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Castro CBD turns 10

ARTS

6

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CAAMFest

Kingdom! Coming

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SF Sheriff’s Dept. checks trans abuse report

Vol. 46 • No. 10 • March 10-16, 2016

PG&E issues delay Castro ice cream shop

by Seth Hemmelgarn

T

he San Francisco Sheriff ’s D e p a r t m en t is investigating a report that some staff have been calling transgender inmates “faggots.”

The allegations, Kelly Sullivan which a trans inmate recently shared with Sheriff Vicki the Bay Area Re- Hennessy porter, come as the agency’s been working to improve treatment of trans inmates.

Eileen Hirst, chief of staff for Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, said a staff member reported the claims last week.

Serentiy Lupe Romero, 21, has been in custody since November and faces several charges, including first-degree burglary. In a March 4 jailhouse interview, she referred to the six other transgender inmates she’s being housed with in County Jail #4, the men’s facility at 850 Bryant Street, and said staff “treat us with disrespect. They call us ‘faggots,’” use the wrong pronouns, and don’t provide bras and underwear, she said.

“A lot of the officers” have made the antitrans comments, she said, but one, who she knows only as Deputy McDowell, has been particularly problematic and is abusive “every time he comes into contact with our cell.”

Fearing retaliation, Romero said she hadn’t complained, but she said other trans inmates “have filed plenty” of grievances. She declined to share the names of the inmates who’ve complained.

Romero additionally said that she and other trans inmates have been called “punk” and “sissy” as they’ve walked past male inmates, who’ve also made remarks like “You’re a man,” and “Shit and cum don’t make babies.” The last time it happened was “weeks ago,” she said.

Romero said she’d reported it to a deputy, “but nothing ever happened.” Deputies have previously witnessed the behavior and didn’t say anything, she said.

In a phone interview, Hirst said a complaint was received last week. She declined to say what the specific allegations were.

“Because it’s now an investigation, there’s very little I can say to you about it ... but it’s essentially what you said to me,” Hirst told a reporter who had shared Romero’s claims with her.

“The source came to us reporting what they had been told by the transgender inmates, so we opened the investigation immediately,” See page 12 >>

Juliet Pries stands at the soda fountain in her the Ice Cream Bar, her shop in Cole Valley. Plans for a second location in the Castro have seen delays over PG&E issues.

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

he owner of a planned ice cream shop in the Castro is eying an opening date in time for Pride weekend in June barring any more delays in PG&E completing work to upgrade service at the former retail space.

The Ice Cream Bar in Cole Valley an-

nounced last April it would open its second location where L’Occitane had been at 556 Castro Street. Owner Juliet Pries plans to call it the Castro Fountain and had expected to be open by now.

But as the Bay Area Reporter noted in a story last month, the company has run into build out issues with the roughly 1,100 square foot space. The problem has been in getting

PG&E, said Pries, to come out and do a service upgrade at the storefront so it can handle the large kitchen area, bathrooms, and other infrastructure needed for the new eatery.

“The upgrade is to bring more gas and electric into the building because it was retail and I am putting in a restaurant,” said Pries, a straight ally who has lived in the Castro for 15 years.

See page 13 >>

SF medical examiner reviews first year, previews new site

by Seth Hemmelgarn

Rick Gerharter

In all, the office closed 1,909 cases from April, just as Hunter an Francisco’s chief mediwas taking over, through the cal examiner is approaching beginning of December. That his first anniversary on the included both the backlog, which job, during which his agency cut stemmed in part from departing a huge backlog, as the office prestaff leaving behind open cases, pares to open a new, larger facility and the daily cases that continued at 1 Newhall Street in 2017. to come in, Wirowek said. (The Dr. Michael Hunter, 49, took backlog was first reported by the over the medical examiner’s office San Francisco Chronicle.)

March 30. Since then, the agency Getting through the pile was has made tremendous strides. “a tremendous amount of work,” “There was no secret that a huge Hunter said. number of cases weren’t getting “We had dedicated staff memKelly Sullivan turned around in a timely fashbers putting in the time and ion,” Hunter, who is straight, said The autopsy room at the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office effort” to address the problem, in a recent interview at the medical including doctors and adminisDeputy director Christopher Wirowek said, examiner’s office, which is tucked trative staff, he said.

1,233 cases came into the office in 2015. Of the away in the back of the Hall of Justice at 850 BryOne thing that’s helped is “We finally becases that came in in the first quarter, just before ant Street. The pile of cases often meant long decame fully staffed,” Hunter, whose total salary is lays for families who had to wait for information Hunter joined the agency, about 71 percent took $346,840, said. The agency, which has a budget 90 days or longer to complete. Only 6 percent of $9.5 million, has 43 staff, which includes full about what happened to their loved ones. were closed in six days or less. Cases that remained Hunter said that now, “there’s a sense of a and part-time positions. normally functioning office,” and “the phones open commonly needed more analysis done, such Prior to his current job, Hunter worked for as tissue that needed closer examination. aren’t ringing like they were when I first got 15 years in the Florida state medical examiner By the last three months of the year, there here,” with people looking for death certificates system. He replaced Dr. Amy Hart, who stepped had been vast improvement. In the fourth and other information. down from the post but still works for the San quarter, just 20 percent of the cases took 90 days According to the National Association of Francisco agency.

Medical Examiners, 90 percent of reports or more to close. During the same period, 40 See page 12 >> percent of the cases closed in six days or less. should be completed within 90 days.

S

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • March 10-16, 2016

Volume 46, Number 10 March 10-16, 2016 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Richard Dodds • Michael Flanagan Jim Gladstone • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Khaled Sayed Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Sari Staver • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Jo-Lynn Otto • Rich Stadtmiller Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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t

Journalists miss chance during prez debates O ne thing is clear about the presidential debates: LGBTs are invisible and it’s a disservice to viewers and the candidates. Some of the moderators and questioners themselves are gay, but instead of raising the topic of discrimination and LGBT rights, we’ve heard about the size of Donald Trump’s dick (“no problem”), and Bernie Sanders “shushing” Hillary Clinton.

Gay CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, and his gay colleague Don Lemon, were just the most recent examples. They didn’t even raise the issue when questioning Clinton and Sanders during Sunday’s Democratic debate. Both candidates, to their credit, are supportive of LGBT rights, but it would have been nice to hear them say that in a context that wasn’t a stump speech.

Rachel Maddow, an out lesbian, Bay Area native, and darling of the liberal media, muffed her opportunity at a Democratic debate on MSNBC last month when she failed to ask an LGBT-specific question of Sanders and Clinton. Sanders didn’t even talk about gays during the feisty two-hour exchange. At least Clinton mentioned LGBT rights at the beginning and end of her comments.

Maddow and Cooper could have asked the candidates about discrimination and the need for federal legislation such as the Equality Act. On marriage equality, Clinton, who now embraces same-sex marriage, could have been asked to explain her evolution, which many, many people in this country can relate to. Sanders could have been asked to clarify his long-standing support.

On the Republican side, such questions are crucial, and they should be direct, like the one posed by a gay man in New Hampshire. When Marco Rubio was campaigning there ahead of that state’s primary, he went into a diner and approached

a table occupied by Timothy Kierstead, his husband, and his mother. Kierstead used the occasion to ask Rubio, “Why do you want to put me back in the closet?”

“I don’t,” replied Rubio, according to a story in the New York Times. “You can live any way you want.” Kierstead told Rubio he thinks Rubio’s positions treat Kierstead and his husband as if “we don’t matter.”

Trump, Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich should all be asked directly about their policies and how they would affect the LGBT community. Such questions tie in to national discussions on immigration reform, race (yes, there are LGBTs of color, it’s not all wealthy white gay men), and violence against trans people (again, something that significantly affects trans people of color, especially women). In other words, LGBT issues are not limited to questions on same-sex marriage.

But you certainly don’t have to be gay to ask about LGBT issues and we call on future debate moderators to step it up in this regard. Voters across the country definitely need to hear all the GOP candidates challenged on their anti-gay positions, Trump’s say-somethingto-anyone habits notwithstanding. We want

the GOP candidates on the record justifying their support for discrimination. Gays can get married on Friday and fired on Monday in 29 states – that’s more than half the country. Why is that acceptable to them? Would they rather have someone collect public assistance than be gainfully employed just because of who they love? The candidates need to be asked about the proliferation of so-called religious freedom laws and bathroom access, which are quickly becoming the next battleground for LGBT equality.

The March 3 GOP debate on Fox News was the same week that Caitlyn Jenner, who is a Republican, said she’d like to be Cruz’s trans ambassador (whatever that is). Could she get Cruz to support our issues? The debate was a missed opportunity to ask Cruz what he thought of that – and, of course, his views on trans people. Alas, that didn’t happen.

On immigration, the candidates need to be asked about their support for policies that break up families – gay and straight. What is their position on refugees and why are they opposed to helping people from Middle Eastern countries, who are often escaping horrific conditions brought on by the conflicts the U.S. started? Gays are killed in some of these places.

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, there are 75 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity by LGBTIs. And these questions should be scattered throughout each future debate, not just saved for one “gay debate.” At every one we hear about Wall Street, big banks, ISIS, who’ll be tougher, the list goes on. LGBT issues must be added to the rotation, and queries need to go beyond the simple “Do you agree with the Supreme Court decision?”

That’s been asked and answered.

And while it gives us a chance to hear the candidates’ personal views, it doesn’t get to the substance of policy questions and discrimination.

So let’s demand that LGBT issues be heard in a wider context in future presidential debates.t

Go east, young man

by Alex Pascarzi

get married so we can finally afford it.” The problem was, he said, that ’m moving to Iowa.” even with the benefits of a marriage The words hung in the air as license, the couple had virtually no his eyes twinkled beneath the bushel chance of finding a reliable place to of long red beard that had marked live together, even with the almosthim for so long, in my eyes, as the retiree pulling in over $80,000 a year quintessential San Franciscan. A in his 70s. deeply bearded man clad in jean “I mean now, we can get marjacket, a man who worked tirelessly ried anywhere,” he said, eyebrows sculpting the gardens of folks who slightly arched, as if to do his best Alex Pascarzi decreasingly entered their backto recognize how immense that yards, or believed in paying living fact was. But something below the wages to landscapers like him. I had known eyebrows expressed that this achievement was Brett as my neighbor, a shy but genuine man also somewhat, somehow tragic, that one of who welcomed me to the transitioning South the things that has made this city so unique has of Market apartment building where I had now been made a standard practice in places moved into years ago. like, well, Iowa. San Francisco was the place At the time, Brett, who asked that his last that made gay marriage possible, and name not be published, represented the “old San now, even in lands that still won’t Francisco,” and in many ways the “old SOMA,” allow Planned Parenthood clinics, the one I had been hoping to understand and this achievement has been thrust connect with more upon moving there. We upon all communities, without had gone through the wars of the bedbugs, and the benefit of being geographiother apartment related fiascos together. Over cally steeped in the deep social, time I came to learn that he had been in San cultural, and spiritual changes Francisco for almost 30 years (in SOMA for 26 that were needed to make this of them), made moderate use of the gay clubs change possible and accepted. still remaining in the neighborhood, and even How bizarre that the only city at one point hosted BDSM services in his apartknown internationally for assertment. In my fantasy of him at least, he worked ing the rights of gay couples just doesn’t seem as a landscaper by day, and a sort of male Geito have room for them anymore. sha or comfort man (probably comfort wizard “And we aren’t the only ones,” Brett said, given his aggressively masculine yet charming knowing full well the impact the word Iowa red beard). Brett was someone who could be was having upon me. “I mean, the thing is just seen regularly enough at the local coffee shop that no gay married couples can afford to live reading more about agriculture or culture and here anymore, and we don’t have to live here writing in his diary. I couldn’t believe the words to get married. Married couples now are leavhe was saying to me, but at the same time, as I ing in droves.” He searched my eyes for underlistened deeper, I saw the desire in his eyes to standing, expressing strongly in his own that settle, to find something of reliable substance this was OK. This, although perhaps unimagiamidst a land of ever-changing footing. Of nable for organizers like the late Harvey Milk, course I could understand. was the inevitable course of things. This was Brett went on to explain, “My older partner the natural course at this point. and I want him to retire, and we are going to “It’s not just the retirement either honestly,

“I

it’s just ...” as he leveled his eyes at me in the most solemn moment I’ve ever seen him express, and in a manner uniquely sacred for a casual neighborly conversation at the local cafe. “San Francisco is just done. It was done 20 years ago. I mean, when I moved here, San Francisco was 20 percent black. Now it’s like, what, 2 or 3 percent? [Less than 6 percent.]

Besides, what we are getting in Iowa is three plots of land, each easily the size of our whole apartment building here, one of which has a house and guesthouse, all for $100,000. It’s in a town of 400,000, and our place will be right in the middle of the downtown!”

I needed a cigarette, which was, at the time of this conversation at least, still legal, although decreasingly affordable in San Francisco. My mind was spinning. Is this really what has happened now? San Francisco has served its purpose only to be consumed by the very spirit of acceptance it once made famous? And for those who made it what it was? A sort of hollow victory. Hey, now you can have more of a traditional life like all those straight couples, and just like all those folks, now you can have legal access to settling down somewhere – just not here anymore. There just isn’t any room left.

Maybe in Iowa.

The cigarette had reached its end, the ashes now resting on the filter, and the heat of the last puff woke me from my stupor. As I carefully extinguished my cigarette, placing it in the appropriate trash container, I realized that I was clinging to something that Brett himself had already made some sort of peace with. I recalled a new meditation I had recently learned in my adopted city: “Nothing to do. No one to blame. We are all in this together. Change is the only constant.”t Alex Pascarzi is a San Francisco resident.

t

Letters >>

March 10-16, 2016 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

Death report story questioned

“Review released in gay man’s fatal hit-and-run” [March 3] gives readers an update on the traffic accident that killed Dennis Nix. The Bay Area Reporter writer essentially copied the news release of the medical examiner’s office to tell readers that Mr. Nix died of “multiple blunt force injuries” that were a result of the accident.

The writer later tells readers that lab tests found amphetamine and methamphetamine in Mr. Nix’s bodily fluids although he does not tell readers that the medical examiner concluded that this information had any b e a r ing on the accident and Mr. Nix’s tragic death.

If the B.A.R. writer had done some actual reporting instead of just copying a news release, he could have learned that Mr. Nix had a prescription for an amphetamine to treat a medical condition. A common result of using the medicine that Mr. Nix was prescribed is that amphetamine and methamphetamine are found in the person’s bodily fluids. Instead of reporting, the B.A.R. writer chose to smear Mr. Nix’s reputation by linking him to dangerous recreational drug use. Inclusion of the toxicology results in the article inevitably suggests that these substances perhaps contributed to the traffic accident. That suggestion is baseless, but the B.A.R. writer wouldn’t know that because he didn’t do any reporting, only copying.

The toxicology report may be factual, but not every fact is relevant. Editorial judgment is necessary to determine what is relevant to the story. Every writer should learn that lesson in journalism 101, but the B.A.R. writer chose to not use any editorial judgment and instead simply copied the medical examiner’s report for the article.

People can use facts to smear the reputation of a good man after he’s dead. The B.A.R. writer showed just how to do that.

will allow her to. I did this while on a Holy Land trip once and it changed my perspective forever.

Take a day trip from Jerusalem to Ramallah (11 miles).

This will involve passing through Qalandia checkpoint.

With its 25-foot tall concrete “security fence” and gun turrets, it’s a place she’ll probably never forget. Since she holds a U.S. passport and is Jewish, her experience crossing the checkpoint will probably take under an hour and not involve invasive search or other humiliation; Palestinians, many of whom must pass the checkpoint every day for jobs, university, etc., are not so fortunate. After crossing, she will notice separate roads for Palestinians and Jewish settlers. Once she has seen all this, she will come to know what occupation looks like and why so many LGBT people are so upset about it. If the Federation discourages her from trying to see the occupation, then she may also come to understand what the pinkwashing controversy is about.

Jeff Pekrul San Francisco

Identify politics and the homeless

This is a letter in response to Seth Hemmelgarn’s March 3 article regarding Dennis Nix. Dennis Nix was a private citizen. The salacious details of his injuries do no service to the public, they simply upset close friends and family. What medications Dennis took were an issue between Dennis and his doctor. Dennis’ extensive and devoted community service notwithstanding, he was a private citizen who should be afforded more discretion in death.

Regarding the news article “Supes panel mulls consolidation of homeless programs” [March 3], Joyce Crum, an African-American who’s director of housing and homeless programs for the Human Services Agency, was quoted as stating, “My problem with one door is that racial equality might not happen. I see it every day. The face of homelessness is rapidly changing. The average person living in a tent on Division Street is a 45-year-old white male. However the chronic homeless look like me,” regarding the lack of diversity among caseworkers and service providers.

I understand Ms. Crum’s concerns but to now resort to racial identity politics regarding San Francisco’s chronic homeless issue is both mean-spirited and insulting. In her view do San Francisco homeless city agencies now have to racially cherry-pick who is the supposed face of homelessness? In her view, is a “45-year-old homeless white male” now less entitled or deserving of receiving assistance from S.F. city agencies than a person of color?

Being a San Francisco resident since 1980, I see the vast spectrum of chronic homelessness in term of race, age, creed, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Regardless of Ms. Crum’s opinion about who now is the “face of homelessness,” everyone today who is unfortunately homeless on the streets of San Francisco is deserving of assistance from city homeless programs.

Crispin Hollings San Francisco

Cary Sekoff San Francisco

Carl Stein, MHS, PAC San Francisco

Death details do no service to public

[Editor’s note: The medical examiner’s office doesn’t send out death reports as news releases. Mr. Hemmelgarn went to the office to review the report, and last week’s story was a follow-up to the initial article that we published in November. The toxicology results were included because they may have contributed in some way to the accident; at any rate, they are part of the medical examiner’s report, which was far more graphic than what we published. Based on feedback we received from community members, this week Mr. Hemmelgarn further investigated the report. An official told him that he’s convinced it was not a false-positive drug result, and that Mr. Nix had been exposed to methamphetamine.

See story, page 10.]

See another side while in Israel

I can tell that Guest Opinion author Dara Papo [“Coming out (again) in my 40s,” March 3] sees herself as a fair-minded person who seeks to hear both sides of issues before making up her mind. While she is taking her Federation-paid trip to Israel, she should take an unscripted trip to the occupied West Bank, if the Federation

Appreciated obituary

Thanks for such a nice piece on Peter Greene; he was a good friend and my wife, Gaye, and I have known Peter for almost 30 years [“Gay travel agent Peter Greene dead at 61,” February 18]. He was such a sweet guy, it was nice to have so many nice things said from those who knew him.

As one person said, there are lots of Greene stories, but you just can’t tell them. I’ll give you one that can be told: Peter was an idol of the bear community. One year, he was photographed for Bear magazine. When he was in New York shortly afterward, he was walking down the street with his father and, to his horror, he saw that not only did the magazine kiosk sell Bear magazine, but that he was its cover boy. We asked him what did he do, Greene said he stood in front of the display so his father would not see it, but he got some inquiring double takes from others looking at the model and the magazine behind him.

Mark Quinn San Francisco

Sonoma supes to hire Threet for cop review office compiled by Cynthia Laird

T

he Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is expected to appoint Jerry Threet as the director of its newly established Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach at its meeting next week.

Threet, 55, is a gay man who is a former president of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and served as chief of staff for former San Francisco supervisor Jake McGoldrick after managing his successful campaign in 2000.

For the past 11 years he has served as a deputy city attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s office.

“I’m very excited to As director, Threet will welcome Mr. Threet as launch the newly estabdirector of the Indepenlished IOLERO office, dent Office of Law Endeveloping a work plan forcement Review and that includes the creation Outreach,” said Sonoma of a citizen’s advisory County Board of Superviboard and youth counsors Chair Efren Carrillo cil. He will work closely in a news release. “This with the sheriff ’s office in position is critical to the improving relationships implementation of the Jerry Threet and trust through transCommunity and parency and community Local Law Enforcement Task engagement.

Force recommendations “My entire professional career for the independent review has been focused on ensuring that of Sonoma County law government provides fairness and enforcement, improved justice for ordinary people and is transparency, and colas transparent as possible,” Threet laborative efforts to said in the news release. “I will conimprove relations betinue to work toward those same tween the community See page 13 >> and law enforcement.”

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

family law specialist* • Divorce w/emphasis on Real Estate & Business Divisions • Domestic Partnerships, Support & Custody • Probate and Wills www.SchneiderLawSF.com

415-781-6500 *Certified by the California State Bar 400 Montgomery Street, Ste. 505, San Francisco, CA

<< Business News

t Castro Community Benefit District marks 10 years 6 • Bay area reporter • March 10-16, 2016

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

en years ago this July a majority of property owners in the Castro and Upper Market corridors voted to assess themselves a parcel-based fee to fund the creation of a special use district that would provide extra cleaning services and other support to the city’s gay district.

With 65 percent of property owners backing the proposal, which stretches from 19th Street along Castro to Market Street and down to Octavia Boulevard, the Castro/ Upper Market Community Benefit District was established. By January 2006 a nonprofit and volunteer board had formed to begin implementation of the district, which had an initial budget of $350,000 a year.

It was one of five CBDs created that year, bringing the total then in the city to six. While backed by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and gay former District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty, the Castro CBD was no slamdunk. Many at the time questioned why the city shouldn’t pay for services such as graffiti removal and sidewalk cleaning.

“It is a long way from when I was driving from business to business and going to the homes of property owners to get to the magic number. It was just hard,” recalled Dufty this week about his pitching the value of a CBD to those unsure of the concept. “It was like a ground battle to reach out to business owners and try to explain it. I have very vivid memories of pleading the case with people and a lot of business owners came through.”

Rick Gerharter

Branton Burke, left, and Andrea Aiello attended the unveiling of the postage stamp honoring Harvey Milk on May 22, 2014, which was an event supported by the Castro and Upper Market Community Benefit District.

A decade on, Dufty said he remains grateful to those who supported the CBD’s creation.

“I want to thank them,” he told the Bay Area Reporter this week.

“They had a bigger view of what the neighborhood could be.”

The CBD is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend with a sold out party in the Castro at the long vacant Patio Cafe restaurant space. Property owner Les Natali is providing complimentary wine and soft drinks, while seven Castro restaurants will be dishing up samples from their menus.

While the event itself is free, it is aiming to raise money for Castro Cares, a CBD-led program that provides enhanced homeless outreach services to people living on the

Rick Gerharter

A street and sidewalk cleaner pushes her cart along Castro Street; the Castro and Upper Market Community Benefit District’s main priority is to provide extra cleaning in the neighborhood.

45 On April 7, 2016, America’s longest continuously-published and highest circulation LGBT newspaper celebrates our historic 45th Anniversary and the results of our 6th annual readers’ choice awards.

BESTIES The 2016 LGBT Best of the Bay

READERS: Join us at our 45th Anniversary celebration!@ RSVP at www.ebar.com/besties2016 ADVERTISERS: Call (415) 829-8937 or email advertising@ebar.com to learn more about advertising and sponsorship opportunities associated with our 45th anniversary celebration.

streets of the Castro as well as in$150,000 Wiener had allocated for creased police patrols of the neighthe plaza will be disbursed to it by borhood. As of Tuesday, the CBD late March. The funding will pay for was about $11,300 shy of its goal to two young adults from Larkin Street raise $50,000 for the program.

Youth Services to work 50 hours a “What it is all about is getting week combined as plaza stewards, people help,” said Andrea Aiello, a from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays lesbian who was hired in the spring through Sundays. of 2007 to do grant writing for the “They will be based there in the CBD and is now its full-time execuplaza and have a uniform so they tive director. “We can’t stop people will be official,” said Aiello. “They from coming to the Castro. But will manage the furniture, keep it what we are doing through Castro clean, and welcome people off the Cares is at least providing consistent F-Line into the neighborhood.” outreach to folks and opportunities The CBD also recently learned they can take when they are ready to it had won a $25,000 grant from make improvements in their lives.” the mayor’s Office of Economic It is one of several initiatives the and Workforce Development to CBD has spearheaded over the last begin implementing a Castro Retail decade to varying levels of success.

Strategy it helped pay for and adIts main purpose has been to provide opted last summer. It plans to use extra cleaning within its coverage the funding to help fill the vacant area and employs people seven days storefronts near the intersection of a week to do so from 5:30 a.m. till 6 Church and Market streets. p.m. The CBD crews pick up about Today, the CBD has an annual 11,800 pounds of trash a month. budget of roughly $560,000 derived “We are out there cleaning the from property assessments, city neighborhood all the time,” said funding, and other sources. For the Aiello. “People forget what it could 2014-2015 Fiscal Year, it had to use look like if the CBD wasn’t there.” roughly $78,000 in its reserves to One of its more popular procover its operating expenses who grams has been to recruit and train earns $94,002 a year. residents to be neighborhood amIts charter will need to be rebassadors who assist with tourists ratified come 2020 and there is alduring the busy summer months. ready talk of expanding the CBD’s It also stepped in two years ago to coverage area, such as including a pay for installing rainbow crosswalks segment of Hartford Street, lengthat the intersection of 18th and Castro ening its boundary on 18th Street, Streets and etching neighborhood and including more adjacent blocks history facts into the cement on the all along Market Street.

400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street “I get requests from surroundas part of a city-funded sidewalking property owners or tenants who widening project. It is now looking to want us to clean their streets,” said color in the wording of the factoids Aiello. But there is no way for us to so they are more visible to passersby. do it. We can’t expand the boundar“The rainbow crosswalks are ies of the CBD without going back the most popular beautification to the property owners.” improvement we have made,” said To learn more about the CBD Aiello. “Thousands of pictures of and its public meetings, visit http:// them have been taken and shared all www.castrocbd.org/. over the world.”

Apothecarium confirms One of its more controversial relocation plans projects has been its management The Apothecarium, the medical of Jane Warner Plaza, a pedestrian cannabis dispensary in the Castro plaza the city created out of a portion that is the title sponsor of the CBD’s of 17th Street at Castro and Marparty, will announce Thursday it ket. It has struggled to find ways to plans to relocate from activate the area so that is its small storefront at the does not become used just corner of Church, Marby homeless individuals. ket and 14th streets up Across the way at Harvey the block to the shuttered Milk Plaza, benches the Shanghai Restaurant CBD paid for were subspace. sequently removed after The move is a long exthey became a magnet for pected one, as the B.A.R. the homeless. disclosed on its blog The CBD was also part in September that city of the vocal outcry that zoning officials had condemanded city officials Apothecarium co-owner Ryan cluded that the ground deal with a growing group Hudson floor space that housed of nudists who had taken the former eatery at 2029 over the plaza, which led Market Street could be the site of a to the controversial nudity ban on medical cannabis dispensary. city streets the gay current District This week Apothecarium officials 8 Supervisor, Scott Wiener, pushed told the B.A.R. that an investment through City Hall in 2012. group bought the space for an un“I still believe there is tremendous disclosed amount at the end of 2015 potential at Jane Warner Plaza to do with the intent to then lease it to the good for the neighborhood. What dispensary. (One online listing had disappoints me is the city really it for sale at a cost of nearly $4.2 milfailed to keep its commitment,” said lion.) It has signed a 10-year lease Aiello. “When it was created in 2009 with multiple long-term options to the supervisor and mayor at the extend it. time promised it wouldn’t become “We are really exited about it. It a homeless encampment. They gives us a lot more room to operate,” promised to take care of it and said said co-owner Ryan Hudson. it would be the jewel in their cap. It The dispensary’s current space at didn’t happen.”

2095 Market Street is 1,100 square Dufty said the Castro is not the feet, and oftentimes, customers only neighborhood that has strugmust wait outside to be let in the gled with keeping its public open doors. The Shanghai space is five spaces as amenities for everyone. times the size at 5,000 square feet alHe credited the CBD “for trying” to lowing more room not only for the come up with solutions at the plaza, staff but also to ensure customers such as hosting various concerts no longer will have to wait outside and activities. during peak times.

“They recognize just pushing “It is a big space,” acknowledged people out is not the solution,” he Hudson, that will undergo a “fairly said. significant” remodel.

The CBD is currently looking Architect Vincent Gonzaga has to hire an artist to create an LED lighting installation for the plaza.

See page 14 >> It also recently received word that

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Community News>>

March 10-16, 2016 • Bay area reporter • 7

Hit the rails or the bay for LGBT wine events

Napa Valley Wine Train

The Napa Valley Wine Train will hold its inaugural Pride Ride this month.

by Heather Cassell

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wine train success with its new Pride Ride. “We never felt any homophobia. In fact, most people, pretty much the entire staff on the train, said, ‘We look forward to this event every year.

It’s the most fun that we have.’”

Rather than not host the popular gay event, the wine train decided to launch its own rainbow culinary and wine evening on the rails between downtown Napa and St. Helena. It has been renamed the Napa Valley Pride Ride and takes place Saturday, March 19.

“We still wanted to capture our event that we’ve had for five years,” said Guzman. She didn’t have exact figures when she spoke to the B.A.R., but said ticket sales were going well.

Out in the Vineyards decided to take wine country to the bay with a special culinary and wine cruise on the water Saturday, April 2.

“We’ve always wanted to do an event in the city. It would be fun to sort of bring Sonoma to the city,” said Saperstein, who said the cruise, which can accommodate around 200 people, is already halfway sold out.

his year LGBT oenophiles can wine and dine on the rails and on San Francisco Bay with two different inaugural events – the Napa Valley Wine Train’s first-ever Pride Ride and Out in the Vineyard’s firstever Big Gay Wine Cruise.

After five successful years hosting the Big Gay Wine Train aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train with Out in the Vineyards, wine train representatives and gay wine event producers decided to part ways. Gary Saperstein, 56, co-principal of Out in the Vineyards, told the Bay Area Reporter that the two companies had a difference in opinion over sharing email lists and parted amicably.

Andrea Guzman, a 34-year-old ally who is the director of sales and partnerships at the Napa Valley Wine Train, told the B.A.R. that from the tour company’s perspective the gay wine event producers had decided to go with another venue this year.

Representatives of both companies said that the split didn’t have anything to do with each other’s Pride Ride respective racial controversies in Guests will kick off the evening at 2015. Last summer, the wine train the train station with the traditional was accused of racial discriminasparkling wine reception before tion and slapped with a lawsuit boarding the train and enjoying a by members of the Sistahs on the specially crafted four-course meal Reading Edge book club prepared by Executive after they were escorted Chef Kelly Macdonald off of the train for allegthat will be paired with edly being too rowdy. three wines from guest The controversy erupted gay viniculture experts just before Seattle-based and vintners from the Nobel House Hotel and Napa Valley.

Resort LTD bought the Wine experts include Napa Valley Wine Train Cezanne Hendricks from for a reported $11 million Raymond Vineyards, Courtesy Out in the Vineyard in September. wine professional ChrisOut in the Vineyards Gary Saperstein, topher Barefoot, Ryan had its own controversy co-principal of Out Graham from American right before its fifth an- in the Vineyard, Wine and Spirits, wine nual train ride. Gay is organizing marketing and sales prothe first Big Gay Persian winery owner fessional Eric Murray, Wine Cruise next Kaveh Azari, who owns and David Mahaffey at month.

Azari Vineyards with his Heron Lake Vineyard. family, pulled out of the The wine train will also event after Mark Vogler, co-principal host an official Pride Ride afterof Out in the Vineyards, posted on party, dubbed Funky Town, at the Facebook a photo of Muslim women train station following the threedressed in hijabs captioned, “Here’s hour, 36-mile roundtrip ride. The to the ladies who lunch – #Islam after-party runs until midnight and style,” taken during his tour of the will feature a video DJ, go-go dancMiddle East. ers and entertainment by Daft-nee, Azari protested the photo and the according to a news release from the anti-Middle Eastern commentary Napa Valley Wine Train. following the post. The controversy “We’ve never actually hosted the didn’t affect the wine train or Out in party after the train got back, so this the Vineyard, according to represenis going to be a little added extra for tatives of the two companies. our guests this year,” said Guzman.

“When we had decided to do the The River Terrace Inn is the ofwine cruise ... it was literally that ficial host hotel for the event. same week when that controversy An undetermined percentage of happened with the African Amerithe proceeds from the event will be can women on the train and we donated to the Richmond/Ermet knew, ‘Oh God! People are going Aid Foundation, said Guzman. The to think that we are not doing the foundation supports local commutrain because of that,’ and that has nity organizations helping people really nothing to do with it,” said living with HIV/AIDS, working to Saperstein. eradicate hunger, and to get home“I wasn’t there, but as far as we less youth off the streets, said Ken were treated on the wine train we Henderson, REAF executive director. had nothing but a good experience,” “We are really excited about it,” added Saperstein, who wished the said Henderson, 58, who will experi-

ence the wine train for the first time with his partner Joe Seiler, 52. “I wouldn’t miss it. It just sounds like so much fun. It should be a real blast.”

Henderson hopes that the event will raise more awareness about the foundation’s work.

Ryan Graham, key account specialist at American Wine and Spirits, used to work for the wine train. He’s excited about participating, along with some of his friends, in the new LGBT wine train event.

“It’s nice for me to be able to come back and do this fundraiser with the train because they are a company that truly cares about the minorities, particularly minorities that have been persecuted in the past, and it’s a great venue to have it at,” said Graham, 40, who will be onboard the train with his husband, Floyd McGregor, 51.

The couple has a special connection to the wine train as their wedding reception was hosted at the train’s commissary in 2008 and they

honeymooned at the then-owner Greg McManus’ Hawaiian vacation home.

Wine cruise on the bay

gay wine event company’s new venture on the bay with Hornblower Cruises.

“It should be a really beautiful eveSee page 14 >>

Saperstein is excited about the

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<< Politics

8 • Bay Area Reporter • March 10-16, 2016

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Walker, Prop 8 case judge, joins SF city board

by Matthew S. Bajko

G

ay retired U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker is now a member of the San Francisco War Memorial Board of Trustees, the public oversight body that runs several of the city’s performing arts venues located on Van Ness Avenue across the street from City Hall.

Mayor Ed Lee appointed Walker to the board and swore him into office Monday, March 7 along with 25 other members of city boards and commissions. Also taking their oaths of office as reappointed War Memorial Board members were former TV journalist Belva Davis and Bay Area Reporter publisher emeritus Thomas Horn.

“I am very pleased. The War Memorial buildings are great assets in the city and county of San Francisco,” Walker told the B.A.R. in a brief interview prior to the ceremony.

Walker oversaw the San Francisco trial in what’s now known as Hollingsworth v. Brown, which was filed by same-sex couples after the state’s voters passed Proposition 8 in November 2008. In August 2010, he ruled the anti-gay marriage ban unconstitutional. (He didn’t come out as gay publicly until after issu-

Rick Gerharter

Retired federal Judge Vaughn Walker, center, was sworn in as a member of the War Memorial Board of Trustees. He joined other appointees, including Port Commissioner Eleni Kounalakis, left, and War Memorial Trustee Thomas Horn and Environment Commissioner Lisa Hoyos, right, during a swearing-in ceremony Monday, March 7 of 26 new and re-appointed commissioners to various San Francisco city boards and commissions.

ing his decision.)

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in June 2013 his historic ruling in the marriage case.

In February 2011 Walker retired from the bench, and in April of that year, went back to the private sector offering arbitration and mediation

services. He has also taught law classes at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Hastings, where he will be back this fall teaching a survey of American law geared for foreign students.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Walker of his teaching duties.

Among those being sworn in

this week were a number of LGBT individuals, including transgender Health Commissioner Cecilia Chung, gay Arts Commissioner Roberto Ordenana, and lesbian Human Rights Commissioner Susan Christian, who is serving a second year as president of the body.

Gary McCoy, who is gay and HIV-positive, was also sworn onto the shelter monitoring committee. Chip Supanich, a gay man who is also living with HIV, was sworn onto the longterm care coordinating council.

“I think it is really important to have patients and community perspective represented,” said Chung on why she wanted to serve a second term.

Christian noted that a pilot project she helped set up looking at city employees’ implicit bias was funded by the mayor this year as a full program. She is now looking to address structural inequality in city services.

“It’s challenging,” she said of her commission work. “So many things touch on the issue of human rights.”

LGT judges in CA increase

The number of lesbian, gay and transgender judges on the California bench increased slightly in 2015.

According to an annual report about the demographic makeup of the state courts, released March 1, there were 45 self-identified LGT judges among the 1,672 jurists serving as of December 31, 2015. Once again, the report found no bisexual judges on the bench.

The total marked a slight increase over previous years, as the number of self-identified gay, lesbian, and transgender judges had held steady at 41. This marks the fifth time the annual report has included LGBT demographic information.

As the B.A.R. has previously reported, state law requires the California Administrative Office of the Courts to annually report on the diversity of the judiciary, including on the sexual orientation and gender identity makeup of the state bench.

Responding to the questionnaire is entirely voluntary, and the identities of the LGT judges are not disclosed. Thirty appellate court justices and 523 trial court judges did not answer if they are LGBT, a decrease from the 582 judges who left the question blank in 2014.

Increasing the number of LGBT judges in California has been a key issue for LGBT lawyer groups across the state, which released their own report about the issue last summer.

There continues to be no out judges serving on the California Supreme Court. The report only recorded answers from five of the seven sitting justices, all of whom marked heterosexual. (It also said none of the justices surveyed opted not to answer the sexuality question, so it is unclear why the court’s most recent members, both of whom are straight and were last sworn in January 5, 2015, did not provide answers.)

The report also found there to be one lesbian and one gay man serving on the Court of Appeal. Those numbers have now doubled, as another lesbian and gay man were both named to appellate courts by Governor Jerry Brown since last June.

On the state’s trial courts, there are 22 lesbian judges, 20 gay judges, and one transgender judge. But the majority of the state’s trial courts, 44 out of 58, continue to have no LGBT judges serving on them.

Los Angeles remains the county with the most out judges, with four lesbians and six gay men on its trial courts. San Francisco is second with four lesbians and three gay male trial court judges.

In the nine-county Bay Area, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma have no LGT judges on the trial court bench.

The other counties with at least one LGT trial court judge are Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Marin, Mendocino, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.t Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings at noon for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion.

This week’s column reported on LGBT leaders standing by embattled Congressman Mike Honda.

Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes.

Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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Community News>>

March 10-16, 2016 • Bay area reporter • 9

Hormel to receive inaugural ‘Champion’ award

by Sari Staver

W

ithout campaign finance reform, philanthropist James C. Hormel said this year could be the last he participates in a presidential election.

“I am so offended by the obscene amounts of money pouring into” political campaigns, Hormel said in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

Hormel, who is supporting Democrat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president, said he is seriously considering restricting his political giving to organizations trying to “bring about change” in campaign finance and voter registration.

Shortly before he is recognized by the Commonwealth Club of California as its first Champion of Civil Rights and Social Justice Award recipient, Hormel talked about his past work as well as his plans for the future.

On March 16, Hormel will be honored at the Commonwealth Club’s $500 per person Distinguished Citizen Award annual gala at the Fairmount Hotel. This year’s theme is “Beyond Boundaries.”

“I’m not ready to say anything specific,” said Hormel, “but I’ve been thinking for some time that I’d like to see how I can contribute” in the areas of campaign finance reform and voter registration.

“First,” he said, “I’d like to see what existing groups are doing” in those areas, and then see how “I might supplement and magnify” those efforts.

Probably best known for his appointment as the first openly gay ambassador, serving in Luxembourg from 1999 to 2001, Hormel recalled the long and tortuous route to that job.

It all began at a 1992 dinner with President Bill Clinton’s campaign treasurer, Bob Farmer. Over dinner, Farmer suggested to Hormel that he seek a presidential appointment as an ambassador.

“I was quite surprised when he brought up the idea,” said Hormel, noting that over 60 percent of such positions are held by career employees who have come up through the ranks in the Foreign Service.

The appointment did not happen easily, Hormel recalled.

In fact, it wasn’t until five years after that dinner that Clinton nominated Hormel for the job. During that five-year period, recalled Hormel, he made “dozens of visits and hundreds of phone calls” to keep his name in consideration.

Hormel said he was persistent because if appointed, “I would break a ceiling and make it easier for gay people to serve at the highest levels of government.”

Senate Republicans and conservative Christians opposed Hormel’s nomination, and Clinton ultimately employed a recess appointment in May 1999, with Hormel being sworn in a month later.

At age 83, Hormel has a full schedule involving a wide range of civic, political, and LGBT causes.

A founder of the Human Rights Campaign and a member of the delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1995, he is also a member of the governing board of a number of organizations, including Grace Cathedral and the San Francisco Foundation.

Hormel has been very open about his private life, including early struggles with coming to terms with his homosexuality. He flunked out of Princeton after his first year, “distracted by all the men” and not knowing how to handle it.

Once he was out of the closet, life got a lot easier, he said.

Ten years ago, while attending the Equality Forum dinner in

Philadelphia, Hormel had donated a table to Swarthmore, his alma mater, for LGBT students. At the dinner, he met college sophomore Michael Nguyen.

“At age 70-something, I certainly was not looking” for a romantic partner, especially someone two generations younger, said Hormel. “But there was magic when we met.”

“We slowly got to know each other and I realized it was real,” he said.

“I realized that we are filled with judgments and preconceptions about relationships and what they could look like,” Hormel said. “I had to overcome my own prejudices and come to terms with what is really at the basis of a relationship, which is how people interact and con- Former Ambassador James C. Hormel nect. It is such a mistake to make judgments based and “something I never dreamed on appearances and extraneous could happen.” information.”

Hormel said that he is “very The couple married the day after thrilled” to be honored by the ComChristmas in 2014. The wedding, he monwealth Club, where he has said, was “extraordinarily beautiful” served on the board of governors.

The club, he said, is an “extraordinary organization that offers a wide array of programming from many points of view.”

In an email to the B.A.R., Commonwealth Club President and CEO Mary Duffy, Ph.D., said, “For decades, Ambassador Hormel has demonstrated his courage and dedication, working to create a more equal and just society for all. He is an altruistic activist who has been supportive and inspirational to many different communities. He is a dedicated philanthropist supporting organizations serving people across the country affected by HIV and AIDS, substance abuse, and breast cancer. We are thrilled to be honoring this intellectually incisive, wonderful, generous and warm community leader.”

In addition to Hormel, the Commonwealth Club will also be honoring: Chuck Geschke, Adobe Systems co-founder and co-chairman, for his

pioneering work to develop the first digital printing script, revolutionizing the publishing industry and graphic design, and for stewarding a dynamic company for over 40 years.

Robyn Denholm, executive vice president, chief financial operations officer of Juniper Networks and board member of Tesla Motors, for her leadership in the IT industry.

Charles Munger Jr., Ph.D., physicist and activist, for his support for good government, representative politics, and pushing for a more moderate platform for the Republican Party. Munger sponsored and heavily donated to 2010’s Proposition 20 in California, which removed elected representatives from the redistricting process.

Elizabeth Holmes, founder and Chairman of the lab-testing startup Theranos, for pioneering a concept that could revolutionize the field of medical blood testing.t The March 16 gala starts with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 7. The Fairmont is located at 950 Mason Street. For tickets, visit http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/specialevents/gala/2016.

<< Community News

10 • Bay Area Reporter • March 10-16, 2016

SF musician and activist JD Taylor dies

by Cynthia Laird

B

lues musician and activist JD Taylor, who was beaten by a San Francisco police officer during the 1989 Castro Sweep, died February 27 at her San Francisco home where she had been under hospice care.

She was 69.

Naomi Tilsen, Ms. Taylor’s wife, told the Bay Area Reporter that Ms. Taylor died after a two and a half year struggle with lung cancer.

Ms. Taylor was fairly well known in the music scene. She played blues and folk harmonica with Gwen Avery, Blackberri, and Pat Wilder, Tilsen said. She also sat in with her harmonica blowing rock and punk with local bands Frightwig and Tribe 8.

“She loved any opportunity to use her harps to jam, especially jazz, folk, rock, and show tune covers,”

Tilsen said.

Blackberri, who uses one name, said in a Facebook message that Ms. Taylor was an “excellent musician who also had a great sense of humor.”

“I was very sorry to hear of her passing,” Blackberri said.

“I had been planning to go back to the studio to record a new album. I was going to ask her to lay a track in one of the songs. She will be greatly missed, bless her heart.”

Tilsen said some would remember Ms. Taylor “as the small woman who was the subject of a photo showing her being beaten by a very Naomi Tilsen large SFPD officer during the Castro Sweep police re- JD Taylor was at Dolores Park on Pride Sunday taliation in the Castro on in 2012, with its sweeping view of the city.

October 9, 1989.”

That evening, ACT UP activists, with whom Ms. Taylor was involved, had gathered in the Civic Center area to protest the lack of federal funding to help fight AIDS. But as the night wore on, San Francisco police retaliated by shutting down the Castro neighborhood and arresting 53 people. Ten people were injured.

Ms. Taylor was born August 5, 1946, in New York, New York, and raised in Ridgefield, New Jersey. Her mother was Virginia Snedeker, an American Scene artist, and when Ms. Taylor was a child, her mother used her as a subject of her artwork.

Ms. Taylor received a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Iowa State, and was

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involved in the early feminist press in Iowa City in the early 1970s.

She moved to San Francisco in 1975.

Ms. Taylor was a lifelong supporter of women’s culture and women’s cultural space.

In addition to Tilsen, Ms. Taylor is survived by many friends and chosen family, including those in the women’s and LGBT activist communities. Tilsen said that Ms. Taylor would be missed by the Insomniacs Club, Duboce Triangle neighbors, the folks at Peet’s on Market and Spike’s on 19th Street, the Green Bakery Salon, the Wild Side West Sunday Jam musicians, and all the people who heard her wail on her harmonica at the monthly El Rio Train Wreck open mic events.

A memorial to celebrate Ms. Taylor’s life will be announced at a later date.t

Duboce Triangle couple gets help after attack

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A

queer San Francisco couple are looking for help after they were recently attacked near their Duboce Triangle area home.

Friends of Dean, 44, and Mary Ayers, 45, have started a Gofundme campaign (https://www.gofundme. com/helpfordeanandmary) to help pay for medical expenses and other costs. As of Monday, almost $27,000 toward the $100,000 goal had been raised.

Both were injured, and Mary Ayers was hospitalized for several days.

She’s returned home, but still needs frequent nursing visits. The couple, who have been married four years, run a drug detox business but haven’t been able to work since the attack.

In an interview, Dean Ayers said four men approached him and his wife Tuesday, February 23 on Sanchez Street. He had returned that night from southern California, where he’d gone to visit his dying brother. While he was there, he learned that his mother had just died.

As the couple walked down the street, four men approached them.

One of them talked about raping Mary Ayers – something to the effect of “We’re going to have a foursome with you. It’s going to be four of us on you,” Dean Ayers said, adding, “It felt very threatening.”

Ayers said he told the men to back off. They passed him and his wife and stood at the corner of Henry and Sanchez.

Soon, they surrounded the couple, and the man who’d been making the threats punched Dean Ayers in the face and beat his wife.

“I said, ‘Please leave us alone, my mom just died,” Ayers recalled pleading during the incident. He lost his balance and fell, and the man punched him again.

He also punched Mary Ayers in the head several times “and knocked her out.”

The men ran up Henry toward Noe Street. He cried as he described running after them, then realizing Dean and Mary Ayers, in a photo from their Gofundme campaign. his wife wasn’t behind him and going back.

Mary Ayers, who doesn’t rememhair” that went about halfway down “I rounded the corner, and Mary’s ber most of the incident, said, “It his back. He was wearing either “a on the ground,” he said. “I thought took four or five days to even realdark cap or dark hoodie” and black she was dead. She was completely ize that I’d been knocked out cold. and white-checked pants. knocked out.” Her eyes were only I didn’t realize I was so injured by Ayers described another man as half open, and she wasn’t respondthese guys.” around 19 and “thin.” ing to him, he said.

Ayers said he didn’t get a good He said he didn’t hear any homoDean Ayers suffered a broken leg, look at two of the men. One of them phobic comments during the attack. a sprained ankle, and other injuries. appeared to be 19, while the oth“I don’t think they read us that He said his wife suffered four skull ers were around 24. He hadn’t seen way,” Ayers said. “... We appeared to fractures, among other injuries, and them before. be a straight couple walking down was still “very confused.” He started He described the man who beat the street.” to cry as he described her condition. them as “stocky,” with “dark, curly He said he feels “tremendous

gratitude” for the kindness their landlord and many others have shown.

“People we don’t know, complete strangers, have come in to our house to feed us,” he said.

Video surveillance footage has been obtained, but police haven’t announced any arrests in the case.

Sergeant Robert Terry called the attack “completely unprovoked,” and said, “This is one of those things that just shouldn’t have happened.”

In a Facebook post last week, District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener said police would step up patrols of the neighborhood.

“I know this attack is incredibly disturbing, and it’s depressing that one of the victims was so badly injured,” Wiener said. But the police department “is responding in a very proactive way, and it’s my hope that we see some long-lasting change in the neighborhood in terms of public safety.”

Anyone with information in the case can contact the SFPD anonymous tip line at (415) 575- 4444.

People may also text a tip to TIP411.

Type SFPD in the subject line. The incident number is 160160871.t

Update on death of hit-and-run victim

by Seth Hemmelgarn

T

he chief forensic toxicologist at the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office said this week that Dennis Nix, the gay San Francisco man who died in a hit-and-run accident in November, had been exposed to methamphetamine, and the drug was not in Nix’s system because of a prescribed medication.

Nix, 60, was fatally struck by a car while riding his scooter.

Some people who knew Nix were upset by the Bay Area Reporter’s story last week [“Review released in gay man’s fatal hit-and-run,” March 3] that said, according to the medical examiner’s office, amphetamine and the antidepressant citalopram were found in his blood and urine, and methamphetamine was in his urine.

Friends suggested the meth had been a false-positive result from Nix taking the antidepressant.

But in an interview Nix had “used” meth.

Monday, March 7, chief Nix “may have passiveforensic toxicologist Dr. ly been exposed,” Lemos Nikolas Lemos said, “I said. am convinced this is not Someone’s blood a false-positive result.” shows what they have Lemos, who’s gay, said been exposed to within his agency had taken the last day, while urine “all the steps” necessary captures what a person’s “to screen and confirm” been exposed to within a information from more Dennis Nix week, he said. than one biological Nix’s blood suggests specimen. that he may have been “The citalopram does not break “crashing” from methamphetdown into methamphetamine amine, “because there is no methunder any circumstances,” he said. amphetamine in the blood,” Lemos “They’re two different products.” said. Instead, it had moved to the Nix didn’t have anything else in urine. his system that could have resulted The crashing “can be a very imin the meth finding, Lemos said. pairing situation,” Lemos said.

“I couldn’t find anything that He referred to the level of citacould have actually resulted in the lopram in Nix’s blood as “theramethamphetamine production ... peutic,” and said the drug, which otherwise it would have been listed” relieves anxiety, could make people in his report, Lemos said. “dizzy and drowsy and have diffiLemos was careful not to say that culty with balance.”t

Trailblazer Charlotte Coleman remembered Charlotte Coleman • September 5, 1923 – November 13, 2015

started the Great Tricycle Race, which continued long after Ms. Coleman sold the bar.

Over the years, Ms. Coleman bought other bars and restaurants, such as the Trapp, Gilmores, and others. She was also a silent partner in the Twin Peaks in the Castro.

Said Bobba, “She learned at the IRS that the business to hide the most money from the government was the bar business. She was very smart and very good at it.”

Great disappointment

Charlotte Coleman, (left), with Roberta Bobba and Carole Migden Longtime San Francisco bar owner Charlotte Coleman is being remembered as a pioneer in the gay community, someone who was drummed out of her job with the federal government and later parlayed her auditing knowledge into a string of successful businesses.

Ms. Coleman died November 13, 2015 after suffering two strokes. She was 92 and for the last three years had lived at Brookdale, an assisted living facility in Vallejo.

As a 1996 article in the Bay Area Reporter noted, Ms. Coleman, with a “mere $1,000,” opened “what may have been one of the first lesbian-owned bars in the world – the Front, located at Front and Jackson streets, not far from the infamous Black Cat.” The Black Cat, of course, was where the late Jose Sarria performed as a drag queen.

Ms. Coleman was also well known for her early support of the Gay Olympic Games, which was forced by a U.S. Supreme Court decision to remove the word “Olympic” from its name, becoming the Gay Games.

“She had a fabulous life,” said her longtime friend Roberta Bobba, 86, who looked after Ms. Coleman for many years. “She and I traveled all over the world, she lived well, and made money.”

Bobba said that she met Ms. Coleman, her friend of 61 years, on the steps of the Paper Doll, an old gay bar. Ms. Coleman was crying.

“I put my arm around her and asked why she was crying,” Bobba said. “She said, ‘It’s OK to be queer in there but you can’t be a Democrat.’”

The bar owner, apparently a Republican, had tossed Ms. Coleman from the establishment, Bobba recalled.

According to an autobiography that Ms. Coleman wrote, she was born in Rhode Island on September 5, 1923. She was raised in Somerset, Massachusetts and after high school worked in Newport, Rhode Island making torpedoes for the U.S. Army. She later joined the Coast Guard and after receiving an honorable discharge, took a train tour of the U.S. She ended up in San Francisco.

She later passed a government exam and became an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service, a job she had for 10 years. In her autobiography, Ms. Coleman wrote that during a time when the government decided not to hire any new em-

ployees, the IRS’ new-employee investigative staff had no work. “They decided to re-investigate all employees who were being given a ‘grade’ raise,” Ms. Coleman wrote, and she was one of them.

She was called into an office where investigators had a file, four inches thick.

Ms. Coleman wrote that they had read her mail, tapped her phone, and followed her to parties and on weekends to Sacramento and Santa Cruz. Her hostesses in Santa Cruz “often remarked about seeing a car continually going around the block day and night all weekend,” Ms. Coleman wrote.

Presented with this information, Ms. Coleman was fired. “They were unable to really prove she was gay, so they used ‘association with persons of ill repute’ on their report,” Ms. Coleman wrote.

About a month later, Ms. Coleman was called by the IRS to appear at a ceremony to receive a Superior Performance Award. She received about $1,000 from the government retirement account, which she used to open the aforementioned Front beer and wine bar.

Being a gay or lesbian bar owner was challenging in the 1960s, as Ms. Coleman experienced. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control prepared a list of “morals” charges against the Front, such as a man seen putting his arm around another man. For these infractions she lost her license.

After the Front, Ms. Coleman bought the Golden Cask on Haight Street, using her friend, Peggy Forster’s name on the license.

Soon after the bar opened, a restaurant was added. The night of the grand opening, five police cars and a paddy wagon showed up with sirens blasting. Cops swarmed in, Ms. Coleman wrote, and took Forster from behind the bar and arrested her because of an old parking ticket.

“The police department had always denied that they harassed gay bars,” Ms. Coleman wrote. “The Golden Cask was harassed for many months.” If customers were arrested, Ms. Coleman wrote that she went down and bailed them out and had her attorney, Herb Donaldson, get the cases dismissed.

Ms. Coleman held fundraisers at the Front, including raising money for ministers who were arrested at the New Year’s Eve ball for the Council for Religion and the Homosexual.

In 1969, Ms. Coleman bought the Mint on Market Street, which she owned until 1975. Also a bar and restaurant, the Mint was known for its celebrations of various holidays. One of her employees, Les Balmain,

Other endeavors of Ms. Coleman’s weren’t as successful. She tried to open the First Women’s Savings and Loan of SF. The organizers were both straight and gay, but they couldn’t secure the investments needed and it never got off the ground.

Later came Atlas Savings and Loan, the first all-gay financial institution with all gay organizers. Ms. Coleman wrote that they had to raise $2 million, not an east task in the late 1970s. With the help of Forster, Ms. Coleman sold the largest number of shares, many of them in gay bars around the city.

“Opening Atlas showed the world that not all gays were in bars and bathhouses, but that we were successful businessmen and women,” she wrote. “Atlas was successful from the start, Money came in from all over the world.”

After its first office at Duboce and Market, Atlas soon had its own building on Castro Street, in the heart of the gay community.

Unfortunately, the San Francisco real estate market was in a depression and Atlas was forced to invest its money outside of the city, with other savings and loans. Ms. Coleman wrote that it was later discovered that the properties were over-appraised and Atlas was the loser. Stockholders lost their money. The government took it over in what Ms. Coleman described as the “most devastating” day in her life. She lost $50,000.

Civic involvement

Ms. Coleman served on the board of directors of the Gay Games and served as treasurer and was proud that the first two events, held in San Francisco, broke even. The late Rikki Streicher later served as treasurer.

In her autobiography, Ms. Coleman praised the late Dr. Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Games. Ms. Coleman and Bobba attended all the Gay Games, including Vancouver and New York.

“Amsterdam was unbelievable,” she wrote. “The whole city seemed to be gay.”

Locally, Ms. Coleman supported various politicians over the years. A folder of memorabilia contains letters from now-Senator Dianne Feinstein (Ms. Coleman was a member of “Dianne’s California Cabinet”), the late state Senator Milton Marks, and lesbian former state Senator Carole Migden.

“You are a splendid one-of-a-kind pioneer and you’ve made a great success in life,” Migden wrote in a May 2014 note to Ms. Coleman after she had moved to the assisted living facility.

Ms. Coleman also helped raise funds for various LGBT causes, including the old Godfather Service Fund. She served on the board of the Tavern Guild, the Society for Individual Rights, San Francisco Pride, and Operation Concern, for which she helped raise the first dollars to get the LGBT mental health services group off the ground.

At the time of her death, Ms. Coleman had no surviving partner or family members, but about eight close friends survive her.

<< From the Cover

12 • Bay area reporter • March 10-16, 2016

<<

Medical examiner

From page 3

According to the medical examiner’s office, “Only medical examiners can investigate and sign the death certificate if a death is related to a homicide, suicide, an accident, a patient with no attending physician, an industrial related death, an unidentified person, or where there is some medical reason to consider that the death might be due to a contagious disease.”

The office has started stating the manner and cause of death sooner in many cases, allowing death certificates to be issued quicker. There are cases where the cause and manner seem clear, such as where someone is hit by a car. Amendments may be added as

the toxicology results come in.

“We’re going out with the cause of death the day of if we can,” Hunter said. Having the death certificate helps families deal with insurance, the probate process, and other issues.

Besides examining deaths, the office also does the city’s DUI analysis, “sexual assault workups,” and other work, Wirowek said.

New facility

During a recent tour of the medical examiner’s facilities, Wirowek said, “very, very little has changed” since the 1962 opening of the building, which also houses a jail, criminal courtrooms, and the district attorney’s office.

The main autopsy space is almost completely occupied by five white,

DISPLAY OBITUARIES & IN MEMORIAMS

decades-old autopsy tables. Hunter said it’s “a difficult place to do autopsies.” If there are four doctors working on bodies simultaneously, along with other staff, “we fall all over ourselves.”

The new facility’s main autopsy suite will include six autopsy stations, along with separate suites for decomposition, forensic anthropology, and other types of autopsies, according to project manager Magdalena Ryor, who’s with the city’s public works department.

The agency’s current space is 26,000 square feet. The new facility, for which the budget is $65 million, will be twice that, giving staff more space to do the work, and more room for bodies.

Hunter said with the current site it “would be very difficult for us” to handle “a mass fatality situation.”

The new space is designed to hold 477 bodies, which is many times what the current space can handle.

The Newhall site will also include improvements for grieving families.

The current space’s viewing room, where grieving family and friends

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Sheriff

From page 3

Hirst said. It was a staff member who had made the report, she said. She couldn’t say whether the allegations were against one particular person.

She also couldn’t share McDowell’s first name or provide contact information, but agreed to share a reporter’s phone number with him.

McDowell hasn’t called.

The investigation “is going to take as long as it takes” to interview the prisoners and staff involved, Hirst said. She didn’t know how common such investigations were.

“It’s really upsetting to be called a pronoun that isn’t yours, and to be called names, and that’s got to stop, so hopefully it will,” Hirst said.

A 2015 B.AR. review of sheriff’s department grievance data showed complaints about staff were among the least frequent. The agency doesn’t break down inmate grievance data by sexual orientation or gender identity.

Romero, whose bail has been set at $715,000, said, “I try not to cry.

I try not to show emotion. They would eat you alive in here, if you know what I mean. This is not a good place, and I can’t wait to get out. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.”

In response to an email from the B.A.R., Eugene Cerbone, the president of the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, said a facility commander told him the report that’s being investigated is “not true.”

“As a gay man who has worked in the custody division since 1998, I can tell you that whenever I was called a faggot and other choice words, it was never by my co-workers, it was by the inmates,” Cerbone said.

He added, “I believe it is irresponsible to write articles based on hearsay disguised as fact. ... [T]he San Francisco Sheriff’s Department has many LGBTQ deputies amongst its ranks, and we as gay deputies would never tolerate that kind of anti-gay language in the work place from our peers.”

Cerbone said he was told the person who made the report “is a civilian who never reported this allegation to anyone at the facility, including the supervisors, as they should have,” and among other points, Cerbone said, “The inmates themselves also have the ability to speak with supervisors 24 hours a day.”

Housing policy ‘starting from scratch’

Former Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi announced last year he planned to stop classifying transgender inmates who have not had surgery according to their birth sex, and the department has been doing sensitivity training on trans issues.

“Training for deputies started in late December” under Mirkarimi, Hirst said, and “it is ongoing” and

Kelly Sullivan

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Hunter

can identify bodies, isn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet.

Hunter noted the “somewhat claustrophobic” room is “not a pleasant environment.”

Even before the move to the new site, the medical examiner’s office already has some new equipment. “quite in-depth.”

Hennessy “is very concerned about moving the housing as soon as she can” said Hirst, who noted that Hennessy met with trans advocates on her first full day in office in January, and discussions have continued.

But Hirst said it’s “hard to know” when trans inmates would move, “because when we got here there had been no work done on any policy around that.”

The statement contradicts what Mirkarimi had said before he lost his re-election bid to Hennessy. There had only been “a pronouncement,” Hirst said, without the “policy and training and everything that has to go into successful implementation.

We’re starting from scratch.”

She said there “had been nothing left behind” when Mirkarimi left.

The work Hennessy’s staff is doing “is not political hyperbole and smoke blowing,” Hirst said.

The agency has also been working on expanding programming opportunities for trans inmates, which was another goal Mirkarimi announced last year.

Burglary case

Romero’s pleaded not guilty to numerous charges, including felony counts of first-degree residential burglary and misdemeanor charges of receiving or buying stolen property. A preliminary hearing, when a judge should decide whether there’s sufficient evidence to hold Romero for trial, is set for April 6.

In a motion she filed in the case, Assistant District Attorney Lailah Morris said, “In each case, the defendant brazenly breaks into people’s homes while they are asleep in their beds. She is tied to each case either by video evidence, her own admissions, photographic evidence, or a combination of those.”

Among other items, Romero allegedly stole an iPad, a cellphone, and a laptop.

Video footage from some of the incidents shows Romero “wearing a long brown wig, tan bra, and Star Wars pajamas under a green army type jacket,” according to Morris’ motion.

In Friday’s interview, Romero wouldn’t comment on the evidence against her and declined to provide detailed responses to several other questions specifically related to her case without the presence of her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson.

Romero said four people had forced her “to do something that I didn’t want to do.” She declined to share details on who the people were and what they’d wanted her to do, but she said they’d beaten her and threatened a more severe attack if she didn’t follow their instructions. She didn’t report the beatings to police because “I was afraid of

t

In December, the agency got a new X-ray machine, with help from the mayor’s office. Hunter said the previous machine, which dated from 1974, was “very, very antiquated, but it did the job.” The new machine can do a full body scan in 13 seconds.

“It really helps us out,” Hunter said.

He also said, “We create a lot of data,” and the office has been working to “make sure our data gets utilized.”

The agency has been working with other city departments as part of a homeless death review committee. That effort “gives you a really good idea of what’s happening in the community that ultimately leads” to the deaths of many of the people whose bodies come to the agency, Hunter said.

The office is responsible “for indigent remains,” Hunter said, and Wirowek said that includes people with no families, or people whose remains have been “abandoned.” In those cases, he said, “We become their family. We have to take care of their remains.”t getting killed,” she said.

Lipson said Romero doesn’t have a criminal history, and Romero said she’d never been arrested before.

The B.A.R. hasn’t found any indication that she has been.

Romero, who’s homeless, has been in San Francisco for two years.

She previously lived in Richmond, California, but “I wasn’t fully accepted where I was living, so I had to move out.”

She said, “I’m a very loving, kind person that got misunderstood and misdirected in the wrong way, and I would like to be free. I’m not going to sit here rotting away for someone else’s mistakes. Of course, they are my mistakes, as well, but it is not my intentions.”

In a phone interview, Lipson declined to comment specifically on the evidence against Romero “at this stage,” but “I will say that any of the actions she may have taken to get herself into this situation were not of her own volition.”

He confirmed she’d been threatened with physical violence, noted that she’s 21 and homeless, and said Romero’s had “an extremely rough history of being bullied and abused her entire life. She’s in a very, very fragile state.”

Lipson hadn’t been aware of the sheriff ’s department investigation of the allegations Romero spoke of, and he didn’t know of any similar reports. However, he said, “I’m going to bring it to my manager’s attention here, and we can make more of a concerted effort to see if this is an ongoing problem.”

Despite her troubles in custody, Romero, whose legal name is Robert Anthony Romero-Alston, said she does have access to hormones, and she also said some deputies “are very nice to us.”

She referred to Lieutenant Ridgeway, whose first name wasn’t available, as an example. Ridgeway’s given trans inmates nail polish and grooming items like curling irons, said Romero, who showed off her pink, glittery fingernails.

Daljit Singh, 21, who’s in custody in County Jail #5 on $100,000 bail, has been ordered to stand trial on a felony count of first-degree residential burglary and a misdemeanor count of receiving or buying stolen property.

Richard Shikman, Singh’s attorney, said, “It’s alleged” that Romero and his client “participated together,” in the case he’s involved with, “but because they were arrested separately, they haven’t been formally charged together.”

Shikman said, “My client seems like a wayward kind of young man who is searching and poor and misdirected.” Asked about Singh’s sexual orientation, he said, “I think he’s in an exploratory mode.”

He said Singh’s “from the Bay Area,” and doesn’t have a prior criminal record.t

t

Sports>>

March 10-16, 2016 • Bay Area Reporter • 13

Gay Games back on track

by Roger Brigham

A

nnouncements last week by the Federation of Gay Games that it was ending talks to merge its quadrennial sports and cultural festival with the World Outgames and moving forward with site selection for 2022 were a breath of fresh air for local Gay Games supporters weary of years of futile time-consuming talks. Now they wonder: Will the Gay Games revisit San Francisco for a 40th anniversary celebration, the place where the movement started in 1982?

(See March 3 B.A.R. blog post, “FGG breaks off talks with GLISA over single LGBT sporting event,” for the original report.)

The late Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, founded the Gay Games as a means to raise the profile of LGBT individuals through sports and give them the sense of pride and recognition that his career in sports had given him. Over successive quadrennial cycles, the Gay Games repeatedly doubled in size from fewer than 2,000 athletes marching into Kezar Stadium for the first opening ceremony until New York City drew more than 10,000 for Gay Games IV in 1994.

<<

Ice cream shop

From page 3

A month after signing her lease in April 2015, Pries submitted her request for the upgrade, expecting it would take no longer than two months. Instead, it is going on more than 10 months.

“They collected an ‘engineering advance’ of $2,500 four months ago, and still, no work done,” Pries explained in an email late last month.

“I’ve sent emails, made phone calls, talked to PG&E managers, and even begged them several times to tell me what I need to do to make this upgrade happen.”

The B.A.R. contacted the utility company about Pries’ complaints.

In response, Matt Nauman, a

<<

News Briefs

From page 5

goals in this new position.” Threet is a graduate of the University of Texas Liberal Arts Plan II Honors Program in 1983 and received a joint degree in law and public policy from the University of Texas in 1988.

Threet is married to Seth Ubogy and they have two daughters, ages 5 and 7. He and his family reside in Sebastopol.

Threet’s salary for the position is $155,000.

The community is invited to welcome Threet at a public meet and greet Monday, April 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Rotunda, 3313 Chanate Road in Santa Rosa.

NCLR names new development director

The National Center for Lesbian Rights has announced the appointment of LGBT movement leader and attorney Ruth McFarlane as its director of development and community engagement.

McFarlane, 43, a graduate of UC Berkeley and Cornell University, brings two decades of nonprofit leadership and legal experience to NCLR, where she will oversee the cultivation and mobilization of support from individual donors, corporations, foundations, and other organizations that share NCLR’s vision.

“I am so excited to join the amazing team at NCLR and help cultivate broad, long-term support for

Those who were on the organizing boards in the early days as Gay Games grew from a small San Francisco treat into a major traveling global event say the original bylaws of organizer San Francisco Arts and Athletics were largely copied from an arts organization and retained the reference to culture to ease legal acceptance of the bylaws. It proved to be a synergistic blend, a rare opportunity that enabled gay athletes to express themselves in competition and in artistic performance. When the FGG was founded to take the competition outside of San Francisco, the bylaws blend of sports and culture was maintained.

Throughout the second decade of the Gay Games, internal board discussions centered largely on just how much of a focus the Gay Games would have on non-sports events, and how a desire to put on an “Olympic style” event played with a desire to live up to the goals to make the sports event as open and as accessible as possible to as diverse a group of athletes as possible. An “Image of the Gay Games” paper that declared the event would not have parties and conferences in its plans was adopted at the board meeting in 2003 – and that was

when the presumptive hosts of Gay Games VII walked, saying they had a better idea of what the event should be and how it should be run.

The 2006 Montreal World Outgames was the first “rival” that the Gay Games had ever faced. The World Outgames reduced the focus on sports and added human rights conferences and parties as major components of its re-envisioned event. It was held two weeks after the Gay Games in Chicago.

The World Outgames conferences and parties were an apparent success. The sports, however, were another story. Overall the Outgames drew about 8,500 (organizers had originally made plans for around 20,000) and lost more than $5 million. The Chicago Gay Games, meanwhile, drew about 12,000 and finished in the black – the first Gay Games to do so since they were held in San Francisco in 1986.

That began the on-again, offagain talks to reconcile the two events into one. The Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association, which licenses the World Outgames, made a proposal through negotiators in 2012 that, according to an FGG statement, called for “both organizations to remain separate entities, a 200 percent increase in the license fee, and for the eventual host organization to report to both enti-

spokesman for PG&E Corporate Relations, Electric Communications, said the company could not speak about a customer’s specific account unless it had their written permission to do so.

“However, I can say that PG&E realizes the importance of great customer service and we apologize that this customer has been dissatisfied with the process so far,” wrote Nauman in an emailed reply. “We have talked to the customer today (Monday, February 29), and we have multiple employees from our Electric, Gas and local Customer Care organizations working on this issue.”

This week, Monday, March 7, Pries told the B.A.R. she continues to speak with PG&E employees to finalize getting the service upgrades the work ahead – making sure that every last one of us enjoys equality whatever our sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression may be,” McFarlane said in a news release.

McFarlane served on NCLR’s board of directors for two years before joining its staff. Prior to accepting the development director position, McFarlane was the director of programs at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, where she was responsible for a wide spectrum of direct service and community programming. She also served as director of community engagement for the Pride study, a national, participant-powered, longitudinal study of the health experience of LGBTQ people conducted by researchers at UCSF. “Ruth is a tireless and fierce LGBT advocate and we are thrilled to have her join our team,” stated NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. “Her commitment to justice for the most vulnerable and her unbounded charisma make her a perfect fit to partner with our donors to elevate NCLR’s reach and effectiveness.”

The agency did not release salary information.

NCLR has helped shape the legal landscape since 1977 through its precedent-setting litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.

Bal Masque party benefits Jazzie’s Place

Krewe de Kinque’s Bal Masque XIII “Saints and Sinners” party takes place Saturday, March 12 from 6 to

Courtesy Federation of Gay Games

Mayor Dianne Feinstein, right, gestures to Gay Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell at Gay Games II, which took place in San Francisco in 1986.

“From our own prior experience, we understand how disruptive it is to make major organizational changes, and how it can negatively impact event programming,” the FGG said in a published statement.

“When Chicago was selected to host Gay Games VII in March 2004 – with only two and a half years to prepare – the FGG chose to conduct a major internal restructuring. The effort required to do this prevented the FGG from being more involved with the promotion and presentation of Chicago 2006. We want to avoid a repeat of this for Paris 2018, which should be a spectacular Gay Games.”

ties. Given the high risk this placed on such a venture, an agreement was not reached.”

More recently, the FGG and GLISA had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore creating a new entity to oversee a unified event. But an internal risk analysis conducted by the FGG led to a unanimous board vote last week to call off the negotiations and get on with the Gay Games.

FGG member Team San Francisco had been the leading advocate to end efforts to merge events and instead to focus on making the Gay Games more accessible, more diverse, and more affordable.

Back to SF?

scheduled for the storefront.

“I am in contact with PG&E and getting everything sorted out,” she said, adding that up until now, “I would send them updates and get no response. I was going in circles.

I would get a promise that things were being worked on, then there would be a long wait and then someone would say they needed something else.”

Castro/Upper Market Community Benefits District Executive Director Andrea Aiello told the B.A.R. hearing about Pries’ difficulty in getting the Castro location open is “very frustrating,” especially since the neighborhood has been working to fill the Castro’s many vacant storefronts with locally-owned small businesses.

“Our whole philosophy is to sup-

port small businesses and get them to move in. Whether it is city regulations or PG&E or water issues, there just seems to be so many obstacles,” said Aiello.

At one point, recalled Pries, she was told she could be required to repave all of the 500 block of Castro Street, which was remodeled with expanded sidewalks two years ago, should the needed work require PG&E to rip up the sidewalk or roadway in front of the new location.

“This is how it got so out of hand; nobody would give me a straight answer,” she said. “It was hard for me to make plans.”

Should she not be open by the end of June, then Pries said, “Oh, God, I better be” when asked if the

space could be ready in time for the annual Castro Street Fair the first Sunday of October.

The Castro Fountain plans to be open seven days a week. Pries is looking to hire up to 20 employees, many on a part-time basis, and is unsure what the store hours will be.

After opening she said she would look at applying for a beer and wine license, similar to what she has at the Cole Valley location, which was also delayed in its opening due to PG&E issues as well as city zoning issues.

“Maybe eventually down the road,” Pries said about adding alcoholic beverages to the Castro Fountain’s menu. “It would have been a bigger issue to tackle in the beginning. I want to be open to sell ice cream.”t

9 p.m. at Beatbox, 314 11th Street in San Francisco. A VIP party precedes the event at 5; tickets are $30 and includes Southern cuisine, seating, and recognition in the program.

The masked ball and show will feature DJ Tweaka Turner, a silent auction, and raffle. Festivities include the crowning of the krewe’s king and queen, a line parade, and bead tossing. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

Proceeds from the evening benefit Jazzie’s Place, a homeless shelter for LGBT adults that opened last year.

For tickets, visit http://balmasquexiii.brownpapertickets.com or call (415) 867-5004.

ing against equal rights for LGBT people, the No Hate organizers said in a news release. He has also urged boycotts of LGBT-owned businesses and companies that include LGBT couples in their ads.

Graham is the son of the late evangelical Billy Graham and is president and chief executive officer of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The counterdemonstration planned by organizers will be lively but peaceful, with speakers and performers presenting positive messages supportive of the LGBT community. Among those spearheading the event are Billy Bradford, with GetEqual and Castro Valley Pride, and Joanie Juster, who is a member of the organizing committee.

For more information, visit the Facebook page “No Hate in Our State: Decide to Love.”

tor Juanita More.

Early bird tickets are $175 for the dinner and party, or $95 for the party only. For more information, visit http://www.sfcenter.org/ soiree2016.

Sacto rally planned in response to Graham visit

Anti-gay evangelist Franklin Graham is scheduled to hold a rally at the California Capitol in Sacramento later this month and pro-gay groups are planning a “No Hate in Our State: Decide to Love” counterdemonstration.

The event is planned for Thursday, March 31 from 11 a.m. to noon on the north steps of the Capitol, 10th and L streets in Sacramento.

According to Graham’s website, his Decision America 2016 tour is stopping in all 50 states to hold prayer rallies, praise the gospel, and challenge believers to take a stand and take action. While the Decision America 2016 website does not refer specifically to homosexuality, Graham has spoken out extensively on the subject, actively advocat-

LGBT center readies for Soiree benefit

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center will hold its largest event of the year, Soiree, Saturday, April 9 at Terra Gallery, 511 Harrison Street. There will be a dinner from 5 to 8 p.m., followed by a party from 8 to midnight.

This year’s theme is “The Imaginarium,” and draws attention to queers and allies celebrating the power of the LGBTQ community’s imaginative minds.

The event will include locally sourced food, hosted bar, and a silent auction. Live entertainment will be curated by entertainment direc-

Bid documents for selecting a city and host organization for Gay Games XI in 2022 are now available.

Of course, it takes a bit of time for a local group to form and put together a viable bid for such a large and intricate event. For the past three years or so, local Gay Games supporters such as Ken Craig and Doug Litwin reached out to local political and tourism people and sports groups to see if they would be interested in helping organize a bid to host Gay Games XI in 2022.

“We gave up on the effort two years See page 14 >>

SF officials call for poet laureate nominees

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the San Francisco Poet Laureate Nominating Committee have announced that nominations are open for the seventh San Francisco poet laureate, to succeed Alejandro Murguia, whose term has expired.

Poet laureate nominees must be San Francisco residents, have a substantial body of published work, including at least one full-length book (minimum 48 pages, not self-published or vanity press) and/ or professional digital recording of performance with text (not selfproduced) or 20 or more published poems in established publications, print or online, over the past five years.

Responsibilities of the poet laureate include: delivering an inaugural address to the public at the San Francisco Public Library; participating in community-based poetry events; working on one or more poetry-centered events in cooperation with the public library; and leading a poetry reading or event at Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival.

Nominations are due by Sunday, April 17. Forms can be found at www.sfpl.org/poetlaureate or at any San Francisco library/t

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

14 • Bay Area Reporter • March 10-16, 2016

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Wine events

From page 7

ning to go around the San Francisco Bay with great food and wine,” he said.

The Hornblower’s Chef de Cuisine, Willie Fuentes, will oversee a four-course wine-paired dinner.

Wine experts will include Lloyd Davis of Corner 103, Mike Kobler of Kobler Estates Winery, Richard Sowalsky of Clos Pegase, and Kurt Giusti of Via Giusti Wines. Joy Sterling, partner and CEO of Iron Horse Vineyards, a gay-friendly winery, will premiere the third vintage of the Rainbow Cuvee.

“We are very excited about that.

It’s the third vintage of the Rainbow Cuvee that we will get to premiere at the event,” said Saperstein.

Kobler, 32, is a gay man who started Kobler Estates Winery with his father in 2010. He’s also excited to be a part of the inaugural Big Gay Wine Cruise and to be pouring alongside the other gay Sonoma vintners, he said.

“I think it’s going to be a blast,” said Kobler. He hopes LGBT oeno-

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Business Briefs

From page 6

been hired to work with local interior design firm Urban Chalet on the project, which is expected to maintain the Apothecarium’s current neo-Victorian look but with a contemporary twist.

“We are in the process of fleshing all that out right now,” said Hudson.

There will be a multi-purpose room as part of the design allowing for the dispensary to hold its classes on-site as well as meetings of its philanthropic board. Since opening in 2011 it has given more than $300,000 to local groups.

“By the end of the year we hope to move into the new space,” said Hudson.

The Apothecarium is also moving forward with plans for a second location in the Marina, which is also slated to be open by year’s end. And a third location in Berkeley has been proposed on Shattuck Avenue not far from the UC Berkeley campus, though the Apothecarium failed to win the support of the East Bay city’s medical cannabis commission last month. The city council is ex-

<<

Jock Talk

From page 13

ago as we just could not gain any significant support or traction from either City Hall or the sports community in general,” Craig told the Bay Area Reporter. “Doug and I held monthly meetings for about nine months trying to kick-start a bid organization, but attendance and interest only dwindled from the first meeting to the last, rather than building as we had hoped. Doug and I reached out to the mayor’s aide, to every member of the Board of Supervisors (only Scott Wiener responded positively), to Mark Leno’s office, and he was certainly supportive. We also spoke with the San Francisco Travel folks, who were supportive of the idea, but we could never get anywhere with the mayor’s office or a majority of the supervisors which we would absolutely need in order to make a go of the project.

“After about a year of trying, Doug and I decided it was simply not supported and so we discontinued the effort. I broached the subject just to re-test the waters, but I fear it may be even more difficult to find support in a post-America’s Cup and Super Bowl 50 San Francisco,” Craig added.

Sigh.

“Personally, I had expected that San Franciscans would be proud of the heritage of starting this amazing organization here, and that there would be excitement and interest in returning it for its 40th anniversary, but that does not appear to be the case,” Craig said.

philes aboard the cruise will enjoy his artesian cool climate Rhone and Burgundy varietals of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier that his winery produces.

The wines will hopefully inspire them to come visit more boutique LGBT-owned wineries in Sonoma County, he said.

Guests can get a special rate at the LGBT-friendly Kimpton’s Harbor Court Hotel, which is the official host hotel for the Big Gay Wine Cruise.t The Napa Valley Pride Ride leaves the Napa Valley Wine Train station at 1275 McKinstry Street at 6:30 p.m. Join the reception at the train station at 5 and attend the after-party at 9:30. Tickets are $195 to $270 per person. To RSVP, contact 800-4274124 or visit http://winetrain.com/ pride-ride.

The Big Gay Wine Cruise departs aboard the Hornblower at Pier 7 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person. To RSVP, visit http://www.outinthevineyard.com/ events/big-gay-train/ -TICKETS.

pected to select a fourth, and final, dispensary to operate in the city later this year.

As for the new Castro location, the Apothecarium has already rounded up support from a number of community leaders and residents. In a statement shared with the B.A.R. Jeff Bryant, a homeowner who lives directly above the proposed location, expressed his support.

“For four years the Apothecarium has been a considerate, quiet neighbor down the street. I’m glad they are filling the empty storefront in my building. I’d much rather have a quiet dispensary here than a noisy bar or restaurant,” he said.

The city’s planning commission is scheduled to vote on the Apothecarium’s relocation plans at its April 21 meeting. The dispensary is hosting a community open house at the proposed new location from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 17.t Got a tip on LGBT business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail bajko@ ebar.com.

Well, I wrote that the Gay Games were dead, or at least mostly dead, when the FGG signed its agreement with GLISA, and now they are back and looking to the future. So is there still a chance the 2022 Gay Games could bless our local shores?

“Mayor Lee’s administration has a clear record of support for attracting major events like the Gay Games to San Francisco,” Francis Tsang, a spokesman for Lee, told the B.A.R. “The mayor’s office would welcome the opportunity to learn more about a renewed prospective bid for bringing the Gay Games back to San Francisco for 2022.”

In response to the mayor’s expression of interest, Craig said that he would be willing to entertain the prospect of trying a new SF bid committee.

“But it would need the active and engaged support of many, many people from the beginning to have any chance of success,” he said.

The FGG is currently receiving inquiries from prospective bidders through April 15. After exchanges of information and questions, the FGG board of directors will cull the list of bidders to three by February 28. After an FGG committee visits and inspects each of the bidding cities and their venues, the FGG will discuss and vote on the bids at its annual meeting in October 2017 in Paris.

Interested bidders may send questions to fggbids@gaygames.net.

More information on the process is available at www.gaygames.org. To contact Craig about the San Francisco effort, email kencraigCA@ gmail.com or (415) 260-6239.t

t

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551878

In the matter of the application of: NICOLLE ELIZABETH MATTHEWS, 2125 BRYANT ST #110, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner NICOLLE ELIZABETH MATTHEWS, is requesting that the name NICOLLE ELIZABETH MATTHEWS, be changed to NICOLLE BUNNY ROSENBERG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 7th of April 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036924900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAKE IT MARIKO, 740 ANZA ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GINA MARIKO ALINEA ROSALES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/30/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/05/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036934700

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036941200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DELTA HIGH END APPLIANCE REPAIR, 2391 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BORIS BOGACHECK, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/16/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PONTIAC HOTEL, 509 MINNA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 509 MINNA STREET LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/12/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551895

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036941400

In the matter of the application of: RUO WU XU, 318 WILDE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RUO WU XU, is requesting that the name RUO WU XU, be changed to NICHOLAS R. XU. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 19th of April 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036945200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAUREN RAUCH CONSULTING, 90 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LAUREN RAUCH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/11/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/11/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CRYSTAL STINGRAY LEATHER COMPANY, 1740 BANCROFT AVE #4508, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ZHI GUANG LI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/18/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/18/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036938900

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036942200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KATY & COMPANY, 302 PRECITA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KATY STEADMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/12/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036937400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NU SWIM, 619A EUGENIA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GINA T. ESPOSITO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/25/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/12/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036922500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMORE HAIR SALON, 1690 VALENCIA ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALICIA ARICELA ORELLANA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/04/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/04/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036911400

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036937300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLACK SERUM; BRUCIUS TATTOO; 377 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRUCIUS VON XYLANDER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/16/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036948400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE MINDFUL CLEANER, 2306 MARKET ST #409, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOE R. ZAMORA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/19/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036910400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRIGHTSOURCES, 5758 GEARY BLVD #106, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EUN JIN JEON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/28/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/28/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036938300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ECO-GREEN OFFICE & IT PRODUCTS, 649 MISSION ST 5TH FLOOR, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LAI YUNG LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/28/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/28/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAIR DOKTORS, 3150 18TH ST #260, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JANAYA CASEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/12/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/12/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036894000

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036939700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HILARY CHARLOTTE PHOTOGRAPHY, 431 ASHBURY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HILARY KNIGHT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/13/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/20/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MYIGHTY, 459 FULTON ST #107, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHEAL NGUYEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/16.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036926300

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036930700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIKE’S CONCRETE PUMP, 815 MOUNT VERNON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL MAC. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/05/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/05/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLACK MAGIC USA, 400 BAKER ST #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed PETER DANZIG & JON CARR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/09/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/09/16.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036930200

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036941000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LA BELLE, 3226 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FORTRINITY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036942300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLACK SERUM, 377 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed OPUS INK, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/16/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036942500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NOODLEME, 333 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed RANDY WATSON GROUP, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/17/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036953500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HUMAN VIDEO GAME LLC, 550 15TH ST #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HUMAN VIDEO GAME LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/23/16.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036521100

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SCIENCE INK, 377 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ANGELO L.M. CADUTO. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/05/15.

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036953200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MR. NICE WHEELS. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RASIKH WAZIRALI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/23/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/23/16.

MARCH 03, 10, 17, 24, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036961700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANITA B:SPA. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ANITAFACIAL, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/26/16.

MARCH 03, 10, 17, 24, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036963100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAFE HOUSE. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed KIRKHAM STREET SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/29/16.

MARCH 03, 10, 17, 24, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551899

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BMS HOTELS, 405 PARKER AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed OM SHIV GANESH 1 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/09/16.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: R&D CLEANING SERVICES LLC, 2911 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115.

This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed R&D CLEANING SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/16/16.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/16/16.

In the matter of the application of: MICHAEL LEE WOODIN C/O GINA GEMELLO, SBN 282964, AIDS LEGAL REFERRAL PANEL, 1663 MISSION ST #500, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MICHAEL LEE WOODIN, is requesting that the name MICHAEL LEE WOODIN, be changed to MICHAEL LEE BROKAW. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested, in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 14th of April 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

FEB 18, 25, MAR 03, 10, 2016

FEB 25, MAR 03, 10, 17, 2016

MARCH 10, 17, 24, 31, 2016

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Legal Notices>> SUMMONS: FAMILY LAW, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: SANDRA BJORK RUDOLFSDOTTIR YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: KEVIN ANTHONY NASH CASE NO. D-559231

Notice: You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and petition are served on you to file a response (form FL-120) at this court and have a copy served on the petitioner.

A letter, phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), California Legal Services website (www. lawhelpca.org), or by contacting your local county bar association.

NOTICE: Restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them.

FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the clerk for a fee waiver form. The court mat order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party.

The name and address of the court are SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, CENTRAL DIVISION, FAMILY COURT, 1555 6TH AVE., SAN DIEGO, CA 92101.

The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner’s attorney, or petitioner without an attorney, is:

KEVIN ANTHONY NASH, 3875 FLORIDA ST., SAN DIEGO, CA 92104; (619) 384 - 9130.

Date: 01/27/16; Clerk, by A. THOMPSON, Deputy.

MARCH 03, 10, 17, 24, 2016 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-16-551921

In the matter of the application of: YIN FUN CHOY, 516 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YIN FUN CHOY, is requesting that the name YIN FUN CHOY, be changed to CHRISTY YIN FUN CHOY. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 28th of April 2016 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MARCH 10, 17, 24, 31, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036970100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOF COMPANY, 215 14TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRENDAN O’FLAHERTY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/02/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/02/16.

MARCH 10, 17, 24, 31, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036955700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SKALLIWAGS PET CARE, 1186 FLORIDA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GLYNIS RADELMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/24/16.

MARCH 10, 17, 24, 31, 2016 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036974400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EVENT SOLUTIONS, 118 TURK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARICHELLE S. DIZON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/04/16.

Classifieds

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

The

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036979700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NAVAJO CARE HOME, 108 BOSWORTH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed REYNALDO SALAZAR & CONCEPCION R. SALAZAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/08/16. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/08/16.

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REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS PROVISION OF AIRCRAFT SERVICING FOR AIR CARRIERS OPERATING AT SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

San Francisco International Airport has issued a Request for Qualification for Provision of Aircraft Servicing for Air Carriers Operating at SFO. Staff invites you to attend the informational conference on March 10, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. PST at San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 1, Conference Room A. The RFQ document is available online at http://www. flysfo.com/business-at-sfo/current-opportunities.

Written comments and recommendations must be submitted electronically to Diane Tong@flysfo.com no later than 3:00 p.m. PST on March 17, 2016, with submittals sent electronically by 3:00 p.m. PST on March 31, 2016.

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Prospective Proposers who are not currently registered on the BART Procurement Portal to do business with BART are required to register on the BART Procurement Portal on line at https://suppliers. bart.gov in order to obtain Solicitation Documents, updates, and any Addenda issued on-line and be added to the On-Line Planholders List for this solicitation. If a Prospective Proposer is a partnership or joint venture, such entity must register on the BART Procurement Portal with the entity’s Tax Identification Number (TIN) and download the Solicitation Documents so as to be listed as an OnLine Planholder under the entity’s name, in order for the entity to be eligible for award of this Agreement.

PROPOSERS WHO HAVE NOT REGISTERED ON BART PROCUREMENT PORTAL PRIOR TO SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL, AND DID NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS FOR THIS SOLICITATION ON LINE SO AS TO BE LISTED AS AN ON-LINE PLANHOLDER FOR THIS SOLICITATION, WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AWARD OF THIS AGREEMENT. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The meeting will convene promptly at 10:00 a.m. at the District’s Offices, at Conference Room 2100, 21st Floor at 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California 94612. At the Pre-Proposal Meeting the District’s Micro Small Business Entity (MSBE) Set-Aside will be explained.

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Dance lessons

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Vol. 45 • No. 10 • March 10-16, 2016

www.ebar.com/arts

Lights, cameras, Asian Americans!

by David Lamble

Q

ueer filmgoers checking out this year’s CAAMFest are in for a crazy-quilt menu of treats and sour dumplings. The mix includes a tribute to the Bay Area’s own H.P. Mendoza; a fictional bio of the now-toxic anti-gay Filipino boxer-politician Manny Pacquiao; and the delightful return of the Singaporean filmmaker Royston Tan, whose portrait of his island nation’s slum kids, 15, inspired my favorite B.A.R. headline: “Singapore tattooed love-boys.”

See page 24 >>

Scene from CAAMFest Spotlight Filmmaker H.P. Mendoza’s Colma: The Musical.

Courtesy CAAMFest

‘No-one knows who I am’

Clark remembers Bowie

by David-Elijah Nahmod

T

he LGBT community was particularly hard hit by the unexpected passing of musician-actor David Bowie on January 10. The 69-year-old superstar had kept his cancer battle a secret, so his loss was an out-of-left-field sucker punch to many of his fans.

by David-Elijah Nahmod

R

osie O’Donnell doesn’t think she’s famous anymore. “No one knows who you are,” the actress, talk-show host, LGBT advocate and mom was recently told by her own son.

See page 18 >> Candy Clark co-starred with David Bowie in director Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth.

See page 25 >> Rosie O’Donnell: “Be careful what you become.”

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

“EXHILARATING . . . IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST!” Photos by Kevin Berne.

—San Francisco Chronicle

ACT-SF.ORG | 415.749.2228 A.C.T.’S STRAND THEATER

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

Leading light of AIDS-era art

by Roberto Friedman

S

tone’s Throw by art historian, critic and curator David Deitcher (Secretary Press) is an appreciation of the work of the gay late-20th-century artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, who died 20 years ago of AIDS complications.

Deitcher had an intimate friendship with him, and as well with activist-curator Bill Olander, and dedicates the work to both of their memories. It’s an interesting exegesis of Gonzalez-Torres’ art, with plenty of illustrative plates. The artist took the tropes and forms of Minimalism and Conceptualism and infused them with meaning, emotion and resonance.

The best examples of GonzalezTorres’ artistic genius are in works like “Untitled (Leaves of Grass)” (1993), a string of light bulbs hanging from a gallery ceiling on an extension cord. Vertical, simple, minimal, it still has stunning impact in installation. In works like “Untitled (Rossmore II)” (1991), a pool of sugary candies, each individually wrapped in cellophane, is placed on the gallery floor against a wall. Viewers are encouraged to take one; in fact, the stipulation “endless supply”

is explicit in the work’s materials list. All sorts of associations come into play; and any resulting trash is very much part of the artist’s intentions.

“Consistent with their status as poetic embodiments for the cycle of life, it makes sense that such works would in this way reflect organic deterioration,” Deitcher writes, “which is rarely tidy and almost never pretty.

The cast-off wrappers serve as abject reminders of such unavoidable facts of biological life. Whenever I remove and eat a candy from one of Felix’s sculptures, I will toss the wrapper onto its host to advance this decidedly tough and fear-inducing trope.”

Deitcher makes the point that “the horrors of the North American AIDS crisis arguably compelled the emotional engagement that distinguished Minimalist- and Conceptualist-informed art of the 80s and early 90s from its antecedents; clinched its importance in the context of lives traumatized by loss and institutionalized neglect and hostility.” Though he concentrates on the oeuvre of Gonzalez-Torres, he also

TP Cresswell

Simon Dobson will have two commissioned works and two US premieres in an upcoming Curious Flights program.

brings in the work of other gay and transgressive artists and collectives of the era, including Jim Hodges, Nayland Blake, Tony Feher, Roni Horn, Group Material, ACT UP, and the NAMES Project. This book-length essay is an important addition to the critical study of art and culture of the AIDS era.

The book’s annotations, on pages facing the main text, are frequently as interesting as the main essay, from the very first one, which explains the phrase “suckable hands” in a postcard the artist wrote: “Some

queer activists voiced disappointment at the absence from the film [Jonathan Demme’s 1993 Philadelphia] of a passionate kiss between Andrew (Tom Hanks) and his lover Miguel (Antonio Banderas). Felix was adamant that no face-to-face kiss could have been sexier than the scene, near the end of the film, when Andrew sucks on Miguel’s fingers.”

Yum, agreed!

Adventurous music

Curious Flights will continue its 2016 season on Sat., March 19,

<<

David Bowie played an otherworldly creature in director Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth.

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER PRESENTS

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MAR 4–APR 3, 2016 BUY TICKETS AT NCTCSF.ORG BOX OFFICE: 415. 861. 8972 25 VAN NESS AVE AT MARKET ST

Candy Clark

From page 17

Bowie skyrocketed to fame during the 1970s. He was perhaps the first gender-bending performer to achieve mainstream pop success. He might also have been the first celebrity to publicly come out as bisexual, which he did in a 1976 Playboy magazine interview. Bowie became as well-known for his glam-rock persona as he did for his music. He was forever cemented as a gay icon when he appeared in drag as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

On Saturday, March 12, local impresario Marc Huestis will screen The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Nicolas Roeg’s surreal science fiction drama in which Bowie made his film debut. Candy Clark, fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance in the classic film American Graffiti, co-starred with Bowie. She’ll appear at the Castro Theatre to share her very personal memories of Bowie as part of Huestis’ tribute to the rock star. The tribute begins at 6:30 p.m.

This gala event will be a return to the Castro for the semi-retired Huestis, who hosted classic film screenings, with stars in attendance, for 20 years. Huestis tells the B.A.R. that he had been thinking about producing smaller events when Bowie’s unexpected passing made him realize that he needed to pay homage to his idol. Huestis admits that at first he was hesitant to go through with the idea. Facebook chatter caused him to question his own intentions.

“Almost magically, Candy Clark called me the next day and gave me this fabulous pep talk about the importance of paying tribute to David Bowie,” Huestis said. “For that I am forever grateful.”

Clark generously spoke to the B.A.R. as she prepared for her trip to San Francisco. “His skin was so luminescent,” she recalled of her costar. “When he’s on screen it’s difficult to look away, because he’s so stunningly gorgeous.”

Though she and Bowie never socialized, Clark recalled that she was able to get fairly close to him as film-

t

8 p.m. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with Transatlantic Crossings, a program of new works

by U.S. and U.K. composers including three world premiere commissions, two U.S. premieres and a week-long residency by two-time British Composer Award winner Simon Dobson.

The performance is a showcase for talent here in the Bay Area (composers Mason Bates and Samuel Adams) as well as for Dobson, the group’s talented resident composer, who is something of a hot commodity back in the U.K. (London Philharmonic commission, two British Composer Awards, joining the likes of Thomas Ades and Kaija Saariaho). Transatlantic Crossings will offer the world premiere of a Curious Flights-commissioned work for clarinet and electronics performed by clarinetist and Artistic Director Brenden Guy, and the U.S. premieres of Crystal for eight trumpets and Another World’s Hell featuring the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.

There’s a distinct “cool” factor running through the program with all of these composers blurring the lines between musical genres, which holds appeal for those looking for a slightly more alternative classical experience. Tickets ($20) are at brownpapertickets.com or at the door. For more information, visit curiousflights.com.t ing progressed. “I only knew him in a working situation,” she said.

“We didn’t have many dinners – he had his entourage, and he went off with them. But we worked together very closely. We always stayed a step ahead, we were always working on the next day’s lines.”

Clark recalled Bowie as both a hard worker and a voracious reader. “He came with a trunkload of books,” she recalled. “He was always friendly and on time. I have no negative memories of him.”

Apparently Clark made an impression on Bowie. “A year later, at Christmas, he came to my house in a limo,” she said. “He gave me a rhinestone – he was really sweet. It was good to see him.”

She also acknowledged Bowie’s contribution to culture, noting his androgynous appearance and his gender-fluid persona. “Back then this could have ruined your career, but he made it his career,” she said. “Was he a boy? A girl? He was from another planet – he was cutting-edge.”

These days Clark lives what she calls “a pleasant life. My life is very good,” she said. “I have no complaints. I’m going to be in the new Twin Peaks, but I’ve never been one to wait for the phone to ring. I love acting, but I love other things: gardening, antiquing, reading. I have a free-form life, and that’s what I like.”

When Candy Clark comes to the Castro, she’ll be joined by local icons Veronica Klaus and Tammy Hall, with a special performance

by D’Arcy Drollinger’s Sextitude Dancers. There will also be a fashion show. Come dressed as your favorite Bowie character. Clark will be available for a meet-and-greet, and The Man Who Fell to Earth will screen on the giant Castro screen.

There will also be an afterparty at the Oasis, separate admission required. It all begins on Sat., March 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., SF.t Tickets ($27.50-$37.50; $47.50 VIP tickets are sold out): ticketfly.com/ event/1061837-man-who-fell-earthsan-francisco

ebar.com

t

Theatre>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Letting their ‘Hair’ down

by Richard Dodds

T

here is an aggressive, at times militaristic tone that wafts through the current production of Hair at the Victoria Theatre.

A quartet of marching-style bass drums is periodically wheeled onstage for cast members to pound accompaniment, or to hit the sides of the drums, creating sounds akin to snapping whips. It’s an odd choice for a musical that opens with a celebration of “The Age of Aquarius.”

While some of the musical staging has a do-your-own-thing looseness, other moments have the cast in confrontational moves aimed at the audience. Perhaps this is all part of director Jon Tracy’s vision for the show, a harsher Hair for a harsher world.

After all, when Hair first debuted on Broadway in 1968, it seemed the difference between worldwide peace or war was all focused on Vietnam.

Memories of the musical, more likely sustained by its songs than any first-hand encounters of the original production, are probably rooted in a tie-dyed land of free-spirited hippies spreading the gospel of love.

At times, Hair can almost seem like a jukebox musical, as familiar tunes regularly arrive before much of a plot has kicked in. When a

Ben Krantz

Jeffrey Brian Adams leads the company of Hair in a rousing rendition of “I Got Life” at the Victoria Theatre.

Broadway revival was tried in 1977, it was a quick flop, and the 1979 movie version didn’t seem to know what it wanted to evoke. Other than the sanitized version offered up to high schools, Hair seemed little more than a dated parody about freaky hippies and their drug-fueled rebellion. But along came director Diane Paulus, with perhaps enough distance from the flower-powered past, and she recaptured what Hair is all about in a hit Broadway revival and a subsequent tour that played

San Francisco in 2011.

Hair is the second production from the newly formed Bay Area Musicals, which made its debut last fall with a shaky staging of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. This production of Hair has a stylistic unity that its predecessor lacked, even though that style misses many opportunities that need to be carefully mined. In the Paulus production, she was able to clarify the spotty plot, putting emphases on specific relationships among the

tribe, and to acknowledge that the creators of the show, lyricist-librettists James Rado and Gerome Ragni and composer Galt MacDermot, were both celebrating and poking fun at their subjects while moving toward a bittersweet conclusion.

The production at the Victoria runs roughshod over most of the subtleties, and that also depletes the power of the songs by reducing their contexts. Add in a four-piece band producing a surprisingly thin sound, and the audience at a recent perfor-

mance often didn’t know when a song was over, creating moments of silence before realizing it was time to applaud. Clumsy amplification further hurts matters, with vocals emerging from speakers on opposite sides of the stage. In many scenes where there are groups, it can require scanning the stage to see whose lips are moving to create a sync with what is coming out of the faraway speakers.

Among the cast, there is a missing warmth and commitment to the material that should be its cornerstone. While good buddies Berger and Claude are the leading characters, with Berger more spontaneously rambunctious than the conflicted Claude, Jepoy Ramos’ performance as Berger can fade into the background. But Jeffrey Brian Adams does provide depth in a strong performance as Claude, who is torn between dodging the draft or facing a likely deployment to Vietnam. When Adams sings “I Got Life” midway through the first act, the production finally shows some signs of exuberant life. Unfortunately, that moment is short-lived.t Hair will run at the Victoria Theatre through March 12. Tickets are $35-$60. Call (415) 340-2207 or go to bamsf.org.

Straight outa the Catskills

Matthew Murphy

Christopher Tierney and Jenny Winton try to teach Rachel Boone the mambo in a scene from the stage version of Dirty Dancing now at the Golden Gate Theatre.

by Richard Dodds

P Australian football attire looks very different from the American kind.

Aussie playbook

by Ernie Alderete

Aussie Rules, OK: A Dictionary of Australian Rules Football,

by Sean Coway, illustrations by Ron Seddon; Sky Publishing. ustralian football is played only in Australia and the tiny, eight-square-mile Pacific island of Nauru. But I like it better than our far more widespread and lucrative American football.

Aussies don’t wear those nasty helmets with face guards and all that thick padding. They just wear skimpy shorts and sleeveless T-shirts, revealing so much more skin to admire.

Aussies are also very much more intimate with each other physically. It is typical for one teammate to jump onto the shoulders of a mate to catch a pass. It’s more like playing

A

schoolyard leapfrog than playing what we recognize as traditional tackle football.

Some of the players, such as Shaun Hampson, look more like high-fashion models than what we think of as tough, hypermacho football players.

The exact origin of this local variant of football is unknown.

Many scholars believe that American soldiers left a gym locker full of footballs behind when American forces under General Douglas MacArthur evacuated Down Under at the close of World War II. Since Aussies had never played the Stateside game, they invented a game in which to use the odd, pointed pigskin balls, combining elements from their more familiar rugby and cricket with beach volleyball attire, creating the first uniquely Aussie sport.t

apa loves mambo. Mama loves mambo. Baby loves – well, it isn’t the mambo.

If you’ve seen Dirty Dancing, you know that the 16-year-old girl whose family calls her Baby is beginning to take baby steps to the wrong side of the tracks. That is, before she starts taking big-girl steps.

(Never mind that her stepping-out partner would be guilty of statutory rape under New York law in 1963.)

A freeze-dried stage replica of the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing is now at the Golden Gate Theatre, and it is, oddly, not really a musical version of the movie at all. No songs have been assigned to the characters, many are old recordings played as incidental accompaniment, and the occasional live sounds emanate from what believably could be the house band at a summer resort in the Catskills. One song that absolutely, positively must be performed live – “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life” – is sung by two nameless characters at microphones on either side of the stage. Another is “We Shall Overcome.” (Don’t ask.)

The stage show was adapted by Eleanor Bergstein from her screenplay, and it is faithful to a fault.

Dialogue that may have seemed like commonplace chatter in a two-shot on screen becomes hokum when

it must be brayed to the back rows of the theater. But most of us aren’t there for the talk. It’s the pubescent fantasy of a plainish-Jane (Rachel Boone) who scores with the resort’s eye-candy dancer for hire, and, since “dancing” is in the title, there are expectations of hire-powered routines to blow the roof off the theater.

But more often than not, the recurring dance numbers are mambo lessons that are one of the resort’s activities. The dancers are meant to be comically awkward, but then they must transform into the hot and sultry dirty dancers at a staff-only gathering that Baby infiltrates. Other than Christopher Tierney as Johnny Castle, the Patrick Swayze role, and Jenny Winton as his slinky dance partner, the dancers don’t seem to be all that good. It’s hard to tell, for they are bathed in murky red lighting and perform in front of a large video screen on which a montage of some other dancers performing unrelated dance steps towers over them.

One might even think it’s a purposeful distraction.

The Classic Story on Stage, as it is subtitled, was born in Australia in 2004, then moved to London in 2006, where it ran for five years. A tour of North America then began, with Broadway as its expected destination, but that has yet to materialize. That’s likely a smart move, for the show has been doing good business on the road,

and the chances of a tepid Broadway response could hurt the brand.

Nostalgic goodwill, not a response that Broadway critics are known for, is what keeps the touring show afloat. The performances range from reasonable to ridiculous, James Powell’s direction is dutiful, and Michele Lynch’s choreography unfocused.

The sets mainly consist of tables and chairs and door frames around which scenery is projected. But score one for video designer Jon Driscoll, who at least has a sense of humor about the overreliance on video scenery. When Johnny and Baby head into a lake to practice the big lift for an upcoming dance showcase, they somehow can dunk into the projected water and reappear pushing back their supposedly wet hair.

And then there’s the actual big lift at the dance performance, a thrilling moment in the movie in which editing made it look longer and higher than it could actually be. But there’s no trickery on stage, and the big lift is woefully unclimactic. Still the audience cheers, with its ability to project its own VHS memories on what is actually happening on the stage.t Dirty Dancing will run at the Golden Gate Theatre through March 30. Tickets are $45-$212. Call (888) 746-1799 or go to shnsf.com.

<< Fine Art

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

Wonderful worlds of 17th-century China

by Sura Wood

T

he Asian Art Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and in honor of the occasion it’s rolling out a series of exhibitions this spring, capped by Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, a major prestige venture – and something of a coup – that arrives in mid-June.

A trio of concurrent smaller shows has already opened in the last two weeks: Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts, an intellectually challenging exhibition that focuses on a writer, a painter and a patron, in India, Iran and Turkey, respectively, and how the roles they played and the connections they made helped foster their culture’s enduring art; and Hidden Gold: Mining its Meaning in Asian Art, which itself mines the museum’s permanent collection to illustrate gold’s material value and its importance as a symbol of status and immortality. Last but certainly not least is China at the Center, a showcase for two extraordinary 400-year-old 17th-century woodblock printed maps created by Jesuits: Matteo Ricci’s monumental, six-panel Complete Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the World from 1602, one of six surviving copies and the oldest to show the Americas; and the somewhat larger Complete Map of the World of 1674, created by Ferdinand Verbiest.

The historical exhibition is amazing not for its size, the grandeur or beauty of its objects, or even the documents themselves, but because of the incredible story it has to tell, and its revelation of the cosmological view and scientific theories of

Courtesy Asian Art Museum

A Complete Map of the World (1674) (detail) by Ferdinand Verbiest (Flemish, 1623-88). Beijing, China. Ink on paper. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

the planet’s surface held by learned men of four centuries ago. 21stcentury armchair travelers yearning to vicariously voyage to parts unknown, and back in time, can enter the 17th-century imagination, as remote as a distant galaxy, and discover how the world was perceived – they believed there were two hemispheres and more water than land – and explore realms beyond which “there be dragons.” Digital interactive touch screens, with translations and summaries of the ubiquitous Chinese annotations, enhance the experience. Think of it as the most exciting geography class you’ll ever have.

Fascinating artifacts in their own

right, the maps represent a remarkable collaboration between unlikely participants: European Jesuit missionaries, who initially learned of China through Marco Polo’s accounts of the 1200s, and hoped but ultimately failed to disseminate Christianity there; and Chinese scholars of the Ming and Qing Dynasty courts, who considered their civilization superior and regarded outsiders as barbarians, though they had a keen interest in European science, particularly astronomy.

Strange bedfellows advancing their own agendas, these curious, relatively open-minded men of their day put together empirical information gathered from travelers, trad-

ers and merchants, and relied on existing European atlases filled with maps and detailed descriptions, like Abraham Ortelius’ Theater of the World (1570). The illustrated encyclopedic volume, considered the first modern atlas, had been around for 30 years prior to the making of these maps; it’s on view in a case at the center of the gallery. The disparate sources yielded an amalgamation of astonishing facts, educated speculation, outright guesses and outlandish fantasies, of the kind our own civilization has trafficked in about Mars and the Moon. They knew of great rivers in Africa (the Nile) and Egypt, the Florida peninsula, and surprisingly, of California, which they envisioned as an island that was inhabited by Amazonian women in feathers who wielded gold implements and snacked on the occasional man unlucky enough to cross their path. Both maps are covered with copious annotations; the Chinese had a mania for notes and dense commentary, from place names, regional products, geographic and astronomical information to real and imagined tribes and their customs. Giants, mermaids and other mythical creatures of legend are also referenced.

Ricci, an Italian priest, boarded Portuguese ships and made the twoand-a-half-year trip to Mainland China, arriving in 1583. He spoke the language, and as the most influential Jesuit in the country, was the first European allowed into the Forbidden City.

His map, which incorporates Chinese knowledge of Asia and the Jesuits’ fluency in the sciences, shows a massive fabricated continent of Magellanica (named for

t

the Portuguese explorer) in the Southern Hemisphere, whose presence was believed essential to balancing the weight of landmasses in the North. In Ricci’s configuration, the Americas are on the right, with Eurasia and Africa on the left, making China and the Pacific Ocean (instead of the Atlantic) the center.

The map also designates a “fringe of fantasy” occupied by peoples on the periphery of the known world.

Landing in China in 1659, 76 years after Ricci, Verbiest, a Flemish Jesuit, was an accomplished astronomer, mathematician and inventor who tutored the Kangxi emperor. Following his rebuilding of the Imperial Observatory, he created the colossal map that bears his name. Displayed in a slanted case that dominates the length of an entire wall, the configuration of the continents is similar to Ricci’s, with the prime meridian running through Beijing. It’s notable for its depictions of exotic animals on or near the mammoth Southern landmass where turkeys, rhinos, giraffes, unicorns, mythical sea creatures and large birds whose stomach temperature ran so hot it could “melt pig iron” roamed. Descriptions of the menagerie conflate the factual and the fabulous. For example, the venom of an Italian spider called the tarantula is said to have driven victims of its sting insane, and the afflicted had to be treated every year thereafter with “music that brought them joy.”

Talk about having history at one’s fingertips; this show makes that concept real.t Through May 8 at the Asian Art Museum.

Mexican double dwarf murder

Leisure Time Features

Scene from director Arturo Ripstein’s Bleak Street.

Leisure Time Features

Scene from director Arturo Ripstein’s Bleak Street.

by Erin Blackwell

T

here was an informative piece in the February 28 edition of the Daily Mail Online about dwarfism in humans. A 33-year-old Australian mother of one, Journee Casabuena, was quoted complaining about cluelessness in non-dwarves and “her fight for a better future for her son.” Twelve color photographs accompany the article, which also contains words. The young mother warns against the use of the term midget, which she says “was used in the circus-freak era. So when you call us a midget you are saying, ‘You’re a freak.’” Well, freaks, if you want to watch some midgets, Bleak Street opens at the Opera Plaza this

Friday, March 11.

On June 29, 2009, the unbreathing bodies of twin dwarf brothers were found lying side-by-side naked in a cheap hotel room not far from the Arena Mexico, where they were known to wrestling fans as La Parkita (Little Death) and Espectrito (Little Ghost). Obsessive professionals, they never removed their scary Mexican wrestling masks. At least not when anybody else was around. Picture the scene. There was no violence, only eternal rest.

They were 35 years old, in prime condition. They had been administered prescription eye-drops in their victory drinks after a big match.

Now Alberto and Alejandro Jimenez are resurrected cinéma vé-

rité style via the realistically twisted imagination of Mexican director Arturo Ripstein. No color, only startling black-and-white tableaux, composed and shot by director of photography Alejandro Cantu as if to illustrate the word “haunting.”

The takes are long, longer, longest.

The pace is like breathing. A requiem with a gleam in its eye. There’s only one way this movie is going to go: downhill for all concerned, and we might as well enjoy the ride. The monochrome picks out every sad, sordid visual detail of life in the gritty underworld where uncanny monsters have pride of place, even as the screenplay by Paz Alicia Garciadiego wavers between lament and farce.

The tale of the tragic twins is forever joined to that of their hapless murderers. We spend a lot of time watching two old hookers trying to catch a break in a series of sparely furnished rooms, brickpaved streets, seedy staircases. Poverty hasn’t looked this good since the heyday of the post-war Italian Neorealists. Objects are carefully selected and placed, no clutter, in natural light when possible. The two anti-heroines, Adela and Dora, are the unlikeliest successors to Thelma and Louise, or Lucy and Ethel, unthinkable in a Hollywood film. Ravaged beauty, shameless confidence trickery, the art of survival.

Reviewers haven’t been kind to Bleak Street, and why should they?

The movie, for all its drop-dead art direction, attention to grim, grimy, grotesque detail, and inherent can’tlook-away appeal, is a bit too much like real life to appeal to minds saturated with quick-cut shoot-em-ups, crash-em-ups, and blow-em-ups.

Even the dwarves, with all their built-in circus-freak potential, are imbued with the dignity of their profession. We are forced to contemplate them as an integral part of the human puzzle. Their mother is far weirder than they are, but her weirdness fits right in with theirs, and they all end up looking normal.

Journee Casabuena will not, however, be happy with the subtitling, which is littered with “midget this” and “midget that” when the spoken Spanish could go either way. And she might not consider the subject matter uplifting. Why do the brothers choose to spend their hard-won money on whores as old as their mother? Why do they decide to double-down in a single hotel room? As in the ring, so in bed. Judging by early shots of the diminutive duo throwing each other down with ease and abandon in the arena, their last night in the arms of their mothers-for-hire must have been something big.t

t

Film>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Dollar days

I am the future of the LGBT community.

I’m 26 and transitioning.

Kino Lorber

Scene from writer-director Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart.

by David Lamble

I

n Mountains May Depart, opening Friday at the Roxie and Four Star Theaters in San Francisco, Chinese director Jia Zhangke sets out to entertain with three episodes.

They span 26 years and feature two persistent suitors both chasing after their small town’s top beauty.

Liangzi (Liang Jin Dong), a coal miner, and Zhang Jinsheng (Zhang Yi), owner of a small gasoline station, get into verbal and physical fisticuffs over the affections of Tao (Zhao Tao), a flighty flirt who cleverly plays her panting suitors off against each other.

Winner of the Golden Coach prize at Cannes, Mountains May Depart is mostly entertaining, although sometimes too deliberately paced, from a hip, youngish (born 1970) filmmaker who has his prickly government’s blessing to explore why ambitious Chinese workers may leave their homeland’s currently sputtering economy for First World riches, in this case in Melbourne, Australia.

Director Jia launches his story, with its parallels to Francois Truffaut’s two-guys-and-a-girl masterpiece Jules and Jim, with a sprightly dance number from the British duo Pet Shop Boys, their remake of the Village People tune “Go West”: “Together, we will go our way/Together, we will leave someday./Together, your hand in my hands,/Together, we will make our plans.” The film then meanders across three periods: China, 1999 and 2014; and Australia, 2025, where Tao’s now-grown son, dubbed Dollar by his ambitious dad, is losing touch with his Chinese roots, although not with Dad’s furious libido. There is an early scene where Dollar as a small boy asks his mother why they are leaving on the slow local train, only to be told to take the time to drink in the sights of his native land. By film’s end, it will be less than a memory to the boy as he reaches adulthood as an Australian citizen.

Jia has notched top prizes for

earlier features: Venice’s Golden Lion for the 2006 drama Still Life, and Cannes’ Best Screenplay award for 2013’s A Touch of Sin. He has learned well the tricks of wooing an American art-house crowd, with stories that remind one of Europe’s avant-garde from the 1950s and 60s, the kind of films savored with cups of espresso and tasty French pastries. The future-tense third act, where Dollar woos his middle-aged Chinese Studies teacher, is an effective payoff for what at times feels like an interminable setup. One of the impressions that writer-director Jia leaves is the forlorn shabbiness of rural Chinese life, a dramatic example of the reasons for the huge Chinese diaspora, fueled both by the lure of Western consumer riches and the ineffable draw of freedom.

In one exciting third-act scene, Dad and Dollar argue over the elusive definition of this “F-word,” Dad noting that Chinese authorities would never permit him his growing American-style gun collection.

Dollar retorts that he has his own ideas about freedom – the freedom to make his own choices without the old man butting in. LGBT audiences will appreciate the final 40 minutes largely given over to the slim, sexy 19-year-old Dollar (Dong Zijian) flirting with his adult studies teacher (veteran Sylvia Chang).

Mountains May Depart, with its poetic title and global outlook, comes at an apt moment, when xenophobic Trump-led forces are preaching for a walled-off fortress America. Jia, whose previous films have combined fiction and doc techniques, here delivers a 131-minute lyric plea for inviting a global community in, to solve dilemmas that know no borders. In lesser hands, the film could remind one of cliches promoting a global economy, like those commercials “I’d like to give the world a Coke.” But this world-class filmmaker is fully aware of the stakes on our shrinking, ever-warmer planet. (In Cantonese, Mandarin and English, with English subtitles.)t

BESTIES The 2016 LGBT Best of the Bay

Join the Bay Area Reporter, America’s longest continuouslypublished and highest circulation LGBT newspaper as we celebrate not only our historic 45th Anniversary, but also the winners of our 2016 readers’ poll. Join us for an evening of entertainment, cocktails & community, 21+

RSVP: www.ebar.com/besties2016

I have a lot going on - I don’t need to be mocked, misgendered, or marginalized, and I don’t have time to hunt out news that matters to me.

That’s why I read EDGE on my Android tablet.

I’m being true to my future - and that’s where it will be.

The person depicted here is a model. Their image is being used for illustrative purposes only.

<< Out&About

O&A

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

Fri 11

Hotel Burlesque @ Exit Theatre

Dirty Dancing @ Golden Gate Theatre The touring company of the musical based on the hit ‘80s dance movie. $65-$212. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru March 20. 1 Taylor St. www.shnsf.com

Feminists to Feministas @ GLBT History Museum

Soaked

by Jim Provenzano

A

veritable flood of talent awaits you in theatres, galleries, music halls and libraries, so shake off those drips of doubt. There’s never an art drought in the Bay Area, with even more in BARtab’s nightlife listings.

Feminists to Feministas : Women of Color in Prints and Posters, a new exhibit of illustrations depicting LBT women of color from the 1970s to today. $5. Thru July 4. Reg, hours Mon, Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm5pm. 4127 18th St. glbthistory.org

Hotel Burlesque @ Exit Theatre

Thu 10 Angels in America: Perestroika @ Town Hall Theatre, Lafayette Tony Kushner’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning epic AIDS drama (Part II) gets an East Bay staging; in repertory with staged readings of Part I. $20-$32. Fri-Sun 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Thru March 17. 3535 School St., Lafayette. www.townhalltheatre.com

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company @ YBCA West Coast premiere of Analogy/ Dora: Tramontane, Jones’ new dance-theatre work explores the story of his French-Jewish mother-inlaw’s survival during World War II. $ Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Mar. 13.

Yerba Buena Center for the arts, 700 Howard St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

CAAMfest @ Various Cinemas The annual asian American Film Festival includes several LGBT short and feature films, plus panels, food events and more. Thru March 20. www.caamfest.com/2016/

Dazié Grego-Sykes @ SF Public Library

The New Mutants @ Modern Times Bookstore Ramzi Fawaz discusses the queer theory correlations in new sicence fiction and comics culture in his book The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Comics. 7pm. 2919 24th St. 282-9246. www.mtbs.com

Night Vision, Silence @ Z Below Word for Word, the company that performs great short fiction, takes on Emma Donaghue and Colm Tóibín stories. $20-$55. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Thru April 3. 470 Florida St. (866) 811-4111. www.zspace.org

Nikolai Lugansky, SF Symphony @ Davies Hall The amazing pianist performs –with the Symphony– music by Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Fauré and Stravinsky. $15-$162. 10am open rehearsal, 8pm concert. Also Mar. 11 & 12 8pm, Mar. 13, 2pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. www.sfsymphony.org

The Realistic Joneses @ Geary Theater

Reading and discussion with the performer’s I Am a Man, his work about being gay and Black. 6pm.

James C. Hormel G&L Center, 3rd floor, 100 Larkin st. www.sfpl.org

American Conservatory Theatre’s production of Will Eno’s Broadway hit comedy about neighbors whose language collapses as they struggle to know each other. $25-$105. Special nights thru the run. Thru April 3. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

Judith Butler, Ken Corbett @ Books Inc.

Swimmers @ Marin Theatre Company

The author of Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly in discussion with Ken Corbett, author of A Murder Over a Girl: Justice, Gender, Junior High. 7pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

The Last Decade in Transgender Activism @ GLBT History Museum Talk and book launch for the new edition of Julia Serano’s Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. $5. 7pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Mighty Real @ Brava Theatre The popular Sylvester musical, starring Anthony Wayne, returns, with new sets, songs and costumes; special benefit nights for various local nonprofits. $35-$100. Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sun 2pm. Thru March 13. 8pm. 2781 24th St. www.brava.org www.fabuloussylvester.com

New & Classic Films @ Castro Theatre Mar. 10: CAAMFest opening night film Tyrus (7pm). Mar. 11: Midnightes for Maniacs presents This Is Spinal Tap (7:30) and the bizarrely entertaining Stunt Rock (9:15). Mar. 12: The Man Who Fell to Earth, a special David Bowie tribute night with costar Candy Clark interviewed. $25-$45. 6:30pm.

Mar. 13: Hitchcock films To Catch a Thief (1:30, 7pm), I Confess (3:30, 9pm) and the documentary Hitchcock/ Truffaut (5:20). Mar. 14 & 15: Oscar winner The Revenant (6pm, 9pm).

Mar. 17: Dr. No (2:35, 7pm) and From Russia With Love (4:45, 9:05). $11$16. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

World premiere of Rachel Bonds’ contemporary play about the strange oddities of modern life. $10-$58.

Tue-Sun 7:30pm. Also some matinees.

Thru March 27. 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. www.marintheatre.org

The Unfortunates @ Strand Theatre The amazing must-see darkly comic blues-gospel-hip hop musical tells of Big Joe, a tough-talking soldier cursed with giant hands, who must face his dead friends and battle a plague in the Underworld. $35-$95. Tue-Sat 7:30pm. Wed, Sat Sun 2pm. Thru April 10. 1127 Market St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Wicked @ Orpheum Theatre Stephen Schwartz’ mega-hit Tonywinning musical based on the novel about the ‘other story’ of Oz and the witches Glinda and Elphaba returns. $80-$238. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 7:30pm. Thru April 16.

1192 Market St. www.wickedthemusical.com www.shnsf.com

Fri 11 Aubergine @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre Tony Taccone directs Julia Cho’s acclaimed drama about an estranged Asian family. $48-$89. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sun 2pm.

Thru March 20. 2025 Addison St. (510) 647–2949. berkeleyrep.org

Cypress String Quartet @ Herbst Theatre The acclaimed ensemble performs the world premiere of Dan Colemans’ String Quartet No. 3, and two Beethoven string quartets that inspired his work. $35-$45. 8pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. cypressquartet.com

Red Velvet and Amanda Ortmayer’s new play about unlikely characters banding together to solve a murder mystery, before they too become ghosts. $15-$25. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru April 2. 156 Eddy St. www.theexit.org

Infusion Baroque @ Various Venues The all-women Baroque quartet performs a series of Bay Area concerts. $34-$40. Mar. 11, 8pm at First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St. Mar. 12, 7:30pm at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. Mar. 13, 4pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell St., SF. www.sfems.org

Macbeth @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Sutton Foster @ Nourse Theatre

Sat 12 David Bowie Tribute @ Castro Theatre Marc Huestis presents a screening of The Man Who Fell to Earth, an interview with David Bowie’s costar Candy Clark (by SF Chronicle’s Tony Bravo, plus sing-alongs and performance by Fauxnique, Veronica Klaus and Tammy Hall, D’Arcy Drollinger’s Sexitude dancers, Kitten on the Keys, a fashion show with Juanita More!, Kenshi Westover and Jordan L’Moore. Costumes encouraged. $20$47.50 (VIP includes recaption and priorty seating). 6:30pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Drag Queen Story Hour @ Eureka Valley Library Honey Mahogany hosts the fab reading series, with kids’ books, face-painting and more. 12pm. 1 Jose Sarria Court. www.sfpl.org

Hidden Gold @ Asian Art Museum Hidden Gold : Mining its Meaning in Asian Art, thru May 8. Also, China at the Center: Rare Ricci and Verbiest World Maps; Extracted: a Trilogy of Ranu Mukherjee (thru Aug. 14); Chinese Laquerware (thru July 31); Elephants Without Number (thru June 26), and more. Free-$25. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. 581-3500. www.asianart.org

“The Scottish play,” Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about a murderous royal couple, stars Conleth Hill and Frances McDormand. $45-$145. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru April 10. Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St. berkeleyrep.org

Mothers and Sons @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Regional premiere of Tony-winning gay playwright Terence McNally’s about the mother of a deceased gay man who visits his surviving partner, who now has a family. $25-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm.

Sun 2pm. thru April 3. 25 Van Ness Ave, lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Risk Is This @ Cutting Ball Theatre Experimental plays festival returns, with original unusual stage works. $20- $50 full pass. Fri & Sat thru March 26. 277 Taylor St. 525-1205. www.cuttingball.com

Shotgun Blast Festival @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Variety of plays, drag shows, dance, theatre and comedy. $15-$20. Thru March. 1901 Ashby Ave. shotgunplayers.org/Online/blastival

Stop Kiss @ Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley Theatre First’s production of Diana Son’s 1998 play about a love story gone off the rails. $10-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru March 12. 1301 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 9818150. www.theatrefirst.com

Take This Hammer @ YBCA New exhibit of nearly dozen local activist-artists who work in different media. Opening party March 11, 7pm.

Thru Aug. 14. Other exhibits as well. $8-$10. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

The two-time Tony winning Broadway and cabaret singer performs favorite songs with pianist Michael Rafter. $50-$100. 3pm. 275 Hayes St. www.cityboxoffice.com

Mon 14 Perfectly Queer @ Books Inc. Tales of Perseverance and Hope, with authors Genanne Walsh ( Twister) Daphne Gottlieb ( Pretty Much Dead ), Margo Perin ( The Opposite of Hollywood ). 7pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Without Type @ SF Center for the Book Without Type: The Dynamism of Handmade Letters, an exhibit of handmade books and paper works.

Thru April 3. Mon-Sun 10am-5:30pm.

375 Rhode Island St. www.sfcb.org

Tue 15 Roman Vishniac Rediscovered @ Contemporary Jewish Museum New exhibit of photos from the prolific documenter of Jewish life in eastern Europe. Thru May 29. Opening March 17: Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution (thru July 5). Other exhibits, lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Will Durst @ The Marsh The political comic’s updated solo show, Elect to Laugh: 2016, adds topical jokes about the bizarre election season. $15-$100. Tuesdays, 8pm. Thru April 19.

1062 Valencia St. 282- themarsh.org

Mark Morris Dance Group @ Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley The globally acclaimed dance company performs Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Moderato, with 27 dancers performing to the Handel score performed by Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. $40$126. Mar. 11 & 12, 8pm. Mar. 13.

3pm. UC Berkeley campus. (510) 6429988. www.calperformances.org

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Wed 16

Fri 11

Flower & Garden Show @ San Mateo County Event Center

Mark Morris Dance Group @ Zellerbach Hall Elaine Mayson

Hair @ Victoria Theatre Bay Area Musicals performs their new production of MacDermot, Ragni and Rado’s classic 1960s musical about Vietnam-era youths, hippies, hair, peace and love. $10-$20. Thru March 12. 2961 16th St. www.bamsf.org

Second Time Around @ The Marsh Charlie Varon and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud perform Varon’s story-theatre work about seeking human connection in a high tech world. $35-$45. Sat. 8:30pm Sun 2pm. Thru April 17. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Totem and Taboo @ Berkeley City Club Central Works’ production of David Weisberg’s wacky comedy about a pill-popping stay-at-home husband, whose hallucinations include The Honeymooners as cannibals. $15-$30.

Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru March 20. 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. (510) 558-1381. www.centralworks.org

Will Bernard, Beth Custer @ Red Poppy Art House Concert of chamber jazz duets by the local musicians. $20-$25. 7:30pm. 2698 Folsom St. www.redpoppyarthouse.org

Sun 13 Gears Turning Poetry @ Modern Times Bookstore Rain Gomez, Cesar Love, Jaez Churchill and Richard Michael Levine read their new works; hosted by Kim Shuck. 4pm. 2919 24th St. 282-9246. www.mtbs.com

Talking Heads @ Royce Gallery

SF Hiking Club @ Briones Regional Park

Spare Stage presents performaance of the award-winning British gay playwright Alan Bennett’s monologues. $5-$25. Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 4pm. Thru March 27. 2901 Mariposa St. www.sparestage.com

Join GLBT hikers for a seven-mile hike at Briones Regional Park in the East Bay; explore various valleys and ridges and enjoy great views. Carpool meets 9:00 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 596-1304. www.sfhiking.com

Large annual exhibit with hundreds of designed home and garden displays, 100s fo demos, thousands of plants and special events. $17-$22. 10am-7pm.

Thru Mar. 20. 1346 Saratoga Drive, San Mateo. www.sfgardenshow.com

Peter Frampton @ Herbst Theatre The former mega-rock star performs a rare acoustic set of his new and classic songs. $69-$125. 7:30pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. sfwmpac.org/herbst-theatre

Smack Dab @ Strut Poet Avery Cassell (Behrouz Gets Lucky) and musician Storm Miguel Florez headline the queer-friendly open mic reading and performance series, cohosted by Larry-bob Roberts and Dana Hopkins. 7:30pm sign-up. 8pm show.

470 Castro St., 2nd floor. strutsf.org

Thu 17 Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters @ The Marsh Berkeley Echo Brown’s hit solo show about desire and doubt moves to the company’s East Bay theatre. $20$100. Thu 8pm Sat 8:30pm. Thru April 23. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley.

282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Comedy Returns @ El Rio Funny people perform at the monthly show: Sherry Glaser, Abhay Nadkarni, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Judi Leff, Eve Meyer and host Lisa Geduldig. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

ODC/Dance Downtown @ YBCA New dance works by Brenda Way, KT Nelson and Okada, with commissioned scores. $25-$80. ThuSat 7:30pm. Sun 5pm. (with a festive fundraiser gala March 18 at the St. Regis March 18, 6pm). Thru March 27. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard St. www.odcdance.org www.ybca.org

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Music>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

View from the Fourth Floor

BESTIES 20 15

THE LGBT BEST OF THE BAY

WINNER - Best Wedding Photographer

Stefan Cohen/San Francisco Opera

Pianist Steven Blier and Adler Fellows Brad Walker and Edward Nelson at the Schwabacher Debut Recitals presented by San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program.

by Philip Campbell

PHOTOGRAPHY

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

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cocktail reception, guided tour and friendly show-and-tell celebrated the opening of the new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera last week. San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and young singers in the current Adler Fellows crop showed off the cutting-edge acoustics of the 299-seat Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater. Guests were treated earlier to a meet-andgreet in the public opera archives, galleries and costume shop.

Occupying the fourth floor (and basement) of the beautifully renovated Veteran’s Building, next door to the War Memorial Opera House, the Wilsey Center joins most of SFO’s operations into a single site in the booming arts district of San Francisco’s Civic Center. Davies Symphony Hall (including clubby SoundBox), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco Ballet and Opera are all within walking distance of each other.

The 33rd season of Schwabacher Debut Recitals presented by San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program got the ball rolling on the fourth floor of the Veteran’s Building late last month. A cozy early evening recital performed by New York Festival of Song’s pianist, arranger and raconteur Steven Blier, with soprano Amina Edris, baritone Edward Nelson and bass-baritone Brad Walker, filled the new performing space with patrons pleased at getting a first look. You could still smell fresh paint in the Taube Atrium Theater as the charming quartet of performers launched Ports of Call, a musical travelogue.

The miscellany of songs was all over the map. Obscure classical items, a few contemporary pieces, and popular numbers from shows mixed with generally less successful recitations of poetry. The goodnatured fun and clever wit of some of the old show tunes kept hints of condescension subdued, even when they veered close to caricature. Blier’s warmly personal narration and the bright energy of his fresh-faced singers preserved the songs’ vintage humor. Adler Fellows are selected from the renowned Merola Program. Amina Edris and Brad Walker are first-year Fellows, and Edward Nelson is a second-year participant.

Each of the trio of rising stars had lots of chances to shine.

Edris has an attractively focused tone, capably blending sophisticated sparkle with seductive darkness.

She can flirt as a saucy seductress and show simple emotion in more serious numbers. She also was clearly having a good time interacting with her masculine mates.

Brad Walker eloquently sang Anton Rubinstein’s setting of a poem based on an Azerbaijani text, and

Steven Underhill

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com 2pub-BBB_BAR_031016.pdf 1 2/23/16 3:31 PM

P. Bergerartcomart/Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

Winterreise, a multimedia collaboration between South African artist William Kentridge, German baritone Matthias Goerne and pianist Markus Hinterhäuser, coming to SF Opera Lab.

changed gears easily to lend engaging music hall archness to Noel Coward’s “Uncle Harry.” His fine “Map of the Pampas” by Guastavino was an unexpected gem.

Walker joined with Edward Nelson and Edris for a très gay (at least in Blier’s arrangement) take on the silly, happy tale of “The Kling-Kling Bird on the Divi-Divi Tree” by Cole Porter. His duet with Nelson in Hoagy Carmichael’s “Hong Kong Blues” was also entertaining.

Nelson also was given a broad range of material to work with, and he made the most of it. His first solo, Bob Telson’s haunting “Calling You” from Bagdad Café, captured the capacity crowd immediately. He was equally compelling later in the old chestnut “Song of the Indian Merchant” from Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov.

The company returned from their foreign romp with Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg’s cheery “Let’s Take a Walk Around the Block” from Life Begins at 8:40.

The program might have been better suited to the cabaret configuration of seating the Atrium is capable of, since it was really more of a salon than a traditional recital, but Blier and his young friends still created a casual and intimate atmosphere. They also ably demonstrated the (thankfully) subtle usage of the state-of-the-art Constellation acoustic system from Berkeley-based Meyer Sound. The system can customize different acoustic environments for performances, utilizing 24 widely distributed microphones and 75 small, self-powered loudspeakers hidden within the theater’s walls and ceiling. Making difficult acoustics more performer- and listenerfriendly, without resorting to oldfashioned microphones, seems to be the order of the day. As long as the results prove so discreetly effective without noticeable artificiality, I say welcome to the new world of classical show business.

2016 Schwabacher Debut Recit-

als continue with some impressive standouts from the Merola Program.

March 20: Mexican-American baritone Efraín Solís (most recently a fine Papageno in SFO’s Magic Flute) and pianist Robert Mollicone. April 24: Baritone Kihun Yoon, a native of Seoul, South Korea; and pianist Mark Morash.

Lab artists

Also coming to the fourth floor this week: Season One of SF Opera Lab in the Taube Atrium Theater,C opening March 11-13 with the West M Coast premiere of Winterreise (Winter Journey). Schubert’s dark andY yearning song cycle features GerCM man baritone Matthias Goerne in a theatrical production designed byMY South African artist William KenCY tridge. Goerne’s appearance is selfrecommending, but the multimediaCMY approach has everyone in culture K gulch buzzing with anticipation. The seats in the theater have cup-holders, and there is an open bar, another big leap from the more conventional liederabend. What do you order for Schubert, brandy or schnapps?

Highlights of the season include Svadba-Wedding, an a cappella opera for six female voices written by Serbian-Canadian composer Ana Sokolović; and screenings in April of the delightful animated French film The Triplets of Belleville, featuring a live chanteuse and musicians.

The Constellation system should be getting a real workout.

First impressions of the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera are equally favorable and hopeful. David Gockley says, “We’re taking suggestions” from audience feedback, and he means it. They are still adding lastminute finishing touches and working on minor design issues (big distracting Exit signs onstage, for one).

He wants patrons and a new generation of listeners involved. As the Center gradually acquires patina, his legacy in San Francisco certainly is assured.t

<< Music

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

Handel composing in a comic key

by Tim Pfaff

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he NSA hasn’t hacked Handel’s iPhone yet, so there’s no (photo)graphic proof that the composer was gay, but the idea that he quite possibly was is getting new traction. The principal source of musical evidence for the composer’s unprovable swishbuckling has been the heavily “encoded” vocal cantatas Handel wrote as a young man in Italy, at the dawn of the 18th century.

John Roberts has just discovered another, and an eagerly awaited modern premiere is already planned.

Back in 1985, the Handel Year, during which all 40-plus of his operas were performed somewhere in the world, it seemed great that they were getting an airing, but hardly anyone thought we’d hear them live again for another century or so. It turned out that all that had to happen to make them even greater hits than they were in Handel’s own day was for them to be heard. I follow people who follow opera, and yesterday’s comments alone were favorable about five new European opera productions, four of which were of operas by Handel (the other

by Janacek). At least on one side of the Atlantic, adults are in charge.

The two most prominent new CDs – Il Pomo d’Oro’s Partenope (Erato) and the Goettingen Handel Festival’s Agrippina (Accent) – are of Handel’s comic operas. Whatever does that mean? It’s nothing like the unmissable comedy in, say, Rossini’s Barber of Seville or Verdi’s Falstaff, more sophisticated but less bitchy

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than English Restoration drama. Handel composed Agrippina in 1709, for the Venetian Carnival, and it was only the second, and last, Italian opera he composed for an Italian audience.

So the usual wickedness in the opera’s story of Agrippina’s making Nero the Emperor of Rome (it’s often called the prequel to Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea) is compounded by sung language that Italians would have gotten (and the English couldn’t have cared less about). Also, in a tradition that goes all the way to Mozart’s Don Giovanni and beyond, the drama “giocosa” is augmented by the amorous antics of characters of the lower classes.

But, most important, Handel’s hasty composition of the piece (three weeks; not all that fast for him) meant a large number of selfborrowings from the body of vocal music he composed during his twoyear sojourn in Italy – the very ones I mentioned earlier – and savvy audience members would have caught the slyness in the ways the composer re-deployed them.

Today, only scholars would understand some, let alone all, of it.

The musicologists are the main beneficiaries of this live 2015 broadcast from Goettingen, the first of the new scholarly edition of the score.

A few lively episodes apart, and de-

spite regularly sparkling playing by the festival orchestra under Laurence Cummings, the whole enterprise is weighted down by an air of being a corrective, not to say reverential, endeavor akin to the Handel productions of two generations ago, burdened with good intentions.

And the singing is uneven and seldom good enough.

Handel completists will have to have this Agrippina the same way they have to have Rene Jacobs’ very different version, which seeks to recreate the circumstances of the actual Venetian performances. The usual objections to Jacobs’ interventionist tactics apply, but his recording has the verve as well as the smarts that this opera, which is all about wanting, wants.

Far more typical of the best of the new generation of Handel opera performances is the new Partenope.

It’s fast-paced – seldom a negative in Handel’s three-plus-hour operas – vividly played, never generic in its enthusiasm and brilliantly sung. Il Pomo d’Oro, Riccardo Minasi’s ace period-instrument band, seems to be making Handel a major tributary of its music-making, precisely the kind of long-term, “company” ensemble that has not only kept the larger Handel enterprise afloat, but also kept it moving forward artistically.

This Partenope continues the success of their Tamerlano, which the company continues to tour. While not a “live” recording, it’s as lively as you could wish without the distractions of a staged performance.

As usual for an 18th-century opera, simply reading a synopsis of the libretto – maybe the plot’s multivalent love interests don’t require ’splainin’ for gay men – could have you laughing yourself hoarse. The comedy – this is

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yet another 18th-century “school for lovers” story – again assumes careful attention to the text on the listener’s part, a wholly enchanting Act III apart. Still, while artistic standards are consistently high, there’s nothing reverential about this Partenope. The title character’s second-act aria, “Qual farfaletta” – a “simile” aria in which Partenope compares herself, of course, to a butterfly flying dangerously close to the flame – is a sophisticated musical number, and not a little coquettish.

The singer here is Karina Gauvin, who – as she did in the Tamerlano – judges her quixotic character perfectly, finding just the right sense for each of her arias. Her colleagues are as good a Handel cast as you’ll hear today, with two standouts. Debuting mezzo Teresa Iervolino gives notice of a major new naturally low voice, used with impeccable artistry. And soprano Emoke Barath, a more acute and vital singer at her every appearance on disc, steals the show without putting colleagues in the shade.

Handel’s finally unknowable sexuality notwithstanding, it warrants saying that, if you took the gay scholar-conductor-leaders and performers out of the ongoing, phenomenal Handel revival, particularly of the operas, there would not have been one.t

CAAMFest

From page 17

Formerly known as the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, the now re-branded CAAMFest (for Center for Asian American Media) returns for its 34th edition on March 10-20 in a dazzling variety of venues (Castro, Roxie, Alamo Drafthouse, New People Cinema, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, Slate Bar, City College of San Francisco North Beach & Chinatown campuses, SF Asian Art Museum, Oakland Museum of California, SomaR Bar, Parkway Theater) and formats around the Bay Area. This column is devoted to film and video programs.

A veteran queer Asian media star is getting his own two-day retrospective, CAAMFest Spotlight Filmmaker H.P. Mendoza. He’s not Larry Hart, Cole Porter or Stephen Sondheim, but San Francisco’s own H.P. Mendoza does have a witty way with a lyric, especially in bawdy bar ballads such as the following, sung by two unattached gay boys who discover that they’re magnificently incompatible in Fruit Fly, Mendoza’s follow-up to his 2006 Bay Area songathon Colma: The Musical.

“I’m what you call a versatile bottom./I’ll give it a shot, but I’d rather you top.”

“We’re versatile bottoms!”

“I don’t like people who hold in their voices./You should shout it loud when you’re being plowed.”

“Don’t worry, honey, I shatter your windows./This chicken will cluck when he’s being fucked!”

Mendoza’s films feature a deliciously dishy assortment of metro-

Courtesy CAAMFest

Scene from director Pamela Tom’s Tyrus.

Courtesy CAAMFest

Scene from director Viet Max’s Yeu (Love).

sexuals, gay boys, fag hags, lesbians, and straight, ego-inflating performance artists battling for their share of coveted spots on stage. In the spirit of Avenue Q, the casts of Colma: The Musical and Fruit Fly opine about our notoriously fickle public-transit systems just in time for the latest BART service meltdowns, shared-housing arrangements, and such messy questions as, When does a blind date morph into a hookup? (Asian Art Museum Takeover, Thurs., 3/17; Alamo, Sun., 3/13) CAAMFest also features a fulllength biography about Filipino boxer-politician Manny Pacquiao, a film completed before the 47-yearold athlete made some extremely offensive remarks about members

of the LGBTQ community. In an interview with a radio station in his island nation, the former pugilist and current politician was quoted as saying, “It’s common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female.

If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals.” Here is a description of the docudrama film screening at CAAMFest: Kid Kulafu (US) Paul Soriano directs this bio-pic about a Filipino slum kid who used his country’s rough-and-tumble boxing tournaments as means of overcoming poverty and his lack of a quality education. With a cast of unknowns from the islands, the film depicts Manny Pacquiao’s two-decades-long career, beginning as World Flyweight Champ in 1998. (Roxie, 3/11) Yeu (Love) Viet Max helms Vietnam’s first LGBTQ film, about an unlikely romance between two female singer-songwriters. (Alamo, 3/12) 3688 (Singapore) Openly queer filmmaker Royston Tan returns to the big screen after an absence of seven years with the tale of a parking attendant, Fei Fei, who signs up for a TV singing contest to aid her

dementia-suffering father. (Alamo, 3/13; New Parkway, 3/19) Atomic Heart (Iran) Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh offers this kinetic road movie whose inciting incident is a late-night road accident. (Roxie, 3/12) France is Our Mother Country (France/Cambodia) Oscar-nominated Cambodian director Rithy Panh uses footage from the vaults to construct a sad/funny sendup on the brutalities of French colonialism.

Be About It (US) Christopher C.C. Wong investigates the epidemic of hepatitis B among Asian American athletes. Journalist Alan Wang and athlete AJ Jabonero are featured participants in this 39-minute doc.

(Alamo, 3/13; New Parkway, 3/19) Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift (US) The Festival celebrates the 10th anniversary of American director Justin Lin’s entry in this salute to the sport of high-octane street racing. (Alamo, 3/13) Tyrus (US) Pamela Tom directs the Festival’s opening-night tribute to 105-year-old animator Tyrus Wong, whose many contributions to his art-form include his work on Walt Disney’s Bambi. (Castro, 3/10) Plus, don’t miss the rare opportunity to see Bambi (director David Hand) at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Back in the early 1940s, many a child viewing this beautiful

if dark fable was traumatized by the death of Bambi’s mother. See it with kids and discover whether it’s still that way. (3/19, 20) Painted Nails (US) Directors Dianne Griffin & Erica Jordan explore the health implications of women’s beauty aids, particularly nail adornments, for the mostly female beauty-care technicians in San Francisco’s Mission District. (Alamo, 3/12; New Parkway, 3/20) Drawing the Tiger (US) Three American doc makers, Amy Benson, Scott Squire, and Ramyata Limbu, uncover a painful tragedy involving tigers and a rural Nepali family. (Roxie, 3/11) Mad Tiger (US) Jonathan Yi & Michael Haertlein explore the odd developments in the ties that bind a two-person hip band. (Alamo, 3/11; New People, 3/19) Mele Murals (US) Tadashi Nakamura films an attempt in Hawaii to teach youth there about their people’s traditions through the medium of graffiti. (OMCA, 3/18; New People, 3/19) Two Lunes (US) Hui-Eun Park draws parallels between the lives of two women, one Korean and the other Vietnamese, as they both struggle to improve their lives in an increasingly chaotic world. (Alamo, 3/12)t Info: caamedia.org.

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DVDs>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Minnelli, V., directing Minnelli, L.

by Tavo Amador

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as Liza Minnelli (b. 1946) predestined for show business?

Certainly. Her father was Academy Award-winning director Vincente Minnelli (1903-86), who helmed two Best Picture Oscar-winning musicals.

Her screen debut was in the arms of mother Judy Garland (1922-69) at the end of In the Good Old Summertime (1949). In 1963, she starred in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot Forward, winning a Theatre World Award. Two years later, she became the Great White Way’s youngest Tony Award-winner in Kandler & Ebb’s musical Flora the Red Menace.

Her first adult film role was as Albert Finney’s girlfriend in Charlie Bubbles (1967). She earned an Oscar nomination in Alan J. Pakula’s The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), and won the award for her electrifying Sally Bowles in 1972’s Cabaret. That same year, she collected an Emmy for Liza with a Z! She seemed unstoppable. But Stanley Donen’s Lucky Lady (1975) was a critical and box-office disaster.

Still, her clout was sufficient to get financing to star in her father’s final picture, A Matter of Time (1976), which is available on DVD. She’s Nina, a one-name, glamorous movie star arriving in Rome to promote her newest picture. In flashbacks, the audience learns that the teenage Nina left her rural village for Rome, working as a chambermaid in a rundown but once grand hotel.

One of the residents is Mario (Spiros Andros), a blocked writer.

He either ignores or berates her when she straightens up his room.

Another is the eccentric, aged, soignee, penurious Contessa Sanziani

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(Ingrid Bergman). La Contessa’s rich ex-husband (Charles Boyer) visits her, offers help, but she refuses.

The Contessa likes Nina and regales her with stories of her remarkable past. She urges Nina to look at herself in a beautiful gold bronze baroque hand mirror. “Make life what you wish,” she commands.

Nina imagines herself living the life La Contessa experienced, attending lavish parties, exquisitely dressed, admired by handsome, wealthy men, many of whom were her lovers. But those reveries are interrupted by the reality of both women’s circumstances, especially La Contessa’s past-due bills.

Mario forces his attentions on Nina, but in actuality, he’s imagining a scene from his novel. Nina pleads with him to help La Contessa, whom he dismisses as “crazy.” Outraged, Nina replies, “That old lady has more life in her than you have between your legs. Do you know what it’s like for a woman to grow old?”

Nina discovers some valuable drawings La Contessa has hidden, sells them, and uses the money to settle the Contessa’s debts. But in a frenzy, La Contessa orders her things to be packed and sent to a more lavish hotel. She leaves.

Nina, desperate to locate La Contessa, finds Mario at a restaurant where he’s meeting with his publisher and a movie producer. Thanks to Nina, Mario has had a writing breakthrough. She pleads with him to help her. Together, they search for La Contessa, who, racing through the Roman streets, has been hit by a car and taken to a hospital. She’s attended by a nun, Sister Pia (Isabella Rossellini, in her film debut).

Nina and Mario arrive at last. Nina recalls her friend saying, “People die because we let them.”

Meanwhile, the movie producer, struck by Nina’s charisma, thinks she would be perfect to play the heroine of Mario’s novel when it’s filmed. He arranges a screen test for Nina, which goes well. Stardom will soon be hers.

Back in the present, Nina, in her limousine, arrives at a swank hotel for her press conference. She carries La Contessa’s mirror in her purse.

Rosie O’Donnell

From page 17

Others aren’t so sure: the very name of Rosie O’Donnell continues to makes news. Her heartattack scare in 2012 became a national teaching moment, in which Rosie urged women to be in control of their health. Her recent return to The View was short-lived, but like everything Rosie does, it captured the interest of the media and of viewers. O’Donnell remains active as an actress, currently appearing in the lesbian drama The Fosters on Freeform (formerly ABC Family), and is active both as a producer and a performer on Broadway.

O’Donnell’s first tenure on The View in 2007 proved to be a tabloidwriter’s dream. Rosie and a former View co-host, the ultra-conservative Elizabeth Hasselbeck, famously shouted each other down in front of millions of viewers. At the time O’Donnell was roundly criticized for her “shrewish” demeanor, though even some of her harshest critics grudgingly admitted that O’Donnell was usually right.

“America was not awake yet,” O’Donnell told the B.A.R. “The shock of 9/11 had put us in a coma.

A lot of the things I spoke passionately about are now of concern to a lot of people.”

O’Donnell feels that these days, many TV viewers are too quick to jump to conclusions. “People have a narrative,” she observed. “You’re either a villain or a patriot. There’s a whole gray area where most people actually are. We need that gray area in the current political race, with what’s coming out of the extremist side.” She advises people to keep their wits about them. “You have to check yourself,” she said. “Be careful what you become.”

O’Donnell first gained notice in the 1980s, when she was hired to work as a “vee-jay,” a video disc jockey, on the then-fledgling music video channel VH1. Her sets

Rosie O’Donnell: “I was free!”

became an instant hit with viewers due to O’Donnell’s quick wit and unusual way of introducing herself.

“The suits insisted that I introduce myself every four hours,” she recalls. “I felt foolish saying my name over and over again, so I began introducing myself by a variety of made-up names. I never used the same name twice.” Network executives never caught on, Rosie added, because they weren’t watching!

O’Donnell went on to an illustrious career, though she had to keep her lesbianism under wraps for quite awhile. It was a different world then, but the ever-fearless O’Donnell began to gingerly open her closet door long before her official coming out.

In 1996 she and the soon-to-comeout Ellen DeGeneres joked about being “Lebanese” on O’Donnell’s popular chat show. In 2002 she appeared on Will & Grace, her character proclaiming that she would come out in her own time, on her own terms. She also played a newly out lesbian during a highly regarded three-episode stint on Showtime’s Queer as Folk.

“I wanted to kiss Sharon Gless. She remains a close friend.”

She said that acting remains her first love. “I wanted to be a star on Broadway. I wanted to sing and dance and be in the movies,” she recalled of her youth. “I got sidetracked on the talk show.”

These days O’Donnell is an out and proud lesbian mom. Gone are the days when her sexuality could tarnish her career. She sees the landmark SCOTUS ruling that legalized marriage equality in all 50 states as the benchmark for how far we’ve come.

“I was so overwhelmed,” she said of that day. “Seeing the freedom in people’s faces – I was free! I hadn’t realized how caged we were.”

And in case you were wondering, O’Donnell is supporting Hillary Clinton. “As a woman, I want to see a woman in the White House,” she said. “I do agree with Bernie Sanders’ ideals, but the application is not practical. Clinton is the #1 most qualified person for the job.”

This interview was conducted in anticipation of O’Donnell’s appearance at the Nourse Theater.

Unfortunately, that show has been cancelled.t

She’s besieged by reporters and fans, including a little girl, who wants to be just like her. “No,” says Nina, gently. “Be yourself.”

Minnelli’s direction shows his trademarked camera fluidity, his attention to design – the sets and costumes are sensational – and his deep affection for Liza. As he had done with Garland, he photographed Liza with great care. She never looked (or would look) so attractive.

Liza sings the title song and performs an over-the-top rendition

of “Do It Again.” Her Nina is radiant, warm, grounded, thrilled with life, gracious, kind, and thoughtful. It’s probably the way her father saw her and how she wanted to see herself. She has splendid moments, including a flashback explaining to a wealthy lover (Fernando Rey) that she loves him for his money. It’s what makes him unique. After all, she would love a poet for his poetry, an artist for his paintings. Nonetheless, her performance is inconsistent.

Bergman relishes playing La Contessa. She was both a great star and a great actress, and easily dominates her scenes. Boyer, in his final screen appearance, is unsurprisingly superb. Andros is good as Mario. Rossellini, Bergman’s daughter, inherited her mother’s luminosity. Her character’s name, Pia, is that of her older sister, an unlikely coincidence.

A Matter of Time was cut by American International Pictures prior to release. It’s not Minnelli’s film. It opened to poor business and harsh notices. One can only wonder what Minnelli’s movie, penned

by John Gay from Maurice Druon’s novel, would have been like. It’s a curiosity worth seeing, but difficult to praise as a whole. It isn’t a vanity production, like Barbra Streisand’s The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

Rather, it’s a paternal valentine.

Although Minnelli excelled in her next picture, Martin Scorcese’s bloated New York, New York (1977), she couldn’t save it. She continued making movies, appearing on Broadway, in clubs, and on television, but her tremendous promise was never realized. Sadly, her messy personal life has been tabloid fodder for decades.t

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26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

The thin line between sex & violence

by Victoria A. Brownworth

W

e needed some really good TV to balance out the presidential race (more on that below), and did we ever get it. ABC has really stepped out this season as a network with cable-level series. There’s nothing better on all TV land right now than American Crime. With the most complex gay storyline that we can recall and extraordinary acting, American Crime is a series that peels back the intersecting layers of classism, racism, homophobia and violence. It’s chillingly good. For those of us who grew up in the selfloathing atmosphere of compulsory heterosexuality (that would be all of us to some degree), there have been scenes that have taken our breath away. As the season has progressed, storylines have taken truly shocking turns, and we are not used to being shocked by TV. Most compelling in American Crime has been the line between sex and violence and how that line is blurred by homophobia, particularly for young men who are acculturated to address everything with violence, particularly their own sexuality. How Taylor Blaine (played by Connor Jessup with a nuance actors twice his age have yet to achieve) comes unraveled, how the prevalence of guns in America alters so many lives: it’s just such an honest and believable (because so many of us have lived it) story, it’s often hard to watch. Yet watching, you feel a part of the story. Too often, our own story.

The Family debuted on ABC March 3, and the cast is what works best here. Tony winner and Oscar nominee Joan Allen is amazing, but so are Alison Pill, Rupert Graves and Zach Gilford.

Margot Bingham is a standout, not just as the only main character who is black, but also as the only main character who doesn’t make your skin crawl, the story’s moral center.

HBO’s The Leftovers was the darkest series of 2015, and will return for a third season sometime toward the end of this year. The Family has the grimness of The Leftovers, plus the stellar acting, but the debut did not show us a path toward the light. It deals with some of the same issues highlighted by American Crime, notably male-on-male violence with a sexual element infused. It has a similar tone to BBC’s Broadchurch, which was beautifully re-created for Fox as Gracepoint.

Though almost unremittingly dark, these series have revealed something we need to see as a society: that for some men violence and sexuality are so interconnected that heinous crimes are bound to occur.

The Family explores these issues, but needs to slow down the pace from the TGIT line-up fast-pace it debuted in to the more languorous pacing Fox allowed Gracepoint.

The topic is, alas, too real: a boy is kidnapped from a fairground and is presumed dead, raped and murdered by a neighbor with a history of sexual deviance. The neighbor goes to prison, the family mourns and is sundered from within. Ten years later the boy, now a young man, returns, battered and broken by a decade of imprisonment and rape, the flesh of one hand evulsed as he pulled it out of handcuffs. To say the crime is ghastly is to understate it, and the cast makes us feel the suffering on a visceral level.

The Family is well worth watching, but it leaves a mark. And fair warning for triggering if you’ve been a victim of sexual assault. As Adam (Liam James) details the rapes and abuse to Sgt. Meyer (Margot Bing-

ABC-TV

The cast of American Crime peels back intersecting layers of classism, racism and homophobia.

ham), his parents can hardly stand to be in the room. They don’t want to hear “when the man lied on top of me” from their son.

Nor do we. The difficulty for the audience and for us as LGBT viewers will be refusing to conflate such abuse with homosexuality. No one conflates the kind of abuse in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with heterosexuality, but we know the rules are different for us.

On a much lighter note is the current ramping (or should we say vamping) up of the lesbian storylines on Grey’s Anatomy. Undaunted by her ex Callie being partners with Penny, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) is playing the field. Which has made her friend and former boss, Dr. Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), who’s been her “wing man” at the bars for some months, to voice his concern in the March 3 episode. But it initially sounded like he was coming on to her.

Arizona told him she was flattered, but said, “I’m super gay. The gayest of gays.” To which Webber replied he was just worried about her losing her way, sleeping around.

Arizona told him not to worry, that she needed this. “You helped me be slutty again. You helped me fly!”

To which we say, yes! Finally a woman doesn’t have to get married on the first date and can embrace her sexuality as freeing and joyful. Plus, Arizona is one of the few lesbian characters on the tube who has never wavered in her lesbianism.

Which almost never happens.

Less gleeful is the end of our affair with Downton Abbey, which ended its sixth season March 6 not with a bang but a dying fall. No spoilers, but if you somehow missed being on this train, the entire series is on Netflix and is worth watching, not just for the fabulous acting and stellar costuming, but for placing women in a range of contexts in an historical period close to our own yet of which we know surprisingly little. DA is the sort of thing PBS does best and reminds us of why we need public television, even in the era of all-cable, all the time.

Political lunacy

In an election season where a portrait of George Washington was taken down at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to make

room for one of Frank Underwood, the fictional president on the Emmy-winning drama House of Cards, the line between reality and the surreal has got really blurred. We were never a fan of Donald Trump’s NBC reality series The Apprentice, and we were never a fan of the GOP, so the confluence of the two this election season has been disturbing.

Everything we dislike about reality TV came to an unpleasant head on March 3 at the GOP debate held by Fox News.

For days prior to the debate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was implying at rallies that Donald Trump had a small penis by continually asking (gleefully, if you saw the video on national news) “You know what they say about men with small hands?”

He repeated his implication at the debate, which promoted Trump to say, “And he keeps referring to my hands. If they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there is no problem. I guarantee.”

This really happened.

At one point the exchange between Trump and Rubio was nothing but the two of them calling each other “con artist” and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stepping in to chide them both.

Fortunately, we have the sanity of the Democrats, where the most substantive difference between the two candidates is that one has major foreign policy experience and the other doesn’t. It doesn’t make for explosive TV, but it should make for a seamless transition from President Obama.

The person we never expected to see re-enter the national stage was Mitt Romney, but there he was on our TV a few hours before the debate giving what for him was an impassioned plea for the GOP (or anyone) to stop Trump. After the Super Tuesday results, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who had dropped out of the presidential race last month, was interviewed on CBS News. Graham said Trump would decimate the GOP and “make Hillary Clinton our next president.” Like it was a bad thing.

Gay rights was a topic at the March 3 debate, and unsurprisingly it did not go well for us. Cruz called last June’s Supreme Court decision legalizing marriage equality an “illegitimate” ruling. Kasich said gay men and lesbians should stop demanding services from business owners who didn’t want to provide them. We should just go

find another baker for our wedding cakes or whatever. But we should not sue. The fact that Kasich is a former prosecutor and knows that businesses refusing service based on sexual orientation are breaking the law wasn’t part of his commentary.

Rubio and Trump finally found agreement that gay men and lesbians shouldn’t have the right to marry, and Trump and Cruz agreed that the states should be allowed to decide whether or not gay men and lesbians can adopt children. It was not a good night for us.

Yet we’ve seen equally awful things in the past couple of weeks on TV that left us speechless, like a heated debate between former Obama staffer Van Jones and former Reagan staffer and Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord after the Super Tuesday results.

The topic? The KKK. Yes, the KKK. Former Grand Wizard David Duke, also a former state representative in Louisiana, endorsed Trump. Yet when Trump, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, failed to renounce either the endorsement or the KKK, things got ugly. So much for post-racial America. Jones and Lord went at it while CNN watched their ratings soar. Conservative commentator S. E. Cupp criticized Trump for what she called “dog whistle” racial implications of his comments about Mexican immigrants and calling for a ban on Muslims entering the country. Lord shrugged, noting any Republican criticizing Trump was being disingenuous.

“I hate to say this about the Republican establishment,” Lord said, “but their view of civil rights is to tip the black waiter five bucks at the country club.”

Jones said Trump was dismissing the KKK in ways he would not terror groups like ISIS. Lord replied that Democrats were the ones with the race problem, and said the KKK was a “leftist” organization. There’s something lurid about this kind of discourse playing out the day after Black History Month ended.

Meanwhile, MSNBC, which dumped its last black pundit, Melissa Harris-Perry, a few days before Super Tuesday, had its own stunning racist moment. Chris Hayes interviewed Jane Sanders about her husband’s crushing defeat on Super Tuesday. Mrs. Sanders, who has been largely absent from the limelight, chose this moment to reveal that black voters were pretty inconsequential to the general election.

t

Hayes said, “Exit polling showing Bernie Sanders losing black voters by 85 to 14, losing in those states with very high percentages of black voters across the South. I mean, it just seems impossible to me for someone to win the Democratic nomination in the age of the Obama coalition who is losing by those margins among black voters.”

Mrs. Sanders replied, “Well, the age of the Obama coalition was 2008. This is 2016.” She went on to say if black voters knew her husband better, they’d vote for him and that anyway, the states where Hillary Clinton was winning really weren’t relevant to the general election.

Yikes.

Meanwhile, some faces wellknown to the LGBT audience, Caitlyn Jenner and RuPaul, came out for their candidates in different ways, each as their new seasons debuted. Magic Johnson, the first major sports star to announce he was HIV+, told Anderson Cooper in an interview last week, “I feel Hillary Clinton will be a great president for the American people. She will make sure everyone has a voice.”

Lady Gaga, whose performance at the Oscars was the highpoint of the night, is also a Clinton supporter, while comedian Sarah Silverman is a staunch Sanders supporter, as is late-night talk-show host Stephen Colbert.

While it was unsurprising that major LGBT-friendly TV celebs were supporting Clinton and Sanders, Jenner’s announcement that she would like to be a “trans ambassador for Ted Cruz” was a bit shocking. We all knew she was a Republican since she announced it in her interview with Diane Sawyer. And we knew she was against marriage equality and abortion rights since she told Ellen DeGeneres that. But Ted Cruz? USA Today reported Jenner saying, “I like Ted Cruz. I think he’s very conservative, and a great constitutionalist, and a very articulate man.” She added, “But I also think he’s an evangelical Christian, probably one of the worst ones when it comes to trans issues.”

She’s got that last part right. During the fight over the HERO bill in Houston, Cruz told ABC News, “The federal government is going after school districts, trying to let boys shower with little girls.”

Jenner said, “I get it. The Democrats are better when it comes to these types of social issues. I understand that.” But, USA Today reported, “If we don’t have a country, we don’t have trans issues. We need jobs. We need a vibrant economy.

I want every trans person to have a job. Socialism did not build this country. Capitalism did.”

We love democracy, but we take issue with idiocy. In reality (as opposed to reality TV) the economy isn’t what’s keeping trans, lesbian, gay or bi people from finding employment. It’s discrimination, being led and fomented by people like Cruz. The second season of I Am Cait debuted on E! March 6, and politics is a Big Topic, so expect the fur to fly.

There was a great reality TV moment this week, but it had nothing to do with politics. Kata Hay, a lesbian contestant on The Voice, told judge Christina Aguilera, “You’re my official first girl crush” after Aguilera praised her performance.

“Shall we just make out now?” asked Aguilera. Pharell Williams’ mouth opened and didn’t close. Hay went over to Aguilera and the two kissed.

Works for us.

So for the reality and the surreality, the highs, the lows and the justplain-fun entertainment that won’t turn America into Weimar Germany writ large, you know you really must stay tuned.t

30

31

On the Town

NIGHTLIFE

35

On the Tab

MUSIC

DINING

Shooting Stars

SOCIETY

EVENTS

LEATHER

PERSONALS

www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com

Vol. 46 • No. 10 • March 10-16, 2016

g n i m o C !

Kingdom Drag king rappers get real

by Liz Highleyman

D

Alex (left) and “Mailman” Kaylah at a recent Kingdom!

Performance at Balancoire.

Angyl Nihthasu

rag kings may not yet be as well known as drag queens, but Alex U. Inn and the Momma’s Boyz are doing their part to change that with their new monthly showcase, Kingdom!, which aims to both raise king visibility and raise money for community organizations.

See page 28 >>

Making (New) Wave

s

ve fun Boy Division’s old school New Wa

by Jim Provenzano

A Boy Division fans at Codeword.

recent sale report showed that older music still outsells new music by a wide margin. That either means that Boomers are buying more, or Millennials are appreciating classic music.

Either way, the lack of a dance night dedicated to “rather queer” 1980s hits inspired DJ Alex Westhoff (aka Xander) to create Boy Division, the new monthly LGBTQ night at CodeWord.

See page 29 >>

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28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

t

Both photos: Liz Highleyman

Left: Mommas Boyz perform at Oasis. Right: Alex auctions off a bottle of wine at the Transgender Law Center fundraiser at the GLBT History Museum.

<<

Kingdom! Coming

From page 27

The next Kingdom!, coming up March 10 at Brick and Mortar Music Hall, will be a benefit for the Dyke March. Alex Carmen Morrison, a Bay Area Reporter “Besties” nominee for Best Drag King, said the contest will feature ten drag kings, with a focus on encouraging kings of color and young kings.

“Many of my brother drag king’s

names have disappeared” due to Facebook’s names policy, explained Morrison, who identifies as a woman with a male drag persona and asked to be referred to as “they.”

“If you didn’t know us already, you wouldn’t find us, we wouldn’t get hired, and that limits our ability to give back to the community.”

After Facebook shut down Alex U. Inn’s account – along with those of hundreds of other drag kings and queens accused of not using their

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“real names” – Morrison became an active member of MyNameIs, a coalition fighting back against the policy.

“We were targeted. That’s when we got together and said it was bullcrap,” Morrison told the Bay Area Reporter. Spearheaded by Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the group has met with Facebook representatives and succeeded in getting some changes implemented.

“We’re still fighting,” said Morrison. “We’re pleased with some of the changes, but there’s more to go.”

The Momma’s Boyz have been serving up old-school hip hop for twelve years, but Morrison has been doing drag for more than twenty and claims to own over 500 vintage Adidas suits and 300 pairs of shoes.

Along with Morrison, the Momma’s Boyz include Kaylah Marin – called Mailman because her voice delivers – and Marla Stewart, though several other singers and dancers have performed with them over the years.

Marin has a gospel singing background and has produced her own CDs. Stewart is a lecturer at Clayton College in Atlanta, with an emphasis on gender and sexuality studies, and organizes the Sex Down South conference.

Morrison grew up as a tomboy in Philadelphia, the youngest of 14 kids, and moved to the Bay Area as a teen, first coming across the local king community in the late 1980s at the annual Aché retreat for black lesbians, which culminated in a drag king contest.

“I watched the beautiful African kings and I didn’t know how to put on facial hair, how to do the walk.

But I asked and I learned and as a rookie I came in third” in the first drag king contest they entered, Morrison said.

Long-time readers may remember Morrison as a track and field champion who won multiple gold medals at several Gay Games, having been invited on board by founder Tom Waddell in 1982.

More recently, Morrison has been a member of the Dyke March committee and produced its after-party, was a founding member of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, and served on the Pride Board.

Morrison has been married to wife Ellen since 2008 and the couple owns a home in Berkeley.

Momma’s Boyz started when Morrison was a hip hop instructor at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy.

“The kids were bringing adult images and songs to class, and we wanted to show them a different way,” Morrison recalls.

The Momma’s Boyz first song was a customized version of the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” which they performed at a drag king contest at the Make-Out Room in 2004. According to Morrison, they are the only drag king group that sings live in their own voices rather than lip-synching.

Since then the Momma’s Boyz have performed regularly at the annual San Francisco Drag King contest and numerous other events in the

Bay Area. A highlight of the group’s career was performing in front of the Coliseum at EuroPride 2011, and in April they will headline the second Austin International Drag Festival.

Kingdom! debuted in January, a benefit at Balançoire that raised $1000 for the Transgender Law Center. The second event, held at and benefitting the GLBT History Museum in the Castro, introduced a young and diverse crowd to the venue, where Morrison is helping put together a forthcoming drag king history exhibit, believed to be the first ever.

The January show “probably had more kings of color on stage than any event in the Bay Area,” Morrison said. Long before the SF Drag King Contest became popular, there were underground drag king shows and contests, but “much of that went away and a lot of kings of color stopped performing.

“We want to make a big splash for drag kings so we can be on equal footing with our drag queen sisters,” Morrison concluded. “We would like more solidarity and more diversity. We want to give kings of color a safe place to come back, or to encourage new ones. We want to keep the art of kinging going, and through this be able to give back to the community.”t Kingdom! In Concert, a fundraiser for the Dyke March, with DJ Marke B, takes place at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, March 10, 7pm. $5-$20. 1710 Mission St. www.brickandmortarmusic.com

The recent Momms Boys’-hosted drag king showcase, with a performance by Oliver Quimm (right).

t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Angyl Nihthasu

DJ Xander, aka Alex Westhoff

Angyl Nihthasu

Top: Glam guys at Boy Division.

Bottom: Gals who like Goth at a recent Dancing Ghosts night.

<<

Making (New) Waves

From page 27

“There aren’t really any queer dance spaces that play this kind of music,” said Westhoff in a phone interview. “A lot of Castro bars play more mainstream music, pop and top 40, so the need for this was obvious, from people I know, that there was an interest.”

Westhoff is also the creator of Dancing Ghosts, the Dark Wave and goth night at The Cat Club.

“There was an interest to have a space that was queer at The Cat Club,” he said. “There are a lot of New Wave events out there, but they’re more for straight and gay fans. I wanted to make one that was specifically a queer event. It’s a nice alternative.”

The obvious point, for those who can access the hundreds of ‘80s music videos or recall the advent of MTV and the New Wave era, is the visual and auditory queerness of the genre. While many musicians were and weren’t specifically gay, homosexual or lesbians, the look and feel of “the other,” spearheaded by the likes of David Bowie, The Cure, Boy George, Depeche Mode and dozens of elegantly coiffed musicians, gave way to a more openly ‘queer’ fashion sense, despite the oppression of the encroaching AIDS pandemic.

So it seems appropriate to have

a queer-inclusive night with this genre.

Westhoff, who is 36, recognized the comparison.

“It’s also somewhat of an alternative form of music, and some really good underground acts from the 80s that weren’t as big as Depeche Mode, but still have similar music styles. Queer culture had been underground for some time. I know plenty of gays that were drawn to that music for a long time.”

While several bars play rock or

classic disco or New Wave music, few gay bars have dance nights that aren’t top 40 or typical “gay vibe” circuit sounds. Westhoff ’s niche genre has proven popular.

The first Boy Division drew about 200 people, Westhoff said. “I was really quite pleasantly surprised.

There’s obviously enough interest for it, with positive vibes. We played a bit of music in both rooms, and got lots of positive comments.”

Westhoff added that Brit Pop and Electro are also mixed into the classics. “We’re not exclusively playing New Wave, but also a lot of artists who were big in the ‘80s, who were queer artists who helped define that kind of music, so we’re including them; Pet Shop Boys, Marc Almond, Erasure and Bronkski Beat.”

Mixed in between these artists are grooves by contemporary electro bands like The Knife, Ladytron and Goldfrapp. Expect dance remixes and original cuts as well.

Westhoff ’s been organizing and DJ-ing events for ten years, shortly after moving to San Francisco from Minnesota 13 years ago. His longterm event, Dancing Ghosts, celebrates its ninth anniversary this March. That event started at The Stud for its first four or five years, and moved to the Cat Club.

Boy Division’s now at Codeword (917 Folsom St.); the club used to be named Annie’s, and is run by the owner of DNA Lounge. Westhoff added that DNA pizza, which is open 24 hours a day, is next to Codeword. “Perfect for a late night snack.”

With two dance floors, “Generally we’re playing more of the hits in the front room and deeper cuts in the back room.”

TV screens add retro cool visuals, and although a dress code isn’t required, fans are welcome to dress as retro as they like.t Boy Division takes place at Codeword each fourth Saturday. The next event is March 26. 917 Folsom St. www.codeword-sf.com

Angyl Nihthasu

Top: Groovy dudes at a recent Dancing Ghosts night.

Bottom: Fans of Dark Wave at The Cat Club.

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30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

Crowning achievements

by Donna Sachet

S

ome weeks, we are hard-pressed to find enough events on which to report to you; other weeks, we are overwhelmed with fundraisers, contests, anniversaries, shows, and other events, like this week!

The Imperial Court of San Francisco’s annual Coronation on Saturday, Feb. 26, drew record attendance as Emperor Kevin Lisle and Empress Khmera Rouge completed their memorable reign and stepped down with glamour, ceremony, and genuine generosity. After a series of smaller events, like the InTown Show, Out-of-Town Show, and Anniversary Monarchs’ Reception, the Design Center was a great setting for Imperial Coronation LI: A Space Odyssey, starting off with a scrolling video reminiscent of the Star Wars movies, followed by court members battling with light swords.

Imperial Coronation includes many traditional segments, including anniversary monarch presentations, command performances, court walks, and the disbursements of funds raised by the court during the year, this year totaling over $50,000.

This crowd showed greatest appreciation for Empress Remy Martin’s tribute to Emperor Matthew Brown, Emperor Tom Basch’s 15th anniversary number, Empress Cockatielia’s 20th anniversary production, and Empress Hope JewelHalston’s command performance.

Newcomers are always stunned by the elaborate costumes, sparkling jewelry, and glorious pageantry and this year was certainly no exception. There were crowns galore that seemed to defy the law of gravity! We have seen many monarchs step down, here in San Francisco and across the International Court System, but this beloved Emperor and Empress delivered one of the most touching last walks ever. They were enveloped by admirers, including Rouge’s visiting mother, bringing a suitably powerful end to the 50th year of the Imperial Court of San Francisco.

Don’t forget, we have a new Emperor and Empress! Each candidate performed a musical number at Imperial Coronation, reflecting their unique talents and enthusiastic followings. At the tail end of a long night, the results from the previous Saturday’s voting were revealed and Emperor Salvador Tovar and Empress Emma Peel were crowned amidst much pageantry, tradition, and regal ceremony, continuing the saga begun by the late Jose Sarria in 1965. We wish these new leaders a great year and expect to see them all over town.

Bright and early the next morning, a loyal group of supporters headed to Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma for the Annual Cemetery Pilgrimage, when we visit the graves of Emperor

Joshua Norton and Empress Jose Sarria. This year was particularly significant, since the ashes of our first elected Emperor Marcus Hernandez were interred beside the grave of Sarria in an observance lovingly organized by Queen Cougar with full military honors administered by representatives from the Alexander Hamilton American Legion Post 448.

After this short ceremony, we kicked off the campy event so beloved

by Sarria with the Golden Gate Guards motorcycle club as Color Guard, rousing music by the Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, Bob Sunshine and Full House, and Kippy Marks, prayers by members of Night Ministry, and remarks by Emperor Jacques Michaels, all emceed by Emperor Stephen Dorsey and this oddly awake columnist. Although hard to describe, this unique annual San Francisco event has just the right blend of solemnity and outright whimsy. Put it on your calendar next year for a truly memorable experience.

Academic fun Sunday night, the Academy of Friends once again hosted their Oscar Awards gala, rivaling any such party in Hollywood or elsewhere.

On the supportive arms of Michael Loftis and Brian Kent, we strolled into a packed Design Center completely reconfigured for the night, immediately running into the organization’s founder, Kile Ozier, who granted us a photo between two live gold statues.

Cameras flashed everywhere as we explored the many food stations, silent auction tables, and cocktail bars, occasionally catching bits of the live awards telecast. Among the elegantly dressed attendees were Mark Rhoades, Michael Montoya & Kevin Shanahan, John Newmeyer, Brett Andrews, Dana van Gorder, Daft-nee Gesuntheit, Mini Minerva & Ron Patton, Chablis, Devesh Khatu, Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler, Carol Batte, Beth Schnitzer, Neil Figurelli, LaTonya Lawson and Howard Edelman. At the conclusion of the live broadcast, Joel Riddell announced the lucky raffle prize winners on stage and thanked the many contributors. This year’s event benefited AIDS Legal Referral Panel, HIV/AIDS Nightline, Maitri, Project Inform, Project Open Hand, and Positive Resource Center.

Nitey night The following night, we summoned the last of our energy for the annual Nitey Awards at the Regency Center, once again emceed

by KFOG’s Renee Richardson and Eye on the Bay’s Liam Mayclem. As the 2014 winner of Most Notable Drag Queen and with Sunday’s a Drag nominated for Best Day Life this year, we couldn’t stay away! This event brings together a diverse mix

Rick Gerharter

‘Emperor Norton’ lays a rose at the Annual Cemetery Pilgrimage at Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma.

t

Gareth Gooch

Empress Emma Peel and Emperor Salvador Tovar are crowned at the Imperial Council’s Coronation at the Design Center.

a leather flag, as roaster after roaster dished the dirt with generous doses of tribute. Kippy Marks, John Weber, Brian Kent, Mark Paladini, Deana Dawn, and Raquela offered musical renditions, while John Caldera, Beth Downey, State Senator Mark Leno, Werner Tillinger, Sergio Fedasz, Steve Fabus, and James Holloway delivered more traditional roasts. Weber’s was by far the most scathing, eliciting great cheers from the Stoli vodka-infused crowd. Virginia took it all in stride, remaining the perfect gentleman, but offering witty retorts and ending the evening with a beautiful and grateful reflection on his life and his community.

Gareth Gooch

Emma Peel sings at the Imperial Court of San Francisco’s annual Coronation.

of individuals and businesses, but with the common thread of a commitment to quality entertainment in San Francisco.

Awards were presented to strip clubs and Irish bars, happy hours and concert venues, promoters and performers, and the historic Barbary Coast. Notably, personal favorites Beaux and Moby Dick in the Castro and Pollo del Mar won Niteys this year to great audience response.

The swarm of attendees was staggering, including Sister Roma, Tom Temprano, Audrey Joseph, Michael Daniels, Jocelyn Kane, Jon Morris, Nicolas Bettinger, Larry Hashbarger, and several of the AsiaSF ladies and stars of the television reality show Transcendent. Entertainment

by Gypsy Love, The Klipptones, and DJ Ms. Leah Jackson rounded out the successful evening.

Gary roasted The long-awaited Community Roast/Tribute of Gary Virginia lived up to all expectations, filling Beatbox with over a hundred friends, fans, and supporters of this LGBT leader, including Lenny Broberg & Paul Maluchnik, Jerry Roberts, Julian Marshburn, Lance Holman, Will Whitaker, Sebastian Wilson, and Al Cromedy, manning the front door.

It would be hard to find an individual who has impacted more lives and organizations, including Positive Resource Center, AIDS Emergency Fund, the Imperial and Ducal Courts, the Leather community, SF Pride, Krewe de Kinque, and so many more. This was the fifth roast organized by Ray Tilton as part of Leather Alliance Weekend.

We co-emceed the proceedings with Michelle Meow, our talented colleague each year for the live television coverage of our Pride Parade.

Virginia nervously took his position on a couch on stage backed by

Sinners at Beatbox from 5-9PM. Celebrate the Mardi Gras spirit of New Orleans in San Francisco with southern cuisine, powerful cocktails, traditional ceremonies, raffle, and crowning of the new King & Queen of Krewe de Kinque, all while raising money for Jazzie’s Place, a local LGBT homeless shelter. Current King Gio Adame & Queen Cotton Candy promise you great entertainment, outstanding costumes, and yes, beads!

And on Sunday, the Castro Community Benefit District celebrates ten years with a party from 4-6PM at the old Patio location on Castro Street. Get a sneak peek at things to come, maybe sooner than you think.

We’ll emcee the afternoon, several restaurants sample bite-sized tastings, Les Natali offers complimentary wine, and a cash bar and prize drawings complete the picture. The event is free, but raffle sales and any donations will support the Castro Cares program.

Let’s celebrate our renewed Castro neighborhood together!t

Upcoming events Don’t miss Juanita More!’s new cocktail party every Wednesday at The Starlight Room of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square.

We popped into the first one where Juanita hob-nobbed with scores of supporters surrounded by unequaled sunset views.

We had the opportunity to preview the first cut of David Lassman and Jethro Patalinghug’s film documentary 50 Years of Fabulous: the Imperial Council Story and can’t say enough about this incredible production!

Jose Sarria is honored appropriately, the Imperial Court is revealed as never before, and the progress of the LGBT civil rights movement is traced with rich context and unabashed candor. Cinematography, lighting, sound, music, and story-line are all carefully orchestrated, resulting in a film that is bound to take the public and the film festival cirGareth Gooch cuit by storm. Watch for a [left to right] Gary Virginia (who was lovsummer debut. ingly roasted at Beatbox), nightlife proThis Saturday night join those tireless party ducer Audrey Joseph, Donna Sachet, and people, Krewe de Kinque, Virgil’s Sea Room owner and Hard French for their annual Bal DJ Tom Temprano at the Nitey Awards, Masque XIII: Saints & held at the Regency Center.

Gareth Gooch

Juanita More! (center) and friends at her new Wednesday event, Floor 21 at the Starlight Room.

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On the Tab>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

On the Tab March 10-17

Have a green beer, man. No, really. larney aside, don’t drink the a Padbe (March 17) is no excuse to real beer. St. Patrick’s day lucky any t hou wit l have plenty of fun en. dy O’Jerkwad. You can stil gre ch mu too ing itat ng or regurg charms, or spending, drinki

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Sat 12

Cockblock @ Rickshaw Stop

Thu 10

After Dark @ Exploratorium Adult parties at the interactive science museum. March 10: Mushrooms and more. Cocktail cash bar. $10-$15.

6pm-10pm. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. www.exploratorium.edu

Ain’t Mama’s Drag @ Balancoire Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d’Loo. 8pm10pm. No cover. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the fun sexy night. $100 cash prize for best bulge. $5-$10 benefits Groundswell Institute, the queer retreat camp. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Circle Jerk @ Nob Hill Theatre Porn actor Ryan Cummings leads the very interactive downstairs sex fun (before his March 11 & 12 stage shows). $10. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Gina Yashere @ Punch Line Comedy Club

Three’s Company Live @ Oasis

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun

The wacky sitcom about ‘70s roommates gets the local drag parody treatment, with Heklina, D’Arcy Drollinger, Matthew Martin, Adam Roy, Sara Moore and Laurie Bushman. $25, $25 and $225 VIP tables. ThuSat 7pm. Thru March 5. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

The popular video bar ends each work week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Fri 11

Angie Stone @ Yoshi’s Oakland The amazaing vocalist, songwriter and actress performs R&B and soul songs from her new and recent albums at the classy jazz club & restaurant. $49-$59. Mar. 11, 8pm & 10pm. 12: 7:30pm & 9:30pm. 13: 7pm & 9pm.

10 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall

Ladies of San Francisco @ Club OMG Galilea hosts the weekly “old school drag show” with guest performers and DJ Jack Rojo. $4. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubOMGsf.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Enjoy Latin, hip hop and electro, plus hot gogos galore, and a big dance floor. $10-$20. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Midnight Show @ Divas

The Purple Ones @ Slim’s

Fri 11

Angie Stone @ Yoshi’s Oakland

Boy Bar @ The Cafe

Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 7pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Gus Presents’ weekly dance night, with DJ Kid Sysko, cute gogos and $2 beer (before 10pm). 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Steve Tyrell @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Comedy Noir @ Balancoire

The Grammy Award-winning vocalist returns with his Frank Sinatra tribute show, One More for the Road. $75$95. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 7pm, Sun 3pm. Thru March 13. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

DH Haute Toddy’s weekly electro-pop night with hotty gogos. $3. 9pm-2am (happy hour 4pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Weekly drag shows at the last transgender-friendly bar in the Polk; with hosts Victoria Secret, Alexis Miranda and several performers. Also Saturdays. $10. 11pm. 1081 Polk St. www.divassf.com

The hilarious British stand-up comic (and out lesbian) performs her new show, Ticking Boxes (see feature in last week’s issue). $16.50-$22.50.

March 9-11, 8pm. March 11 also 10pm. March 12 at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. 18 & over with valid photo ID. 444 Battery St. 397-7573. www.Punchlinecomedyclub.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences

Hard Fridays @ Qbar

Valerie Branch’s weekly comedy night, where she embodies her faux queen character Pia Messing for some offbeat wit, along with guest performers. $5. 8pm-10pm. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Force @ Oasis

Did you miss the Prince shows? Here’s the next best thing, the amazing 10-piece Prince tribute band. $16-$20 ($41 with dinner). 9pm. 333 11th St. www.purpleones.com www.slimspresents.com

Red Hots Burlesque @ Beatbox The saucy women’s burlesque show hosted by Dottie Lux. $10. 7pm-10pm.

314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com

Ryan Cummings @ Nob Hill Theatre The hot porn stud performs solo shows (8pm) and duo sex shows with Casey Williams (10pm). Also March 12. $25. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Some Thing @ The Stud Mica Sigourney and pals’ weekly offbeat drag performance night. $7.

10pm-3am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Fri 11 Steep Canyon Rangers @ Great American Music Hall

Steep Canyon Rangers @ Great American Music Hall Bluegrass mastery from the handsome band. $25. $50 with dinner. 8pm. 859 O’Farrell St. www.slimspresents.com

Sat 12

Andrea Gibson @ Great American Music Hall The popular poet and Women’s World Poetry Slam winner perfroms spoken word. $19-$21. $44 with dinner. 8pm.

859 O’Farrell St. www.andreagibson. org www.slimspresents.com

Steve Tyrell @ Feinstein’s

Stanley Frank spins house dance remixes at the intimate Castro dance bar. $3. 9pm-2am (weekly beer bust 2pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland The weekly hip hop and R&B night.

8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway.

(510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Cockblock @ Rickshaw Stop 10th anniversary party for the queer women and pals’ party, with DJs China G, and Natalie Nuxx. $10.

9:30pm-2am. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Cole Thomason-Redus @ Hotel Rex Enjoy Prohibition-era jazz songs with the singer-pianist. $30-$50. 8pm. cocktails and food available. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

House Party @ Powerhouse Guy Ruben and Mohammad Vahidy spin underground house grooves as the cruisy SoMa bar is transformed into a love shack, with sofas, chairs, shag rugs and lava lamps. $5. 9pm13am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Industry @ 1015 Gus Presents’ 5th annual pre-St. Patrick’s Day circuit dance fun with DJs Steven Redant, Wayne G and Dan De Leon. $44. 10pm-8am. 1015 Folsom St. www.industrysf.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s weekly drag show night with different themes, always outrageously hilarious. Mrch 12: The first of two David Bowie tribute nights. $15.

10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom.

795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Nitty Gritty @ Beaux Weekly dance night with nearly naked gogo guys & gals; DJs Chad Bays, Ms. Jackson, Becky Know and Jorge T. $4.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Sat 12 Andrea Gibson @ Great American Music Hall

ShangriLa @ EndUp The LGBT Asian night’s Varsity Party with a DJ Ricky Sixx, includes a jockstrap contest hosted by Lily Rose.

10pm-6am. 401 6th St. 646-0999. www.shangrilasf.net

Soul Delicious @ Lookout Brunch, booze, sass and grooves, with the Mom DJs, Motown sounds, and soul food. 11am-4pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Soul Party @ Elbo Room DJs Lucky, Paul, and Phengren Osward spin 60s soul 45s. $5-$10 ($5 off in semi-formal attire). 10pm-2am. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Sugar @ The Cafe Dance, drink, cruise at the Castro club.

9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Writers With Drinks @ The Make Out Room Charlie Jane Anders hosts the fun night of storytelling with authors, this time Helene Wecker ( The Golem and the Jinni ), Joyce Maynard ( Under the Influence ), Noah Smith, Peter Tieryas ( United States of Japan ) and Charlotte Shane ( Prostitute Laundry). $5-$20.

7:30pm. 3225 22nd St. www.makeoutroom.com

Sun 13

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar’s most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. Beer bust donations benefit local nonprofits (Check the website for a list of recipients). 3pm6pm. Now also on Saturdays. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

The family-friendly night events returns, with exhibit tours, dancing, food, drinks, and live music. $7-$15.

5pm-9pm. 1000 Oak St. www.museumca.org Hot dancers grind it on the bar at the Castro bar, with a dance floor and patio.

4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Saturgay @ Qbar

Latin, hip hop and Electro music night. $5-$25. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Friday Nights @ Oakland Museum

Thu 10

Jorge and Blake’s groovy cruisy night, with DJs Taco Tuesday and Kevin O’Connor, plus guest Jeffrey Sfire. $10.

10pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Dance night with a superhero theme; DJs Shawn Perry Joshua D and Brian. $10. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Gogo Fridays @ Toad Hall

Pound Puppy @ SF Eagle

Big Top @ Beaux

Fri 11 The Purple Ones @ Slim’s

The fun Castro nightclub, with hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.Beauxsf.com

See page 32 >>

<< On the Tab

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

On the Tab

Casey McManis

<<

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From page 31

Bruce Springsteen @ Oracle Arena, Oakland The iconic rock singer and the E Street Band perform music from his new album, plus a lot of classics. $57-$157.

8pm. 7000 Coliseum way, Oakland. www.coliseum.com

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Luis.

7pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Femme, Xtravaganza @ Balancoire Weekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant; shows at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:45pm. After that, T-Dance drag shows at 7pm, 10pm and 11pm. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe Pollo del Mar’s weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Jock @ The Lookout Enjoy the weekly jock-ular fun, with DJed dance music at sports team fundraisers. 12pm-1am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. $45.

11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Vanessa Bousay @ Martuni’s The drag songstress, joined by Steven Satyricon, performs her new cabaret show, Luck Be a Lady. $15. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. www.vanessabousay.com

Mon 14 Drag Mondays @ The Cafe

Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko’s weekly drag and dance night, with 9pm RuPaul’s Drag Race viewings. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night includes big-screen games and signature beers, with a new remodeled layout, including an outdoor patio. No cover. 7pm-11pm.

2200 Market St. www.brewcadesf.com

Hysteria @ Martuni’s Irene Tu and Jessica Sele cohost the comedy open mic night for women and queers. No cover. 6pm-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Karaoke Night @ SF Eagle Sing along, with guest host Nick Radford. 8pm-12am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany’s weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm, with 9pm RuPaul’s Drag Race viewings. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge Sing along at the popular musical theatre night; also Wednesdays. 7pm2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing.

4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Sat 12 Gus Ruben’s House Party @ Powerhouse

No No Bingo @ Virgil’s Sea Room Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Opulence @ Beaux Weekly dance night, with Jocques, DJs Tori, Twistmix and Andre. 9pm-2am.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Hella Saucy @ Q Bar Queer dance party at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Meow Mix @ The Stud The weekly themed variety cabaret showcases new and unusual talents; MC Ferosha Titties. $3-$7. Show at 11pm. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Strip down as the strippers also take it all off. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Underwear Night @ 440

OutLoud @ Oasis

Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Joshua Grannell’s monthly storytelling series take son “Evil Eye,” with Honey Mahogany, Cory Sklar, Mister Pam, Krylon Superstar, Ginorma Desmond and Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough. $10.

7:30pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 7953180. www.sfoasis.com

Tue 15

Block Party @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Cock Shot @ Beaux Shot specials and adult Bingo games, with DJs Chad Bays and Riley Patrick, at the new weekly night. No cover.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey’s Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. One-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

Gaymer Night @ Eagle Gay gaming fun on the bar’s big screen TVs. Have a nerdgasm and a beer with your pals. 8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Retro Night @ 440 Castro Jim Hopkins plays classic pop oldies, with vintage music videos. 9pm-2am.

44 Castro St. www.the440.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Una Noche @ Club BnB, Oakland Vicky Jimenez’ drag show and contest; Latin music all night. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Underwear Night @ Club OMG Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials. $4.

10pm-2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Sat 12 ShangriLa @ EndUp

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On the Tab>>

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Thu 17

Ain’t Mama’s Drag @ Balancoire Weekly drag queen and drag king show hosted by Cruzin d’Loo. 8pm10pm. No cover. 2565 Mission St. www.balancoiresf.com

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the racy night with a $100 wet undies buldge contest at midnight. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Sun 13 Bruce Springsteen @ Oracle Arena, Oakland

Wed 16

Comedy Returns @ El Rio

New weekly punk-alternative music night hosted by Uel Renteria and Johnny Rockitt. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Kollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm-8pm.

398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Funny people perform at the monthly show: Sherry Glaser (Off-Broadway’s longest running one-woman show, Family Secrets), Abhay Nadkarni (originally from South India), Baruch Porras-Hernandez (writer/performer/storyteller), Judi Leff (Director of Arts and Cultural Programs at Congregation EmanuEl), Eve Meyer (Executive Director of SF Suicide Prevention), and hostess Lisa Geduldig. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops

Pussy Party @ Beaux

Gym Class @ Hi Tops

Ladies night at the Castro dance club.

9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Enjoy whiskey shots from jockstrapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar.

10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Bedlam @ Beaux

New weekly event with DJs Haute Toddy, Guy Ruben, Mercedez Munro and Abominatrix. Wet T-shirt/jock contest at 11pm. $5-$10. 9pm-2am.

2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Bone @ Powerhouse

Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm.

2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

B.P.M. @ Club BnB, Oakland Olga T and Shugga Shay’s weekly queer women and men’s R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club’s new location. No cover. 8pm-2am.

2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm.

424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle

Rookies Night @ Nob Hill Theatre Watch and vote as newbie strippers compete for $350 in cash prizes. $20.

Show 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell.

397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Maria Konner @ Martuni’s The “trans-diva” singer and multiinstrumentalist performs with her band at the the intimate cocktail bar; 3rd Thursdays. No cover. Open mic afterward. 6:30-8:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Floor 21 @ Starlight Room

Mary Go Round @ Lookout

Juanita More! presents a new weekly scenic happy hour event, with host Rudy Valdez, DJs Vin Sol and Rolo. No cover, and a fantastic panoramic city view. Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St. www.starlightroomsf.com

Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes’ weekly drag show. $5. 10:30pm show. DJ Philip Grasso. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show with themed nights, gogo guys and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am.

4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Jimmy James @ Oasis The talented vocalists, known for spot-on impersonations of Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Bette Davis and other singers, pops into town for one show. $20.

7pm. Two-drink min. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Wed 16

My So-Called Night @ Beaux

Jimmy James @ Oasis

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Lunasa, Tim O’Brien @ Great American Music Hall Grammy-winning songwriter and fellow musicians play modern and traditionla folk, Irish and scottish music in a pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebration. $26-$30. $51 with dinner.

8pm. 859 O’Farrell St. www.slimspresents.com

Man Francisco @ Oasis The sexy, funny weekly male burlesque show returns; choreographed by Christopher James Dunn; Mr Pam MCs. $20. 2 Two-drink min. 9:30pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom.

795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Way Back @ Midnight Sun Weekly screenings of vintage music videos, and retro drink prices. 9pm2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440

Carnie Asada hosts a new weekly ‘90s-themed video, dancin’, drinkin’ night, with VJs Jorge Terez. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90-cent drinks. ‘90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap’s Karaoke @ Virgil’s Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 8292233. www.virgilssf.com

Picante @ The Cafe Lulu and DJ Marco’s Latin night with sexy gogo guys. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG

Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol.

8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Sexitude @ Oasis

Tue 15

D’Arcy Drollinger’s popular aerobic class and dance party will make you sweat! Bring your retro workout gear and then have cocktails. $10. 9pm.

298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Hella Saucy @ Q Bar

Shot in the City

Skate Night @ Church on 8 Wheels Groove on wheels at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the “Godfather of Skate.” Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm.

Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

Throwback Thursdays @ Qbar DJ Jorge Terez spins retro 80s soul, dance and pop classics. No cover. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Thump @ White Horse, Oakland Weekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am.

6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music night with local and touring bands. $8. 9:30pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night; 10pm-2am.

133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com Want your nightlife event listed?

Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event.

Event photos welcome.

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34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • March 10-16, 2016

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Cummings to Town Ryan Cummings at the Nob Hill Theatre

by Cornelius Washington

R

yan Cummings is a natural stud without the over-art direction unfortunately associated with most porn actors (as in too many tattoos, too much product in the hair, overshaved pubes, and overly jacked body). His face, the lines of his body, and his sexuality are unaffected, direct, and seriously hot! You don’t come across men like him too often and the Nob Hill Theatre has him both Friday and Saturday nights.

And with his co-performer, Casey Williams, it’s going to be a weekend of very intense, sweaty, over the top, and masculine sexuality. Eat your Wheaties, buy your lube, and make sure your blood pressure is checked before you go.

Tell me about why you became a porn actor?

It is a common fantasy to want to be a porn star, and to be famous in some way. With my sexual energy and responsiveness, I know that I provide the viewer with being a bottom who gets a very high level of pleasure from sex that you don’t easily find in porn. When I discovered my ability to have multiple anal orgasms that cause my cock to cum over and over, I knew I had something special to offer.

I do it drug free, and I want to show guys that you can be a power bottom, and have an intense experience without drugs. That you can be a cum dump with a healthy balanced real life. I have a good professional day career with a good income, so it’s not about making big money.

I own a nice home, I have friends, hobbies, cars that I show and race; a normal life. But I live

in a very conservative and sexually repressed city in Alberta, Canada, which also conditioned me to be ashamed of being gay. After a life of living closeted and missing out on my 20s, I need adventure and to see places that have actual gay communities with gay culture including sexual liberation.

Do you have a favorite scene that you have been in so far?

Fuck Holes 3 by Treasure Island filmed by Max Sohl. It was my goal from day 1 to work for TIM and especially a ganging scene. A room of tops breed me with 16 loads, plus they fill me with 110 saved loads of cum between tops fucking me. I have anal orgasms including right after a 50-load injection that cause

me to push. My hole is a volcano of cum. I wanted to do something very special and piggy along with showing my true ravenous energy.

Mission accomplished.

Describe your dream scene partner. What would you do with them?

For me it’s not so much about the exact partner, but the scenario of the video.

I think porn needs to move away from filming on sets and show real life sex. I am considering starting my own website that depicts my real sex life. Gangbangs that are not a brightly light room, but a dark room just like a real gangbang and use camera lights, filming out door sex in parks day and night, other

public venues that sex happen, back rooms of bars, etc.

Have you ever performed sex live for an audience before?

I started with doing live sex shows before doing porn. As an extreme exhibitionist, I love doing live sex shows, and the bigger the audience the better. I thrive on other people’s energy and reactions to seeing something very different.

“Oh wow, he just came again. Oh wow again, and again, and again, Oh my god how much can this guy cum?”

What are your expectations and fantasies about this upcoming weekend?

Nob Hill Theater is a rite of

passage. If you consider yourself a true porn star, what does that really mean besides doing more than a few films of fucking in front of a camera?

Events like HustlaBall, Hard On in London, Nob Hill Theater all establish the level you have achieved as a porn star and being a porn celebrity. To me this is a real honor.

Your partner this weekend will be Casey Williams. What do you think you two will bring to the stage that has never been done before?

I hooked up with Casey before for personal sex. Yes, he is super built and hot, but our chemistry was what really made it amazing. He has a rock hard cock that hits my A spot combined with his power fucking. I shocked him by coming over 20 times in 30 min.

That is a lot even for me. My multicoming can be up and down some days, and with any live sex show, my biggest worry is how well the top will perform and if he can make me multi orgasm. But we will also be moving around to different parts of the stage and theater so guys can get up close to the show.t

Read plenty more with Ryan on www.ebar.com/bartab/.

Ryan Cummings performs solo shows (8pm) and duo sex shows with Casey Williams (10pm).

March 11 & 12. $25. Nob Hill Theatre 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Ryan Cummings

To see Cornelius Washington’s Erotic Photography, log on to www.CuirPhoto.com.

t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

Shooting Stars

March 10-16, 2016 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

photos by steven underhill Force @ Oasis G

lam guys and gals grooved at Force, the new fun costume dance night. Ragertom Entertainment’s monthly event returns this Friday March 11, with DJs Shawn Perry, Joshua D and Brian, and a sports gear theme, at Oasis, 298 11th St. www.facebook.com/ragertoment/ & www.sfoasis.com, More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife.

See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

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For headshots, portraits or to arrange your wedding photos

call (415) 370-7152 or visit www.StevenUnderhill.com or email stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse. You can quit.

CALL 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

#CDCTips

HIV alone didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause the clogged artery in my neck.

Smoking with HIV did.

Brian, age 45, California