THE DENNIS HENSLEY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2017

MIDSUMMER MISMATCH
EDITION

   In front of the historic Brandenberg Gate in Berlin. Here's a fun fact: The green roof above my ear is the Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled his baby out of the window in 2002.
  THE TAKE-AWAY:
* MISMATCH GAME returns Friday, July 21st & Sunday, July 23rd
* ADAM LAMBERT profile in Flaunt Magazine
* BERLIN DIARIES...my first time in the German capital 
* DENNIS ANYONE? podcast welcomes RuPaul and friends
* PHOTO OPS from Palm Springs to Puerto Vallarta



GET READY TO MATCH THE QUOTE-UNQUOTE STARS!
IT'S THE MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SCREAM EDITION OF 
THE MISMATCH GAME - JULY 21ST & 23RD

Hey LA! Can't bear to watch the news and yet it's too friggin' hot to be outside?
Then head on down to the Renberg Theater for The MisMatch Game. The long-running cult hit is back for two nights of R-rated game show insanity. 
 
FRIDAY, JULY 21st @ 8 PM &  
 SUNDAY, JULY 23rd @ 7 PM  
(No show Saturday so don't show up!)  
 
   

 
















Scheduled to appear:  

FRIDAY, JULY 21 @ 8 PM    
Rachel Butera (Rosie O'Donnell) 
Marc Samuel (Barack Obama) 
Sam Pancake (Lucille Ball)
Drew Droege (Tanya Roberts) 
Daran Norris (Julia Child)
Maile Flanagan (Danny Bonaduce)
 
SUNDAY, JULY 23 @ 7 PM  
Julie Brown (Melania Trump)
Chris Pudlo (Pee-wee Herman) 
Felix Pire (Ricardo Montalban)
Rebekah Kochan (Pamela Anderson)
Dante (Jack Nicholson)
Danny Casillas (Reba Areba)  
 
w/ John Carrozza (as Greg Evigan) and the MisMatch Game dancers

The Renberg Theater 
@ the LA LGBT Center
1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood  
(1 block east of Highland, north of Santa Monica Blvd.)

Tickets $15 
(All proceeds benefit the Center's Homeless Youth Program)

Buy your tickets
HERE. 
 
********** 

  
G OT PRIZ ES? 
The MisMatch Game is always on the lookout for
 fun things to give to our fearless contestants.

If you have a hook up for  THEATER TICKETS, DANCE and FITNESS CLASSES, BEAUTY TREATMENTS, SWAGGY STUFF LIKE T-SHIRTS and DVDs etc.,
hit me up at [email protected]
  

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN:
PROFILING ADAM LAMBERT FOR FLAUNT MAGAZINE

 
"Before Adam Lambert can even sit down at a sidewalk café in L.A.'s downtown Arts District, he's greeted by name by a trio of 20-something guys at a nearby table. Unfortunately, it's not his name. They call him Adam Levine." 

Those are the first few sentences of the piece I wrote on American Idol turned Queen frontman Adam Lambert for Flaunt Magazine. 

I found Adam easy-going, thoughtful, funny and when he took of his rose-colored sunglasses, I'm not going to lie, those blueish-green eyes were more than a little penetrating. Adam's currently touring the country with Queen. I tried to score press tickets to the recent Hollywood Bowl Show but I was unsuccessful because, guess what, it's not the 90's.

You can read the profile HERE. 
 
BIKE TOURS, BALLOON RIDES AND BEARS, OH MY 
GETTING A WARM WILLKOMEN IN BERLIN, GERMANY 
 
In late March, I had the opportunity to fly to Monfalcone, Italy to put up a new interactive stage show for Princess Cruises called Lights! Camera! Action! on their brand new ship, the Majestic Princess. I collaborated on the show my old friend Scott Williams, who I happened to meet at my audition for Princess Cruises way back the late 80's. Oprah calls that a full circle moment. Anyway, after our work in Italy was done, I took the opportunity to visit somewhere in Europe that I had never been before even though I have been in multiple productions of Cabaret, Berlin, Germany.

One of the first sights I saw there was this train station. I love European train stations. They always remind me of Before Sunrise.  


My first two nights I got to stay in this really funky music-themed hotel called the nHow. It was right on the Spree RIver and one section of the hotel seemed to float out over the water. I'm also a fan of the Spirograph-esque wallpaper.


Here is a shot of the check-in counter, which I described in my write-up for Man About World as what the late Prince's sperm might look like under a microscope. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to sleep in a lava lamp, this is the hotel for you. 


My first full day in the city, I took a bike tour with the Berlin on Bike tour company. I got really lucky with the weather and had an excellent guide named Sebastian Becker (who I interviewed for my podcast after the tour--see below). Some of the sights we saw on the tour included the historic Brandenberg Gate, the Victory Column and the haunting Holocaust memorial.


We also got to see a preserved section of the Berlin Wall. I don't know why I'm smiling because I just learned that the area between the two walls was known as the "Death Zone."



I wrote about my Berlin on Bike tour for Man About World. Read the piece HERE . 
 
*****

But the biggest highlight of my trip was reuniting with my old friend Karsten Kastelan. I met him on the press junket circuit in the 1990's when I was writing for British Premier and he we was writing for various German outlets. I haven't seen him in a decade and a half and it was so great to reconnect.



Karsten took me to this fab cafe/bar called Ora that used to be a pharmacy. They kept all of the old furnishings. They even brought you water in a beaker. Fab. 


Karsten also took me to the movies at the fabulous Sony Center, which has these cool leaf-like roof panels that change color. The cinema itself had screenplay text printed on the carpet so Hollywood isn't the only city where people walk all over the writer.

 


I saw a number of Trabants, which were what folks drove in East Germany, but I didn't get to ride in one. My bike tour guide said that six strong men could pick up a car a move it, which was a common prank East Germans would play on each other. I have enough trouble remembering where I parked without people carrying off my car.

Karsten and I went up in the Welt stationary balloon that was a little freaky even though it's kept in place by ropes. It was a perfect day for stationary ballooning.



'But what did you eat?' you ask. I had the two most common street foods: currywurst (l) and the donor kebab (r). I liked the donor kebab best. 
 
I had a nasty cold while I was there so I didn't take in much of the nightlife Berlin is known for but I did meet this bear on the street. And I saw many chunks of the Berlin Wall.
 
       
And here's a few shots from the massive Majestic Princess, which was still in the shipyard in Italy and wouldn't set sail until a few days after we left. 


 
The ship is now sailing in China, which is why the Chinese characters are on the side. The entire ship was designed with the Chinese market in mind, including our show "Lights! Camera! Action!" Luckily, the Chinese love Hollywood movies. The room our show was going into was still being worked on when we got there so our first rehearsal was held in the crew bar with the cast in hard hats. 

 
  
YOU BETTER NOMINATE! DENNIS ANYONE? PODCAST HITS RUPAUL'S "FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION" PARTY   
 

Earlier this month, I was invited to an event tied to the series RuPaul's Drag Race at the LASC boutique in West Hollywood. It wasn't until I got there that I realized it was a "For Your Consideration" event, designed to get some Emmy love for the show. So I whipped out my cell phone and recorded a few interviews for my podcast...with RuPaul as well as contestants Aja, Morgan McMichaels, Valentina and Eureka...who was delightful and talked about how moved she's been by how supportive her small Tennessee town has been about her appearance on the show. 

Not only did I get some fun sound bytes but on my way out, I was given a RuPaul chocolate bar and I must say, it was delicious!  I doubt they were doing that shit for Handmaid's Tale although wait, I take that back. A couple of weeks ago, while grabbing a coffee near LACMA, I spotted a bunch of pairs of handmaids out and about trying to sulk and glower their way to some Emmy love. It was brilliant and gross at the same time.  
 
 

Anyway, back to the RuPaul party podcast.
  If you're a fan of Ru and the show, you can listen to the episode by clicking HERE .
 
 
I talked to bunch of other fabulous, fun people in the first half of 2017 from an ex-porn star who now sells movie-themed T-shirts on Etsy to one of the men behind Feud. All the guests are pictured below. To listen to that particular podcast, just CLICK THE PIC.

To check out ALL THE EPISODES, click HERE.  

      
TRAVEL EXPERT ED SALVATO                       RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE FYC EVENT 
 
FILM & TV WRITER CHUCK HAYWARD                              ACTOR & SINGER ALEX WYSE

FEUD CO-CREATOR MICHAEL ZAM                        SCREENWRITER BENNET YELLIN
 
COMIC / MUSICIAN LAHNA TURNER                     BERLIN BIKE GUIDE SEBASTIAN BECKER
 
ENTREPRENEUR SHAWN CHAVEZ                        TRAVELERS STEVEN LEE & JEB HAVENS         
    
            ACTOR BRANDON SHYPTOWSKI                     JOURNALIST KARSTEN KASTELAN               
 
MUSICIAN TOM JUDSON                                 SINGER MATT ZARLEY
    
WRITER GARY GOLDSTEIN                                JOURNALIST GREG HERNANDEZ 
     
                       ACTOR JAYLEN MOORE                                      GALECA FOUNDER JOHN GRIFFITHS
 

GAME CREATOR MYLES NYE               FILM GUYS GLENN GAYLORD & MICHAEL DOUGHERTY
                                    
Thanks to all the guests!  Visit the Dennis Anyone? Facebook Page and LIKE IT.   
 
To learn more about Dennis Anyone? visit DENNISANYONE.NET.  All the past episodes are archived there and there's also fun pictures of tattoos and stuff.  
 
You can SUBSCRIBE for FREE on iTunes, listen on Stitcher radio or just listen on your computer or device by clicking HERE.  

AND PATRONIZE ME, DAMNIT! 
 
Back in December, I launched the Dennis Anyone? Patreon page. For as little as $1 a month, Patreon Supporters get a special exclusive episode of all new material...sometimes it's interviews from my past with stars like Janet Jackson or Eric McCormack and sometimes it's me, chatting up a fun friend or sharing embarrassing stories from my own life.
 
To become a Dennis Anyone Patreon supporter, click HERE.
 

GAY FOR PLAY GAME SHOW STARRING RUPAUL
RETURNS JUNE 29 FOR MORE RUBBER CHICKEN SHENANIGANS

A while back...okay, it was over a year and a half ago!...I had the pleasure of writing for
The Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul.
It was a really fun job because it involved a lot of my favorite things; pop culture trivia, go-go boys and rubber chickens. You can watch s
uper-fresh, back-to-back episodes on Thursday, June 29 at 6 & 6:30 PM and on July 6 at the same times. I think there might even be another two episodes after that but it's not on the Logo website so we're not counting our rubber chickens until they hatch.
 


PHOTO OPS OF THE MONTH:
PALM SPRINGS, PUE RTO VALLARTA,
2 WEDDINGS AND AN ENZO!  

Here's a news flash. Palm Springs, CA in June is eff-ing hot. It is also a ton of fun when you're with friends and also when you discover there's a place downtown that sells Dole Whips just like they have at Disneyland. How are they so creamy without milk? 


   
Here's Rich, Me, Danny, Brett & Andrew after lunch at Oscar's.
I'm smirking cuz I had a Groupon.
 


 It wouldn't be Palm Springs without an America's Next Top Model photo shoot.
Enzo is giving you his best Blue Steel.   
 

   *****

This Spring, two different friends of mine got married...in the same venue, the Grace E. Simon Lodge at Griffith Park. My old friend Denise married her man Einstein there in April and then Jeffrey and Thales tied the knot there in May. 

Random fun fact: Last year, I met Jeffrey at the New Beverly to see a movie and he was talking about scouting at venues for his wedding. I said, "My friend Denise just found this great place in Griffith Park." So I texted Denise for the info...she texted back and the next thing you know, I'm dancing at both their weddings. 
 
   


*****
In early 2016, my friends Jeb Havens and Steven Lee both quit their jobs to travel around the world together for 14 months. Their last stop was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and they invited some friends to join them in a really cool house from AirBNB. I was happy to be among them. There were gay unicorn pool inflatables, board games, chips and salsa and musical performance from Jeb and our friend Matt Zarley at a local cabaret.



 

With my friend Becca by a cool Mexican wall...and speaking of walls,
I figured out how Mexico can pay for that border wall, by selling Trump pinatas!

The Further Adventures of Enzo the Wonderdog 

It's been just over a year since I adopted Enzo and guess what? He's still adorable!
Here's some pics.


My roommate Penelope, her dog Gretel, me and Enzo and some poor guy sweating his balls off in an Easter Bunny costume..

   
Enzo loves Chinese in front of the TV
 but seems unimpressed the bowl I slaved over for him at Color Me Mine.      
     
STUFF YOU CAN BUY OR STREAM (Just click on the image):
Misadventures in the 213 (Novel) - Screening Party (Novel) -  Screening Party (Pilot)
The Dennis Hensley 5-Pack DVD (Rubdown, Reunion, Screening Party, Dipshits, Evie Harris Shining Star)
Testosterone (Feature Film) - The Water's Fine (Music CD) - Reunion (Short film on Logo)
Evie Harris: Shining Star (Short film on YouTube) - Dipshits (Animated Short on YouTube)
The MisMatch Game (Show clips on YouTube) - Misadventures in the 213 (Audio version)
Lovespring International (TV show on Hulu) - Rubdown (Trailer on YouTube) 

213 SP Pilot 5pack
testosterone TheWater'sFine Reunion evie
dipshits MisMatchLaugh
Rubdown