“Hello.  I’m Frankie Grande, and I’m a proud, sloppy, pig bottom.”  
– Ariana’s brother comes out of the closet at the LA LGBT Center’s 50^th Anniversary
Hearts of Gold concert.  Anyone surprised?  Hands?  Put those down – I did not say fists!

I left my first event somewhat perfunctorily in order to get to my next event.  Alas, the legendary Greek Theatre is roughly 20 miles from UCLA – and on a Saturday night, that could take a good two hours.  But to celebrate the LA LGBT Center’s 50^th Anniversary, it was worth the effort.  This gala was broken up into 10-year chunks.  I got there at the tail end of the ‘70s, so I missed Sia.  But I arrived in time to see Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda share their long history with our community whilst having enormous difficulty reading the TelePrompTer.  Turns out, the problem was a lighting issue which continued throughout the evening.  But nothing could dampen the comedy stylings of Kathy Griffin, who not only recounted her many appearances at The Center’s Renberg Theatre, but also bid adieu to some less than politically correct terms (one of which was “sloppy pig bottom” – see the opening quote).  Highlights from the show were a mesmerizing performance by Melissa Etheridge, a touching Ty Herndon, a terrific Thelma Houston, and of course, my Play Mama, Jenifer Lewis, closing the show as only she could.  You can get more information about the work being done at The Center at LALGBTCenter.org.