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Donna's
Diary: The 2008 True Colors Tour
Editor's Note: PFLAG Phoenix mom Donna,
her husband, Al, and daughter, Deanna, attended the 2008 True
Colors Tour on June 25th at the Dodge Theatre in downtown
Phoenix. In addition to volunteering her time at the PFLAG
Phoenix information booth at the concert, Donna was the lucky
recipient of a pair of VIP tickets which permitted her and a
guest (lucky daughter Deanna!) to go backstage for a
meet-and-greet with tour headliner Cyndi Lauper and other
musical and celebrity guests. The following is a
description of that evening from Donna herself, along with some
photos from the event.
Donna's
Diary, June 25th, 2008:
It was a
wild time in Dodge on June 25th. No signatures
were going to be given out, but we would get a “photo op”
with Cyndi Lauper! Wow! Our daughter, Deanna,
had flown down for the day from Vegas to attend the concert
with me, while Al worked the PFLAG table out in the
foyer of the concert, and as we stood in line, waiting for
our op, one of my idols, Wanda Sykes began her
monologue onstage! OH NO! I was missing Wanda! But then
it was our time. I was able to give Cyndi a belated
birthday card from PFLAG Phoenix and an invitation to our
30th anniversary gala celebration in
November, and one of my own rainbow bracelets and a tag
which said PFLAG MOM with my name etc. on it. Her
photographer quickly snapped our photo with her, and we were
escorted toward the exit. But as we left, Cyndy yelled
after us, saying “Thanks for all you do” to me. And I was
able to yell back, “NO, thanks for what YOU’RE doing!” And
then we were out the door and off to our seats and the tail
end of WANDA, who was truly wonderful…. I honestly wasn’t
impressed much by the B-52’s or Andy Bell, but
remembered much more of Joan Jett’s music than I had
thought I would. We missed the Puppini Sisters music
for our photo op. Carson Kressley was absolutely
wonderful! He shot underwear into the audience with a
pneumatic gun of some type, and joked how difficult it was
getting that gun through the airport security…..(he told
them it was his “blow dryer!” He was delightful, as he
always is. He is truly great ad-libber and a darling guy.
It was a really fun night for an old lady.
I’m tired.
Photos from the 2008 True Colors Tour:
Phoenix PFLAGers Al, Dave,
Lila, Rebecca, Shirley, and
Jeff (seated,
contemplating his next 'gig'), all ready to rock
the vote while manning the
PFLAG Phoenix information table at the Dodge
Theatre. |
Shirley's other half, Dean,
was also
ready to rock the night away. |
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show gets underway with none other than the fabulous
fashion guru and True Colors host Carson
Kressley (of Bravo TV's "Queer Eyes for the
Straight Guys" fame--he's the tiny, tiny figure on
the far right holding the tiny, tiny microphone).
From Donna's Diary:
I got some good shots
of Carson on stage. (we were in row 12.)
[Editor's note: Donna did get some
great shots
. . . unfortunately, we can't reproduce them here as large as her shots
are
. . . which is why Carson is "ant size" instead of filling this webpage
all by himself.]
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The
Puppinis Sisters take the stage . . . and, if
you look really closely, that's Wanda Sykes
barely in frame on the left!
From Donna's Diary:
We almost missed
Wanda Sykes’ monologue while we waited in
line for the photo op with Cyndi, but I
did get to hear the tail end of it, and she was
truly the BEST part of the concert, though I
thought Carson K. and Joan Jett
were good, too.
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you: Is there anyone else who can pull off
this ensemble, complete with black and white
checkered pants, other than the fabulously hip
Carson Kressley? I think not!
From Donna's Diary:
Carson Kressley
walked right behind me and I didn’t see him
until he was GONE! I could so easily have had
my photo with HIM had I been aware of it! I was
SO mad at myself for not turning around…..He was
already gone by the time everyone said “Oh, that
was Carson!” Grrr.
He shot underwear
into the crowd, and he was absolutely
wonderful….His was all ad lib, and he was
terrific!
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The
beautiful stage was a star in itself . . . this
backdrop really brought home the "true colors" theme
as it listed so many diverse groups of people, all
sharing the same starry sky.
From Donna's Diary:
It listed every
ethnic group from atheists to colors, to
republicans, to religions, etc. REALLY NEAT!
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girl may just wanna have fun, but first she -- the
one and only Cyndi Lauper -- must hold the
music to receive recognition for all her good works
that benefit the GLBT community!
From Donna's Diary:
Phoenix City
Councilman Tom Simplott presented
Cyndi Lauper with an award proclaiming June
25th “True Colors Day” in Phoenix.
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Pay
dirt! Our fabulous PFLAG Phoenix mom, Donna,
and her daughter Deanna, finally meet up with
legendary performer, and all around fun-to-the-max
gal pal, Cyndi Lauper! What an
incredible evening!
From Donna's Diary:
Here is the photo of
us with Cyndi. I was able to give her a
belated birthday card which Rebecca had
prepared ahead of time with an invitation to our
gala in it. And I had prepared one of my
BEST rainbow metallic bracelets, with one of my
personal business cards attached to it, and I
had written “PFLAG MOM” on it, lest she think I
was after HER…..ha As we walked away, she
yelled, “Thanks for all you do!” to me. I just
turned around and yelled, “No, thanks for what
YOU’RE doing!”
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