Charity Lawson returns to find love in ‘The Bachelorette’
Flower power: After a devastating and emotional letdown during the Season 27 “hometown” episode of “The Bachelor,” Charity Lawson left (the season’s Bachelor) Zach Shallcross and returned home single, worried she may never find her match. But “Bachelor Nation” has spoken, and now the roses are in Lawson’s hand as she returns to impress as the star single in the landmark 20th season of “The Bachelorette,” premiering Monday, June 26, on ABC.
Lawson – now 27, who is from Columbus, Georgia, and works as a child and family therapist – won over the nation with her “confidence, compassion for helping others and magnetic smile,” according to ABC. She solidified her “genuine desire to find love by taking risks and supporting those around her,” generating a fan base that propelled the travel-loving therapist into the spotlight.
“I’ve waited forever to find the love of my life . ... It blows my mind that I could meet my person and be engaged and literally have my happily ever after,” Lawson said in a recent interview with People magazine. While it’s not guaranteed, the chances are higher than ever for Lawson to succeed in finding her fairytale dreams come true, as 25 of the country’s finest young men have lined up to vie for one of Lawson’s roses.
Hailing from every possible profession — from firefighter to wrestler, underwater welder to yacht captain — these hopeful bachelors will need more than an exciting career to win Lawson’s heart. According to ABC, Lawson is looking for “a life partner who loves dogs, thrifting and a good tailgate, but, above all else, someone who is honest, empathetic and values her for who she is.” With parents that have been married for 47 years, these potential matches have a lot to live up to, as “Lawson has been instilled with the confidence of knowing what she deserves and is eager to find a lasting love matching their example” (ABC).
“I can’t wait to show little girls that look like me [that] being in a position like this is possible,” Lawson explained, during her profile with People. As a successful, young Black professional, this bachelorette knows “[she’ll] be making a lot of people proud,” while standing up for what she deserves in the search for love.
The journey to forever continues for Lawson when Season 20 of “The Bachelorette” premieres Monday, June 26, on ABC.
History through harmony: Presenting 24 decades of American music in one grand, 24-hour performance is a seemingly impossible feat to most, but not for New York theater legend Taylor Mac (“Crimson Force,” 2005), who not only tackled the challenge but accomplished an unforgettable night (and day) of music, earning a spot in the history books as a music legend. Presented for the first time in a condensed – if not glamorous and elaborate – film, Mac’s night of American music history, “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music” premieres Tuesday, June 27, on HBO.
“Featuring virtuoso musicians, innovative costumes and the deconstruction of the American myth told through sailors’ ditties, disco and sugary pop alike,” the film is an encapsulation of Mac’s 24-hour-long extravaganza, which itself takes a subjective look at the 246-year (nearly 247-year) history of the U.S. through the performance of 246 songs – highlighting things oft forgotten about cultures, subcultures and the marginalized people who have comprised the U.S. since its inception with “songs that were popular throughout the country, and in its disparate communities, from 1776 to the present day” (Broadway World).
Mac – a Tony award-nominated playwright and performer, who just last year earned a Macarthur grant – is known for over-the-top performances that tell very real stories. Having performed at hundreds of theaters, musical halls, opera houses, cabarets and festivals worldwide, Mac is also the author of 17 fulllength works of original theater, including: “Hir,” “The Lily’s Revenge,” “The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac” and, of course, this current century-spanning production.
According to a review by the Tribecca Film Festival: “This glittered ringmaster guides an enthralled audience through a transformative cycle of birth, death and national rebirth,” in the span of his show, which has been mind-blowingly condensed into a jam-packed, 106-minute musical romp by Oscar-winning duo Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (both of “Howl,” 2010).
Produced by Joel Stillerman (“Rounders,” 1998), Linda Brumbach (“Plastic Bag Store: The Film,” 2021), Alisa Regas (“Whitman in the Woods.,” 2021), Mac and Mari Rivera (“Artful Gambit,” 2014), the film has been dubbed “joyous, challenging and ostentatiously queer” by the Tribecca Film Festival, where the film first premiered earlier in June. A history-making feat, “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music” premieres Tuesday, June 27, on HBO.