Queer Voices
Queer Voices
December 3rd - Holiday shows from TUTS, the Alley, and Drunk Shakespeare. Plus LGBTQIA+ Holiday Shopping!
This show contains a trio of interviews about holiday theater events in Houston. We talk to Mitchell Greco about WHITE CHRISTMAS, which will show in the Hobby Center from Theatre Under the Stars, Elizabeth Bunch talks A CHRISTMAS CAROL from the Alley Theatre, and Zoe Parkinson lets us know about A DRUNK CHRISTMAS CAROL. Additionally, Lee and Brett discuss holiday shopping.
We found these companies super supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community:
Levi's, Nike, Starbucks, Costco, Bath & Body Works, Delta, United, MGM Resorts, Apple, Microsoft, PayPal, Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Ulta, Absolut Vodka, Mercedes, Home Depot and Sephora.
Local to Houston - Eclectic Home, Antiques on 19th, AG Gallery, Silverlust, Dramatika, Bliss, and Vinal Edge.
These were midling right now:
Amazon and Walmart
Companies to Avoid:
Chick-fil-a, Shen Yun, and the Salvation Army
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SPEAKER_04:Hello, this is Brett Cullum, and you are listening to Queer Voices on KPFT 90.1 or as a podcast wherever you download those. Please remember to donate if you can to KPFT because that's why we are here and have been the voice of the LGBTQIA plus community for over five decades on this station. The show today is all about holiday theater and shopping. So apologies to all my political junkies out there. I promise we'll get back to the political outrage and talking about community issues, but I wanted to share some special interviews that I got to talk to three different theaters that are presenting Christmas shows. So we've got Mitchell Greco. He's going to tell us about Theater Under the Stars production of White Christmas. Elizabeth Bunch is going to talk about the Allies of Christmas Carol. And I have Zoe Parkinson to talk about the world premiere of Drunk Christmas Carol. And then finally, we have a segment with author Arlie Ingalls, where he and I discuss holiday shopping with the LGBTQIA Plus community in mind. Queer Voices starts now. Hi, this is Brett Cullum, and today I am joined by Mitchell Greco. He's been a part of the Houston Theater scene for so many years now. And he's known most widely as a director of musicals, a a really great director of musicals and also a choreographer. He has just started a new role as associate artistic director with Theater Under the Stars this year. Mitchell is directing Irving Berlin's White Christmas, which opens December 9th and runs through Christmas Eve at the Hobby Center. Hey, Mitchell, nice to see you again.
SPEAKER_05:Hey, Brad, likewise. I'm so happy to be here to talk about all things White Christmas and holidays. Oh, yes, of course.
SPEAKER_04:But first up, congrats on the new gig. Thanks. Is is White Christmas your first directing job for Tuts?
SPEAKER_05:No, no, no, no. My first directing gig for Tuts was in 2016, Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. I saw it. Yes, yes. You were there. I was there. And then I did All Shook Up later on. Oh yeah. A couple other projects here and there.
SPEAKER_04:All right. I totally forgot about that. You were all shook up. Oh, yeah. Rocky Horror. Those are like two of my foundational shows right there. Well, you know what? This is a new show for Theater Under the Stars. What made you all pick it? What was the attraction of White Christmas?
SPEAKER_05:It's actually not a new show for us. It's been it's new for we haven't done it in the past 15 years, but we first produced it in 2008. And it's uh it's one of those titles that has come back around again. It is such an incredibly heartfelt, warming show with amazing Irving Berlin music. It's a holiday classic for a reason. It's it's one of the rare musicals that are based off of movies that I would argue is just as good as the classic Bing Crosby film. Yeah, it is it's a big, giant Broadway musical full of holiday warmth and heart. And I I can't think of a better reason to do it than that.
SPEAKER_04:You're going up against this iconic movie. And every time somebody does something like The Wizard of Oz, or you just mentioned Rocky Horror, you are dealing with this cultural zeitgeist, this pop culture moment where these people have this cemented in their heads. They're people that walk around with white Christmas living rent-free memorized in their heads with Bing Crosby. So how do you approach it?
SPEAKER_05:I think you don't fight it. It is, I think it's actually an asset. I think it's power, it's it's a power that people bring into the room whenever they see the show. They bring memories of watching White Christmas with their families growing up. They've they bring memories of of singing snow and choir. And I think all those things help invigorate the show. Yeah, are these the local people? They're mostly local. I th we have three or four cast members who are from out of town, but for the most part, this is all Houston. Because we have so many talented people here in this town. I'm just so happy that we found ways to showcase them.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, so let's get a little personal here. We all know you are married to the associate artistic director of the alley, Brandon Weinbrenner. Yeah. And you now have officially moved closer to each other.
SPEAKER_05:Do you carpool now? No, we don't we don't. Although we are a one-car household. We have them for a very long time. But Brandon is mostly a bike commuter. We're often asked, how is it being married to another director? Is there competition? And no, there really hasn't ever been. He is, of course, thrilled for me and and I love being, you know, closer to him in proximity. But no, it doesn't change much. He's just so supportive and and and me likewise for him. I've always loved Tuts and the job just came at a great time for me to to learn new things and to meet new people. It all comes down to I both the staff and board, but especially Dan Connectus, our artistic director, who is such an inspiring and fearless leader. How can I say no? It was such a great opportunity. Well, I have to ask this. How is your dog? Thank you for asking. Baby Clyde is great. His name is Clyde, but we call him Baby Clyde. Baby Clyde. Clyde is great. I will let him know that you asked over about him and he'll be thrilled. Yeah, he's good. He's just the best. What can I say?
SPEAKER_04:Well, Mr. Greco, what do you want for Christmas? Have you even thought about that?
unknown:I haven't.
SPEAKER_05:And suddenly I'm like, oh gosh, what do I even say to that? World peace? I do. That would be nice. It would be nice. I would take that. Yeah. I mean, I mean, above all else, world world peace. I I just think something a little more realistic. I would hope, like for us, that we that we take lessons from white Christmas, finding the kindness within us to lift up each other and to support each other whenever the support is needed. I I I guess I wish humanness on for Christmas. I wish everyone could embrace their humanity a little bit.
SPEAKER_04:You know, kindness, empathy, humanness, it it seems like that may be what we need this year. It's it's very interesting. But do you have like a favorite tradition for Christmas that you do every year without fail or anything like that?
SPEAKER_05:I have two things. One is I love going to Lights in the Heights. That's that's a more recent tradition, and I we we live in the Heights, so we we um we bring the dog, we bring Clyde, and a couple of of cocktails to go, and we um we stroll, stroll Lights in the Heights, and is for me as such, again, to talk about community, an incredible moment of people coming together and celebrating. It's fun, it's joyful, we love it. The second one is I think it's more traditional every Christmas Eve. I I've done this since I was in high school with my best friend from high school. She and her family used to watch It's a Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve. So I would have Christmas Eve at my dad's house. My parents are divorced, have Christmas Eve at my dad's house, and then I'd drive over to her house and watch It's a Wonderful Life, and that was a tradition we've kept up until I mean we I still do it every year, but she's moved away and I'm here. But yeah, every Christmas Eve, I will pop on It's a Wonderful Life and I will cry at the end, and it's just my favorite. I love it.
SPEAKER_04:So that's your favorite holiday movie, safe to say? Or special, you know? I always have these specials that I would need to watch.
SPEAKER_05:I I wouldn't call it my favorite. I I don't want to make the other ones feel bad. You know what I mean? I I do I do find it the most meaningful for me. If I had to choose a favorite, I think I had to go like way back to my childhood, either be Mother Christmas Carol or Christmas Story.
SPEAKER_04:Well looping it all back to White Christmas. What is it that you think that endures about White Christmas and makes it one of these things that's so viable to do every year, year after year? It is kind of its own holiday tradition.
SPEAKER_05:I think it's timeless. I think it's it's and what makes it such an incredible show for Tuts. It is absolutely a show for the entire family, and it's not but it's not geared towards a children per se. It's it's it is the very definition of a family show. You can bring anyone from age, you know, three to ninety-three, and you'll have an incredible time. I think the music is timeless. I I've been doing my prep work for the past couple weeks, and every day I'm singing another Irving Berlin tune. He just had Bob after Bob, and he continues, they continue to endure. And I think this is kind of a I haven't really vetted out this theory yet, so you know, take it with a grain of salt. It's also something about it taking place in the 40s and 50s that really makes it there's a macro view of that time so long ago that I think creates some the some of the warm vintage fuzzies that make it an ideal property for the holiday.
SPEAKER_04:You know, it's just one of those that it it comes around every year and it's the thing that makes me feel like Christmas has arrived. When I see it or hear it or those songs, it just it just registers that. And I don't really know of anything else other than maybe some obvious choices. Sure. That would, you know, do it. I mean, I I'm a sucker for a rank and bass special, Rudolph, you know Frosty stuff. Yeah. Yeah. But this one does it. So I will be happy to celebrate with Tuts and everybody can have a white Christmas, even though we probably won't have one weather-wise. But it opens December 9th, runs through Christmas Eve. We are promised snow in the hobby center and lots of great songs. And of course, under the direction of Mitchell Greco, which is always some a reason to go to a show, period. So you've got all that going for you. So it should be a great holiday season. And I can't think of any better way to spend it than with Tuts and with you and your cast.
SPEAKER_05:So well, thanks, Brett. I agree. Me too. I hope everyone comes and joins us at the Hobby Center.
SPEAKER_04:Hi there, this is Brett Cullum, and today I am joined by Elizabeth Bunch, a resident company member of the Alley Theater. I think she just passed a hundred shows with them. I believe her 100th was The Mirror Cracked, where she got to play a really juicy role as an aging movie star with more than just a few little secrets. But now Elizabeth is doing a show that she has probably done at least 100 performances of. It is a Christmas carol. So thank you, Elizabeth, for being with me and letting me ask you about this Dickens epic holiday tradition of the alley.
SPEAKER_01:I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04:Now, this year, who are you and a Christmas carol?
SPEAKER_01:This year is our fourth year doing Rob Melrose's adaptation. And so it is my fourth year being Christmas Past in his version, but we also are all part of the ensemble. There's a lot of narration. So I am Christmas past and others.
SPEAKER_04:Yes. But your main role as in the past is Christmas past.
SPEAKER_01:My main role in the present is Christmas Past. And in the past it was past. I've never been in the future. I would love to know how to do that.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, that would be great. So, you know, one of the obvious questions that I think I would have for you and the rest of the company is what's it like doing this show annually? I mean, you do it year after year. It's kind of become a tradition now.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it is. I mean, it's a it's a honestly, it's a super special tradition for me and for my family because we also, my husband is also in the company and also in the production. And this year, my 13-year-old son is also in the production. And I have a 16-year-old son too. So over the years, not only have have I aged from Belle to Mrs. Cratchit to Christmas Past, my kids have aged from Tiny Tim to Peter Cratchit to Turkey Boy. And eventually they age out of the show entirely. I hope I never age out of the show entirely.
SPEAKER_04:But I don't know. It sounds like a family tradition now.
SPEAKER_01:Someday I'll be Scrooge and they will be Christmas past.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Well, how do you stay invested in making it feel new each year? Because I know when you come back to a show again and again, when you tour with a show, when a show has an extended run, it can be a challenge. I mean, you you can get to that point where you're like, this is autopilot.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It's it's really hard. And it it's interesting. I've done two tours previous to being at the alley, and even those didn't touch the amount of Christmas carols that I've done. Christmas Carol is interesting because it's a concentrated period of time. We're sort of really living in it for two months, and then we have 10 months away from it. But I definitely have done a version of Christmas Carol more than I have ever done anything else. I even I was in it as a kid. I played Belinda Cratchit, not at the alley, but yeah, I've done every incarnation of it possible. But it's, you know, it stays fresh. I don't know if it would feel the same way if we did the same summer show every year. It stays fresh because it is Christmas, because it's it's an event. It's a play, but it is it is more than a play. It is a state of mind. It is literally an annual tradition for all of these Houstonians that come. It's an annual tradition for me and my family. So part of it is about the job of an actor, and part of it is about the job of being a mom and a human in this kind of holiday season where it's really exciting to bring that joy to other people. And there are some days that it is hard. I'm not gonna lie. It is, but you can't, if you go on autopilot, that's when you mess up and then you've messed up someone's Christmas. It's like imagine if you gave that to someone as their Christmas gift. And then because I'm on autopilot, I screw it up for you. Like, not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I feel like a Christmas carol, just even apart from the alley, just in the theatrical sphere world, whatever, it's become like what the nutcracker is to ballet. It's it is like omnipresent. I think every actor that is out there has probably done it at least once or twice. I mean, it does really, I mean, if you're a ballet dancer, you were in the nutcracker at some point in your life. It had to happen. What do you think it is about it that just endures and endures and endures?
SPEAKER_01:Well, certainly not a story that ever needs to be stopped. Like, why would we ever stop telling a story of redemption and kindness and philanthropy? And, you know, I mean, it's it's something that we can all relate to. And it's at the same time, it's a great balance between a story that has language and character and storyline and premise that's elevated enough for an adult, but your seven-year-old is also going to learn and gain from it. So it does, it sort of pleases everyone. And even if you're a cynic and you feel like, oh, I've seen it, get you're gonna come and see it and you're gonna get something new out of the story. You really are. Especially this version, it's so great because it has so much of the Dickens language. So even though I'd been in several different versions, there's bits and pieces to this that there's they were new to me when we started working on this version. And they're beautiful. And they're singing. I love the singing. I don't get to sing in the rest of my life, and it's so great. So many a cappello Christmas carols in this. I love it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, we need more musicals at the alley. What's up with that?
SPEAKER_01:I know they don't trust me. They don't trust me. I could do it. I want to do into the woods. I've always wanted to go into the woods.
SPEAKER_04:You and me both. I was killed for that. That would be awesome. One of the things I find funny about Christmas Carol, I went back, I'm part of a book club, and we actually went back and read the original text one year, and I was just like, oh my gosh, why are we doing this? You know, and and so much of it I forgot. And like you said, so much of the language and the messaging and what Dickens probably intended. It's just it's interesting to see kind of the contrast. And it is interesting to see other theaters do it and other iterations of it and year after year, but it's it is a Christmas girl. It's omnipresent.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's like, but it's also like Shakespeare. We have some traditions and tropes in our lives that we take for granted. And then when you go back to the original Dickens or you go back to an original Shakespeare play, you go, oh, that's what this is from. I've always said it, and I never knew that that's what I was quoting, or this idea sprang from this. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Well, let's talk about you a little bit too. Over 100 shows at the alley theater, does anything stand out like your favorites? Can you think of anything that you're like, wow, that was that was it?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. I I mean, I have a lot of like there's definitely no way to narrow it down to one single thing. I have a lot of favorites. I mean, I, because I'm an actor, I love character-driven plays. You know, I I will forever go back to Clyburn Park as being one of my favorite plays ever. As a company, not only is it beautifully written and the source material, like what what his impetus to write that came from, Raising in the Sun, like that I learned something new every night performing that. And then as a company, in one act we're one character, and then it time hops, and in the second act we're a different character and the same company of actors. And I just that was one of my favorites always. I absolutely loved doing Constellations, which was a two-hander between me and Chris, my husband. I'm super looking forward to doing another play with Chris this season. So I guarantee it's going to be one of my favorites, but Chris and I are gonna be doing misery later this season.
SPEAKER_04:Together. You're gonna do that together.
SPEAKER_01:It's demented. It's so exciting.
SPEAKER_04:Elizabeth.
SPEAKER_01:Um, it's really, but it's really fun because we have, I mean, Chris and I, we were together before we were at the alley, and we used to joke that we were in plays all the time where our characters would never meet. And then like those lines have slowly intersected as as the years have gone by. And so like constellations was something about a deep, deep love affair, and that's really fun to explore. But then to do something that's that's horror, that's beyond thriller, it's a horror show that we get to do together. That's gonna be really exciting.
SPEAKER_04:Is it hard though? I mean, because okay, you're married to Chris, and then all of a sudden you have to do a show, and you're only it's a two-hander, like basically. I mean, there's there's a sheriff in there, and there's a sheriff, Christopher Salazar, yeah. Yeah, but it it's basically the two. Is it weird to like work all day on this and then go home, you know, and and you're in the same space? I mean, you're always together. Yeah. I mean, that's most husband and wife don't do that unless they're like uh dental hygienists at a dentist practice or something.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I know. No, you know, we everyone knows that in the theater we work extremely long hours. So when we've got when we're in a tech week and we basically are living at the theater and people are like, I haven't seen my husband, and but I'm like, really? I can't get rid of mine.
SPEAKER_02:Like he's literally down the hall asking me what we're gonna do for dinner.
SPEAKER_01:But no, I we're very lucky. We actually work incredibly well together. And we don't have any hard and fast rules of like when we go home, we turn it off. Like when it's something that we want to keep talking about, we keep talking about it, keep working on it. Constellations was probably one of the first shows that we literally would sit in the living room and run lines. We tend to not like work work at home, but no, we do, we do pretty well. Honestly, he's an amazing actor. I'm really happy when I get to do stuff with him. I just feel really lucky.
SPEAKER_04:Definitely an amazing actor. In fact, he just passed a hundred shows too.
SPEAKER_01:So he was one behind me. Yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, and he got it in the Da Vinci code, which what a surprise. Lucky you, he was the eye candy of that production.
SPEAKER_01:I know. Lucky all of Houston. There's a lot of people.
SPEAKER_04:When I saw that scene, I was like, that's been hiding that whole day. I know, I know.
SPEAKER_01:He'll bring it out when he needs to, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I always wanted to ask you, because I know Rob Melrose, your artistic director, one time he said to me that when he chooses seasons, he actually takes into account the desires of the company. Because obviously we have a company here at the alley, and he knows who his actors are primarily gonna be. So are there any roles that you just be dying to do? Like if I could go to Rob and say, hey, Elizabeth really wants to do this play, what would it be?
SPEAKER_01:Oh my God. Poor Rob, unfortunately, nope everything that I want to do because we don't have now whether he can do he, I'm not even gonna say there is there is definitely a play that I have been dying to do for a couple of years and and we can't get the rights. But he knows that that's one. No, I mean, I feel like I've been really, really lucky. There's nothing on my bucket list right now. I mean, the other thing that's weird is as an actor, if you have a kind of bucket list of what your dream roles are, I keep changing. So that bucket list has to kind of keep changing too. So I need to keep learning and growing because it's a new age range of roles that I'm dying to do. I feel really lucky about the the leads that I've had at the alley and and other theaters in terms of like my Shakespeare chops. I'm very proud of playing Juliet and Rosalind and Viola and Olivia and like I've got a lot of really amazing ladies under my belt. But there's maybe a new genre of Shakespeare characters I need to start thinking about and looking towards. I'd like to try and get away from Houston once a year and get to New York and see what everybody else is doing. And that way it kind of re-wets all my appetite for what's new and exciting and what's happening. The thing that Lori Metcalf is doing on Broadway right now, I'm like, ooh, I need to go and see that because I tend to play a lot of the same roles as her.
SPEAKER_04:So I'm like, didn't she play misery?
SPEAKER_01:She did. She did.
SPEAKER_04:Yes. Okay, there we go.
SPEAKER_01:I played 10 years later, though, because I'm such a baby.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I got you. Well, talking about you being a baby, how did you get into theater? Was it something that you always wanted to do or growing up?
SPEAKER_01:What a leading question. Because the first play I ever did was Christmas Carol.
SPEAKER_04:We go full circle.
SPEAKER_01:You planned this.
SPEAKER_04:I didn't.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the first play I ever did was Christmas Carol, and it was a community theater that performed in the basement of my church, and they had done their first show, which was like was Androcles and the Lion. And I went to go see it. And there was a little boy that would run on that had like a time card, and then he would run off. And I was like, I can do what Kevin's doing. Why can't I do that? And they were like, Well, there's auditions for Christmas Carol coming up. And I was a little nervous. So my dad said he would audition with me. And so my dad was in it, and he played Bob Cratchit, and I played Belinda Cratchit.
SPEAKER_04:Oh. I know. So you made it a family affair back then.
SPEAKER_01:I know.
SPEAKER_04:This is not fair. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:And now my parents have retired in Houston, so they can come and see Christmas Carol with my family.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, scratch that. Cast them in it.
SPEAKER_01:I know, I know, right?
SPEAKER_04:Let's just have your entire family on stage. Your husband, your kids, your parents.
SPEAKER_01:I have a new puppy. The puppy could definitely be in it. The puppy could be Tiny Kim.
SPEAKER_04:Bring them on. Okay, so Christmas Carol, tell me, do you have any like crazy stories? And it can be any production of Christmas Carol, because I know you can file through other stuff. Is there anything funny that's ever happened on Christmas Carol?
SPEAKER_01:I guess it was two years ago. I have the first line of the show. We all come out, we sing a song, and then I have the first line of the show. Marley was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. I have this paralyzing fear that I'm going to start the play by saying Scrooge was dead to begin with. There is no, because where do we go from there if the main character is already dead? And I went out and I was like I was saying, you know, if you go by rote, you can't do that. You have to be present in the moment. We started the play, we sang the song. I looked out at the audience and I said, Marley was. And I thought, did I say Scrooge? Did I say Scrooge? And then I thought, I have my all I can hear is an ocean sound. There's nothing left in my brain. My head has been completely erased. And I just looked at Dylan Godwin with my mouth hanging open, like I don't know where I am. I don't know my name. I don't know what to do. And he just picked up the slack and kept going on. But I thought, how do you forget the first line of the play?
unknown:Like hopefully.
SPEAKER_01:It's a fear thing for sure. I don't know. What's that?
SPEAKER_04:It's a fear thing for sure. Those first lines, first notes, all of that.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:They are the once you get past those, I think something happens.
SPEAKER_03:Yes.
SPEAKER_04:But it's great to know that you still do that after all this time. Because I would imagine that you would be, you know, I I I get scared anytime I get in front of an audience. I mean, there's no way, you know? Yeah. So it's amazing that you do as well.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, that's isn't that part of the reason that we do it? It's exciting. Like sometimes being afraid is not a bad thing. Like being nervous and being hyped up, that doesn't mean it's fat. It just means you're juiced and ready to go.
SPEAKER_04:Absolutely. Well, we're juiced and ready to go to Christmas Carol. November 16th through December 28th at the Alley Theater, of course. It runs about two hours, 15 minutes. Is that right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04:And you've got an intermission in there. Live singing.
SPEAKER_01:And some very fancy hot chocolate and some very beautiful Christmas trees in the lobby that even I take my family up and take pictures in front of because it's so great.
SPEAKER_04:I don't, you know what? I don't think I've tried the hot chocolate. Is it like really fancy?
SPEAKER_01:I think, yeah. I mean, yeah, it's very nice.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, I'm going, I'm there. I'm sold. I'll go up and be Elizabeth told me to try the hot chocolate. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Elizabeth on me. Tell them it's on me.
SPEAKER_04:Elizabeth and Chris, the bunch family, all those people that are on stage, their entire family, the kids, the parents, the dog, and the show. All right, well, awesome. Well, we will be glad to see you in the future playing the ghost of Christmas present as many times as you can. Christmas past. Oh, that's right. You're past. You're not present. This show.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe we'll switch it up for you next year. We'll see.
SPEAKER_04:Deal. Maybe you can come back as Annie Wilkes in a Christmas.
SPEAKER_01:Scrooge, I'm your number one fan.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, that's perfect. Hi, I am Brett Cullum, and today I am joined by Zoe Parkinson. She is going to be starring in Drunk Christmas Carol, which promises a hilarious evening of booze-infused laughs, spirits and spirits, apparently. Unpredictably improvised kind of version of it. So it's Ebenezer Scrooge, but a little bit boozier, I suppose. I've never been to a drunk Shakespeare show. So this will be my first time is coming to this Christmas Carol thing. But Zoe, thank you for joining me and talking all things drunk Shakespeare.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_04:First of all, tell me a little bit about Drunk Shakespeare. I know you are all a company and you're in this thing called the Emerald Theater, which is downtown, and you do these shows all year round. I mean, it's like a season of all of this stuff, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so kind of our thing that we pride ourselves on is doing some classic texts and then putting a fun, boozy spin on them. So normally throughout the year, we are doing Shakespeare productions. We just finished out Romeo and Juliet, and then we moved on to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and now we are about to actually do the world premiere of the drunk Christmas Carol. So kind of our thing is that there's 10 actors and five of us are on stage at one time, and we put on the show, and our drunk actor throws hilarity and chaos into the production.
SPEAKER_04:Now, the premise of this is that one of the cast mates actually does shots before the show. So they are somewhat impaired.
unknown:Yes.
SPEAKER_04:So they are going on and it's gonna be anybody's guess as to what they're gonna do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:One actor takes several shots of straight up liquor at the beginning of the show, and then possibly whatever they find along the way too, and make wreak havoc fun on our little play, and it's so much fun.
SPEAKER_04:It just sounds like a crazy concept, and it's definitely one that a lot of people are talking about. And my circle is talking about, you know, drunk and and doing this kind of thing. I mean, how do you prepare for for that? I mean, does it just like totally throw you when you go on as the drunk person?
SPEAKER_02:You know, it totally can, especially when we're doing the new shows and it's all still kind of new material to us. It can be it could be difficult.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I noticed that you have several companies around the country. I mean, there's like a DC one, which I almost accidentally bought tickets to DC, and then I would have had to have a flight. There's another couple of them. Where help me out. Do you remember the rest? Yes. So you all do the same script, right? I mean, it all kind of comes down as the same script, the necessary.
SPEAKER_02:Normally, yes. I believe that Houston is the only company this year doing Christmas Carol. We all did Drunk Dracula, but I think Houston might be the only Christmas Carol.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, well, great. Well, we get a world premiere from the drug company. So, okay, this thing runs November 19th through December 28th. It's four weeks only. So we get this world premiere. You have to come in and you do several shows a night, which that's gonna be hard.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Because are you the drunk actor at every performance?
SPEAKER_02:Well, we have we have kind of our our old methods for how we select the drunk actor, but you are gonna get a different drunk actor every show. And so it's different every night and every performance. But there are it's something like eight to eight to fifteen shows a week. So you'll be able to catch something good every time.
SPEAKER_04:So who are you playing in a Christmas carol?
SPEAKER_02:I am playing Marley and some other little surprises along the way.
SPEAKER_04:Oh wow. No, you get a juicy role. Jacob Marley's the one to play.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, that's kind of the inciting incident of the whole thing.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, you're the ultimate spirit. You're the one that comes in and kicks everything off. So, how do you feel about going head to head with the alley? Because you know, they've been doing this for a long time.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my God, we love the alley, but I think something that's really great is that they're very different shows. So, you know, Christmas chair at the alley, you're gonna see the classic wonderful tale, and then seeing it at the Emerald Theater, you're gonna see something a little, a little crazier, a little different than what you might have seen in other productions.
SPEAKER_04:You know what I think would be great is if you guys traded cast one night and just like. Like you all go on to the alley set, take shots, and then do it with their set, and they come into your space and do this little small intimate version of yours.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe we'll work on that.
SPEAKER_04:With like 45 people in this in this small space. Because I know they have an army for their Christmas carol. But um well, tell me a little bit about you, Zoe. You how did you get into theater?
SPEAKER_02:So I uh I was originally I grew up a ballet dancer. I was a ballet dancer in Austin, Texas. And then I mean, kind of the classic theater tale that in high school joined on my school's musical, and then kind of the bud bit me from there. So I started getting more into theater, and then I ended up going to after high school, I went to the University of Central Oklahoma for my BFA in acting. Moved back to Austin. I did a little bit of acting work, a little bit of stage management work, and then and then made the it was a small jump, but made the jump to Houston. So I've been here for two years now.
SPEAKER_04:So tell me one of your favorite roles like that you played.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, recently the favorite role that I've played was Juliet and Romeo and Juliet. That was a pretty big one, a pretty big bucket list.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, let me ask you this. I mean, the the the drunk Shakespeare, you actually use the Shakespearean script, right?
SPEAKER_02:We do, yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, so it's it's legit. You are memorizing the stuff.
SPEAKER_02:We are absolutely memorizing the uh the original text. Yep.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, because I had a uh debate with one of your company members about is this big theater with a big T or theater with a little T. And I'm like, well, if you're doing the actual text, it kind of is theater with a big T. I mean, come on.
SPEAKER_02:It's it's Yeah, and I think that's that's one of the things that makes working on productions like this at Drunk Shakespeare so great is that we're all we are all professional actors, we are all pretty serious about the text. We love Shakespeare, we love you know, works of works of literature, and so it kind of makes it that much more fun to throw a wrench into it since we're all so passionate about it already. So it just makes for some really, I don't know, well thought out gags and and really good conversations uh about kind of dramaturgically, you know, making making it silly and dramaturgically sound.
SPEAKER_04:I'm glad to see your company branching out and doing Dracula and Christmas Carol because you know, obviously what are you gonna do? Drunk cymbaline? I mean, come on. You know, there's only so many Shakespeare shows you can do. He has a finite amount. How did you end up in this company? Where did you where did you audition?
SPEAKER_02:It was just like the classic audition process. I found the uh the audition call online and came in and and did a normal audition process.
SPEAKER_04:Did they make you get drunk for it? Oh my gosh. That would be crazy. Yeah, but it was just like a a call. And what did they make you read from the script?
SPEAKER_02:There were there were sides and monologues and and a little bit of improv work and and then that was that was kind of it.
SPEAKER_04:You guys are heavy on improv. I mean, even if you're not the drunk actor, you are improving a lot.
SPEAKER_02:But also, whatever the drunk actor throws our way, we have to be ready to to play with it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. And that's that's tough. I mean, doing that every night and and really owning that script and knowing it well enough to play with it. Good gosh. And I mean, do you sometimes like get into a point where you're like, how am I gonna get back on track?
SPEAKER_02:It can happen. It can happen. I think again, like we're we're so supportive of each other that that we help each other a lot if if things do get kind of a little more derailed than we expected, or if we need help getting back on. So that's that's just one of the wonderful parts of the company is that we're even though you know someone is if someone's totally off, we can help each other a lot. And it's happened to everyone, I think. It's happened to me.
SPEAKER_04:I'm sure. Now you are part of the LGBTQIA plus community, and I wanted to ask you, how do you identify? What letter do you own in this?
SPEAKER_02:I own the letter L. Hey, the L word. Yes, the L word.
SPEAKER_04:So are you the only one in the cast that identifies with that community?
SPEAKER_02:Or yeah, there's a couple, there's a couple LGBT members in the company.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:One recently married, too.
SPEAKER_04:So do you guys throw a little bit of queer comedy in there every once in a while just to like shake it up a little bit?
SPEAKER_02:We have, absolutely.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I mean, I imagine you're gender bidding, you're doing Jacob Marley. So you've got a real chance here. Yeah, it's true. So to really make him gotta come to your bidding. How did you come out? I mean, especially working in the arts, did you feel like it was a challenge to do that in this industry or no?
SPEAKER_02:Uh I came out in high school. And I think that when I I was in a a pretty intensive musical theater trading program at the time. So my big concern was being tokenized. And my biggest concern was because I was also about to go to college and I for musical theater and I switched to acting, but I had concerns that being my identity out loud would prevent me from I I kind of have a, I don't know if you would say ingenue, but I I have a feminine type cast, and and I I was concerned that if my appearance didn't match people's perception of me, that that would be challenging for for getting cast. I held it kind of close to my chest for a little bit, and then and then after college I was like, I don't care.
SPEAKER_04:I'm I am who I am, and I I think that's the journey of college, isn't it? I mean it's right you find yourself, you find your tribe, you you kind of get away from the parents and the all of that, and and you kind of do a cement your identity, if you will. Although I would argue that it still keeps going because good gosh, college for me was a long time ago. I'm still fighting with my identity. I don't know. What do you think about the the community here in Houston? Are you active in it?
SPEAKER_02:I'm as active as I am by happenstance. I have a lot of friends in the LGBT community and and I mean I'm in the theater industry, so it it kind of I'm kind of incidentally involved in a lot of, I guess, community community, yeah. But I would say it's I'm more involved in a kind of a subset of the theater community more, which I mean there's the Venn diagram is is pretty pretty big. So Oh, it's complex.
SPEAKER_04:It seems to get wider and wider. Well, so we are so excited to see you in Drunk Christmas Carol, which runs at the Emerald Theater starting November 19th through December 28th. And after this one, after Christmas Carol, what do you guys go back to?
SPEAKER_02:We are gonna be going back to Verona for Romeo and Juliet.
SPEAKER_04:Okay. So you get to re join that one. Come back to Juliet. Yeah. A famous lesbian figure for sure. Of course. Well, you can make her that way if you if you absolutely, if you made Romeo. It would make more sense in the story. True. I mean, I think we should play with that a little bit.
SPEAKER_02:That's a good point.
SPEAKER_04:I yeah, let's do it. Let's do it as drunken two girls in love. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed getting to know you and learning a little bit more about the Drunk Shakespeare Society.
SPEAKER_00:This radio program, Clear Voices, has existed since the 1970s on KPFT. We have this little crew of folks working every week to produce what's no longer unique because we're almost mainstream now, but we're still an important voice that might not otherwise get heard because it's not on that many places. So KPFT is very important to give voices to those who might not otherwise have voices. So as Glenn always says, you participate by listening, you should also participate by supporting the station. So please go to KPFT.org and make your donation right away.
SPEAKER_04:Hi everyone, this is Brennan Lee. We're gonna be talking about uh shopping for the holidays this week, which we've already started, or at least I have. Have you started shopping? I have started shopping, yes.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_04:I have this strategy because October is a very expensive month for me for several reasons. So I can't do December right up against that. So I shop for people all year round. That's my strategy. I hide things in my closet, which is easy to do, but because my closet's a mess, you will never find anything and you will not realize who it's for. So there you go.
SPEAKER_06:That is true. And yes, that is one thing that you do that I have to say kind of separates you from everybody else I've ever known. That is you get Christmas gifts all year long for different people. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But one of the specific things that we wanted to do was talk about shopping with keeping the community in mind, keeping the LGBTQIA plus community in the forefront, or you know, whatever community you're a part of, but specifically with us, it's that.
SPEAKER_06:Exactly. Exactly. So we heard it said we're no longer live in 1999. You can't just go out there and shop. You really have to make sure that whatever or however you intend to spend your dollars is actually going to support your entire life. Uh, because there are companies that will take your dollars and invest them in other organizations that might uh do what they can to keep you from earning those dollars. So uh that's what the segment is about. How do you spend those dollars uh as smartly as possible? Make sure you're taking care of your whole life when you do that. Um, so how do we do this? So we do a couple of different things. One, uh we look online. Some of the sites that we look at are the HRC, their list, the Advocate, uh, Newsweek, CNN, Forbes, they all have lists of reputable companies that uh support those things that are of interest and importance to us. Now, it's uh kind of funny and interesting that in some cases the companies appear on both their lists, both the lists of supporting our community and and not supporting our community. And so when we got to looking at that more closely, it centered around what exactly are you looking for? Are you looking for specific LGBT community issues, or are you looking for DEI issues? Because they're a little bit different, it's kind of the same, but there are some differences.
SPEAKER_04:Well, and DEI is such a hot topic this year, and it is a little bit separate from the community aspect. So it gets tangled up in there, and that's it makes 2025 a little bit trickier than previous years. But we found some companies that obviously have great reputations, and one of the top ones was Apple, and they have been recognized by the HRC consistently as a great workplace for LGBTQIA plus people, and they have a very diverse workforce and they definitely support us a lot. So they've got a really good reputation, almost almost perfect.
SPEAKER_06:Yep, yep. I agree, and kind of keeping in the technology, uh, Microsoft also has a great reputation by promoting LGBT plus um pride inclusiveness uh through its employee resource group, which I think is called Gleam. Uh, and then they're political donations as well. You've got to look at that also.
SPEAKER_04:Well, one of the things that comes up with political donations, and this is definitely gonna address the next company, but Amazon, they are always really high in HRC corporate equality index. So it means it's a good place to work for our community. And they did take a stance against any books that framed being gay, lesbian, transgender as a mental illness. They absolutely took them off the site and did that. But there is an issue this year that's come up with political donations, and they seem to succumb to political pressure in general. And of course, that has to do with their CEO to a degree and kind of the directions that the winds are blowing politically. So, but in general, Amazon supportive, we use them a lot. I think the big joke around our house is that they show up every day, thanks to me. So true.
SPEAKER_06:That is so true.
SPEAKER_04:Yes. And then, of course, another favorite of mine is uh we'll move to food and beverages, uh, Coca-Cola. They have always been a pretty strong supporter of us. Um, they have a perfect score from the HRC for the CEI. I mean, I who doesn't like Coke products, but although I'm a big fan of Coke Zero now, I don't know why that's when I was a kid, I loved Coca-Cola, just a straight up sugary, high-calorie thing. But now I'm more of a Coke Zero kind of guy, and obviously, because you know, we're on a diet.
SPEAKER_06:But they heard Yeah, that I drink a uh carbonated drink. It's gonna be Coke Diet Coke.
SPEAKER_04:Yes. But they get a perfect score from the HRC for doing uh great things with their workforce, and they donate to organizations like the Trevor Project, which is really sweet and definitely a good sign.
SPEAKER_06:So yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, another one that we could really be thankful for is Starbucks. Uh, who doesn't like their coffee? All of us do. They're they're uh known for their uh providing uh trans supportive insurance policies uh for their employees, among other things. So it's really important that we look at companies that that are kind of broad in how they support our community. They're definitely one of them. So if you want coffee in the morning, Starbucks is the place to go.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, no, I love a good Starbucks. One of my things. And then another very popular brand with our community would be Absolute vodka. They sponsored RuPaul's drag race and have done so for many years. And they they actually named flavors after some of the more popular uh drag queens. So it's very funny. And it seems like absolute is just everywhere we are. So I never feel bad about having absolute in a drink or giving somebody absolute as a gift, like when we go to their house for a party.
SPEAKER_06:Exactly. In fact, one of the a few years ago, they came out with an absolute bottle that had the rainbow painted on it.
SPEAKER_04:And we have one of those in our liquor cabinet. Yes, of course. Well, do you want to talk about finance and services a little bit? Yeah. I know that's always a big thing.
SPEAKER_06:PayPal demonstrated support by canceling an expansion into uh North Carolina after the state passed some discriminatory laws. So good for PayPal, yeah, making their dollars and where they're going to uh put their employees uh known. They're just not going to tolerate that. So good for PayPal, definitely top of the list to use.
SPEAKER_04:Visa actually carries their sense of pride all year long. So they are one of those companies to watch. I was surprised by that. But Visa, pretty good. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06:And we have uh several accounts with Chase Bank. Um don't I can't say the same for Wells Pargo, but they are both on the top of the list as well as far as financial organizations. Yeah, if you're gonna put your dollars somewhere, uh consider one of those.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. A company they don't buy a lot from, but Nike sporting equipment, if you're gonna do tennis shoes or something like that, you cannot go wrong with Nike. They support the LGBTQIA plus community very fiercely. They are very strong supporters of us. So feel good about getting any kind of Nike products. Definitely.
SPEAKER_06:Yep, yep. That's that's 10 shoes I wear. And then some other companies that we found do support our community very, very well. Costco, you know, I go to Costco all the time. That's where I do the big box shopping. Uh, Delta Airlines, we've recently changed our flights from United Airlines to Delta, even though United is kind of at the top of the list as well. Uh Delta supports us, and and I actually like flying their jets better. And then Bed Bath Works as well. I'm sure it's Bath and Body Works. Bath and Body Works, yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, Bath and Body Works is a place that I torture you by making you go all the time. Because the the smell can be a little intense, but I love it. Another thing that I love is eBay. One of my obsessions, I think it's actually kind of both of our obsessions, isn't it?
SPEAKER_06:Both of our obsessions, yes. We buy and sell on eBay, yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yes, well, we can feel good about patronizing eBay, they're they're supportive. And then, of course, we live at Home Depot, I feel like, sometimes. Yes, yep. Yeah, a lot of shopping there. And then car brands, Mercedes.
SPEAKER_06:Who knew? Yeah, yeah. You know, I used to drive Mercedes for years and have recently switched, but yeah, I'm gonna have to give them another look. You know, it's time for me to buy a car. So look at Mercedes Petula. Yeah, and then um going past that, so if you're gonna look at gifts, and and we've kind of changed our gift strategy a little bit. And instead of giving us things that I have to dust or wipe off or clean, we decided that we were going to look at more experiences. So travel, restaurants, events, things that we can do. And surprisingly, MGM Resorts is at the top of the list. So yeah, when we look at our travel plans, uh, that will definitely be something that we look at. And then you will always find me every other Friday afternoon at Nordstrom's. I love shopping at Nordstrom a lot in my closet. Uh, that's where it came from. And then Best Buy. You know, Best Buy is uh based out of Minnesota. So yeah, it's been part of my shopping experience for a long time.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I was really surprised to see Tiffany's on the list. The jeweler, Breakfast at Tiffany's, of course. I mean, I love that movie, but and if anybody got me anything at Tiffany's, I would be very ecstatic because obviously a little bit pricey, but uh they're there. And of course, we wanted to mention you already kind of went over the airlines, but United Airlines, they're good. Yep. They support us. And don't feel good about that. Yeah, if you're going beauty products, cologne perfume, Ulta is the way to go for sure. But you know, we we're looking at this and we're thinking, oh my gosh, we're gonna do an entire episode on these big companies and corporations. But I wanted to kind of also talk about our local businesses. So I think you can kick us off with that. I mean, let's let's talk about who we do here.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, so we are based in Houston, Texas. So, and there are some local uh privately owned companies that are very supportive and/or LGBT plus owned. I guess so. The first one that we like to shop at, we go window shopping all the time, is eclectic home in the heights. Great products, always very interesting design. Uh, so yeah, eclectic home.
SPEAKER_04:I think they make fun of us because they say you're the guys with the lists. Because we go in there so much and we always have the checklist. So and they know it. They see us and they're like, hey, you're the ones with the list. So there you go. Um, and of course, there's next door to eclectic home, there's antiques on 19th Street, which is a guy that sells more of the antiques. Like eclectic home is more new stuff, but if you're looking for kind of antiques, the store next door, antiques on 18th Street, and we bump into him at estate sales all the time. So we kind of know where he gets some of his stuff. Yeah, yeah. He's always got great stuff though.
SPEAKER_06:Yep, yep. And right in there is AG Antiques as well. So both kind of resale markets. Uh we've known people that have had uh storefronts in there uh and selling their wares, both great places to shop.
SPEAKER_04:When I did sale advertising for magazines and newspapers that were LGBTQIA plus publications, Bliss, which is also on 19th Street, he would always support us. And it's a gay-owned business and has just the coolest stuff. I mean, just really fun. So I definitely like Bliss on 19th Street. We hang out on 19th Street a lot. You're gonna hear, you're gonna figure that out.
SPEAKER_06:It's a nice little walking section with a bunch of different shops. And yeah, for window shopping and shopping for your Christmas list, uh, it's a great place. All these are great places to shop. Another one that I like, as you well know, is Silverlust. It's not on 19th Street, it's actually in Matros, which is where we live. But yeah, no, they have a great selection of sterling silver, mostly there is some gold items in there, but very creative jewelry and they do jewelry repair as well, which we were surprised and happy to find out.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Well, and then there's also going back to 19th Street, vinyl Edge. I I can't believe that we almost forgot vinyl edge. Chuck Roast owns vinyl edge. I love him, he's been very supportive of the community, and he's a great guy. And I've bought my records from him ever since I was a teenager, which is crazy when I think about that. I think a lot of my records come from there. So I don't know. And he's still going, which is great. Okay. So yeah, we we've got to address the elephant in the room. There are some bad lists. We weren't gonna do a very extensive on this, but we'll mention three just to get it out there.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, when you know, I don't normally like to focus on the negative that much, but uh, yeah, there is um a couple of companies that we will talk about specifically. One everybody knows, it's been for quite a long time, and that's Chick-fil-A. I haven't had one of their sandwiches in in I can't tell you how long. Um so yeah, stay away from them. Make sure that your dollars are spent wisely and and not there.
SPEAKER_04:I don't understand the popularity of them because I remember that there was a food court in the mall where I used to work when I was younger, and you would only go to Chick-fil-A when the lines for everything else was too long. Uh, and this was way back in the 80s or something. So I mean it was just very funny that they have risen to this thing and they've done it on the backs of their conservative stance and being very much a company that is seen as promoting conservative values. So even though they may change and do some things to kind of help out, you know. Yeah, I think that they're still kind of a bad thing.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, if somebody opposes my point of view, I'm okay with that. But when they take action to limit my rights or uh my freedoms, then that's where we're gonna separate. And that's kind of what Chick-fil-A does. They actually take actions that are whose purpose is to limit my rights. And that it's that's just not right by any measure. Well, you have to look at like what they are.
SPEAKER_04:And like we said, it's is you have to look at are they just generally anti-gay? And I would say generally, yes. Not a fan of their stance on our community. There's one dance company that tours around and seems to be everywhere, Xin Yun. They are very anti-gay. I I don't think that a lot of people know that because it's uh performing arts company, you would think, dancers and all of that, but they got a strong, strong political stance against us. So I'm not a big fan. I mean, I'm a theater critic and I go see everything, but you won't catch me at uh those performances just because I know that they are politically kind of working against us a little bit.
SPEAKER_06:I'm sorry to hear that and was surprised to hear that.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_06:So and then the Salvation Army. Yeah, yeah. That another one, well known. Yeah, they are uh opposed to uh marriages between two people of the same gender. Um, yeah, I mean, what business is it of theirs, whether uh we are married or not, and and how does that impact anything that they do? But so unfortunately they've made that decision, and and for that reason, um they certainly won't get any of my support.
SPEAKER_04:Well, you know what I do is uh anytime that I want to give over the holidays to a charity, of course, there is KPFT, the radio station, you can donate to them, very supportive of our community, because obviously queer voices and all of that. But you know, I give to the Trevor Project, or I give to Cindy Lauper's charity, or I give to like, you know, local charities that I know are good and will make a difference in our own community. You know, I just skip the Salvation Army when they ring the bells. I just kind of go, okay, it's Christmas. I get it. Not a great political stance. So one of the things that we noticed this year in 2025, and and what makes this hard this year is that the political climate has made some people kind of pull back maybe from their allyship, or actually some companies are even doing better. So we we thought we'd talk about folks in the middle and talk about like the ones that we're kind of torn on this year, maybe a little bit.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And how sad is that? I mean, they're not bad, but they've made decisions that that kind of shine the light on them in the wrong light. And one in particular is Target. Like you and I have supported Target for a long time. We used to make regular runs there for those big box items. And one of the things that we always did was whatever we could purchase that they put out there specific to our community, to the um LGBT plus community, we purchased. So the t-shirts and and all that stuff that they had, uh the nutcrackers that they've had for many years. We have those not only in our collection, but we've given them as gifts as well. Um and I don't know that they're gonna produce one in 2025, which they're their right to make that decision and what they're gonna produce and how they're gonna uh sell their products, et cetera. I get that. Uh however, unfortunately, it has shined a negative light on them from our community perspective. And uh for us, you and I, um, I have trouble supporting them right now. Uh they didn't really have to do that.
SPEAKER_04:You know, I I still like a good target run every once in a while. It's not not as emphatic about it as I used to be. I think that they have taken a sensible approach, but it's something that makes them kind of feel like they're not as proud as they used to be. And I think that's the thing that makes me kind of go, eh. But I I'm not against them. I think that they do support us in general, and I think they still do it. They just do it in a quieter way, and they seem to be a little bit more vocal. But again, we're talking about the shift in the culture where it's um we're in a hard place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I totally agree. But conversely, which I thought was weird, is Walmart has actually improved its scores with the HRC. They are actually a good place for LGBTQIA plus people to work. And they were seen as kind of the evil empire for a long time and very anti-R community, but they have kind of course corrected and started doing things more. So it's this weird state of now where I feel like Walmart and Target are gonna meet in the middle somehow and be equal. Who knew? 2020. What a weird year. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it has been absolutely. But we just wanted to give you some ideas about who was on our lists, the naughty and nice list. Let's call it that. Because they define us. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah. So the the whole point of this one is to to kind of choose where you spend your dollars wisely, make sure it supports your entire life. Uh, and then uh the second is to do your research. Go out there and don't take our word for it. Go out and look on your own and see what's out there because people are evolving all the time. Corporations are evolving all the time.
SPEAKER_04:Well, and it's interesting because there is this ebb and flow. And I think that you will notice that anytime you do research. I know that in preparing for this segment, I was very frustrated at the fact that some would be on the good list and then they would appear on the bad list. And I was like, what is this? I mean, and it's so complex now because we live in a world where it's lopsided, let's face it. And it's it's hard for people to take a stand. So I really want to appreciate the ones that do. Definitely look for the people that take a stand and that support us and that are on our side, even when it doesn't profit them. Because right now it's very easy to pull back, I think. And that's yeah, that's the hard part.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, yeah, I agree. So one last thing. So we've mentioned a lot of companies, both good and bad, and those in the middle on this uh podcast. So that you don't have to re-watch this or listen to it over and over and over again. We're gonna put the list of these companies that we've mentioned in the comment section of this podcast. So go look for it there. Uh and keep in mind, this is what we found as of today. People companies are evolving all the time. So yeah, uh, you should be good for the holiday season this year, but next year we might have to do this again.
SPEAKER_04:So you can look for this list on BuzzSprout. Uh, we're hosted by Buzz Sprout. Both Queer Voices and Prairie Rainbow Review are on Buzz Sprout. So you can see that. And I will put in the comments or whatever in the show notes this list so that you can see it on both uh platforms. Perfect. All right. Well, have a happy holiday, happy shopping. I know it's time for us to get serious about it.
SPEAKER_06:Yep, my favorite thing to do is shop. So, yes, this is the season for it.
SPEAKER_04:If you see us running up and down 19th Street with our list at eclectic home, just wave. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You'll know we're not done yet. Yes. And if you don't live in Houston, find the places that locally support your community. I I think that's important too. So I think so too. All right. Well, happy holidays, happy shopping. Happy holidays, everyone. Thank you for listening to Queer Voices. This show is executive produced by Brian Lavinka, Deborah Moncrief Bell, Davis Mendoza DeRuzman, and Brett Cullum are producers. And Joel Tatum, Jacob Newsome, Arlie Ingalls, and Ethan Michelle Gantz are contributors. Please remember that KPFT and Queer Voices are listener-funded radio. So chip in if you can at KPFT.org.
SPEAKER_08:This has been Queer Voices, heard on KPFT Houston, and as a podcast available from several podcasting sources. Check our webpage queervoices.org for more information.
SPEAKER_07:Some of the material in this program has been edited to improve clarity and runtime. This program does not endorse any political views or animal species.
SPEAKER_08:For queer voices, I'm glad to hold it.
