A scene from 13 (Photo credit: Joan Marcus) 

Editor's note: Starting today, our theater critic Michael Portantiere will be blogging each week about Broadway and Off-Broadway shows as well as other items of theatrical interest.

Broadway is one of the last places where you’d expect to find any sort of homophobia. But since the theater deals with every conceivable sort of life situation, and since producers and artists can’t control audience reaction to gay (or supposedly gay) characters and subject matter, there are occasions when the inclusion of certain words and situations in shows makes some people very uncomfortable.

If a show depicts homophobic behavior by characters who aren’t clearly characterized as villains, is that wrong? In a related question: Is it acceptable to present “comic” scenes of gay intimacy that result in gasps, groans, and/or nervous laughter from the audience, especially when young performers and audiences are involved?

Brad Altman and George Takei

Monday night at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City, the Trevor Project held its 8th annual Summer Gala. Hosted by Alec Mapa, the entire evening was as entertaining as it was inspiring with a mix of individuals honored for their work with gay youth as well as musical and comedy performances.

The N, the network whose award-winning television shows Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere have broken new ground in the positive representation of gay and questioning youth, received the Trevor Commitment Award. Receiving the award was Sarah Lindman, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of The N, who spoke emotionally about how including gay content in their teen-geared series has been a great place for gay and questioning teenagers to see that they are not alone as they come to terms with self-identity and sexuality.

The Colin Higgins Foundation honored three gay youths with their Youth Courage Awards. Kyle Rapinan, Perre Shelton, and Devon Bearden were each honored for fighting back and pulling themselves out of their respective abusive and discriminatory situations and are now thriving in their lives. In fact, Shelton received a standing ovation when he recited one of his powerful poetic works to the audience upon accepting his award.

Alan Cumming

The hilarious Alan Cumming was honored with the Trevor Hero Award for his endless work helping young people accept themselves for who they are and teaching them to be empowered, not hindered, by that self-awareness. Past recipients include Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham.

“For a long time, I’ve admired the work of The Trevor Project and the support they give to America’s gay youth, so I’m really delighted and honored to be given this award by such a great organization,” said Mr. Cumming in a Trevor Project press release. “The Trevor Project really inspired me so this award truly is special, and I will continue to try and further their goals in my life and work.”

More pics and celebs after the break!

• Above, the utterly adorable (and Tony-nominated, for the very gay-friendly Spring Awakening) songwriter Duncan Sheik arrives at the CFDA Fashion Awards in NYC.
• Now that Rosie's off The View, she's free to hang out with rockstars. Hey, it's true -- girls really do just wanna have fun!
  
• Paul McCullough, the utterly squeezable gay contestant on The Next Food Network Star, topped his wedding cake last night with two grooms, and wonder of wonders, a Hellmouth didn't open up and swallow the entire country.
• Not sure how many of you will be checking out Hostel Part 2 this weekend (even if just to see fabulous lesbian Heather Matarazzo in a summer movie), but in the meantime you can check out this very very NSFW pic of writer/director Eli Roth and his Part 2 (in case it's not obvious, that is a prosthetic).
• The scamps over at Televisionista have posted a gallery of the Hunks of Smallville. It's kind of like the Witches of Eastwick, only... well... hunkier!