 |
| Cyndi Lauper performs at Opening Ceremony of WorldPride NYC |
By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.
For the first time in its twenty year history, World Pride is being celebrated in the United States, as part of the Stonewall 50 celebration in the birthplace of Pride, New York City.
Last night, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center played host to the Opening Ceremonies of World Pride with enough high NRG, glitter, and sequins to be seen across the East River on Christopher St.
Hosted by fierce, long time, LGBT advocate Whoopi Goldberg, the three- hour plus extravaganza showcased entertainment, tributes to the people who fought for equality, and highlighted organizations insuring another fifty years of Pride.
The festivities began with Cyndi Lauper rising from a sparkling globe singing, “True Colors.”
What could have easily been a treacly, cliched, 'been there done that' moment, turned into an extemporaneous singalong. The Barclays Center awash in a dazzling rainbow, thousands of strangers gathered from around the world, were singing in one voice, as a united community.
After the opening, Whoopi took to the stage and took the house to church asking New Yorkers to welcome the “tourist next to them.” She went on telling, “everybody hold somebody’s hand as we remember those who for many different reasons are not alive and with us today,” a moment bringing unexpected silence to the arena.
Tony Award winner, and TV actress, Sara Ramirez, paid tribute to the 2019 Pride Luminaries on stage with a soaring rendition of “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Throughout the night Pride March Grand Marshals, the cast of FX’s POSE, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah of UK Black Pride, Gay Liberation Front, The Trevor Project, and Monica Helms were recognized and honored for their work.
Drag queens were in the house and werked it in a mega-production number. Each queen took her turn on the runway for moment in the spotlight, including Bob the Drag Queen. Her lip-sync of Julia “The Terminator” Sugarbaker’s speech, recounting “The Night the Lights went out in Georgia” complete with baton twirler.
 |
| Inside the Barclay Center (photo: Lawrence Pfeil Jr.) |
Proceeds from World Pride Opening Ceremonies benefit three organizations:
• SAGE (www.sageusa.org) the world's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older people.
• Immigration Equality (immigrationequality.org) the nation’s leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization, representing and advocating for people from around the world fleeing violence, abuse and persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
• The Ali Forney Center (aliforneycenter.org) the nation’s largest and most comprehensive agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youths
These organizations do lifesaving work every day of the year for the Community and were introduced to audience by video and with stirring remarks.
Most notable were those by Ali Forney Center’s founder and Executive Director, Carl Sicilano. He spoke of the homeless queer street kids at the time of the Stonewall Uprising who were thought of as trash by well-off people. Those kids found their own community and a solidarity amongst themselves, when “an attack on one was seen as an attack on all.
Sicilano implored those present last night to adopt that same solidarity from 50 years ago in today’s Community.
The Grand Finale was none other than the force of nature and pride himself, Mr. Billy Porter who blessed the house with an encore of his heartbreak performance of “Home” from Season 1 of the acclaimed FX series, Pose.
Porter then raised the roof old school, gospel-style, with his new single, “Love Yourself” in a glitter fabulous, rainbow Pride spectacular before sending his children off to make the world a better place.
Check out more via Instagram:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.