By John Hayden

A fireman carrying a person out of a burning building is pretty dramatic. But it’s nothing without a string section crescendoing to a musical climax. Cinematic songs and scores are the soundtrack of our lives. Imagine Jaws without the iconic ‘duh dun . . . duh duh dun dun.’ The James Bond franchise has given us plenty of hits and earned an Oscar or two.

Now, the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF) is taking on Hollywood’s greatest hits. Their Hooray For Hollywood show is Friday, March 22, 2024 at The Parker.

The set will include classics like “Singing in the Rain” along with instant favorites like the 2023 Golden Globe winner “What Was I Made For” from Barbie. “Our Hollywood-themed concert promises a musical experience and a journey through time, evoking memories of silver-screen legends and modern-day masterpieces,” the chorus said.

For Pride last June, the chorus tackled the challenge of the Disney Songbook. That concert was joyful, toe-tapping fun. Now that GMCSF is taking on a century of songs, expectations are high for this month’s show.

As artistic director, Gabe Salazar has spent his tenure curating music that will be impactful for the LGBTQIA+ community. His passion is palpable every time he talks about his work.

Taking Their Show on the Road

This summer, the group will head to Minneapolis for GALA Chorus Festival, a quadrennial event bringing together some of America’s best LGBTQIA+-centric choruses. The event is five days of wall-to-wall concerts and is an opportunity for choruses to share ideas – and music – to strengthen all the groups.

Recently, many leaders came to South Florida for a pre-festival meet up. Executive directors from choruses in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Kansas City, and more spent a weekend renewing ties and founding new ones.

Pandemic canceled the 2020 festival, so this is the first time in eight years they’ve been able to gather. A lot has changed over that time, and choruses are no exception.

“We’ve had a big shift,” Donovan Jones of the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus told OutClique. “We’ve always been welcoming, but in the last few years about a third of our chorus doesn’t identify as gay men. We have lots of women, straight people, trans.”

Emphasizing that shift is Sarah Shoffner, executive director of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. She is neither male nor LGBTQIA+. “I’ve been with the chorus for nine years, and we jokingly say ‘I’m Mom.’ No one cares, which is the beauty of the chorus.” 

Shoffner is married and was pregnant during her trip to Fort Lauderdale. That led the group to examine their time off, as most employees don’t/won’t have children.

GMCSF Board Chair Fred Boykin and his husband, Dr. Jack Killen, graciously hosted the executive directors at their downtown Fort Lauderdale home. The atmosphere was simultaneously relaxing and electric.

Though they come from different backgrounds and regions, they gathered in unity of spirit and of mission. GMCSF will steal the show, and Twin Cities hearts, when they take the stage in Minneapolis in July.