Hot Sheet

10. CONCERT: Wyoming and Parts of Kansas
Todd Almond, the out composer-lyricist-playwright who adapted Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend into a gay love story, will premiere a collection of songs based on his travels on February 16 at St. Mark’s Church in New York. Largely inspired by an artistic retreat on which he adapted a chapter from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Almond’s thoughtful musical travelogue will feature special guest Amy Ryan from The Office.

9. BOOK: And Furthermore, Judi Dench
In this charming and captivating memoir, out February 15, Dame Judi Dench candidly fills in the gaps of her 2005 photo book Scenes from My Life and John Miller’s in-depth 1998 biography, which means that her fans can now enjoy casual anecdotes about her work with lesbian filmmaker Sally Potter on Rage, plus the arguments she raised over the gray bras and panties her lesbian schoolteacher character wore in Notes on a Scandal.

8. THEATER: The Sonneteer
Homophobia and gay acceptance are major themes in out playwright Nick Salamone’s latest play, which has its world premiere February 11 and runs through March 6 at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre under Jon Lawrence Rivera’s direction. Focused on a young professor’s look at his Italian-American family history through the discovery of his late mother’s secret sonnets, the play features a gay affair in the 1950s.