2009 in Review – Cherry Grrl’s Freshest Picks of the Year

From the best comedians to icons of the lesbian music scene, out and proud reality TV personalities, web series’ leading ladies, and veteran gay and lesbian supporting entertainers, Cherry Grrl had it covered in 2009. Each week we published new interviews with talented women who – through their hard work and dedication to their craft – helped enhance the visibility of lesbians in entertainment this past year. Below are our 5 favorite “Fresh Picked” features from 2009. Be sure to check out our “News and Issues,” “Events,” “Entertainment,” “Travel,” and “Life and Style” sections for the top stories in those areas as well. And Happy New Year to all our readers and supporters!

1. She’s Still The Best: Suzanne Westenhoefer Talks to Cherry Grrl. We caught up with the fabulous and hilarious Suzanne Westenhoefer over the summer and were honored by the experience of getting to know her, offstage. She was one of the first openly gay comedians to appear on television and it would still be hard to find a lesbian who doesn’t immediately mention Westenhoefer when asked about their favorite women in comedy.

2. Interview: Crystal Chappell Delivers with “Venice the Series.” “Venice the Series” is a new web series with a lesbian theme that is so well written, acted, and directed that an interview with its star, veteran soap actress Crystal Chappell, would have made this list even if the story behind the show wasn’t so special. When the long-running soap, Guiding Light, was taken off the air in September it meant an end to the popular “Otalia” lesbian storyline that featured Chappell as Olivia and Jessica Leccia as Natalia. Chappell, however, decided to take her acting, producing, and writing skills, recruit other veteran TV actors, join forces with long time friend and artistic partner Kimmy Turrisi and director Hope Royaltey, and create a web soap opera series that embraced the overwhelming fan support that came out of “Otalia.” The result was a great new show and an even more devoted fan following for the actress.

3. The Indigo Girls Deliver Again – Amy Ray Talks to Cherry Grrl. After 10 major-label studio albums, the Indigo Girls (Emily Saliers and Amy Ray) came full circle in March with the independent release of their new 2-CD album, Poseidon And The Bitter Bug, on their new label, IG Recordings. The new release is among the best produced by the iconic duo and talking to Amy Ray about it was absolutely a highlight of the year (okay – highlight of the site’s existence) for Cherry Grrl. Ray shared her thoughts on recording independently, performing at The Dinah for the first time, Katy Perry, and more.

4. Interview: Sharon Gless Comes Full Circle with New Lesbian Role. Hannah Free is a remarkable new film that premiered at festivals all across the country this fall. Its star, Sharon Gless, is veteran television and film actress who – through roles like Christine Cagney (Cagney & Lacey) and Debbie Novotny (Queer as Folk) – has been successfully bringing memorable female characters to life for decades. In our interview with the highly respected and unbelievably down-to-earth star, we discussed what it was like to finally play a lesbian (as Rachel in Hannah Free), why she believes Cagney & Lacey was so appealing to all women, and why Queer as Folk will always have a special place in her heart.

5. Interview: Ayiiia Elizarraras Gets “Real” With Cherry Grrl. MTV has now aired 22 seasons of the show that was the first of its kind. Reality television began with The Real World and, although there have been a few exceptions, the genre has served to do little more than embarrass generations and expose the worst traits of those who agree to be a part of it. The Real World, in particular, was originally constructed as a social experiment and inside look into what happens when you put different types of people in a house together for a set period of time. Unfortunately, many years later, the show has become a voyeuristic guilty pleasure where home viewers see what happens when you put a group of attractive and sexually promiscuous 20-somethings in a house together for a set period of time. In Cancun, for the first few weeks of episodes, it seemed like all was moving forward as planned toward the network’s mission of seeing just how much sex could be captured and drunken fights recorded. When bi-curious cast member Ayiiia slept with female roommate Emilee, however, the aftermath was a bit unexpected… it lead her to seriously questioning her sexuality and showing young viewers that, no matter who you are, doing so can be a very difficult process. We caught up with Ayiiia after the show finished airing and learned more about her experience of coming out on TV, discussing it with her unsupportive family, and current relationship with girlfriend Krystal.