Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 18:14:29 -0700
From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
Subject: GLAAD CONGRATULATES BEST MUSICAL WINNER RENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact:        Tamra King
                (213) 658-6775
                tamrak@glaad.org



GLAAD CONGRATULATES BEST MUSICAL WINNER RENT
Theatre season highlights AIDS positive roles and absence of homophobic language

LOS ANGELES, June 3, 1996 -- GLAAD congratulates multiple Tony winner Rent,
the season's most talked about play, for its AIDS positive content and
handling of issues dealing with sexual orientation and identity. Jeffrey
Sosnick, GLAAD Board Member and Co-Chair of the organization's Media Awards
(held in March of this year), who called the best musical winner Rent  "a
celebration of life," and noted that it exemplifies what GLAAD is all
about. "The characters in this musical illustrate the tremendous diversity
within our community, and yet their sexual identities seem very natural
parts of their characters, unobtrusive and non-controversial."

"I don't think it's any coincidence that fair and inclusive portrayals of
gays and lesbians -- whether its in film, television or on the stage --
have produced not only blockbuster box-office, but critical acclaim as
well." says Tamra King, GLAAD's Entertainment Media Director. In addition
to the success of Rent, King cited the recent film and television success
of The Birdcage, Philadelphia, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe
Cammermeyer Story, episodes of Friends and Roseanne as just a few examples.

Although its star, Julie Andrews, wasn't celebrating her Tony nomination in
Victor/Victoria last night, GLAAD applauds the producers of the musical for
removing language that was homophobic. In December 1994 the producers of
Victor/Victoria removed a song that contained homophobic lyrics at GLAAD's
request. The musical has since garnered over $30 million, in addition to
Ms. Andrews' controversial Tony nomination.


Many in the lesbian and gay community, however, feel that characters like
those played by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in The Birdcage, are still
too stereotypical.  To address these and other issues surrounding the
exploding number of gay themed films, GLAAD will be hosting entertainment
industry forums "Beyond The Birdcage" in Los Angeles, June 11, and New
York, June 15.  For more information, please call Tamra King at (213)
658-6775.

GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive
representation of individuals and events as a means of challenging
discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.

###

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
glaad@glaad.org
VISIT THE GLAAD WEB SITE AT http://www.glaad.org!

GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of
challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of
the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.