stream queen
by brad hart
MOON MANOR
STEAM! All aboard for the new contemporary Western Steam! now available on the LGBTQ streaming network Revry. The award-winning short musical film tells the story of the conductor of a tourist steam train who deserts his boyfriend for a wild night with a real-life outlaw. Steam! Is written and directed by Jeffrey Simon, who also wrote the music and lyrics. The film stars Broadway actor Coby Getzug (The Book of Mormon, Spring Awakening), who is currently starring in the national tour of The Band’s Visit. Barrett Riggins and Liam Cronin are also featured. Producers David Hemphill and Matt Andrews created Steam! as a master’s thesis project at USC School of Cinematic Arts. It premiered at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and won Best in Show. “As a gay man, I have a complicated relationship with Westerns. I love the sexy ruggedness of the cowboy/outlaw archetype, the phallic power of pistols and steam trains, but I have always felt unwelcome within the culture of masculinity perpetuated by the genre,” Simon said. “By making this a musical, I’m hoping it will be more inclusive to a queer audience without sacrificing what makes Westerns so exciting.” revry.tv
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www.rage.lgbt | MARCH 2022
Sometimes learning how to live is learning how to die. Inspired by a “true-ish” story, Moon Manor introduces us to Jimmy on his last day alive. He has advancing Alzheimer’s, so he has decided to die like he has lived — with intention, humor and zest. Jimmy will show his estranged brother, salt-of-the-earth caretaker, sharp-witted death doula, a novice obituary writer, a cosmic being and the guests at his FUNeral that sometimes the art of living just may be the art of dying. An exploration of what it means to have a “good death” and inspired by the life stories of 84-year-old lead actor James Carrozo, Moon Manor is the debut feature from female filmmaking duo KnifeRock and marks the first original score by Coldplay producers The Dream Team. The filmmakers stated on the movie’s website that “the well was deep when it came to pulling stories from Jimmy’s life to write Moon Manor. Thus, Jimmy’s real anecdotes and memories are included in the movie, but the character of Jimmy is fictional and the story of his last day alive is fiction. The character and the actor do have one very important thing in common: a belief that death is something to be embraced, not feared, and a desire (if one is privileged enough to be able to make the choice) to have an intentionally designed death, surrounded by ceremony and loved ones.” As an activist for LGBTQ and immigration rights, Carrozo has been acting, singing, dancing and doing comedy for most of his 84 years. Moon Manor is Carrozo’s first feature film and fulfills his childhood dream of making a movie of his life. Debra Wilson, Richard Riehle, Lou Taylor Pucci, Reshma Gajjar, Galen Howard, Ricki Lake, Heather Morris, Gayle Rankin and Whitmer Thomas round out the cast. Moon Manor is available on demand starting Friday, March 11. moonmanormovie.com
