He dropped out of NYU to study dance with the New Dance League, an organization that rose during the Leftist Era of the 1930’s.

Leftist dance and the New Dance League advocated the education of young dancers and used them and their performances as radical propaganda, challenging society’s view of race, political affiliation and sexuality.

Robbins went on to choreograph on Broadway for such plays as the King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story. He also choreographed and staged productions for the Joffrey Ballet and the New York City Ballet. He choreographed a new musical and ballet almost every year between 1944 and 1964.

At the height of McCarthyism, Robbins, fearful of his sexuality being outed,  “named names” during a meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee. His reputation was tarnished.

However, he has won four Tony Awards for Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical, one Emmy Award and a National Medal of the Arts.

Jones knew at an early age that she was gay. She grew up in Paris, Tenn., a small town, where she knew it would be difficult to come out.

She also knew very early that she wanted to be an actress. Jones studied at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and later at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.

She made her Broadway debut in the late 1980s, earning her first Tony nomination in 1991 for her role in Our Country’s Good.

In 1993, she starred in And Baby Makes Seven, a play where in her role as a lesbian, she kissed another woman. Audiences were shocked and the production flopped.

In 1995, her career picked up when she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in The Heiress. During her speech, she thanked her then-partner, Mary O’Conner, a move that received much criticism in her hometown of Paris, Tenn. Nationally she was praised. She became the first openly lesbian to win a Tony Award. She now has multiple Tony Awards and is partnered with actress Sarah Paulson.

And, although her passion lies on the theater stage, Jones’ other landmark roles have been on the big screen in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) ,Erin Brockovich (2002), and on television in the Lifetime movie What Makes a Family (2001), and a recurring role in the drama series, Clubhouse.

Cherry Jones  recently won her first Prime Time Emmy Award for her supporting role in 24.

The mammoth, two-part drama by Tony Kushner will be presented by the Signature Theatre Company during its 2010-2011 season as part of a yearlong celebration of the playwright.

Artistic director James Houghton (HOW’-tuhn) says the play’s two parts, “Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika” (payr-ehs-TROY’-kuh) will be performed in rep.

No casting was announced, but the play, a tale of AIDs in the Age of Reagan, will be directed by Michael Greif (GRYF), who also directed “Rent” and “Next to Normal.”

The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angels” was first seen on Broadway in 1993 and later was made into an HBO film starring Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.

The star of Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva” got her big break in the 2004 Broadway show “Taboo,” produced by Rosie O’Donnell.

Elliott wanted to make a good impression on the TV personality so she put together an ensemble that cost $117, which can be costly for a struggling actress.

“Rosie asked, `How much did that outfit cost you?’ and I said, `Oh, you know.’ And she said, `No, really. How much did it cost you?’ and I said, `$117,’ and she said, `Well, if you get the job I’m going to reimburse you.’ The first day of rehearsal I got a check for $117, which was really cool.”

The $10 million production of “Taboo” – a musical about Boy George and his relationship with fashion designer Leigh Bowery – closed after just 100 performances.

Even though the show didn’t do well, Elliott says O’Donnell’s passion for the show meant a lot to the cast and crew.

“It was immeasurable. Her heart was so into that show and I think it meant a lot to her and it meant a lot to us too.”

Elliott has now gone from Broadway to starring in her own TV show. She plays a shallow, aspiring model reincarnated as a plus-size lawyer. It co-stars Margaret Cho.

The premiere set a record for Lifetime with its best ratings yet.

Elliott and O’Donnell were recently reunited when O’Donnell guest-starred on “Drop Dead Diva, ” which airs 9 p.m. EDT Sundays. She will appear in another episode in September and has blogged about the experience on her Web site saying, “I love this show.”

Anyone read Their Eyes Were Watching God ? My favorite character is Mrs. Turner! She’s a crazy one and if I had enough queer studies under my belt, I would say she is sort of sweet on Janie, the protagonist. Mrs. Turner hates blacks who are dark skinned and has convinced herself the race problem in America would be solved if there were only paper bag or lighter blacks like her and Janie.

All minority groups have their Mrs. Turners. People who think bigotry and oppression wouldn’t exist if the “darkies” of their tribe either were no more or at very least toned it down. If I had a dime for every time I heard some gay man drone how effeminate men, drag queens, circuit boys, bears, daddies, lesbians, muscle heads, and/or gay Republicans made it so hard for him to live his life as a regal proud queen, some young pretty thing in shorts would be serving me breakfast. In bed. In a home. On beach front property. That was mine. Did I mention he would be pretty?

Usually the “darky complaint” comes about every Pride, when people get all exercised about some 45 year old man of blubber parading in ass-less chaps (I look good in my chaps thank you very much and will not allow your body fascism to impact me*). Yesterday our site was chock full of this tiff, here and here. Getting upset that the cast of a Broadway play is going to join gays and lesbians in a freedom march is churlish. Is there anything more middle American than the Great White Way?

No need to trod over old ground, but I hope if we have this conversation we stay away from the hysterics of Mrs. Turner. You want to be put out by Dykes on Bikes? Go at it but it’s a leap to go from there to the assumption that gay marriage isn’t the law of the land because some lesbian loves a Harley. The young middle school kid being bullied right now is not being taunted due to some leather daddy and his apprentice walking in a pride parade. Homophobia exists because straights disdain gays and lesbians. And that hatred is for everyone from effeminate men, drag queens, circuit boys, bears, daddies, lesbians, muscle heads, gay Republicans, AND the regal queen clutching those pearls because he might be associated with “those freaks.” Yeah Mr. Mutchnick: I’m calling you out!

We are not required to like everyone in our tribe but our oppression is not because some in our club won’t act right. A straight black man said it best:

“The final insult to oppressed people, is always to make them responsible for the venal stupidity of their oppressors.”

*I have way too many body issues to be marching my fat self in ass-less chaps, in public or private. I apologize for all who had the image in their heads.

By the way if you’re thinking of going, it’s this Sunday (6/21) at Roseland on West 52nd.  There are two shows: one at 9:30 pm and one at Midnight. Midnight one’s more wild (dancers have had a few swigs of taquila by then).

Hubba-hubba!

The 63rd Annual Tony Awards aired on CBS last night, kicking off with Sir Elton John, technical glitches, Liza at her Liza-ist, tons of hot musical theater guys, hair (beautiful hair), Dolly Parton, a gaggle of flying Billy Elliots, and what may be the single greatest television moment ever filmed … Poison lead skank Bret Michaels being cold cocked by a giant “Broadway” sign.

Oh, and all this happens in the first ten minutes!

We Are The World just isn’t the same without Dan Aykroyd (All Pics: Getty)

Watching the Tony Awards is always bittersweet for me. As much as I love seeing the best of Broadway on TV every year, it brings me closer to the realization that I’ll probably never see any of these shows in person. The dream of moving to New York and becoming a theater groupie dies a little each time my knees crack when I stand up or when I tell those damn kids to get off my lawn.

It’s a shame, too, since I already had the title for my Broadway groupie memoirs picked out: Snicks and the City (perfect, don’t you think? And totally original.)

But I’m thankful I can at least see the highlights every year, and the 2009 Tony Awards started off with the most expensive, not to mention elaborate opening number they’ve ever attempted.

Elton John performing “Chair and Chair Alike”

It started off with Elton performing a song from Billy Elliot which had something to do with electricity and being “free”, and had boys flipping across the stage and flying through the air (but unfortunately not dressed like ninjas).

Elton’s mic went out a few times, but that was nothing compared to the gangs from West Side Story, who came out and whispered threats at each other until the sound was finally turned up.

Little did Bret Michaels know that Broadway doesn’t suffer gladly those who lip-synch (or stuff their pants with bratwurst)

Next up was a Bret Michaels look-a-like (just let that sink in for a moment), who introduced a number from Rock of Ages featuring the “real” Bret Michaels (just let that sink in for a moment).

Bret and the rest of Poison “performed” Nothin’ But a Good Time, and it was flawless … because it was fake. Bret gave what may be the worst lip-synch attempt ever seen (at one point you could see him coughing as the words still magically emanated from the microphone).

Here are some of moments that never made it into the piece but are totally worth watching. If you’re anything like me, you’ll fall in love with Creel.  That’s because Gavin is by all standards the Creel deal.