The Birdcage

Dwayne and i went to see The Birdcage once, at a theatre in Philadelphia. I didn't think the message of the play might be inappropriate at the time, but here, take a look at these lyrics:

I am what I am
I am my own
special creation.
So, come take a look,
give me the hook
or the ovation.
It’s my world
that I want to have a little pride in.
My world,
and it’s not a place I have to hide in.
Life’s not worth a damn
till you can say
I am what I am.

I am what I am
I don’t want praise
I don’t want pity.
I bang my own drum.
Some think it’s noise,
I think it’s pretty.
And so
what if I love each sparkle and each bangle
Why not
try to see things from a different angle?
Your life is a sham
till you can shout out
I am what I am.

I am what I am
and what I am
needs no excuses.
I deal my own deck
sometimes the aces,
sometimes the deuces.
It’s one life
and there’s no return and no deposit.
One life
so it’s time to open up your closet.
Life’s not worth a damn
till you can shout out
I am what I am.

Considering that Dwayne still insisted he was bisexual and would marry a woman someday the plays was indeed, if not inappropriate, definitely in-his-face. Of course, that wasn't my intention. I had seen La Cage aux Folles and that American remake of that movie, with Robin Williams, but i didn't think it'd make him uncomfortable. Not that i realized it at the time, but anyway, probably it did.

I do have a knack for creating these situations. Once, in Japan, i was at a karaoke booth with a bunch of friends and, knowing few songs in English, i asked the machine for Go West, and then started coaxing Stuart, one of the guys there, to sing it with me. He looked very embarrassed, but he finally accepted and we started singing it. I didn't realize till we were well into the song that it was a love ballad and that, sung as it was in the second person, it was indeed awkward to be singing it together... But even though i was not out in that crowd, the thing didn't make me nervous... I started making eyes at Stuart and batting my eyelashes and laughing and, somehow, we got through it.

However, because i didn't grow up as an English speaker and back then was still relatively new to the culture, i did not know that the song was a GAY love ballad. Heck, i didn't even know who the Village People were! And to top things off, i later found out Stuart was also gay and, at the time of our little karaoke party, very much in a muddle about it. No wonder he always avoided me after that day.