New Yorkers Party For Gay Rights at the Third Annual Big Gay Variety Show

Modern Family star Jesse Tyler-Ferguson (at right, center) had a few amplifier problems when he and singer-songwriter Maddy Wyatt took the stage Tuesday night at the at the New York Civil Liberties Union's Third Annual "Big Gay Variety Show" to support gay and lesbian rights in New York.

"That's what happens when you don't have a sound check," he told the sold-out crowd. "We weren't a priority. But it's OK! It's all for a good cause!"

Yes, it was. Renowned and beloved New York City drag queens, comedians, chanteuses and singers joined Tyler-Ferguson at the event — with lots of laughs in the process.

Tyler-Ferguson, who plays Ed O'Neill's gay son, Mitchell, on the ABC hit series Modern Family, wowed the crowd at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village with a funny and tender song called "Eduardo," about a boy who doesn't understand why it "didn't work out" when he tries to kiss a straight kid he has a crush on at school. Mid-song, he made the audience laugh when he scolded a rowdy group at the bar for talking too loudly by saying, "Bar people ... bar people!!!" again and again.

American Idol star Diana DeGarmo got into the act by donating tickets to her Broadway show, Hair, and dinner with her as a raffle prize. "She couldn't be there because she was onstage," says Bill Augustin, the show's creator and director for the past three years. "It's really great that she's giving up her time for something she believes in."

Lady Gaga songs dominated the show. Gold lame-clad comedienne, chanteuse and Grammy-winning cabaret star Lady Rizo emceed the show, kicking it off by singing Lady Gaga's hit song, "Poker Face." The drag queen comedy troop, Sunday Morning Mimosa, titillated the crowd with a medley of Gaga's hits including "Poker Face" and their oh-so-tight hot pink and zebra print ensembles. When singer Kate Pazakis took the stage, she quipped straight-faced, "I will now be performing 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga," before launching into the melancholy ballad, "I'm Going to Be Strong."

Lady Rizo closed the show by paying homage to the NYCLU's fight for gay marriage by singing a raucous version of Billy Idol's "White Wedding." "She's got a lot of energy!" a woman in the audience said after her performance.

"This was an important night," Augustin tells Tonic. "It was great to see so many people come together because they believe these issues are worth fighting for. The response we've gotten is overwhelming. Obviously, it's great to raise money for the NYCLU to fight for all of these issues, but it's also important to raise awareness in a way that's fun and not preachy. My feeling has always been to show the similarities between everyone and not the differences. When you have a fantastic comedian, like Gloria Bigelow, performing onstage and making everyone, from my parents and people's straight friends to gay men and black lesbians laugh, and everyone is enjoying the jokes on the same level, that's when you realize that we're closer on these issues than some people."

The evening raised nearly $10,000 for the NYCLU. Proceeds from the sold-out show will benefit the NYCLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) arm, a leading advocate for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers. The NYCLU began working "overtime" in December after the New York State Senate failed to pass legislation allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry in New York, says Augustin, one of the founding members of NYCLU's Young Professionals, the New York State affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"When marriage equality was voted down in the state legislature in December, it was difficult for a lot of people," he says. "I feel like I live in a gay bubble in New York City. Here everyone seems to get along and be very accepting, so you forget that just 10 miles north of the city, things are more conservative."

The NYCLU's LGBT arm is also working to promote the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), to stop bullying in schools, and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). "We're trying to move the public's opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislature and public education so that one day our state can be the standard-bearer on LGBT rights nationwide," says Augustin.

The NYCLU's latest victory came on March 29 when it reached an agreement with the Herkimer County School District to protect students from being bullied and harassed for sexual orientation and gender expression.

But there's a lot more to do, he says. "We still need to fight for gay rights," he says. "Just this week, (possible 2012 Presidential candidate) Mike Huckabee compared allowing gays and lesbians to marry to legalizing incest, polygamy and drug use and said gays shouldn't adopt children because children aren't pets. Statements like that are shocking to many of us, especially young professionals and people of my generation. It's sad to think that in 2010 there's still such a large contingent of people who don't understand differences among people or are afraid of differences among people."

Augustin came up with the idea to hold a variety show to raise money for the NYCLU three years ago "by accident," he says. I have a theater background," he says, who wrote the book and lyrics for the 2005 Off-Broadway show, But I'm A Cheerleader, based on a 1999 movie of the same name.

In 2008, the NYCLU asked if the Young Professionals could raise money to send a contingent to Albany to lobby for gay rights. "So I called a friend who was a manager at a midtown bar and asked some of my friends if they wanted to help me do a show. Some were singers, some comedians, and one was even a magician. So I said, ‘All right. It's a variety show! The first one started by accident but it was a big hit. We raised the money we needed and said, ‘Let's do it again.' Now it's an official event.Last year's burlesque-themed show at The Box raised almost $10,000.

"We are so happy at the turnout and the support we've gotten," says Augustin, who would like more people in their teens, twenties and thirties to involved in the NYCLU's cause. "It's important for us to get young professionals interested in civil liberties," he says. "You should never think there's nothing you can do about an issue, because there's always something you can do."

Photos via Facebook.