots to separate the pair and keep them offstage. By defying expectations and taking a chance on their dreams, however, the couple inspires other students to go public with some surprising hidden talents of their own.

The creative team for this new touring stage production of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, in addition to aforementioned director Calhoun, are choreographer Lisa Stevens, scenic designer Kenneth Foy, costume designer Wade Laboissonniere, lighting designer Kenneth Billington, sound designer Duncan Robert Edwards and music supervisor Bryan Louiselle.

The Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel U.S. on January 20, 2006 and posted the highest ratings for a Disney Channel Original Movie up until that time. It went on to become a smash hit internationally, airing on 27 Disney Channels and free-to-air broadcasters worldwide, thus far reaching over 250 million viewers in over 100 countries including China. It was also the first TV movie to be offered on the iTunes Music Store. High School Musical delivered the #1 album of 2006, the year's #1 TV movie on DVD, licensed amateur and professional touring stage productions, a best-selling junior novel, a popular consumer products franchise at mass retailers, a themed show at Disneyland Parks and Resorts in Anaheim, Orlando and Paris, a sold-out 42 date arena concert tour in North America and Latin America and a popular touring ice show around the world. Adding to its success, it won two Emmy Awards, a DGA Award, Television Critics Association Award, an Imagen Award, a Director's Guild of America Award and a Humanitas Prize nomination among other honors. Its soundtrack received a Billboard Music Award (Soundtrack of the Year) and was nominated for an American Music Award in the Favorite Album (Pop/Rock) category.

Its critically acclaimed sequel, High School Musical 2, ranks as the #1 basic cable telecast of all time (18.6 million viewers for its August 17, 2007 premiere) and has thus far been seen by 179 million total viewers around the world. Its soundtrack is quadruple Platinum in the U.S., triple Platinum in the UK and many more countries. It recently won an American Music Award. Walt Disney Studios will begin production on a feature film based on the movie; Kenny Ortega will direct and choreograph and the cast will reunite for the film titled High School Musical 3: Senior Year, scheduled for a 2008 release in theatres around the world.

Single tickets start at just $25. To charge by phone, call Denver Center Ticket Services at 303.893.4100. TTY (for Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons): 303.893.9582. Groups of 20 or more, please call 303.446.4829. Tickets may also be purchased at the Denver Center Ticket Office, located at the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex Lobby (in the Denver Performing Arts Complex at Speer & Arapahoe), or at the Guest Services Desk at Cherry Creek Shopping Center. TicketsWest outlets are located in all King Soopers stores. Buy and print online at www.denvercenter.org.

Special cast meet-and-greet fundraiser. On opening night, Tuesday, July 22, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Disney Theatrical Productions will present a special event fundraiser benefiting the Denver Center's Arts in Education programs. A family four-pack ($2500) includes four excellent front orchestra seats, a private ice cream social to meet the cast after the show and an autographed commemorative program. For more information call 303.446.4812.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL is an added attraction in Denver Center Attractions’ 2008 season and is generously sponsored by United Airlines. Media sponsorship for DCA is provided by The Denver Post, CBS4 and Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine. Denver Center Attractions is supported in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. Please visit our website at www.denvercenter.org.