By Wayman Wong
01 Jul 2003

GREEN PLAYS IT COOL WITH ‘GLACIERS’
Brian Lane Green also first entered the Broadway mainstream in Roger Miller’s Big River, but that was in 1986 with the original Tony-winning production. The 5-foot-11 actor became the king of the road as Huck in its first national tour, and later criss-crossed America starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The Tony-nominated lead of Starmites (1989) also got fans worked up in a lather as a soap stud: Alan Brand in "Days of Our Lives" (1987-89), Sam Fowler in "Another World" (1991-93) and Brian Bodine in "All My Children" (1993-94).

And now the Broadway, cabaret and TV star is taking yet another course in his career. He’s written and composed his first musical, Waiting for the Glaciers to Melt, and he’s happy to go with the floe. Directed by Kirsten Coury, Glaciers is the story of Garrett (played by Stephen Bienskie), a gay man in his thirties recovering from the loss of his lover. He’s dealing with depression and trying to find peace. As part of the Midtown International Theater Festival, it’ll play July 16, 18, 19, 26, 27 and 30 at the Abington Theater Arts Complex, 312 W. 36th St., NYC; (212) 279-4200.

So is Glaciers autobiographical? Green, 41, says, "A lot of Garrett is me. The drinking, the drugs, the sex — I’ve definitely been guilty of that, and so is this character. But there are other people in it, too, and much of the show wrote itself. Matt Zarley plays Lucky, Garrett’s lover; Queen Esther is Memaw, the caretaker of her grandson, Simon, who’s in a wheelchair, and he’s played by Eric Millegan. It’s a dream cast."

Like Garrett, Green had a minister-father. He even got his start singing with Bebe and Cece Winans on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s "PTL Club." However, it wasn’t easy growing up in a very religious home. Green says, "Organized religion has done nothing to help some of us ‘come out,’ so you have to redefine your own spirituality. Even today, my mother, whom I love, has a hard time with [my being gay] because she’s very much into the church and the Bible, and I am, too, but I see it differently."

Fortunately, he found a safe haven in music. "How does a ten-year-old in Cleveland, Tenn., find Judy Garland? I remember being 16 and going to see Jane Olivor. That’s scary." And in high school, he did musicals. At his website, there’s a funny photo of this English-Irish kid dressed as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. "There were no Jews in my town, and I was the only one who knew who Barbra Streisand was."

But who knew Green would grow up to be a soap star? "When ‘Another World’ was No. 1 in Canada, I would go to malls and sign autographs. Up there, I could’ve done anything — and just about anybody — I wanted. But it was hard for me to enjoy a lot of it. I didn’t lie about being gay then, but I was always afraid [people would find out]."

Now he’s out and takes great pride in all his work. He sang at an all-star Sondheim gala at Carnegie Hall with the Tonics, an astonishing pop quartet he co-founded. He released one of the best male vocalist albums around called "Brian Lane Green," produced by John Bucchino (on LML Music), and the Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko is skating to his soaring rendition of Craig Carnelia’s "Flight." And he’s in "Friends and Family," a cute comedy about the gay Mafia, directed by Coury, and it’s opening in September in New York. "The movie is fun. It’s a cross between ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ and ‘The Sopranos,’ and I’m Jean-Michel, marrying the mob boss’ daughter.’’

Green doesn’t take his talent or faith for granted. To quote the Bucchino song on his CD, he’s happy "giving thanks for what I’ve got" and "truly blessed and duly grateful."

For more information, visit www.brianlanegreen.com.

'GRATEFUL'? HE WROTE THE BOOK
Another terrific talent who knows the meaning of "Grateful" is John Bucchino, the MAC Award-winning composer of that cabaret classic. He’s doing a new show of his exquisite songs Wednesdays, July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 9 PM at The Duplex, 61 Christopher St., NYC; (212) 255-5438. Plus, on Sept. 2, Harper Collins is publishing a marvelous children’s book of "Grateful," featuring his lyrics to that song, whimsically illustrated by Anna-Liisa Hakkarainen. Bucchino says, "It’s beautiful, and it comes with a new recording of ‘Grateful’ by Art Garfunkel and a glorious Don Sebesky orchestration." By the way, the whole project came about after Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton, heard the song — aptly — at a Thanksgiving dinner.

Meantime, Bucchino will be working on a new musical with Hairspray superstar Harvey Fierstein, and it’s based on Paddy Chayefsky’s "A Catered Affair." It was a 1956 movie about a poor Bronx taxi driver (Ernest Borgnine) and his wife (Bette Davis) and their struggle to give their daughter (Debbie Reynolds) a ritzy wedding. But Bucchino says they’ll base their show on the original 1955 teleplay and adds, "Harvey’s loved it for years. It’s a sweet, small story. It would make an intimate, little family musical, really. Nothing flashy, the anti-Hairspray. We’ll see what happens."

For more information, visit www.johnbucchino.com.

MORE PERFORMERS WORTH PRIZING
For the past two months, everyone’s eyes have been on the prize, so congrats to all the great guys who were nominees or winners of the Tonys, Drama Desks, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortels, Obies, Theater World Awards, etc. We’re especially happy that John Selya (Movin’ Out) danced away with the TDF/Astaire Award, which we predicted months ago. But even with all these honors, some star performers can get underrated or overlooked, so allow us to offer our "Leading Men" laurels to Matt Cavenaugh (Urban Cowboy), Daniel Reichard (Radiant Baby) and John Tartaglia (Avenue Q).

And what are they up to next? Cavenaugh goes from Cowboy to playboy as Jimmy Smith in the national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which opens July 15 at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City. Reichard, who gave a Radiant reading of Keith Haring, joins the new Off-Broadway musical The Thing About Men; it previews Aug. 6 and premieres Aug. 27 at the Promenade. And Tartaglia gets the Golden opportunity to re-create his puppet performance in Avenue Q, which begins previews on July 11 and opens July 31 on the Great White Way. Gee, who knew you could get to Broadway by taking Avenue Q through Shubert Alley? Bravo!

WHERE THE GUYS ARE
If you’re looking for some amazing male (and female) vocalists, head for the Hamptons. The Mabel Mercer Foundation and Guild Hall are producing the first-ever Cabaret Convention there July 18-20 at 8 PM at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton, N.Y. Though two-thirds of the singers are gals, like Karen Mason and Donna Murphy, you can bet the guys will make their mark. At Friday’s opening, you’ll see Jeff Harnar, Sidney Myer, Craig Rubano, Billy Stritch and Larry Woodard. Saturday will showcase Tom Andersen, Mark Coffin and Eric Comstock, and Sunday wraps up with Mark Nadler, Phillip Officer and David Staller. Tickets are $25-$100; (631) 324-4050.

Got comments or questions? E-mail me at waymanwong@hotmail.com.

Until next month, let’s hear it for "boys"!

Wayman Wong edits entertainment for the N.Y. Daily News. He has been a movie and theatre critic for the San Francisco Examiner, a writer for the Sondheim Review and a Drama-Logue Award-winning playwright.