Kind of Right & Kind of Wrong (Ep. 284 - Seth Rudetsky & Broadway)

April 30, 2020 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is Broadway’s Seth Rudetsky, writer singer actor and radio host among his many many jobs. You may know him from his Sirius XM shows On Broadway and Seth Speaks, or from the show Disaster which he co-wrote with Jack Plotnick, or from his brand new podcast Seth Rudetsky’s Back to School. Seth is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm for entertainment, and it’s impossible to listen to him talk without getting swept up in his absolute glee for showbiz.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode.

And big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers.

And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on April 18 at 11am Pacific.I've been trying something new with the livestreams: rather than just sitting there and talking, I play some nice relaxing videogames while we all chat about what we've been up to. It's been a really soothing way to kick back and hang out and get away from the daily stress of, you know, everything. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

And by the way, if you like nerdy queer podcasts you may enjoy my narrative comedy shows Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure Legends! Join us for an escape into a world of fantasy, with drag queens playing Dungeons & Dragons. Queens of Adventure features an ongoing fantasy story with a regular cast, and Queens of Adventure Legends features recordings of live shows and stand-alone stories. Queens of Adventure: Legends is perfect for new listeners, with adventures sized for one or two sittings and introductions at the start of each episode. You can subscribe to both shows at QueensOfAdventure.com, or search your favorite podcast app.

I Paid my Dues, Baby (Ep. 283 - Charles Busch/Vampire Lesbians of Sodom)

April 23, 2020 Matthew Baume

I’m very excited to bring you this week’s guest — the fabulous actor and playwright Charles Busch, who first rose to prominence in the 1980s with the show Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and followed up with such hits as Die Mommy Die, Psycho Beach Party, and The Allergist’s Wife, for which he earned a Tony nomination. For the first decade of his career, Charles was a struggling writer who traveled the country with exhausting one-man shows, but his big break came when he wrote a just-for-fun skit with some friends that happened to get the attention of a New York Times theater critic.

In our conversation, Charles talks about some of the figures who inspired him, in particular the legendary gay theater pioneer Charles Ludlam, who helped create a new artistic movement in the 60s called Theater of the Ridiculous. Ludlam’s career is a fascinating journey, and includes a strange and beautiful collaboration with Madeline Kahn. I’m currently working on a YouTube video that explores that collaboration, to be released next week. Keep an eye on my YouTube channel, at YouTube.com/mattbaume, and hit the bell on the subscribe button to get notified when that video comes out.

And big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers.

And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on April 25 at 11am Pacific. I've been trying something new with the livestreams: rather than just sitting there and talking, I play some super relaxing videogames while we all chat about what we've been up to. It's been a really soothing way to kick back and hang out and get away from the daily stress of, you know, everything. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

And by the way, if you like nerdy queer podcasts you may enjoy my narrative comedy shows Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure Legends for an escape into a world of fantasy, with drag queens playing Dungeons & Dragons. Queens of Adventure features an ongoing fantasy story with a regular cast, and Queens of Adventure Legends features recordings of live shows and stand-alone stories. Queens of Adventure: Legends is perfect for new listeners, with adventures sized for one or two sittings and introductions at the start of each episode. You can subscribe to both shows at QueensOfAdventure.com, or search your favorite podcast app.

The Night Australian TV Lost its Virginity (Ep. 282 - Number 96/Andrew Mercado)

April 16, 2020 Matthew Baume

Some of the most groundbreaking queer moments on television happened on a show that if you’re American, you’ve probably never heard of. Number 96 is one of the most popular TV shows in Australia’s history, but it never managed to successfully make the jump to the US — maybe because its content, in the mid 1970s, was way too risqué for American audiences. My guest this week is a scholar of Australian TV. Ever since he was a kid, Andrew Mercado was devoted to Aussie soap operas, and as an adult he seized a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work on them… and to inject a little more queerness into what was already surprisingly queer medium.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode.

And big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers.

Dream Role, Dream Show (Ep. 281 - Hedwig/Trystan Reese)

April 9, 2020 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is Trystan Reece, who starred as Yitzhak in the original LA production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. From an early age, Trystan was laser focused on going to Broadway and becoming a famous actor. But the experience of being an actor, it turns out, helped him learn about passions he never knew he had, and shaped him into the advocate and dad that he is today.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode.

And big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers.

And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on April 11 at 11am Pacific.I've been trying something new with the livestreams: rather than just sitting there and talking, I play some nice relaxing videogames while we all chat about what we've been up to. It's been a really soothing way to kick back and hang out and get away from the daily stress of, you know, everything. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

Don't Make Superman TOO Sexy (Ep. 280 - Joeboys/Joe Phillips)

April 2, 2020 Matthew Baume

Last week I chatted with comic book author Dale Lazarov, and this week we’ll hear from a comic artist — Joe Phillips. Jos images were some of the first glimpses of gay life I ever saw, back in the 90s as a teenager. His art was simultaneously sexy and wholesome, depicting smiling scantily clad young muscle men in tenet romantic scenes. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned about his more erotic endeavors. Joe’s work touches on a wide variety of settings and themes, not unlike his childhood which had him moving between rural farms and big cities, with influences that included classic TV, broadway musicals, his church, and his grandmother — a practicing witch.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode.

And big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers.

And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on April 4 at 11am Pacific.I've been trying something new with the livestreaams: rather than just sitting there and talking, I play some nice relaxing Animal Crossing while we all chat about what we've been up to. It's been a really soothing way to kick back and hang out and get away from the daily stress of, you know, everything. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.

And by the way, if you like nerdy queer podcasts you may enjoy my narrative comedy shows Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure Legends! Join us for an escape into a world of fantasy, with drag queens playing Dungeons & Dragons. Queens of Adventure features an ongoing fantasy story with a regular cast, and Queens of Adventure Legends features recordings of live shows, one-shot adventures, and stand alone stories with special guests like BenDeLaCreme, Rock M Sakura, Erika Klash, and many more. Queens of Adventure: Legends is perfect for new listeners, with stories that can be consumed in one or two sittings and introductions at the start of each episode. You can subscribe to both shows at QueensOfAdventure.com, or search your favorite podcast app.

About The Sewers of Paris

The Sewers of Paris is a podcast about how queer lives are shaped by our favorite books, movies, music, and shows. Each week, guests open up about their secret struggles, hidden passions, and surprising triumphs by plucking a piece of entertainment from their past and answering the question: What’s the entertainment that changed your life?

About Defining Marriage

Each week on Defining Marriage, hosts Matt Baume and James Morris chat about what's happening with marriage equality, featuring frequent digressions into pop culture, silly banter, and the jokes and quibbles that have kept them together as a couple for over a decade.

The first eighteen episodes of the podcast contain the complete audiobook version of the book Defining Marriage, which traces the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it, featuring personal insights from the lives of Evan Wolfson, Dan Savage, Ken Mehlman, Dustin Lance Black, and many more.

About Matt's So-Cast Pod

Revisit the iconic '90s drama My So-Called Life, one episode at a time. Every week, host Matt Baume & his guests delve into the teen angst, the grown-up turmoil, and the endless flannel of the 90s -- and examine the show's impact on television and our lives.