7 Things
7 Ways to Resist This Week
Rally for gay Chechens, go Lemonade with Tituss Burgess and Kimmy Schmidt, fundraise with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, and more in this week's event roundup.
May 19 2017 1:36 PM EST
May 23 2017 1:21 AM EST
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Rally for gay Chechens, go Lemonade with Tituss Burgess and Kimmy Schmidt, fundraise with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, and more in this week's event roundup.
Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt -- Netflix's unlikely comedy about a woman who navigates life in New York City after years of rape and imprisonment -- returns for its third season this weekend. In its new installment, Kimmy (Ellie Kemper), ever the optimist, is striving to attend college and plan a career, after a young-adult lifetime of being denied such opportunities. Complicating the process is her kidnapper, The Reverend, who is demanding a divorce while serving time in prison for his crimes. The irreplaceable Tituss Burgess is back as well to provide some needed levity, performing renditions of songs from Beyonce's Lemonade but also navigating relationship troubles of his own with his boyfriend, Mikey. Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) is likewise in the throes of a new love interest with David Cross and has become more of a friend to Kimmy, while Lilian (Carol Kane) immerses herself in local politics. See the trailer below, and binge it on Netflix this weekend.
GMCLA Voice Awards
The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles's Voice Awards honor "those who advance our world, refute silence, lend a voice to the oppressed, exhibit leadership and give hope to those living under the weight of silence," according to GMCLA's website. Sounds like a good way to resist! The awards will be presented at a gala event Saturday evening at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. This year's honorees are activist Gwen Baba, with the Community Leader Voice Award; Logo TV, with the Visionary Voice Award; and composer Stephen Schwartz, who famously refused to allow his hit show Wicked to be performed in North Carolina after the passage of the anti-LGBT House Bill 2, with the Vanguard Voice Award. Actor Daniel Franzese will host the event, and special guests expected to attend include Lance Bass, Pauley Perrette, Ty Herndon, Michelle Clunie, and Proposition 8 plaintiffs Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami. Proceeds will go toward the chorus's daily operations and its outreach programs -- the Alive Music Program, which takes an antibullying message to middle schools and high schools, and its collaboration with the It Gets Better Project. The event starts with cocktails at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and the ceremony at 6:30. Tickets are still available via email; find more information here.
Alien: Covenant
After thoughtfully expanding the Alien series universe with the 2012 prequel Prometheus, director Ridley Scott returns again with this sequel (still set before the events of 1979's Alien). Here we follow a group of colonists looking to establish human life on a new planet; there's even a gay male couple (though you only know they're gay because of this prologue released beforehand). This film brings back the hideous xenomorph alien largely absent from Prometheus, but Michael Fassbender is really the star of the show. Playing two different androids, Fassbender is electric; many scenes between the two robots border on the homoerotic. Katherine Waterston plays the Sigourney-like protagonist -- and she's excellent. We do wish we could see more of Prometheus star Noomi Rapace, though her presence is still felt in Covenant. See more of Rapace and Fassbender in this fascinating prologue below.
Eyes on Chechnya March & Rally in Los Angeles
If you're in L.A. Saturday, your presence is required for this march and rally. Our government has taken little action over the murder and imprisonment of gay and bi men in the Russian republic of Chechnya -- that's simply unacceptable. The Los Angeles LGBT Center is asking for march participants to meet at downtown's Pershing Square at 1:30 p.m.; the march will begin 30 minutes later and will head to the federal building. Click here for more details.
Advocates
Meet the employees of GULPTAB, the country's most irreverent and dysfunctional, if well-intentioned, LGBT nonprofit in the new digital series Advocates, from creators Chloe Curran and Lauren Elizabeth Neal. The two-episode series boasts an entirely queer cast in LGBT roles with stand-up comic and actress Bridget McManus (Transparent, The Queen Latifah Show) starring as GULPTAB's unflappable leader. The series lovingly skewers nonprofit culture and politics while depicting entirely out and proud LGBT characters. Alexis Bloom, Cameron Denny, Kingston Farady, Laura Zak (Her Story), Jessica Taylor, Amy Jackson Lewis, and Keeley Bright round out the cast. The first part of the satirical series is available now, while the second drops May 23.
Showtime's Twin Peaks: The Return
After years of rumors and touch-and-go negotiations with Showtime, Twin Peaks -- the beloved cult classic created by Mark Frost and David Lynch -- is returning to television as a limited series event. For 18 episodes, viewers will return, with FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), to the fictional town in Washington State and its many mysterious and supernatural happenings, which originally led to the death of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. Not much is known about the new plot -- but many characters from the original ABC series will be returning for the reboot, alongside newcomers like Naomi Watts, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Laura Dern, and Michael Cera. Watch the teaser below and the premiere Sunday on Showtime at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
Astraea Lesbian Foundation's Fueling the Frontlines Awards
The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice will celebrate grassroots activists and cultural change-makers powering the Resistance with its Fueling the Frontlines awards ceremony Thursday in Los Angeles. Honorees are Patrisse Cullors, cofounder of Black Lives Matter; trans Latina activist Jennicet Gutierrez; Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos; political strategist Paola Ramos; and Bruce Cohen, executive producer of When We Rise. The event, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Ace Museum in L.A., will feature food, cocktails, and a performance of the operatic version of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. Proceeds will support will support Astraea's grants to grassroots activists and organizations in areas where the need is greatest worldwide. Go here for tickets and more info.