July 29th - MEAN GIRLS, Elderly Financial Scams, and XANADU! - Episode

It's a mean girl roller disco for old folks on Queer Voices this week! Brett Cullum talks to Kathryn Jacobson about playing Regina George at Queensbury Theatre starting up in August. R. Lee Ingalls talks to financial expert Tim Stokes about fraudsters targeting the elderly, and what we can do to protect them. And finally, Logan Vaden talks to Brett about resurrecting XANADU just in time for the Pride Parade! 

MEAN GIRLS: 

https://www.queensburytheatre.org/meangirls

XANADU:  

https://matchouston.org/events/2026/xanadu

Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here.  Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond.  Check out our socials at:

https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ and
https://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/

Transcript

Welcome To Queer Voices

Brett 0:02

You are listening to Queer Voices, a radio show on KPFT Houston, as well as a podcast available after it airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. I am your host this evening, Brett Cullum. In this episode, we have actress Catherine Jacobson talking about Mean Girls and its regional debut in Houston starting August 6th and running through August 16th at the Queensbury Theater, out in Town and Country Village. Then, Lee Ingalls talks to financial industry expert Tim Stokes about money scams aimed at the elderly. Finally, I get to talk with Logan Baden about the Garden Theater's musical version of Sanadu, which opens at the match on August 14th and runs through August 30th. It's a Mean Girls Roller Disco summer. It's all gonna be hotter than a pride parade in August. Queer Voices starts now.

Regina George Meets Houston

Brett 0:59

Hi, this is Brett Cullum, and today I am with Catherine Jacobson. She is in Queensbury Theaters production of Mean Girls, and she's going to be playing Regina George. So this is gonna happen August 6th through the 16th. August 13th is their plastics pride night. So welcome, Catherine.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Thank you so much for having me. I am literally so excited. I'm thrilled.

Brett 1:23

Yes, no, obviously you've got one of the choice roles. Tell me a little bit about your character and what Mean Girls is about.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Mean Girls is based off of the, I want to say 2004. I might be incorrect there, but uh based off the movie with uh Rachel McAdams, who played Regina George, and Lindsay Lohan, who played Katie Heron. Um yeah, it follows Katie's story. She essentially is coming from to a high school in the United States. She gets wrapped in with uh the plastics, who consists of Regina and her two friends, Gretchen and Karen. And yeah, it's it's a coming-of-age story. It's kind of her story and how uh she kind of transitions herself into a mean girl and then kind of finds herself again at the end. But yeah, it's super fun. It's uh the musical uh came out just a few years ago. So I believe this is the regional premiere of the musical version in Houston.

Brett 2:12

It is, absolutely. Well, the West End version, I think.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Brett 2:15

There's several variations. It's so technically like weird.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

I actually wasn't aware of um until I got my script and I was like, oh, this is this is different, and oh, that's not in, but this is in. So, but yeah, we're doing we're doing that version and it's it's thrilling. We're excited.

Brett 2:28

Yeah, no, and oh my god, you're playing one of the greatest villains of musical theater. And obviously, you have a lot of experience with this because I was peeping your biography and you've done Ursula and The Little Mermaid, and you've done The Wicked Witch and The Wizard of Oz, so and Maleficent. I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

So I kind of, yeah, it it's funny. Actually, I kind of stumbled into like the villain career. Actually, when I I lived in Houston about, oh god, I'm gonna age myself, but back in I want to say 2016, I booked Heather Chandler, and Heather's the musical at Tuts. And so that was my first like real, like main villain. And I was, you know, from that moment on, I was like, oh, this is what I this is what I love to do. It's just it's so different than my, especially now, which we can kind of get into, but my day-to-day. So it's definitely like a release for me. So I yeah, I've played at a villain or 15 in my time.

Brett 3:22

You still my favorite part, Heather Chandler.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, that's actually originally I went into my audition kind of thinking more uh Veronica, but I remember at the time going my best friend after the first rehearsal um playing Heather Chandler, and I was like, there's no other part in the show that I want to be. This is the role of this show. It is so iconic and fun. Um, yeah, definitely unlock something for me as far as uh what I like to do with theater.

Brett 3:47

So you know, what is the biggest challenge about doing Mean Girls? Uh what's the especially when you've got this big juicy part?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Yeah, um very logistically, uh Regina is probably one of the harder vocal tracks that I've I've I've been dealt. So just making sure as an actor, performer, um, you know, my my instrument is is part of my body. So just kind of preparing physically. Um, I've been really, really uh diligent with both my this it's so lame, but my workouts, my supplement regime, my hydration, just making sure that, you know, I can give a consistent performance every night and do that while also in uh stilettos. That's gonna be thrilling and fun. Um but yeah, I think that that's a challenge, but also I think that to be very simple about it, it's very easy to be mean, I think. But finding the humor of the the the meanness and also the humanity can be kind of tricky. Um so I'm looking forward to getting started in rehearsals and kind of diving

Playing Villains With Humor

SPEAKER_00 4:47

into that.

Brett 4:47

You know what? Take me back to little Catherine. Before you were a big mean girl and before you were this great stage villain, you know, how did you end up in acting? What what what spark happened for you?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah, so I come from a pretty musical family. Um, so I always knew from a pretty early age that I could sing. I uh from about, I don't know, sixth grade on, I told everyone I'm I'm like the next Kelly Clarkson. Um she was like 15 minutes from my hometown, so idol, American Idol, American Idol, yes. But uh my freshman year of high school, one of a friend of mine in choir uh was like, you need to audition for the musical. You have a good theater voice. And at the time I had no idea what that meant. Uh, but I showed up and I auditioned for The Goodbye Girl, uh, which is a Bernadette Peters Martin short musical from 1993. Um, and I ended up getting cast as the Bernadette Peters part, which is like a 35-year-old, which is crazy because I was 14, but that's high school theater for you. 30 minutes, an hour of doing it, I was like, this is the coolest thing I have ever done. And I want to do it forever. So that's kind of how I got my start. Um, and I always tell that story, and I remember, and it's just it's tragic now, but I remember going home and listening to the audition material and listening to Bernadette Peter's voice end as a pop girly being like, I can't stand this woman on the CD, which now is a musical theater girl, I am like, how dare I? Bernadette Peters is a legend, she is perfect, never change. So yeah, that's how I got my start, and it's been that way ever since.

Brett 6:17

She really is an icon. It's definitely musical theater royalty.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

And I'm sure it's an enticing amount, the amount of like YouTube videos I've watched of her, um, because she is just she's she's a queen.

Brett 6:28

So now you started like kind of doing a lot of stuff here, like with Tuts and all of that, but you moved on us. You went to Dallas.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

So yeah, I went to Samuson State University in Huntsville. I didn't get utilized a lot in my program, so I took a ton of internships um at you know Main Street theater stages and then eventually Tuts. So kind of started working professionally regionally right out of school and was there for a few years. I got a lot of incredible opportunities, and then I did what, you know, any musical theater girl in her early 20s does, and I moved up to actually to New York first. Quite frankly, I am so glad I went. I learned so much, but it was not for me. The not only am I like a sunshine kind of gal, like the cold was brutal, but just like the grind and the everyday of auditioning and nanning and all these things that, you know, I don't necessarily love doing. I so I decided my family is from DFW. So I figured, you know, I can perform there. Um, and I'm also a mom. So I at the time met my husband up in New York and we decided we wanted to kind of start a family. So I thought kind of Hannah Montana, best of both worlds, I can perform and I can be a mom. And uh DFW is definitely the place that I wanted to do that.

Brett 7:37

Well, that's amazing. What is the theater scene like there as opposed to Houston? Is there a big difference?

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Um, you know, I feel, you know, so there is, I feel like, in my opinion, there is like the Fort Worth scene and then there's the Dallas scene, and they're a little different. Um, and I'm I don't know if I'll get in trouble for saying this, but Fort Worth audiences are definitely on the more conservative side side of things. And then your Dallas audiences, you can get away with a little bit more uh juicy or risque theater. So that's definitely there I feel there's a separation. Whereas Houston is, you know, it's one big at least when I was there, it's it's it's one big unit kind of thing. I don't feel like there's a huge separation of any kind um within the theater scene. But as far as opportunity goes, I feel like they both have great regional houses. Um, theaters are doing cool works, and I'm super fortunate for that.

Brett 8:26

Yeah. Yeah. Well, certainly Houston's got a lot of theater. We are so glad to have you coming in and visiting because I think the last time you were at uh Queensbury was like 2018.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Yeah, this was like I was still living in New York. Um I auditioned for that production,

From Texas To New York

SPEAKER_00 8:41

it was the production Unlocked. I product I auditioned for the writers and the creative team up in New York and then came down for it. So yeah, since then I am I've moved back to Dallas. I got married, I had two kids. So a lot has happened since I moved away and or I not moved away, but we're last worked in Houston. So it it's gonna be kind of exciting and fresh to kind of come back and work with some familiar faces and also like a a lot of brand new people to me.

Brett 9:08

Do you have any favorite roles? I mean, I just looking through everything.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah, I mean, I have I've got to play some really cool roles. I mean, obviously, I I am gonna say Heather Chandler. I mean, that like I said, kind of unlocked the like villain track that I've I've so luckily got to do in my career. I also played this is a kind of a strange there is a musical called The Toxic Avenger. It's based off an 80s, yes, an 80s like cult following movie. And I got to play her name is Sarah, and she is a a blind, very sexy librarian uh figure. Um, and it is like pure cam. And it was maybe the most fun I've ever had on stage. It's a five-person musical, so it's just pure chaos. And we're singing like my track was very pop ra, uh, which is my favorite genre to sing. So it was it was a blast. So I think that's probably the most fun I've had on stage. So I'd probably go with that.

Brett 9:59

I've seen the show. So funny. They did it at the alley.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

So that was cool.

Brett 10:04

Yeah. And it was definitely a little different. Yes, no, I love it. And I also noticed you did Bonnie and Clyde as well. And that's another kind of different outside of the normal Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

I uh I was fortunate. That was my first, and that was my first like big equity contract out of school. I got to do that alongside Robbie Hager, who was like in the original Spring Awakening. He was my Clyde, he was just like the most fabulous human, and it's just like your ideal first like big role out of school, like that was it. And yeah, I got to sing like Frank Wildhorn. He actually came to one of our like dress rehearsals and got to meet him, which was really cool. So yeah, it was it was it was quite the uh the introduction to professional theater.

Brett 10:45

Well, one of the things I noticed about this Queensbury cast, speaking of uh people, and we kind of alluded to this, you're getting to see some old faces, some new faces. This cast is stacked.

SPEAKER_04 10:55

Yeah.

Brett 10:56

When I look at the list,

A Stacked Cast And Pride Night

Brett 10:57

I was like, who? They got who?

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah.

Brett 10:59

So tell me a little bit about the cast and who all's in this thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Yeah. Um, my actually my connection into kind of finding out about mean girls, one of my dear, dear, like closest, oldest friends, uh Marco Camacho, who is like the artistic director there as well, he kind of reached out and uh was kind of like, you know, are you you know, are you would you be interested? Would this be feasible? I know you're a mom, you know, could you maybe come for a few weeks? So he definitely was like my my my first you know contact about mean girls. Um and he and I have done many, many, many shows together. So this is the first time we've worked together in uh God, yeah, since maybe 20, 2019. Um, and then I also like I Holland Vavra's in it. She and I did Xana do and some touch shows way back in the day. Reese Zimmerman is playing um Janice and oh my god, talk about just like killer stage presence, incredible voice. And that's I mean, that's just like it's just a handful of them. Um I've seen um Saatchi, I've never worked with her, but I've seen I saw her do uh The Wizard of Oz at Queensbury, not this last summer, but the summer before, I believe. And she's fantastic. I say Karen, she's playing Gretchen. Um but yeah, just just like all-star cast.

Brett 12:05

No, they're all it's it's like a who's who. I mean, seriously. Yeah. Saatchi won the award for like best actress from Broadway World this past year, which is just incredible in anything.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Loved her as Dorothy and in Wizard of All. I mean, just like holy moly, the what a voice, like what stage present. It was just, yeah, I'm super sad.

Brett 12:24

And then Holland is doing her own cabaret right now at stages. So I mean, it's just wild. I mean, the level of people that are coming together for this is just kind of epic. I mean, Queensbury's really pulling it out. I'm like, what? How did you get all these people to have you, Katherine Jacobson, coming back to Houston and doing this? We're so excited. Mean girls, you are gonna be the meanest girl, Regina George, August 6th through the 16th. Side note, August 13th is their plastics pride night. We keep plugging that. But I'm so excited to see you back because I think it's been a minute, I think. But it's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

It's gonna be so fun. I literally can't wait. And the dance ensemble actually is meeting this week to put Korea. And they look, I just want to shout them out. I've been looking getting the rehearsal footage. They look so great. I am so excited that this cast is gonna just dance their asses off, and I just can't wait for Houston to see it.

Brett 13:14

Well, it's a perfect place to do it. Thank you.

Elder Scams By The Numbers

SPEAKER_03 13:51

Um, but it's also one of the least reported. So, yeah, Tim, tell us a little bit about what your experience in that is.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Thanks for having me on, Lee. Your first point is such a great one. It is one of the least reported crimes that we have. It's only about one in 24 cases end up ever being reported to authorities. And so I think that's why it's so important for us to talk about this today and discuss what people should be on the lookout for. We have an aging population, people are living longer. So there are a lot of things that we need to uh to be mindful of when we start thinking about growing older, and and that's for everybody, but our community faces some really unique challenges and specific vulnerabilities. So if it's okay, I'd like to start out with some some pretty alarming statistics that I was able to find while preparing for this podcast. One of the biggest ones was this is actually an agency that I used to work for, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. I was there for a couple of years. And in 2024, they did a study, they analyzed data from reporting institutions, meaning banks. And in one year, banks reported $27 billion, billion with a B, in suspicious elder financial exploitation activity. And that is an alarming number when you think about it. That is that's a massive number that can affect people who are already living on fixed incomes and may not have a whole lot of uh money or assets. Again, like you said, underreported. So one in 24 cases goes reported, uh, so a lot unreported there. In Canada, they recently did a study where uh they found that the exploitation rate for lesbian and bisexual women was 5.2% compared to their heterosexual peers. So nearly five times as likely. And then, you know, it's it's also as we get older, we have about 45% of LGBT seniors reporting that they feel socially isolated. And that number jumps up even more for our transgender community uh to around 60%, feeling that they are experiencing severe social isolation, which opens us up to a whole host of different types of scams, which we can get into today.

SPEAKER_03 15:56

Right, right. Well, we have always been susceptible in many areas, including this one. So those, yeah, those stats are unnerving. What are some of the types of abuses or scams that you're seeing or familiar

Familiar Faces And Romance Scams

SPEAKER_03 16:08

with?

SPEAKER_01 16:08

There are a lot of scams. There are a lot of times when people think of these scams, they think of financial abuse being, you know, the quintessential Nigerian prince, right, who wants to give you money, IRS scams, grandparent scams, right? Uh there are a lot of things like that. But in alder financial exploitation, a lot of times cases involve someone who knows the victim. So that can be a caregiver using their debit card, a relative do air quotes on the radio, like borrowing money, right? Someone coercing changes to a will or to documentation, uh, unauthorized online banking access, pressure to add a joint owner to an account, right? These are these are financial exploitation activities that do happen. And it's unfortunate that it is oftentimes from someone that the victim knows. Uh in our community, it tends to be someone as, you know, maybe as a sibling usually or uh a caregiver, versus in the heterosexual community, it tends to be uh usually a child or grandchild of the uh the victim. Some of the other modern scams that we're seeing are the AI voice cloning, right? That we I think we spoke about AI before. Fraudsters can use this technology to sound like grandson. The biggest one I see for our community are the romance scams. Because if you go back to the loneliness factor, or you got almost half of a population of seniors feeling socially isolated, when someone reaches out to you and they befriend you and they convince you that they're your friend, or they convince you that they can be a great romantic love interest, but only if you send me money, that's easy for someone lonely to fall for. And I have to tell you, I've I've heard these fraudsters speak, I've I've listened to them. Lee, these these people are very, very good at their job. Fraud is their job, it's what they do. So even when people think, oh, I would never fall for that, I'm here to tell you that you'd be surprised at how how good these scammers are at separating people from their money.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

Yeah, yeah. Well, and you know, absolutely, I would uh agree with that. In fact, my dad shared a story with a very close friend of my grandparents that lived next door to them, and he was a victim of that. But it was just like you said, he was older, he was lonely, his uh boyfriend of many, many years had passed away, and then a younger person came in uh and took him for everything. He ended up going into a nursing home penniless and passing away there. So it was a very sad story. In fact, that was his concern for me before I got married. So it, you know, even though we're talking about it today, there's there are different types of abuse that go on in that arena. It's been around for uh quite a long time.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

It has been around a long time. And like I said, about AI, it's making it a lot easier for the bad guys to do this, and it's making them a lot better. They're a lot more convincing than they used to be. So uh yeah, so we all have to be very mindful of what information we're sharing and and who we're sharing it with. That's it's very important right now for us to keep our guards up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:59

Yeah. And from an industry perspective, what do they know about potential targets and how do they look for that in their customer base or the community

How Banks Detect Exploitation

SPEAKER_03 19:09

base?

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah, I mean, this is this is a great question and something that, you know, with what I given what I do for a living, this is something I know a good deal about because and and I'm happy to say that most financial institutions, many financial institutions, have a lot of safeguards in place to detect this type of activity. And there are also reporting mechanisms in place for us to report this type of activity to law enforcement. So that study I mentioned earlier with uh FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, that came from banks reporting data saying, hey, we've had an elderly customer here who uh was the victim of a scam, and they report that. So that data is gathered. Banks and credit unions, they we train employees how to recognize these things. So we train our frontline employees to recognize when there is the potential for elder financial abuse. Oftentimes, if you've got someone sitting right in front of you, you can see it happening. You can oftentimes hear someone being coached on the phone. These are things we train our employees to listen for and to be mindful of. And then on the backside of that, if we take the human factor out, we look for things like unusual withdrawals and sudden wire activity, spending patterns. I know that we can get into a debate about invasion of privacy and things like that, but some of this data that we do have and we obtain really does allow us to help detect and prevent some of this fraud and this exploitation from occurring. While it's it's nothing's perfect, right? I will say the financial industry, financial institutions have done an amazing job of trying to keep up with this. Uh, but it's it's a you know, it's a race, you know, between us and the bad guys. So uh, but but I think that generally speaking, our industry does a really good job of trying to prevent and detect this type of abuse. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

No, and I know that to be true as well. Uh and again, from personal experience. So once this happens then, so can you talk a little bit about the emotional impact then to those people that have fallen victim to it?

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Well, yeah, I mean, so you're dealing with people who already are feeling socially isolated, right? They don't have a lot of people they can talk to. So then when they're a victim of a scam, it just makes it so much worse, right? They they they don't have anyone that they feel like they can talk to about the scam, or they feel like if they do, they're gonna be judged or mocked or made to feel silly because they were victimized. And so the psychological impact is horrific for people in our community because you're just compounding this bad thing happening to someone who's already feeling a little bit isolated or maybe even depressed. So it's it takes a huge emotional toll. It's really sad when we think about so many of us have our chosen family and our people and our friends that we can rely on. And unfortunately, as we grow older, if we don't have that standard family or that traditional family, and we do have our chosen family, we all maybe, you know, we're all aging together for you know the most part. So we may lose. Some of those people. And then the people we do retain in our chosen family may get pushed out by someone's actual family.

The Shame And Emotional Toll

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Or I don't want to say actual, that sounds bad. I'll say someone's true relatives or related by blood, right? Those people can push out chosen family, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

Yeah. And how often do you see people preparing for that?

Power In Paperwork And Planning

SPEAKER_03 22:17

So, and you're right. It's an excellent point. For our community, we have a little bit of a difference in that the people that we see as our family, those that we trust most, typically are not related by blood. They're friends or family that came in through the friend portal. But but a family member, a blood family member can't come in then and just wipe all that away and take over. So how would you suggest someone in our community address that before they actually have to implement it?

SPEAKER_01 22:43

So I think it's it's really important to remember that the law doesn't measure love, it measures legal authority. So there is power in paperwork. I will preface this by saying I'm not an attorney and I can't give legal advice. I would encourage listeners to seek out professional legal advice, but there are documents like durable powers of attorney and there are wills and there are other things, medical powers of attorney that we can put into place that can offer us some protection. We can also make sure that uh we identify or designate individuals as payable on debt beneficiaries for accounts. And the topic of financial elder abuse, it's it's I think the paperwork of why we're while we're living is what's more important, right? For example, if we become incapacitated, we can't uh make decisions for ourselves. And someone who we cut out of our life 30 years ago shares 2% DNA with us and they can come in and make decisions about things happening in our life. There have been stories of of someone living at home for many, many years getting kicked out because they had no legal rights. So, you know, and then the the that 2% relative shows up and throws them out, right? So these are heartbreaking things. And I think that I would really encourage the listeners to do whatever they can to seek out, you know, helpful advice, legal advice, guidance on ways to protect themselves. I know that not everyone has the financial means to maybe go to an attorney directly, but I would encourage people to look. There are resources out there for us, for our community, and people who can answer questions and help do those things. So to put, again, power and paperwork, to put that those things in place to help protect us as we get older.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

Yeah, good advice. Good advice. Thank you. You made an excellent point about the POD or pay on debt and make sure that you have someone on all of your financial accounts so that whoever you trust with your estate after you're gone has access to the money to be able to actually do what you want them to do. But let me ask you a question that is related to that, but maybe not so much. So my husband and I have protected each other, and one of the ways that we've done that, if we've taken all of our accounts, our financial accounts, and we're both listed on there. We both own them jointly. And I'm thinking that that would take the place of a POD. Is that correct or no?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Absolutely. Yeah. So I mean you have uh these accounts are, I would imagine they're styled as joint accounts with right of survivorship, which is just a typical account styling for when there are multiple people on an account. And yeah, so whoever is the living partner is the owner of those funds. They there's nothing that they need to do. There's no paperwork to file. There's there's nothing that they need to, there's no steps they need to take to have access to those funds. Those funds are theirs, whether the other party is living or not. So yeah, those accounts styled in that way are perfect. You know, the payable on death beneficiary accounts become really valuable when you know you don't want your money and your assets tied up in probate and wills and things like that. Having that designee, that beneficiary on those accounts really kind of helps streamline the process of your beneficiaries obtaining the funds that they need to obtain. But the the account styling that you just mentioned is, you know, the go-to and uh the best, in my opinion, my opinion, the best way to style your accounts to make sure that your loved ones have access to it. But ironically, that same thing can be used in financial exploitation of elders if I'm able to, if I'm a you know, a fraudster and I'm able to convince my elder relative to take me down to the bank and add me as a signatory to the account, and I'm gonna drain the account or use the money for nefarious purposes. We have to be careful with who we have as joint account owners and make sure that they are people that we trust because they do have access to all our money.

SPEAKER_03 26:28

Yes, absolutely. And of course, my husband is somebody that I do trust. A little off topic there. But yeah, when you mentioned that, I thought, well, let me ask about this and and see what what your thoughts on that are. So I pre I appreciate that. Thank you. So are there additional steps that could be taken to prevent this? I know that we both have uh friends that are getting up there in age and are part of the target group for those people that would choose to target them. So is there anything that's for someone like us that we could look for or do in addition to what we've talked about?

SPEAKER_01 26:58

So I think that it's just a matter of like things like this, right? These podcasts and things that we talk about are so important because it gets the information out there. You know, I'm I'm very hopeful that the listeners will remember that shocking statistic at the beginning of $27 billion, right? And understand how big of an issue this is. And then that will sort of be something that they

Prevention Through Empathy And Reporting

SPEAKER_01 27:18

keep in mind or they think about as they're managing their finances or helping others manage their finances. Maybe it's their chosen family or maybe it's their parents, understanding that when people are scammed, they're going to be embarrassed. No one wants to be taken advantage of and made to look like a fool. It's also important to make sure that we have empathy for that person. If they do get scammed, it's not, oh my gosh, how could you fall for that? It's, I'm really sorry this happened to you. Let me help you fix it, right? So, because again, this is such an underreported crime that we can do anytime to help people understand it's okay to go forward and report this is absolutely critical. So I think it's it's just a matter of being aware. It's a matter of being empathetic, it's a matter of helping people understand the dangers out there, you know, matter of helping people realize that uh, you know, AI is this real thing. And while it's a wonderful thing, the last time we spoke about it, I said it's a sword and a shield, right? It can be used both ways. They're just things that we have to be aware of and mindful of. And I think that that's really that's those are things that we can do as we start thinking about uh taking care of people. I would also say changes in behavior, sudden changes in behavior. Obviously, if money starts to get really tight for somebody that we know, maybe they, you know, have changed their spending patterns to the point where we can see something different. Uh, while we don't want to be intrusive, maybe that's a red flag that we want to just think about or, you know, keep an eye on, things like that. So being mindful, being educated, and being empathetic, I think those are the biggest things that we can do as we are taking care of each other.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

No, all good points. And and thank you for bringing this to the forefront or bringing it to my attention so that we could talk about it. So, what else is there out there then that we should know or do? Or um, you know, prevention's one thing, uh, somebody's in the throw of it. What do we do while they're going through this? Is there anything else that we could do or any other areas that we should know about or talk about?

SPEAKER_01 29:10

To close out on hope rather than fear. The good news is there are things we can do, right? We can put these legal documents in place that recognize our chosen family and we can have conversations before there's a crisis. We can talk about things before they become an issue. We can educate ourselves. When we can, we can choose affirming providers, right? So if it's possible for us to choose providers in elder care that are those affirming providers or part of our community, that would be a great thing to try to start thinking about now. You know, make sure that no matter what happens as we age, our voices and our identities don't disappear and we we stay very, very vocal and very much to the front of what's happening and just staying mindful and mindful and taking care of each other. I think those are the those are the biggest things that we can do. And if we do that, again, I think we can we can close out on on a on a you know a note of hope rather than fear. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:02

No, I and I would agree and I appreciate that. And one thing that I I would add to that, because I'm I'm a little older than you are, so I'm closer to that age where I would become susceptible to to those kind of uh people if you are in a place where you are being abused financially or in any way, find trusted people within your community or circle of friends and don't be embarrassed to bring it to them. I I can tell you from my perspective, I would be eager to step in and help. And I know that most people have at least one or two people that they could bring into their circle and do that for them as well. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Make one 100%. Yeah, I don't be embarrassed. 100%. Don't do not be embarrassed. Any anyone listening, right? If you are being victimized, speak up, speak out. There are people who will help you. And trust me, fraudsters and people who engage in extortion, they thrive on your fear or they they manipulate you based on your fear. The minute that you take that away from them, you take all the power back. So don't suffer in silence. Don't go through this. You're not alone. Reach out. Trust people, Lee. You're 100% correct. Just reach out because one again, once we take away their ability to scare you, they lose all their power. And trust me, we may not, unfortunately, may not get the money back, but we will definitely be able to stop the abuse from continuing. Yeah, yeah. Good point.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Well, Tim, thank you again for joining us today and adding some additional details to our financial muddy waters.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

I absolutely, and thank you for having me on. This is a topic I think you can tell, and maybe our listeners can tell, that um, I'm pretty passionate about it. I did is something that is near and dear to my heart and on my mind with aging, you know, aging family and and friends. So I I I thank you for bringing awareness to this, to our community. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

Thank you for joining us. Absolutely.

Support KPFT And Join Us

Brett 31:50

You're listening to Queer Voices on KPFT Houston, and we are also a podcast available from all major digital outlets. We have a legacy here in Houston in that we have been on the air in some form or fashion for over five decades. As long as KPFT has been around in Houston. But this station is listener-funded. To help us, please consider donating to KPFT at KPFT.org. You can make a one-time contribution or, like me, set up a monthly one. And if you would like to be a part of Queer Voices, please look me up on social media. My name is Brett with two Ts. My last name is spelled only with used as we would love to include your voice here, either as a guest or as a regular contributor. Kinda like the donation, but in your time. And it can be one time or ongoing, just like that donation. We'll take your money or your voice. We are not picky here at queer voices. And if you just enjoy listening, that's great too.

Why Xanadu Still Works

Brett 32:52

Hi, this is Brett Cullum and Logan Vaden is the artistic director of the Garden Theater. He is producing and directing Xanadu, which opens August 14th and runs through the 30th, just in time for our rescheduled Pride Parade. But Xanadu actually has air conditioning, really good air conditioning, and it has roller skates. So thank you, Logan, for coming in and talking over my obsessions. I'm excited to talk to you about it. If anybody doesn't know, Xanadu's story follows the simple journey of a magical and beautiful Greek muse named Gira. She descends from the heavens of Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, California in 1980 on a quest to inspire struggling, I think, chalk artist in the musical, Sonny Malone, to achieve the greatest artistic creation of all time, a roller disco. Of course, because that's what we're looking for. Because it's 1980. Yeah, I mean less. But she does what no Greek daughter of Zeus should do. She falls in love. And of course, uh, the 1980 film starred Olivia Newton John, I think ended Michael Beck's career and was the last film of Gene Kelly. And I remember in 1980 it came out, it flopped hard and then became a full-on cult classic. So why do you want to produce Xana do? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 34:09

You know, it's so funny because I remember seeing the movie probably when I was in late middle school, early high school, and enjoying it, question mark. I think I only watched it once, I never saw it again. And then, you know, 10 or so years later, I saw when Stages did it, the fabulous production that was starring Holland Vavra and directed by Mitchell Greco. And I saw it so many times. I saw it so many times in their old building, and then they brought it back, and they actually are kind of what revitalized the arts in Houston after Harvey, and they did it at Miller, and I saw it at Miller every single performance that they had it there because it just is so much fun. I am the kind of person that I love a jukebox musical. I love something that you can just go and laugh and have such a good time at and kind of forget the outside world. I don't like things to be too heavy, um, especially when they come to my musicals. Xanadu just fits that perfectly. Uh, not to mention that the last season, our one of our big musicals was Cruel Intentions. So it just kind of fits right in with what we've already done and taking a campy movie and making it even campier and musicalized, and it's just a good time. That's why I wanted to do it. It's just a good time.

Brett 35:24

I feel so bad because we were on the same aesthetic level or something because I was obsessed with Cruel Intentions as a movie.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

Uh-huh.

Brett 35:30

I was obsessed with Xanadu as a movie. Um, I'm was totally obsessed with your production of Cruel Intentions as a musical. It was so excited. And now you're gonna do Xanadu, which I got in trouble when I was a kid. I am of a certain age, and I was actually alive when this thing came out. I know you weren't, but I actually skipped soccer practice, unnounced to my parents to go and see this thing repeatedly, like over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

You are not the only person that I've heard a similar story about. I've heard that from Dennis Draper, who works for Match, and multiple people. I know this is Jennifer Decker, who is the artistic director of Mildred's Umbrella. It's her favorite movie. Um, I saw the other day she already has tickets, of course. So of course, yeah. It just is a movie of a certain time that if you were around when that movie came out, I think it just means the world to you. This is gonna sound kind of blasphemous, I think. I did watch the movie recently, knowing that we were going to do the show. I didn't really remember it from when I was in high school, and I watched it and I thought, this is terrible. And you know, and it critically that's that is what people said was that it was not the greatest, but the soundtrack was what was so uh revered back then. And I I couldn't believe that there are certain plots, and I didn't remember this from watching it as a kid, that there are certain plots that are giant plots that are in the musical that are not in the movie, giant characters, like the third and fourth lead in the show are not part of the movie. You don't even really, I don't think she even really says that she's a muse until closer to the end. And in my head, looking at it, I was thinking, if I was watching this for the first time, I didn't know this story, I would think, is she a ghost? Like, what is she? I'm so confused. They're not really explaining what's going on here. So I think that the musical took the charm of the movie and elevated the story, which I think is helpful.

Brett 37:26

Yeah, well, I mean, I'll give you a spoiler alert. When they shot this movie, the first thing that they were trying to do is they were trying to figure out like what the 80s were gonna be like. They were like, okay, we're headed out of the 70s, into the 80s, what is the 80s gonna look like? Of course, Roller Disco. They just thought that was gonna be it. Right. That was gonna be the big thing. They started shooting without a script, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 37:45

Oh my god, I cannot know that.

Brett 37:47

They made this up as they went, pretty much, and it was bad. I mean, as far as it was a lot of tension on the set and a lot of like crazy stuff that happened, but somehow they got through it. Yeah. Had a really killer soundtrack. I think most people bought the album rather than went and saw the movie, thankfully. Yeah, yeah. But there is some kind of weird charm to that movie, and I don't know how to explain it other than it was just a magic time of Olivia Newton John. Michael Beck was this huge hot guy from the Warriors, and of course, Gene Kelly. We all just like kind of fell in love because we just would take anything that Olivia Newton John did and thought, oh, she's great. But but the Broadway show, when did it first come out?

SPEAKER_02 38:22

Do you remember? It premiered on Broadway in 2008, I believe. Or 2007, maybe? It was 2007, 2008, somewhere around there.

Brett 38:30

We're somewhere in there. Yeah. But Houston Theater Trivia, Dan Connectus, the artistic director of Tuts, choreographed the original Broadway show. And was nominated for a Tony for it. That's awesome. So it's like your boss, basically. Yeah, right. Are you gonna con him into coming?

SPEAKER_02 38:47

Or we you know, we haven't talked about it yet. I have a meeting with him tomorrow about something completely different, and I thought, well, this might be the opportune time to bring it up to him. So we'll see. We'll see. It makes me nervous. I'm so nervous about it. And you know what's funny is our choreographer is Courtney Chilton. Of course. Yeah, who's done so many garden shows at this point. And Courtney has also worked with Tuts a million times and uh knows Dan very well. So I think it would be fun for him to get to see, you know, what Courtney and I have done with it. So so we'll we'll see if we can make it happen.

Brett 39:17

I w I want Dan Connectus and Holland Vavra to be like seated together so that we could just go crazy.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

Holland Vavra is uh is a must. I'm I'm gonna figure out a way to get her there. I know she's so busy, but we're gonna figure it out.

Brett 39:29

Yeah, no, she's a tab for it, though. She is, I know. Yeah, she is, she is. So no problem. But and by the way, Holland started in the stages version that we were both obsessed with. One of the things that I always think about when I think of Xanadu and the musical, this thing is basically it's it's a romantic comedy. I mean, come on.

Making Xanadu Feel Queer

Brett 39:45

With a little bit of a weird roller skating and Greek myth thing. It's not particularly gay, but it feels so queer. And it feels gay. Why why does it feel this way?

SPEAKER_02 39:55

You know, I I don't really know. I don't know if it's I don't know if it's the costumes, I don't know if it's her riding off on a winged horse at one point, I don't know if it's the disco balls, uh, maybe the the fact that there's boys prancing around in short togas. I mean, it there's so many things that could attribute to it, but there is not really a single thing that is actually, quote, gay, unquote, about it. There's no queer love story. Um, I think that I think that the queer community, just to quote Liza Bonelli, has taste. And uh it's Olivia Newton John music. Like it's it's music that was on the radio at one point, and I think that the gays love Olivia Newton-John. So I think that's also part of it as well. The musical's done a great job of incorporating a couple of characters that are very much kind of the D.Va type characters that are also very funny and uh that of course, you know, the queer community just loves. Very B. Arthur kind of humor. So the musical I think makes it even gayer. There's actually a line in the musical that obviously was not in the movie that says uh something along the lines of, My God, this is like children's theater for 40-year-old gay people. It really is. I hate to tell you. Well, okay, one of the big things, you were making this cast roller

Roller Skates And Audience Participation

SPEAKER_02 41:07

skate, right? They have to roller skate. Every single one of them, which is not how the Broadway production was done. Uh Danny and two of the muses didn't roller skate in the original production, but I'm making them. They're not thrilled about it, but I'm but they're gonna do it.

Brett 41:20

What was funny about the movie though is I remember Gene Kelly was like the best roller skater of them all.

SPEAKER_02 41:25

Yeah. That finale is one of the coolest musical theater or music movie musical finales of all time. The rhythm, the way that they're chanting Xanadu. Um, I mean, it's significantly longer than the finale in the stage version because the movie was basically an Olivia Newton-John concert, was the finale. Um and Gene Kelly skating in that. It was just magical to see.

Brett 41:48

Completely. Yeah. Well, tell me, okay, we've talked about this cast, but who is in your cast? Tell me about who's in this version of Xanadu.

SPEAKER_02 41:55

Yeah, so we have uh some returning and some new. It's about half and half up to the garden. Parts of Kira and Sunny are played by Kristen Herink, who is our Mary Sunshine, our Mary uh, well, she's Mary in Ree for Madness. Uh, there was uh Miles Estes is playing Sonny. He was in our production of Company, Cruel Intentions, Songs for a New World, which we just did. Then we have Morgan Coppert, who has been with us since Assassins, uh, or before Assassins, the original production of Cruel Intentions. She's playing Malpomine, the villain that does not exist in the movie. Ariana Bermudez, who is new to us, but definitely not new to Houston, very well known in Houston. She is playing Calliope, kind of the sidekick to the evil woman, and then Brad Gertz, who is just a Houston favorite, uh, not just because of his talent. He's also the sweetest man on the face of the planet. Uh, he's playing Danny McGuire. So those are our five principles, but then we have four additional muses who are all new to us uh here, and most of them kind of new to the Houston scene as well. And then two swings who are who are fantastic as well. Like in total, it's 11 of them. Wow. Is this this isn't your biggest production, is it? 11 people. Our biggest was Color Purple, which had over 20.

Brett 43:08

Yeah, Color Purple felt like a small army, yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:10

Yeah, and company had more than more than 11, too. I think it was nine 17, 18, maybe.

Brett 43:16

I just can't keep track. What is your biggest fear about putting this on? I mean, obviously we we've touched on a couple roller skating, the fact that the original choreographer lives here, the fact that the stage's icon Holland Vavre may come and show up as well. Right. But what what is it about this one that's kind of makes you go, oh, am I really doing this? And what am I scared about? You know, it doesn't scare me at all.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

Oh my gosh. It it really doesn't. This is the kind of thing that we're known for at the garden. This is like our style. I mean, and we do everything. We do the dramas, we do the comedies, we do plays, we do musicals, we do classics, we do contemporaries. But the best thing we do is kind of this is is musical, is musical theater comedy. It's and especially in the in the vein where it can. Be really over-the-top a kind of parody. I think that some of the best productions we've ever done have been that. And you know, it's we always try to make every production different than any version you've ever seen before. This one is a little more straightforward, I think, than most, because there's not a lot you can do to it because it's already so crazy. And it's pretty loopy. Yeah. Um, but we are figuring out ways that uh maybe we can incorporate some audience participation into it. We have a little running list of things that we're planning on putting in the play bow that's like when you hear this, you do this. And like not quite Rocky Horror, because we don't want it to happen the whole show, but certain moments. And so I think if I had to choose something that's a little scary to me, it's that because it's not been tested before. That's something new that I don't believe any other production has ever done before. Just getting an audience involved, and that's always a little risky, right? Especially in a show that tends to lean more towards an adult audience. There's a bar on site and people can maybe have a little bit too much fun. And it's a jukebox musical, so people know the music, and so they already feel welcome to participate. It can just open the door to too much participation. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. We're we're here for a good time. So that's but that's probably the thing that I'm a little ugh about right now.

Brett 45:13

We'll see. Okay, so I know you were not alive in 1980. So is anybody consulting with you on that? Are you having like 1980s consultants or anything?

SPEAKER_02 45:21

You know, this is not my first trip to the 80s in musical theater world. I also directed uh Heather's the musical about when was that? Maybe ten ten years ago at this point, maybe even a little longer. And my mom graduated in 1989 is when she graduated high school. She was a young mom. I had she had me a couple years after that. But I grew up in the in the 80s kind of vibe because that was her world. All of the music that we listened to in the car and and all different kinds of things. None of this music is new to me. This culture is not new to me. Uh it's something that I just grew up with because of my mom. And that's how I felt when I did Heathers too. Uh, because my mom was very much not evil like the Heathers, but she was like a Heather in high school. Like voted most popular, most beautiful for that kind of vibe. So, you know, she was very much implanted in that firm 80s culture. So all I have to do really is open up a couple yearbooks and I can get transported pretty easily. Alright, I'm gonna credit Logan Vaden's mother as the consultant.

Brett 46:18

Okay.

What The Garden Theater Builds

Brett 46:19

Well, tell me a little bit about the garden theater for anybody that has not, and I can't believe they would not have seen the garden theater or any of your productions, but how long has it been around?

SPEAKER_02 46:28

Yeah, so Xanadu opens our sixth season. It's crazy to say, honestly, that it seems like it's gone by so quickly, but we've been around for for five years, going on six, and we've done something uh it's close to thirty productions, and we exist to kind of serve as a as a place for artists that can't do this full time. We certainly do work with with people that have been on, you know, the touch stage or the stages stage all the time, constantly in our shows. But this is also a place where somebody that is a brilliant artist, but there's not enough work in our town, so they have to work as a bartender or you know, in the hospitality industry or oil and gas to make ends meet. And we exist as that place that they can come and do art that they feel they're proud of and they'll get seen and their names will be out there. So it feels, you know, similar vibes to to any other regional theater, but just a little bit more flexible with scheduling and and things like that. Which is exciting because that brings a lot of faces to the stage that Houston doesn't really get to see very often. Um, and because of the gardens, they get to be seen. So yeah, that's I mean, we do everything. I said this a little earlier, but we do everything from from musicals to plays, contemporary classics, and we and we split it evenly. We do typically two plays a year, two musicals a year, and I don't think any other theater in town does that actually. So we're proud of that. We're really proud that we can offer so many opportunities to artists, but also offer so much diversity in our stage to audiences. There's truly always something every season for everyone, which is great.

Brett 48:01

Well, you know, I've always thought of the garden theater as kind of this gem inside the Houston theater scene that maybe not everybody knows about, but hopefully with Xanadu, people will kind of because you've definitely chosen a good time to run it because it's nothing else is running. Yeah. I looked at August's theater calendar and I'm like, it's Xanadu. That's it. That's all you gotta see.

SPEAKER_02 48:22

Yeah. Well that means you can come multiple times.

Brett 48:25

Yes, you can. And if you want to, it runs August 14th through the 30th. It's going to be the match. Yeah. Do you know which match is Matchbox 3. Matchbox 3? Oh. So it's a little bigger.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

Yeah. We've actually kind of moved most of our musicals to Matchbox 3. We were kind of the resident theater company of Matchbox One for a few years. Um I remembered. But yeah, but we're we're slowly but surely making our way over to the to the bigger one. So all of our musicals over the next year will be in Matchbox Three, um, and all of the plays will be in Matchbox One.

Brett 48:54

How awesome. Yeah. Well, do you know what's next after Xana does? I do, but I can't say it yet.

SPEAKER_02 48:59

Soon. So soon. I promise. I promise. I mean, I can say uh if you know anything about the garden, you know that we have a holiday tradition that we have started that we've done for two years now. And I say tradition because that means it's gonna happen every year. Um so that will that's something we can look forward to in December. So that's actually what will be next, but can't say it just yet. And then the rest of the season will announce soon as well. Just tease.

Brett 49:24

Just tease, tease. But I'm so excited for Xana do. I think it'll be like you said, perfect for the garden. And one of the things that I think is interesting about your company is that you find some of the most talented singers in Houston. I mean, honestly, I mean you're talking about people that have day jobs and stuff, but they might as well, most of them, be like singers because they sound incredible.

SPEAKER_02 49:44

Yeah. So we're so lucky, and I d I sometimes I I question I sit back and I'll watch a show and think, oh my god, this is so great, and not to sound fool of myself, because I I'm just so in awe of these people. And I and I think sometimes, like, am I even a good director, or do I just pick the best people that can just make magic happen? And I think that that is about 80% of a director's job is picking the right people to create that magic. And I don't think we've ever missed on that one. I think that that's I think that that's always no matter what you think of of whatever production we're doing, we never miss on the casting because they're always incredible.

Brett 50:20

Well, I think people don't realize that Houston does have a professional acting scene, sure. And there are some people that do it as a living, but even people like Christina Wells is a nurse. Yeah, every day has a day on it.

SPEAKER_02 50:33

Yeah, even though she was touring in Chicago, the musical, she was still a nurse. Yeah, she's sitting there on her on her line. On her computer, yeah.

Brett 50:41

It was wild. So it's it's great to to offer people that opportunity to do it. And the opportunity to do Xanadu and live in the 80s and make me and Jennifer Decker and Dennis Straper, all these Houston Icons happy. So wow, so congratulations. We will see this. Yeah. Well, thank you, Logan. Thanks, Brett.

Shows And Community Calendar

Brett 54:34

Catherine Jacobson can be seen in Mean Girls, which is presented by Queensbury Theater and the Town and Country Village. It runs August 6th through the 16th. There is a special Pride Night performance on August 13th. The Garden Theater and Logan Vaden's production of Xanadu the Musical will run at the match in Midtown Houston starting on August 14th and running through the 30th. Because it is Xanadu, every night will be Pride Night. If you would like to revisit the movie Xanadu, River Oaks Theater is having a special screening of the film on Saturday, August 8th at 7 p.m. The cast of the musical and I will be in attendance. Don't forget, the rescheduled Pride Parade will be held on Saturday, August 15th. No start time has been announced yet, but I would guess around 7 p.m. The second annual LGBTQ Plus Author Fair will be at the Montreux Center this Saturday, August 1st, 2026, starting at 10 a.m. and running until 3 p.m. August 1st will also be White Linen Night in the Heights. Thursday, August 6th, will be Act Out Night at the Alley for The Girl on the Train. Tickets include complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, but only if you are part of the LGBTQIA Plus community. If you would like to make a support to Queer Voices, please consider making a donation to KPFT at KPFT.org. 90.1 is a listener-funded station, and without any donations, we would disappear as quickly as a mythical muse after she builds a roller disco. My name is Brad Cullum, and I produced and hosted this episode. Our executive producer is Brian Flavinka. Deborah Moncrief Bell is also a producer. Lee Ingalls is a frequent contributor, and Tim Stokes is a recurring guest as our financial expert.

SPEAKER_06 56:47

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.

Ghost of Glenn 57:02

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. Views, opinions, and endorsements are those of the participants and the organizations they represent. In case of death, please discontinue views and discard remaining products.

SPEAKER_06 57:15

For Queer Voices, I'm Glenn Holt,