By John Hayden
Pride Month is filled with parties, parades, and performances, and one of the month’s premier performances will be by the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida (GMCSF). They are closing out the season with their Unbreakable & Unstoppable concerts.
Artistic Director Gabe Salazar took some time to give OutClique a sneak peek inside the ambitious show.
John Hayden: The concert has a powerful name, Unbreakable & Unstoppable. What does that portend for audiences?
Gabe Salazar: In the first half of the concert, we will present a full musical work, which we co-commissioned, called Unbreakable. Andrew Lippa composed this incredible work in 2018, which chronicles the LGBTQ experience of the American Century leading to today. It is an extremely powerful work that will really move you to the core. The second half of the program will be a true Pride celebration. You can expect to hear fun gay anthems that proclaim that we are truly unbreakable and unstoppable. You can expect to hear tunes such as “I’m Coming Out,” “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, “You will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen, and more.
JH: The shows close out Pride Month. What are you most excited about?
GS: I am obviously most excited about our two concerts! This will be my first Pride concert as the artistic director, and I know it will be a memorable one. I am also excited to see the community come together after so much time away. Another thing I am really looking forward to is having my eight-year-old son with me during Pride. It will be incredibly special to share that experience with him.
JH: As you mentioned, this also closes out your first year with GMCSF. It was a challenging year for all entertainment organizations. How has it been for you and GMCSF?
GS: It has been a whirlwind filled with excitement, incredible memories, and some music experiences that have changed and inspired me to keep pushing the limits and expanding our reach as a chorus. We hit the ground running this summer and it has not really stopped since. The final concert series of my first season will happen on June 24 and 25, 2022, and I am so excited for people to come and experience this concert.
JH: What unexpected challenges have you encountered?
GS: The thing that I have learned this year is to be ready to adapt to a situation at the drop of a dime. We all have had to learn to adapt with change these last few years. I am so proud of our organization because it is filled with individuals who really have been resilient and have handled changes with grace and flexibility. It was such a terrible loss to have to cancel our Holiday’s at Hard Rock Live concert at the very last minute, but my pride for this group grew tremendously because of the way we handled this situation and came back stronger than ever in March.”
JH: On the flip side: what unexpected joys have you found?
GS: I knew when I accepted this position that I was being welcomed into a new ‘family,’ but I don’t think I really grasped the depth of what that really meant and still means to me. The members of this organization, as well as our supporters, have truly welcomed me and made me feel so supported. They have embraced me, encouraged me, inspired me, and loved me these last 10 months. I am so grateful for each and every one of them, and I hope that I can give back as much to them as they have given to me.
JH: This comes on the heels of your big gala in May. Why are events like that important to the work you and the chorus are doing?
GS: Our annual gala brunch is always such a fun event that so many look forward to every year. This year we went with a speak-easy theme. As guests entered the event, they walked into the magical world of ‘Ruby’s Speak-Easy.’ They enjoyed good friends, cocktails, a delicious meal, and some musical performance from the chorus. This single event is our biggest fundraiser of the year and really helps set our fiscal budget for the year ahead. We hope that the event will keep growing and that more people will join us to help support the mission of the chorus.
GMCSF’s Unbreakable & Unstoppable is June 24 and 25, 2022 at 8PM at Sunshine Cathedral. For tickets and more information, visit GMCSF.org.
