Curiously, after spending three hundred pages making the United States sound like Calcutta, [Pat] Buchanan wraps up his book with a one-sentence paragraph about what a beautiful country this is. Speakers at the Republican National Convention do the same thing: Once they’ve finished telling us that the United States is a shithole, they wrap up their speeches with claims that the United States of America is unique in the world, a shining example to other nations, and the greatest country on earth. Oh, and god bless America.

Dan Savage, Skipping Towards Gomorrah

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Now, personally I have never wanted to join the army. Giving guns to straight boys, sending them far, far away, and ordering them to shoot at each other: why would anyone want to mess that up? That’s a perfect system, in my opinion, and if something ain’t broke, don’t mess with it.

Dan Savage, on now allowing gays in the military in his book The Kid.

On May 26th, I caught one of the last performances of The New Group’s production of a new musical called The Kid.  The Kid is the stage version of Dan Savage’s book of the same name about him and his partners’ experience trying to adopt a child, with book by Michael Zam, lyrics by Jack Lechner, and music by Andy Monroe.

The music was cheesy and fun, at best, and lyrics were straight-forward.  The book was most well-written though.  They presented this controversial topic thoughtfully and provocatively.  They acquired the sympathy of the audience when the couple was faced with the decision of whether or not to adopt the baby of a homeless teenage girl who admitted to drinking and doing drugs during the first trimester she was pregnant; and again when the out-of-the-picture (and also homeless) father of the child in question comes back and almost convinces the girl that they should keep the baby.  

The cast was rockstar as far as musical theatre casts go.  Christopher Sieber and Lucas Steele starred as the couple trying to adopt, and their best friends were played by Ann Harada and Susan Blackwell.  Tyler Maynard and Brooke Sunny Moriber were also featured in the ensemble.  

I thoroughly enjoyed The Kid and look forward to reading the book at some point.  

(photo via)