TV: San Diego Gets 'WICKED' For Equality

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San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders made a visit to WICKED and posed for a photo with the cast onstage as they took a break from their rehearsal schedule. He recognized Production Stage Manager and SD native Peter Van Dyke and the cast for their national efforts for equality - especially the Fundraising Benefit "DEFYING INEQUALITY," that took place at the BIRCH THEATRE on Monday, August 24!

Mayor Jerry Sanders and his family were recipients of the 2008 San Diego Equality Award from Equality California. This year, the Equality California Awards event will honor Attorney General Jerry Brown, Diane Schrier and Stuart Milk (Harvey's nephew) at the Museum of Man on November 14th. The kick-off party for the 2009 Awards will take place at True North Tavern at 6PM before "Defying Inequality."

The First National Touring Company of WICKED hosted "DEFYING INEQUALITY," an evening of cabaret performances promoting equality and civil rights. Held at the Birch North Park Theatre (2891 University Avenue), and produced by company members of WICKED, the event featured members of the cast and crew as well as guest performers. This one-night only event benefited Equality California, Empire State Pride Agenda, Garden State Equality and Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, four non-profit charitable organizations working to legislate equality and protect civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. All proceeds will be distributed evenly among the four organizations.

DEFYING INEQUALITY featured musical performances that support WICKED's theme of acceptance and illuminate the musical's message that people should not be judged on first impressions, and that in these divisive times we must come together to support one another's rights throughout the country and around the world.

Founded in 1998, Equality California (EQCA) celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, commemorating a decade of building a state of equality in California. In the past 10 years, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Working in partnership with California's LGBT Legislative Caucus, EQCA is committed to building a better future for all Californians by protecting youth, strengthening families and empowering communities. Each year at the Capitol, EQCA monitors thousands of bills and leads the state's efforts to defeat legislation that could have a negative impact on LGBT Californians and their families.

The Empire State Pride Agenda is New York's statewide LGBT civil rights and advocacy organization. Their mission is to win equality and justice for LGBT New Yorkers and their families. Through their education, organizing and advocacy programs, Empire State Pride Agenda works toward creating a broadly diverse alliance of LGBT people and their allies in government, communities of faith, labor, all sectors of the workforce and other social justice movements to achieve equality for LGBT New Yorkers and the broader goals of social, racial and economic justice.

Garden State Equality, New Jersey's LGBT-rights advocacy organization, was founded in 2004. Since then, it has enacted 200 LGBT civil rights laws at the state, county and municipal levels. The laws include 12 expansions of the domestic partnership law from 2004 to 2006; a civil union law in 2006; a law expanding the Law Against Discrimination to include the transgender community in 2006; and in 2008, a statewide law that simultaneously overhauls the state's anti-bullying law, expands the state's hate crimes law to encompass the transgender community, and toughens up the entire hate crimes law to strengthen the fight against all bias-motivated violence. Also in 2008, New Jersey became only the second state in the United States, after California, to mandate paid family leave to employees who need to provide care for their same-sex partners.