Local theater celebrates diversity and has a good time

December offers a mixed stocking of emotions for many LGBTs. World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) reminds us of those we've lost along the way and the ongoing task of protecting the ones we have. Meanwhile, Christmas Day (Dec. 25) makes some yearn for families that have shunned them and their significant others. Well ladies and germs, I have the tonic to this solemn month; a charity theater event that'll make you laugh, cry, dance and feel very, very good.

Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey is an urban fairytale that reminds us that the things we want in life are possible. This award-winning play is the unlikely coming of age–and coming out–story of two teenagers living in a London housing estate who fall in love against all odds. Sensitive Jamie (Joakim Eriksson, as seen above) would rather watch rainbows than be at school. His athletic neighbor, Ste (Derek Kwan), throws himself into sports to avoid his troubles at home. Jamie's feisty mother Sandra (Christy Leigh Shapiro) juggles her job and her younger lover, Tony (JP Lopez). Their sassy neighbor Leah (Sophie Lloyd) lives vicariously through her idol, Mama Cass of Mamas and the Papas fame, whose music forms the play's soundtrack.

Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Chi Heng Foundation, a registered charity which supports AIDS orphans in central China and promotes HIV/AIDS awareness across the country, specifically targeting men who have sex with men, offering confidential hotlines and sex worker outreach. AIDS does not discriminate.

Beautiful Thing is produced by an international cast and crew of straight, gay and lesbian thespians with the generosity of Shanghai Studio and Angle Communications. I confess to a somewhat intimate knowledge of the goings on behind the scenes and, in the true spirit of community theater, the production has not been without its dramas. One of the actors left the country with just weeks to go and securing the right venue has not been without its hiccups. But the show will go on, and as we speak, the team is toiling tirelessly to bring a slice of theatrical magic to Shanghai.

If the thought of a night out for an important cause doesn't fill you with holiday cheer, then bahhumbug to you!