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SUNDANCE GETS RELIGIOUS

A Union in Wait is one of many gay films to air on Sundance Channel in April

“Living in the closet deadens you.... It takes takes such a psychic toll over time and such an emotional toll on you that eventually you reach a point where you’ve gotta decide Do I give up myself or do I just say, ‘Forget this. I’m not gonna live like this anymore....’” Susan Parker, along with her partner Wendy Scott, decided to not live like that anymore. Unlike most of us, however, they brought controversy with them.

After being with each other for many years, separating for two years, then coming together even stronger and more loving than before, the two women decided to celebrate with a union at, of all places, Wake Forest University Baptist Church. I say “of all places” because one doesn’t usually consider a Baptist church to be a place to commemorate a same-sex union. But this church had been open to gays and lesbians for some time, and two of the reverends, Richard Groves and Lynn Rhoades, were not the least bit concerned about the celebration. However, the university was. Hence the controversy. It made the national news because same-sex partners had never asked for a service before.

The customary protests were in order. The ignorant Fred Phelps made an appearance and delivered his usual hostile remarks: “What [the university] should do is forthwith fire, terminate that preacher and everybody elses [sic] of that kind. And the first step in that firing process oughta be that filthy dyke Maya Angelou. You know, she’s there on campus and is some kind of uh, uh, professor of something or other.”

Though a serious attempt on the part of the university was made to vote it down, Susan Parker and Wendy Scott won the right to celebrate their love, which they did with humor and joy. The sign on their car said it all: “Just United.”

A Union in Wait (2001) airs on the Sundance Channel on April 7, 5 a.m.; 11th, 9:30 a.m.; 12th, 4:30 a.m.; 14th, 2:10 p.m. A Union in Wait will likely air again in the next few months, so if you miss it this month, visit www.sundancechannel.com for their monthly schedule. —Blase DiStefano

Go to Hell House to Find Jesus

Though far from Fred Phelps’s rhetoric, Hell House (2001) is nevertheless brimming with unenlightened folk. This clique of well-meaning Christians (in Cedar Hills, Texas’s Pentecostal Assemblies of God church) produces a show every Halloween that consists of several vignettes depicting the graphic death of a person who doesn’t give himself or herself to Jesus ... and thus goes to hell.

Among others, there’s a woman who has an abortion and another woman who is drugged and raped. And, of course, there’s the gay man dying of AIDS (bet you can’t guess whether he’s heaven- or hell-bound). A great scene follows with a discussion between one of the Hell House honchos and a group of gay-friendly teenagers. When the debate ends, one of the boys—as he’s turning to walk away—says, “I need a cigarette.” Hell, I needed a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke!

Whether you’re a puffer or not, check out the blind faith of these extremists as they mount their annual scare-fest for a multitude eager to cough up $7 for the privilege of being scared to death and/or—knowingly or unknowingly—to be given a chance to find Jesus.

Hell House airs on the Sundance Channel on April 15, 2:30 p.m.; 16th, 3:30 a.m.; 21st, 3 a.m.; 30th, 8 p.m.; May 1, 4 a.m. Hell House will likely air again in the next few months, so if you miss it this month, visit www.sundancechannel.com for their monthly schedule. —BD

Cher’s Farewell Concert on NBC

Oscar-winning superstar and Grammy-winning recording legend Cher celebrates her current farewell concert tour and newest album with a two-hour NBC concert special that will showcase the ever-vital entertainment legend’s career to a new generation of music fans.

“Living Proof: The Farewell Tour” began last June and includes material from Cher’s enduring career—from “I Got You Babe” to her television series and specials, from her feature films to her famous fashions. Cher’s accompanying album, Living Proof, debuted in the Billboard Top 10.

Highlights of the NBC concert special—taped last fall in Miami, Florida—will include Cher’s numerous hit songs, videos, outrageous costumes, dancers, and acrobats.

Cher’s four-decade career has spanned television, feature films, Broadway, live shows, and music and has made her a permanent fixture on the pop-culture landscape. She remains one of entertainment’s most memorable stars with her multiple successes in many entertainment venues. Together with her former husband, Sonny Bono, she first exploded onto the scene in the 1960s with over a dozen hit records (including six in the Top 40 alone during the fall of 1965). While her solo career flourished in the early 1970s, the duo moved over to television in the hit variety series The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

In the 1980s, Cher concentrated on her newfound film career with lead roles in Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, Suspect, and Moonstruck, for which she received an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film credits include Silkwood (in which she played a lesbian) and Tea with Mussolini (in which Lily Tomlin played a lesbian). She remains a fashion innovator and continues to make hit albums, such as Believe (her best seller with more than 10 million sold worldwide) in 1998. The title song won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Cher owns the longest Billboard chart span between number-one hit singles (1965–1999) of any pop recording artist.

Recently, Cher guest-starred as herself in two episodes of Will & Grace.

Cher: Living Proof—The Farewell Concert airs Tuesday, April 8, at 8 p.m. on NBC. —Troy Carrington

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