Triangle Community Works Welcomes ‘First Gay Latin Star’ to Raleigh

March 23, 2008 – Raleigh, N.C. – Vicarious Productions and Triangle Community Works are very proud to present the Raleigh premiere of the solo musical comedy “ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1” by television, film and music star Jade Esteban Estrada (2005 Performance Artist of the Year) at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, 2006 at the Long View Center located at 118 South Person Street in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tickets are $15 and available online or at the door. Running time is 65 minutes with no intermission and appropriate for ages 13 and up. A VIP reception and silent auction will be held at 6:00 p.m. before the performance. For more information visit www.tcworks.com or www.getjaded.com or call 919-256-3672. This event is wheelchair accessible.

Raleigh audiences have heard the name Jade Esteban Estrada before. He is a “one-man festival”states Matt Ehlers of the Raleigh News and Observer. He continues, “There’s multitasking and then there’s Jade Esteban Estrada.”The Estrella award-winning singer was the master of ceremonies for the annual La Fiesta del Pueblo in Raleigh from 1999-2003.

What do Sappho, Michelangelo, Oscar, Gertrude, Sylvia and Ellen all have in common? They’re all coming to Raleigh – at the same time!

Beauty. Art. Flamboyance. Love. Struggle. Fame. The man The Advocate and Out Magazine call “the first gay Latin star” celebrated the world premiere of ICONS at the 2002 Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival in Columbus Ohio. In the show, Estrada portrays Sappho, Michelangelo, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Rivera and Ellen DeGeneres.

“‘ICONS’ is part history lesson, part musical, part politics and ALL entertainment,” states Jennifer Chung of the San Diego Daily Transcript. Tom Sime of the Dallas Morning News calls it, “funny and irreverent…a feel-good session for gay people.” Lisa Gauthier of Nuvo in Indianapolis states, “I’m not gay…but I loved these shows.” “Estrada is one of the finest American solo theatre artists of the 21^st century,” states Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine.

Estrada debuted his first solo show “It’s Too Late…It’s Already In Me…” at the Festival de Libre Enganche in 1997 and a decade later has been compared to Ruth Draper, Lily Tomlin and other luminaries in the field of solo theatre.
“You’ve got to hand it to Jade Esteban Estrada – he works hard for his money, bringing ICONS to such places as Nebraska, West Virginia and Idaho,” states Florida’s Watermark.

“Jade Esteban Estrada is a brilliant young writer and performer. It was an honor to experience the ministry of this modern pioneer of the gay movement, “states Rev. Troy Perry, Founder of the Worldwide
Metropolitan Community Church.

“I’ve seen Jade Esteban on stage four times before, but when I saw him portraying Mary Cheney, I realized he wasn’t only celebrating gay icons. He was using irony to tell us that not all of our gay icons are people that we love or respect. It was incredibly clever,” stated Thaddius Novack, Creative Director of Jersey City Lesbian and Gay Outreach.

Formally the choreographer to television personality Charo and a scratch vocalist for the Back Street Boys, Estrada came to international attention when he released his debut CD “Angel” (Vicarious) in 2001 and in 2002 took part in the “Being Out Rocks” (Centaur) CD compilation in honor of National Coming Out Day for the Human Rights Campaign.

In October 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher paid tribute to Estrada by commissioning him the title of “Kentucky Colonel,” the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky that acknowledges outstanding ambassadors of goodwill and fellowship around the world. The Texas native joined other honorary colonels which include Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Joan Crawford, Johnny Depp, Muhammad Ali and Pope John Paul II.

Estrada’s television credits include appearances on the Emmy award-winning comedy “30 Rock” and “Friday Night Lights” on NBC, the Emmy-nominated “In the Life TV” on PBS, and “The Graham Norton Effect” on Comedy Central. His popular Latin dance music can be heard on the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning police drama, “The Shield” on the FX Network.

Estrada’s other solo shows include “Gay Christian, Gay Muslim, Gay Jew,” “Pico de Gallo,” “Chek it, Baby: A Fabulous Explanation of Anton Chekhov’s Fiercest Plays” and “Tortilla Heaven.” He is currently on location shooting the upcoming feature film, “The Innocent Killers” directed by Brett Mauser. He also released his designer humor line of bilingual greeting cards, “Jade Esteban Estrada for Nos Vemos Greetings.”

See Jade’s latest music video “Bella Morena” at http://youtube.com/watch?v=pd5wrHbuido

For further information or to request high resolution artwork or an interview, please contact Greta Golding at [email protected], call or visit www.getjaded.com.