THIS WEEK in TEXAS March 10-16, 1995 HIGHLIGHT the Austin Festival of Dance
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THIS WEEK IN TEXAS March 10-16, 1995 HIGHLIGHT The Austin Festival of Dance THEATRE Jeffrey in Austin, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me and Scenes from My Love Life in Houston SONG & DANCE Vocal Ensemble Chanticleer Ends Texas Tour in Dallas plus CURRENT EVENTS LETTERS - TEXAS NEWS BACKSTAGE-SPORTS STARSCOPE - TEXAS TEA FRESH BEATS THE ROUND·UP SALOON " '~ IS presents tI "~Ak~~ ~.w;l ~"O+ st TUESDAY,.,,,.MARCH 14 '10:30 PM FEATURING ADULT CENTERFOLD AND COVER MODEL DAVID BURRILL SINGING THEIR HITS 'yS Repres~lIting "WHO'S NORMAL" • "LET THE WALLS FALL DOWN" SA • OLBA • TGRA "OUT TO DANCE" • "IS IT LOVE" AND MORE the Leather Knights • Cheer Dallas. ARC All Proceeds ToAIDS Resource Center / I)OILCANHARRY'S t4eptaee t6 k... ~ ~ ~ tI4! 3912 Cedar Springs • Dallas, Texas 75219 • 214-522-9611 211 West 4th Street • Austin, Texas • (512) 320·8823 From Broadway to the Village Station (Q)~ [E ~ U((jj[H]1r U~ [H][EAV[E[N Starring the National Touring Company of "HELLa DOLLY" The Hi-NRG Dance benefit event. Proceeds benefit Dallas' AIDS Resource Center and Broadway Cares (Equity Fights AIDS) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 VILLAGE STATION 3911 Ceda r Spri ngs, Dalias (214) 380 -3808 lOAM' SATURDAY, MARCH 18 AIDS FUNDING A5S0ClAnON CHIU COOKOFF VILLAGESTAnON PAnO VOLUME 21, NUMBER 1 MARCH 10 - MARCH 16, 1995 14 THEATRE Jeffrey In Austin Reviewed by Bruce Williams TheNight Larry Kramer KissedMe In Houston Reviewed by Susan McDonald Scenes from My Love Life In Houston Reviewed by Brent Shackley 29 SONG at DANCE A Cappella Ensemble Chanticleer EndsTexas Tour In Dallas by Chris Gray 34 FRESH BEATS What's Hot, What's Not In Dance Music Jimmy Smith 38 COVE R FEATU RE Mr Gay Ail-American 1995John Reny Photos by Exposure Prlnts/ no 41 HIGHLIGHT Fourth Annual Austin Festival of Dance Benefits ASA by Bruce Williams 46 LEnERS TO THE EDITOR 53 CURRENT EVENTS 59 BACKSTAGE The Women's Chorus of Dallas Presents Second Concert of Season 65 STARSCOPE Mercury Moves Into Pisces,Making Thought Processes More Sensitive 75 SPORTS Independent Billiard League of Houston Organizes Inaugural Season 76 TEXAS NEWS Man Involved In Houston Gay-Bashing Death Back In Custody 81 TEXAS TEA Dve Featuring Cover Model David BurrillTours Texas 88 CLASSIFIED 98 OBITUARIES 101 GUIDE TWT (This Week InTexas) Ispublished by Texas Weekly Ilmes NewspaperCo" at 3300 Reagan street In Dallas. Texas 75219 and all Westhelmer In Houston. Texos 77006. OpInons expressed by coiLmnsts are rot necessanly those ofTWT or of ~sstaff. Publlcatlonotthe name or photograph 01any person or organization Inarticles or advertising InTWTIsnot to be construed as any Indication of the sexual orientation of sold person or organization Subscription rates: $69 per year, $40 per half year. Bock issuesavailable at $2 each. Payment must accompany all orders. Copyright © 1995by Texas Weekly TImes Newspaper Co. All rights reserved. Partial or complete reproduction of any advertisement. news, MOlY ortlcle or feature. copy or photograph from TWT Isspecifically prohibited by federal statute, THIS lNEEK IN TEXAS MAGAZINE Texal' Leading Gay. Lelblan Publlcallon Since 1975 • Weekly Circulation: 20,000 I PUBLISHER I HOUSTON OFFICE DALLAS OFFICE AlANGEUMAN 811Westhelmer. Su~e 111 3300 Reagan Street EDITOR Houston, Texas 77006 Dallas, Texas 75219 RICHARD HEBERT Houston Fax (7l3)527-TWIT Dallas Fax (214)520- TWIT COMPTROLLER (713) 527·9111 II (214) 521·0622 STM MILES DDCK ARTDIRECTORRichard Bang • GRAPHIC ARTISTSSteve Pardue, B.J.Smith • TYPESEmNGTuong Huy Nguyen D ALL A S CONTRIBUnNG WRITERSHugh Callaway. Chris Gray, PhilJohnson. C. Lichtenstein. Susan McDonald, David Parnell, Brent Shockley, Jimmy Smith, Bruce WIlliams STAFFPHOTOGRAPHERSJames Franklin,Chris Garrett, Chris Gray, David Parnell, Tio NAnONAL SALESDIRECTOR. Steve Mllel • (214) 521·0622 • FAX 520-TWIT Advertising rates are available on request from the salesperson In your nearest city. AUllln _ Robert Jeckson (512) 339·0590 • Dallal/Fort Worth - Steve Mllel (214) 521·0622 HOUlton/Galveston - Steve Nally (713) 527·9111 • San Antonio - Paul Briner (210) 614-134a CLASSIFIEDADVERTISING' Dallal Chris Gray • HOUlton Brian Keever TWT© 1995 Texal Weekly Tlmel Newlpaper Company SHANERUFFPRESIDENT. / CEO / DIRECTOR ROy KLAUS/ CO-DIRECTOR Reprelented Nallonally by Rlvendell Marketing, Inc. ences to appreciate and fall in love with the glimpses it gives into familiar slices of life. A near-capacity crowd was on hand for the Austin debut on March 1 at Capitol City Playhouse, a special fund-raiser for The Comerstone community center; and every- one seemed to leave the theatre well enter- tained and a little wiser. Jeffrey, well portrayed here by Arnie Bur- ton, is a transplanted Midwesterner in New York City. Mortality and pain have sud- denly scared him into denying sex and love, and he begins a search for something safer and less painful. What Jeffrey learns in his circuitous quest for a substitute is that there's pain and danger in almost JEffREY every situation, so it's a matter of deciding what happiness you really desire and then Magnificent Job by Cast enjoying it while dealing with the chal- lenges as they crop up. Highlights Production of Jeffrey's quest starts at the gym, where he hopes to make physical fitness his Paul Rudnick Play at substitute for sex. Unfortunately for him, he meets Steve (Daryl Boling), and it's Austin1s lovellust at first sight for both of them. Jef- frey spends the rest of the play in denial Capitol City Playhouse and running away, which keeps leading him into coincidental meetings with Steve. "You move fast," Jeffrey tells his suitor, to which Steve slyly replies, "Catch up!" But when Jeffrey finally agrees to a date, Steve informs him he's HIV-positive, which sends Jeffrey into deeper denial and avoid- ance of any potential relationship. Jeffrey has become a popu lar play with troupes around the country; the Moon- struck Theatre Co. in of Dallas also is cur- rently presenting the romantic comedy about gay men and life. Rudnick, who wrote the stage hit I Hate Hamlet and the movie Addams Family Values, has a tre- mendous sense of humor and dialogue. And the Austin cast does a magnificent job of bringing Rudnick's work to life; you couldn't tell it was opening night, as direc- tor Mark Ramont's crew did a near-seam- less job. Jeffrey, a transplanted Midwesterner living in New York, Mary Lang (the cast's lone female), Mar- struggles with sex and relationships In the age 01AIDS in the tin Burke and Joseph Harris portray so Paul Rudnick play 01 the same name, at Austin's Capitol City Playhouse through AprilS. many characters that if they were paid by the identity, they'd take home more than REVIEWED BY a lottery winner. The audience appreciated BRUCE WILLIAMS how the actors made each character stand out as an individual, and many of the cari- effrey the character is very afraid of catures were right on target. J loving and being loved, but he seems Bil Pfuderer had many of the best lines to attract it to him despite his fear and as Sterling, Jeffrey's older friend and ad- negativity. viser. "A boyfriend-like a wonderful pet Jeffrey, the play by Paul Rudnick, isn't who can feed and walk itself!" he tells Jef- afraid of anything, and it's easy for audi- frey, and "How dare you give up sex when PAGE 14 TWT MARCH 10 - MARCH 16 1995 Due T6 popular lJemano, u " .lll~ A'''''U&.· ~'7~ there are children in Europe who can't get a date!" Pfuderer is excellent in his com- plete range of moods, from raging queen THE NIGHT LARRY THE MEN OF ; to devastated human being when his boy toy Darius (Steven Gibbs) gets sick. KRAMER KISSED' M CHICAGO New Heights Theatre in Four of the Hottest Male Dancers Houston Presents Moving from the Windy City in Houston Production of David Drake's One-Man Show for One Week Only .. • ), And Only at 800 Pacific. nNESDAY, MARCH 15TH 'S BAR & GRILL and HEAVEN , t ~ t: Ntllry /.ling and Am/a Burton star In Jaff,.y, . , Gibbs has little to say and do early in the play, but he comes on stronger near the SDAY, MARCH 1~~ end. Boling also is in and out so much that you get to know him very little past his sex- c'io Sty\e Strip Sho~! hungry exterior, the friendly, IIve-for-now HE~VEN Exclu~!·"".t% everyman. Steve McDaniel rounds out the ~, ;;a. t* cast, handling over a half-dozen roles, topped by a licentious, world-weary priest. As the title character, Burton is on stage almost every minute. Surrounded by ex- cellent minimalist sets, strong sound and JOII KltlcendBII stars in The Night urry Kremer KISHd Nta, talented fellow actors, his journey in search David Drake's one-man play being presented by the New of something better and safer is easy to Heights Theatre in Houston through March 26, develop empathy with. Sometimes you REVIEWED BY want to give Jeffrey a swift kick to wake SUSAN McDONALD him up from his own stupidity and denial; but the only way for anyone to learn is to he Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me is a do, it seems. From the "It's Just Sex" game T moving solo show that chronicles show to Debra the Evangelist to Sexual one man's sadness, hopes and dreams. Compulsives Anonymous to a Gay Pride Through a range of segments, it also offers Parade, Jeffrey has to keep searching and insight into the motivations of gay men learning until he realizes the truth for and promotes understanding through a himself. The ending is a bit weak, but the plethora of vignettes ranging from funny journey there is really what it's all about, to hopelessly sad.