Deeper Dish with Sebastian La Cause

I first noticed actor Sebastian La Cause in the 2010 indie gay comedy, BearCity, in which he played a hot and sexy stud named Fernando. But it wasn't until his web series, Hustling, debuted last year that I became a fan of the multi-talented guy, who wrote, directed, produced and starred in this provocative dramedy about Ryan Crosby, a 40-year-old adult film star/escort looking to change his life. It was one of my favorite new web series of 2011, and Sebastian received two DEEP DISH Groovy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama and Hottest Hunk as well as an Indie Soap Award for Best Actor in a Drama. And now he is planning to continue Ryan's story with a second season of Hustling (click here for his Kickstarter fundraising campaign).

Before BearCity and Hustling, Sebastian appeared on Broadway in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Chicago, Once Upon a Mattress (1996) with Sarah Jessica Parker, Minnelli on Minnelli (1999) with the one and only Liza, and the 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Rocky. His film and television credits include Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, the infamous Showgirls, Boogie Nights, Chicago, All My Children, One Life to Live, Ghost Town, Gossip Girl and Showtime's Homeland. I am delighted to have the handsome Mr. La Cause here on the Dish to discuss his career and answer a few pop culture questions.

Dish of the Day #914: Hot Fun in the Summertime

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Today's Dish is Goran Jurenec.

Deep Dish Dinner Party #32: Just to have a laugh or sing a song

The rules are quite simple - each week I feature 10 past/present celebrities and you get to invite (vote for) your three favorites to the Deep Dish Dinner Party. The five folks who receive the most votes get to stay, and the following week five new people (whose birthdays are during that week) are added to the guest list. So enjoy the party - and please feel free to leave a comment and share your selections.

1) John Barrowman
Last Week #5, Week 13, 41 invites out of 260

2) Carol Burnett
LW #1, W6, 37 invites

Dish of the Day #913: Hot Fun in the Summertime

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Today's Dish is Lucas Malvacini.

Top 10 Tuesday of Groovy Tunes: And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson

Each week I feature 10 groovy tunes that reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart during the last 50+ years. You can vote for your three favorites, and the five with the most votes move on to the following week when five new songs will be added to the list.

Last week Petula Clark reclaimed the top spot with "Downtown", which received 30 votes out of the 198 cast. And this week she will be challenged by Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Simon & Garfunkel's 1968 hit, "Mrs. Robinson", from the film, The Graduate.

Groovy Giveaway: Melody Gardot's new album, The Absence

Courtesy of The Karpel Group and Verve Records, this week's Groovy Giveaway is five copies of Melody Gardot's new album, The Absence. From the deserts of Morocco to the streets of Lisboa, from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the beaches of Brazil, The Absence captures the essence of each of these exotic locales, while at the same time remaining quintessentially Melody Gardot. Below you can watch a promo for the album as well as a music video for the song, "Mira".

To listen to more of Ms. Gardot's music, go to www.melodygardot.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

To enter to win this Groovy Giveaway, all you have to do is email your name and address to deepdishdrama@aol.com. The winner must have a US mailing address, and entries close at midnight on Sunday, June 3 (CST).

If you would like to give away something groovy (DVDs, CDs, books, concert tickets) on DEEP DISH, please email me at deepdishdrama@aol.com.

Dish of the Day #912: Hot Fun in the Summertime

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Dish of the Day #911: Hot Fun in the Summertime

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Dish of the Day #910: Vote for your Favorite

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning today you can vote for your favorite Dish this week in the sidebar poll.



Last week your favorite Dish of the Day was #902, who received an impressive 46.9% of the 160 votes cast. Coming in second was #903 with 21.3%, followed by #901 (18.1%), #904 (8.1%) and #905 (5.6%).

Chicago's Pride Films and Plays is having a Groovy Gay Summer

Chicago's Pride Films and Plays is planning a summer of groovy gay events, including a production of Richmond Jim, Cal Yeomans' long-lost play, to celebrate Pride Month. As this powerful slice-of-life drama opens, a young man newly arrived in New York finds himself in the arms of Mike, an older man well-versed in the various pleasures of the body, and an erotic metamorphosis begins. Originally produced by San Francisco's Theatre Rhinoceros in 1979, Richmond Jim was selected as the Best Gay Play of the Year - and it has not been produced since 1983. Directed by David Zak, Pride Films and Plays' production will star Kris Hyland, Jamie Smith and Chris Kossen.

Groovy Indie Films & Web Series: Help Fund Season 2 of Hustling

Since there are so many talented writers and directors with independent film and web series projects, I began this monthly feature to help promote a few of them and their current fundraising campaigns. Below are four groovy new projects and three from last month's post (click on a title to go to their IndieGoGo or Kickstarter page).

Dish of the Day #909: Must Love Dogs Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Deep Dish Dinner Party #31: The Sonny Side of Cher

The rules are quite simple - each week I feature 10 past/present celebrities and you get to invite (vote for) your three favorites to the Deep Dish Dinner Party. The five folks who receive the most votes get to stay, and the following week five new people (whose birthdays are during that week) are added to the guest list. So enjoy the party - and please feel free to leave a comment and share your selections.

1) Carol Burnett
Last Week #2, W5, 28 invites out of 159

2) Cher
W2, 22 invites

Dish of the Day #908: Must Love Dogs Week

Every Monday through Friday a new Dish of the Day is featured, and beginning on Friday you can vote for your favorite Dish of the week. If you haven't voted for last week's Dish yet, choose your man in the sidebar poll.

Groovy Giveaway: DVD of Diana Ross: Live in Central Park

Courtesy of The Karpel Group and Shout! Factory, this week's Groovy Giveaway is five DVDs of Diana Ross: Live in Central Park. On July 21, 1983, the legendary Diana Ross took the stage in New York’s Central Park before an audience of over 800,000. Soon after the entertainer began, pouring rain and heavy wind threatened to put an end to the show, but Diana pushed on for much of the set, urging the drenched crowd to remain calm and stay with her. Eventually the torrential storm put an end to the performance, but not before Diana promised her fans she would return the next day. True to her word, Diana performed the entire concert again on July 22nd for the people of New York. Initially broadcast live around the world, this renowned concert was never again shown on television - and has never been released on DVD until now.

To enter to win this Groovy Giveaway, all you have to do is email your name and address to deepdishdrama@aol.com. Winners must have a US mailing address, and entries close at midnight on Thursday, May 24 (CST).

If you would like to give away something groovy (DVDs, CDs, books, concert tickets) on DEEP DISH, please email me at deepdishdrama@aol.com.