THE VOICE OF CHICAGO’S GAY, LESBIAN, BI AND TRANS COMMUNITY SINCE 1985 Mar. 3, 2010 • vol 25 no 22 www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com Silent protest has everyone talking By Sarah Toce
Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley are at the helm of something pretty spectacular in the LGBT community. Their thought-provoking silent pro- POW-WOW page 7 test against hate and Proposition 8 helped to create the widely-popular NO H8 Campaign that has transcended race, color, religion, sexuality and party lines (Cindy McCain just posed). I recently joined “the boys” in their studio in Los Angeles to have my photograph taken and chat with Adam and Jeff about Proposition 8, the upcoming pool party at The Dinah in Palm Springs and how the whirlwind that is the NO H8 Campaign all began. Oh, and Rosie O’Donnell—if you’re listening, they want you to call them. Windy City Times: By now, I’m pretty con- fident that almost everyone has seen or at least heard of the NO H8 Campaign. For the few people who are unfamiliar with the NO H8 Campaign, can you describe what it is about and how it started? Liz Taylor Adam Bouska: The NO H8 Campaign is a si- page 15 lent photo protest we started in our living room Book in our apartment after the passage of Proposi- tion 8 in California. It was never intended to be this big campaign. We just wanted to speak out to our social networks (our own friends and
Turn to page 6 Adam Bouska (above) co-founded the “NO H8” campaign. Photo courtesy of Bouska Ladies and gentlemen: Joan Rivers BY JERRY NUNN JR: I still do, all the way through college. I have been on Broadway three times and been For over four decades Joan Rivers has kept audi- nominated for a Tony. It goes back and forth and ences rolling in the aisles at her performances. now I do both, which is so great. I just did a NEW! This comedic icon juggles more plates than a play in London. Also, Nip/Tuck—all that stuff.
page 17 circus act with her stand up act, writing books WCT: I read that you once played a character Dining and selling jewelry. With an upcoming show in in a show about a lesbian who had a crush on Illinois, Windy City Times asked her, “Can we Barbara Streisand. talk?” JR: Yes, that was the first show that I did Off
Gays (like this one) Got Talent tMarch 3, 2010 at Spin. Broadway. It was the first thing that we both page 12 Windy City Times: Hi, Joan. What an honor nightspots it is to talk to a legend. Did you always have did. a desire to be a comedienne? WCT: And you have been friends ever since. Joan Rivers: I never wanted to be a comedi- JR: Not friends, good acquaintances. We don’t enne. I wanted to be an actress. But if you make call each other every night to say, “What a day I an agent’s secretary laugh then she will like you. have had!” [both laugh] But we are very happy I was always making people laugh. Someone said to see each other when we see each other. pick it up Strip It you can make six dollars a night making people WCT: Who have you wanted to arrest with Chicago Takes O hits the ground Sat., March 6. pages 2, 19, 30
take it home Mad about American Idol’s laugh in comedy clubs, so it is what started me the Fashion Police on the E! Channel? Mardi Gras at Blake Lewis. Sidetrack. page 10 page 16 JR: Oh, there is so many! You just say, “Who in doing that. Joan Rivers. Photo by Charles William Bush WCT: You did some acting, though. Turn to page 16
ACTRESS CHRISTINE EBERSOLE SHOW #WCQ355 www.WindyCityQueercast.com 2 Mar. 3, 2010 M?D:O9?JOC;:?7=HEKFFH;I;DJI
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index “★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ! Impeccable and gorgeous — A landmark event!” —Time Out Chicago NEWS Officers testify re DADT 4 Maryland’s marriage battle 4 “Marvelous! Stylized and raw, mythic and immediate — ‘NO H8’ co-creators 6 Incredibly ambitious and accomplished!” —Chicago Reader 46th Ward race taking shape 6 POW-WOW’s slate of events 7 HUD’s town hall 7 “A music-infused, hilarious, tragic, complex Chicago Takes Off’s Kiech 8 multi-generational telling of the African-American experience!” —New City Wis. LGBT college confab 8 Hate-crime charges in attack 9 Quotelines 9 “Surely the greatest piece of writing by an American playwright Views by Monroe; letters 10 under 30 in a generation of more.” —Chicago Tribune
ENTERTAINMENT Gary Griffin on Sondheim 11 Theater reviews 12 The Department of Housing and Urban Guitarist Sharon Isbin 13 Development held a groundbreaking Knight’s queer Oscar roundup 14 town-hall meeting. Read page 7.
DVD: Baby Formula 14 Photo of Helena Bushong by Mark Corece Mann on Elizabeth Taylor 15 Tim Miller’s view 16 Joan Rivers talks 16 NEW: Dining columns 17 Gays Got Talent pics 17 Billy Masters 21
OUTLINES Real estate; classifieds 18 Calendar Q 20 Sports: Hockey; Weir 22 Sports: Ruck ‘n Maul pics 22 Tim Miller has written a first-person perspective on his newest project, Lay of the Land. Read more on page 16. Photos on left side of cover (from top): Photo of C.C. Carter courtesy of Carter; photo of the cover of How to be a Photo courtesy of Tim Miller Movie Star; photo of Greg Perrine courtesy of Perrine
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E Gays (like this one) n i g h t s p o t s Got Talent tMarch 3, 2010 at Spin. page 12 ONLINE INDEX sister plays n nightspots KAT’S ENTERTAINMENT written by Tarell Alvin McCraney This week’s Pop directed by ensemble member Tina Landau CHICAGO Making Sense features TAKES OFF! entertainers such as Le A breakthrough theatrical event: three interconnected plays in Strip It two programs by a brilliant new American voice. Grand in scope, Chicago Takes O hits the ground Sat., March 6. pages 2, 19, 30 Kat (right) and Sade. Mad about American Idol’s Mardi Gras at Blake Lewis. Sidetrack. page 10 page 16 yet intimate and heartfelt, Tarell McCraney’s plays are daring, funny and genuine. ACTRESS Photo by Jon Abeyta CHRISTINE EBERSOLE Now Playing! In the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre SHOW #355 IT’S A DIFFA WORLD See photos from DIFFA’s gala that awarded grants to HIV/AIDS agencies. steppenwolf www.WindyCityQueercast.com Photo courtesy of Karen Hyland buy online at steppenwolf.org or call 312-335-1650. Corporate Foundation Hotel Partner ACE OF ‘FACE’ Production Sponsor Production Sponsor TVN QueerTVNetwork.com Makeup artist Scott Barnes (right) talked with WCT about his new book, Check out our About Face; Jennifer Lo- video channel for pez; and the top makeup new videos weekly mistake women make. www.QueerTV Network.com Photo courtesy of Ilisa Wirgin 4 Mar. 3, 2010 mony last week when he told the Senate Armed ONLINE AT Officers testify Services Committee “My personal belief is that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would WINDYCITYMEDIAGROUP.COM about DADT be the right thing to do.” As Gibbs explained, NATIONAL NEWS By CHUCK COLBERT “You heard for the first time ever the chairman of Joint Chiefs discuss the need to repeal ‘Don’t In the same week that Sen. Joe Lieberman, I- Ask, Don’t Tell.’” Conn., said he would introduce legislation to Although military officials comments contrast- repeal the military’s ban on openly gay service ed with Mullen’s full-throated call for openly gay members, top officials from the Air Force, Army, service members, repeal advocates voiced opti- Marine Corps and Navy testified on Capitol Hill, mism about the review process and eventual re- —N.Y. Gov. (left) voicing reservations to the president’s call to peal. not seeking end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In response to the Casey-Schwartz testimony, another term Only Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, in offering is for example, Aubrey Sarvis, executive direc- personal view, said gays should be permitted to tor the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network —Gay softball serve openly. (SLDN), said, “Neither Gen. Casey nor Gen. players attacked Both Pentagon and White House spokesper- Schwartz expressed opposition to the plan their Secretary of the Army John McHugh. sons as well as gay-rights repeal advocates bosses—Sec. Gates and Adm. Mullen—put be- —Phelps’ downplayed testimony, but they also struck back in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, without fore them earlier this month. We expect that protest becomes with a media campaign to combat what they say careful deliberation.” they will work within the framework the Penta- fundraiser is misinformation about the effects of ending Top Navy and Marine Corp leadership said they, gon has outlined.” “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT),” a 1993 policy and too, opposed a moratorium on gay discharges. Alexander Nicholson, executive director of federal law that bars gays from openly serving in “I would encourage you to either change the law Servicemembers United, said he expected “se- the armed forces. nior military leadership would oppose a morato- or not,” said Gen. James T. Conway, Marine Corps than a dozen individuals and LGBT organiza- The top officers’ hesitancy surfaced last week rium,” because “although a moratorium may be commandant. “But halfway measures will only tions have endorsed the Media Matters project. on Capitol Hill when Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., politically easier to deal with than full repeal, be confusing in the end.” Pointing to “outrageous myths,” the signato- who chairs the Senate Armed Services Commit- military leadership evaluates proposals based And Gen. Conway left little doubt about his ries pledge to ensure “fair and accurate news tee, pressed Secretary of the Army John McHugh not on politics, but rather on their substantive views. “At this point, I think the current policy reports” because “the public deserves an honest and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey on outcomes.” works,” he said. “My best military advice to this debate—not one marred by blatant falsehoods their views about a moratorium on all gay-relat- Explaining further, Nicholson said, “A morato- [Senate Armed Services] committee, to the sec- and anti-gay attacks.” ed discharges under DADT during the one-year rium would have the same practical outcome on retary, to the president would be to keep the Still, other repeal advocates are calling for implementation study period established by De- the ground as full repeal, and that is how the law as it is.” For Conway, the issue is combat a more aggressive posture. Longtime national fense Secretary Robert Gates. service secretaries and service chiefs are going mission, he said, how any change “would en- LGBT community activist David Mixner advo- Earlier this month Gates said would appoint a to evaluate it.” From their perspective, he said, hance the war-fighting capabilities of the US cates a three-point “tough and uncompromising high-level working group to report, by the end of “It would not make sense to support a proposal Marine Corps by allowing homosexuals to serve approach.” First, he insists that Obama issue a 2010, on how the military can adapt if Congress that has the same impact as full repeal while openly.” “stop-loss” order that would, in effect, stop all were to repeal DADT. Department of Defense they are still undertaking an analysis of how to For his part, Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of discharges among troops deployed in combat. General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Commander mitigate any issues that may arise from full re- naval operations, said, “There has never really Second, Mixner calls on LGBT leadership and of the U.S. Army in Europe General Carter Ham peal.” been an assessment of the force that serves,” organizations to pressure Congress and insist on head the study group. Other gay-rights activists, meanwhile, have adding, “Equally important is the feelings of the an amendment to the “Defense Authorization The impetus for the working group came from focused their attention to how mainstream me- families that support that force.” Lift-the-ban Bill” and repeal DADT this year. President Obama, who called for a lifting of the dia covers DADT. Media Matters for America, a reviews, he said, should focus mainly on military Third, if those pleas fall on deaf ears, then the ban in his State of the Union Address. Web-based not-for-profit progressive research readiness. LGBT community should stage sit-ins—nonvio- “If you’re asking for my personal opinion, as to and information center (www.mediamatters. By the end of the day Feb. 25, the last day lent civil disobedience—at congressional lead- the effects of a moratorium,” McHugh said, “We org), released a what it calls “a comprehensive of top brass testimony, Pentagon press secretary ership offices until there is a vote. “Under no have any number of cases underway pursuant to review of the myths and falsehoods [that] media Geoff Morrell, said that Gates and military of- circumstances should we wait another year for the current law that would be greatly compli- conservatives” hold out “in an effort to prevent ficials want Congress to hold off on lifting re- a worse Congress to vote,” according to Mixner’s cated.” Specifically, McHugh cited the Army’s Lt. repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’” strictions on gays in the armed forces until the “Act on Principles” no-more excuses call to arms, Dan Choi, who came out on The Rachel Maddow In a display of solidarity with activists, more yearlong review is completed. “Taking action posted at www.actonprinciples.org. Show last year. A West Point alumnus, Choi is a now would pre-empt the review process that ev- high-profile Arabic-language expert whose dis- erybody agrees is needed to do this smartly,” he charge is currently pending under DADT. said, according to Reuters. “Taking action before the governor could issue an executive order— For his part, Casey said a moratorium would [the review] is done is putting the cart before Md. may recognize similar to that issued by New York Gov. David “complicate” the implementation process already the horse, Morrell added, referring to either out-of-state Paterson in 2008—that directed state agencies set in motion by Gates, explaining, “We would passage of repeal DADT legislation or a morato- to recognize same-sex marriages licensed else- be put in the position of actually implementing rium. marriages where. it while we were studying the implementation.” On Feb. 26, moreover, White House Press Secre- By Lisa Keen Gansler noted, however, that Paterson’s execu- Casey went even further. “I do have serious tary Robert Gibbs told reporters that “Don’t Ask, Keen News Service tive order had been based on a state court order concerns about the impact of repeal of the law Don’t Repeal” is on the right track. Responding and no such court decision had been rendered in on a force that is fully engaged in two wars and to a question from D.C. Agenda reporter Chris Just days before Washington, D.C.,’s new mar- Maryland, so O’Malley was not at liberty to issue has been at war for eight and a half years,” he Johnson, Gates said, “I think [the military and riage-equality law is set to go into effect, the a similar directive. said. “We just don’t know the impacts on readi- Pentagon process initiated by Sec. Gates and attorney general of neighboring Maryland issued The memo “is not itself the law of Maryland ness and military effectiveness.” Adm. Mullen] is a very strong start for a process a long-awaited opinion on whether same-sex in the same sense as a statute … or court deci- Before the House Armed Services Committee, that the president believes will end—will end in marriages validated in other jurisdictions will sion,” said Gansler. “Rather it is an interpreta- moreover, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff overturning—rightfully overturning that law.” likely be recognized by courts in that state. The tion of the statutory or common law that can for the Air Force, voiced a “strong conviction” In his remarks, Gibbs took note of Joint Chiefs answer is “yes.” guide a client agency and may be persuasive to that now “is not the time to perturb the force, of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen’s testi- “The answer to that question,” wrote Attorney a court reviewing agency action based on the this is, at the moment, stretched by demands General Douglas Gansler, in an opinion dated opinion.” Feb. 23 and released Feb. 24, “is clearly ‘yes’.” And, in his opinion, the state court would More than a bean counter... And the answer ricocheted around the state “likely respect the law of other states and rec- quickly, drawing both praise and promises of ognize a same-sex marriage contracted validly in Whether you are an independent contractor, own your own undoing. Gay-rights groups were understandably another jurisdiction.” business or possess investment and real estate assets happy and right-wing entities, such as the Cath- “While this is welcome news for those couples with your partner, your finances are complicated. You olic Church, were predictably unhappy with the who were legally married in one of the growing need a professional knowledgeable to legally opinion. And one delegate in the state House number of states with equality in marriage, noth- minimize your taxes at an affordable price. suggested the attorney general should be im- ing in the Attorney General’s opinion changes peached. the fact that same-sex couples cannot obtain But importantly, Gov. Martin O’Malley, choos- marriage licenses in Maryland,” said Madaleno. ing his words carefully, said the state would be Currently, only five states issue marriage li- “guided” by the “thorough analysis and legal censes to same-sex couples, and only two advice.” others—New York and Rhode Island—recognize “I expect all State agencies to work with the marriage licenses validly obtained elsewhere, Located in Lakeview attorney general’s office to ensure compliance according to the national Freedom to Marriage with the law,” said the Democratic governor. group. The states that issue marriage licenses Thomas H. Franklin is just such a professional. Not only Gansler’s 55-page memorandum is addressed are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont possessing a CPA and Masters in Tax, he has over 19 years to openly gay state Sen. Richard Madaleno, who and New Hampshire. experience in advising and preparing tax returns for people in requested an opinion last May as to whether Washington, D.C., is set to begin implement- your situation. For a free consultation, call 312-310-3171. Maryland could recognize same-sex marriages li- ing its new marriage-equality law Wed., March www.thomashfranklin.com censed elsewhere. Madaleno also asked whether 3. ©2010 Keen News Service Mar. 3, 2010 5 6 Mar. 3, 2010 NO H8 from cover family). The first photo was actually of Jeff. We took his photo after seeing victim of hate logos online. People had posted those, but we wanted people to lend their face to the cause and not hide behind logos. So, we started with Jeff’s im- age and he posted it to his Facebook and then from there some of his friends saw it and it just grew and grew. WCT: Was it hard for you to pose for the campaign, Jeff? Jeff Parshley: No, well, I’m not a model or anything. We weren’t actually intending for the photos to be anything huge at first, but then we started really getting into it and we were like, “let’s do a protest photo. Like an anti-Prop 8 photo or something like that.” It’s so simple and so easy—it’s just the white shirt and the white background and it’s very quick and makes a big statement we think. WCT: Where did the name NO H8 come from? JP: Well, we feel that any form of discrimina- tion is a form of hate. Proposition 8 just kind of took on the name of Prop Hate in itself so we just kind of wanted to turn it into a no hate thing. AB: Yeah and then it became a campaign es- Among those who have posed for the NO H8 campaign are (from left) Kathy Griffin; and model Candace Jones and openly gay Big Brother alumnus sentially because of the photos and the way it Marcellas Reynolds. Photos by Adam Bouska was growing. It is a media campaign that has become a way to educate the masses. We want that’s talked about every day. we have so far. LOCAL NEWS to get these images out there to show exactly JP: Every time we have someone come through AB: We may need a very long lens for this one. who is in support of the cause and who is being that puts their face to it that is a high-profile We are hoping to get as many people into this 46th Ward discriminated against because it’s good to see person, it puts even the words “gay marriage” one shot to show that, “Hey, we’re all here in the race takes shape back on the TV and back in the newspapers. As same place at the same time for this cause.” that and have a look in their eyes and be able to By ANDREW DAVIS long as we’re talking about it, then people will JP: I am woman, hear me roar. see that it’s hate written on their faces. That is know that it’s still a problem. WCT: By the way, Suzanne Westenhoefer is essentially what it is. The Chicago aldermanic races will not take place AB: It’s more than even just gay marriage. It’s WCT: How did the silent part come into play going to be there on Friday night and Rosie until next year, but in the 46th Ward (which in- with the duct tape? a human rights issue. We have “Don’t Ask, Don’t O’Donnell will be there on Saturday night. cludes Uptown, Buena Park and East Lakeview) AB: The duct tape is a symbolism of our voices Tell” and adoption rights. In the majority of the AB: We’ve been talking to Fran [Drescher] things are already heating up. not being heard. States, you can still be fired for being gay so about trying to get Rosie to pose. At least one openly gay individual is running JP: 48 percent of the state of California voted that is a huge issue. So, even though Proposi- WCT: I don’t see why she wouldn’t do it. for the position as James Cappleman told Windy for “No” on Prop 8 but because the majority tion 8 will be overturned one of these days, our Rosie, are you reading this? City Times that he “absolutely intends” to run rules here, the 48 percent of the vote doesn’t fight will not be over. They won’t put all of this AB: I also heard that Ke$ha might be perform- for alderman. Cappleman’s Web site, www.James- matter because 52 percent voted the other way. in the media unless we talk about it and get it ing, too. ForChange.com, still contains information from So, half of the state wants marriage equality but out there. It’s our job in the LGBT media and WCT: Yes, she is and I bet she’d do it, too. his last run in 2007, when he lost a very close it doesn’t matter because the majority doesn’t community to protect these rights and fight for AB: They are going to love her there. It’ll be a race to current Alderman Helen Shiller. However, want it. them. Even 20 years ago there wasn’t a voice for lot of fun! he said that the site will be updated “in a couple AB: Yeah, if the majority of the people can our community and now there is and we have to WCT: We need more people that just want to months.” vote on the rights of the minority, then the mi- make use of that privilege. speak up for the cause to let it be known that In an e-mail to Windy City Times, Cappelman nority population is always going to lose. It’s a WCT: Too bad Harvey Milk isn’t here. we are not going away. You guys are going to stated, “I’m running because I am the front- failed system and there are a lot of errors with AB: He would do a photo for us, I’m sure. be making this a very visible issue so, thank runner and have the best chances of winning the whole system altogether. WCT: I’m sure he would! you for that. against Ald. Shiller should she decide to run for WCT: I agree. So, tell us some of the people JP: Cleve Jones, one of Harvey Milk’s close AB: Well, this is going to be just the begin- a sixth term. No other candidate has my cam- who have posed for you. friends, did a photo and Larry Kramer, founder of ning. There is a lot to be done. We never in- paign experience, my name recognition, and my AB: Oh, gosh, I mean, it’s been overwhelming ACT UP also did a photo for us. It’s just really a tended it to be as large of a campaign as it has record of service throughout the ward. in support. We have had a lot of celebrities as great, diverse group of people. become. Now that we have everyone’s attention, “As it was true the last time (despite what well as every day people. Most recently we had AB: It would be great to go up to the Castro we are going to make use of that. We are still in was promoted by the incumbent), this is not a Cindy McCain, which got us a lot of good sup- District in the community outside of Harvey’s the early stages and are building up this mas- campaign to get rid of any groups of people or port. photo shop sometime and shoot in that area. sive media arsenal. Essentially, anywhere videos to make the 46th Ward into Lincoln Park. It’s not JP: That is what is so good about the cam- WCT: Speaking of getting out into the com- and photos can go, we’re going to make use of about promoting a war between [two] different groups of people. paign because there may be someone out there munity, NO H8 is going to The Dinah. that. Billboards, magazines and broadcasts— “It’s about building on the shared values of who supports equal rights or marriage equality JP: The good thing about going to The Dinah anything we have the budget to afford, we will the community and working together for the that you don’t know. Not a lot of people out is that a lot of people think of gay people as make it possible. Even re-tweeting news stories benefit of all. It’s about setting up a process there knew that Cindy McCain supported mar- men, but there are a lot of gay women. It’s about about the issues seems to be a new way to in- of inclusion that invites and encourages com- riage equality but now that she has done the same-sex couples and it doesn’t matter if they volve people in an easy way. munity input. And it’s about setting up systems campaign, everybody knows that she supports are male or female. The Dinah is all women and WCT: Which cities have you been to with the that promote reform and an end to pay-to-play marriage equality. That is what is good about that is important. We all need to come together. NO H8 Campaign? politics.” the campaign because it takes people and it Proposition 8 was formed to tear us apart and AB: San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Washing- Cappleman has served as board president of shows them who really does support equal rights we need to come together. ton D.C., New Hampshire, New York and San AB: That’s the silver lining of it all. Even Diego. We are hoping to go to Vegas, Seattle, LGBT Catholic organization Dignity Chicago. In and it puts a face to it and puts it out there. addition, he has been very active in the HIV/ I think anybody who is following you or fol- though this was meant to tear us apart, we are Chicago, Boston, Miami, Denver and everywhere going to use this to unite our community and else. There’s even been talk about Madrid and AIDS community, having, among other things, lowing us or anybody who is supportive of the co-founded a homeless shelter for people living campaign should tell other people and get the re-ignite the fight. We need to make sure that Manchester [England]. this never happens again. JP: It’s a human right and there are humans in with the disease in the late 1980s. word out there so that everybody knows what is At least two other individuals are intending to going on and the things that need to change. JP: Yeah, it’s been about unacceptance when other countries besides America so we’d like to it should be about acceptance. go around the world, too. It’s not just this coun- run. Gerald Farinas (www.Chicago46.com) is run- AB: We’ve had all sorts of different people ning on a “weed and seed” program that would from all walks of life come out to support the AB: A lot of people tend to hate things that try that feels it. There are other countries going they don’t know. I feel that education is the through the same thing. It’s a world issue. “weed out” criminals and “seed” human-services NO H8 Campaign. We’ve had Kathy Griffin, Adam program, according to his Web site; he counts Carolla, Dr. Drew, Fran Drescher, Ashley Simpson- tool to inform people about differences. It’s just AB: NoH8Campaign.com is our Web site. All of about fear of the unknown. our photos are there as well as on Facebook and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and entertainer Wentz, Pete Wentz, Gloria Allred, Shanna Moak- Miss Foozie among his Facebook supporters. Po- WCT: Exactly. So, you put well-known faces Twitter. Please follow us and stop by for an open ler, Steve-O, Isaiah Washington and others. It’s lice officer Michael Carroll (www.Carroll46.com), to the cause and there you go. It opens a shoot when we get to your city. been really cool to see these people coming out who is completing his master’s degree thesis in whole new door of communication. Follow Sarah Toce on www.sarahtoce.com to support the cause. It’s re-igniting the whole public policy and administration at Northwest- JP: Yes. So, we’ll be at The Dinah. We’ll get and www.lezzbook.com. fire and the fight. I mean, it (Proposition 8) ern University, is also running; his platform in- the Sunday pool party set up and do a shoot happened back in November 2008 and nothing cludes, among other things, an “open and hon- and then everybody will have the NO H8 on their is being done about it. It needs to be an issue est government.” faces and we’ll try to take the biggest shoot that Mar. 3, 2010 7 of our work. We found venues with no prob- safety issues, we are often isolated and we are State Sen. Bill Brady—currently the Republi- lem.” The events are spread throughout the city, at risk. ... Elderly LGBT people are coming in can candidate for governor—originally filed the and spaces include the Echelon Theatre, 2101 high numbers and an epidemic is approaching.” measure. However, state Sen. John O. Jones now E. 83rd, which will host the burlesque and drag Joe Hollendoner, director of Broadway Youth is recognized as the chief sponsor. performances of The Pantomime Follies March Center (BYC), provided eye-opening statistics on The committee was scheduled to vote on the 6. Comediennes Dana Austin and Gloria Bigelow the state of homeless youth. For example, there measure March 2. will perform on March 14 at Jokes and Notes, are about 1,300 homeless youth while BYC has 4641 S. Martin Luther King. fewer than 50 official beds; in addition, there is Sotomayor display Carter is looking forward to the month’s no trans-specific housing while age brackets at events becoming the springboard of a new and some facilities disqualify others. Bostic respond- ends March 5 dynamic creative arena that encourages and fos- ed that “LGBT people are multidimensional” and “A Hero Comes Home”—an exhibit on the life ters emergent LGBT talent and showcases the “youth and elders are in vulnerable positions.” and times of cartoonist and AIDS activist Dan- South Side as a safe space for all women. She Regarding the town-hall meetings, Bostic said, iel Sotomayor (1958-1992), an inductee in the is acutely aware of how the term “safe space” “We are starting from scratch and we need all of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame—is on translates differently for women, depending on your support.” Data will be collected into next display until March 5 at the Institute of Puerto their ethnic and racial background, and that spring and summer. Rican Arts & Culture, 3015 W. Division. white women have historically been reluctant to New York City and San Francisco are the other The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on make it out to what might be defined as a “Black cities participating in this study. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from C.C. Carter. Photo courtesy of Carter space.” The performance of Eve Ansler’s Any One 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on But Us, which will take place at Northeastern Wednesday and Sunday. Illinois Universitys’ Jacob Carruther’s Center for Anti-gay bill See www.iprac.org. POW-WOW Inner City Studies, is the kind of programming filed in she thinks will bring communities together to WCT seeking prepares to consider the interrelated experiences of people state senate of color, women and LGBTs. A measure that would roll back some of the 30 Under 30 wow Chicago See http://powwowwomenspride.event- protections that the Illinois Human Rights Bill— Windy City Times is seeking to recognize 30 By Yasmin Nair brite.com or sites.google.com/site/powwow- which prohibits discrimination on the bases of more outstanding LGBT individuals (and allies) inc/powwowwomenspride2010, or search for sexual orientation and gender identity—current- who are under 30 years of age. POW-WOW Inc. (Performers or Writers for Women “POW-WOW’s Women’s Pride 2010” on Face- ly provides has been filed in the Illinois Senate. Nominees should be under 30 years of age and on Women’s Issues) has been running for seven book for more information. Send questions SB3447, if passed, would allow secular non- should have made some substantial contribu- years, featuring a spoken-word performance by to [email protected] or call 773-530- profit institutions and organizations claiming an tions to the LGBT community, whether in the Chicago’s LGBT artists, every Tuesday of every 8600. affiliation with a religious institution or society fields of entertainment, politics, health and/ week. This year, at the outset of Women’s Histo- to legally discriminate against its employees or other areas. (The deadline to nominate in- ry Month, it is poised to expand its programming based on religious belief and sexual orienta- dividuals is Friday, April 23.) The nomination in a special monthlong series as the first Chicago HUD hears tion. should be 100 words or less and should state festival for LBT women in honor of Women’s His- Several organizations have taken action. For what achievements or contributions the nomi- tory Month. local LGBT example, LGBT Change is directing people to nee has made.E-mail Andrew@WindyCityMedia- Some of the highlights include the 2010 pre- visit https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cm Group.com or fax to Andrew Davis’ attention to miere of Eve Ansler’s Any One of Us: Words from housing issues d=display&page=UserAction&id=1973 to fill out 773-871-7609. By MARK CORECE Prison, a collection of monologues by over 50 a petition that will be sent to the person’s state Honorees will be notified in May and recog- incarcerated or formerly incarcerated women in senator and representative. Equality Illinois is nized at a ceremony Wed., June 23, at Center on What do you get when you provide a speaking the United States. The schedule also includes urging individuals to contact their state sena- Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted. platform in a room full of some of Chicago’s most the 1st Annual Rainbow Shoe/Tie Affair, which tors, especially if they are on the 11-member active community leaders and advocates on the marks the return of the International Women’s Judiciary Committee, which is considering the brink of something new? Essentially, there are Dance. This year’s dance is the primary fund- measure first. raiser for POW-WOW and will include a pre-award penetrating statistics and a transcending reality ceremony honoring women and men in the com- that get to the core of the LGBT housing di- munity who promote the health of women. This lemma. year’s honorees are Lora Branch, Dr. Margo Bell, A public town-hall meeting was held Feb. 25 Keith Green, the Rev. Charles Straight and the at City Hall to address LGBT housing discrimi- -,# creators of The Red Pump/Red Tie Project. Other nation around the nation. Chicago was the first events include a screening of the documentary site of a three-city public dialogue to provide ' 5 ,2 2- !& ,%# 2&# 5-0*" “No! The Rape Documentary,” with a discussion input through collective information and experi- following. ences for a new study being spearheaded by U.S. While POW-WOW has been a force in the Chi- Department of Housing and Urban Development cago creative arts world, this new series also (HUD) Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. 25- indicates a conscious attempt to showcase the “We were fully embraced by the mayor’s office; work of LGBTs of color in a city where even the it is refreshing. ... We are the LGBT community ' ,##" 2- # 0, *'4',% queer community tends to patronize businesses resource and we are here to listen,” said Bostic. and creative arts in ways that mirror the racial Bostic, along with local LGBT mayoral liaison segregation of the city. C.C. Carter, founder of Bill Greaves and Simone Koehlinger, LGBT direc- POW-WOW, is herself a well-known spoken-word tor for the Chicago Department of Health, pre- 2FPCC performer and writer whose first book of poetry, sented a plan to conduct this study in Chicago Body Language, was a 2003 Lambda Literary and around the country. MD RFC RMN RCL Award nominee. This latest study is one of four that have been Carter told Windy City Times she felt the need conducted. In 2000, the third study, measured D?QRCQR EPMUGLE NPMDCQQGMLQ for this kind of LGBT programming in part be- “the extent of housing discrimination in the cause Pride tends to be Eurocentric and middle United States against persons because of their ?PC GL NQWAFMJMEW class while Black Pride is focused on African- race or color,” according to www.HUDUser.org. American men. That made her question the lack “This study is really designed to create a of space for the female segments of the LGBT framework so that [LGBT people] won’t have community: “I asked myself, ‘What avenues to live with the fear of their sexuality being a It’s a simple equation that adds up to living the life you want. You’ll enjoy exist in this city for lesbians?’ There was also, part of why they aren’t living somewhere,” said a rewarding career that allows you to earn a living and make a difference. within the Chicago women’s rights community, Bostic. “The findings that we have can lead to According to projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand a lack of representation of lesbians.” In look- a direct dialogue about the problems that the for psychologists and counselors will grow by 15 to 34% in the next seven years. ing for venues and performers, Carter knew she LGBT community is having in housing and to get And as the nation’s leading graduate university of psychology, The Chicago School wanted to represent a diverse group that would, us to where no one lives in fear.” will prepare you to make a powerful impact in this ever-expanding field. for instance, include Latinas as well as African The varied audience consisted of concerned Americans but in more substantive ways than is community members, local organization affili- Visit thechicagoschool.edu to request information and read the inspiring possible during a one-evening performance. And ates, to bureaucratic supporters. Among those stories of people like you who are already changing the world. she knew she wanted to shake up the LGBT com- attending were 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shill- munity’s tendency to gravitate only to the North er; Jose R. Rios (GLBT community liaison officer Side of the city for entertainment. for the Chicago Police Department’s 23rd Dis- “The South Side is this cultural mecca, with trict); and Helena Bushong of the Chicago Area venues and audiences you don’t often hear HIV Services Planning Council. about,” she said. “People tend to imagine that The presenters revealed youth, elders and the the South Side must automatically be a difficult trans community are at the heart of Chicago’s place to host LGBT events because of the pres- LGBT housing plight. ence of the Black church, but we have found Bushong, a trans activist, expressed the dif- thechicagoschool.edu 800.721.8072 that businesses there are incredibly supportive ficulties elderly LGBT people face. “We encounter 8 Mar. 3, 2010 And I was, of course, friends with [CTO co- how to work an audience and is so connected founder] Keith [Elliott]; I was helping out with and fun. I saw him again in Key West earlier this “Dance Divas,” which is a spin-off of Dance for year and I said, “You have to come to Chicago.” Life. He mentioned that he would be doing this He was this ‘50s-’60s lounge-act comedian vibe. event for TPAN and I said that I would be do- WCT: So he fits in perfectly with the theme ing these burlesque-y things, and he said, “You of the show. should help with this.” TK: Yes. I’m really excited to have Murray in WCT: It’s being held March 6 this year. the show. Wasn’t it held in February in previous years? “Chicago Takes Off: TV Land—Outside the TK: The first two years it was in February. Box” will take place Saturday, March 6, 7:30 Rhett Lindsay: Yes. The committee decided it p.m. and 10 p.m., at the Park West, 322 W. was a better fit for March. It allowed for more Armitage. See www.ChicagoTakesOff.org and time for ticket sales after the holidays—and www.TPAN.com for tickets and more informa- it has been a better fit, not only [regarding] tion. ticket sales but also for the agency; it gives us a Find out more about the show—including chance to break up things more and devote more the return of an esteemed choreographer— Todd Kiech. Photo courtesy of Kiech time to this event. online at www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com. WCT: How did you decide upon this theme? TK: I don’t remember. [Laughs] I remember just tossing it out at a wrap-up we had last LGBT college ‘Chicago year. RL: There’s always a bucket of ideas and confab covers Kate Bornstein. Photo by Blair Mishleau Takes Off’ themes, and this one was generated from that bucket last year. politics, media “MBLGTACC provided an insight into how other TK: I remember telling one of my close friends By BLAIR MISHLEAU takes on TV campuses run their GSA’s and makes it possible about this idea—”Yeah, I was thinking we could BY ANDREW DAVIS for us to collaborate our ideas,” said Taralee do some sort of retro TV theme, like Nick at Snow fell gently on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wis., as college students Morgan, president of Augustana College’s gay- The phrase “boob tube” may take on another Nite.” And he said, “Oh, that’s it! Think of all dashed from their hotel to a nearby restaurant straight alliance, PRISM. “Being able to hear meaning March 6, when one of the hottest the options.” And that’s how other people [re- or to attend a workshop. what has worked and what hasn’t for other GSA’s events of the year, Chicago Takes Off (CTO)— sponded]. And [with this idea], there’s so much They were meeting for the Midwest Bisexual has helped me to feel more confident in going which showcases hot male and female dancers— to mine from. Lesbian Gay Transgender and Ally College Con- ahead with the next term for PRISM.” takes on classic television. Windy City Times WCT: [Joking] I can’t wait for the Mr. Belve- ference (MBLGTACC) 2010. The conference, In the first workshop block, bright and early spoke with CTO co-producer Todd Kiech and Test dere skit. which ran Feb. 19-21, is the oldest Midwest col- at 8 a.m., Natalie Klueg chronicled the history Positive Aware Network (TPAN) Associate Direc- TK: [Kiech and Lindsay laugh.] That’s the of how media portrays the LGBT population with thing—we had so many things to pick and lege conference, according to organizers. tor of Special Events Rhett Lindsay about, among Conference attendees were easy to spot, as an presentation entitled “The Big Bad Bisexual choose from. How do you choose? You know other things, what the audiences can expect. many were wearing the purple T-shirts given out Woman.” The workshop ended with how bisexu- somebody’s gonna be like, “You didn’t do a Windy City Times: Todd, tell me about your at registration and even more were lugging the als have been unfairly portrayed in the media, Dallas number. That was my favorite TV show.” dancing background and how you became in- neon orange tote bags that carried their pro- mentioning examples such as the MTV show True [But] we had to think what fit in the show. We volved in “Chicago Takes Off.” gram books and other paperwork. Life. had to whittle some numbers out; it was tough. Todd Kiech: I came from concert dance, from It took place near the Madison Capitol, at the The audience smiled or laughed constantly But it’s not going to be, like, a literal I Dream of modern dance, so I danced with a couple mod- Monona Terrace Conference Center. Students during the forum. At one point, Klueg compared Jeannie number; we’re using that as the start- ern-dance companies here in Chicago: Akasha from every Midwestern state as well as a few the portrayal of lesbians to “hulking vampires, ing point to make something creative, sexy and, Dance Company and Chicago Repertory Dance states out of the area, such as Florida, attended except they don’t sparkle,” referring to the Twi- hopefully, humorous show. Ensemble. So I was in that arena for many years. to attend workshops, network and shape the light saga. WCT: And this is all retro TV, so there’s no Then I stopped dancing—but you really never gay movement that they will inevitably someday After a short break, the second set of work- stop dancing. I did some musical theater and Jersey Shore. control. shops began, one of them featuring a panel of some more commercial work—cruise ships, a TK: There will be no Snookis; the stage will be Activities began with an opening session Feb. Northwestern University staff talking about al- show for Disney. a Snooki-free zone. I think the way we start the 19 featuring keynote speaker Loren Cameron, lies and the importance of educating them. Then, I started choreographing special events. show is fun—and I’m going to leave it at that. who has been taking pictures of those in the Another highlight of the day was the media I worked with Sidetrack, and I wanted to do WCT: People want to know. Can you provide transgender movement for over a decade, begin- workshop “Media Marginality: TV’s Effects on something with men—and then with men in less one detail to tease the readers? ning with a photographic documentation of his LGBT Student Self-Perception.” Audience mem- and less clothing. [Laughs] I got introduced to a TK: One detail from the show? [Kiech and Lind- transition. bers faced an intensive session: They watched a show in New York City called Broadway Bares; it’s say whisper to other, hands over mouths, leading Workshops began Feb. 20 and were as diverse clip from Family Guy. In an episode of the popu- amazing. When I saw the first production num- the interviewer to say, “I feel like I’m at a con- as the crowd attending, including staples such lar animated series, a character is injected with ber, I said, “Oh, my God! That’s it!” It’s so fun gressional hearing.” Kiech and Lindsay laugh.] as bisexuality and retention for student groups, the “gay gene” and becomes every gay stereo- and sexy and [filled with] great performances, One thing I’m very excited about is our MC, as well as distinctive workshops such as “Media type imaginable. The audience had to analyze so anytime I had an event I patterned it after [drag king] Murray Hill. I met Murray a couple Marginality: TV’s Effects on LGBT Student Self- this clip to judge how much harm and good it that. years ago in New York—just hilarious. I’ve seen Perception.” did, evoking an interesting conversation be- him a couple times since; [he] totally knows tween those who found it appropriate and those who did not. “Media has become a super-peer in the last Friday, March 12 generation. TV influences us a lot more than it has in the past,” said Joshua Johnson, one of 7:30 p.m. the presenters. Staceyann Chin Another session, “For Hearing People Only,” The Other Side of Paradise chronicled common misconceptions of deaf peo- ple that hearing people have, and reminded the LGBT community how to be all-inclusive. Saturday, March 13 The weekend wrapped up with Kate Bornstein. 6:00 p.m. She wrote the suicide-alternative book 101 Al- Cynthia Kraack ternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Have your Minnesota Cold Outlaws. Bornstein gave a unique presentation cen- premiums tered around the fact that people can do any- Select Italy Travel thing they need to do to stay alive. “Just don’t be mean,” said Bornstein. She mentioned that increased Custom Trip Planning sometimes things like anorexia or cutting are Honeymoons alternatives to suicide, but cautioned that they 5233 N. Clark Vacation Packages recently? (773) 769-9299 are extremely dangerous and only temporary. Privately Guided Tours As the conference ended, Bornstein had ush- See me: Museum, Opera & Theater Tickets ers at the doors hand out “Get Out of Hell Free” Charles T. Rhodes, Hotels, Villas & Apartments cards that stated, “Do whatever you need or want to do in order to make life worth living. Agent Your Italian travel experts since 1997 Love who and how you want to love. Just don’t 2472 N. Clark be mean. Should you get sent to Hell for doing 303 W. Erie Suite 410 something that isn’t mean to someone, I’ll do 773.281.0890 [email protected] Chicago, IL 60654 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company www.womenandchildrenfirst.com your time in Hell for you. Kiss kiss –Kate.” www.selectitaly.com/wct (not in NJ) Parking Available The University of Michigan will host MBLGTACC State Farm Indemnity Company (NJ) 800-877-1755 Home Offices: Bloomington, Illinois Wheelchair Accessible 2011 on Feb. 24-27. Mar. 3, 2010 9 entire community. These crimes are taken seri- ously and they will be prosecuted to the full ex- tent of the law.” Daniel Coyne, a lawyer representing Kevin McAndrew, declined to comment on the facts of QUOTELINES the case. “There’s really nothing to say,” Coyne BY REX WOCKNER said, “until we know specifically what the nature of the complaint is.” The three defendants are next scheduled to Q the illusion of momentum than actually help appear in court March 17. “Now that explicit anti-gay animus is an albatross, those who oppose gay civil to achieve repeal. If HRC wants to disabuse rights are driven to invent ever loopier ratio- the community of that suspicion, it will need Annual Darrow nales for denying those rights, whether in the to ensure that its prized access to Washington military or in marriage. (Sen. Orrin) Hatch, for power is used to have a real impact, rather event March 13 instance, limply suggested ... that a repeal of than to enjoy that access for its own sake. One CHICAGO—A group led by attorneys, labor lead- ‘don’t ask’ would lead to gay demands for ‘spe- reasonable option would be to publicly tell ers and social-justice advocates that has gath- cial rights.’ Such arguments, both preposterous the president that it will not endorse him for ered annually for more than 50 years to honor and disingenuous, are mere fig leaves to dis- re-election if he does not secure repeal in his the memory of attorney Clarence Darrow will guise the phobia that can no longer dare speak first term, a promise that Press Secretary Rob- meet at the Darrow Bridge in Jackson Park Sat- its name.” — New York Times columnist Frank ert Gibbs said he believed the president would urday, March 13, at 10 a.m. for its traditional Rich, Feb. 6. keep.” — Nathaniel Frank, author of Unfriendly wreath-tossing into the Jackson Park Lagoon. Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military Darrow’s ashes were strewn in the Lagoon after “Twenty years ago the military were and Weakens America, writing at the Huffington his death March 13, 1938 in Chicago. the strong advocates of Don’t Ask, Don’t Post, Feb. 17. The annual event is convened by the Clarence Tell when I was secretary of defense. I think Photo allegedly taken of the Jan. 10 incident Darrow Commemorative Committee. This year’s things have changed sig- involving Daniel Hauff. Photo by Chris Davin program will feature a special tribute to the late nificantly since then. I Leon “Len” Depress, who co-founded the com- see that Mike Mullen, the Red Line suspects mittee in 1958 and remained a leader of the chairman of the Joint group. Despres (1908-2009) attended last year’s Chiefs of Staff, has indi- GLAAD event, one of his last public appearances. More charged with cated his belief that we is Wockner Photo by Rex than 100 Darrow devotees, civil libertarians, and ought to support a change hate crimes First Amendment buffs are expected to attend in the policy. So, I think beyond the outdoor wreath-throwing ceremonies behind my guess is the policy will useless. By SAMUEL WORLEY the Museum of Science and Industry and indoor be changed. I think that —Dan Savage symposium that follows in the Columbian Room Shortly after having misdemeanor battery society has moved on. I of the adjacent Museum of Science & Industry. think it’s partly a gen- charges against them dropped Feb. 23, three This year’s symposium will feature a perfor- men alleged to have beaten up a gay man on erational question. I’m mance by Gary L. Anderson, a renowned and reluctant to second-guess a northbound red line train last month were re- lauded portrayer of Darrow. Anderson tours year- arrested—this time on charges of felony hate the military in this regard round as America’s only full-time Darrow por- because they’re the ones that have got to “Enough is enough. Infinite patience crimes, as well as aggravated battery. The three trayer. This performance, “Search for Justice,” defendants—Sean Little, Kevin McAndrew and make the judgment about how these policies in the face of discrimination is irre- portrays Darrow as legal warrior, engaging the affect the military capability of our units, and sponsible. Our clients suffer every day from Benjamin Eder, all of Evanston—were jailed justice system in a presentation that trembles overnight and released on a $10,000 individual that first requirement that you have to look unfair taxes and denial of basic legal protec- with inescapable timeliness. Anderson is the at all the time is whether they’re still capable tions that every family in Hawaii needs.” — recognizance bond the following day. CEO of The Clarence Darrow Foundation. See The charges stem from a Jan. 10 incident in of achieving their mission, and does the pol- Lambda Legal’s Jennifer Pizer announcing Feb. www.clarencedarrowfoundation.org. icy change—i.e., putting gays in the force— 1 that the group is suing Hawaii for its failure which the three are alleged to have beaten a Judy Besser, great granddaugher of Clarence Rogers Park man, 33-year old Daniel Hauff, after affect their ability to perform their mission. to pass a civil-union law. Darrow, will read a letter from Darrow to Judy’s When the (Joint) Chiefs come forward and say, Hauff attempted to intervene in an altercation grandmother, in 1929. This letter illustrates Dar- on the train. Hauff, who was taken to the hos- ‘We think we can do it,’ then it strikes me that “Kelli and I are still close. Like many row’s great wit and sense of humor little known it’s time to reconsider the policy, and I think gay families that I know, gay women es- pital for injuries sustained in the attack, told by the general public. Windy City Times that the hate-crimes charges Adm. Mullen said that.” — Former U.S. Vice pecially who have children together, we remain Loyola Law Professor Anita Weinberg—daugh- President Dick Cheney on the ABC-TV show This friends. Not that heterosexual people don’t or filed against the three were the result of pres- ter of Arthur and Lila Weinberg, authors of three sure that he placed on the police department Week, Feb. 14. can’t do it, but every gay woman I know is books on Darrow and founders of the annual friends with her exes, and they’re involved and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Darrow event—will preside over the indoor pro- “If I hadn’t pushed,” Hauff said, “nothing “The fight against intolerance and with their lives in some capacity. Kelli is a big gram. Tracy Baim—publisher of Windy City Times discrimination, and the consequent efforts part of what made this family so amazing and would have happened.” and daughter of Darrow’s great grand-niece Joy The state’s attorney’s office said that it had to respect human nature, including sexual ori- what continues to.” — Rosie O’Donnell to the Darrow—will preside at the bridge. entation, have guided our government since its Los Angeles Times, Jan. 31. decided to upgrade the case to include the hate- Darrow, characterized as the “attorney for the crimes charges after conducting an investigation first mandate.” —Brazilian President Luiz Iná- damned,” who was born in 1857 in Farmdale, cio Lula da Silva in a message sent to the Latin “I didn’t want to be gay. ... I wanted an in conjunction with the Chicago Police Depart- Ohio, practiced in Chicago and represented the ment. Hauff, who said that he was interviewed America and Caribbean regional conference of easy life. And you know what? I am gay and I underdog and vigorously opposed capital pun- the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans still have an easy life.” — Actress Jane Lynch, several times over the course of the investiga- ishment. None of his many clients was sentenced tion, said that a witness has also come forward and Intersex Association, which was held Jan. who plays coach Sue Sylvester on Glee, to Lon- to death. 26-31 in Curitiba, Brazil. don’s Sunday Mirror, Jan. 31. to corroborate his allegations. Darrow’s death was memorialized throughout That witness, Chris Davin, released photo- the world. His ashes and, later, the ashes of his “Bloggers this week called for the “GLAAD is beyond useless. Did you graphs to Windy City Times that he says show wife Ruby and his son Paul, were scattered from McAndrew, Little and Eder attacking Hauff on president to take the lead, but also fo- know that GLAAD once described—way the Darrow Bridge, which was dedicated to his cused their attention on the Human Rights back in teh (sic) day—‘Savage Love’ as an the Argyle train platform, including a dramatic memory by the Chicago Park District in 1957. image that appears to show one of the defen- Campaign, the most powerful gay rights group anti-gay hate crime? Because I used the word dants’ fists making contact with Hauff’s face. in the world, which has been accused of cham- fag. So this ‘F-word’ crapola isn’t new with Davin was critical of the Chicago Transit Au- ‘Flirting’ March 3 pioning repeal (of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) pub- them. And for the record: fag, fags, faggot, thority (CTA) for its handling of the situation. The Auxiliary Board of the American Red Cross licly, while privately assuring the White House faggoty, faggery.” — Gay writer Dan Savage on He said that though clear pleas were made of Greater Chicago is hosting “Flirting for Disas- that it can continue to go slow. Some feel that his blog, Feb. 12. for the CTA operator to stop the train and call ter” Wed., March 3, at Circuit, 3641 N. Halsted, HRC would rather fundraise for several years on —Assistance: Bill Kelley the police—numerous people on the train had 7-10 p.m. Miss Foozie will host. pressed the emergency button—that operator Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the continued to move the train. The three men at- door; attendees will receive three cocktail pass- Brothas Saving Brothas tacking Hauff, said Davin, told the operator that es and can indulge in free hors d’oeuvres. See he was drunk and that she shouldn’t take his www.FlirtingForDisaster.com. Be Part of a Bonding complaints seriously. Experience Where You Will “What’s the whole purpose of the emergency Correction button on the train?” Davin asked. In the Feb. 17 article “Lesbian’s eateries honor Last month, CTA told Windy City Times that a ʈ Receive great incentives for time spent! Frida Kahlo,” the article stated that entrepre- preliminary investigation showed that the train’s ʈ Experience a free, everlasting retreat with neur Marlene Benitez moved from California to operator “responded appropriately.” Mexico to open a gym in the state of Huitzuco other men of color. In a statement announcing the hate crimes when she was 21. Huitzuco is actually a town. charges, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said, Windy City Times regrets the error. For information, contact BEHIV at 773.293.4740 ext. 29 “The damage of a crime such as this goes well beyond the original victim and permeates the Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV) www.behiv.org 10 Mar. 3, 2010 VIEWPOINT VOL. 25, No. 22, Mar. 3, 2010 The combined forces of Windy City Times, founded Sept. 1985, and Outlines newspaper, bands created tremendous outrage during Hit- angle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. “The founded May 1987. ler’s regime. Snow was sent to a concentration Aryan race was to be freed of contagion; the REV. camp not only because she was Black and in the demise of degenerate subjects peoples was to be PUBLISHER & EXECUTIVE EDITOR IRENE wrong place at the wrong time, but also because hastened.” Tracy Baim of her “friendships” with German women musi- Hans J. Massaquoi—a former Ebony Magazine MONROE ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Terri Klinsky cians, implying lesbianism. editor,and the son of an African diplomat and MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Davis Although laws against lesbianism had not been white German mother—in his memoir, Destined BUSINESS MANAGER Meghan Streit codified, and lesbians were not criminalized for to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA Jean Albright their sexual orientations as gay men were, Ger- depicts a life of privilege until his father returned ART DIRECTOR Kirk Williamson Black, queer ACCOUNT MANAGERS: Terri Klinsky, Amy Matheny, man women were nonetheless viewed as threats to his native Liberia. Like all non-Aryans, Mas- Kirk Williamson and in to the Nazi state and were fair game during SS saquoi faced constant dehumanization and the PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT Cynthia Holmes raids on lesbian bars, sentenced by the Gestapo, threat of death by Gestapo executioners. “Racist NIGHTSPOTS MANAGING EDITOR Kirk Williamson sent to concentration camps and branded with in Nazi Germany did their dirty work openly and NATIONAL SALES Rivendell Media, 212-242-6863 Nazi Germany? SENIOR WRITERS Bob Roehr, Rex Wockner, Marie black triangles. As a matter of fact, any German brazenly with the full protection, cooperation, J. Kuda, David Byrne, Tony Peregrin, Lisa Keen, Missing from the annals of African-American his- woman, lesbian, prostitute or heterosexual, not and encouragement of the government, which Yasmin Nair, Emmanuel Garcia tory and the history of Nazi Germany are the upholding her primary gender role—“to be a had declared the pollution of Aryan blood with THEATER EDITOR Scott C. Morgan mother of as many Aryan babies as possible”— ‘inferior’ non-Aryan blood the nation’s cardi- CINEMA WRITER Richard Knight, Jr. documented stories and struggles of African BOOKS WRITER Yasmin Nair Americans, straight and “queer.” Valaida Snow, was deemed antisocial and hostile to the Ger- nal sin,” he wrote. Consequently, the Gestapo ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WRITERS captured in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen, Den- man state. rounded up and forcibly sterilized and subjected Mary Shen Barnidge, Jim Edminster, Steve Warren, mark, and interned in a concentration camp for Because Nazis could not discern between the many non-Aryans to medical experiments, while Lawrence Ferber, Mel Ferrand, Catey Sullivan, sexual affection and social friendship between other just simply mysteriously disappeared. Zachary Whittenburg, Jonathan Abarbanel nearly two years, is one such story. COLUMNISTS/WRITERS: Yvonne Zipter, Susie Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., Valaida Snow came straight and lesbian women, over time they dis- There was no systematic program for elimina- Day, Jorjet Harper, Lee Lynch, Steve Starr, Lisa from a family of musicians and was famous for missed lesbianism as a state and social problem, tion of people of African descent in Nazi Ger- Keen, Charlsie Dewey, Michael Knipp, Mark Corece, playing the trumpet. Named “Little Louis” after as long as both straight and lesbian women car- many from 1933 to 1945 in Nazi Germany be- Sabine Neidhardt, Sam Worley, Billy Masters, John ried out the state’s mandate to procreate. cause their number were few, but their abuses Fenoglio, Chuck Colbert, Micki Leventhal, Sarah Louis Armstrong (who called her the world’s sec- Toce, Rachel Pepper ond best jazz trumpet player, besides himself, Nazi Germany’s extermination plan of gay men in German-occupied territories, like the one in PHOTOGRAPHERS Kat Fitzgerald, Mel Ferrand, Hal of course) Snow played concerts throughout the is a classic example of how politics informed which Snow was captured, were great and far- Baim, Steve Starr, Emmanuel Garcia United States, Europe and China. On a return their science. Paragraph 175 of the German Crim- reaching. CIRCULATION trip to Denmark after headlining at the Apollo inal Code differentiated between the types of After 18 months of imprisonment, Snow was CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jean Albright Theater in Harlem, Snow, the conductor of an persecution non-German gay men received from one of the more fortunate Blacks to make it out DISTRIBUTION: Ashina, Allan, Dan, John, Renee, Sue and Victor all-women’s band, was arrested for allegedly German gay men because of a quasi-scientific of Nazi Germany, released as an exchange pris- possessing drugs and sent to an Axis internment and racist ideology of racial purity. “The polices oner. She was, however, both psychologically camp for alien nationals in Wester-Faengle. of persecution carried out toward non-German and physically scarred from the ordeal and never While in pre-Hitler Germany all-female orches- homosexuals in the occupied territories differed fully recovered. Snow attempted to return to tras were de rigeur in many avant-garde enter- significantly from those directed against Ger- performing but her spark, tragically, was gone. tainment clubs, these homosocial all-women’s mans gays,” wrote Richard Plant in The Pink Tri- LETTERS Copyright 2010 Lambda Publications Inc./Windy City Media Group; All rights reserved. Reprint by permission only. Back issues (if available) for $5 per issue (postage included). Mass action hear the chanting outside of the cathedral and finger at the laity for its compliance with hateful Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and saw the response from my fellow parishioners. Catholic dogma. no responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials. I am writing this letter in response demonstra- Clearly this had an educational affect on the Over 150 flyers were put into the hands of pa- All rights to letters, art and photographs sent to Windy many within the cathedral. I might add it had rishioners either on their way into church or on City Times will be treated as unconditionally assigned tion outside Holy Name Cathedral Feb. 14 at for publication purposes and as such, subject to editing 10:30 a.m. Curiosity, more than anything else, the same affect on those individuals leaving the their way out explaining how, in so many words, and comment. The opinions expressed by the columnists, 9:30 a.m. Mass. As a gay Catholic I saw the dem- “if you are not part of the solution, you are part cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are their own motivated me to both go to Holy Name to see and do not necessarily reflect the position ofWindy City the demonstration sponsored by the Gay Libera- onstration as balanced given the nature of Car- of the problem.” To be sure, as it was stated Times. Publication of the name, photograph, or likeness of dinal George’s attacks on our community. Calling in our flyers, it is the laity, through its weekly a person or organization in articles or advertising in Windy tion Network (GLN), and attended the 11 a.m. City Times is not to be construed as any indication of the liturgy. for dialogue and making people uncomfortable tithe, that contributes important financial sup- sexual orientation of such person or organization. While What was the purpose of this demonstration? are not mutually exclusive, as some may indi- port to the Catholic Church. Far from being doc- we encourage readers to support the advertisers who make cate. ile sheep at the whim of the papacy or Cardinal this newspaper possible, Windy City Times cannot accept Was the purpose to engage in dialogue and not responsibility for advertising claims. make people uncomfortable? Or was it some- My only regret was that that it was not Catho- George, the Catholic laity is an important voting (773) 871-7610 FAX (773) 871-7609 thing else? GLN co-founder Andy Thayer said, lic social-justice organizations instead of GLN block that exerts powerful influence on what e-mail: [email protected] “Our goal here today is to pull Cardinal George outside the cathedral Valentine’s Day giving church leaders say and defeats pro-gay legisla- and the Catholic leadership out of the closet for voice to the voiceless within the Church, and tion, including gay-marriage laws in California www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com radio: WindyCityQueercast.com their anti-gay bigotry. You don’t see the Catholic proclaiming that “every human being is creat- and Maine. The Knights of Columbus is a perfect video: QueerTVNetwork.com leadership out on the frontlines opposing our ed in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus example of a powerful grassroots Catholic group equal rights. What is happening, though, is that Christ and, therefore, is invaluable and worthy of having little do to with church hierarchy that WINDY CITY MEDIA GROUP, they’re quietly and effectively lobbying legisla- respect as a member of the human family.” has contributed millions of dollars to quash our 5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640 USA tors against equal rights for gay people. We want I would like to take this opportunity to publi- civil rights. (MAILING ADDRESS ONLY) cally thank GLN for doing what we could not I say “Right on!” to the activists who were out to make everyone aware of that because it’s not Windy City Times Deadline every Wednesday. right,” do. there on a cold Valentine’s Day taunting the real Nightspots Deadline Wednesday prior to street date. Some have suggested such as Nora Doherty, a The Rainbow Sash Movement has video of the movers and shakers of Catholic demagoguery Identity (BLACKlines and En La Vida): Now young Catholic attorney—and mother of two— demonstration at www.rainbowsashmovement. and hate. online only com, and it is also posted on YouTube. Deadline The 10th of month prior. who has been very active in pro-life demon- OUT! Resource Guide ONLINE strations outside abortion clinics that some of Craig Teichen www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com demonstrators were not very polite, and that she Sincerely, Chicago witnessed anger. Even from our own community Joe Murray Executive Director www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com Brother Michael Oboza, an orthodox Catholic www.WindyCityQueercast.com monk and founder of Straight and Gay Alliance Rainbow Sash Movement www.QueerTVNetwork.com Ministry, said, “If we want to be equal and be treated with respect, if we’re yelling at people Demonstration a success Send letters/ without any real dialogue, then we’re not really respecting them.” Dear Editor: viewpoints to Both responses seem to indicate a naïve un- Andrew@ “Windy City Media Group generated derstanding of the situation. Doherty appears Gay Liberation Network’s Freedom to Marry Day enormous interest among their readers not to recognize the double standard she is demonstration at Holy Name Cathedral Feb. 14 WindyCityMediaGroup. in this year’s LGBT Consumer Index promoting when she ignores the nature of her was a huge success. I know because I was one Survey. Out of approximately 100 demonstrations in front of abortion clinics, of the participants. There were well over one com. print and online media partners who and Oboza, while well-intentioned, has totally hundred of us in what I believe to be the larg- Items may be participated in the survey, Windy missed the purpose of the demonstration and its est, pro-gay demonstration ever in front of Holy City was the best performing regional overall peaceful nature given the circumstances. Name. It was a spirited, in-your-face protest edited for media in the U.S. Only survey partners On the contrary, the deeper question for both of against the church and its laity with visuals, i.e., with a nationwide footprint were these individuals should be, “Is the gospel mes- placards, banners and signs as well as chants length or clarity. able to generate a greater number of sage of justice relevant in our world today?” (“Holy Name, Holy Shame!” and ”Homophobia is responses.” —David Marshall, Research While attending the 11 a.m. liturgy I could a sin!”), affirming our rights and pointing the Director, Community Marketing, Inc. Mar. 3, 2010 11 GOINGS-ON WINDY CITY TIMES’ ENTERTAINMENT SECTION Photo by Phil Bray PENN AT WORK James Franco and Sean Penn (right) co-starred in Milk, which is part of Richard Knight, Jr.’s, queer Oscar roundup. See page 14. THEATER MUSIC BOOKS Say ‘Uncle.’ Strum belle. Patti’s ‘Kids.’ Page 12. Page 13. Page 19. Photo by Chris Ocken Photo by Kat Fitzgerald (MysticImagesPhotography.com) rators inspire what he’s done—I think that’s one mosexual taking my dog and pony show around of the most fascinating parts of the process.” the country and getting a respectable job” at Speaking to And since audiences get a chance to ask ques- the University of Michigan as a professor. Her tions, Griffin suspects there might be contro- first day of school was a memorable one since it Sondheim versial topics raised like reduced orchestrations fell on Sept. 11, 2001. BY SCOTT C. MORGAN for Sondheim revivals (notably the a flap about But what’s most surprising to Hughes herself is the current Broadway revival of A Little Night that since she has taken up the sport of compet- A living legend of American theater, composer Music starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela itive dog agility training. It’s a hobby that most and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, comes to Chi- Lansbury), or perhaps why Sondheim waited un- people wouldn’t associate with Hughes, since cago to chat at the Harris Theater for Music and til 1998 to come out publicly as gay in Meryle she’s most famous for being one of the “NEA Dance in an unscripted conversation with mod- Secrest’s biography Sondheim: A Life. 4” (performance artists like herself, Tim Miller, erator Gary Griffin, associate artistic director of Griffin knows that the evening should be all Karen Findlay and John Finch, who each faced a Chicago Shakespeare Theater and associate pro- about Sondheim, but he himself might get a political firestorm and court battles in the 1990s ducer for Drury Lane Oakbrook. question that is frequently put to him. when their National Endowment for the Arts per- “I’m thrilled that I get the opportunity,” Grif- “Every time I’m in the lobby in previews for formance grants were turned down due to the fin said. “It’s fantastic to get the chance to sit anything (at Chicago Shakespeare Theater), “controversial” material of their work). and have a conversation about his work.” people always come up to me and ask, ‘When’s “Everywhere I go, I’m an out queer person,” Griffin’s selection as moderator makes sense, the next Sondheim?’” Griffin wouldn’t divulge Hughes said noting how her performance piece since he has locally directed a plethora of pro- what the next Sondheim show is that he plans examines that in relation to the dog show world fessional Sondheim productions this past de- to direct, but he said, “Definitely, there will be she has become a part of. cade for Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Pacific something.” When asked about if there are any parallels Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George, A A Conversation with Stephen Sondheim: with dog agility to the Christopher Guest film Little Night Music and Passion were all included A Life in the Theatre is 7:30 p.m. March 4 comedy Best in Show, Hughes said, “It’s a paral- in seasons that featured works by masters like at Millennium Park’s Harris Theater for Mu- lel world… Those people are not too exagger- Shakespeare and Moliere. Griffin also directed a sic and Dance, 205 E. Randolph. Tickets are ated from that world, but it’s a slightly different critically acclaimed production of West Side Sto- $35-$65; call 312-334-7777 or visit www. set of characters.” harristheaterchicago.org. When she’s not talking about training dogs, ry last summer at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Gary Griffin. Festival. Hughes is also continuing her work that she de- “It’s exciting to see musical theater arrive and Holly Hughes goes to the dogs veloped with Megan Carney for About Face The- be embraced in a classical theater,” Griffin said. This Harris Theater chat is a prelude to many Lesbian performance artist and feminist Holly atre’s XYZ Festival earlier this season called Let “Audiences can see the power of West Side Story Sondheim 80th birthday celebrations that are Hughes returns to Chicago with The Dog and Them Eat Cake. Hughes said that they are in talks along side classical works like a Cyrano de Berg- taking place this year around the world. Locally, Pony Show (Bring Your Own Pony). It’s a new with Lambda Legal Defense Fund to remount and erac or A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” the Ravinia Festival continues its multi-year piece Hughes is presenting as part of Victory refashion the show about gay marriage in other Griffin also acknowledges other Chicago insti- Sondheim spotlight by staging an 80th birthday Gardens Theater’s Fresh Squeezed series, but she communities around the country. tutions have played an important part in nur- concert on July 31. Frequent Sondheim producer questions whether she should have named it dif- “It’s not a simple advocacy piece,” Hughes turing Sondheim musicals. The Goodman Theatre Porchlight Music Theatre also gets in the act with ferently. said. “It’s about starting a civic dialogue.” hosted the world premiere of Sondheim and John an upcoming production of Into the Woods. “There’s a part of me that wishes that I had Holly Hughes’ The Dog and Pony Show Weidman’s musical Bounce in 2003 (it would Griffin wishes he was more artistically involved gone with my first choice of a title, which was (Bring Your Own Pony) plays 7:30 p.m. March later be refashioned into 2008’s Road Show), with Sondheim’s 80th birthday celebrations, but ‘Teaser Bitch.’” Hughes said with a laugh. “If 18 and 21, 9:30 p.m. March 19 and 5 p.m. while Pegasus Players in the late 1990s staged he is glad to converse with him in front of a people come to the show, then they’ll find out March 20 at the Richard Christiansen Theater the American premiere of Sondheim’s early un- Chicago audience. what ‘Teaser Bitch’ means and how they can be- at the Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lin- produced musical Saturday Night. “I know he doesn’t want a tribute,” Griffin said come one.” coln Ave. The show runs as part of the Fresh “Chicago has always been a Sondheim town,” about the approaching chat. “But one of the Hughes wouldn’t divulge more about that tan- Squeezed series in repertory with Tim Miller’s Griffin said. “I think our audiences really love things I’m hoping to talk about is the people talizing expression, but she said her show would Lay of the Land. Tickets are $25; $40 for both the work.” he’s worked with and how those specific collabo- be about her experience moving from New York shows. Call 773-871-3000 or visit www.victo- to the Midwest after being a “professional ho- rygardens.org. 12 Mar. 3, 2010 THEATER REVIEW ence? Never has the fallacy of “objectivity” been thinking we know this or that character’s mind, stockbroker (who, when asked “Don’t you ever more vividly illustrated than in Reginald Rose’s only to be confronted by sudden outbursts of sweat?” calmly replies “No”) to J.J. McCormick Twelve Angry Men locked-room drama—nor its remedy, as, goaded compassion, defiance or outright violence where and Leonard Kraft as a pair of feisty old codgers. Playwright: Reginald Rose by a lone dissenter, the 12 who will pass judg- we least suspect it. Dan Loftus and Reginald Vaughn, too, deserve At: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark ment pool their knowledge to arrive at a conclu- The screenplay (adapted from Rose’s original hardship pay for their fearless portrayals of per- Phone: 773-338-2177; $25-$30 sion none of them could have foreseen. television script) comprising the text employed sonalities proclaiming repugnant sentiments Runs through: April 17 This production being staged in 2010, the by Raven Theatre director Aaron Todd Douglas (the worst of them, fortunately, delivered up- all-male jury mandated by the 1957 play’s title allows for considerable physical action—e.g., stage) to unnerve even trained actors. BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE displays hints of demographic diversity—four of reenactments of witness testimony (including The heroes of crime stories nowadays—wheth- the men are African-American, two Latino, one some tricky switchblade maneuvers)—to keep er fictional or actual—are most often lawyers or “We shouldn’t make this into something person- Asian, with their occupations a mix of profes- the stage picture always vibrant and mobile. police, authority figures being more attractive to al” says one of the men sitting at the conference sional, industrial and trade skills. The contrast The array of ensemble-sensitive talent on dis- mainstream audiences. But this glimpse of our table where the fate of a teenage boy, accused between their respective social and economical play likewise presents a carefully balanced vo- judicial system from half a century ago serves of murdering his father, is being deliberated. backgrounds, however, is no less pronounced, cal and visual portrait of urban America, ranging to remind us of the power invested in a jury But how can any human being, whether in a and their attitudes toward the suspect—whose from C.L. Brown as the agnostic juror—signif- of peers—something to think about next time courthouse (or a theater, for that matter) ignore ethnicity is never specified—even more reveal- icantly, an architect, interested in how things you’re called for duty. what they bring with them in terms of experi- ing. We may, as they do, fall into the trap of are assembled—to Bryson Engelen as the effete THEATER REVIEW Hickey is great at playing up his middle-aged (And if Strawdog’s version of Vanya isn’t to your character’s simmering anger. So when Vanya liking, you can hold out for the forthcoming pro- Uncle Vanya violently lashes out at his entitled brother-in- duction of the same play at Chicago Shakespeare Playwright: Anton Chekhov; law, Serebryakov (an appropriately confounding Theater courtesy of by the touring Maly Drama Translation: Curt Columbus and out-of-touch Tim Curtis), you know exactly Theatre of St. Petersberg, Russia, March 17-21. At: Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway where this outburst is coming from. Just be sure that you don’t mind hearing it in Phone: 773-528-9696; $10-$40 But I would have liked Hickey’s Vanya to stress Russian with projected English translations.) Runs through: March 27 more of his moody defeatism in ruefully pin- ing for Serebryakov’s unobtainable wife, Yelena BY SCOTT C. MORGAN (Shannon Hoag, who nicely plays up her charac- CRITICS’ PICKS ter’s boredom and flattery of being desired by so Anton Chekhov’s self-labeled “comedies” like many men). Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard are so thor- As Vanya’s no-nonsense niece, Sonya, Michaela Abigail’s Party, A Red Orchid Theatre, oughly studied and artistically esteemed in dra- Petro comes across as strong, but perhaps too through March 28. Shade Murray directs a ma schools that it can be nearly impossible for Uncle Vanya. Photo by Chris Ocken in-control of her emotions. Particularly when So- Mike Leigh drama with a cast that includes any production to fully live up to the heightened nya reveals her burning passion for the alcoholic Red Orchid ensemble members Kirsten expectations. the set gives the effect of looking back to an country doctor Astrov (a sleepy-eyed Kyle Ham- Fitzgerald, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm and So if you can give up your ideal of Chekhovian earlier age (in this case, pre-Revolutionary Rus- man), Petro seems to laugh it all off more than Danny McCarthy. ’Nuff said. Get tickets perfection, director Kimberly Senior’s take on sia) and the cloudiness of memory in general. truly being fragile at unburdening her building while you still can. SCM Curt Columbus’ adaptation of Uncle Vanya for Amid these panels, the cast (handsomely at- passion. The Analytical Engine, Circle Theater, Strawdog Theatre has plenty to recommend for tired by costumer Aly Renee Greaves) navigates The rest of cast offers up capable perfor- through March 28. Jon Steinhagen’s new it. some emotionally fraught territory that features mances, even if they aren’t fully embodying the romantic comedy may be old-fashioned, but Senior starts things off nicely by teaming with lots of unrequited love and the shattering of world-weariness and resignation that any great it’s delightfully so. Everything about this set designer Tom Burch with a cozy concept of life-long ambitions and world-views (there’s passion in their lives is all but gone now. Victorian period piece about computer dat- framing scenes amid lace and object-filled cabi- also a startlingly relevant environmental mes- Ultimately, Strawdog’s handsome take on Uncle ing (!) is also lovely to view. SCM nets that are reminiscent of artist Joseph Cor- sage packed in). Vanya is one that will inspire lots of admiration Master Harold and the Boys, TimeLine nell’s glass box collages. The gauzy quality to As the embittered estate manager Vanya, Tom and respect for its look and the though-provok- Theatre, through March 27. South Africa, ing acting choices taken by its not-always-age- 1950. Will teenage Hallie become a white appropriate cast. Just don’t go expecting to racist like his father? Or will he absorb the have your heart broken. wisdom of his older Black servant? Athol Fugard’s exquisite play examines a nation’s soul. JA The Old Settler, Writers Theatre, through Online This Week: March 28. All-female households exist for playwrights to disrupt with handsome male intruders, but John Henry Redwood shuns starry-eyed romance to paint a picture of ——The Long Red Road 1943 Harlem culture as real and gritty as a newsreel photograph. MSB —By Abarbanel, Barnidge, Morgan and Sullivan www.windycitymediagroup.com Center on Halsted SPOTLIGHT Oscar Party 2010 Sunday, March 7 Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ameri- International Ballroom, 6PM can’s longest-running musical in history, Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel The Fantasticks, via Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s first-ever musical production. )HDWXULQJ&RPSOLPHQWDU\&RFNWDLOVDQG+RUVGpRHXYUHV See why this classic tale of two fathers 9,37LFNHWV LQFOXGHVUHVHUYHGWDEOHVHDWLQJDQGFRFNWDLOVHUYLFH who plot for their children to fall in love *HQHUDO$GPLVVLRQ and marry has enthralled audiences for $WWLUH $EVROXWHO\)DEXORXVRI&RXUVH generations. The Fantasticks plays 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and 3 p.m. )RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQRUWRUHVHUYHWLFNHWVYLVLWZZZFHQWHURQKDVOWHGRUJ Saturdays and Sundays until March 21 at RUFDOO SJ City Lit Theater Company, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr. Tickets are $20; call 800-838-3006 or visit www.prometheantheatre.org. Pho- to by Tom McGrath Mar. 3, 2010 13 THEATER REVIEW in classical drama, for you ambitious playgoers desiring homework). Structurally, this should re- Classical guitarist Living Quarters duce the action to mere audio-visual assistance Playwright: Brian Friel for the analysis delivered by the aforementioned Sharon Isbin At: Strangeloop Theatre at writer-surrogate. Trap Door, 1655 W. Cortland But Friel refuses to bully his creations. Sir reflects Phone: 773-276-0458; $15 may remind his unfortunate clan that this is BY STEVEN CHAITMAN Runs through: March 14 a re-enactment of events taking place in their memories, but they are still permitted to argue World-renowned classical guitarist Sharon Is- BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE their cases—even attempt to alter the facts— bin will be coming to Chicago’s Harris Theater as they (and we) consider the individual deeds March 6, fresh off the heels of her most recent There’s this career officer in the Irish Defense contributing to the dissolution of a good family Grammy win. The musician and out lesbian is Forces, you see, who married a much younger and the death of its innocent patriarch. In per- the first classical guitarist in 43 years to win a wife just before he left for the Middle East to formance, what this means is that our attention second Grammy for classical guitar, which con- serve with the United Nations peacekeepers. remains focused on the Chekhovian dynamics tinues to prove why she is one of the instru- When he returns, a decorated hero, five months simmering below the placid surface of a modern, ment’s modern pioneers. later, he learns that his wife and his son have small-town, middle-class household, now forced Windy City Times: How was this second Sharon Isbin. succumbed to sexual attraction leading to a to re-live their transgressions until they come to [Grammy] win different or more meaningful brief, but intense, affair. If this story calls forth terms with them and move on. for you in any way, or maybe the question to O’Connor—with Mark of course it gives me the vague memories of Greek and Roman literature, Living Quarter’s slippery (some might say, ask is, “Why is it special for this particular opportunity to explore some of the different it’s not your imagination—indeed, our play is sophomoric) multidimensional conceits might album, Journey to the New World?” styles in his music from bebop and blues and sometimes subtitled, “After Hippolytus”—but exceed the skills of most theater troupes em- Sharon Isbin: This is an album that was some- ragtime, waltzes, jigs all kinds of fun music you can discard all that classroom cant about barking on only their second production, but thing really close to my heart. I really wanted that is part of the popular folk culture of the “the inevitability of tragedy.” Brian Friel is not the company assembled by director Thomas Mur- to pay homage to Joan Baez; I’ve admired her violin in the United States. about to let the Fates take the blame for his ray is more than equal to the task. The adroit work for many years both as an artist and a WCT: You grew up in a time where most characters’ unhappy outcome. cast keeps us firmly anchored in the intimate civil rights advocate and this was a beautiful girls who picked up a guitar wanted to learn Friel was still at a stage in his literary develop- scenario (in particular, Jillian Rafa’s minimal- way to be able to do so. The centerpiece of folk and pop. Did you ever feel like what ment in 1977 to employ a convention invoked ist approach to the potentially disruptive Sir), the album, of course, is the “Joan Baez Suite,” you were learning was counterculture or did by many beginning playwrights—namely, an while the technical staff delivers environmental and when she heard it she offered to sing two you relish the opportunity to do something omniscient narrator, identified only as “Sir,” artistry ranging from Kate Jordan’s pitch-perfect songs: “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Go ‘Way from much more unique? whose duties are to deliver exposition, comment dialects to Glen Anderson’s museum-accurate My Window.” Seeing as the entire journey of the SI: I was very aware that playing classical on the action, and ascertain that we understand scenic design and Leigh Barrett’s seamlessly music is from the 16th-century British Isles up guitar in the late 1960s was exotic, so that was everything the author is trying to do (cf. Piran- shifting lighting scheme. through just before the evolution of bluegrass, definitely attractive to me. dello, Brecht and the role of the chorus leader really tracing the development of folk music in WCT: What has it meant to you to be a the New World from the British Isles, it was re- revolutionary musician in terms of being a THEATER REVIEW Faust never is old; there are mice-with-whips ally something that all made sense in terms of woman, a lesbian and a classical guitarist, dancers; Marguerite, her mother and the chorus paying homage to what I think is what I think especially now coming off another Grammy The Damnation are portrayed as 1980s Soviet-era Eastern Euro- is one of our world’s greatest folk singers. win? pean conformists. Choristers are in five groups, And one of the things that was different SI: Well I’m just very gratified that an in- of Faust each group identically costumed and bewigged Composer: Hector Berlioz, about this experience at the Grammys is they strument that has taken so many years to as plus-sized women, old men, soldiers, etc. The after Goethe’s Faust have now created in the [pre-televised event], become recognized on the mainstream stage, central abstract scenic design is a vast white At: Lyric Opera of Chicago the opportunity to feature a couple of perfor- beginning really with Segovia in the 1950s, shadow box allowing free use of colored light Tickets: 312-332-2244; mances, so they asked me to perform a solo has now really come into its own and is being strips and John Boesche’s projected textures. www.lyricopera.org; $33-$207 and to be joined by a bluegrass band, which celebrated. I’d have to say it was an honor that Stage elevators create smaller boxes for specific was enormous fun. Then, of course, one has it was the first time in 43 years that a guitarist Runs through: March 17 (in repertory) scenes (such as Marguerite’s apartment, the only the opportunity when the award is given to has received a second classical Grammy. When realistic design). The 1980s-era costumes are in- go up and receive that, and I was very hon- I received mine in 2001 it was the first time BY JONATHAN ABARBANEL tentionally dull, although placing tall Relyea in ored that the person who presented it to me in almost 30 years that any guitarist had re- a purple tux makes Mephisto look like Lurch in Hector Berlioz’s exquisite music for The Dam- was none other than Roberta Flack—who, of ceived a classical Grammy. History is still being lavender. nation of Faust sports more string passages, course, I listened to all through college. made and, for me, it’s all about the music and The disappointing choreography runs mostly to delicate woodwinds and sublime choral episodes WCT: Your performance here in Chicago having the opportunities to share music that I athletic staging with few formal dance elements. than braying brass and tympani. Except for the March 6 is with renowned violinist Mark find really beautiful and is meaningful and that Are dance soloists needed to portray soldiers do- famous Rakoczy March and the scene of Faust’s O’Connor. You’ve played in so many differ- touches people’s hearts. ing push-ups? This failure of imagination seems damnation, the score is surprisingly free of rich- ent venues: by yourself, with orchestra. In For more on Isbin and to watch videos of as much the fault of Langridge as of choreogra- ly colored Berlioz bombast, yet under conductor her live performances, visit sharonisbin. pher Phillipe Giraudeau. Landgridge’s overstated what ways are you looking forward to these Sir Andrew Davis it’s full-blooded and nuanced. com. Tickets to the March 6, 7:30 p.m., per- anti-clericism and anti-militarism are as subtle few concerts with just Mark? The quartet of singers (unusually, all Ameri- formance at the Harris Theater for Music and as a hammer blow, making the entire Rakoczy SI: Every kind of collaboration that I have cans) project beautiful vocal lines, plangency March an old-hat anti-war dumbshow. The net involves a different style of music, whether I’m Dance, 205 E. Randolph, see www.harristhe- (what’s French opera sans plangency?) and act effect is vigorous—this meta-theatrical produc- playing my Amazonian Brazilian music with aterchicago.org. convincingly. Paul Groves (Faust), John Relyea tion never bores—but less profound than the Paul Winter and Thiago de Mello, a group I’ve For more on this interview—including (Mephistopheles), Christian Van Horn (Brander) music alone. worked with for a number of years, or wheth- where Isbin sees the future of classical gui- and Susan Graham (wow! Marguerite) perform er I’m working with a singer or with Mark tar—visit www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com. with brio. This new production’s musical values are not in question, yet one question always lingers over The Damnation of Faust: Is it an opera? Berlioz CULTURE CLUB wrote it for concert presentation, with only four soloists plus chorus and orchestra. Decades after TICKETS his death, it was adapted for opera-house pre- NOW ON SALE! sentation. I think it’s neither opera nor oratorio, but a tone poem for orchestra and voices. It’s a character study more than a work of dramatic ac- T H E O L D tion, lacking the arias and ensemble pieces that are hallmarks of 19th-century opera. Eventually, The Damnation of Faust focuses SETTLER BY JOHN HENRY REDWOOD on Faust’s seduction of Marguerite, as do the DIRECTED BY RON OJ PARSON other two chief operatic adaptations of Goethe’s Performed at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe romantic-era opus magnus, thereby reducing Discover the nature of desire Goethe’s metaphysics to lust. Hey, if Faust re- Two women test the bonds of sister- ally loved Marguerite, he’d take her to a priest hood and find the strength and first and to bed second. But it’s damn difficult forgiveness only family can offer. MRS. to turn metaphysics into good theater, perhaps because no author—not Goethe, Berlioz, Shake- Production Sponsor CALIBAN speare, Mozart or even Tony Kushner—can pro- ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY! vide satisfactory answers to the spiritual and WRITERSTHEATRE.ORG A world premiere adaptation of the novel by Rachel Ingalls philosophic dilemmas of Mankind. Media Sponsor WRITERS’ Thursday-Sunday through March 28, 2010 This new production offers neutral, abstract 847-242-6000 THEATRE Call 773-761-4477 or visit www.lifelinetheatre.com modern design elements and an amusingly taw- dry interpretation by director Stephen Langridge. 14 Mar. 3, 2010 —2006: Lesbian icon Melissa Etheridge wins call comes with a glass of champagne offered Best Song for “I Need to Wake Up” from An In- by hostess Amanda Puck followed by the 7 p.m. convenient Truth. viewing party, which includes food, cocktails, KNIGHT —2008: Milk wins multiple nominations and auction items and, as Chicago’s only officially Oscars go to Sean Penn and out screenwriter sanctioned Academy Awards party, the official AT Dustin Lance Black, who both give moving ac- Oscar program booklet—an enviable keepsake. THE ceptance speeches directed at the gay commu- See www.centeronhalsted.org and www.siskelf- nity. Lesbian fave Penelope Cruz wins Best Sup- ilmcenter.org for complete information on both MOVIES porting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. soirees. Check out my archived reviews at www. Film notes: windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemov- —The Gene Siskel Film Center is kicking off ies.com. Readers can leave feedback at the its monthlong 13th Annual European Union latter Web site. Film Festival Friday, March 5, with 59 features of all genres—all Chicago premieres. Several queer-themed films and movies of interest to LGBT audiences are included in the festival. The Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. first week’s line-up includes the Irish romantic mystery Ondine, which stars hottie Colin Far- Queer at rell, playing March 6 and 10; Mid-August Lunch, tures a homoerotic relationship and death-bed a change-of-pace comedy from the director of kiss between stars Richard Arlen and Buddy Rog- the Italian mob drama Gomorrah also screen- the Oscars; ers. ing March 6; and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, —1932-1933: The closeted Charles Laughton a Swedish thriller from local distributor Music film notes wins Best Actor for The Private Life of Henry VIII Box Films, also on the bill for March 6. I’ll be By Richard Knight, Jr. and suspected bisexual Katharine Hepburn wins highlighting other selected titles as the series Best Actress Morning Glory. progresses. See www.siskelfilmcenter.org. The announcement that the Oscar nominations —1939: Gay icon Judy Garland wins a child —Battle of the Oscar parties: Two of the Windy for Best Picture would expand from five to 10 Oscar for her performance as Dorothy in The Wiz- City’s swankiest Academy Award parties battling has proven a wise one. From Avatar to Up in the ard of Oz. (Almost 20 years later she would lose it out Sunday, March 7, are “On the Red Carpet: Air, there’s seemingly something in the nomina- for A Star Is Born—still one of Oscar’s biggest Center on Halsted Oscar Party 2010,” which is tions for all audiences. And, yes, I include queer oversights.) being held at the Fairmont Chicago, 200 N. Co- moviegoers with the inclusion of Precious be- —1949: An Oscar goes to gay classical and lumbus, as a benefit for the Center. It begins at cause of its inherent queer sensibility and posi- film composer Aaron Copland’s score of The Heir- 6 p.m. with a red-carpet reception followed by tive lesbian characters. ess, a movie with queer star Montgomery Clift the 7 p.m. viewing party that includes cocktails Yet once again I find myself irritated with the and Olivia De Haviland (who wins Oscar gold for and hors d’oeuvres. General admission is $75; Oscars. (I’m still not over Bette Midler losing the Best Actress). Openly gay music arranger/com- $100 for VIPs includes reserved seating and ta- Oscar for The Rose to Sally Field for Norma Rae poser/producer Roger Edens also wins for Easter ble service. Nearby, the Gene Siskel Film Center Openly gay Lee Daniels (above) is nominated in 1979; neither is Bette.) This year I’m a crabby Parade. will host “Oscar Night America 2010,” with tick- for Best Director this year for Precious. Photo pants because neither Valentino: The Last Em- —1958: Gigi wins nine Oscars, including Best ets at $100 per person. The 6 p.m. red-carpet courtesy of Amanda Wehr peror, Outrage nor Capitalism: A Love Story got Pictures and Best Director for unacknowledged documentary nominations. I’m also a sorehead bisexual Vincente Minnelli, gay costume design- when it comes to the queer movie of the year, er Cecil Beaton and lyricist Frederick Loewe for A Single Man. Not only was it one of the best- the film’s title song. reviewed films of 2009, it’s still doing well at —1968: Gay and lesbian icons Barbra Stre- the box office. But there was no nod for Best isand and Katharine Hepburn tie for the Best Picture or one for Julianne Moore for Support- Actress Oscar—uniting both communities in one ing Actress or the eye-popping cinematography fell swoop. or that gorgeous set design and art direction. —1969: Midnight Cowboy, which is essentially And that wistful, achingly beautiful film score— a gay love story, is the only X-rated film to ever easily the year’s best? Another shut-out. win the Best Picture Oscar. Openly queer director Is this another case of fuddy-duddy Acad- John Schlesinger also wins. emy members dissing a queer movie or a cash- —1972: Gay icon Liza Minnelli wins Best Ac- strapped Weinstein Company putting its consid- tress for Cabaret, a film with unapologetic gay erable Oscar campaign finesse behind a proven characters. From left: winner, Inglourious Basterds? Whatever the rea- —1983: Lesbian actress Linda Hunt wins Best Megan Fahlenbock, son is, when I get all pissy about such matters Supporting Actress for The Year of Living Dan- AlisonReid and I take heart by looking back over the history of gerously for playing a male character—a gender- Angela Vint. queer at the Oscars. With a little delving un- bender first at the Oscars. der the red carpet, it comes to light that from —1985: William Hurt wins Best Actor playing its very first ceremony queer movies, actors and gay in Kiss of the Spider Woman—another Oscar filmmakers have been part of the Oscars. first. Baby Formula Angela Vint (Athena) and Megan So here are a few queer Oscar highlights —1988: Jodie Foster, who is believed to be a Fahlenbock (Lilith) are well-cast as these part- through the decades: lesbian, wins the first of two Best Actress Oscars out on DVD ners in parenting, and you have a real sense of —1927: The very first Best Picture Oscar win- for The Accused playing opposite now-out ac- BY TRACY BAIM their screen partnership. In real life, director ner is Wings, the story of two WWI fighter pilots. tress Kelly McGillis. Foster would win again three Reid managed to shoot this film timed to the The film, excerpted in The Celluloid Closet, fea- years later for Silence of the Lambs. Mockumentary-style filmmaking is among my actor’s real pregnancies. The water breaking? —1993: Tom Hanks wins his first Best Actor favorites, but it has been over-indulged and That was happening in real life the same day. Oscar playing a gay man with AIDS in the film not true to its form in some recent TV shows I can’t even imagine how difficult this shoe- Philadelphia. and movies. However, The Baby Formula, now string budget was with the added dimension of —1994: The first openly gay actor, Nigel Haw- available from Wolfe Video, is among my new real pregnancies. thorne, is nominated for Best Actor for The Mad- favorite lesbian films. The science in Baby Formula has the spark of ness of King George and attends the ceremony I had a chance to meet the film’s director, reality because Reid did her research, speaking with his partner. Alison Reid, and her partner, Cheryl Izen, at to scientists and bioethicists. —1999: Hilary Swank wins the first of two San Francisco’s Frameline Film fest last sum- “Until recently, it has been impossible for gay Best Actress Oscars playing the murdered trans mer, when Hannah Free premiered, and they couples to conceive of the idea of being able individual Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry. were very generous in offering advice about to combine their genetics and have their own —2003: Charlize Theron gives a career-alter- their road so far with their first feature film. I biological children,” Reid writes in her press ing performance as lesbian serial killer Aileen had loved the trailer for Baby Formula, but as kit. “That has always struck me as sad. When I Wuornos in Monster and wins Best Actress in the with a lot of lesbian films, I feared the trailer read an article about some science that made process. would not live up to my expectations. It does, it possible to create offspring from two female —2005: The year of the Queer Oscars— and I highly recommend this comedy. mice, it resonated with me, and inspired me to Brokeback Mountain loses Best Picture to Crash The Baby Formula, made in Canada, follows make this film.” but wins several other awards; Philip Seymour the exploits of a lesbian couple who are on the The two leads are wonderful, but particularly Hoffman bests Heath Ledger’s Brokeback perfor- sci-fi fertility cutting edge, in a perhaps not- great is Jessica Booker as Grandma Kate, who mance and wins Best Actor playing gay writer too-distant future when lesbians can actually steals the scenes she is in. Each of the family Truman Capote in Capote; and Felicity Huffman have each other’s babies, rather than needing members has her own troubles, and the actors Melissa Etheridge. gets a Best Actress nod playing a transwoman in an outside donor. are allowed to seem human, not stereotypes. Transamerica. Mar. 3, 2010 15 something she learned from—that she would to become the biggest star in the world and end- need to take her career into her own hands and ing with “A Happening in Central Park” in 1967 do things her way. when she was making Funny Girl. That will be WCT: I think this is the first time I’ve read the last big set piece of the book—that concert that her father was bisexual or gay. that brought more people to Central Park than WM: It’s been mentioned before in David Hey- anybody else in history up to that point. In the mann’s book probably 15 years ago. People kind course of those six years, this little girl who was of said, “Well, we shouldn’t touch that because living in a walk-up hovel... Elizabeth herself has never talked about that,” WCT: Carrying the cot around with her. and my background is something that isn’t going WM: Yes, exactly. From that to her drawing a to ignore something as pertinent as that—and quarter of a million people to Central Park is a the evidence does seem to be there. I just de- very small, short simple story but I also think cided to treat it as normally as anything else in it’s going to be really interesting. her life. WCT: I assume you’re researching now, but WCT: That’s one reason why I loved your any idea when that will see the light of day? book so much. You really do write a lot about WM: Probably 2012 because technically that’s how gay men have been so influential in her her 50th year in showbiz if we mark it from her Oscar galas life. first Broadway show and her first record con- WM: Oh, sure. It’s the same thing with her tract. March 7 second husband Michael Wilding. When they’ve Visit www.williamjmann.com. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will take talked about the experience of Hedda Hopper place March 7 in Los Angeles, Calif.—and two outing him—previous biographers have made it Chicago galas will honor the ceremony. seem as if Hedda were making this up and that’s Center on Halsted will hold its annual Os- not understanding the way Hedda Hopper works. car gala, “On the Red Carpet,” in the Inter- She never would have made a case for this if she national Ballroom of the Fairmont Chicago, William J. didn’t know for certain that this was true. Under- 200 N. Columbus. The red-carpet reception is standing that made me understand Elizabeth’s at 6 p.m. with the telecast at 7 p.m. There Mann’s look at marriage to him a little better—especially com- will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres; the at- ing off the disastrous marriage to Nicky Hilton. tire is “absolutely fabulous.” Also, Fairmont Chicago is offering a special discount room Given the fact that gay men were so much a part Elizabeth Taylor rate the evening of March 7 for those attend- of her life and she loved gay men, the idea of By Richard Knight, Jr. ing the event; call 800-526-2008 to request marrying a gay man would probably seem terrific this special rate. For gala tickets ($75-$100), to her after that horrible first marriage because Openly gay author and film historian William J. visit www.CenterOnHalsted.org. she knew her gay friends treated her well. That Mann must be an agent’s dream client: Not only And at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 gave me some insight into her character. is he a talented fiction writer (having penned N. State, “Oscar Night® America 2010” will WCT: Talking about her comfort level with a series of best-selling gay-themed novels) but take place at 6 p.m. This event, according gay men—something she shared with Judy he’s also able to craft compelling, exhaustively to the film center’s Web site, is “the only Garland and many other stars of that era and researched and fabulously entertaining non- officially recognized Oscar® celebration by fiction books. A devout film historian, Mann today—what about the ladies? Did Liz ever the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci- has written best-sellers on William Haines, the indulge in that area? ences® in Chicago.” Chaz and Roger Ebert movies’ first openly gay star; a history of gays WM: [Emphatically] Never. Never. There wasn’t are the honorary chairs. Tickets are $100; and lesbians in Hollywood; and fascinating bi- a bisexual bone in her body. She loved men. She call 312-846-2072 or visit www.Ticketmaster. ographies of Katharine Hepburn, director John didn’t have any prejudice against lesbians by com. Schlesinger and, most recently, the woman who any means but there was just never any inclina- William J. Mann. broke the movie-star mold—Elizabeth Taylor. tion on her part to go there at all. [She] fell in Mann’s book, How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth love, madly, with very heterosexual men and her Taylor In Hollywood, tracks the rise of Taylor best friends were always gay men. from child star to the pinnacle of worldwide WCT: Is there any star today who would in- SSaatt.. MMaarrcchh 66tthh renown. Among other things, the book tackles terest you to write about who would have the 22--66ppmm impact Elizabeth Taylor had? Taylor’s ability to utilize her MGM studio train- AAtt SSiiddeettrraacckk TThhee VViiddeeoo BBaarr ing in dealing with the press when it has come WM: Well, I don’t know that I’d necessar- to her many husbands, illnesses and her larger- ily want to write about them but I feel that than-life fame, which essentially created the somebody like Angelina Jolie has some of that groundwork for the celebrity culture of today. old-time glamour to her. She has the movie-star Along the way, Mann’s richly detailed book, glamour; the offscreen persona is glamorous and which focuses on important facets in Taylor’s quirky and unpredictable; and she does some re- life, is sprinkled with the large coterie of gay ally good onscreen work. She has that balance going on—which is true of Elizabeth as well. JJuuddggee && Jjuurryy men—Montgomery Clift, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Roddy McDowall, etc.—who have sur- WCT: Let’s talk about a few of your earlier rounded, delighted and helped shaped this one- books. I know there was talk at one point that of-a-kind movie star. The book arrives in paper- a biopic might be in the works about the Wil- back in late April. Mann, a bit of a dreamboat liam Haines book. himself, talked about the Taylor book and his WM: It is. In fact, there’s also a Broadway mu- next project. sical in the offing. Windy City Times: I loved that you focused WCT: [Laughs] “Make it gay, make it gay, on key aspects of Elizabeth Taylor’s life, make it gay.” WM: [Laughs] Yes, indeed. That book came out [including] the years when she really was a in 1998 and I still have people, no matter what movie star because there are already, like, 50 book I do, inevitably come up to me and say, biographies of her. William Mann: Exactly, and that’s why that “You know, I just loved ‘Wisecracker’” so that approach appealed to me when my editor sug- book has had quite the life and I think William gested we do this—get behind the scenes and Haines might be do for a little bit of a comeback show how she laid the groundwork for everybody in the next couple of years. WCT: Is there a next subject that you can from Madonna to Britney and all that. I realized $ talk about? your $10 that I would need to do it in a different way donation WM: Well, yes. I’ve agreed to stay with Hol- donation than what had been written before. benefits:: lywood for at least one more book. So I’m doing thanks to our sponsors at: WCT: It’s your contention that her [MGM] thanks to our sponsors at: another diva—another gay favorite. It’s going training helped her in dealing with the press to be called Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra on one hand and her inner strength on the Streisand. But it’s just going to be early Stre- other—using the press to her advantage, isand. I can’t imagine writing about Hollywood right? much past 1970. WM: Yes. She wasn’t a Judy Garland who was SSiiddeettrraacckk TThhee VViiddeeoo BBaarr.. 33334499 NN.. HHaallsstteedd.. SSiiddeettrraacckkCChhiiccaaggoo..ccoomm going to crumble in that system. She didn’t like WCT: And she’s been covered a lot—like SSttaayyuuppttooddaatteewwiitthhggaalllleerriieessaannddllaasstt--mmiinnuutteeeevveennttssbbyyjjooiinniinngguussoonn the studio system and fought against it, and it Liz. made her tough and turned her into a survivor. WM: Right. So, again, the agreement with my I think the experience of her first marriage to editor is that it’s going to be just the early, early Barbra. The young teenage girl from Brooklyn SSeeee pphhoottooss ffrroomm SSiiddeettrraacckk MMaarrddii GGrraass 22001100 Nicky Hilton, which was completely studio-ar- iinn tthhee nneeww ggaalllleerryy sslliiddee sshhoowwss aatt SSiiddeettrraacckkCChhiiccaaggoo..ccoomm ranged and basically a photo op wedding, was arriving in Manhattan deciding that she wants 16 Mar. 3, 2010 RIVERS from cover Get Laid! gawd’s name let you go out like that?” Shakira, Queer citizen Tim Miller whoever did that to that poor girl should be just discusses the kicked out, shocking! ‘Lay of the Land’ WCT: Your daughter Melissa is producing the VIEWPOINT by tim miller show, correct? JR: Yeah, and it’s getting great numbers. She I have always had the ability to regard the lay of loves to produce. We are doing another show to- the land and I will be sharing some of my kinky gether called Mother Knows Best. It is a reality perspectives with Chicago at Victory Gardens show. I would love her to produce it as well but Theater March 15-21 with my show aptly called she is just going to be in that one. Lay of the Land. When I was a very little boy— WCT: What network is that going to be on? at a time when my favorite wooden puzzle was JR: It is going to be on WE tv and start film- called “Ride a Cock Horse”—there was a kids’ ing in March. We are also doing a second year show I loved called Romper Room. It was on for of How’d You Get So Rich? For TV Land. We start decades, and if you are over 28 years old you filming that in March as well. It is going to be probably had a Romper Room period in your life. some March! Tim Miller. Photo by Leo Garcia Each episode had a segment in which the kindly WCT: I don’t know how you do it. [Last year] woman Miss Something or Other would reach was huge for you. out to greet various kiddie viewers in TV Land the upper Midwest preparing me. I see Illinois JR: It was a huge year and this year is going (by first name only) using her magic mirror. She State University’s Reggie Redbird getting in on to be even bigger, which is wonderful. And then would look directly into the camera and, thus, the Disney action and dressing me in my so- all the running around, concerts, concerts, con- into our child-souls. She would hold up a mir- out-they-are-in cargo pants that I have had to certs. I travel all over the country. It is great to ror to her face, and would look lovingly into it. sleep in on the nasty carpet at O’Hare during see America from a terrific hotel room! We would get some TV psychedelic-spiral special many airport snowstorms. I see University of WCT: Do you get to go out a little, at least? effects, and the glass part of the mirror would Minnesota’s Goldy Gopher, with his scary teeth, JR: I usually like to go see something in the disappear and there would just be an open circle pulling my roller bag out of the closet. I see town. Like if I am in Aurora and they say there is with a handle—and she would say several names. Northwestern University’s Willie Wildcat fluffing Joan Rivers. Photos by Charles William Bush a pioneer exhibit that I have to see, then I will (“I see Jimmy and Bobby and Susie and Billy my naturally curly hair, I see Wisconsin’s Bucky ...”) There were never many Lakeeshas or Javiers Badger—the sexiest of all the mascots because go. We always try to see one thing in each city mentioned when I was a kid. It was uncanny if he has been seriously working out and is wear- that we hit. Tennessee roots too much. you heard your name read on TV. (“I see Timmy ing no pants!—meeting me for a quickie in the WCT: So what is your show going to be like JR: Melissa is very good friend with Jesse being stripped naked and pawed by handsome, airport public restrooms reserved for closeted a in Aurora at the Paramount Theatre? James (Sandra’s husband), so we are hoping hirsute coal-miners….” Wow! Miss So-And-So Republican senator to help me face the horrors JR: It is going to be filled with gay men, I something nice will happen. I loved Inglorious saw me!) I have always had this ability, too. of changing planes in Dallas or Dulles! hope! If there are gay men in the audience then Bastards. I thought that was great. I loved the I can really see the Lay of the Land and know I hold up that Romper Room mirror and I can you automatically get a great show. They are George Clooney one too. He was amazing. what is happening everywhere in queer America. really see the Lay of the Land. I see everything, the best audiences in the world. It is going to WCT: Your special on the Logo channel An I just hold that mirror in front of my eyes. my gaze flying over the states. I can see French be about everything. It will be about whatever Audience with Joan Rivers-Unedited was hi- After Proposition 8 passed in California and Lick, Ind., and Morehead, Ky. I see Fort Gay, W. is happening in the world at the moment. Last larious! Your gay following has stuck with my home state joined the other 45 H8 states— Va., and Nellieburg, Miss. These are real places! week it was Tiger Woods, the week before was you throughout the years especially the drag including Illinois—where gay folks are denied Is this a queer country or what? I can even see Michael Jackson’s funeral. It will be about the queens. these fundamental rights, I found myself march- the Statue of Liberty all the way from Chicago’s Academy Awards if anything terrible happened JR: They have stuck with me, Bette, Cher, Lily ing with a quarter of a million folks in hundreds Victory Gardens Theater! Have you ever noticed there. It will be about me hating to be on a Tomlin, Liza Liza Liza and, now, Kathy Griffin. of cities in all 50 states protesting the anti- how butch, how gender-fuck the Statue of Lib- plane with children, going on a vacation with I think they just like funny women and funny gay laws that passed on Election Day 2008 in erty is? Uh oh, I see Liberty is choking. America my grandson and whiny people that I can’t women love them. California, Florida, Arkansas and Arizona. I was is choking on that MSG-laced piece of tough stand. It just goes on and on. WCT: Last year you even hosted the pink preparing to premiere the very first chunk of a homophobia trapped in our national throat. I WCT: There is always more material out carpet at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi brand-new show here in Chicago at Links Hall quickly fly through the mirror to the New York there. Gras parade. [Both laugh] You look better ,and I knew I was going to have to access the harbor and do the Heimlich maneuver on the JR: There is always more material. than ever and this year is going to be busy for Romper Room mirror to see WTF is going on in Statue of Liberty, which is not easy through all WCT: Are you excited about the Oscars? you. our lunatic asylum of a country. Voila, Lay of that copper! The Statue coughs up a nasty chunk JR: I love them. This is my month of Turner JR: I am one of the lucky ones. I love the the Land—my saucy, sharp-knifed look at the of homophobic gristle that is choking our nation Classic movies. business and the business has not deserted me. State of the Queer Union during a time of trial! and also four Supreme Court Justices who stand WCT: Have you seen a lot of the Oscar mov- There are so many friends of mine that are real Careening out of that marriage-equality street between us and freedom: Roberts, Alito, Thomas ies? actresses and are just not working. It is awful, protest to my sexy misadventures performing in and Scalia, who explodes in a toxic cloud when JR: No, I only see the ones that they send me you know. There is not that much work for them 43 states , to the electoral assaults on gay folks he hits the water. for free! If they sent it for free, then I saw it. anymore. How many grandma parts are there? all over the country, to my life as a grade-school The Statue of Liberty whips off that tired cop- WCT: I watched the Sandra Bullock one last WCT: What is your opinion on the late-night flag monitor, to choking on cheap meat caught per muumuu and Planet of the Apes tiara, and night—Blind Side. talk-show drama? in my 10-year-old gay boy’s throat, Lay of the lifts that suspiciously vibrator-esque lamp and I JR: I haven’t seen that one yet. Is it good? JR: I think it’s wonderful. It’s a win-win for hear Liberty sing out the new slam poetry writ- Land friskily gets at that feeling of gay folks WCT: It was okay; [it] reminds me of my everybody. Of course, Conan was going down, ten there on that statue. being perpetually on trial, on the ballot and on his ratings sucked—suddenly everyone likes him “Give me your fierce faggots, the menu! Lay of the Land is a “lay” in all kinds now and he got $40 million. So that’s terrific for your strong dykes. of ways: a sex-assignation, a queer-citizenship him. And for Leno, my gawd! How great it is for Your huddled queer masses yearning to love map and, of course, a narrative ballad with a everyone because we don’t have to take Ambient free recurrent refrain (my favorite way-down-the-list anymore to go to sleep at 11:30. We are back to Give me your working-class femmes with Lee definition for “lay”)! going to sleep watching him. This is perfect! I travel a lot—at least 30 states a year. I press-on nails They save all the viewership money on drugs. sometimes feel like a performing “queer John- Your activist queer boys who make out in jails. Oh boy, he is so boring—such a fucking boring ny Appleseed, which is a bit redundant since …. your cowboy homos in buttless chaps and show. Johnny Appleseed is widely thought to actually such WCT: I know. Why don’t they have women on have been gay. Johnny Appleseed was a Walt your U-hauling lezzies who move in together too late night? Whitman-y queer fleeing the bourgeois family much! JR: Somebody decided a long time ago that duties back east for adventures in the world of Give me your hope! Your heart. Your queer self people like to watch men at night. Some old men in the west! Yeehaw! Plus those apples he possession. executive decides. was planting weren’t baking apples. Nope—they Your families, your future and fierce sex trans- WCT: A male executive, obviously… were only good for hard-cider drinking and par- gression. JR: Obviously. It is still very much a boy’s club, tying. Johnny Appleseed was a queer Dionysus I lift my lamp beside this open closet door. bringing joy and fermentation to the new na- Come out shout out where ever you are. network television. tion! Welcome. WCT: I am excited about seeing your show. As I do the Lord’s work trying to undo ho- We’re home.” JR: I have never been to Aurora so I am ex- mophobia—seriously—I often call on my ani- Tim Miller performs Lay of the Land in Chi- cited, too. Illinois is a good state. mal spirit guides. Since I do a ton of univer- cago at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lin- WCT: Well, I am coming to see you so you sity gigs all over the country as I throw my coln, March 15, 19-21. He will also be leading will have at least one gay in the audience. luggage together for my college engagements, a weeklong intensive performance workshop JR: Oh, you are gay? Bring a friend for gawd’s I often imagine that all the animal mascots of March 16-22 that will create a performance to sake—then at least I will get two! these institutions of higher learning I work at be performed March 22 at Victory Gardens. Joan Rivers will walk the talk at the Para- are gathering to help me. Just as the mice and For tickets to Lay of the Land or for work- mount Theatre, 23 E. Galena, Friday, March 5, birds in Cinderella’s Disney garret pimp her up shop information, call 773-871-3000 or visit at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39.50; call 630- for the ball, I visualize the animal mascots of www.victorygardens.org. 896-6666 or visit www.paramountaurora. com. Mar. 3, 2010 17 :Dining Welcome to the new food section of Windytaste City Times. Our columnists and photographers will cover all things dining and food related. Most weeks, the columns will be available exclusively online at www.windycitymediagroup.com. pair is off to a good start, serving up inventive The cauliflower-and-potato soup was cocktails and creative “globally inspired” small bland, but the perfectly seasoned plates for sharing. smoked trout redeemed it. Exposed brick, concrete floors and oversized Next came the “small bites,” and & lighting fixtures give Cuna some urbane flair, but we could have started and ended the the rest of the décor is fairly predictable. Loud meal right there. The butternut squash club music fills the large dining room, and while risotto with applewood-smoked bacon Cuna it’s not conversation-stifling, this might not be stole my heart. All three boys were By Meghan Streit the ideal place for a romantic date. gaga over the pasta with smoked duck I paid a visit to Cuna with three fabulous male breast. The fried market potatoes with Spice dining companions. We kicked off the evening garlic-rosemary aioli were like an up- & with a round of quirky cocktails (think raw eggs, scale version of the infamous garlic- muddled cherries and absinthe rinse). The “Foi mayo cheese fries at T’s Restaurant CHIC AGO’S DINING SCENE Dog” was a glammed-up eggnog-esque cocktail and Bar. Do yourself a favor: Order made with Kilo Kai rum, heavy cream, raw eggs, these potatoes! The roasted sea scal- Baby octopus with endive, orange and pine nuts. Photo &Spice yam-spiced gomme syrup and a darling cinna- lops were tender, flavorful and paired courtesy of Good Life PR CHIC AGO’S DINING SCENE mon-stick garnish—probably best as a night with Brussels sprouts that gave the Sugar Sugar &Spice cap. The “Apprentice” won my vote for best pre- world’s most hated vegetable a whole CHIC AGO’S DINING SCENE Sugar dinner cocktail. It’s an intoxicating (literally) new name. Our waitress recommended concoction of Grey Goose L’Orange and Thatcher the Ferrari-Carano fume blanc, a sturdy apple-spiced ginger topped off with Prosecco. white wine that stood up to the exotic Yum! The “Love Jones” comes in a champagne flavors of the second course. flute filled with Absolut Mandarin, Parfait Amour If you’re splurging, try the pricier liqueur, raw egg white, lemon juice and sugar. “big bites.” The skate wing with collard I thought it was too thick and too purple—I’ll greens (bacon-braised to perfection!) take champagne in my champagne glass, thank was an amazing dish. I didn’t want to you very much—but the boys seemed to like it. share a single bite. The boys reported We started with a few $6 flatbreads. The wild that the bison burger was too chewy mushroom was a hit, and another combined and gave it a unanimous thumbs-down. Cuna chef Kendal Duque. Photo courtesy of Good Life PR sausage, grapes, goat cheese and fontina—un- The cauliflower with lentils was crisp expected, but tasty. as promised and surprisingly good. food. Definitely save room for dessert. The pot de crème got rave reviews from the staff, but I Paolo Acuna, a Chicago businessman who hails There were several winners on the reasonably All in all, Cuna is a welcome addition to the highly recommend the apple-and-walnut bread from the Philippines and grew up all over the -priced soup-and-salad menu. The calamari and Belmont strip—a fun option for a night out with pudding, served moist and warm with caramel world, has turned an abandoned art gallery arugula with chorizo left the boys fighting over friends and a perfect way to sample foods you ice cream—to quote Bravo’s favorite strung-out into a vibrant Lakeview nightspot called Cuna. the last bite of sausage. The onion soup takes won’t find on every menu at recession-proof stylist, “I die!” Acuna hired former Sepia chef Kendal Duque to a creative departure from the traditional French prices. Go for the drinks (and if you’re not into Cuna is at 1113 W. Belmont; call dream up dishes that blend South American, onion, made instead with beef short ribs and $10 cocktails, there’s a reasonably priced wine 312-224-8588 or visit www.cunachicago. Asian, American and Italian flavors. So far, the Gruyère cheese puffs. More cheese puffs please! list and good beer selection) and stay for the com. suitable labels for her personal experience, Ames believes that food can always provide a corner- AMUSE stone for community. Working in restaurants since the age of 16, BOUCHE Greg Perrine, 22, has seen his fair share of rude bosses, roaches and ridicule when it comes to the food industry. Finally fed up with wasting By Greg Perrine and Ames Hawkins money on things he could make better at home, he took to exploring food and wine, coming As defined by The New Food Lover’s Companion, up with The Perfect Pair, a food blog at www. an “amuse bouche” [ah-mewz-BOOSH] is a French pairperfect.blogspot.com. Having a boyfriend of derivative for “appetizer,” typically referring to three years, and finally coming out to his fa- a small one- or two-bite portion of something ther this past summer, Greg is exploring what it special or exotic to tickle the tastebuds. Such means to be young, gay, and hungry. Greg Perrine. offerings are not on the menu and are presented Because it is our intention to provide the to diners before the meal begins. reader with more than recipes or reviews, we Just as the definition explains, this column, have decided to present a series of columns Amuse Bouche, is meant to inspire your appe- that, though capable of standing alone, also tite, getting you out of your daily hum drum work together to address a particular them or routine of turkey sandwiches and bar food, and idea associated with cooking and food. Writers into the world of culinary exploration. We live Ames Hawkins and Greg Perrine will alternate in the age of five-dollar foot longs and over- columns in nine-week cycles, offering their dif- priced restaurant experiences, paying to wait fering perspectives and recipes associated with in overcrowded rooms for a taste of something a particular thematic arc. As our first focus, we over-processed and unhealthy—completely for- offer stories, recipes and reflection that serve to DOWNLOAD THE getting about family, friends, and the simple reframe a definition of family, how the notion of joys of cooking at home. Instead of bringing family is connected with community. How family you reviews of the latest and best restaurants, tastes to us both, how we use it to season our this column is meant to shed light on what food lives, to satisfy our hunger in what we hope to means to the LGBT community. share. Entering the kitchen in earnest nearly 10 years All people eat, but we want you to know how ago in order to relieve some of the pressure of we understand what it means to cook queer! It parenting from her partner, Ames writes from a is our goal to inspire you to choose to perhaps queerly traditional notion of family and what it stay home a little more often, cook for your iPhone app means to cook and to create home. Ames con- friends, those you consider to be family; for fam- siders cooking to be a definite form for gender ily who you feel could be your friends. We write expression, believing that nurturing others with out of a conviction of the power of food to bring Find it at the food is foundational to making family. Having, people together, to create community, to form during this decade, come to consider gender- iTunes store Ames Hawkins. family. queer, transgender and lesbian to be alternately 18 Mar. 3, 2010 CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE ADVERTISE HERE dedicated. For more info, Contact or Recruit Dept at FOR SALE FOR RENT ADVERTISE HERE: Want to advertise your product, service, [email protected] (3/24/10-6) etc. to thousands of readers? Place an ad in the Windy STUDIOS City Times! 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Mar. 3, 2010 19 was twofold: their art [though it actually took them years to get into the mediums that they would rule] and their understanding of each other. When Smith talks of Mapplethorpe’s curly brown hair and green eyes she forces us to see him as the beautiful boy that she saw. When we see his early portraits of her she has a crisp, uncomplicated simplicity that makes her almost unrecognizable. Obviously, we don’t know either of them like we thought we did. At one point when Mapplethorpe starts to re- alize that he’s gay it’s not only a surprise to her but to him as well. But though they swiftly end up with different partners heading in differ- ent directions, their bond stays unquestionably strong and fluid right up until his AIDS-related death in 1989 at age 42. Of course when they parted romantically she wasn’t a rock and roll star and he wasn’t the most controversial if not famous photographer in the world. And that’s the fascination of the book, the odd link be- tween them that onlookers couldn’t fathom. Toward the end of the book Smith ruminates, “To me, Robert and I were irrevocably entwined, like Paul and Elizabeth, the sister and brother in BOOK REVIEW Cocteau’s Les Enfants Terribles. We played simi- lar games, declared the most obscure objects Just Kids treasure and often puzzled friends and acquain- Written by Patti Smith tances by our indefinable devotion.” $27; HarperCollins Books; At the close of the book Smith reveals that 304 pages Just Kids is a promise that she made to Map- REVIEW BY Vern Hester plethorpe to “one day write our story.” I’m glad that she did it, not so much because it docu- “What will happen to us?” I asked. ments an already mythical time with mythical “There will always be us,” he answered. personalities [having breakfast with Ginsberg, Typical words spoken by typical lovers in the whiskey with Johnny Winter, or Kris Kristoffer- rush of a typical young romance, but in this case son sitting in a hotel-room floor singing his “Me those words were actually prophetic. and Bobby McGee” to an enchanted Janis Joplin Patti Smith asked the question and her lover for the first time], but because in telling this Robert Mapplethorpe answered, but neither of story she let us see who she and Mapplethorpe them had a clue as to how right they were and really were. on such an immense level. It was at the close Check out BAR-LESQUE, of the 1960s in the seediness of the dank Aller- Terkel Award ton Hotel in N.Y.C. and neither of them had the an online “strip-a-thon” slightest clue that they would reshape not only winners announced their world but the whole world with their art. Old and new media are included in the roster showcasing your favorite It’s a bit of a head-spinner to embrace Smith’s of the 2010 winners of the Studs Terkel Com- new memoir Just Kids from the standpoint of the munity Media Awards, announced today by the Chicago bartenders! present; it’s almost impossible to picture Smith nonprofit Community Media Workshop at Colum- and Mapplethorpe as unsure artistically and sex- bia College. Honorees include Kate Grossman, ually [him, anyway] or to have such a naive per- Deputy Editorial Page Editor, Chicago Sun-Times; spective on the world and life. Just Kids works Natalie Moore, Public Affairs Reporter, Chicago on three levels simultaneously: how the two of Public Radio; and Progress Illinois, a news blog them evolved into the artists that they became, produced by Josh Kalven, Adam Doster and An- and as documents on time and place. gela Caputo. New York City and the years 1968-1973 were They join the roster of more than four dozen that time and place where American rock culture journalists recognized by the workshop and evolved into what it would ever be, all in one the late Studs Terkel as representing some of nutty, maddening, atomic smash up. The Vel- Chicago’s finest media professionals. They will vet Underground, Bette Midler, Talking Heads, receive their awards at the Workshop’s annual Blondie, the Ramones, Paul Simon, The New York benefit—co-chaired by Tracy Baim of Windy City Dolls, Billy Joel—the list could go on and on. Media Group and Dan Haley & Andy Johnston As a document of an era that splintered off into of Wednesday Journal—March 10 at the Chicago several alter eras [disco, punk, wave—all of it Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 5-9 p.m. More started at this time and at this place], Just Kids information is at www.communitymediawork- has a nonstop parade of personalities whirling shop.org. Chicago Takes Off event sponsors through it [Aleister Crowley, Jimi, Janis, Dylan, Terkel was patron saint of the Workshop’s International Velvet, Genet, Manson, Edie Sedg- Studs Terkel Community Media Awards before wick, Thomas Wolfe, Viva, Arbus, Candy Darling, passing away in October, 2008, according to co- Warhol, Ondine, Clive Davis] with a number of founder and president Thom Clark. “Studs was memorable cameos [Grace Slick, Allen Ginsberg, one of the world’s most effective communica- Johnny Winter, Wayne County, Bob Neuwirth, tors, multi-talented as a writer, an actor, a jour- Sam Shepard, Jim Carroll, Tom Verlaine, Todd nalist, an orator. His was a unique voice, both a Media Sponsors Rundgren] like nuclear-powered pinballs bounc- rascal and a statesman; he brought dignity and ing about in an arcade. hope to the hopeless and powerless and had a The first achievement of the book though is raw, respectful and honest insight about those that it reveals how fully both Mapplethorpe and who succeeded in life. Winner or loser, celeb- Smith became their art. It’s hard to see either of rity or nobody, saint or sinner—Studs reached them as the innocents at the start of the book out to us all. He was an organizer, a community or imagine the spontaneous romance of their organizer if you will. He talked to and, more im- first meeting. How they appeared later on [she portantly, listened to all of us,” Clark said. as a chanting, furious high-priestess-punk-rock- Since 1989, Community Media Workshop has poet-bard and he as a slightly dangerous, oddly coached thousands of nonprofit communicators beautiful lord of black leather and darkness] to tell stories in ways that advance their mis- seemed so complete that it’s impossible to see sions or grow their organizations. Based at Co- them for what they really were: two kids on their lumbia College Chicago, it works in Chicago and own. across the Midwest. What attracted them and held them together 20 Mar. 3, 2010 com; 6pm, 630-289-1000, http://www. wowschicago.com/ Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance screens as part of the Chicago Interna- tional Music and Movies Festival. $8 Q&A with Director/Producer Madsen Minax and Producer Simon Strikeback to follow; 6pm, Brought to you by the combined efforts of Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington, http://www.actorslashmodel.com/film. htm ‘RED’-LIGHT SPECIAL Chicago Takes Off Themed “TV LAND: Sunday, March 7 Outside the Box.” A production of Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN), Chicago’s Center on Halsted will longest standing peer-led, HIV/AIDS ser- hold its Oscar gala, “On vices organization. Two shows, 7:30pm Wed., March 3 and 10pm $50 to $300. See participants the Red Carpet” at the Screening of Dreams Deferred: The Sakia OF NOTE online. 7:30pm, 773-989-9400 x233, Park Fairmont Chicago, 200 N. Gunn Film Project You’ve probably heard Thursday, March 4 West Chicago, 322 W. Armitage, www. Columbus. of Matthew Shepard, but you may have tpan.com never heard of Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old Artemis Singers (right) will Cake Chicago Presents: A Night of Live out and proud young woman from New Music & Spoken Word! Homoticons at Jersey who identified as an “aggressive” give a free concert at Sulzer Cake Chicago with Ripley Caine, Nicole 2009 photo by Steve Starr homosexual woman of color. She was Public Library, 4455 N. Reynolds, and The Painted Lady. 21+ $5; stabbed to death in 2003 by one of the Lincoln. 9pm two much older men whose sexual advanc- Open casting call for Biggest Loser sea- Tuesday, March 9 es she rebuffed that night. The documen- son 9 Do you want to change your life Tix on sale for Kathy Griffin at Milwaukee tary follows the reaction of the Newark and compete for $250,000 on television? PrideFest Funny, frequently controversial, community where several rallies and vigils Photo courtesy of Artemis Singers 10pm, http://www.thebiggestlosercast- and unashamedly self-promoting Kathy were held, galvanizing the community and ing.com Griffin in a one-night exclusive tour stop prompting several LGBT organizations to Lauren Jacobs returns Lauren Jacobs re- in the midwest region. Pre-sale tickets form, including the Newark Pride Alliance sted, www.averchicago.org and used in Hollywood films. “A Night at turns to Chicago with The Bitch is Back March 9, 10 am, with password PF2010. All and Sakia Gunn Aggressives & Femmes, as Artemis Singers free concert Artemis Sing- the Oscars” is a one-night-only event. Tour at Velvet Rope (3/6), Roscoe’s (3/9) tickets on sale March 12, 10 am. 8:30pm, well as a scholarship fund in her name. ers lesbian feminist chorus Winter Concert $30.50 through Paramount Theatre box and Spin (3/11). 10:30pm, Velvet Rope, http://www.pridefest.com 6-9 p.m. at Affinity, 5650 S. Woodlawn, will include old favorites plus new selec- office at 630.896.6666 or online through 728 W. Lake Drag Race with Frida Lay Frida Lay hosts http://www.blackyouthproject.com tions being developed for the upcoming Ticketmaster. 7:30pm, 630-896-6666, Chicago’s only amateur drag contest ev- Get In Her Shoes Chicago Launch Party Sister Singers Network 10th National Paramount Theatre, 23 East Galena Boule- Sunday, March 7 ery Tuesday at 11pm in Roscoe’s front bar. inspired & inspire others. Women helping Women’s Choral Festival June 30 – July 4 vard, http://www.paramountarts.com Gender JUST House Meeting Join Gender Drag Race has been a hit since its premier women. Massages, appetizers, live guitar at Loyola University Chicago; 7pm, 773- Queer Latinos: Art and Change Fascinating JUST for a house meeting to talk more in 2000. 11pm, 773-281-3355, Roscoe’s folk and jazz music by Chris Parsons; 6pm, 764-4465, http://www.artemissingers.org exploration of Chicago’s long standing and about the issues covered in the Popular Tavern, 3356 N Halsted St, http://www. 847-867-9585 Stephen Sondheim 80th Q & A: Harris diverse queer Latino community. Scholars Political Education Trainings and other roscoes.com Cirque du Soleil presents ALEGRIA Theater Presents... Just prior to his 80th Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes and Amigas issues! To RSVP and receive the address, Critically-acclaimed touring production Birthday, composer and lyricist Stephen Latinas’ own Lourdes Torres share their contact [email protected]. 2pm, Wed., March 10 Alegría will perform eight performances Sondheim will offer a personal and engag- insights on the intersection of art and http://www.genderjust.org “Building Our Next City: How the LGBT through March 7, 2010. International cast ing view in a live, unscripted conversa- political change over the last twenty-five Male Call with Miss Foozie Roscoe’s and Community Can Cultivate the Creative Out of 55 from 15 countries showcase breath- tion. 7:30 p.m., Harris Theater for Music years. $12; $10 members and students. ChicagoPride.com present Male Call with Professional Executive Network (OPEN) taking acrobatics; 7:30pm, 800-745-3000, and Dance, 205 E Randolph Dr, http:// 5:30pm, Chicago History Museum, 1601 Miss Foozie. Here’s your chance to meet first; 5pm, http://guestlistapp.com/ http://www.cirquedusoleil.com www.harristheaterchicago.org N Clark, http://http://chicagohistory.org/ the unexpected and end the weekend events/13098 “A Night at the Oscars” starring Shirley planavisit/upcomingevents/out-at-chm right. 5pm, Roscoe’s Tavern, 3356 N Hal- Bisexual Panel Discussion Group Casual, Thursday, March 4 Jones The Academy Award-winning star sted St, http://www.missfoozie.com peer-led conversation group on the sec- The American Veterans for Equal Rights of classics including “Oklahoma!,” “Carou- Friday, March 5 “Out & Proud” screening “Out & Proud in ond Wednesday of each month. 7pm, Cen- AVER (gay veterans) Monthly meeting. sel,” “The Music Man,” “Elmer Gantry” and Equality Illinois First Friday Networking Chicago” television documentary by WTTW ter on Halsted, 3656 N Halsted, http:// is a non-profit association dedicated to hundreds of other film, stage and televi- Event Equality Illinois and ChicagoPride. Chicago tells the history of Chicago’s LGBT www.centeronhalsted.com full and equal rights for all present and sion appearances, will join the 32-piece com present this monthly “Make A Differ- citizens. Its timeline spans from the Civil former members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Hollywood Concert Orchestra for a night ence” event. For a $10 donation to the War through present day. This parallel his- Thursday, March 11 7:30am, Center on Halsted, 3656 N Hal- saluting the greatest music composed for Equality Illinois PAC, you receive two- tory of the city tells a story of invisibility, IL HIV/AIDS Lobby Days Training Some drink tickets and a ticket for a door prize oppression, devastation, revolution and refreshments. RSVP to bcadoff@aidschi- drawing. 6pm, Sidetrack, 3349 N Halsted triumph. 5:30pm, http:///www.wttw.com cago.org; 5pm, 312-334-0963, AIDS Foun- St, www.eqil.org ON THE RED CARPET: Center on Halsted Os- dation of Chicago, 200 W. Jackson, Suite Nancy Stohlman, Searching for Suzi When car Party 2010 ON THE RED CARPET: Cen- 2200, www.aidschicago.org Suzi, a 30-something ex-stripper now mar- ter on Halsted Oscar Party 2010. Co-Chairs Speed Dating for women The first round ried with kids, begins to question how she Judi Gorman, Wayne Harth, and Gregory will begin at 7:15 pm. Rounds will con- arrived at this point in her life, her search Hyder cordially invite you to a glamorous tinue until everyone has had a chance to for herself means accepting her sexual- evening to benefit the programs of Center meet, or until 8:45 pm, whichever comes ity in all its contradictions and claiming on Halsted; 6pm, (773) 661-0787, Fair- first. Bring your agenda book! “Like to get herself. Denver-based writer Stohlman, mont Chicago, 200 N Columbus Dr, http:// together for coffee” cards will be matched who is founder and co-editor of the an- www.centeronhalsted.org/coh/calendar/ after the last round ends. Speed Dating is nual flash fiction collection, Fast Forward, newevents-details.cfm?id=787 scheduled on the 2nd Thursday of every reveals Suzi’s story in a novel-in-flashes. month, alternating between Men’s Night 7:30pm, Women & Children First, 5233 N. Monday, March 8 and Women’s Night. 6:45pm, Center on Clark St., http://www.womenandchildren- South Asian/Asian/South East Asian LGBT Halsted, 3656 N Halsted, www.centeron- first.com immigration forum Panel discussion halsted.org SalsaChicago All Star Mambo at Tempta- about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender tions Night Club They are BACK! After a (LGBT) immigrants’ rights. Panelists will Friday, March 12 successful performance we have decided provide an update on developments from Equality Across America Midwest Region- to bring them back for a hot night of live both the federal level in Washington, D.C. al Conference Unite and Fight: Strategiz- music including salsa/merengue/bachata as well as on the local level in Illinois and ing for LGBTQ Civil Rights and Equality and more! No cover before 9pm, drink Chicago; how immigration reform may af- through March 14. Featuring Staceyann specials all night long, plenty of free con- fect LGBTQ individuals, and how the audi- Chin, performance poet and LGBTQ civil venient parking. 8pm ence can get involved. Reception and Net- rights activist; Dan Choi, infantry officer working: 5:30 pm. Program: 6:00 – 7:30 in the US Army discharged under “Don’t Saturday, March 6 PM. 5:30pm, http://www.facebook.com/ Ask, Don’t Tell”; Adam Bouska, photog- 11th Annual Jack Daniels Chili Cookoff event.php?eid=32392916762 rapher and creator of the “NO H8” cam- Taste & judge entries from area chefs. Con- How Old is Too Old, How Young is Too paign. lgbtrightsmakinganimpact@gmail. firmed participants include: F. O’Mahony, Young Join youth and adults from the com; 1pm, http://http://equalityacrossa- Jack’s on Halsted, Hotel 71, Lucky Strike LGBT community as we openly discuss merica.org/conference/ Lanes, J & L Catering, Aja Restaurant at how old is too old, and how young is too the Dana Hotel & Spa, The Mid America young to date/be in a relationship with. Saturday, March 20 Club and 4-time winner: Kitsch’n On Ros- This discussion is open to people on Freedom to Serve 18th SLDN annual dinner coe plus more; 2pm, Sidetrack, 3349 N both sides of the issue and will feature with keynote speaker Rep. Patrick Murphy Halsted St, http://www.glchamber.org an impressive facilitator. Suggested dona- and special guests. Open Bar, Business FEEL THE HEAT 2010 Cabin Fever Ball, Women of the tion: $2.00 to support Intergenerational Attire, Valet Parking provided. Tix $225 Saturday, March 6 Western Suburbs 6-7pm cash bar, 7-8:30 Programs. [email protected]; individual, available online. Info: dah@ dinner, 8:30-12 dancing/cash bar. $32. 6pm, 773-690-6790 sldn.org. 6:30pm, 202-621-5419, www. Table of 8, $256. wowsevents@yahoo. sldn.org/dinner The 11th Annual Jack Daniels Chili Cook-Off will take place at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. Get WindyCityMediaGroup.com Photo from 2009 by Kirk Williamson : online ChicagoPride.com Mar. 3, 2010 21 TTHH An SSUUNNDDAAYY,,MMAARRCCHH77 annual fav orite....O ® scar Sund BILLY MASTERS Show ay edition o O Tune f pen at 3pm Sunday “In New York, we don’t sleep together. I like it • Show Tun es 4pm-7p this way. It’s my decision.”—Diane von Fursten- m then... berg talks about her marriage to Barry Diller. I assumed they didn’t sleep together, but it’s nice Win Star Treatment at the ... to hear it was her decision. Now we know who the top is in that relationship! NNoo ccoovveerr SSiiddeettrraacckk If there was an Olympic medal awarded for worst plastic surgery, Bob Costas would definite- Oscar Party ly take the gold. I dunno what he’s had done—a Oscar Party face lift, an eye lift or maybe the Botox needle ffrroomm 77ppmm •• HHoosstteedd bbyy hit an optical nerve. But every time they cut to him, he’s got this crazy bug-eyed stare. It’s a CCiirrccuuiitt MMoomm kinda spooky look—like he just saw the ghost of Dick Button. What? Dick’s still alive? Could have fooled me! He certainly wasn’t wearing those shoes in the Ramble! While wife Catherine Zeta-Jones is entertain- ing the masses on Broadway, hubby Michael ® Douglas is practicing the piano. Why? He’s going forward with a big-screen biopic about pianist Liberace that will be directed by Steven Soder- bergh. The hold-up was casting the role of Lee’s lover, Scott Thorson. Michael was hell-bent on landing Matt Damon—who isn’t? And he got WWiinn yyoouurr cchhaannccee ttoo wwaattcchh tthhee sshhooww ffrroomm tthhee his wish. Damon’s in...perhaps that was a poor choice of words under the circumstances. Sidetrack Lord knows where Matt Damon will squeeze Sidetrack ““SSttaarr BBooxx”” this in ... again, perhaps a poor choice of words. EEvveerryy hhoouurr,,44 ppeeooppllee wwiillll wwiinn tthhee rriigghhtt ttoo ssiitt iinn tthhee He has just been announced to play RFK in a biopic, is reuniting with buddy Ben Affleck for a wwiitthh ccoommpplliimmeennttaarryy ccoocckkttaaiillss aanndd ®® movie, and has at least two other films in pre- ssuurrpprriisseess sseerrvveedd uupp bbyy ssccaannddaalloouuss GGoollddeenn OOssccaarr BBooyyss.. production. Busy boy. 1166 wwiinnnneerrss tthhrroouugghhoouutt tthhee nniigghhtt!! NNooCCoovveer!r! As you know, James Franco has been studying Thanks to our friends at: film at NYU. His short, “The Feast of Stephen,” has raised more than eyebrows after screen- Is Evan Lysacek skating an issue? ings in Las Vegas and Berlin. Based on Anthony SSiiddeettrraacckkTThheeVViiddeeoo BBaarr..33334499 NN..HHaallsstteedd..SSiiddeettrraacckkCChhiiccaaggoo..ccoomm Hecht’s poem, the subject matter is a teenage ““IInnvvSiSitteeyytotouuaarrffrririreennBBddssbboyoysseexnxnddiin”n”ggtthheemmaanniinnvviittaattiioonnffrroommoouurrppaaggeeoonn boy’s sexual awakening, with lines like: “Boys right amount of face stubble. Hmmm....I dunno. for the first time frankly eye each other, inspect The only females he’s been linked to are fellow each others’ bodies at close range.” Well, Franco athletes (shades of Mr. Button). Then there’s his delivers. We see said boy watching a shirts vs. body. We must tip our hat to the folks at “OK” skins basketball game. And then we see the boy’s magazine, who did a spread featuring shirtless fantasy—the skins being not only shirtless, but Olympians. Evan’s ripped, taut torso (and that pantless. Franco is happy to show every inch of little tattoo below his waistline) is certainly these ball players’ skin (including foreskin) in a something to behold (I’m thinking of something way reminiscent of those early Bruce Weber A&F in particular I’d like to beholding, but that’s an- commercials. You can sneak a peek at BillyMas- other story). Skier Andy Newell was also quite ters.com. impressive—enough so that I’ll post both pics Law & Order: SVU is really pulling out the guns on BillyMasters.com. when it comes to guest stars. Last week, we told Could it be that we haven’t seen all of Scott you about Kathy Griffin. Keep your eyes open Brown? Sure, there’s that nude “Cosmo” shot, for another redhead to pop up—Ann-Margret. but he’s covering up the goods. I wondered what The legendary lady will pop up on the March 31 else I’d find if I did some digging. For example, episode, playing an actress who used to make didya know he was a successful male model rep- television commercials in the ‘70s (think Rula resented by the renowned Wilhelmina in New Lenska). The episode also includes Jaclyn Smith York for a few years? When he came back to who will play a retired cop who comes out of re- Boston, he was repped by Boston legend Mag- tirement to help solve an old crime that Rula ... gie Trichon for about a decade. That’s lots of er, I mean A-M was involved in. A bigger crime shoots—with a day rate well into four figures. is that no one even thought to simply hire poor So we dug a little deeper and what do you think ole Rula! Even worse, the brass found a way to popped up? A full-frontal nude photo. It cer- fit in cameos by both Morgan Fairchild and Su- tainly appears to be his face and body. And it’s san Anton. Oh, the injustice of it all... certainly an impressive penis—even if it does You may not believe this, but I can’t wait till lean to the right. But is it real? And where did it I start getting gray hairs. Of course, I could al- come from? And are there more? All of that will ready be going grey. God knows, I haven’t let be revealed on BillyMasters.com. the poor follicles breathe! But I think the salt When a straight guy has even heard of Vera and pepper look is so hot on guys. Take Matt Wang, it’s time for me to roll my eyes and end LeBlanc, who was recently snapped sporting an yet another column. As you all know, I’ll be ap- almost completely gray head of hair. First time pearing at Jeffrey Sanker’s White Party in Palm I’ve found him sexy in eons. Springs, Calif. But I won’t be alone. While I’ll I’ve been getting a steady stream of Olympic be joined on the white carpet by the glamorous “Ask Billy” questions, like this one from George Candis Cayne, pop sensation Ke$ha will be en- in Dallas: “Evan Lysacek. Straight? So tall and tertaining the hot, shirtless, sweaty masses with lean and muscular. Really? And what’s his body “TiK ToK,” among other hits. To get your tickets like under that Lycra?” and more information, go to www.JeffreySanker. Certainly all reports indicate that the gold- com or, better yet, go to www.BillyMasters.com medal winner loves the ladies. And during an in- for the latest info and links. If you’ve got a terview with spooky old Bob Costas, his speech question, feel free to write me directly at Billy@ pattern was eerily reminiscent of Brian Boita- BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to no—another confirmed pussy hound. But, you you before Ann-Margret gets an endorsement know, there are other things to take into consid- deal with VO5! Until next time, remember, one eration. Vera Wang, feathers, hair gel, just the man’s filth is another man’s bible. 22 Mar. 3, 2010 Ruck wild The Chicago Blackwolves. Photo courtesy of Stephen Leonard he said. Gay hockey hits The CGHA has long participated in the annual Chicago Pride Parade, with most players roller- membership high blading with sticks along the route. The CGHA By Ross Forman also will likely have a presence this summer at the annual North Halsted Market Days. The Chicago Gay Hockey Association (CGHA) is “We’re always accepting new members; howev- taking its show on the road, at least for one er, we are mid-season right now, so the chance The 2010 Miss Ruck & Maul Pageant, a fundraiser for the Chicago Dragons Rugby Football night. to be a full-time player,” for the remainder of Club, took place Feb. 27 in the glass bar at the Boystown nightspot Sidetrack. Photos by The CGHA team, known as the Blackwolves, the current season, which ends in the spring is Kirk Williamson will play a game March 13 against the Columbus limited,” Leonard said. “[New players] will have (Ohio) Gay Hockey Team at the same arena used to wait until next season, which likely will be in by the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National the fall. However, we also are in talks of putting Hockey League (NHL). together a floor hockey team for the summer.” —Saturday, May 29, vs. FC Gold Pride, 7 Smuckers on Ice The CGHA has about 50 members, its largest For more information on the CGHA, visit www. p.m. membership ever, with 16 full-time players rang- chicagogayhockey.org. —Sunday, June 6, vs. Atlanta Beat, 5 p.m. at Rosemont May 8 ing in age from about 20 to 50. The majority are (Fox Soccer Channel) The Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour—which will gay, but the CGHA also has bisexual, trans and —Saturday, June 12, at Washington Freedom, include several Olympians—will stop in the Chi- straight players. Most live within the Chicago Red Stars 6 p.m. cagoland area with a performance at Rosemont’s city limits. —Saturday, June 19, at Atlanta Beat, 6 p.m. Allstate Arena Saturday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. “It’s a great group of individuals and everyone open season —Friday, June 25, at Boston Breakers, 6:30 Among the skaters scheduled to perform are has been having a good time over the past few p.m. 2010 Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek; 2006 April 11 —Wed., July 7, vs. Washington Freedom, months; it’s been great watching the team suc- The Chicago Red Stars and Women’s Profes- Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin & Benja- 7:30 p.m. ceed and grow,” said Stephen Leonard, 25, of sional Soccer (WPS) have announced their 2010 min Agosto; 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha —Saturday, July 10, vs. Philadelphia Inde- Chicago, who, in mid-February was elected the schedules. The season will comprise 24 games Cohen; world champion and six-time national pendence, 6 p.m. new CGHA president. (12 home, 12 away) for each team. champion Todd Eldredge; and two-time world —Sunday, July 18, at Saint Louis Athletica, “We are all very excited about kicking off the The Red Stars’ first game will take place Sun- bronze medalist and three-time national cham- 7:10 p.m. next generation of the CHGA. There is a lot of day, April 11, at defending champion WPS cham- pion Michael Weiss. —Wed., July 21, at Atlanta Beat, 6:30 p.m. energy right now with the players and we’re pion Sky Blue FC; it will shown on Fox Soccer Tickets start at $25 each; stop by the Allstate —Sunday, July 25, vs. Boston Breakers, 3 looking to bring that to both the hockey and Channel. The Red Stars’ first home game (at Toy- Arena box office or any Ticketmaster centers, p.m. LGBT community in Chicago.” ota Park, located 7000 S. Harlem in Bridgeview) charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or visit www. —Sunday, Aug. 1, at Sky Blue FC, 6 p.m. The new CGHA board of directors also includes will be Saturday, April 17, vs. Saint Louis Ath- ticketmaster.com. —Saturday, Aug. 7, at FC Gold Pride, 9 p.m. Andrew Sobotka (vice president), Randy Saeks letica at 7 p.m. —Wed., Aug. 11, vs. Atlanta Beat, 7:30 (treasurer) and Tony Tiet (secretary). Plus, John Tickets start at $15 each; see www.chicagore- p.m. Adams, Mike Kelly, Ryan Ruskin, Benji Michalek dstars.com or call 866-WPS-2009. —Sunday, Aug. 15, at Philadelphia Indepen- and Tom Economou make up the CGHA’s advisory The schedule is as follows. (Home games are dence, 5 p.m. board. Chuck Jacobson, who lives in Lakeview, is in bold.): —Sunday, Aug. 22, vs. FC Gold Pride, 5 p.m. the team’s founder. —Sunday, April 11, at Sky Blue FC, 5 p.m. (Fox (Fox Soccer Channel) “It’s a changing of the guard, so to speak, as Soccer Channel) —Saturday, Aug. 28, at Saint Louis Athletica, all officers are relative newcomers to the team,” —Saturday, April 17, vs. Saint Louis Ath- 7:10 p.m. Leonard said. “Yes, the new Board consists of letica, 7 p.m. —Sunday, Sept. 5, vs. Washington Freedom, a handful of team members, mostly fresh new —Sunday, April 25, vs. Sky Blue FC, 5 p.m. TBD (Fox Soccer Channel) faces with some whom have been with the team —Saturday, May 1, at Boston Breakers, 5 —Saturday, Sept. 11, vs. Saint Louis Ath- for quite awhile. p.m. letica, 6 p.m. “We’re really aiming to provide a fun and non- —Saturday, May 8, at FC Gold Pride, 9 p.m. discriminatory environment within the hockey —Saturday, May 15, vs. Philadelphia Inde- community. By doing so, we hope to assist with pendence, 6 p.m. Michael Weiss. developing skilled players and build membership while simultaneously providing community out- reach. We want to bring the sport to anyone and Weir fires back everyone interested.” Figure skater Johnny Weir, who represented the The Blackwolves are now in their second sea- United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics, has son playing at the North Shore Ice Arena in criticized Canadian broadcasters Claude Mailhot suburban Northbrook. The team is 3-1, most re- and Alain Goldberg, who intimated Weir’s cos- cently defeating the first-place team. tumes and “body language” were in bad taste, “We have a really strong and diverse team,” according to People.com. said Leonard, who plays defense and noted that The broadcasters also joked that Weir might the team has not had any gay-related issues in Chicago Red Stars. have to take a gender test like South African the North Shore league. “On the ice, with ev- runner Caster Semenya did. Weir told reporters, eryone in competitive mode, things get a little “It wasn’t these two men criticizing my skating; rough from time to time. But when on the ice, it was them criticizing me as a person, and that sexuality and stereotypes don’t seem to play a was something that really, frankly, pissed me role. Everyone is there to play and have a good off. Nobody knows me. … I think masculinity is time. And, of course, win. 2010 WCAA Men’s Basketball what you believe it to be.” “It’s important to us to keep a fun and safe Interestingly, out singer Adam Lambert has environment for everyone. We all are connected Competitive W L Intermediate W L Recreational W L Sidetrack 5 2 T’s 5 2 Big Chicks 7 0 come to Weir’s defense. According to MTV.com, through the love of the sport.” Jackhammer 4 2 Sidetrack 5 2 T’s 5 2 the musician told the entertainment show Ac- Leonard, who stopped playing hockey before 3160 4 2 Sofo 5 2 Spin 3 4 cess Hollywood, “I’m glad he’s a trailblazer. He’s entering high school in his native Michigan, said Hamburger Mary’s 4 3 Gotcha Covered Blinds 4 3 Taste of Heaven 2 5 Roscoe’s 2 5 Crew 4 3 Triad Entertainment 2 5 comfortable in his own skin, clearly. And he’s the team’s skill-level has been steadily increas- Solfire Realty 1 6 Apocalypse 2 5 The Green Team 2 5 expressing himself. I think that’s what art’s all ing over the past year or so. 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