Orlando and the Las Vegas Entertainment Community

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I was awakened early that Sunday morning by our publicist informing me that the media wanted to know if I’d be available to discuss the “terrorist attack”. It was barely 5:30 AM and I had only been asleep about 3 hours at that point. It was the morning of our 30th Annual Ribbon of Life and I had been up late working on some last minute changes to the show. Confused and disoriented I immediately grabbed my iPad to check the news sites while she briefly told me what had transpired in Orlando. Our discussion was soon interrupted by another call – this time from Michael Dimengo of The Center. My heart sank as I heard of the loss of life being reported and the fact that it was an attack on the LGBT community.

Before I could even get out of bed I was already on the phone with management of The Tropicana and Las Vegas Metro. We had a large gathering of LGBT patrons arriving later that day at the hotel for the show and we needed to make some decisions. Would we be able to ensure the safety of over 1,400 guests? There were over 350 performers representing over 50 shows putting the finishing touches on their numbers for the 30th Annual Ribbon of Life at The Tropicana. After weeks of rehearsals the show was ready. But with the developments in Orlando people started asking me if we were going to postpone or perhaps even cancel the show? 

To be honest, the thought never crossed our minds. When it became apparent that this was a terrorist act designed to strike fear and chaos in the LGBT community we knew we would not give in. We were NOT going to be silenced. We would NOT live in fear. We were NOT going to stop doing what we do best. The SHOW MUST GO ON!

It all came down to the origins of Golden Rainbow and how we were founded. Back in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s AIDS was devastating the local entertainment community. Many of the shows on the strip were hard hit by the sudden illness and deaths of literally hundreds of performers. One of the shows hardest hit was Jubilee at Bally’s. When one of the popular dancers there was diagnosed and sent home to die, his family had no idea what to do. Fear and ignorance was quite pervasive at the time. His family, fearing for their own safety, put him in their garage and let him spend his last few weeks alone and isolated. He eventually died in that garage. When his fellow performers discovered that this is how he spent his final days, they vowed to never let something like this happen to one of their own ever again. They organized a major benefit show to raise money to establish a fund to specifically provide emergency housing for people with AIDS. That first show titled Golden Rainbow featured 133 performers from six different shows. At the time, it was the single largest fundraiser ever held in Las Vegas that directly benefitted the LGBT community. It was perhaps one of the first times that talking openly about gay men and lesbians had ever happened on the Las Vegas stage – that wasn’t a punchline to some homophobic joke or that involved a stereotypical flamboyant gay character used for a cheap laugh. 

The show was a success and 30 years later we still present the “Ribbon of Life” as an annual fundraiser. And I am pleased to announce that the show this year was a critical and financial success. To date, the Ribbon of Life shows have raised over 7 million dollars for services here in Las Vegas and for that the entertainment community should all be very proud.

When I first came to Vegas in 1980, I remember the first show I went to see was Boylesque with Kenny Kerr at The Silver Slipper. Being a young gay boy just coming out I was mesmerized by the costumes and the freedom and the pure joy of the show. That show had a lasting impact on my impression of Las Vegas. 

Years later I would get to know Kenny. He shared stories of the struggles he had doing a show like that in Las Vegas. The homophobia. The death threats. The backlash from fellow members of the entertainment community. It wasn’t until the AIDS epidemic started devastating the casts of the various shows on the strip before Kenny found a new voice and a new purpose. He like many other performers on the strip at the time knew that we couldn’t be silent any longer. If we were going to stop AIDS from killing us all, we had to make ourselves visible. We were in a war against a disease and against a public in fear. We could have just stayed silent and done nothing. But instead, the entertainment community mobilized and rose up. We made our voices heard. 

Now I know that the track record for positive LGBT visibility here on the Las Vegas strip is spotty to say the least. While many of us can live openly gay, lesbian or trans lives without repercussions, there are countless others who still do not have that level of freedom in their workplace. Some of us still risk losing our jobs just because of who we chose to love. 

The past couple of years we’ve seen the great progress the LGBT community has made for equality across the nation. 

And here in Vegas we now see shows with openly gay headliners, dancers and performers. Our list of freedoms are growing. But we must do more.

Just like with the AIDS epidemic in the 80’s, our freedom and way of life came under attack. This time by a deranged individual with a weapon designed for war. We were attacked in a place many of us can relate to. A dance club where we are free to be ourselves. 

Many performers who work the major shows on the strip earn extra money on the side by dancing at night in one of the many local LGBT nightclubs. This act of terror in Orlando happened in a place that most of us consider to be a place of safety and escape and for some a place of employment.

The Las Vegas Entertainment Community has shown the world that we can rise to the occasion when necessary. We did it when AIDS attacked us in the 80’s. We took the anger and the fear and turned it into action. 

We must now use that same sense of urgency to combat homophobia and this senseless attack on our way of life. Orlando was not an isolated event. It was merely a culmination of years of bullying and anti-gay hate crimes that have been on the rise in this country. We must take this opportunity to show the world that we will not live in fear. 

The entertainment community is a generous and caring group of people. We have proven that time and again. We just need to be louder and more visible than ever before. We must raise our voices and show our strength. We must vote in the elections and do what we can to help our LGBT brothers and sisters gain and retain equality. HIV/AIDS is still a threat to the community, but we are no longer silent. This attack in Orlando reminds us all that our work is not done. Whether it’s a virus causing an epidemic or a homophobic madman with an assault weapon we will not let fear and ignorance win. We stand with Orlando as a unified community. 

Gary Costa is the Executive Director of Goldren Rainbow