Show Notes
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author David Ciminello to discuss his delicious debut novel The Queen of Steeplechase Park which is the story of an irrepressible Coney island burlesque queen and meatball entrepreneur named Belladonna Marie Donato. David talks about how the character is inspired by his larger-than-life great aunt Emily who was, in fact, a burlesque performer on Coney Island and actually won a trophy for Best Bust for her 38 DDDs. David also talks about how he got the book published, how he chose the mouth-watering recipes that appear throughout the book and the spontaneous reading that unfolded at a recent extended family gathering where his cousin's daughter read the role of young Belladonna Marie. Other topics include: why David chose to make Belladonna Marie so sex and body positive, working as an actor in L.A. and playing a barber in a classic episode of Seinfeld, writing a movie that Shirley MacLaine directed called The Dress Code and working alongside her on set and why it was important to him to write a book that was "chock-full of queer optimism."
Dennis will be interviewing David at LA's Book Soup on Sunday, November 10th at 3 PM.
https://www.davidciminello.com/
Listen On
Also Listen
-
Filmmaker Fernando Andrès & Actor-Producer Jacob Roberts (Rent Free): "Film Is My Religion"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by two of the men behind his favorite indie of the yea -
Author & Photographer Frankie Frankeny (Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality): "We Need To Go From Fear To Fierce"
Just as we're hitting the 10th Anniversary of Federal Marriage Equality in the U -
Documentary subject Kellie Maloney (Knockout Blonde): "I’ve Mixed The Good Of Frank With The Good Of Kellie And Became A Much Better Person"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Portugal by former U.K. boxing manager Kellie Mal -
Broadway producer and author Jeffrey Seller (Theater Kid): "Write That Letter & Make That Call"
In this special Tonys week episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Broadway produc
Comments & Upvotes