|
Miami
Beach
septuagenarian
David
Leddick
will
be
the
first
to
admit--with
a
chuckle--he’s
had
a
“long
and
checkered
career.”
The
former
dancer,
naval
officer,
advertising
executive,
creative
director
for
an
international
cosmetics
company,
and
writer
will
add
playwright
and
actor
to
his
resume
when
the
stage
adaptation
of
his
latest
book
premieres
at
Fort
Lauderdale’s
Rising
Action
Theatre
this
weekend.
“Escorts:
The
Docu-Musical”
tells
the
stories
of
20
escorts
Leddick
interviewed
for
his
book,
“Escorts:
40
Profiles
with
Photographs
of
Men
Who
Sell
Sex,”
co-written
with
Herberto
Sanchez.
“I’d
written
many
books
and
a
friend
of
mine
told
me
I
really
had
to
write
a
book
about
these
guys,”
Leddick
explains.
“I
never
paid
any
attention
to
escorts
at
all,
ever.
It
was
sort
of
outside
of
my
world.
The
show
is
really
about
these
men,
that’s
why
we
call
it
a
‘docu-musical’.”
Leddick
had
experience
tackling
complicated
subjects
on
the
fringes
of
gay
society.
His
previous
book
about
gay
men
who
were
married
to
women,
“The
Secret
Lives
of
Married
Men,”
(“apparently
the
only
book
that’s
been
written
on
the
subject,”
he
says)
had
made
him
an
expert
on
the
topic,
and
he
found
himself
interviewed
frequently
by
news
media
every
time
a
prominent
citizen
was
arrested
for
“lewd”
behavior
in
a
public
park
or
public
restroom.
For
this
project,
the
writer
set
out
to
interview
40
male
escorts,
but
it
presented
an
unusual
challenge,
“We
got
39
guys
really
easily,
but
it
was
hard
to
get
the
fortieth,”
he
recalls.
“That
is
what
this
show
is
about.”
In
the
new
play,
co-written
with
composer
Andrew
Sergeant,
Leddick
also
plays
himself,
the
writer
who
is
interviewing
escorts
for
a
new
book
and
desperately
seeking
the
fortieth
subject.
Five
other
actors—four
whom
each
take
on
the
roles
of
five
escorts,
with
local
photographer
and
actor
David
Vance
playing
three
different
“Johns”—join
Leddick
on
stage
for
the
90
minute
show.
Leddick
tried
to
capture
a
true
cross
section
of
the
book’s
subjects.
Some
of
the
escorts
are
funny,
like
“Edge”
from
Chicago,
who
is
very
attractive,
but
extremely
vain.
Another
equally
attractive
escort
sings
a
song,
“Gay
for
Pay.”
And
while
most
of
the
identities
in
the
book
and
play
have
been
changed,
escort
Mike
Jones,
famous
for
outing
right-wing
Christian
pastor
Ted
Haggard
in
Colorado,
is
the
only
subject
who
is
named.
“We
were
doing
the
book
at
the
time
when
that
all
broke
and
we
had
friends
in
Denver
who
put
us
in
touch,”
Leddick
says.
“We
interviewed
and
photographed
him
for
the
book.
That
number
is
very
good,
‘Tops
and
Bottoms.’
It’s
one
of
the
really
fun
and
interesting
numbers.”
Another
memorable
character
is
the
boy
who
was
21
at
the
time
of
his
interview
with
Leddick,
but
who
had
been
turning
tricks
since
he
was
15
years
old.
“There
are
some
very
touching
moments,”
Leddick
points
out,
including
a
subplot
involving
one
of
the
escorts
who
falls
in
love
with
his
client.
“It
reminds
a
little
bit
of
‘A
Chorus
Line’
as
each
character’s
story
unfolds.”
As
Leddick
prepares
for
the
premiere,
prospects
are
good
for
the
musical
with
producers
from
Los
Angeles
planning
to
attend
the
show,
and
requests
pouring
in
from
regional
theatre
companies
to
mount
the
show
across
the
country.
Ironically,
it’s
the
book
that
still
hasn’t
taken
off.
“Nobody
wants
to
publish
this
book,”
Leddick
laments.
“I
can’t
quite
put
my
finger
on
it.
There
are
just
such
taboos
attached
to
male
escorts.
It’s
something
America
doesn’t
want
to
talk
about.
I
think
it’s
going
to
sell
like
crazy
if
we
can
get
it
published.
We’ve
even
got
a
TV
production
company
that’s
going
to
start
on
a
documentary
about
the
book
the
day
after
the
show
closes.”
As
for
the
escorts,
they’re
doing
just
fine.
In
exchange
for
the
interviews,
Leddick
and
photographer
Vance
agreed
to
provide
each
with
portraits:
“One
guy
called
and
said
his
business
went
up
100
percent
after
he
got
his
pictures.”
 |
 |
| The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by floridablade.com. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed. |
|
|
