September 10, 2015 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 45 • No. 37 • September 10-16, 2015

Sex workers M protest Rentboy raid

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Jane Philomen Cleland

Oakland Pride banners, like this one at Franklin and 20th streets, promote Sunday’s parade and festival.

Oakland Pride expands

A demonstration against the recent federal raid of gay escort site Rentboy. com attracted about 100 people last weekend in the Castro.

by Matthew S. Bajko

aving pushed the event to a later date this year, Oakland Pride organizers expect to see the number of attendees increase to 50,000 at this Sunday’s parade and festival, an increase of at least 5,000 from the 2014 event, which was held over the Labor Day weekend. Oakland Pride has also raised a record $150,000 so far in sponsorships for the 2015 event. The total is $70,000 more than what the Pride board has raised in past years and has helped it retire the $40,000 in debt it was carrying from the 2014 event. “This year is the first year we actually have been in the black,” said Pride board Co-Chair Carlos Uribe. “It is due to the number of sponsors and the dollar amounts we have been able to bring in this year. We are also trying to keep costs down.” With many people out of town for the Labor Day holiday, the volunteer-run Pride board decided to throw the 2015 event a week later. And this year marks the second time since the annual LGBT event was revived in 2009 that there is a parade up Broadway to kick off the festivities. “For the past couple of years we’ve asked our audience what can we do to improve Pride. One of the things we heard from Oakland folks was, can you change the date so we can be there,” said Uribe. As of Tuesday afternoon, 60 contingents had signed up to march in the parade, which will commence at 10:30 a.m. from 14th Street in downtown Oakland. One of the larger entrants is expected to be Kaiser Permanente, whose chairman and chief executive Bernard J. Tyson is this year’s Pride Partner grand marshal of the parade. “They have come in as a major sponsor this year. Not just in terms of a cash donation but just a huge amount of support,” said Uribe, noting the company helped pay for banners promoting this year’s Oakland Pride that went up last week around the city’s downtown and Lake Merritt areas. See page 18 >>

ore than 100 sex workers and their supporters gathered in the Castro last weekend to protest the recent federal raid of gay escort site Rentboy.com. The escort and gay porn communities are still reeling in the aftermath of the August 25 raid on the New York City offices of Rentboy. com, a popular site for gay escorts to connect with potential clients. Rentboy CEO Jeffrey Hurant and six of his employees were taken into custody by agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the New York Police Department. The Rentboy site has since been shuttered. Reaction from the LGBT community was swift, with many decrying what they call a “war on sex” amid calls to decriminalize a profession that protesters say helps some sex workers to pay the bills. The raid came shortly after Amnesty International delegates from around the world adopted a resolution that authorized the global group’s board to develop and adopt a policy protecting the human rights of sex workers. Since then, several LGBT organizations, including the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center, have called for the decriminalization of sex work. Mark Sade, a member of San Francisco’s BDSM community, organized “Labor of Love,” a September 5 rally in support of sex worker’s See page 17 >>

Gay leader marks a decade at East Bay Jewish agency Rick Gerharter

by Matthew S. Bajko

en years ago Andrew “Avi” Rose, an outspoken leader in the fight against AIDS during the epidemic’s early years, was a stay-at-home dad raising two children with his husband and working parttime as a consultant when he was recruited to be the interim executive director at the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay. Initially hired on a temporary basis, Rose, a licensed clinical social worker, and the agency clicked. A decade later the 61-year-old continues to oversee the 138-year-old provider of services not only to the East Bay’s Jewish community but a wide array of clients, both LGBT and straight, from children and minority families to seniors and refugees. “That combination of working within the Jewish community but also within our wonderfully diverse, multicultural East Bay world is really powerful and satisfying for me,” said Rose, who lives with his husband, Ron Strochlic, and their children Oren Rose-Strochlic, 13, and Aviva Rose-Strochlic, 12, in Oakland. Rose is about to preside over one of the biggest changes to the agency during his tenure. In October it will rebrand itself as the Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay and debut a new tagline of “Compassion in action. Commitment to all.”

Susan Freundlich

Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay Executive Director Andrew “Avi” Rose

Changing that one word in its name, which has been under discussion since the start of the year, will better reflect the vast array of services and people the agency serves, explained Rose during an hourlong interview with the Bay Area Reporter at the agency’s offices in downtown Berkeley. “It is one of the most challenging parts of our job to have the name we have and reach all the

people who we want to reach who can benefit from our services,” he said. “The new name honors our history, but even more clearly and emphatically, it emphasizes the breadth of who we are. Thirty percent of our clients are Jewish and 70 percent are not.” Rose’s ability to connect with people from disparate backgrounds, said Rabbi Yoel Kahn, a gay man who serves on JFCS/East Bay’s board and has known Rose for 30 years, makes him ideally suited to oversee an agency working with such a diverse client base. “Avi is one of these bridge building, connecting leaders,” said Kahn, now at Congregation Beth El in Berkeley. He noted that, “Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay is largely supported by and rooted in the Jewish community but its clientele is across the community.” The agency continues to serve a large number of Holocaust survivors, said Rose, while the majority of the refugees it has helped to resettle in the area over the last 15 years are Muslims from Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, Syria, and Bosnia. “We have our own history as Jews needing refuge and having a core value of welcoming the stranger. So we feel strongly about continuing to bring in refugees who need a home, to stand up for them, to stand with them,” said See page 17 >>

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September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

LGBT shelter almost full by Seth Hemmelgarn

ess than three months after it opened, a San Francisco shelter designed to be welcoming to LGBTs is almost full. Jazzie’s Place, at 1050 South Van Ness Avenue, has 24 beds. As of late August, 20 people were staying at the space, which is operated by Dolores Street Community Services. Enrique Roldan, a DSCS shelter manager, said in an email that two of the residents had been there since the facility opened June 17. Residents may stay for up to 90 days and may be able to extend that an additional 30 days. There were 71 people on the waiting list for Jazzie’s Place as of August 26. DSCS Executive Director Wendy Phillips said in an interview in early August, when Jazzie’s was “still pretty new,” that there had been a “slow ramping up process” in getting the beds filled, “but the people who are there seem to be happy there.” The shelter wasn’t able to provide demographic data on the clients, but in early August, Phillips said that it was a “very diverse group in all respects,” including gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Roldan said shelter staff don’t ask people about their sexual orientation, but they estimated 18 of the 20 people are LGBT. Staff also don’t ask residents where they’re from, but he said,

Rick Gerharter

Dolores Street Community Services Executive Director Wendy Phillips

“Anecdotally, we know that two of them are not originally from SF, but that’s just because they happen to mention this fact.” The agency estimates that about one-third of its residents haven’t previously stayed in a shelter. Phillips said that so far the scene was “harmonious,” but there had been a fight “a few weeks” beforehand just outside the shelter between two men. The perpetrator was a Jazzie’s resident. Phillips said there had been injuries, but they weren’t serious. The incident was reported to police. Asked for information such as the name of the person who was

arrested, a summary of what had happened, and denial of services for the perpetrator, Roldan said, “We are not able to share details about the incident due to our requirement of protecting client confidentiality.” The space’s opening came after more than five years of permit, funding, and other delays. Advocates and elected officials had been pushing for the shelter since a March 2010 Board of Supervisors hearing in which several LGBTs told of harassment they had experienced at the city’s shelters. Jazzie’s, which is named after Jazzie Collins, a transgender woman who advocated for housing, seniors, and other issues and died in 2013, is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Phillips said her agency doesn’t have the funding to expand its hours, because the location, which also includes other shelter spaces, is home to a preschool and union office. Roldan provided contact information for two residents for this story. The Bay Area Reporter wasn’t able to get one of them on the phone, and the other would only comment anonymously. The B.A.R. strives to avoid using anonymous sources. People interested in signing up for the shelter’s wait list may go to Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, 165 Capp Street, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or be referred through DSCS or AIDS Housing Alliance/San Francisco.t

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SF supes address trans concerns on police by Seth Hemmelgarn

egislation meant to help gauge police interactions with transgender people and others unanimously passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week, following years of concerns about abuse of trans, black, and other communities at the hands of law enforcement. The proposal, introduced by District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen, originally would have required police and sheriff ’s officials to ask people about their gender identity, in order to track how often they were being held, but that provision was dropped when advocates worried it would have led to more harassment. The legislation, which the 11 supervisors approved at their first meeting after the summer recess Tuesday, September 8, still addresses transgender concerns. On a quarterly basis, police would have to report how many complaints the Office of Citizen Complaints says are based on gender identity or other factors. The ordinance also requires officers to record the race or ethnicity, sex, and approximate age of people detained in traffic stops and other encounters. Data on arrests, warnings, and other outcomes would also be collected. In an interview shortly before Tuesday’s vote, Cohen said she removed the requirement that people’s gender identity data be collected at the request of LGBT groups so as “not to place transgender individuals at an increased risk for discrimination, harassment, or violence.” She said she was “a little bit disappointed” at losing the gender identity data, but “I’m not looking to create an uncomfortable environment” for trans people. “In time, we may get to a place where we’re able to collect this information,” Cohen said.

Complaints

Community United Against Violence, a San Francisco nonprofit that works with transgender people and

Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Malia Cohen

others, is one of the agencies that expressed concern to Cohen about the legislation. Carolina Morales, CUAV’s programs co-director, said her agency wanted gender identity dropped because it would have made “transgender and gender non-conforming people more vulnerable to violence” and “harassment from police.” Morales, a cis queer woman, said, “As I understand the issue,” the OCC “has a high number of complaints” from transgender people “and it doesn’t match the number of people the police department say they are interacting with” based on race and gender. Morales doesn’t know how many transgender-related complaints OCC has received this year, and the agency wasn’t immediately able to provide the data Tuesday. Morales said CUAV gets “at least one complaint every week” from queer and transgender people from “all across the city” who say they’ve been harassed or wrongfully arrested. People who complain to her agency are “not necessarily” being targeted specifically for being queer or trans, she said, but sometimes when officers responding to incidents realize someone is trans, “that, all of a sudden, becomes the central issue, rather than the violence that

was occurring.” During a domestic violence case last year, Morales said, “one officer started making jokes with other officers on the scene about this person being transgender, and laughing about it.” She said the subject involved didn’t file an OCC complaint. “That person is very scared,” Morales said. Transgender police officer Broderick Elton has for years been the department’s liaison to the trans community, but Morales said she hasn’t talked to him about the issues Cohen’s legislation is meant to address. Asked why she hadn’t, Morales said Elton’s “already been informed.” He’s been at “different forums where LGBT victims of violence have already expressed their concerns,” she said. She estimated the most recent forum was “a few months ago.” Elton and police spokespeople didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment Tuesday.

‘Horrific events’

Cohen said agencies, including the police department, have been “very helpful in crafting this legislation.” However, she said that as an African American woman, she could connect with the fear people feel about police. Addressing other supervisors about her legislation Tuesday, Cohen recalled the “horrific events” that have taken place across the country recently “where police have either killed or seriously injured” African Americans and others. She said that nationally, transgender people also experience “police violence” disproportionately. Gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos asked Tuesday to be added to the list of co-sponsors for Cohen’s legislation. Campos called the proposal “a step in the right direction,” but said “a lot more needs to be done,” including in agencies’ training, hiring, and disciplinary proceedings.t

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4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Volume 45, Number 37 September 10-16, 2015 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 • 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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AHF calls truce on PrEP

he latest study results of Truvada, the drug used for PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, found that not a single person became infected with HIV. The Kaiser study followed more than 650 people beginning in 2012 when the U.S. Food and Drug administration approved Truvada. The Kaiser study is the most definitive yet that a once-a-day pill can prevent HIV if taken as prescribed, and it validates previous clinical trials that also showed remarkable promise for the drug (HIV infection was reduced for people who are high risk by 92 percent when they took the medication as directed). That’s good news as federal, state, and local entities work to ramp up PrEP use, especially among gay and bisexual men. Expanded access to PrEP, via Truvada (tenofovir and emtricitabine), is a cornerstone of San Francisco’s Getting to Zero coalition, which aims to dramatically reduce HIV transmission by 90 percent by 2020. The ultimate goal is no HIV infections. An important aspect of the Kaiser study is that it’s the first one to follow people on PrEP in real-world settings, without the regulations of a clinical trial. Participants in the study were sexually active. Many did not use condoms, and half were diagnosed with other sexually transmitted diseases. Researchers found no new HIV infections. There’s never been much to debate about Truvada for PrEP. But one agency, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has waged a lonely battle against the drug, cherrypicking research results, and fearmongering to sway the LGBT

community. In fact, it was just over a year ago that AHF launched a full-scale assault on PrEP, running misleading ads in this newspaper and elsewhere claiming that the clinical trial PrEP results weren’t as good as were claimed. But it’s been a long 12 months for AHF and its outspoken president, Michael Weinstein. With this latest Kaiser “real-world” study confirming previous results, AHF has retooled its message, and that’s a good thing. In its latest ad, which ran in the Bay Area Reporter, AHF is “Reaching for Common Ground on PrEP.” The agency now has principles it’s offering “for the administration of PrEP for the community’s consideration.” Those include PrEP for those who have not and will not use condoms; testing and re-testing for STDs for those taking PrEP; and urging those considering PrEP to thoroughly discuss the issue with their medical provider. AHF also urges people who are on PrEP to take the drug

every day. That’s important because adherence to the medication regimen is key. AHF also offers some advice that’s worth repeating: medical providers need to engage in “frank conversations” about sexual risks with patients. We would add general sexual health, too. We still hear too many stories about LGBT people who have reservations about candid conversations with their doctors, or worse, physicians who don’t “get it” when patients reveal that they are LGBT. This underscores the need for regular training of medical professionals on LGBT health issues. Access to PrEP is a crucial component, not only for San Francisco’s Getting to Zero program, but for the success of PrEP worldwide. The costs must come down, insurers must include it in covered prescriptions, and it needs to be widely available in developing countries in Africa and Central and South America. AHF stated in its principles that “more study is needed, particularly among marginalized populations such as women, youth, AfricanAmericans, and Latinos about the likelihood of adherence to PrEP.” We think such studies can be conducted in real-world environments similar to the Kaiser research. That way, patients would have access to the drug and follow-up counseling to help them succeed. We suspect that adherence to the regimen won’t be a problem. What will be challenging is making sure people who are in lower income brackets, which historically in this country includes minorities, are able to afford PrEP, or receive a subsidy or patient assistance plan to get it. AHF still doesn’t seem convinced that PrEP is a major new tool in the fight against HIV. But with its latest ad campaign calling for a truce, it’s clear that AHF’s tired of fighting a losing battle.t

Virtual love, real life by Mitchell Halberstadt “Later I would think of America as one vast City of Night stretching gaudily from Times Square to Hollywood Boulevard: jukeboxwinking, rock-n-roll moaning – America at night fusing her darkcities into the unmistakable shape of loneliness.” – John Rechy

he August 25 federal raid on Rentboy.com has already been widely condemned in the mainstream press. As a New York Times editorial notes, “It’s somewhat baffling that taking down a website that operated in plain sight for nearly two decades suddenly became an investigative priority for the Department of Homeland Security and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.” Some have even suggested that the takedown was instigated by politically connected clients afraid of exposure. As an ex-client myself, however, the last risk I’d want to take would involve my name ending up with the feds. (If I were richer, I’d hire others to cruise online). So why now? My guess? Follow the money (and vile ambition) – the lust for an open seat as U.S. attorney (just vacated by Loretta Lynch when she became U.S. attorney general). A dirty business, indeed ... Meanwhile, numerous similar sites remain online – with room now for one more, perhaps best named “Pander Express.” These are real exercises in harm-reduction: keeping hookers off the street, out of harm’s way, with options to assess clients beforehand, and even to indicate whether their practice is (HIV) “safe.” Exploitation? Hardly, when the price of an ad capitalizes a full-fledged entrepreneur charging $300 per hour, $1,000 overnight. Indeed, raids like this (and outlawing prostitution itself) are so stupid that they threaten to preclude any rational discussion about the cultural and ethical ramifications of so-called sex work. Obviously sex can be work; a more important question is whether it should be. In that regard, there’s a revealing old adage among hookers – that the real challenge isn’t getting in the door; it’s getting out. Thus, the proverbial pudgy 55-year-old, lonely and looking for love (cited in an Atlantic piece justifying the “profession”), will be sorely disappointed by what gets out the door – if closeted, paying to cover his hypocrisy.

Rick Gerharter

Nearly 100 people came out to protest last month’s Homeland Security raid on Rentboy.com.

Conversely, the sex worker – who stakes his survival on providing a performance – a mere simulacrum of affection for his love-starved client – is compromising his own integrity. Moreover, by reducing his own sexuality to the provision of entertainment, he’s discounting his own spontaneous propensity for the real thing. If all this is driven by necessity or prior trauma, it’s all-the-more sad. Meanwhile, the “queerer than thou” contingent is bewailing the Rentboy raid as a logical outcome of marriage equality – symptomatic of the horrors of so-called assimilationism. I once shared such a view – considering same-sex marriage preposterous – a kludge, an attempt to mimic a heteronormative social structure. I now realize that we’ve merely added a new option, for some, an opportunity to reshape what might otherwise be a life of loneliness, of “trade,” of commercialized or furtive sex. In the process, the affectations of “queer” ghetto culture might lose their centrality – but as alternatives (witness Folsom Street!) they’re no more threatened than so-called traditional marriage. In any event, one can deplore prostitution without invoking the law or the apparatus of the state. Sex panic? The real objection here is not to sex, but to the commodification of affection and the colonization of intimacy. After all, prostitution is to sexuality what fast food is to food.

Why bother pontificating? Now 65, a lifelong activist, I was once that “pudgy 55-year-old” – an over-age adolescent, never a closet case. I’ve striven mightily not to be a Larry Kramer-style curmudgeon – instead, upholding an ideal of polymorphous sexuality – only to conclude (after a few years’ dalliance with some tantalizing rentboys) that Kramer’s right about the need to grow up – about the complex commitments and sustained care this involves – in a world where we may not all share the same romantic vision. Meanwhile, issues of class, real (or even perceived) disparities of wealth and power, corrupt and distort the emotional and spiritual components entwined with sexuality. Unfortunately, although many sex workers may be honest entertainers, or even skilled sex therapists, the necessary packaging, the inevitable pitch (as per Rentboy’s appeal, “Pimp Yourself Now”), merely compounds the problem. Any worthwhile dialogue must be nuanced. That’s hard when passion (quite literally) is involved, especially when alarming numbers of people (who formerly might have been middle class) struggle to survive in a warped economy, like destitute islanders waiting for a cruise ship to dock. This is no inspiring vision for our youth. It sure ain’t Woodstock; it isn’t even your (gay fore-) fathers’ disco era. I merely hope (after all) to impart a glimmer of wisdom on a subject that seethes with sloganeering and hypocrisy on all sides. In that regard, if the ideal of an erotic community is at stake, it’s worth noting that prostitution is neither free, nor is it love (and in many ways, is the opposite of both). As for what remains of any utopian dreams? As any hooker might upbraid me, heading out the door: What did I expect? At this point, I’m trying to stay healthy and clear-headed. I’ve adopted a kitten (real affection, all night, for 50 cents’ worth of cat food!). For others, the winning pitch remains the same: “I won’t take less than your love.” Am I out in the nick of time?t Mitchell Halberstadt is a San Francisco resident.

Letters >>

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Pride board had similar situation in 2013

A few comments regarding San Francisco Pride board President Gary Virginia’s Guest Opinion in last week’s Bay Area Reporter [“Lots at stake in SF Pride board vote,” September 3]. On the issue of community groups “bloating” Prides’ membership rolls (full disclosure and disclaimer, I am a current member of the Pride board but am not speaking on behalf of San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee Inc.): SF Pride bloat is a time honored tradition and is fully in keeping with Pride’s bylaws and policy and procedures. In fact, there seems to be some selective short-term memory loss concerning Pride’s recent bloating history in the op-ed. It was only a mere two years ago that Virginia, myself, and several other still-sitting board members were elected to the board after we organized and “bloated the membership” with community members who opposed the former board’s decision to rescind and void the election of Chelsea Manning as a parade grand marshal. The accusations leveled against our coalition of candidates by some of the then-board’s members included an anti-corporation sponsorship bias, single issueness, and general chaos and anarchy if we were to be elected. Well, we were elected and the organization is better for it. In fact, in my 10 years of direct involvement on the board and many more years observing it, the bloatings have on the whole improved the fiscal and business operations of SF Pride and helped the board better represent the multiple hopes and aspirations of our diverse community. It is my belief that SF Pride needs to welcome all aspects of our grassroots community. I hope that the personal opinions of the board’s current president will not be construed as the full board condemning the participation of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and the My Name Is # coalition, along with any other possible

membership bloaters such as Cheer SF, the Imperial Court, or whomever. I personally look forward to seeing all bloating and non-bloating members at our September 12 annual general membership meeting. Joey Cain San Francisco

Vidal was entertaining, astute

Letter-writer Frederic Millen’s assessment of Gore Vidal – “a lifelong megalomaniac” – is belied by the facts of Vidal’s career [Mailstrom, August 27]. Vidal was not only a highly entertaining novelist and playwright, but also devoted to justice. His essays on politics were prescient warnings about U.S. aggression from Nicaragua to Iraq. He knew American history thoroughly, and blasted received ideas about politicians like Ronald Reagan and events like the bombing of Hiroshima. He wrote regularly for the Nation magazine, which couldn’t have paid him much money. Could one so devoted to the common good be labeled “megalomaniac?” He also was devoted to his friends. His sympathetic essays on Eleanor Roosevelt, Tennessee Williams, Frank Sinatra, and others strike a miraculous balance between affection and detachment. And would a megalomaniac have included this bit of dialogue – funny at his own expense – in his memoir, Palimpsest? The dialogue is between Vidal and Truman Capote, whom Vidal considered an habitual liar, and concerns Vidal’s sex life: “Once Truman said to me, ‘I hear you’re just the lay lousé.’” Vidal’s response: “At last, Truman, you’ve got it right.”

upporters of embattled San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, upset that the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club did not endorse him for re-election, have forced through a re-vote of the club’s endorsement in the race. Mirkarimi failed to secure the queer progressive political group’s support by only a handful of votes when it held its endorsement meeting in July, according to members of the club. Last week, the club’s co-presidents held a special meeting aimed at mending fences after a number of longtime Milk club leaders lashed out against newer members of the group for not backing Mirkarimi. The sheriff ’s supporters used the meeting to press for a re-vote on endorsing him. An attempt to suspend the club’s bylaws and immediately re-vote at the September 1 meeting, as called for by former city ethics commissioner Paul Melbostad, was rejected. A second motion to suspend the bylaws and schedule the re-vote for the club’s monthly general membership meeting Tuesday, September 15 then passed. In an interview this week with the Bay Area Reporter, for which he serves as legal counsel, Melbostad said he pushed to have the club vote again on supporting Mirkarimi “purely at my instigation as a longtime member of the Milk club,” which he joined in 1980. “This was my idea as a longtime member of the club who feels very strongly we should take a position in the sheriff ’s race where it is a subject of national debate,” said Melbostad, referring to the criticism Mirkarimi has faced following the killing of a woman on a city pier by an undocumented immigrant who had been released from county jail. Due to the city’s sanctuary city policy, the sheriff ’s department released the individual without alerting federal immigration authorities. That decision, which Mirkarimi has

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Milk club to revote on endorsing Sheriff Mirkarimi by Matthew S. Bajko

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

repeatedly defended, has Milk Democratic Club can come under withering critcontinue to self-identify as icism from Mayor Ed Lee the most progressive Demand other elected officials. ocratic club in America And the story has been while embracing all of the turned into a cause célèabove,” Debra Cleaver, a bre by Fox News host Bill former Milk club board O’Reilly and Republican member and former treaJane Philomen Cleland presidential candidates. surer, told the B.A.R. “Our sheriff is currently Sheriff Ross Neither of the club’s under attack by Donald Mirkarimi current co-presidents, Trump and Jeb Bush and Laura Thomas and Peter other right-wing forces. The attack Gallotta, responded to requests for is actually directed at the city’s sanccomment by press time Wednesday. tuary city policy, which is strongly During a recent editorial board supported by the Harvey Milk club meeting with the B.A.R. Mirkarimi and, I believe, a majority of San suggested the reason he failed to win Franciscans,” said Melbostad. “It is the Milk club’s backing in July was due important the club take a position to the group’s slate card it sends out to backing up the sheriff when he is voters “and concern I might be on it.” being attacked for upholding or With the club’s slate card being implementing a policy finalized this month and early votthe club supports.” ing set to begin October 5, MelbosNot everyone in the tad said that the club could not wait Milk club agrees that until next month to reconsider its the club needs to resupport for the sheriff. vote on an endorsement “I do believe the matter was of Mirkarimi. He is in a urgent,” he said. “Typically, that’s tough re-election fight when we have moved to suspend against former chief the bylaws.” deputy sheriff Vicki It remains to be seen if MirkariHennessy, who served mi’s camp can marshal the votes to as the interim chief secure the Milk club endorsement. when Mirkarimi was “I think it is going to be close, suspended during his first year in just like it was in July,” said former office as he fought domestic abuse Milk club co-president David Wagcharges stemming from an incident goner, who had been Mirkarimi’s with his wife. personal attorney but is no longer He ended up pleading guilty to a employed by the sheriff or his refalse imprisonment charge, won his election campaign. job back, and this spring, secured As for the sheriff, when asked if having his conviction expunged he would secure Milk’s support, he from his record. Nonetheless, he said, “I am in the business of second continues to be dogged by the scanchances. It’s not lost on me.” dal and has faced a series of controAlice to early versies during his first term. endorse Wiener, Harris Melbostad and other Milk club The city’s more moderate Alice members backing the sheriff have B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club been accused of flouting the club’s is expected to easily award early enbylaws and Roberts Rules of Order dorsements in two 2016 races when in order to ram through the new enits members meet next week. dorsement vote for Mirkarimi. They The club has scheduled at its Sepcontend that the proper forum for tember 14 meeting votes on early the Mirkarimi supporters to ask for nods for Scott Wiener in the state an endorsement re-vote would be at Senate District 11 race and for state the September general membership Attorney General Kamala Harris in meeting, with the actual vote taking the race for the U.S. Senate seat held place at the club’s meeting in October. by Democrat Barbara Boxer, who “Ageism, sexism, verbal abuse and election rigging are not progressive See page 18 >> values. It’s unclear how the Harvey

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6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Gay entrepreneurs plant a stake in Sonoma wine country by Matthew S. Bajko

Tastings at the vineyard customers, whose numbers cost $20 per person or free have grown in conjunction ay entrepreneurs are increasfor members of its wine club. with the increased popularity ingly uncorking the business For hours and more informaof nearby Healdsburg. potential of Sonoma County’s tion visit http://www.iron“I just fell in love with this famed vineyards. The ventures run horsevineyards.com/. town. Looking at the number the gamut, from producing their of people who came here, it own boutique wines and helping Comedy among the casks didn’t make sense to open a market others to hosting visiting Injecting a bit of humor into tasting room. But I just found oenophiles and producing wine wine country is Lisa Pidge, the it comfortable here,” admitted country events. founder and owner of CrushBeard. Phoenix transplant Brad Beard, ers of Comedy. He loves to see the surprised 47, landed in the small town of Her wife, Carlee Pidge, 33, reactions of gay and lesbian Geyserville and started producing serves as a co-producer and people who visit the tasting his own wines in 2005. He opened a handles outreach for the shows. room without knowing betasting room (21015 Geyserville AvThe two met a year ago and were forehand it is run by an out enue) to promote and sell his Merengaged within three weeks; the winemaker. cury Wine label in September 2009. couple married in February at “The last thing I would exJoining him was his brother, San Francisco City Hall. pect is an out gay guy selling Grady, who moved with his wife A wine country publicist, wine in this dusty, small town,” and works as the tasting room manLisa Pidge, 46, who grew up said Beard. Rick Gerharter ager. They sell anywhere in the area, a year ago began The siblings’ secret from 2,500 to 2,800 weapon is their Brad Beard with his dog, Freddie, at the Mercury Winery tasting room in Geyserville. producing comedy nights at cases a year, with a goal the winery Deerfield Ranch other “co-worker,” to reach 3,000 cases by (10200 Sonoma Highway) Beard’s black LabAkins has long been friends with summer weekend event geared 2016. in Kenwood where she lives. The rador Retriever Freddie, Iron Horse CEO and co-owner Joy toward hirsute gay men and their “Our parents didn’t events take place indoors in the who helps draw in cusSterling, whose parents released admirers. drink wine, they drank wine cave or outside on the crush tomers and is credited their first estate chardonnay in 1978. Added Murphy, “Our guests tequila and backyard pad overlooking the vineyards. with selling thousands “I tell Mark, make it gorgeous. are 20 percent gay and 80 percent beer,” said Beard, She took off August and Septemof dollars in wine. Basically, he does that. What more straight. It has been pretty consiswhose first knowlber from hosting the monthly events “Freddie brings directions does he need?” said Stertent since we bought the inn.” edge about viniculture due to the annual grape harvest and people in,” said Beard. ling of their collaborative process, They have noticed the exact opcame from working in is planning a Halloween-themed “People go to the door adding that she considers Berry to posite in terms of business owners the restaurant of an Arizona resort show in October called Comedy in and see him and stop in.” be part of her “brain trust.” in the area since they took over the hotel. “The catering director took the Bat Cave. One day the vineyards social inn, with many longtime straight me under his wing and took me to Gay-owned inn “I wanted it to be a platform for media manager called Sterling and business people selling to gays and tastings. I had a sensitive palate.” caters to wine tourists female comics of color who still remarked what a “gorgeous sight it lesbians. As his knowledge of wines grew, A short drive away off Highway have a tough time on the circuit,” was to see rainbow flags fluttering in “Guerneville’s reputation as a Beard was hired as the buyer for a 1 (take the Westside Road exit) in said Pidge. “There are still emcees the wind,” she recalled. gay party destination has decreased small chain of local wine shops. He Guerneville is the gay-owned Sowho say, ‘You ready for a female That conversation led to the cresomewhat markedly, while the traveled the world, meeting with noma Orchid Inn, which caters to comic?’ We are just comics.” ation of the Rainbow Cuvee, which number of gay business owners has various winemakers and learning wine tourists. Run by Brian Siewers Most of the comics are flown was served at the White House increased,” said Murphy. their trade secrets. and Dana Murphy, who married in up from Los Angeles, where Pidge, in June last year during an LGBT To attract a loyal clientele of reWhen the economy tanked in December 2013, the dog-friendly whose father was a Czechoslovak Jew reception marking Pride Month. peat visitors, the couple has strived 2008, Beard left his job to focus on bed-and-breakfast features rooms and mother is half Filipina and ChiThe second vintage of the Rainbow to create special touches to make making his own wines and relocated in the main house as well as a nearby nese, lived and performed in improv Cuvee was served this year. their guests feel at home. Murphy permanently to California. His excarriage house each furnished with and local theater productions. “It’s a phenomenal honor,” said not only provides a home-cooked pertise is making blended wines. queen beds. “I realized I liked producing Sterling, whose family wines have breakfast but bakes a fresh batch of more,” said Pidge, who returned to been served by the last five adminiscookies each day from a recipe subnorthern California four years ago trations in the White House. mitted by one of their guests. The after stints in Tokyo and Manhattan. The vineyard makes just 250 winning entrant, voted on in March Her shows attract a large local cases total of the Rainbow Cuvee, by guests at the inn, receives a free following, about 60 percent she estiwhich costs $58 a bottle and was two-night stay. mates, with the rest tourists looking sold this year at Swirl in the Castro They also stock the guest kitchen for some nightlife among the grape and served at several restaurants, with juice and water, as well as a vines. She also has a “strong LGBT such as Park Tavern and Marlowe. tasting room etiquette guide. There audience.” It has debuted each new vintage – are also homemade jams for sale “Crushers of Comedy is a way to the wines taste different from year created from the fruits of an on-site provide people entertainment beto year – at the annual Out in the orchard. cause we don’t have anything here,” Vineyard event in May. The secret to their being innkeepsaid Pidge. “People staying at the “We don’t advertise, period,” said ers, said Murphy, is that “We like BnBs or the Flamingo [Resort and Sterling, who said the vineyard is people.” Spa] are coming to the shows becommitted to releasing a Rainbow Added Siewers, “We have differcause they want something to do at Cuvee each year. ent personalities so we can clique night. We hope to leave them with a The label Berry created incorwith different guests. We love the really good impression of Kenwood.” porates the colors of the rainbow area, too.” Rick Gerharter Tickets cost $25 for the 90-minflag in a subtle manner with the Rooms run from $149 to $189 a ute shows featuring three comics. Joy Sterling, left, and label designer Mark Berry share a laugh at vineyard’s signature label design. night, with a surcharge of $30 per Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for people the Iron Horse Vineyards. A rainbow border is overlaid on an pet. There is a 45-pound limit for to buy wine and food with the iridescent clear foil stamp to pick dogs, who can be left in the room if performances from 7 to 8:30 p.m. up the entire spectrum of colors, well behaved. “Mother Nature did a beautiful The couple, who met in 1987, An after party usually takes place explained Berry. The inn closes during Thanksjob getting us grapes. I think it is bought the property in 2006 and at the Kenwood Restaurant until “I think because it is delicious and giving week, and is especially busy better to mix them to make a great lives on-site as full-time innkeepers. midnight. a reason for celebration, what we between Christmas and New Year’s. wine,” said Beard, who produces They began thinking about leaving To buy tickets and find out about are trying to do with the Rainbow January through April is the slow small batches of five wines at a given their corporate jobs about five years upcoming shows, visit http://www. Cuvee is to celebrate equality,” said season, with discounts often of 20 time. ago for the hospitality business. crushersofcomedy.com/.t Berry. “I always in my head had the to 26 percent depending on length Beard charges a $10 tasting fee “We were at a dinner and said we rainbow flag and the colors partly of stay. that is waived with the purchase of a were thinking about becoming innGot a tip on LGBT business because they are the most identifiFor more information, visit http:// bottle of wine. Prices range from $26 keepers. Our friends went crazy,” renews? Call Matthew S. Bajko at able. If you veer too far from that it www.sonomaorchidinn.com/. (415) 829-8836 or e-mail m.bajko@ for his The 1000, a Cabernet/Zincalled Murphy, 51, who was stressed would get lost in the interpretation.” ebar.com. fandel blend, up to $49 for his 2011 out from working in information

The Element, a mix of Mourverde, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel. During a July visit to his tasting room, Beard was also pouring from bottles of a 2013 Heritage Oak, a $32 white wine made from a dry farmed vineyard in Alexander Valley, and two other red wine blends, including his $37 CRU Lot IV, which is created by the help of members of his wine club at an annual party he hosts. “No doubt I could not make it without the wine club,” said Beard, who is marrying his fiance, Danny Fox, later this month, whom he met nearly six years ago online. Since opening his doors, four more tasting rooms have opened along downtown Geyserville’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it downtown. And several restaurants help attract

services. It took the couple six months of searching before they found the right property. They share the grounds with their black cat, Inky, a white cat named Domino because of its black spots, and their border terriers Coriander and Saffron, nicknamed the “Spice Dogs.” They also often have egg-laying hens roaming the grounds. Even though they are a mere five minutes from downtown Guerneville, known as a gay resort town, most of the guests at the Sonoma Orchid Inn (12850 River Road) are straight or gay couples traveling with their parents or other relatives. “We get people who want to do wine tasting or want to get away from the music during Lazy Bear,” said Siewers, 56, referring to the

Maker of designer labels

In 2000 husbands Mark Berry and Rob Akins launched their own small marketing package design firm called Akins/Berry Creative. Berry’s artistic talents soon caught the eye of the owners of Iron Horse Vineyards in Sebastopol. Their partnership began 15 years ago, and in 2004, Berry helped redesign all of the packaging for Iron Horse’s estate wines, which feature a rampant horse on a weathervane. In 2014 he created the labels for its new Rainbow Cuvee, aimed at celebrating LGBT equal rights. “I call it gay cuvee,” joked Berry, who first met Akins 20 years ago and in 2003 moved to Forestville, which has Sonoma County’s largest concentration of LGBT residents according to census figures.

Rick Gerharter

Spouses Carlee and Lisa Pidge stand amid the wine casks in the caverns of Deerfield Ranch Winery.

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<< Community News

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

No new HIV found in patients in Kaiser PrEP program by Liz Highleyman

o new HIV infections have been seen so far among more than 650 mostly gay and bisexual men who have received pre-exposure prophylaxis – better known as PrEP – through Kaiser Permanente San Francisco since 2012, according to a report in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. “It’s tremendously exciting to see PrEP translated from research studies into the real world,” study co-author Julia Marcus told the Bay Area Reporter following the September 1 announcement of the results. “Now it’s just a matter of getting the word out.” The study also found that about 40 percent of PrEP users reported a drop-off in condom use. Sexually transmitted infections were common, but experts said regular monitoring while on PrEP offers an opportunity for prompt STI diagnosis and treatment. Marcus, Jonathan Volk, Bradley Hare, and colleagues analyzed patterns of PrEP use among members seen at Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco Medical Center between July 2012 – when PrEP was approved by the Food and Drug Administration – and February 2015. Kaiser Permanente provides health care for more than 170,000 adults in San Francisco. The FDA approved Gilead Sciences’ Truvada (tenofovir plus emtricitabine) for PrEP based in part on data from the large iPrEx trial, which showed that once-daily Truvada reduced the risk of HIV infection for men who have sex with men by 42 percent overall compared to placebo, rising to 92 percent among participants with blood drug levels indicating regular use. At this summer’s International AIDS Society conference in Vancouver, researchers reported that a PrEP Demo Project in San Francisco,

Courtesy Kaiser Permanente

The Kaiser PrEP study team included, from left, Dr. Jonathan Volk, MPH; Tony Phengrasamy, PharmD; Julia Marcus, Ph.D., MPH; Dong-Phuong Nguyen, PharmD; and Dr. C. Bradley Hare.

Miami, and Washington, D.C., saw good adherence overall, and the two new HIV infections during followup were in men with low drug levels. The Kaiser study is the first to look at PrEP use in regular clinical practice. Primary care providers at Kaiser refer members to a specialized PrEP program. Between July 2012 and February 2015 there were 1,045 referrals for PrEP, and 657 people – or 63 percent of those referred – chose to start daily Truvada. People starting PrEP are tested for HIV and STIs and monitored for side effects at least every three months.

Who opted for PrEP?

PrEP referrals and the number of people starting PrEP began to rise around September 2013, with a steeper increase in May 2014 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people at substantial risk for HIV infection should consider PrEP. All but four of the people who chose to start PrEP were non-transgender men who have sex with men, one was a transgender man, and three were heterosexual women.

“Our patients on PrEP were primarily gay men,” Hare, Kaiser’s director of HIV care and prevention, told the B.A.R. “Much work needs to be done to bring PrEP to other groups at risk for HIV who could benefit from it, including trans women and injection drug users.” PrEP users were more likely than those who decided against it to have multiple sex partners (84 versus 69 percent, respectively), but PrEP users and non-users were about equally likely to report having an HIV-positive partner (30 versus 25 percent). Only one PrEP user reported injection drug use as a risk factor. People who decided against PrEP cited reasons including low risk for HIV infection, concerns about cost, not wanting to do the required regular follow-up, and concerns about side effects or increasing their sexual risk behavior. Only about 2 percent were ineligible due to medical contraindications such as pre-existing kidney or bone problems, while 3 percent were found to have previously undiagnosed HIV infection.

Courtesy Kaiser Permanente

This graph shows the increase in PrEP use from the Kaiser study.

No HIV, many STIs

No new HIV diagnoses occurred among PrEP users during the 2.5 years of follow-up. The researchers noted that based on data from the placebo arm of the U.K. PROUD PrEP trial, which had a similar high rate of STIs, they would have expected about 35 new HIV infections without PrEP. “We now have an excellent tool that people can use to reduce their risk for HIV during periods of risk for infection,” Volk said. “PrEP works. Now we need to make sure that folks at risk for HIV are able to access this medication.” STIs, however, were common in the study. After a year on PrEP half of study participants were diagnosed with at least one new STI. Of these, 33 percent had a rectal STI, 33 percent had chlamydia, 28 percent had gonorrhea, and 6 percent had syphilis. The Kaiser team reported earlier this year that two HIV-negative gay men on PrEP were newly infected with hepatitis C, with sex being their only apparent risk factor. The researchers did not compare STI incidence between PrEP users and a matched control group of non-users, so the study could not

say whether PrEP use was associated with an increase in STIs. However, data from the San Francisco Department of Public Health show a rise in gonorrhea and syphilis among HIV-negative gay men starting around 2008, well before the advent of PrEP. Beginning in July 2014 Kaiser members were asked about changes in their sexual behavior after starting PrEP, and 143 people (about one in five) completed the survey. Of these, 56 percent said their condom use did not change during the first six months on PrEP, 41 percent reported a decrease, and 3 percent reported an increase. DPH data show that the proportion of HIV-negative gay men reporting recent condomless anal sex rose from about a third in 2010 to nearly 60 percent in 2014. “It’s remarkable to see that PrEP is so effective at preventing HIV in a setting like San Francisco, even as we’re seeing high rates of STIs and other evidence of significant HIV risk,” Hare told the B.A.R. “Even though our study shows that PrEP works, it should be used in See page 17 >>

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<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

NLGJA confab features trans elders by Liz Highleyman

Trans people live in a “thirdworld country” in the midst of the U.S., said Green. “We do not have what other people have – we do not have same rights, the same social freedoms, the same ability to get health care, and the same sense of being OK when we walk down the streets,” he said.

panel of trans elders – Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Veronika Fimbres, and Jamison Green – discussed historical and contemporary issues facing the transgender community during a luncheon plenary at the recent National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s national convention and LGBT Media Summit. The association marked its 25th anniversary at the convention, which ran September 3-6 at the Westin St. Francis. Misgendering by the media has been a persistent concern for the trans community, though the LGBT press and even the mainstream media have begun to do a better job in recent years, the panelists agreed. “Misgendering trans people is akin to bullying LGB people,” said moderator Ashley Love, a transgender media advocate. “The best way to find out who somebody is, if they’re still living, is to ask them,” emphasized Fimbres, the first openly trans person appointed a commissioner when she served on the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commission from 1997 to 2012. Once someone has died, however, they may be misgendered by their families, which can influence the media’s coverage. “Trans women are buried in a three-piece suit and a fedora,” said Griffin-Gracy, who until recently was the executive director of the Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Project. “They take a person who calls themself ‘Gladys’ and bury them as ‘Bob.’” Asked for advice to the media, Green said, “Acknowledge people’s gender identity and speak out when you are confronted by misgendering by others – interrupt it.”

Trans people in the media

Carol Leigh

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

Bathroom use remains a major issue facing trans people of all ages, including students. While an increasing number of venues are establishing gender-neutral restrooms, there are legal battles across the country involving trans people using the restroom of their preferred gender. “There is concern that men in dresses will harass women in bathrooms, but trans people have never caused an incident in a restroom themselves – incidents are caused by others not perceiving them as the right gender,” said Green, who pointed out that this issue also affects non-trans people who happen to be masculine women or feminine men. The panel also discussed trans women in prison, where they are often endangered by being housed with men. “The prison system is set up to judge you by your gonads,” said Fimbres, who has advocated for trans people in San Francisco jails. “If you’ve had any work done, they isolate you for your own safety – you wouldn’t put your dog in a cage like that.” Fimbres praised San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s plan – finalized last week – to stop classifying transgender inmates according to their sex assignment at birth and to house them based on their self-identification, calling it a “landmark.”

The discussion inevitably turned to Caitlyn Jenner and who should represent trans people in the media. Two other famous trans women, actress Laverne Cox and author Janet Mock, both received praise for their inclusiveness. “People have suggested that now that we have trans celebrities, maybe the laws will change,” Green said. But in reality, “we have celebrities now because trans people have been working to change the laws for 40 years.” Finally, discussion turned to the forthcoming film Stonewall, by gay director Roland Emmerich, which puts a cisgender young white gay man in a leading role. Some trans people and their advocates have criticized the film based on its trailer, saying it minimizes the importance of trans women and people of color as the key agents sparking the famous riots. “Stonewall was not started by a gay white man, it was started by a trans woman,” according to Fimbres. “Compton’s Cafeteria happened before Stonewall, but it doesn’t get the same attention.” She was referring to the August 1966 riot at a San Francisco cafeteria that was led by trans people who were tired of police harassment and preceded Stonewall by three years. “We’re trying to make sure our history is told correctly,” said Griffin-Gracy, herself a Stonewall veteran. “White people were around – they have a tendency to incorporate themselves everywhere – but we were perfectly able to take care of ourselves. We need to let the younger population of [trans] kids know that they do have a history.”t

Kentucky clerk released from jail

ABC News

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was flanked by Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, left, and her attorney, Mat Staver, as she walked out of jail Tuesday.

by Lisa Keen

entucky clerk Kim Davis walked out of jail Tuesday afternoon, eliciting cheers from hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside to demand her release. A smiling Davis left the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky, at 2:37 p.m. EDT, followed by Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver and Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning had signed an order allowing for her release. While the release is being hailed by some as a victory for Davis, the

court order enabling her to get out of jail instructed that Davis, the Rowan County clerk, “shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” If Davis “should interfere in any way” with the issuance of a marriage license, said the judge’s order, “appropriate sanctions will be considered.” Choosing his words carefully at Tuesday’s rally, Staver said Davis “cannot allow her name to be associated with something that conflicts See page 17 >>

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12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

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assing the federal Equality Act and ending murders of transgender women of color were two issues that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi heard about during a meeting with local LGBT leaders. The September 3 meeting, held at the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts, gave the San Francisco Democrat an opportunity to hear from out Bay Area and statewide leaders on a variety of topics. The main point of discussion at the roundtable was the Equality Act, a proposed update to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If passed, it would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the already existing federal protections based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Equality Act replaces the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has languished in Congress for decades. When asked if she thought the Equality Act might go before the current Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, Pelosi considered the question carefully. “Public sentiment is everything,” she said. “Our enthusiasm will help to convince people.” Pelosi also said that an effective tactic might be to de-emphasize the political and to make the Equality Act “the right thing to do.” The Equality Act was introduced in July by gay Representative David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon). As the meeting opened, Pelosi acknowledged that there has been

Rick Gerharter

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi talked with LGBT leaders at a meeting in San Francisco.

opposition to including transgender people in federal equality laws and hate crimes legislation. “You can pass hate crimes laws in a minute if you take out transgenders,” she said. Attendees applauded when Pelosi said that she had refused to exclude the trans community. She also addressed why the Equality Act was being put on the table. “Are people here being discriminated against?” she asked, amid laughter. “With the Equality Act instead of piecemealing it, let’s go for all of it.” The comment marked a shift from 2007, when Pelosi was at the center of a debate to exclude gender identity from ENDA. At the time, she and then-Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) came under criticism from many in the community.

Marriage and other issues

Pelosi referenced the June marriage equality victory at the U.S. Supreme Court. “This is going to happen,” she said. “To them it’s inconceivable. To us it’s inevitable.”

Pelosi then asked each of the attendees to introduce themselves and to address the needs of each of their communities. Theresa Sparks, a trans woman who’s executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, thanked Pelosi for all she’d done for the transgender community. She said that more funds were needed in order to provide the trans community with services. Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, said that his organization’s current focus would be on the high rates of homelessness among LGBT youth, bullying, and health care for undocumented people. Rebecca Rolfe, executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, got a round of applause when she announced her recent wedding to longtime partner, Susan Mooney. “We still see significant disparities among youth, seniors, HIV-positives and transgenders,” Rolfe said. Ty Lim of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance said that his organization wants to make sure that language and culture aren’t additional barriers against people in his community. Roberta Achtenberg, a former city supervisor and Clinton administration official, currently serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She told Pelosi how proud she was that the commission has, for the first time, addressed LGBT issues regarding employment non-discrimination. District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener brought up housing as a major issue. “We’re trying to make sure that See page 16 >>

Accessible door installed at LGBT center compiled by Cynthia Laird

living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in Sonoma County, will be the beneficiary of a couple upcoming events. First up is the 39th annual Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival that will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13, at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville Saturday’s performances include Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Kenny Lattimore, War, and Kyle Eastwood. Entertainment on Sunday features Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal Trio, Jackie Greene, B.B. and the Blues Shacks, and the Rad Trads. A weekend pass is $90, while tickets for Saturday or Sunday are $55 each. For more information, visit http://www.russianriverfestivals.com/. For those who appreciate a little drag with their bingo, the Russian River Sisters of Perpetual

Indulgence will be holding Sister’s Bingo Saturday, September 12 at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, First and Church streets in Guerneville. The night’s theme is “You Gonna Eat That?” The games begin at 7 p.m. Players must be 18 years of age or older. Advance ticket holders will be admitted at 5:30. Tickets are $15 for one card or $20 for two cards. For tickets, visit http://www.rrsisters. org/bingo.html.

n electronic door opener has been installed at the main entrance of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, meaning that those with disabilities can independently access the building. Center Executive Director Rebecca Rolfe informed the Bay Area Reporter last week that the door device had been installed. She estimated the cost to be about $13,000. GAPA 35-plus Disabled access dinners announced became an issue earThe Gay Asian Pacific Alliance lier this year after a gay has announced dates for its fall and disabled senior comwinter 35-plus dinners. The events plained that he could not are open to gay and bi Asian and Paindependently enter the cific Islander men at least 35 years of building. Until the door age or older and are social and conequipment was installed, versational groups. The evenings a notice was placed on the door and are a safe space for guys to chat and volunteers and staff assisted people. learn from each other’s experiences. The front doors were left fully open Some of the dinners are potluck, for some events. others are provided by the host. OrAs Rolfe had explained in ganizers said that new attendees January, the center worked with are welcome. the Mayor’s Office of Housing The schedule is as follows. and Community Development Sunday, September 13 at 6 to secure a bid and funding. The p.m. at a home in Richmond. Mayor’s Office on Disability also The topic is “Retirement helped the center obtain funds Dreams – When, Where, How?” for the power door opener. Hosted dinner. Rolfe said last week that she Sunday, October 18 at 6 p.m. was extremely pleased that the at a home in Fremont. The project had been completed. topic is “Transitions – Holding It comes as the center is in the On, Letting Go, and Moving midst of determining financing On.” Vegetarian potluck. for a major remodel that could Sunday, November 15 at 6 Rick Gerharter see a portion of the building p.m. at a home in Hayward. Emilia S.A. Quinones, left, director of closed during the project. The topic is “Career Moves operations for the San Francisco LGBT – Challenges, Pitfalls, and ReCommunity Center, and Executive Director Jazz fest, Sisters bingo wards.” Potluck. This is also the Rebecca Rolfe demonstrate the new automatic yearly remembrance event. in Guerneville Food for Thought, a nonprofit door at the center’s main entrance. Sunday, December 20 at See page 13 >> that provides food for people

Community News>>

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

SF officials release human trafficking report by Seth Hemmelgarn

an Francisco officials have released a report detailing the number of human trafficking survivors, marking “the first systematic attempt” to track the city’s human trafficking cases, the Mayor’s Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking said in a news release. The “2015 Human Trafficking

Report in San Francisco” covers data from the last half of 2014 and reported by 19 local government and community-based agencies. The report, released August 31, includes some data on survivors who identify as LGBT. “Human trafficking is a global issue and at the local level we have the opportunity and the responsibility to take action,” Mayor Ed

Life in prison for fake cop by Seth Hemmelgarn

Wednesday morning that he was innocent, had faced San Francisco man acaccusations from five men, cused of being a fake all of whom were uncop and convicted of sexual documented immigrants. assault and about two-dozThe incidents occurred en other charges is expected between January 2008 and to spend the rest of his life the end of March 2014. in state prison after his senHe was also convicted of Courtesy SFPD tencing this week. extorting another man. Jeffrey Bugai, 36, was He had met most of his Jeffery Bugai sentenced to 65 years to victims at a bar where he life Wednesday, September worked as a security guard. 9 by retired Superior Court Judge According to court records, Bugai Jerome T. Benson. changed his name to Jeffrey Thomas Bugai, who continued to claim in 2011.t

News Briefs

From page 12

6 p.m. at a home in the western part of San Francisco. The topic is “Happy for the Holidays? Or Not Too Happy.” This is the annual holiday potluck gathering. The evenings also feature a short performance that can be comedy, singing, dancing, acrobatic act, or theatrical piece. Those interested in attending should email Vincent Baduel at vincent@gapa.org with their cell number. The address and other information will be sent upon confirmation. GAPA’s 35-plus group is also looking for hosts, facilitators, and topics for 2016. The groups are generally 10-20 people and those who are interested can also email Baduel.

Presbyterian church to hold LGBT programs

Four programs on the progress and current status of gay rights are scheduled for this month at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore Street in San Francisco. Local gay pastor Victor Floyd, formerly at Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco and now Calvary’s minister of spiritual care, will lead a three-part series, “Introduction to Queer Theology” at 9 a.m. September 13, 20, and 27. Topics include moving beyond the binaries of black/white, red/blue, gay/straight, male/female; safe space for questioning; and “Stranger Than (Science) Fiction.” Surviving the Silence: Love and Impossible Choice, a new documentary now in production, will be the topic of a program Wednesday, September 30 at 7 p.m. The film covers the 30-year relationship of Colonel Pat Thompson and Barbara Brass, against the backdrop of Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer’s dismissal from the National Guard. Thompson served on the commission determining Cammermeyer’s case and made a heart-wrenching decision to remain in the closet and continue the distinguished military career she loved. Thompson and Brass will lead the event. For more information, visit www. calpres.org.

Workshop on housing, tenants’ rights, estate planning

The Positive Resource Center, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, and UCSF Alliance Health Project will

have a workshop and legal clinic for consumers on housing and tenants’ rights and estate planning Friday, September 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at AHP’s offices, 1930 Market Street in San Francisco. The event is part of the “We’ve Got This” series and lunch will be provided. RSVP is required and space is limited. To register, contact Vaughn Villaverde at vaughnv@positiveresource.org or (415) 972-0874.

Big Book Sale coming up

The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library will hold its 51st Big Book Sale September 16-20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason. The sale will feature 70 categories of books and multimedia items, all for $1-$3. Organizers expect more than half a million transactions at the sale, combined with online auctions, two used book events, and fundraising efforts will raise approximately $1 million to benefit the public library’s free programs and exhibitions, neighborhood branch upkeeps and innovative projects like the new teen digital learning lab. A preview for Friends’ members will take place Tuesday, September 15 from 4 to 8 p.m. and feature wine and refreshments and first dibs on sale items. Admission to the sale is free and open to the public. The Friends will be offering daily prize clues via Twitter (@FriendsSFPL and Facebook (www.facebook.com/friendssfpl.

New website to help homebuyers

Compass Family Services and One Degree have launched One Home, a new website that makes searching for available, affordable housing easier for families facing a housing crisis, as well as agencies helping them in the Bay Area’s very competitive and expensive housing market. Families and case managers can now search across the Bay Area and beyond for low-income rental units, quickly see how to apply and download applications, keep track of their search with a personalized set of bookmarks, and share what they find by email and text message. The site also creates PDFs for printing. The site is fully accessible in English and Spanish. The new site is available for free at www.onehomebayarea.com.t

Lee said in the news “The majority of trafrelease. “This landmark ficking survivors were report helps the city minors or transitional understand who is being aged youth.” trafficked and provides According to the task strategies to improve force, “84 percent of the our response as a city to identified cases where combat human traffickthe gender was known ing and help victims and involved females, insurvivors.” cluding transgender Emily Murase, Ph.D., Emily Murase, Ph.D. women, while 16 perexecutive director of cent of those cases inthe San Francisco Devolved males, including partment on the Status of Women, transgender men.” which convenes the anti-human Larkin Street Youth Services, trafficking task force’s quarterly which provides homeless youth in meetings, said, “It is important to San Francisco with housing assisrecognize that modern day slavery tance and other services, is one of is happening right here, right now, the agencies that reported data. and it is up to us to put an end to it.” During the reporting period, LarThe task force identified 291 kin identified 22 known and one susknown or suspected trafficking surpected human trafficking survivor. vivors for the last half of 2014. “Only one of the 22 youth iden“Sex trafficking accounted for 78 tified as transgendered or transpercent of the reported cases,” the sexual,” Linda Walubengo, Larkin’s task force said, while “only 8 percent associate director of programs, said were identified as labor trafficking in response to emailed questions survivors.” from the Bay Area Reporter. “Only

one identified as gay and five identified as bisexual.” The report is “a great way for us to track our youth who might be at risk for trafficking, as well as those in need for referrals to other community resources pertaining to their specific needs,” Walubengo said. “It’s also a great way for us to identify the gaps in services as well as the areas” such as age groups and types of trafficking “needing the most investment.” But what’s most important, she said, is that the study “is a great way for us to figure out how we can partner with the other community providers to meet the needs of this population.” Larkin Street wasn’t immediately able to connect the B.A.R. with any trafficking survivors. Recommendations in the report, which is available at http://sfgov. org/dosw/mayors-task-force-antihuman-trafficking, include having agencies systematically screen for trafficking survivors.t

I still collect ,

art but not as fast as I collect friends.

For a retiree, psychotherapist Dr. Lu Chaiken is pretty busy. She still sees clients. She attends seminars and parties at The Sequoias, goes to the opera and symphony, and dines with her many friends in the community. So what has Dr. Chaiken retired from? Cooking, cleaning and worrying about her future health care. If that sounds appealing, maybe it’s time for you to get busy, too. Call Candiece at (415) 351-7900 to learn more.

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<< Community News

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Sonoma County seeks input from LGBTQIs by Lois Pearlman

ith a deadline of Tuesday, September 15 for responses, the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights is surveying the county’s LGBTQI population to learn more about its experiences and unmet needs. A project of the commission’s LGBTQI Task Force, the survey is posted online, in both English and Spanish. Task force Chair J. Kevin Jones, who joined the commission last year, said he hopes the results of the survey will point the way to making the county a better place for its relatively large LGBTQI population to live and work. There are no figures for how many LGBTQI people live in Sonoma County, but according to the Williams Institute at UCLA, the county has the second largest per capita LGBTQI population in the country. But when Jones moved to Sonoma County five years ago from elsewhere in the Bay Area he “found there weren’t many ways to connect with the [LGBTQI] community,” he said. “It is not obvious how to go about

finding resources,” he added. Now a Petaluma resident and a local business owner, Jones is a former board member of Out and Equal Workplace Advocates, a national organization based in San Francisco. With this background, he said, creating more resources for the LGBTQI community was a priority for him when he joined the human rights commission. He said the survey has not attracted the attention the task force had hoped it would receive, although a recent story in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat had boosted the responses from 300 to 500 as of last Friday. According to Jones, more women than men have taken the survey. He said there have been good responses from the bisexual and transsexual communities, as well as some from homeless people and the disabled, but what is lacking is representation from people of color. Taking approximately half an hour to complete, the survey includes questions about discrimination in such areas as housing, employment, education, health care and government services. There is also a section asking what the county needs to do to provide more

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support for its LGBTQI residents. Even with the limited sampling, “the things that are immediately apparent,” Jones said, “are the need for more services for youth and seniors, and interest in creating an LGBTQI center and an LGBTQI commission within the county government.” Once the survey is completed an advisory committee composed of representatives from LGBTQI organizations, and others, will tabulate the data, and then bring the results to the human rights commission and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.t Lois Pearlman

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A couple got married in Sonoma County in 2008, during the period when same-sex marriage was legal in California; a new online survey hopes to gather information about the needs of the county’s LGBTQI residents.

Jerusalem police officers penalized for Pride attack by Heather Cassell

erusalem officials have released their report of their investigation on the Jerusalem Pride attack this summer and found that officers failed to utilize intelligence sources. The investigation determined that the planning for the event, including the security, was done professionally, but the officers failed to utilize police intelligence and carry out actions to secure the event from a potential attack by ultra Orthodox Yishai Schlissel. Schlissel had carried out a similar attack in 2005 and had been released from a 10-year prison sentence for that crime a month prior to the July 30 Pride event. Five people were injured, and Shira Banki, 16, died from injuries sustained in the attack. The report was submitted to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Israel Police Commissioner Bentzi Sau last week and accepted by both officials. It was made public September 6. In total, 11 Jerusalem police officers who held key positions and were responsible for the flow of information to secure Jerusalem Pride were held accountable for the failed security. The officers were all summoned to a meeting with acting Israel Police Commissioner Bentzi Sau on Sunday, according to multiple media reports. Schlissel is currently admitted to a psychiatric ward and was charged with first-degree murder for Banki’s death, along with other charges related to the attack. Some of the officers were severely reprimanded while others were demoted or removed from their posts, barred from promotion, or holding a command position in the future. Jerusalem Openhouse, an LGBT community center, didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time. In a statement to the media the Banki family said, “The report won’t bring Shira back to her family.” However, they expressed hope that with the conclusion of the investigation and failures determined that corrections will be made and applied to future events.

U.N. advocates for intersex people with launch of fact sheet

The United Nations took on educating the world about intersex people with the launch of a fact sheet explaining what it means to be intersex.

Miriam Alster/Flash 90/www.israelnationalnews.com

Anti-gay ultra Orthodox Yishai Schlissel is taken away by Jerusalem police after allegedly stabbing six people July 30 at Jerusalem Pride 2015.

The campaign, which launched September 7, is a part of the Free and Equal campaign overseen by the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. The fact sheet is accompanied by a 50-second video that features human rights activist Hida Viloria explaining the challenges intersex people face and what it means to be inclusive of intersex people. For more information, visit www.unfe.org/en/ actions/intersex or https:// unfe.org/system/unfe-65-Intersex_ Factsheet_ENGLISH.pdf.

Ireland’s trans law goes into effect

Ireland’s Gender Recognition Bill 2015 went into effect September 8. This week Irish transgender individuals began to legally register for their gender recognition certificates, as they can self-identify without any medical or state intrusion. They will also be allowed to obtain their amended birth certificates reflecting their new gender and name. The bill was passed by the Oireachtas, Ireland’s Parliament, in July. “This is a turning point for trans rights in Ireland and I hope this leads to further positive changes for our community,” said Broden Giambrone, chief executive of Transgender Equality Network Ireland. Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, and Malta allow transgender individuals to legally self-determine their gender without medical or state interference.

China approves release of first gay film Director

Wang

Chao

has

announced approval for the release of Seek McCartney to Chinese audiences. The September 2 announcement was made on Weibo, a micro-blogging site. It took a year, but Chinese audiences will soon be able to head to movie theaters to see the film about a secret relationship between a Chinese man and a French man after the movie passed Chinese censors. It is the first time ever that China will release a film to the public where the plot centers around two gay men, LGBT filmmaker and activist Fan Popo told Agence France Presse. China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but attitudes toward LGBT people have remained homophobic, reported the Global Times. LGBT Chinese activists, along with Wang, are celebrating the film’s release this winter but are cautious due to Chinese authorities’ unpredictable implementation of censorship laws. In 2010, China’s media watchdog abolished its two-year old regulations classifying homosexuality as pornographic and vulgar content. “The fact that this film can be released in theatres doesn’t mean gay films in the future will be able to released in China,” said Fan following the announcement. “China’s system for evaluating films is still very unstable, because the rules are very unclear. It depends heavily on the individual censor’s whims.” China has a long way to go toward accepting and championing LGBT rights. In 2014, Xiao Zhen, a pseudonym to protect his safety, sued a so-called gay conversion clinic and met with Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, to talk about the dangers of gay conversion therapy. However, many clinics still operate throughout China. LGBT organizations aren’t allowed to formally register with the government and activists are afraid that authorities will unexpectedly crack down on events.

Lesbian comic strip launched in Bangladesh

A Bangladesh gay rights group launched a lesbian comic strip to raise awareness of LGBT Bangladeshis. The comic strip, titled “Dhee,” was launched by Boys of Bangladesh, the South Asian country’s leading LGBT organization, at a September 5 reception attended by several hundred people at the British Council in Dhaka, the country’s capital city. Dhee means intellect or wisdom in Bengali, reported Asian Age. The comic tells the story of Dhee as she discovers her love for women See page 18 >>

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<< Sports

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Outgames déjà vu by Roger Brigham

fter an international LGBT sports sanctioning body and the purported host of its next event cannot reach an agreement on how to proceed, they decide to part ways. The sanctioning body announces it will try to move forward with the event with a new host organization, while the original local organizers say they will hold their own event under a different name. If that sounds like the Federation of Gay Games and Montreal leading up to 2006 you’d be right – but in this case, it is Auckland, New Zealand, and plans for 2016. Team Auckland announced Sunday, September 6 that it would host Proud to Play NZ 2016 in February, coinciding with the Auckland Pride Festival. Previously local organizers were slated to hold the fourth Asia Pacific Outgames at that time, but that effort fell through in a flurry of events last month after the organizing board resigned; Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association Asia Pacific withdrew it sanctioning permission; and efforts by a new group of local organizers failed to meet GLISA AP requirements by the end of August. By design and necessity, the inaugural Proud to Play NZ 2016 should be a far less ambitious and costly event than the original Outgames proposal. Plans for conferences have been dropped (the Aotearoa Rainbow Human Rights Conference will be held in Wellington in March) and at the first announcement of the new event this week, just three sports – swimming, touch rugby, and 10pin bowling – had been confirmed. Bridge has since been offered. The World Outgames have had a bit of a struggle trying to cram themselves into an already crowded LGBT sports calendar, and that crowding appears to have played at least a partial role in the decision not to hold the 2016 AP Outgames.

ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez comes out

Auckland was awarded the 2016 AP Outgames on August 12, 2014, with Barry Taylor, GLISA AP president, declaring, “Having now held three very successful and financially viable events, the Asia Pacific Outgames has established itself as a leading LGBTI event in the Asia Pacific region.” Organizers at that time were predicting more than 2,000 participants, and in May of this year organizers said they would offer 21 sports, from bodybuilding to golf to roller derby. But hopes for hosting the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics championships were dashed after the games were first awarded when IGLA decided to hold its championship meet next year in Edmonton, and local organizers were unsuccessful lining up any sponsors. Saying that sponsors were already committed to supporting Auckland Pride during those dates and were unwilling to take on the Outgames in the same timeframe, New Zealand organizers asked GLISA AP to allow them to postpone the event to November. After GILSA AP declined that request, the local organizing board resigned en masse, leaving just a small executive committee in place to wind up operations. In the later stages, the board had been operating with a proposed $220,000 budget based on 850 sports participants and 150 conference attendees. That budget included $20,000 in start-up funds that needed to be repaid to GLISA AP, as well as fees that had to be paid to GLISA AP as part of the licensing agreement: $12,000 for the first 800 participants, then $15 for each participant in excess of 800. All participants would pay a base $99 Outgames registration fee. Conference attendees would pay an additional $300 fee, while athletes would pay an average of $62, depending on the sport. In a written statement explaining their mass resignation,

board members said the schedule conflict with Pride and the lack of confirmed sponsors made it “extremely difficult to deliver a quality event in February 2016.” After the original host board resigned, GLISA AP gave Auckland organizers attempting to reorganize until the end of August to meet a higher standard of criteria. Event manager and producer Craig Watson, a New Zealand native who recently returned to New Zealand after four years in London and who has been heavily involved in trying to organize the event, told gaynz. com that GLISA AP said the group would need to secure $20,000 up front from the local government, the Auckland Council, if it were to use the Outgames name. “Regarding their wanting confirmation from Auckland Council that the games would be supported, it was never Auckland Council’s job to support these games,” Watson said. “There was no agreement with them to say that council will support the Outgames and that they will make them happen. Auckland Council has always shown an interest in the games and has certainly been helpful to me about working towards opening opportunities and making opportunities happen to see the games happen. But there was never an agreement that they would be the main support for

from the rabbi conference. One change, in light of the fact same-sex couples can now legally marry, was made to a prayer that traditionally referred to a “bride and groom.” It now names “couples celebrating under the chuppah (marriage canopy).” Another update added contemporary voices, like gay poets Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsburg, who now “sit next to” the prayer book’s ancient Torah texts. The entire book, noted the rabbi group, is now “laid out and footnoted in a way that will invite a personal spiritual journey, and not just the rote call-andresponse of traditional worship.” A number of Reform congregations in the Bay Area, from San Jose to San Rafael, and across California will be using the new prayer book. More than 300 synagogues from across the country have ordered the updated Machzor.

“I love the book; it prayer or moment in is an amazing book. It the service that speaks gives people the opto them.” portunity to really enter Congregation Emainto the High Holidays nu-El in San Francisco, and open themselves up whose members numand speak to them in a ber between 5,000 and much more meaningful 6,000 and has several way,” said Rabbi Barnett out rabbis, has ordered Sarah Clarehart J. Brickner with Temple the new prayer book Israel in Alameda. Cantor Marsha Attie and plans to begin The 155-member of Congregation using it in 2016, said congregation, which Emanu-el in San Cantor Marsha Attie. includes several LGBT Francisco For years it has been families, will use the new using a “homemade” prayer book for the first time during prayer book, noted Attie, that is the Rosh Hashanah services Sunday. LGBTQ inclusive. Brickner said the revisions speak to “It is a process to transition a the diverse nature of his congregation. large congregation like this to a new “I think there is incredible incluprayer book,” she said. “We will use sivity about it,” he said. “I think it it a little bit for Rosh Hashanah and allows for opportunities for congreYom Kippur.” gants to explore their own theology The congregation has used genduring the service. It allows them der inclusive prayers and genderto pause and reflect on a certain neutral terms for some time, said

Attie, in order to be inclusive of its congregants’ sexual orientations and gender identities. “It is the direction the Reform movement in Judaism has been going already for a long time. The Reform movement is among the most progressive and egalitarian thinkers in regard to prayer and inclusivity,” said Attie. As the congregation’s music person, Attie said she has been updating the terminology in the songs it uses, especially at its religious school for children. It is a reflection of the many versions of today’s families, where one parent, a guardian, or same-sex parents may be raising children. “It has been years since we felt comfortable singing about ‘my mommy and daddy.’ We wouldn’t do that anymore,” she said. “We are kind of at the forefront with how we are using language with children.”t

Campos told Pelosi, “I want to add comprehensive immigration reform as a top LGBT issue.” Campos also addressed the city’s escalating evictions and skyrocketing rents. “We have a crisis,” he said. “People survived the AIDS crisis only to be kicked out because of the housing crisis. We need to spend billions of dollars on housing. We need the federal government to step in and help.” Pelosi listened carefully as each

person spoke, occasionally taking notes. She spoke of the need for different communities to work together. “The LGBT community is affected by all these issues to the nth degree,” she said, noting that housing, education, and immigration were among the most pressing issues. “The vision that we have is a big one,” she said. “It’s essentially moral and it takes us to a different place. We’re at a tipping point for the LGBT community.” She referenced the Pledge of

“Write to your congress people,” Pelosi said. “Nothing is more eloquent to Congress than letters from constituents.” As the meeting drew to a close, Pelosi was asked if she had any thoughts about Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, citing religious objections. Davis was released from jail Tuesday. “I believe she was married four times,” Pelosi said. “This is not consistent with a religious objection.”t

Auckland organizer Craig Watson

the games to happen.” Watson added, “Those things GLISA needed were a little bit difficult to try and achieve in that short amount of time available to us so we went back to them with the best of what we had come up with,” Watson said. “Obviously that was not good enough for them and so they decided, in order for us all to move on. And we agree they had to make a decision. And their decision is that they won’t support it with their branding.” Proud to Play NZ has set up a rudimentary website, www.proudtoplaynz.com, and a Facebook page where people can keep track of event announcements and added sports. A separate event page has also been created for each sport offered.

Mark Bingham documentary airs

A documentary on local 9/11 hero Mark Bingham will make its U.S. television broadcast debut on KQED public television Saturday, September 12, at 6 p.m. The film, The Rugby Player, was originally called With You when it was screened at Frameline in 2011. By the time the film was shown again locally at a fundraiser in 2013, it had already been renamed. (See May 9, 2013 Jocktalk.) Bingham, a former national rugby champion at UC Berkeley and a founding member of the LGBT-centric San Francisco Fog Rugby Club, was one of the handful of passengers who gave his life fighting the hijackers of United flight 93 on September 11, 2001, forcing the plane to crash in a Pennsylvania farm field rather than into the terrorists’ intended target in Washington, D.C. The film captures the life of Bingham and his strong, supportive relationship with his mother, Alice Hoagland, a former United Airlines flight attendant. Bingham made a hobby and a habit of videotaping key moments in his life and the documentary benefits greatly from that archive of footage. The gymnasium at Eureka Valley Recreation Center was named in Bingham’s honor in 2006.

ESPN reporter Israel Gutierrez, a frequent panelist on the network’s Around the Horn show, came out publicly last week on his personal blog, saying he had been out for some time with family and friends, but felt he needed to disclose his sexual orientation publicly because of his upcoming wedding. “I’m gay, which plenty of people, I’m sure, have either deduced or just guessed as much over the years,” Gutierrez wrote. “I don’t want to get into anything overly serious, because this doesn’t feel like the right time to preach. And normally, those conversations make me defensive, which could turn readers defensive, and it’s just not where I want to go with this. The reason I’m tackling this now is, primarily, because I’m getting married on September 12. And besides the fact that it would be annoying to tell my story every time someone sees my wedding ring, it just seemed like a natural time to get this out in the open.” Gutierrez is marrying David Kitchen. Gutierrez said that after years of trying to pray the gay away, he was inspired to come out by the story of gay rugby star Gareth Thomas. “Thomas’ story was so compelling, and had so many similar notes to my own, it made me wonder how many young men and women are still having to go through this same existence,” he wrote. “Hiding yourself from yourself.”

A’s announce 2016 Pride Night

The Oakland A’s have announced their promotional schedule for 2016 and it includes the second Pride Night in club history. Pride Night 2016 will be held Tuesday, June 14 with a 7:05 p.m. game against division rival the Texas Rangers. The first A’s Pride Night was held this year, with more than 3,000 special event tickets sold. Partial proceeds benefited local nonprofit organizations.t

Reform rabbis adopt LGBT-friendly prayer book by Matthew S. Bajko

n time for the start of the Jewish High Holidays, which begin this Sunday with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Reform rabbis across the U.S. will be using a new LGBTfriendly prayer book for the first time. Known as the “Machzor,” the new prayer book is being published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. It was last updated in 1978, and the new version has been in the works since 2008. The changes, noted the conference, include making all prayers LGBT-friendly, adding references to God as “she” and as “compassionate mother,” and making “room for the doubt that all of us feel when confronting our identities.” “It’s a major effort by America’s Reform rabbis to change worship to match the needs and drives of today’s Jews,” according to a statement

Pelosi

From page 12

people have access to affordable housing,” he said. Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center For Lesbian Rights, said that the Equality Act was a priority for her organization. “We’re working toward ending conversion therapy,” Kendell added, “and ending the murders of trans women of color.” District 9 Supervisor David

Allegiance. “You take a pledge everyday: One nation under God with liberty and justice for all,” Pelosi said, emphasizing the word “all” as she spoke. She also said that it was important for people to vote. “Only one-third of the people voted in the last election, and that’s a shame,” she said. “We want everyone to have a voice.” She urged attendees to engage the younger generation and that people should make their thoughts known by writing letters to their elected officials.

t <<

Community News>>

Gay leader

From page 1

Rose, “and to continue to look at who is on the margins, which, I think, is part of our responsibility as gay people too.” As the B.A.R. reported in July, JFCS/East Bay is believed to be the only agency in the country that has developed a specific program to work with LGBT refugees. It began four years ago after a staff member heard the leader of ORAM, the Organization for Refugee, Asylum and Migration, speak at a conference about Iranian LGBT refugees, who had fled to Turkey, needing help resettling in the U.S. Upon her return, she brought up the issue with her co-workers, recalled Rose, and the agency was soon seeking out financial support to hire dedicated staff to launch the program. “If not us, who really, given our commitment to refugee resettlement and given the ties we already have to the LGBT community and given my own history,” said Rose. “And we are in the Bay Area. This has our name written all over it; we jumped at it.” Since then the agency has worked with a number of LGBT refugees, mostly gay men from Africa and the Middle East. It has enlisted volunteers across the Bay Area to help the

Kaiser PrEP

From page 8

conjunction with monitoring for side effects and regular testing for HIV infection and other STIs.” In an editorial accompanying the published study, Kimberly Koester and Robert Grant from UCSF suggested that the high number of STIs may in part be attributable to more

Rentboy protest

From page 1

rights. Participants gathered at Harvey Milk Plaza to show support for Rentboy and to demand that those who choose sex work be left in peace. A similar rally was held the same day in West Hollywood, while in New York City, protesters rallied outside the federal courthouse September 3. Sade, a gay man who has a background in putting together events for organizations like the Make-AWish Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, said that he organized the rally because he was “pissed off” at the targeting of something that is part of his community. Sade felt that the involvement of the Department of Homeland Security, a federal law enforcement agency set up to combat and prevent terrorism, was inappropriate. “I think that in prosecuting a crime one of the fundamentals is to let the punishment fit the crime,” Sade told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone call after the rally. “In the same vein I feel that having

Kentucky clerk

From page 10

with God’s definition of marriage. Her conscience did not change to get freedom. ... She will not violate her conscience. She will return to work later this week and she will not abandon her post.” Staver told the crowd that Davis could hear the rally’s cheers when she was inside the jail. He said Davis would thank the crowd but not make any comment on the case to the audience or to reporters. Davis took the stage to the song “Eye of the Tiger,” both arms raised and looking up, as if praying. She seemed overcome with emotion, as she looked out on the crowd. “Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much,” said Davis before the crowd chanted back, “We love Kim.”

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

Jewish leader and prefers to see others’ voices be heard. “I am proud of what we did. I think we had a really good impact on the Jewish community, in particular in giving people a reference point,” said Rose when asked about his being an out role model in the Jewish community. “There was a period of time, in the late 1980s into the 1990s, where I did a ton of speaking in the Jewish community all over, partly about HIV issues and partly about LGBT issues. It was really the center of my life and my work. It’s gotten less true over time because more people are out and there are new leaders.” Being in his 60s has particular relevance for Rose, having seen so many gay men’s lives be cut short by AIDS. “There is something about being a 61-year-old gay man that is very special. I am part of the generation that survived,” he said. “For me to have the privilege of aging is profound to me. Many of us weren’t able to do that.”t

newcomers find housing, employment, and social support. “We do need more people to get involved because the numbers continue to increase,” said Rose. “We need for agencies in cities that are not so expensive to get involved in this effort.” JFCS/East Bay is currently seeking more funding from foundations, community groups, and individual donors to expand the support it can provide to LGBT refugees. Unlike the straight refugees the agency works with, noted Rose, the LGBT refugees mostly come to America alone with little to no family support and lacking community support among their compatriots already in the Bay Area due to homophobia. “For gay refugees, they are not coming with families, they are coming by themselves. They can’t generally turn to their national communities because of homophobia, so it is up to us,” said Rose. “It is up to our staff, our volunteers, the LGBT community, and our allies, which are many, to fill that need and give people a foundation to start their new lives.” The three key issues LGBT refugees face in the Bay Area, said Rose, are housing, employment, and mental health services due to the trauma and discrimination they have faced. “The housing is huge and getting some more money in to help us, for

example, rent some apartments or transitional housing so we are not always relying on volunteers to open up their homes would be extremely helpful,” he said. “So that is one of the things we are working on.” According to its most recent tax filing, for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, JFCS/East Bay had revenues of nearly $4 million, with a small surplus after expenses of roughly $60,300. Rose earned $125,000. The agency’s fiscal picture was the polar opposite when Rose was first hired, said Kahn. “Like a lot of nonprofits, it was a struggling agency when he arrived with a great mission and very committed people but a lack of infrastructure and resources,” he said. “The question he faced is how do you build a nonprofit so it is faithful to its mission and is better situated and has the resources it needs to do well in an enduring fashion?” Rose was able to balance the interests of the agency’s funders and donors on one hand, said Kahn, and on the other the needs of the people it is trying to reach. “He is incredibly graceful in balancing all those things and being able to listen to all the stakeholders,” said Kahn. “Avi is a great example for us of a first generation out gay leader who has been an advocate and spokesperson for visibility

throughout his career and has also been serving and bringing that whole self to a wider community and the bigger social service field.”

frequent testing among PrEP users rather than changes in sexual behavior. The findings also show Kaiser members feel comfortable accessing PrEP through their regular health provider rather than a dedicated community sexual health clinic. “The increased frequency of STI testing offered during PrEP services affords more timely diagnosis and treatment of STIs,” they wrote.

“What appears to be high rates of STI diagnosis may reflect appropriate use of PrEP by people who have the most to benefit and people staying closer to their medical home for sexual health services.” Koester and Grant added that the new findings further the San Francisco Getting to Zero Consortium’s aim of making the city the first to achieve the UNAIDS goals of eliminating

new HIV infections, HIV-related deaths, and HIV stigma, using a three-prong strategy of expanded access to PrEP, rapid access to antiretroviral therapy, and retention of HIV-positive people in care. “The data published by Volk and colleagues demonstrates meaningful progress toward the goal of halting new infections,” they wrote. “These data are the greatest proof

yet that a PrEP clinic delivering this intervention as thoughtfully as Kaiser has can be a major force in reducing new HIV infections,” Dana Van Gorder from Project Inform told the B.A.R. “We have yet to see whether a less well-funded health center serving a poorer and more diverse population of individuals can perform as well, but there is good reason to believe they can.”t

Homeland Security involved in something so trivial is a waste of time, resources, and taxpayer dollars.” Sade explained why he thinks this issue is important. “Sodomy laws were ridiculous,” he said. “But we are still figuring out that having a senator in our bedrooms telling us how we can have sex is still an issue. It shouldn’t be.” Sex, Sade feels, is a private matter. “What happens in a bedroom is no one’s business if there isn’t a victim,” he said. Sade also talked about how websites like Rentboy help to keep esRick Gerharter corts safe. “The storefront of the Internet Mark Sade organized the September is extremely safe,” he said. “Escorts 5 rally in San Francisco. can screen and filter out clients or things that might seem risky.” retirement fund for workers.” Sade also talked about decrimiSpeakers at the rally included porn nalizing sex work. stars, pornographers, escorts, and an “When there is a stigma around attorney who specializes in reprean industry it cannot flourish to a senting members of the sex trade. degree that it takes care of its own,” “What do we want?” asked escort he said. “Once we decriminalize the and porn model Lance Navarro as he industry we’ll start to have things took to the microphone. “Freedom! like health care and maybe even a

Freedom to do as we please with our bodies and our money!” The crowd cheered. Navarro pointed out that until 1914, sex work was legal in San Francisco. “For some this work is a means to an end,” he said. “It’s a way to pay rent, to get yourself through college. For me it’s a labor of love.” Navarro shared a letter he had received from a client, a man who came out as gay at age 73 after the death of his wife – Navarro was the man’s first gay sexual encounter. “There were no words to describe it for me,” the man wrote. “It was like being released from bondage, from a prison, much of my own making, but also of society. I cried several times while in Lance’s arms.” Porn filmmaker Pam Dore also spoke. “I’m a proud gay pornographer,” said Dore as she addressed the crowd. “I worked on a lot of events with Rentboy – it broke my heart when I heard this.” Better known as Mr. Pam, Dore mentioned Rentboy’s recently

launched scholarship program, which was meant to help escorts go back to school. “Who’s next?” Dore asked. “We all have to stand for each other.” Starchild, a longtime escort and occasional political candidate, said that he was involved in a lawsuit to decriminalize sex work. “You can’t use morality as a basis for discrimination,” said attorney Gil Sperling, who often represents people who work in the sex industry. “You can’t tell someone they can’t do something because you don’t like it.” Spectators cheered throughout the rally, with many vowing that they would not allow the government to dictate their private sexual behavior. As other speakers approached the podium, Navarro walked through the crowd offering attendees bottles of water. Many thanked him – not only for the cool drinks, but for his efforts in protecting their civil liberties. After the rally ended, some of the protesters took their signs across the street to Jane Warner Plaza where they could be displayed to passing traffic.t

“I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. ... Just keep on pressing. Don’t let down because he is here. ... I love you guys, thank you so much.” Bunning ordered Davis to jail September 3 for contempt of court, after she refused to comply with his August 12 order to end a policy she initiated in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down bans on marriage for same-sex couples. Davis had contended that, because of her Apostolic Christian beliefs, she could not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, June 26, Davis instituted a policy of not issuing marriage licenses to any couples – straight or gay. The American Civil Liberties

the court record show that, where Davis’ name ordinarily would be, the words ‘Office of Rowan County, Rowan County’ appeared instead. Staver, at Tuesday’s impromptu news conference, said the licenses without Davis’ name are not valid. William Sharp, legal director of the ACLU-Kentucky, issued a statement saying, “This case was brought to ensure that all residents of Rowan County, gay and straight, could obtain marriage licenses. That goal has been achieved. The Kentucky Attorney General and counsel for Rowan County have said the marriage licenses are valid. We are relying on those representations, and our clients look forward to proceeding with their plans to marry.” CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets broadcast live coverage of the “Free Kim Davis” rally and Davis’ release from the detention center.

When a reporter asked, “Kim was it worth it for you?” Davis just smiled and said nothing. Huckabee helped organize the rally for Davis and Republican presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) went to Kentucky to meet with Davis in jail and participate in the rally. Huckabee praised Davis for having “ignited something across this country” against judicial “tyranny.” Huckabee said he would be willing to go to jail on behalf of Davis. “We will not surrender to tyranny of one branch of the government,” said Huckabee. “I have a message for the judge,” he continued. “If this judge believes somebody must be put in jail ... I would ask this of him: Let Kim go. But if you have to put someone in jail, I volunteer to go.” See page 18 >>

Union filed a lawsuit, Miller v. Davis, on behalf of four couples – gay and straight – who had been refused marriage licenses by Davis’ office. On Monday, Bunning directed ACLU attorneys to indicate by 10 a.m. Tuesday whether “any of the named plaintiffs have had a marriage license issued to them by the Rowan County Clerk’s office. ...” Bunning’s order said the “deputy clerks ... indicated they would comply” with the order. It also said that counsel for the deputy clerks would file a report every 14 days on the status of compliance with the order. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Tuesday that three marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples last week “were altered to remove the name of the jailed county clerk Kim Davis.” The Herald-Leader reported that licenses issued last week and filed in

Bringing together experiences

Leading JFCS/East Bay, said Rose, allows him to tap into various aspects of his past life and work experiences. After graduating Brandeis University in 1976, Rose earned an MSW from the University of Southern California and a Master of Arts in Jewish communal service from Hebrew Union College. He worked for the Jewish Family Service in Los Angeles and then was hired by the Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco where he launched the first AIDS program within the Jewish community. Later, Rose served as the executive director of Project Inform, the national HIV treatment information and advocacy organization based in San Francisco. In 1989, he co-edited the anthology Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish. “For me, and so many of us in my generation, AIDS took over our lives,” recalled Rose. Nowadays, with a new generation of LGBT leaders coming of age, Rose said he has stepped back from serving in a public role as a gay

JFCS/East Bay’s major fundraiser, Art of Living, will take place Sunday, October 11. This year’s featured speaker is gay author, critic and essayist Daniel Mendelsohn. For ticket information, visit http://jfcseastbay.org/event/art-living-2015.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Kentucky clerk

From page 17

At the rally, Tony Perkins, president of the right-wing Family Research Council, compared Davis to the pilgrims who came to the New World in search of religious freedom and to civil rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. One pastor urged the crowd that the United States belongs to Jesus Christ. National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown spoke to the crowd,

Out in the World

From page 14

and comes out. In the story she questions her sexuality and whether to kill herself, marry a man, or be true to herself by leaving Bangladesh or staying and living her life as a lesbian. Homosexuality is illegal in Bangladesh, a conservative Muslim country. Under a colonial-era law, LGBT individuals face a 10 years to life imprisonment along with a potential fine. The law forces a life of secrecy with nearly half of Bangladesh’s LGBT community living in fear of their sexuality being discovered, according to a survey of 751

Oakland Pride

From page 1

Marching with the expected 250-plus Kaiser employees will be representatives of the Golden State Warriors. Pride officials would only reveal that the drum line for the National Basketball Association championship team would be in the parade. “The rest is going to be a surprise,” said Uribe. This year’s celebrity grand marshal is R&B recording artist and songwriter Michel’le Toussant. The youth grand marshal is Rafael Johns, a student at Berkeley City College pursuing a degree in English literature who has worked at Youth Radio since 2013. Also making an appearance in this year’s parade will be a leather contingent. It will mark a turnaround from last year when several San Francisco leather groups were reportedly not allowed to march because organizers were quoted as saying they wanted to keep the event “family-friendly.” Uribe asserted he had been misquoted and issued an apology. “I am happy to say the Alameda County Leather Corps is going to be part of the parade,” Uribe said this week. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is also planning to have a sizeable presence at the parade. She is also expected to attend the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s prePride breakfast Sunday morning, where one of the silent auction items is a coffee or tea date with the first-term mayor. “We are very excited about Oakland Pride,” Schaaf told the Bay Area Reporter during an interview earlier this summer. “I think we are going to be expanding it this year. The parade is going to be much bigger.”

Political Notebook

From page 5

is retiring next year. Wiener, a gay man who is the city’s District 8 supervisor, is a former co-chair of the Alice club. He is so far the only announced candidate for the Senate seat raising money for his campaign. The current holder of the seat, Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who is also gay and has endorsed Wiener, is termed out of office next fall. Gay former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is considering a run, as are Supervisors David Campos, who is gay, and Jane Kim, who is straight. Harris is San Francisco’s former

comparing Davis to Rosa Parks. “Do not comply with unjust authority,” said Brown. In speaking to the crowd, Staver inadvertently referred to the crowd as being part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. “Kim Davis never thought she would be in the national spotlight. Kim Davis does not consider herself a hero,” said Staver. He said Davis ran for the office of Rowan County clerk at God’s “urging” – “she will not resign that position.”t self-identified LGBT individuals conducted by Boys of Bangladesh in 2014, reported Erasing 76 Crimes. However, in recent years younger gay men have begun to assert their rights. In 2014, the country’s first LGBT magazine, Roopbaan, was launched by the Boys of Bangladesh. Roopbaan symbolizes love in Bengali culture. LGBT activists plan to distribute the comic at LGBT rights seminars and other events to the public.t Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at 00+1-415-2213541, Skype: heather.cassell, or oitwnews@gmail.com.

Although the footprint of the Pride festival will remain the same, organizers said they have rearranged the layout to accommodate the expected larger crowds. One new addition this year is a larger Family and Children’s Garden with carnival rides that will take over Kaiser’s employee parking lot at 21st and Franklin streets. “We are expanding the children’s area this year and bringing in children’s rides as well. Included with the admission fee will be rides, face painting, a petting zoo and pony rides,” said Uribe. Kicking off Pride weekend will be a benefit for DreamCatcher Youth Services Saturday, September 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Center 21 Building, also known as the Pandora Building, 2101 Webster Street. Tickets are $100 and available at http://outfordreamcatcher.brownpapertickets.com. Also taking place this week is the fourth annual Revolve Oakland Pride Creative Arts and Film Fest. The seven-day-long series, which runs through September 12, features film screenings, open mic nights, fun run, and an afternoon boat cruise Saturday with DJ David Harness. Event and ticket information can be found at http://www.spectrumqueermedia. com/#!revolve-fest-schedule--tickets/ c1zr6. Tickets for the Pride festival cost $10 for adults and $5 for children under the age of 12. For more information about the event, visit http:// www.oaklandpride.org/. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, September 13. The date corresponds with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and organizers noted that at 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai is hosting an evening service at the Paramount Theatre at 2025 Broadway just outside the festival boundaries.t district attorney and has long been supported by Alice. She is seen as the most formidable candidate to date running to succeed Boxer in Congress.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. The column will return this Monday, September 14. 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.

Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551427

In the matter of the application of: YEE-TING SHIH, 463 NEVADA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner YEE-TING SHIH, is requesting that the name YEE-TING SHIH, be changed to PETER SHIH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 27th of October 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PODESTO PROPERTIES, 431 VICENTE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GINA ENRIQUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036631200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TIPWAREE OLIVE SPA, 38 BRYANT ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KARAKIT TIPWAREE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036613900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ABC AQUATIC, 286 26TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROBERT EMILIO LAU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/20/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/04/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036629700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRONZE ORGANICS, 558 17TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GERALDINE L. CAMP. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/14/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BSQUARED FITNESS, 900 POWELL ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BENJAMIN A. GONZALES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036633200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE GO WEST GROUP ENGEL AND VOELKERS, 582 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed THE GO WEST REAL ESTATE GROUP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036626301

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ENGEL & VOLKERS LAKE TAHOE; ENGEL & VOELKERS NEWPORT BEACH, 582 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS, INC (UTAH). 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 08/12/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036612200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMNESIA, 853 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SOMA BOYS LLC (CA). 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 08/03/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036632100

SUMMONS (FAMILY LAW) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, 400 COUNTY CENTER, REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063 NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: YEVGENIYA TSERNOH, YOU HAVE BEEN SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME IS LEONID TSERNOH CASE NO. FAM0127822

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the 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.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca.org), or by contacting your local county bar association. NOTICE: RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE ON PAGE 2: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment 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 may 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 SAN MATEO SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063 The name, address and telephone number of the petitioners attorney are: Constantine Zhukovsky, Esquire; SBN207181, The Law Offices of Constantine Zhukovsky, 450 Taraval Street, Unit 147, San Francisco, CA 94116 Telephone: 415-260-1045, facsimile: 415-7043383, E-mail crass50@yahoo.com January 16, 2015 Clerk of the San Mateo Superior Court, John C. Fitton, Deputy E. Melas. STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor children of the parties, from the state or applying for a new or replacement passport for those minor children without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in a manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party. You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs. NOTICE – ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health insurance? If so you should apply for Covered California. Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay towards high quality affordable health care. For more information, visit www.coveredca.com. Or call Covered California at 1-800-300-1506. WARNING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e., joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551369

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036534300 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ORO, 1299 BUSH ST #401, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by JARRETT DOWNS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/01/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036638900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRESS ENGAGED, 1372 PINE ST #210, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JENNIFER LONA SALTZMAN PHILLIPS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036641400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIGSBEE LEGAL, 124 BURLWOOD DRIVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN T. RIGSBEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036629000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 5TH AVENUE DELI & MARKET, FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KHALAID AZAR. 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 08/14/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036640500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NIMBUSSCALE CONSULTING, 8200 OCEANVIEW TER #216, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH KEEGAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/10/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036628000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: UX CURIOUS, 584 CASTRO ST #655, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed UX CURIOUS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/03/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036640700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NOSTRA, 280 VALENCIA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PLIN LICENSE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/15.

AUGUST 27, SEPT 03, 10, 17, 2015 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551488

In the matter of the application of: MARY L. LEIX, 1700 BROADWAY #506, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MARY L. LEIX, is requesting that the name MARY L. LEIX, be changed to MARY LEIX NELSON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 24th of November 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036648300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SWOOP COMMUNICATIONS, 269 BRADFORD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAULA A. MURPHY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/15.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036648500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ORO, 305 GRANT AVE FL2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ORO SALON LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/15.

In the matter of the application of: JULIE TISHKOFF, 2837 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JULIE TISHKOFF, is requesting that the name JULIE TISHKOFF, be changed to JULIE COHEN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 1st of October 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CRUZITO’S JEWELRY & REPAIR, 2521 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANA K. SANCHEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/27/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/15.

AUGUST 20, 27, SEPT 03, 10, 2015

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Legal Notices>> NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF THOMAS FENNER DALLMAN IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: SECOND AMENDED FILE PES-15-298529

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of THOMAS FENNER DALLMAN. A Petition for Probate has been filed by ANN DALLMAN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that ANN DALLMAN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: September 29, 2015, 9AM, Dept. 204, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: Heather R. Stoneman, Esq. Jewel & Stoneman, LLP, 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 678, San Francisco, CA 94104 Ph. (415) 394-6800.

SEPTEMBER 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036645800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO AUTO TOW & RECOVERY, 1 AVE OF THE PALMS SUITE 10B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94130. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DENNIS M. FALLON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/25/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/25/15.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036651600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FEAST STUDIOS, 1366 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed HERRGOTT ENTERPRISES (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/28/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/15.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035949500

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-15-551490

In the matter of the application of: SUNG HEE HONG, 1650 OCTAVIA ST #310, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner SUNG HEE HONG, is requesting that the name SUNG HEE HONG, be changed to ARIANA HONG. 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 November 2015 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

SEPTEMBER 03, 10, 17, 24, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036662500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SARAH JUAN, 2828 19TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARGARET AHN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/03/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/03/15.

SEPTEMBER 10, 17, 24, OCT 01, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036648100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COOKIEKU, 8200 OCEANVIEW TERRACE #105, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NATALIA TAN. 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 08/26/15.

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DAYS INN-SLOAT, 2600 SLOAT BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SBS HOSPITALITY INK, CA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/02/15.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: B&A BODYWORKS/TOWING INC; APPLE TOWING INC; B&A TOWING; 1080 BRANNAN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed B&A BODYWORKS/ TOWING 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 08/31/15.

SEPTEMBER 10, 17, 24, OCT 01, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036636100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANGKOR BOREI RESTAURANT, 3471 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ANGKOR BOREI CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/18/15.

SEPTEMBER 10, 17, 24, OCT 01, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036639200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRAND FINISHES LLC, 500 QUINTARA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GRAND FINISHES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/15.

SEPTEMBER 10, 17, 24, OCT 01, 2015 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036661400

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: OASIS CONVENIENCE STORE, 4 EMBARCADERO LOBBY LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94111. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by NAJEB M. DABIT & MICHAEL DABIT. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/2014.

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O&A

Vol. 45 • No. 37 • September 10-16, 2015

www.ebar.com/arts

“An Object at the Limits of Language – Necromantic Kippian Emancipator: No. 2” (2000) by Manuel Ocampo. Oil on linen. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Contemporary contemplations by Sura Wood

“Mid-Autumn Festival” (1969) by Liu Guosong. Ink and colors on paper.

he Asian Art Museum continues its march into the present and its bid to win the hearts and minds of younger audiences with First Look: Collecting Contemporary at the Asian, the second of two exhibitions this year that have accentuated modern art.

While the first venture in this forward-looking direction, 28 Chinese, an impressive showcase for a constellation of China’s art stars, relied on loans from other institutions, First Look draws on the museum’s diverse acquisitions over the last 15 years, some purchased as recently as 2015, by artists not only from China, Korea and Japan, but also from Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Thailand. See page 22 >>

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

TV closes out summer with a bash by Victoria A. Brownworth

ummer has ended, and as usual, one of the last big huzzahs was the VMAs. We know they were last week, but can we just say, the VMAs were super gay this year. That’s all: we just wanted that noted. Super. Gay. We loved that part. Other stuff, not so much. We didn’t think Nicki Minaj was brave, as some have said, because it’s never been brave to call other women bitches. Do better. And while it led to a bizarre back-and-forth of mutual admiration between Kanye West and Donald Trump, which was creepy, we thought Kanye’s rant was tedious, and we wish he would just do music and not talk. See page 24 >>

Ellen Page, who came out last February, is in the new film Freeheld with Oscar winner Julianne Moore.

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS } Spring and summer mean later sunsets and later hours at the Asian Art Museum. We’re open ‘til 9 PM on Thursdays and for just $5 after 5 PM, you can spend an evening in our beautiful building enjoying the galleries, special exhibitions, fun talks, lively gatherings and intimate hangs with artists. On first Thursdays, there are even cash bars, DJs and more. For details, visit www.asianart.org/thursdays

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<< Out There

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Star-making machinations by Roberto Friedman

ometimes the people who make for the best biographies are the folks you’d run screaming from in life. For us, that’s the case with the subject of Can I Go Now? The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood’s First Superagent, a new bio by Brian Kellow out this week from Viking. Mengers was a real sparkplug: brassy, ambitious, ballsy, a power agent who handled some of the biggest stars in 1970s Tinseltown, including Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Dyan Cannon, Ali MacGraw and Candice Bergen. She was definitely the kind of person who’s fun to read about in books. You may know Mengers from I’ll Eat You Last, the 2013 one-woman show based on her life that starred Bette Midler. It included many of Mengers’ famous put-downs and witticisms, the same ones that can be found in this book: “As she walked into a crowded L.A. party, she looked around the room and murmured, ‘Schindler’s B-list.’” When Mengers gave Hollywood parties to drum up business for her clients, she didn’t bother with small-fry. “She commented on the glittering parties she threw, which were among the most coveted invitations in town, ‘I never invited anyone who wasn’t successful. I was ruthless about it. It was all stars. I would look around my living room at all of them and even I’d be impressed with myself.’” This was a woman who did not self-censor. “On Monday mornings she would walk in, toss her purse down, throw her feet up on her desk, and proclaim, once she was

First Look

From page 21

Indian artist Shreyas Karle dives into the deep end with “Museum Shop of Fetish Objects” (2012), a collection of Dada-esque objects that could be kinky cast-offs from a Hollywood prop room. Among the oddities: a brass megaphone, a white marble sculpture with mysterious orbs rising from its base, an assortment of dildos, a pair of spectacles with protruding metal cones where

sure she had the attention of the entire office, ‘Sue had a tough weekend. Sue’s thingy hurts.’” One of Mengers’ childhood friends remembers her as “chutzpah personified,” and the life story presented here bears that out. She used her close connection with Streisand to land her husband, Belgian director Jean-Claude Tramont, a job directing her. When the scheme backfired and La Barbra changed agents, Mengers told Streisand, “I won’t be your friend if I can’t be your agent.” To Sue, everyone was just a vessel of star power waiting to be used. Can I Go Now? (Mengers’ phone signoff) is a fun read, if you can get past the naked power-lust and greed. Mengers was responsible, after all, for putting Streisand, O’Neal and director Peter Bogdanovich together for their nowclassic screwball comedy. (“What’s Up, Doc?, you’re calling it?” Streisand asked Bogdanovich skeptically. “Barbra Streisand in What’s Up, Doc?”) She was the first superagent movie “packager.” She was an unlikely friend to Gore Vidal (initially through his partner Howard Austen). She was the inspiration for the character of the star-fucking press agent in Jacqueline Susann’s 1969 bestseller The Love Machine. And she was unstoppable: when the time came to re-sign O’Neal, she chased him “across a wet field in Ireland, where a scene for Barry Lyndon was being filmed. ‘Stanley Kubrick said, “Who’s that?”’ said O’Neal. ‘He never let anyone on the set. I said, “Here she comes – you’re in trouble now, Stanley.” He hid behind one of the trucks as if Sue was the FBI.’” Ultimately Out There found lenses ought to be, a hand with one thumb up and two fingers pointing that-a-way encased in a tin-andglass box, and books with pages of sinister Rube Goldberg diagrams of who-knows-what. “Four Seasons: Spring” (2011), an eye-grabbing saturated color photograph by Chen Man, who combines her flair for glossy, high-fashion mag layouts with fine art, injects feminism and female pulchritude into a splashy cross between a haute-couture warrior princess and

ourselves identifying just a tiny bit with Sue, even given our diametrically opposite personalities. For instance, she had a firm rule against admitting her friends’ children to her famous parties “until they were 18 and old enough to hold up their end of the conversation. Only then would they be worth her attention.” A sound policy if ever we heard one. And we think her goal of amassing “Fuck you” money is a worthy one. That’s having enough money to be able to tell anyone, “Fuck you.” A self-made pennyaire, OT hasn’t quite got there yet.

Memorable memoirs

In all our years at the arts desk, OT has read many a memoir, biography and autobiography. Mostly these

forest sprite. With one foot balanced on the point of a jagged rock at the edge of a primeval world, this glamorous amazon could’ve stepped out of the blue-tinged mountain jungle of James Cameron’s Avatar. On the other side of the spectrum in mood and timbre is the black & white photograph “Untitled, No. 25” (2008). Husband-and-wife team RongRong & inri depart from their usual outdoor landscapes in favor of a hermetic bedroom scene, all white, from the chintz curtains and

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U. S . PREMIERE!

BY M ICH E ÁL K E R R IGAN WITH SCR I P T D E VE LO PM E NT BY PATR ICIA BY R N E AN D MARY CO N N O RS DI R EC TE D BY J E FFR E Y H O FFMAN

SEP 4– OCT 11, 2015 B U Y TICK E TS AT N C TC S F.O RG BOX O FFICE : 415 . 8 61 . 8 972 25 VAN N E SS AVE AT MAR K E T ST

were books about authors (we’re literary-minded), poets, artists, media stars, or movement heroes, but we’ve also read a bio of the Queen Mother. It’s a great way to walk in another man or woman’s shoes for a time. Now comes The Art of Memoir (Harper), a consideration of the genre by the author Mary Karr, who seems uniquely well-suited to discourse on the subject. She’s written the excellent memoirs The Liars’ Club, Cherry and Lit, and she leads a seminar on the subject at Syracuse University. It’s all worth a read, and OT especially enjoyed the chapters that revolve around classic memoirs we’ve read, such as Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, Memory. “Students who fear sentimentality as death

have to study Nabokov, who proves that sentimentality is only emotion you haven’t proven to the reader – emotion without vivid evidence. For Nabokov, memory itself is a country, and his tender reflections, coupled with longing, move us even more perhaps in coming from a speaker who can be so cool.” Good advice abounds. As Karr quotes Hubert Selby telling Jerry Stahl, “If you’re writing about somebody you hate, do it with great love.” She also includes an appendix that’s a useful source, “Required Reading – Mostly Memoirs and Some Hybrids.” Karr writes, “The asterisked memoirs are books I’ve taught. Does this mean they’re better written? Absolutely.” We like an author who knows her stuff.t

bed sheets to the tank-tops worn by the couple. Seated on the bed next to each other and viewed from behind, the pose and the mirror-image patterns formed by their matching manes of long black hair conjure thoughts of conjoined twins. While the previous exhibition soared in its ambitious, inventive installations, the most adventurous artworks in this current iteration are found in contemporary treatments of traditional subjects such as landscape, nature and the spiritual world, as well as in ancient mediums such as ink-painting, translated, filtered through or combined with new media. Reconciling the modern with old-world traditions has been a prevalent theme for a younger generation of artists whose societies have been undergoing revolutionary change and meteoric economic growth. And it is in Innovating Ink, a section devoted to multi-disciplinary explorations of cinema, video and digital animation, that the show is at its best. Take a pair of amazing, 3-D digital animations by Japan’s teamLab, a self-described “ultra-technologists” collaborative comprised of programmers, mathematicians, architects, animators, web and graphic designers, artists and other geeks who blur boundaries between art, science, and tech. They merge calligraphy and the exquisite delicacy of Asian scroll paintings with anime and supernatural imagery in “Cold Life” (2014) and “Life Survives by the Power of Life” (2011), which run in seven- and six-minute loops, respectively. By fusing the cutting edge and the old with exhilarating immediacy and razor-sharp color, we get a close-up in tight, detailed rotating view of cherry-blossom branches, pine needles, snowflakes and a flurry of butterflies suggesting the morphing of seasons. The team’s techniques offer multiple perspectives of nature much the way

AutoCAD unlocks architectural schematics. The presence of the past is palpable in Xu Bing’s 15-minute, five-channel animated video “The Character of Characters” (2012). Projected on a narrow scroll-like strip on the wall, the narrative, with a cast of 10,000 simple line drawings, responds to work of late-13th or early-14th-century Chinese calligraphy. Imitating the cycle of life, the rural landscapes, village scenes and figures are sketched before our eyes, then vanish, as if erased, before new ones suddenly arrive. People of a certain age may be reminded of a segment on Walt Disney’s TV show, where an artist sitting at his drawing board brought characters to life and made them exit, stage left, with a stroke of his pen – the animator as invisible creator and destroyer of worlds. By far the biggest find of this exhibition is Yang Yongliang, who digitally collages photographs and animates them, allowing the real and unreal to reside uneasily beside each other in the same frame. Influenced by cinema, traditional Chinese landscape painting and the grand illusions of computer graphics, his captivating HD video “The Night of Perpetual Day” (2013), which unfolds like a futuristic film with an eye to the past, has its own room, a theater as it were. In this fantasy landscape, a blasted-out canyon in a mountainside serves as an ersatz drive-in movie where one can perceive images flickering in distance, primordial waterfalls spill over rocky promontories, cars move along winding roads, light shifts, and skies darken in a monochromatic world. China’s unchecked urban development (taken from the artist’s photographs) continues apace, smog shrouds cities, and a flying saucer unexpectedly materializes and zips out of sight. (Through Oct. 11.)t

Film>>

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Castro Theatre coming attractions by David Lamble

eptember at the Castro Theatre is stacked with one unforgettable film classic after another. If you regret not attending film school, the Castro’s programmers provide a never-ending second chance. Bullitt (1968) Steve McQueen radiates understated masculinity and pure bravado in his portrayal of SF bachelor cop Frank Bullitt. Assigned to an SFPD detail charged with protecting a key witness in a government mob probe, Bullitt soon clashes with an arrogant politician (snarling Robert Vaughn). Best-remembered for its high-speed chase through the streets of our city, today Bullitt stands out as a last gasp of 60s cool and defines why SF became a mecca for filmmakers turning genre fare into hip entertainment. The movie notched a best editing Oscar, was nominated for Lalo Schifrin’s jazz-inspired score. and was indelibly spoofed in Robert Altman’s 1970 comedy Brewster McCloud. The Seven-Ups (1973) French Connection producer Philip D’ Antoni’s attempt to summon up that classic’s mix of authentic street lingo and flashy action sequences pays off best in a spectacular car chase. Connection co-star Roy Scheider is again pitted against a mob boss. deftly essayed by Tony LoBianco. (both 9/10) An American in Paris (1951) Shot on location in 1951 at the height of the Cold War, this sure-footed blend of singing and dancing was McCarthy-era America’s best cultural export. Gene Kelly’s unabashedly muscular style allows you to ignore the flimsy boy-meets-girl plot. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Jacques Demy’s all-singing musical introduced a vibrant Catherine Deneuve to American audiences: music by Michel Legrand, lyrics by Demy. (both 9/13) Smooth Talk (1985) A triple dose of female power – Joyce Chopra directing a Joyce Carol Oates story for a 15-year-old Laura Dern – this romantic drama, originally shot for the PBS anthology series American Playhouse, demonstrates the emotionally shattering consequences

when a teen girl’s fantasy boyfriend shows up at the front door in the person of an impossibly sexy if darkly menacing Treat Williams. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) David Lynch’s virtually indescribable Northwest US saga has 35 speaking parts. The actor who best survives the toxic mix is Lynch alter ego Kyle MacLachlan as dogged FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. This 135-minute stand-alone episode was the series pilot. (both 9/16) Nashville Prior to this 1975 masterpiece, Robert Altman had shown himself to be an actor’s director capable of telling both MASH (his Korean War dark comedy) and McCabe and Mrs. Miller (a whimsical Western). What sets Nashville apart is the director’s ability to present a 24-character perspective on a uniquely American political tale, the impact of a Trump-like independent presidential campaign on a cross-section of Music City citizens. Nashville marked the emergence of a new generation of idiosyncratic actors – gorgeous Keith Carradine warbling the ballad “I’m Easy,” Lily Tomlin in an early dramatic turn as the mother of deaf kids – sensitive to both the light and the dark sides of the American Dream. (9/17) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) The entertainment value and history lessons provided by David Lean’s intimate epic grow with time. With its homo content understated, Lawrence is still a must-see for anyone struggling to understand our perilous foreign policy hot-spot. The spectacle, nearly four hours with an intermission, plays to all the Castro’s strengths. (9/18-20) Tangerine “LA is a beautifully wrapped lie.” This tart observation, from the lips of a mother-in-law chasing her daughter’s hubby into a Korean snack shop full of pimps and transgender African American prostitutes, is a prime reason for catching Sean Baker’s sassy tour of everything the LA Chamber of Commerce would rather you not see. This fruit is going to wind up in a lot of Best Picture holiday baskets. Magic Mike XXL The not-so-

Steve McQueen as the title character in Bullitt.

long-awaited sequel to the 2012 male stripper exploitation flick Magic Mike (from A-list director Steven Soderbergh) arrives with several adorable male torsos, directed by Soderbergh discovery Gregory Jacobs. (both 9/22) Midnight Cowboy (1969) This multi-Oscar winner (picture, director, screenplay) is a fearsome if occasionally comic take on NYC’s seedier nooks and crannies as a Texas-born urban cowboy (Jon Voight) finds himself outgunned when he Greyhounds in to prey on wealthy widows. Voight’s Joe Buck bonds with Dustin Hoffman’s prickly would-be con artist Ratso Rizzo. The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn shine as childhood friends who turn into the most unlikely anti-establishment rebels. Hutton’s Christopher Boyce, a young intelligence worker who’s appalled by his government’s amoral pursuit of the Cold War, decides to even the scales by selling secrets to Russian agents. The film’s power lies in the odd-couple relationship between the clean-cut Boyce and Penn’s outof-control stoner. (both 9/24) Chinatown (1975) Possibly the greatest film of its decade, Roman Polanski gets the most style points and history from Robert Towne’s

Scene from The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.

script based on the Southland water wars. Then there’s Jack Nicholson as the insolent private eye Jake Gittes, who meets his match in the person of a cagey widow (Faye Dunaway) and her sly, extremely dangerous “Big Daddy” (John Huston). The Long Goodbye (1973) If you like your private eye films laced with an off-kilter sensibility, this Robert Altman take on Raymond Chandler is a rare treat. Especially splendid is Elliot Gould’s shambling, wisecracking version of Chandler’s Philip Marlow. No Bogart he, Gould has delicious fun with a private dick who must take time out to feed a finicky cat. Warning: dark moments. Especially chilling is a gangster wielding a Coke bottle across the face of a hapless girlfriend. (both 9/25) Vittorio De Sica: A Film Series De Sica’s (1902-74) career spans a troubling but exciting slice of Italian history from the disturbing flirtation with Fascism to the bumpy road to postwar prosperity. Two Women (1960) Sophia Loren won an Oscar for her portrayal of a mother who flees across war-torn Italy with her 13-year-old daughter. The Gold of Naples (1954) Believed to be the first SF screening of an anthology of stories by Giuseppe Marotta. With Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani, Edoardo De Filippo and

the one-name comic Toto. Marriage Italian Style (1964) Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni were at the top of their romantic screen games when they appeared in this comedy two-hander. Loren tries to coax her longtime boyfriend into martial bliss. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970) The story of a wealthy Jewish family whose members ignore growing signs of encroaching Fascism garnered the Best Foreign Film Oscar and was a star vehicle for Dominique Sand. Male co-star Lino Capolicchio appears in person. (all 9/26) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) This double-Oscar treat (director, screenplay) finds Humphrey Bogart as a prospector who goes a little mad while digging for gold. An effective blend of manly action and character study, this one gains extra heft from the experience of John Huston directing his veteran character-actor dad, Walter. The theme is greed! Sorcerer (1977) William Friedkin and his favorite leading man, Roy Scheider, combine to update the South American-set French pop novel Wages of Fear. (both 9/27) Reel Rock A sample of short films about mountain-climbing. (9/30) Info: castrotheatre.com

Philanthropy comes naturally by David Lamble

cause of his people. Partially under Washington’s he new bio-doc Rossway, Rosenwald offered enwald by Aviva seed money to build a netKempner details the life of work of one-room schoolJulius Rosenwald (1862houses. Eventually over 1932), who was born a 5,400 such academies were year into the Civil War established to provide baand died in the last year sic education for hundreds of the Hoover presidency. of thousands of children Rosenwald, which runs 90 through black communiminutes, is a conventionties in the South. ally serious “talking heads” The Rosenwald Fund indocumentary, the kind creased its charitable givings that’s usually consigned to to include the construction a late-night time slot on of YMCAs and garden-style the public-TV station. apartments for black AmerCourtesy of Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Director Kempner’s theicans who had been raised sis is that Julius Rosenwald, Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington at in rundown sharecropper’s or “JR” as he preferred to Tuskegee Institute, 1915. shacks, living symbols of be known, lived two lives: the tyranny of Jim Crow. one as the hard-driving coThe Rosenwald Fund also ing or exercising any of the rights founder of the great Sears Roebuck became an instrument to facilitate the and opportunities the average white chain of dry goods stores, which Great Migration of poor rural blacks American regarded as their birthwould outgrow its humble tradingfrom the rural South to sections of the right, opportunities also available to post origins and become a huge regreat Northern cities: Chicago’s South the millions of immigrants pouring tailer where any product imaginable Side, New York’s Harlem, Los Angeles’ into this country from poor Jewish could be ordered through its ubiqWatts. communities across the Old World. uitous home-shopper’s catalogues. The final act of Rosenwald elaboJR’s big breakthrough, the moThe other side of Julius Rosenwald rates on JR’s most lasting legacy, the ment that makes him a cultural hero, was an openhearted philanthropist funds that went to encourage the was his partnership with the great who, over several decades, dispensed 1920s-era “Harlem Renaissance” black educator Booker T. Washinga small fortune as seed money dethat saw the creation of an African ton (1856-1915). Considered in his signed to open up opportunities American artistic community, the lifetime to be the now highly ironic for millions of black Americans livso-called “talented 10th,” individu“credit to his race,” Washington was ing under the yoke of the Jim Crow als such as Countee Cullen, Zora a forward-thinking leader for his segregation codes. These were racist Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, time. Born a slave, he taught the statutes drawn up to prevent Afriand Claude McKay, a progression principles of black economic encan Americans from voting, workthat would eventually witness the terprise as a way of advancing the

emergence of black queer-identified writers such as the brilliant essaywriter/novelist James Baldwin (Go Tell It on the Mountain, Another Country). Ultimately Rosenwald is a rich tapestry, the story of how one man’s vision became the basis for a chain of human endeavor extending as far as Stonewall. One of the virtues of this community biography is to hear Rosenwald extolled by a

range of successful African American citizens such as filmmaker Gordon Parks, civil rights leaders Julian Bond and Ben Jealous, Congressman John Lewis, columnists Eugene Robinson and Clarence Page, National Public Radio reporter Cokie Roberts, Rabbi David Saperstein, writer Maya Angelou and director George C. Wolfe. (Opens Friday at Landmark Theatres.)t

<< Books

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Drag king by Jim Piechota

Being Conchita: We Are Unstoppable by Conchita Wurst; John Blake Books, $19.95 ith a fearless, flawless image and a singing voice to match, bearded Austrian genderbending songstress Conchita Wurst dazzled fans and judges alike to win the UK’s 59th Eurovision Song Contest in 2014. Her autobiography Being Conchita, a cheerleading narrative about unity and overcoming hardship, forms an impressive if uneven profile of an artist who seems to have been primed for greatness through a misfortunate past. The book is prefaced with a letter by fashion designer and Wurst muse Jean Paul Gaultier, who considers himself an “unconditional fan” and compares her to Madonna, “who is a real macho in a woman’s body,” while Conchita is a “Wonder Woman in a man’s body.” Born Thomas Neuwirth in Gmunden, Austria in 1988, Wurst moved to Bad Mitterndorf, known for being a winter sports resort, where the bulk of her childhood took place. There, the bullying due to her “otherness” began chipping away at her self-esteem, and these “small acts of cruelty” continued on throughout her teen years. Resilient and hopeful, Wurst’s move to nearby metropolis Graz, coming out, and enrollment in fashion school (she designed the dress worn in her

Lavender Tube

From page 21

We did love Miley Cyrus’ drag queens. A lot. In her closing number, Miley brought out a troupe of queens including Laganja Estranja (how did she manage that death drop without breaking her left leg?), RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Violet Chachki, Ms. Vivacious, Alyssa Edwards, Gia Gunn, Miss Fame, Pearl and others. Not everyone approved. We don’t care. We did. Speaking of MTV (oh, that felt so 80s, made us think of Madonna and Big Hair), Ellen Page, who came out last February saying she was “lying by omission,” was talking to MTV about being a lesbian and her new film Freeheld, with Oscar winner Julianne Moore. Freeheld, written by out gay screenwriter-director Ron Nyswaner and directed by Peter Sollett, is based on the true story of Laurel Hester (Moore), a New Jersey police officer. After she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2005, Hester appealed to the county to ensure her pension benefits could be passed on to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Page). The film details their struggles. MTV News reported Page saying she knew she had to come out when she began making the film. “I remember thinking, ‘Ellen, how in God’s name could you make this film and not be out?’ Stacie and Laurel’s story is incredibly inspiring and did take a lot of courage, particularly in a time of such unimagi-

Eurovision performance) proved to be the catalysts that propelled her onto bigger and better endeavors, including a singing career. Wurst gushes about auditioning for the Austrian casting show Starmania in 2007, becoming a founding member of the short-lived boy band “jetzt anders!” (“be different!”), and being mononymously known as “Conchita” while working her way up the ranks in the Eurovision competition. Her win in 2014 with the song “Rise like a Phoenix” received great praise, though her controversial persona garnered derision from right-wing conservative groups. While inspirational, motivational, and written with clear-cut intent (Wurst’s words were developed into book form by travel writer and documentarian Daniel Oliver Bachmann), the autobiography won’t appeal to everyone. Some readers will find the surfeit of platitudes eye-rollingly derivative and Wurst’s self-elevation to superstar status imperious. Some sections read as overly self-conscious: “When I started to explore drag,” she says, “I felt as if the concept had been created specially for me. I began to accept my body and enjoyed seeing women get jealous.” Other comments are hackneyed, such as, “The search for one’s true self is a life-long quest, like the challenge of learning to love oneself,” or, “Every Pride festival is living proof that we’re capable of achieving a whole host of positive things when

we all pull in the same direction.” To be sure, more impressionable readers may find these words of enthusiastic encouragement beneficial. But the experienced, middleaged queen who has lived through the bullying and the hard-knocks life lessons to emerge strong and shimmery may want to pass on this one. Even so, the book isn’t a total wash. There are moments of excitement tucked within the chiffon folds of so much puffery. A particularly troublesome stretch of reflective foil on the catwalk proved disastrous for three fallen models in a Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show, but Wurst, headlining the show in a glamorous wedding dress, simply stepped over the fashion roadkill as Gaultier “actually knelt down before me.” Her interplay with fashion workaholic Karl Lagerfeld and former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld also simmers on the page, as does her work with Light into Darkness, Austria’s largest humanitarian relief campaign. Generous sections of glossy photographs trisect the memoir, and that may be the biggest draw here: to visualize the evolution of Conchita Wurst in a picture form rather than through stiff wordplay. As she imparts a message of tolerance, equality, compassion, humanitarianism, and self-love, perhaps the greatest takeaway (for those who make it through to the final pages) is to dream big and rise above life’s ceaseless roadblocks.t

nable difficulty. It really did make me go, ‘Dude, just tell people you’re gay. Just get over yourself, honestly, and support those who are not as privileged.’ It’s like, ‘You have f-ing privilege, so do something with it.’” We can think of some others who should read that last line to themselves in the mirror every day till they come out. Just saying. Freeheld will be in theaters in Oct. From the sublime to the we’re-notsure-what, but ABC’s World News Now reported on Sept. 5 that Rosie O’Donnell, who has been somewhat unlucky in love and is in a messy divorce with second wife Michelle Rounds, and is currently hush-hush over a new TV project, is now dating Tatum O’Neal, who used to be a stellar actress and is now best-known for being in rehab, doing scary reality-TV with her father Ryan O’Neal on OWN, talking to herself on Oprah, and being one of the most ill-mannered guests in the history of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen last season. You know that saying, “Out of the frying pan, into the fire?” That’s what comes to mind. Rosie joked to TMZ that O’Neal is her “new wife.” The only person who could make John McEnroe look like a good guy is O’Neal after their split. O’Neal came out in May, telling People, “Women are the most amazing creatures on Earth. They’re gentle and also more intelligent

than the men that I’ve met recently. I don’t have a steady right now, but I look forward to it.” We look forward to being wrong about this, but Rosie’s having a pretty bad year, and O’Neal seems to have only been having bad years since her split with McEnroe in 1994.

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Dancing fools

Speaking of crazy, the cast for this season’s Dancing with the Stars was revealed this week, and the name that made us Nae Nae was Paula Deen. We know Fitzgerald was wrong when he said there were no second acts in American lives, but then Gatsby ends up dead in the pool, and Deen is on DWTS. The show likes to have a heroic figure and someone to hate-watch (yes, we’re looking at you, Bristol Palin and Chaz Bono), and this season (21st for the ratings giant) has both. We’ll be hate-watching Deen and hope she lasts through the first week (we’re pretty sure she will: people will vote for her just to keep her around for further humiliation). Deen told GMA on Sept. 2, “I hope I’m going to get out a bunch of new friends and maybe lose some weight and a little better body.” Oh, okay. Alek Skarlatos, the U.S. serviceman who helped stop a terrorist on a Paris-bound train last month, is a late admit to the line-up, but he’s super-handsome, has a great body and that will carry him for a while. The rest of the line-up includes the great Chaka Khan (we would watch just to see her), Backstreet Boys alum Nick Carter, Real Housewives of Atlanta bad girl Kim ZolciakBiermann, singer Tamar Braxton (Toni’s youngest sister, one of the stars of Braxton Family Values), Victor Espinoza (the jockey who rode American Pharoah) and Bindi Irwin, the 17-year-old crocodilewrestling daughter of the late Steve Irwin. Gary Busey, the oldest cast member at 71, made us raise an eyebrow. Busey is always a wild card in his reality-TV show stints. DWTS returns Sept. 14 on ABC. The trailers are out for Ryan

Murphy’s latest chapter of American Horror Story, and they are wow. We know AHS has been uneven, but we have loved some of it. Be prepared to love AHS: Hotel. Season 5 premieres Oct. 7 on FX. It’s the first season without Jessica Lange, which makes us sad, but it stars Lady Gaga as you’ve never seen her, which makes us happy. Many of the show’s mainstay actors will be back, including Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, Chloe Sevigny and sexy Matt Bomer. According to Billboard, this season will be connected to the first season, and will feature an appearance by the Murder House and its realtor Marcy (Christine Estabrook). Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk told Billboard other characters will be reprised. The move from Louisiana, where the past few seasons were set, back to LA was driven by the incorporation of the earlier seasons, Asylum and Murder House. The former Glee and AHS: Freak Show alum Matt Bomer will have relationships with women in the hotel, including Gaga’s Elizabeth, which means we’ll get to see him naked again. He also has a closerthan-close relationship with his mother, Iris (Kathy Bates, sans beard this time). The brilliant Sarah Paulson will take the lead as Hypodermic Sally, and she will only have one head, unlike last season. Chloe Sevigny will be front-and-center as well. She’s playing a grieving doctor, Alex Lowe. The fabulous Angela Bassett plays Ramona Royale, and guess who her love interest will be? Yes. The Lady herself. So expect a very gay and twisted season. Ron Perlman is one of the most over-the-top characters you’ll see this season, in the new Amazon Prime series Hand of God, which debuted Sept. 5. The opener began with Perlman, a big guy with a huge head who has starred in Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy and the long-running Beauty and the Beast, standing naked in a public fountain and speaking in tongues. That gives you a clue about the tone of Hand of God. Perlman plays Pernell Harris, a corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice. Sounds legit. Hand

of God is, like the second season of True Detective and NBC’s Aquarius, California neo-noir, which can be a sketchy format if you aren’t Elmore Leonard or James Ellroy. Created by Ben Watkins (Burn Notice), it boasts a stellar cast that includes Dana Delany (Body of Proof), Andre Royo (The Wire), Jon Tenney (The Closer), Julian Morris, the gorgeous Erykah Badu and Perlman, who is larger than life yet not overstated. There’s a lot going on in Hand of God, because corruption is rife and people have issues. This is the dark side of God, the retributive side we’ve seen a lot of in the news lately. Harris’ son has attempted suicide and is in a coma. Something – grief, madness, miracles – has turned the comatose boy into an oracle for Harris. The mystery at the heart of HOG is more compelling than the treatment of religion, and the show lives up to the neo-noir subtext. Perlman gets more riveting with each episode, and the characters who at first seemed oh-so-normal are revealed as maybe not. It’s not The Wire, but it is multi-faceted. Available now on Amazon Prime. As we delve into the new fall shows we are reminded that before our stint at B.A.R. we never watched TV, and now, well, we love it. September is our anniversary month at the B.A.R., and it makes us happy to have been associated with such a fabulous paper for more than two decades. We started here the same year ENDA was first introduced in Congress. Maybe one day we will actually get to report ENDA’s passage was the lead story on every network. Maybe. But for now, we remain separate and unequal. Just ask Kim Davis. Our inequality is underscored by the fact that Davis wasn’t ordered to jail until Sept. 4, even though she’s been denying lesbians and gay men marriage licenses since June 26, when the SCOTUS ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges was announced. Her actions were, until this past week, the news you’re not seeing. Then Davis became the lead story on every national newscast because a gay couple sent their video of her denying them a marriage license to ABC’s Nightline, and the story went viral. Good for us, See page 26 >>

Theatre>>

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Stage stars retreat by Richard Dodds

magine a weekend in the country hosted by Noel Coward and Anton Chekhov. That may give you some idea of the changing dispositions of the characters who occupy Donald Margulies’ The Country House. As the recent Broadway play unfolded in its regional premiere, I was whipsawing between contemplations of Coward’s frolicsome Hay Fever and Chekhov’s considerably more mordant The Seagull. Not necessarily irreconcilable inspirations, but Margulies’ genial comedy only finds its way to a so-so state of affairs. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Dinner With Friends, a trenchant drama about the symbiosis between married couples, Margulies creates a more playful atmosphere in The Country House. That house is in the Berkshires, where notable performers often gather to renew their stage creds at venerable summer theater festivals. And that house is ruled over by Anna Patterson, the matriarch of an acting family and a Broadway star, as she says, when there were Broadway stars. Anna is prone to swooping entrances, self-involvement, and a blurry conflation of life on the stage and in the real world. In this she

resembles Judith Bliss, the flighty retired actress in Coward’s Hayfever, but also Irina Arkadina, the glamorous Russian actress now past her prime in Chekhov’s The Seagull. And all are part of the household melanges of relatives, friends, and lovers of uneasy chemistries. This is a well-tested theatrical formula, but where Margulies falters is in the surprisingly wan efforts at crafting smart remarks worthy of these characters. “You never got the acting bug?” asks a character of Anna’s granddaughter. “You mean like the plague?” The audience knows it’s a laugh line and mildly obliges, as it does to references to such easy japes as gluten and Lifetime movies. Even as the play veers into some somber and fraught situations, it brings surprisingly little that’s fresh to the party. But TheatreWorks, under Robert Kelley’s steady direction, makes sure it is a fashionable party. Andrea Bechert’s living room set looks move-in ready, and B. Modern’s costumes befit these characters of various generations and personalities but all of comfortable circumstances. The reason for this get-together is not a happy one. It’s the one-year anniversary of the death of Anna’s daughter Kathy, herself a beautiful

Kevin Berne

As the mother, son, and granddaughter of a notable acting family, from right to left, Kimberly King, Stephen Muterspaugh, and Rosie Hallett share a rare peaceful moment in TheatreWorks’ The Country House.

and successful actress until cancer crept in. The gathering was expected to be a family affair, with Kathy’s widowed older husband Walter, their teenage daughter Susie, and Anna’s sad-sack son Elliot in attendance. But solemnity is undone with the arrival of two unexpected guests. Walter, a schlocky movie director, has brought his new girlfriend to the gathering. Nell is young, beautiful, vivacious, and thoroughly resented

by Kathy’s direct kin. On the other hand, everyone is quite pleased that young, handsome, and vivacious TV star Michael has, in a plot contrivance, found himself bunked out on the living room sofa. Both have some connections to the immediate family, as Michael once played a callow youth in love with Anna’s older woman in Shaw’s Candida, and Nell is the long-lost love of perennial loser Elliot.

Director Tom Ross has found the rhythms and tones that bring forth the humor and occasional sorrow nestled in Wegrzyn’s script. The cast occupies the characters with an equally skillful finesse, with Jamie Jones centering the play with her ever-so-truthful performance as the nearly, but not quite, burnt-out Beth. Rebecca Dines is the play’s energizer

as the too-ready-to-party Sam, and Laura Jane Bailey effectively delivers on the poignancy as the sacked Angie, who misses the camaraderie of even the shared misery of life as a flight attendant. As the be-tuxed Jonathan, Devin S. O’Brien is an adorable bundle of insecurities. Mud Blue Sky is a play in which nothing much happens, at least

Kimberly King supplies an estimable performance as the sympathetically narcissistic Anna, an actress from the old school of charm and glamor. Indeed, the entire cast is in tune with their characters, including Marcia Pizzo’s effortlessly seductive Nell, Jason Kuykendall’s charismatically hunky Michael, Gary Martinez’s Hollywood hotshot Walter, and Rosie Hallett’s sulking Susie. While Anna is at the center of the action, the most compelling character is Elliot, who inherited none of the family’s talents, looks, or social grace. As Elliot, Stephen Muterspaugh creates a character that draws both our commiseration for the constant dismissal from his family and our contempt for his loser mentality. Much like Konstantin in The Seagull, he’s an aspiring playwright whose work is ridiculed, most fiercely by his mother, who thinks she’s the villain in his writing. It is Elliot’s angry eruption in the second act that finally gives The Country House a heft beyond middling drawing-room comedy. t The Country House will run through Sept. 20 at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $19-$80. Call (650) 4631960 or go to theatreworks.org.

Layover playover by Richard Dodds

he best humor often can’t be detached from the world in which it exists. A funny line that can be easily quoted away from its source is also known as a joke, and that is a different route to a laugh. Mud Blue Sky by Chicago playwright Marisa Wegrzyn, a name new to me but one I’ll remember, is a very funny play that defies efforts to encapsulate any particular dialogue that makes it funny. This is a good thing made better in Aurora Theatre’s nifty production. Describing the play’s set-up might suggest a comedy of easy laughs built from wisecracks and slamming doors. Three stewardesses (excuse the anachronism for the moment) convene in a hotel room during a layover and set out to party. It might seem we are in the land of Boeing Boeing, the 1960s farce that ran for years and years in London and typified the notion of libidinous young beauties in a glamorous job in which they could travel the world and meet all sorts of sexy and/ or rich men. These aren’t those women, but rather weary flight attendants of the modern jet age dealing with divorce, wayward teens at home, bad backs, lost jobs, and repellant passengers. While this might sound like the opposite of fun, Wegrzyn has devised a tiny universe in which life’s

absurdities can be explored in ways that become comic because there is recognizable truth behind the quips, arguments, resentments, and kindness that come forth on this one night in an airport hotel. One of the three is actually a former flight attendant who lost her job because of her weight. The divorced Angie lives near Chicago, and a reunion with her two former colleagues is planned during the layover. While single mom Sam is ready to party, the sardonic Beth tries to beg off, claiming fatigue. But instead of climbing into bed, Beth heads out to the parking lot to hook up with the pot dealer she regularly engages while passing through Chicago. In this loony but believable world, the dealer is a dorky high school senior named Jonathan who arrives at the hotel in a rented tux. It’s prom night, and his date has ditched him. Besides, she liked putting her tongue in his ear. Soon enough, the whole gang is in Beth’s room, with Angie supplying some very expensive cognac she once pinched from a passenger and Jonathan the weed, but not the really good stuff that went to Beth. All he has left is some pretty good stuff that he supplies to the others at a discount. They mostly mother him while not engaged in their own dramas that he observes with the astonishment of a kid watching grownups misbehave.

in the standard sense of how plots work, but it’s a showcase of how seeming evanescence can carry weight and humor mined in humanity provokes the best laughter.t Mud Blue Sky will run at Aurora Theatre through Sept. 27. Tickets are $32-$50. Call (510) 843-4822 or go to auroratheatre.org.

TONY DANZA

MEGAN HILTY

KYLE DEAN MASSEY

September 18 - 20

September 25 - 27

October 2 - 3

For tickets:www.feinsteinsSF.com David Allen

Devin S. O’Brien is a teenager who finds himself on prom night in an airport hotel with flight attendants played by Jamie Jones, Rebecca Dines, and Laura Jane Bailey in the quirky comedy Mud Blue Sky at Aurora Theatre.

Feinstein’s | Hotel Nikko San Francisco 222 Mason Street 855-MF-NIKKO | 855-636-4556

<< DVD

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Considering Harper Lee

by Brian Bromberger

LOOKING FOR

WE’VE GOT THEM ALL

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02_Spartacus_App_95x127mm.indd 1

15.01.15

hen Go Set a Watchman was published in July, it created excitement in the adult literary world akin to the teen hysteria accompanying the appearance of the final Harry Potter book. It also reignited fascination with its 89-yearold author Harper Lee, who wrote the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, so it is timely that First Run Features has released a new DVD by Mary McDonagh Murphy, Harper Lee: From Mockingbird to Watchman. For those clamoring to learn more about Lee herself, the film will be somewhat of a disappointment, but if you want to explore the history of Mockingbird and its lasting impact, you could do no better than watch this documentary. Watchman, the antecedent of Mockingbird, was thought lost or destroyed before its discovery by Lee’s current lawyer two years ago, languishing for decades in a safety deposit box. In a series of articles The New York Times disputes this version, but Murphy does not address the controversy. Lee sent the finished Watchman to publishers in 1957 and was rebuffed until an editor at Lippincort said yes, but only if she would write a different story reimagining the same characters 20 years earlier. It would take two years of rewriting before Mockingbird was published in 1960, eventually selling 50 million copies. With the possible exception of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mockingbird is considered by many critics to be the greatest American novel of the 20th century. The film’s main asset is an extended 2011 interview with Lee’s 99-year-old sister Alice Finchley, who was also her lawyer and key advisor and, according to the NY Times, opposed publication of Watchman. Joy Brown, who with her husband songwriter/composer Michael are longtime friends of Lee, having given her a 1956 Christmas gift check so she could write whatever she wanted for a year, states emphatically in the documentary that Lee “has all her marbles” despite living in an assisted-care facility confined to a wheelchair after a stroke, hard of hearing with vision problems. She alone decided that Watchman would be published, “being very excited at the prospect.” Both Alice and Joy make clear that Lee intended to write other books after Mockingbird and attempted to do so, but not with the same motivation or intensity, recog12:30 nizing “she could never top what she had done, and there was nowhere to go but down.” A coda/extra to the DVD shows Lee on June 30, 2015, receiving the first published copy of Watchman, presented by the president of HarperCollins. Mur-

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WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

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From page 24

not so good for Davis. On Sept. 4, Davis was ordered to jail indefinitely. It didn’t take long for the Republican candidates for president to weigh in on the case, looking for free airtime. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) hopped on CNN seconds after Davis was led away in handcuffs, saying, “I think it’s absurd to put someone in jail for exercising their religious liberties. This is really the problem when from on high we decide to get involved on a federal level with something that has always been a local issue.” You know, like segregation. And “on high” is where Davis says her instructions come from. SCOTUS is our third branch of Constitutional government. All of which someone running for president should know. Sen. Ted Cruz said, “Those who

phy, when introduced to Lee, asks her, “Did you ever think you would see this published?” Lee replies, “Of course I did. Don’t be silly.” It’s perhaps her final “interview.” Watchman, set in the 1950s with an adult Scout, now Jean Louise, visiting her hometown and confronting her family’s resistance (including her prejudiced father Atticus) to integration, has received mixed reviews. As Lee’s lawyer admits, it’s no Mockingbird, as it was a first submission. Lee refused an offer from HarperCollins to edit the manuscript. Her lawyer also states there were people with no vested financial interest who read Watchman prior to printing, saying the book was publishable. But reviewers have commented that had Watchman not been written by Lee, it would probably not have been published. LGBTQ people are interested in Lee, as she has long been rumored to be a closeted lesbian. She never married, and according to her biographer Charles Shield, was never interested in men. Her look during the late 1950s/early 60s was decidedly butch, though there has never been any definitive proof about her sexual orientation. Her best friend was gay writer Truman Capote, as they both grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, with Capote inspiring the next-door neighbor Dill character in Mockingbird. Lee helped Capote with his reportage in Kansas of the infamous Clutter murders, which became the basis for his landmark “nonfiction novel,” In Cold Blood. But as her sister Alice reveals, their

friendship declined after Lee won the Pulitzer Prize, as a jealous Capote was miffed he never won. The film also puts permanently to rest the vicious rumor that Capote helped write Mockingbird. Joy Brown attests that Capote saw the finished novel in galley form and made some minor editing suggestions. As Alice observes, Lee did not enjoy fame and the press intrusion into her personal life. She gave her last interview in 1964. Lee remains a conundrum, and any final conclusion about her sexuality will likely have to wait until after her death. The documentary features interviews with Oprah Winfrey (“I wanted to be Scout,” as well as her futile attempt to entice Lee to agree to a TV interview), Tom Brokaw, novelists Wally Lamb and Anna Quindlen, and singer Roseanne Cash, among others, who testify how reading Mockingbird transformed their lives. Teachers claim students want to read the book in school, not because it is required. Whatever one’s opinion on Watchman, Mockingbird’s legacy is unassailable, as is Lee’s reputation. By the film’s end we realize what a watershed book Mockingbird is. African-American memoirist James McBride observes he has never read a white author discuss racism in such a complicated and sophisticated way. The documentary reminds us how the themes of Mockingbird still resonate in our post-Ferguson society as we struggle with the injustice of bigotry in all its insidious forms. t

are persecuting Kim Davis believe that Christians should not serve in public office. Or, if Christians do serve in public office, they must disregard their religious faith or be sent to jail. Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America. I stand with Kim Davis. Unequivocally. I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to choose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court opinion.” Never to be outdone, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee took hyperbole to new heights, comparing Kim Davis to Lincoln, then decrying the state of America when Davis was in jail and Hillary Clinton was “walking around free,” apparently forgetting that Davis had committed

a crime (has been committing one every day since June 26) and Clinton hasn’t. Huckabee told MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Davis was following Kentucky law, as if Kentucky weren’t covered by the same laws as the rest of the nation. Huckabee asserted, “This is a direct attack on our Godgiven, constitutional rights,” which was actually what gay male and lesbian couples were saying. He added, “We must end the criminalization of Christianity!” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has also been trailing in the polls. He used Davis to assert his extremism, telling reporters, “I don’t think anyone should have to choose between following their conscience and religious beliefs and giving up their job and facing financial sanctions.” Carly Fiorina, who has been climbing up the ranks in the Iowa polls, See page 29 >>

<< Out&About

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 10-16, 2015

Sat 12

From Como to Homo @ Exit Theatre

Preach out by Jim Provenzano

hen you see a great show, tell your friends. Tweet it, post, hashtag it, or perhaps, even tell someone in person. Spread the gospel of the arts. For more listings, go to www.ebar.com. Ana Sanchez

Thu 10 Barbary Coast Revue @ Balancoire The third season of the popular cabaret show returns, with Danny Kennedy as Mark Twain, a cast of diverse performers, and guest performer Connie Champagne. Thursdays weekly thru September. $14-$64. 8pm. 2565 Mission St. at 22nd. www.BarbaryCoastRevue.com

Between Riverside and Crazy @ Geary Theatre American Conservatory Theatre’s production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy about an elderly man trying to hold on to his rent-controlled New York apartment. $20-$70. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sat 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 27. 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters @ The Marsh Echo Brown’s comic solo show follows a young women’s impending sexual encounter, and its political implications. $20-$35. Thu 8pm. Sat 8:30pm. Extended thru Oct. 29. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Champagne White and the Temple of Poon @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s sequel to the hilarious hit comedy Shit & Champagne, with a women’s prisonthemed parody and suspense-filled action-comedy show. $25-$200 (fourperson VIP table). Thu-Sat 7pm. Thru Sept 12. 298 11th St. sfoasis.com

Company @ SF Playhouse Local production of the classic 1970s Stephen Sondheim musical about a perpetually single Robert and his notso-happily married friends. $35-$12. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 12. 450 Post St. 6779596. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Country House @ Theatreworks Silicon Valley West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Donald Margulies’ dramedy about a revered stage and film actress who summons her family for a summer stock gathering. $19$80. Tue-Wed 7:30pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 20. 500 Castro St., Mountain View. www.TheatreWorks.org

Eurydice @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Sarah Ruhl’s update on the Orpheus myth, from the viewpoint of his love, who is lost in the Underworld. $20$30. Wed-Sun. Extended thru Oct. 4. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 8416500. www.shotgunplayers.org

The Lion King @ San Jose Center for the Performing Arts The touring production of the Disney megahit Broadway musical, based on the animated film about African wildlife, with amazing puppetry, music, choreography and costumes. $33-$138. Tue-Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6:30pm. 255 S. Almaden Blvd. Thru Oct. 4. (800) 982-2787. www.lionking.com www.broadwaysanjose.com

Fri 11 Amelie @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre World premiere of Craig Lucas and Daniel Messé’s new musical based on the popular French film about an enchanting young woman who creates magic and joy in Montmartre. $29-$97. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Also Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 4. 2025 Addison St. (510) 6472949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Club Inferno @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers’ hilarious rockin’ production of Kelly Kittell and Peter Fogel’s glam rock musical spin on Dante’s The Divine Comedy, where the road to fame can be hell, literally! $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Sept. 12. 575 10th St. at Bryant. 377-4202. www.hypnodrome.org

Elton John’s Aida @ Woodminster Ampitheatre, Oakland The Broadway musical –about a love triangle between a Nubian princess, an Egyptian princess, and the soldier they love– gets a local outdoor production. $18-$59. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thu & Sun 7pm. Thru Sept. 13. 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597. www.woodminster.com

Film Crawl on Cortland @ Bernal Heights Venues Evening-long multi-venue screenings (indoors and outside) of unusual short films on varied topics, including gay author Belo Cipriani and drag icon Heklina. www.bhoutdoorcine.org/ outdoorcinema

For the Love of Comrades @ New Conservatory Theatre Center U.S. premiere of Micheál Kerrigan play about the 1980s British group of gay rights activists who joined striking mine workers in a rural town. Previews; opens Sept 12. $20- WedSat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 11. www.nctcsf.org

In Plain Sight @ Metal Shop Theater, Berkeley Those Women Productions’ staging of a collection of modern feminist takes on classic stories ranging from Cinderella to the Trojan War. Paywhat-you-can-$30. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 20. 2702 Regent St., Berkeley. www.thosewomen. brownpapertickets.com

Jane Ward @ Modern Times Bookstore The UC Riverside Gender and Sexualities Studies professor discusses her book Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men. 7pm. 2919 24th St. 282-9246. www.mtbs.com

Lizz Roman & Dancers @ Civic Corps Job Training Center, Oakland The site-specific work, This Beautiful Space, is performed in multi-leveled areas of the industrial warehouse, with a live sound score by WaterSaw. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru Sept. 26. 1425 5th St., Oakland. www.lizzromananddancers.com

Minnie Driver @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Romeo and Juliet @ Various Venues

The Oscar-nominated singersongwriter-actress performs music from her three studio albums, plus fan favorites. $80-$95. 8pm. Also Sept. 12 & 13 at 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com www.hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s annual summer outdoor performances begin with the classic tragic romance. Fri-Sun 7:30pm. Various venues thru Sept. www.sfshakes.org

Mud Blue Sky @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Bay Area premiere of Marisa Wegrzyn’s edgy comic play about the early days of air travel. $32-$60. Teu & sun 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 27. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. auroratheatre.org

The Phantom of the Opera @ Orpheum Theatre The new lavish touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony-winning hit musical based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 book, about a mysterious man who haunts a Paris opera house and kidnaps a beautiful singer. $40-$225. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat 2pm. Sun 2pm & 7:30pm. Thru Oct. 4. 1192 Market St. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Richard III @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Company’s production of the Bard’s classic drama about an ambitious king. $10-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm. Thru Sept 27. 890 Belle Ave, Dominican University, San Rafael. 499-4488. marinshakespeare.org

Sat 12 50th Anniversary Concert @ Glide Memorial Church Awesome Orchestra Collective, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Janice Mirikitani, and guests Rhodessa Jones, Sean San José, Diana Gameros and others perform at the concert celebrating five decades of Intersection for the Arts, the community arts organization and gallery. Free. 6pm. 330 Ellis St. www.theintersection.org

Chocolate Festival @ Ghirardelli Square 20th anniversary two-day festival of delicious desserts, food demos and more, all including the popular locally made chocolate. 12pm-5pm. Also sept 13. www.ghirardelli.com/events/ chocolate-festival

Cops and Robbers @ The Marsh Berkeley Jinho Ferreira returns with his autobiographical solo show about being a hip hop star, law enforcement officer and Oakland resident. $20$55. Saturdays, 5pm. Thru Sept. 26. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

From Como to Homo @ Exit Theatre Lynne Jassem’s solo show about her childhood as a dancer on The Perry Como Show, a demanding stage mother, and teenage gender confusion; part of the SF Fringe Festival. 2:30pm. Sept 13, 7:30pm, 19 at 1pm & 25 at 9pm. 156 Eddy St. www.sffringe.org/from

Hilary McCollum @ New Conservatory Theatre The Irish author Life and Love: Lesbian Style discusses the role of fiction and drama in reclaiming LGBT lives. Free. 1pm. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. Presented by the GLBT Historical Society. www.glbthistory.org

Karen Ripley @ The Marsh Berkeley The veteran lesbian comic returns with her solo show, Oh No, There’s Men on the Land, her stories of self-discovery and life in 1970s Berkeley. $15-$100. Saturdays, 5pm. Thru Oct. 3. 2120 Allston way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Loveland @ The Marsh Ann Randolph returns with her seriocomic solo show about family loss and death. $20-$100. Saturdays, 5pm. Thru Oct. 17. 1062 Valencia St. 2823055. www.themarsh.org

Runway 27 @ Cowell Theatre The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance’s 27th annual contest and show to crown the new Mr. and Miss GAPA takes on an ‘Under the Sea’ theme, hosted by Jezebel Patel and Sir Whitney Queers. $40-$70. 6pm-10pm. Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd. www.gapa.org

Sweeney Todd @ War Memorial Opera House Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Awardwinning dark musical about The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is performed by the San Francisco Opera. $26-$381. 7:30pm. Sept 12, 15, 18, 23, 26, 29 at 7:30pm. Sept. 20 at 2pm. 301 Van Ness Ave. 864-3330. www.sfopera.com

Tue 15 Jezebel Delilah at Hella Close @ Magnet

Sun 13 Lenny Kravitz @ The Greek Theatre, Berkeley The Grammy-winning power-pop/soul stud returns for an outdoor concert in the East Bay. Estelle opens. $55-$95. 7pm. 2001 Gayler Road, UC Berkeley campus. www.lennykravitz.com www.apeconcerts.com

Oakland Pride @ Broadway at 20th Streets Sixth annual parade and festival with LGBT organizations, plus drinks, food and live entertainment (Netta Brielle, Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus, Graciela Beltran, and more). Parade 10:30am, Festival 11am-7pm. www.oaklandpride.org

SF Hiking Club @ Mt. Tam Hidden Lake Join GLBT hikers for a 9-mile hike along a scenic, mostly forested loop on the north side of Mount Tam, much of the course on unnamed, obscure trails. Bring: water, lunch, layers, hat, sunscreen, good hiking boots, hiking poles. Carpool meets 8:45 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (510) 9850804. www.sfhiking.com

Mon 14 30 Years of Collecting Art That Tells Our Stories @ GLBT History Museum Exhibit of collected drawings, paintings and sculptures from three decades of queer donations, guest-curated by Elisabeth Cornu. Free (members)-$5. 4127 18th St. glbthistory.org

Jok Church @ Magnet Be My Porn Star Tonight, an exhibit of photo illustration collages on canvas by the local gay artist. 100% of art sales benefit Magnet. Thru Sept. 30 (reception Sept. 25, 8pm). 4122 18th St. www.makemagic.org www.magnetsf.org

Tue 15 Cured? @ The Stud Release party for local photographer Tom Schmidt (aka Photo by Dot), whose new book documents dancer Luis Paul Canales (aka Strobe) and his journey of being possible cured of HIV by UCSF researchers. 8pm-11pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com www.PhotoByDot.com

Hella Close @ Magnet Stories of Queer Intimacy, a Radar Reading event, with Nikki Darling, Ben McCoy, Jezebel Delilah, Roberto F. Santiago. Free. 7pm. 4122 18th St. www.magnetsf.org After-party, Hella Saucy’s Trans Appreciation Night, at Qbar, with DJ Gstar, Viktor Belmont, and Devon. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St.

Queer Ancestors Project @ LGBT Center Exhibition of prints of iconic LGBTQ people, made by queer artists aged 18 to 26 (Corey Brown, daveron, Roxana Dhada, Hanna Kelly, Holly McHugh, Onyinye Alheri, Roxy Schoenfeld, Sasha Solomonov, madhvi trivedipathak, Weyam) and artistic director Katie Gilmartin. Thru Sept. 23. 1800 Market St. www.katiegilmartin.com/ queer-ancestors www.sfcenter.org

Tom Reardon @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The local musical theatre actor performs Until the Night, his cabaret show of classic songs, performed with a full band and back-up singers. $25$40 ($20 food/drink min.) 7pm. Sept 17 at 8pm Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.tommyontherocks.com www.ticketweb.com www.hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins

Wed 16 Moments of Truth @ Royce Gallery World premiere of Caroline Altman and Patricia Milton’s musical comedy about two artists whose collaboration on a “truth detector” art project disprupts their lives. $20-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 18. 2901 Mariposa St. at Alabama. 527-0301. www.3girlstheatre.org

Monstress @ Strand Theatre American Conservatory Theatre’s staging of Philip Kan Gotanda and Sean San José’s drama about Filipino-American Bay Area life and struggles. $20-$100. Tue-Sat 7:30pm. Wed & Sat 2pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. Thru Nov. 22. 1127 Market St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Smack Dab @ Magnet The monthly eclectic open mic night features longtime activist, musician and playwright Tommi Avicolli Mecca. 8pm (sign-up at 7:30). 4122 18th St. www.magnetsf.org

Thu 17 Gay Men and the New Way Forward author Raymond Rigoglioso @ SF Public Library

Thu 17 Baloney @ Oasis The sexy comic gay all-male revue, created and choreographed by Rory Davis and Michael Phillis, returns for a special Folsom edition. $20-$25 ($200 champagne group VIP specials). 8pm. Thru Sept 19. 298 11th St. sfbaloney.com www.sfoasis.com

Godless Perverts Social Club @ Telegraph Beer Garden, Oakland The LGBTQ and poly, kink-friendly group discusses issues of sexual freedom and the law, including the recent shut-down of Rentboy.com, with advocate and lawyer Kristina Dolgin, at the popular bar/restaurant. Free. 7pm. 2318 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. (510) 444-8353. www.telegraphoakland.com

Raymond Rigoglioso @ SF Public Library The author of Gay Men and the New Way Forward discusses the concepts of gay men finding their gifts, spirituality and identities. 6pm. Latino/Hispanic Room, lower level. 100 Larkin St. www.gaymenofwisdom.com www.sfpl.org

Music>>

September 10-16, 2015 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

French illuminations by Tim Pfaff

all it chanson, call it melodie, the French song continues to be one of the most popularly misunderstood genres of classical music. Abundant recorded evidence to the contrary, audiences still harbor the expectation that the French portion of a song recital will feature precious salon music, naughty saloon music or vaporous tunes that enact the morbid or the sublime in a package of impenetrable symbols packed in synesthetic, pastel harmonies. L’Heure Exquise: A French Songbook (Hyperion), Alice Coote’s new recording of 23 of them, just may change all that, and none-too-soon. Her pianist is Graham Johnson, the most encyclopedically scholarly, clear-headed (visionary, if you will) and artistically sensitive colleague in the song business. Because his work with the German Lied has been so comprehensive and insightful, many overlook (perhaps are unaware) that he has done the same service for the complete songs of Poulenc, Debussy and Faure, among others. You’ll find all of those composers on this collection, and Graham’s notes make it clear that he was instrumental in devising this illuminating and vastly enjoyable recital. This is not usual Coote repertoire, which counterintuitively makes her something of an ideal proponent, innately avoiding the popular misperceptions. For the record, the night before I wrote this, she tore up a latenight London Prom with white-hot performances of Handel arias, the focus of her extraordinary Hyperion release of last year. (The Proms recital, also with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, is available online for another month; a word to the wise.) If you took the songs by gay composers out of L’Heure Exquise, it would be an EP. The CD begins and ends with Francis Poulenc (“Les chemins de l’amour,”“Voyage”) and tucks in three more along the way. Reynaldo Hahn, an early lover of Marcel Proust before becoming his lifelong friend, gets four. Two more from Camille Saint-Saens, and you get the idea. The epigraph for this CD is a quotation from Poulenc, which begins, “You will find sobriety and dolour in French music just as in Ger-

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had the most measured response. Fiorina, who has stated her objections to same-sex marriage, said in an interview, “Is [Kim Davis] prepared to continue to work for the government, be paid for by the government, in which case she needs to execute the government’s will, or does she feel so strongly about this that she wants to go seek employment elsewhere where her religious liberties would be paramount over her duties as a government employee?”

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man or Russian, but the French have a keener sense of proportion. We realize that somberness and good humor are not mutually exclusive.” That’s precisely what this disc offers start to finish, and in reverse order. Coote could take her burnished mezzo, tuck it up farther into the sinuses and mask, and seduce the listener with sheer beauty of tone and execution. There’s no end of passages along the way that knock you out, or could, with their intoxicating surface beauties. But Coote, it seems, would rather send the songs and their texts into the deeper chambers of your – let’s call it being. The upbeat, breezy phrases of “Les chemins de l’amour,” often sung as generic praise for the many crafty paths love takes, in her rendition signals that not all of them brim with unalloyed happiness. As Johnson’s notes point out, this recital was arranged to show the “phases” of love, so there’s a movement toward the way love chafes and, almost predictably often, ends in lament. To the musicians’ credit, there’s never a sense of impending doom, of an elevator of emotions headed down, but neither is it naive or sentimental about the full effects of Cupid’s arrows.

Coote, much of whose repertoire is “trouser roles,” captures the complex perceptions of the male speaker in Saint-Saens’ “Soiree en mer,” which contrasts the picture of his beloved’s focus on the beauties of the sky and stars. When Coote sings the final couplet, “You can see God smiling,/While I see mankind weeping,” she captures one of the most profound and sadly common of human sentiments. “Le temps des lilas,” by the Wagner devotee Ernest Chausson, a song you may find surprisingly familiar, is a four-minute Tristan, with perfumes instead of potions, and these musicians don’t flinch from it. The pleasures of this CD are manifold, the beauties nearly unbearable, but it never loses sight of that “keener sense of proportion” Poulenc so valued. The newest CD from Stephen Layton’s chorus Polyphony (Hyperion) is either untitled or called Polyphony. The disc begins and ends with iconic American choral works by Randall Thompson, but between them are compositions by a trio of gay American composers – Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and the atleast-bisexual Leonard Bernstein – as important as their French counterparts across the pond. Layton favors a dense choral weave recorded in a resonant acoustic, but it retains clarity even in the saturated sonorities. It’s ideally suited to a work like Barber’s Agnus Dei, a choral arrangement of his famous Adagio for Strings that loses none of its power to move in this potent reading. The entire program is made of irresistible music exquisitely performed, and it’s devised in a way that the CD doesn’t outstay its welcome. Bernstein’s 12-minute Missa Brevis – a “late” work, from 1988, but on the burner for 33 years – is direct and unlike much of his work except for its energy. Not surprising to SFS fans under MTT’s long tutelage, Copland’s music is the most “advanced,” skillfully avoiding devotional cliche to provide music of unstinting power. Thompson’s “Fare Well” is as rapturous a leavetaking as you could ask.t

MSNBC and NBC ran video of Jeb Bush telling a town hall in New Hampshire after Davis was jailed, “[Davis] is sworn to uphold the law, and it seems to me there ought to be common ground, there ought to be big enough space for her to act on her conscience and, now that the law is the law of the land, for a gay couple to be married in whatever jurisdiction that is.” Trump said he had not followed the case closely and “didn’t know enough about it,” while Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Dr. Ben Carson all said public offi-

cials should uphold the rule of law. Hillary Clinton was succinct: “Marriage equality is the law of the land. Officials should be held to their duty to uphold the law. End of story.” At press time Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) had not commented on the Davis case. So for the socalled Christian being hauled to the slammer on national TV for denying us our civil rights (you’ll never see that again, so relish it), for Matt Bomer naked, and for all the other fun stuff soon to be revealed in the fall season, you know you really must stay tuned.t

A One Night Only Benefit Cabaret for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and REAF Featuring the Company of the New Production of

The Phantom of the Opera An Evening of Academy Award Winning Music

Sep. 21, 2015, 7:30 pm

Marines’ Memorial Theater Tickets: 415-273-1620 or www.reaf.org

CHANTICLEER

Sept 19 @ 8pm - Mission Santa Clara Sept 20 @ 5pm - St. Francis Church, Sacramento Sept 23 @ 8pm - St. Mark’s Episcopal, Berkeley Sept 25 & 26 @ 8pm - SF Conservatory of Music FOR TICKETS: www.chanticleer.org | 415-392-4400

Talent Pool

On the Tab

NIGHTLIFE

SPIRITS

DINING

Shooting Stars

SOCIETY

ROMANCE

LEATHER

PERSONALS Vol. 45 • No. 37 • September 10-16, 2015

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Lea DeLaria The Dynamic ‘Dykon’ performs at the Regency by Jim Provenzano

O Wire Photo

Lea DeLaria

nly a few weeks before her music and comedy show at the Regency Ballroom on September 19, Lea DeLaria sounded excited to return to San Francisco. This is in addition to her working on filming the fourth season of the super-hit Netflix series, Orange Is the New Black, plus her jetsetting schedule of other shows, and her attendance at the 67th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles the day after her San Francisco show. See page 32 >>

Seaside Rendezvous GAPA Runway’s 27th pageant gets aquatic by David-Elijah Nahmod Steven Underhill

et ready for some undersea fabulousity, as the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance crowns its 27th round of royalty. It’s an old-fashioned pageant where competitors (called “candydates”) get to compete in a variety of categories such as costumes, talent, formal evening wear, and a question and answer session, just like other pageants. See page 34 >>

Fab drag with pandas, at the 2014 GAPA Runway.

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS } Spring and summer mean later sunsets and later hours at the Asian Art Museum. We’re open ‘til 9 PM on Thursdays and for just $5 after 5 PM, you can spend an evening in our beautiful building enjoying the galleries, special exhibitions, fun talks, lively gatherings and intimate hangs with artists. On first Thursdays, there are even cash bars, DJs and more. For details, visit www.asianart.org/thursdays

AT THE ASIAN ART MUSEUM

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32 • Bay Area Reporter • September 10-16, 2015

Carol Rosegg

Top: Lea DeLaria performing at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Middle: Chris Stafford with Lea DeLaria in the 1998 film Edge of Seventeen. Bottom: Lea DeLaria as Eddie in the 2000 Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show.

Lea DeLaria

From page 31

know which jokes they’re gonna say. What we were doing in San Francisco was take an idea, a topic, and then we’d just walk out and talk about it. I was a student of that style, the most famous being Robin Williams.” DeLaria also credits her Catholic school upbringing, where a quick quip could, as she said, “get me out of getting smacked with a ruler.” Her paternal grandparents hail from Palermo, Italy (Sicily), which she has called “a penal colony for dwarves.” Born in Belleville, Illinois, the 57-year-old’s parents were a homemaker mom and a social worker father who also moonlighted as a jazz pianist. That musical talent, while possibly hereditary, was also nurtured through her years of performing, and with years of music training as a teenager.

concert at Feinstein’s at the Nikko. That Pride weekend show was sold out. “There’ll be some swing stuff and also comedy,” said DeLaria, who wisely varies her hilarious manic comedy style –which has been known to include the use of a double-headed dildo– with some amazing jazz music, where audience members are encouraged to accompany her improvised “scat-alongs.” “It’s gonna be a real variety show,” she said. “I’m flying my guys in from New York. We are a well-oiled machine of music.”

Nope, fame has not changed the veteran performer. Chatting by phone on New York City’s Christopher Street last week, she stepped out of a favorite hangout, the historic lesbian bar The Cubbyhole, as if it’s been mere days, and not years, since we last talked. “San Francisco is my home and where I first performed,” she recalled with nostalgia. “I would do four shows a week for three weeks at Josie’s Juice Joint,” DeLaria said of the fabled and much Orange you Happy? missed Castro venue that hit its While longtime LGBT fans may peak in the 1990s. One outstandhold a personal affection for DeLaring joke I recall, that left audiences ia as “our” comic, her deserved fame howling with laughter, is her tale of was catapulted even further with being asked at a restaurant, “What’ll the premiere of Orange Is the New ya have, sir? Her reply: “A vagina!” Black. Based on the bestselling Years before those days, memoir by Piper Kerman, DeLaria helped nurture the series captivated audithe early 1980s queer ences, particularly fans eacomedy scene in San ger to see various aspects Francisco. At Sutter’s Mill, of lesbian and transgender she recalled, “I pitched lives represented with paan entertainment line-up thos, understanding, and to the manager. It would some outright hilarity. be simple, and we did The Netflix series, now monthly shows that got filming its fourth seabig crowds.” son, is part of a revoluAnother historic venue, tion of online TV-viewing The Valencia Rose, welthat’s upended traditional comed DeLaria and Tom networks, and helped to Ammiano to its stage, create the trend of bingewhere she hosted gay watching. Netflix garnered comedy nights. What in34 Emmy nominations this spired her was the dearth year, the third highest of any of comic talent (a folk network. Orange Is the New singer and a mime among Black has four nominations them) when she visited for this year (Outstanding a friend’s gig at an Open Drama Series, Casting For a Mic night. At first, DeDrama Series, Uzo Adbua Laria was billed simply Lea DeLaria’s fifth music album, House of David. for Supporting Actress, as “The Fuckin’ Dyke.” and Pablo Schreiber for Her first night, a series of Guest Actor). Catholic school tales, was Originally written as an instant hit. Among the a small part, DeLaria’s other performers at the portrayal of Big Boo led Valencia Rose were Reno, to the expansion of her and a few years later, role as a regular characMarga Gomez. ter. Asked where she lived “How can there be during her formative a show about women’s years by the Bay, DeLarprison and not include ia replied, “The Mission, me!?” DeLaria has frehoney! I’m a lesbian!” quently said. Boo has Her charismatic and had her ups and downs, up-front style brought moving from seducing gay men and lesbians toyounger inmates to engether in the days when during abuses by prison separatism was comguards, and even betraymon. Her big groundals by close friends. breaking gig was as the “We have Netflix to first out lesbian comic thank for making this on The Arsenio Hall happen,” said DeLaria. Show in 1993. “I can’t remember the Jump ahead a few delast time I watched regucades, and DeLaria was lar TV.” recently strolling down DeLaria said that she memory lane with an- A recently popular Orange Is the New Black/Kim Davis waited until the first other of her comedy col- parody meme. season was online beleagues, Whoopi Goldfore viewing the first berg, on the daytime TV DeLaria said she’ll be singing five episodes, which she and other show The View. selections from her five acclaimed cast members had not seen. “Then “When Whoopi was around, I albums, which vary from a jazz verI started tweeting how amazing the was doing a show called Raging sion of the Sweeney Todd theme show was.” Bull,” DeLaria said. “It was my first song and Blondie’s “Call Me” to an Asked if she had any hint that the full-hour show. And we shared that almost haunting take on Soundgarproduction would become such a dressing room for a couple months.” den’s “Black Hole Sun.” Included in hit back when she started filming, While other guests have been her repertory is this year’s House of DeLaria said, “We had no idea. We daunted by the often contentious David, a collection of David Bowie knew we had something special. crosstalk on the chat show, hosted hits redone in her unique style. And that often happens, but nobody by five women (or four, dependDeLaria has performed her music would talk about it at first. There are ing on who quits or gets fired), the concerts at venues ranging from the so many amazing lines. Now the always confident DeLaria held her Newport Jazz Festival, to Manhatshow is like a household name. You own on her first visit a few years ago. tan’s Joe’s Pub, and even in Australia. never know.” After a cell phone video of DeLaria “We usually have weekends off Despite her innate talent, DeLaria confronting a New York subway from filming Orange [Is the New credits OITNB’s script writers and preacher went viral, the performer Black], so I fly all over for my producers. While (understandably) got her first guest spot. shows,” said DeLaria, who will be she could not reveal any story lines, “I was doing another talk show performing with musicians based in she did explain that the cast only when my fiancé said, ‘Rosie is tweetNew York. “When I’m touring, there gets one script at a time. ing you. They want you on The are a thousand different things I “It’s very exciting for me when View!’ We saw the video and said, have to do for the show.” So, her San the scripts come up,” she said. “I ‘We gotta go!’” Francisco visit will be brief. “Unforlook at my character, and I’m always Speaking her mind has been estunately, I can’t spend as much time very excited to see what I’m doing, sential to the very out lesbian’s caenjoying the city as I’d like to.” and where I have scenes. I have great reer, especially onstage. For the Regency concert, her faith in our writers.” “When I started doing standup in longtime musician colleagues will This hasn’t always been the case. the ‘80s,” DeLaria said, “we did what accompany her. And DeLaria prom“Often, I get cast in a TV show, and we called ‘comedy without a net.’ ised a new set list that will differ Comics in L.A. or New York work on See page 33 >> from her June 2014 San Francisco their material, and polish them. They

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September 10-16, 2015 • Bay Area Reporter • 33

Steven Underhill

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Lea DeLaria with Natasha Lyonne on the set of Orange Is the New Black.

Lea DeLaria

From page 32

I know how to make something that isn’t funny, funny,” she said. “With Orange, when we do it well, right when your heart’s about to break, that’s when we make you laugh.” Along with her music and comedy shows, DeLaria has continued to make the rounds of talk shows to promote OITNB, including an offbeat chat show in Brazil, where she drank beer, presented the host with a pair of handcuffs, and talked about lesbian sex, all the while making the audience laugh while working with an earplug and a simultaneous translator (The entire segment’s on YouTube). What new Orange fans may not know is that DeLaria’s other TV credits are quite varied, including appearances on Friends, The Drew Carey Show, Will & Grace, Matlock, and even in a recurring dual role on the soap opera One Life to Live as both a male psychiatrist and his female patient. Theatre fans in New York got to enjoy DeLaria’s role as Hildy in the 1998 Broadway revival of On the Town (paired with Jesse Tyler Ferguson), as Eddie in 2000 revival of The Rocky Horror Show, and in Paul Rudnick’s The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Her film roles include her sweet portrayal as a mentor elder lesbian bar owner the sweet coming out/of age film Edge of Seventeen.

But Big Boo is doubtlessly yet another landmark. Facebook and Tumblr are filled with memes and animated gifs of her character’s quips. The day that antigay Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was sent to jail, pictures of her with Big Boo included the line, ‘Her Fifth Husband.’ DeLaria has also gotten more attention from female fans. “I’m a fucking Jonas brother!” she exclaimed on a cast segment on The Conan O’Brien Show. But stand back, ladies. DeLaria is engaged to longtime girlfriend, fashion editor Chelsea Fairless. The couple are not rushing to their nuptials, however. Scheduled for January 2017, DeLaria mentioned several of her longtime pals like Sandra Bernhard, who will attend and perform at the wedding. Imagine Laura Petty as a flower girl. “We’re taking a year and a half to do it ourselves,” she said. “To have a beautiful woman to marry me makes me want to do it up right. I’ve turned into Janice Dickenson! I don’t know how that happened.” In the meatime, the self-described “Dykon” and her “celesbian” fiancée enjoy their time together when DeLaria isn’t filming or touring. DeLaria also likes to hang out with her Orange castmates, who film the show in various upstate New York locations. “We hang out everywhere when

we can,” said DeLaria. “People see us everywhere. We all love each other. I often talk the cast into coming to the Cubbyhole after work. There’s nothing to describe what happens. People flippin’ freak out to see us all.” And don’t be shy if you see her, New York fans and visitors. Despite her success, DeLaria remains down to earth. “I’ve never had a day job,” she said. “I’ve spent 33 years in the public eye. The new sort of fame I have now is crazy, but I’ve had so much experience with fame, so I’m cool.”t Le DeLaria performs ‘Hot Jazz & Cool Comedy’ at the Regency Ballroom Saturday, September 19, 8pm. $49.50-$62.50. 1290 Sutter Street. (888) 929-7849. www.theregencyballroom.com www.leadelaria.com Facebook: OfficialLeaDeLaria

Also performing on the Oakland Pride Community Stage sponsored by the White Horse Bar

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Chelsea Fairless and Lea DeLaria on a Hollywood red carpet.

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34 • Bay Area Reporter • September 10-16, 2015

Talent pool by Donna Sachet

Celebrity Pool Toss co-chairs Jim Losi and Laura King Pfaff bracket Donna Sachet.

catch White Champagne and the Temple of Poon at Oasis last week and to realize the genuine talent of this writer, producer, and actor. In the excellent company of Suzan Revah and Thomas Julio Rodriguez, we gave ourselves up to the delightful characterizations of D’Arcy, Matthew Martin, Steven LeMay, Adam Roy, and James Arthur and the deadpan hilarity of Nancy French. Frequent creative video clips added to the story-line. The main room at Oasis works wonderfully for a theatrical performance with its proscenium stage, multiple curtains, extensive lighting, and clear sound system. On the Thursday we attended, the audience was near capacity and fully engaged, allowing the actors to add impromptu pauses and mugs that added to the enjoyment of the crowd. Don’t worry; you have three more nights to catch this play dur-

ing its final extended weekend starting tonight, September 10 through 12. Don’t let the slightly risque title put you off. Lower your guard and have fun! Patty McGroin’s monthly Dollhouse at Midnight Sun was emceed by Galilea last week and entitled Marlena Madness as a tribute to the popular Hayes Valley bar that was enjoyed by so many for so many years. Although now only a memory, Marlena’s was famous for its frequent fundraisers, often drag shows, and its readiness to welcome anyone for a good time. The show at Midnight Sun included Angelina Josephina Manicotti, Renita Valdez, Andrea Golden Gate, and Chablis, whose documentary film 50 Years of Fabulous: the Imperial Court of San Francisco was the beneficiary of the day. As you surveyed the audience, it was obvious that many had fond memories of the former bar and

Steven Underhill

or more than 20 years now, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation has hosted the annual Celebrity Pool Toss, when local San Franciscans are thrown into the pool of the Phoenix Hotel after vigorous bidding and with hilarious results. Many over the years have created special costumes or routines and the list of celebrities has included Charlotte Shultz, Willie Brown, Lewis Sykes, Mark Leno, David Perry, and Bevan Dufty. Live music by Bud E. Luv and his band rounds out the entertainment. The money raised goes back into the neighborhood to improve the lives of children and families in the Tenderloin. We have emceed part of the festivities for many of those 20 years. Last week, a pre-party pool-side at the Phoenix Hotel was held to announce this year’s tossees and emcees, most of whom were in attendance, including Janet Reilly, Fred Blackwell, Stewart Canning, and Kevin Carroll. The weather cooperated and the enthusiasm indicated another successful event. Mark your calendar now for Wednesday, October 7, 6-9:30PM, Phoenix Hotel! Sometimes we skip a local theatrical production simply because of our old-fashioned prudishness and in the course, miss out on something genuinely worth seeing. (Where does one get such an ill-placed sensibility?) Such was the case with D’Arcy Drollinger’s Shit and Champagne, the runaway cult hit which relished in broad humor and frequent references to bodily functions. Fortunately for us, her most recent show was extended for two more weekends, enabling us to

Left: 2013 Miss GAPA Khmera Rouge in a bubbly overcoat, at the 2014 Runway pageant. Above: Franz Lacanlale and Brenda Dong crowned at the 2014 Runway pageant.

GAPA Runway

From page 31

Since 1987 the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance, aka GAPA, has been a place where LGBT-identified Asian Pacific Islanders could network in a safe, welcoming environment. The organization’s mission statement states, in part, that GAPA “creates awareness by developing a positive collective identity, and by establishing a supportive community.” GAPA has had programs which supports community members with HIV, and people who are age 35+. GAPA also has its own chorus which is set to perform at Taiwan Pride. Other GAPA programs include a variety of social groups where members can connect to one another and be heard. GAPA Runway has been around for 27 years. “The GAPA Runway was created to express themselves and to be the face for their reign,” explained GAPA co-chair Jonathan Cheung. Cheung said that past winners

have utilized their crowns for the betterment of the community. “2011 winners Michael Nguyen and Lychee Minelli ran a platform for youth leadership within the Queer API community,” Cheung said. “They raised money for a mini-conference for over twenty Queer API youth to give them the tools and resources to continue being activists and involved in the community.” Cheung also pointed to 2013 winners Sir Whitney Queers and Khmera Rouge, who raised over $8000 for youth scholarships. “The Board and members of GAPA realized that this fun event had a more profound and constructive purpose,” said GAPA’s Alan Quismorio. “It was a platform for Gay Asian Pacific Islander men to showcase the diverse nature of their community and to access that political voice which challenged the stereotypes, the racism and the homophobia they experienced culturally and personally.”

In the course of its 27-year history, Runway has gone from small banquet rooms to larger venues like the Herbst and Marines Memorial theaters, Yuerba Buena Gardens, and now the Cowell Theater. This year’s judges include District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, Miss Gay SF Lily Rose, Absolute Empress 39 China Silk, and Tamiko Wong, Executive Director of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Runway 27 has been dubbed Under the Sea. “Expect to see a lot of mermaids,” said Quismorio. “In the spirit of generating diversity, for a day or two I was campaigning for any of the Mr. GAPA candydates to dress up like Aquaman. I hope someone picked up on that. We’ll see. It’d be hot!” Both Quisimorio and Cheung shared a bit of their back stories and how they found their way to GAPA. “I came out to my family and friends at 17,” Cheung said. “I was immediately introduced to the Queer API space in Southern California, but I only saw the partying

when Marlena herself took the stage, the place went nuts for her. As much as San Francisco has changed over the past decades, there is a big difference between sad memories and proud tributes; this was a tribute of the best kind. This weekend marks the beginning of the official San Francisco social season with Opening Night of the San Francisco Opera on Friday, a virtual parade of the City’s elite dressed to perfection. Thanks to Jon Finck of the SF Opera, we’ll be there again on the handsome arm of Richard Sablatura representing our community. The very next day, please head to the LGBT Community Center for SF Pride’s general membership meeting and Board of Directors election starting at 1PM. Few things could be more important than choosing the right leadership for this vital and internationally watched annual celebration. And later that day, the Castro Theatre hosts the California Independent Film Festival and at 3PM features My Brother’s Shoes, a funny, but touch-

ing modern day fairy tale about family produced and written by Adam Reeves and with a small part played by this humble columnist. We’ll have a short Q&A afterwards. Next Wednesday, the Small Business Forum Radio Spirit Awards take place from 6-9PM at the Payne Mansion Hotel, 1409 Sutter Street. Some local favorites are among the nominees. And finally, we mention with some hesitation, but with great hope, a dream and a dreamer. Out of the blue, we were contacted by Elizabeth Howard who dreams of preserving Le Petit Trianon, an imposing mansion at the corner of Washington and Maple Streets, recently put up for sale and sadly in need of repair. With a price tag in the multiple millions, taking ownership, even with the assistance of others, will be a tough haul, but something tells us that she may just have the moxie to do it. To lose such a treasure would surely be tragic; to see such a dream come true would surely be miraculous! Ideas? huttontot@aol.comt

Jon Paul

Dollhouse performers honor Marlena (center) at the Midnight Sun.

and social side of the community.” Cheung became involved with the LGBT Center in Long Beach and in community service at UC Irvine. “I did not see a space specifically for Queer API in Southern California,” he recalled. “In 2010 I moved up to San Francisco to start a new job with JP Morgan Chase and found this amazing API community.” Cheung began to work with the API Wellness Center and was asked to join the GAPA Board. He said that GAPA fulfills the need to have a space where people can combine their Asian and queer identities. “Looking at the rich history of GAPA, it makes me proud that this organization has led the way to the creation and development of other organizations like GAPA Foundation and API Wellness Center that has provided amazing resources to our community,” Cheung said. Much more work needs to be done, Cheung feels, for the transgender and immigrant communi-

ties, and racial justice. Quismorio is the 1998 winner of Mr. GAPA. “I joined a growing list of titleholders that will forever represent the mission of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance,” he said. “That tenure helped me develop really good leadership and social skills. I think the Runway Pageant does that for everyone. Whether you win the title or not, you become even more confident and more vocal with where you stand in this or that issue.” Quismorio feels that the whole process bonds people into a unit that’s less competitive and more supportive, “which is a terrific template for the community.” t Runway 27: Under the Sea, the annual Mr. and Miss Runway Pageant, takes place on Saturday, September 12 from 6-10 PM at the Cowell Theater in the Fort Mason Center. $30-70. www.facebook.com/GAPASF

Steven Underhill

A comedic take on a multi-armed Shiva at last year’s pageant.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 10-16, 2015 • Bay Area Reporter • 35

FREE TO LISTEN AND REPLY TO ADS Steven LeMay

Free Code: Reporter

Participants at Sexitude PM get physical, physical.

Sexitude PM Getting physical at Oasis

by Jim Provenzano

f you long for the days of aerobic classes, wearing neon Spandex and or getting a fun workout with others, Sexitude is worth a try. The campy fun exercise and party has been led for more than a year by Oasis co-founder and longtime musical theatre and drag genius D’Arcy Drollinger. The next event is this Friday, so we had a quick email Q&A. How has Sexitude grown in the past year? This has been an amazing year for Sexitude. The flagship Sunday class has grown by leaps and bounds, there’s a Sexitude website (www.sexitude.com), Sexitude merchandise, late night classes, morning classes.

ing these at Oasis monthly and they have proved to be a huge hit. The bar is open, the dance floor is lit, folks get dressed in their sexy workout attire and more…or less. There’s dancing, a warm up, performances by other local dance groups which have included Icon Dance Collective and Bay Are Flash Mob and a routine. This provides another level to those who take the classes regularly, as well as an easy environment for folks who maybe interested in dancing, but are intimidated by coming to a class. Between the dim lights and shots of tequila, inhibitions disappear. And there is as much room for the dancers as there are the spectators. It ultimately offers and opportunity for people to get dressed up and feel sexy in a positive, fun environment. That and the spectacle of a drag queen teaching an aerobic dance routine in a nightclub!

Have you discovered any talents from the class that ended up in any shows? Yes. It’s so rewarding to watch people blossom after coming to class. I’ve seen so many transformations. And yes, I’ve discovered so much talent. But to be honSteven LeMay est, that is due to the community that manD’Arcy Drollinger (left) and pals lead the ifested around Sexicampy fun Sexitude at Oasis. tude. It’s changed me as much as anyone. In fact, the Sexitude Sexitude was invited to perform community is what ultimately made on the Main Stage for Pride, and up my mind to stay in San Francisthere’s even the beginnings of what co. Talents that I’ve seen emerge, to could become a Sexitude franname just a few, include Linty, who chise. That’s right, after four years won the last Faux Queen pageant; I now have another teacher. Linden Mason Dixon Jar, who recently won Cady, who was also a fitness inthe Drag King contest; Gia Maica, structor, started coming to Sexitude who choreographs and performs, about two years ago and really had and the many others who perform the the spirit of what I was doing. with me as well as with others in the So when I opened Oasis and bedrag, dance, burlesque and perforgan to realize I didn’t have the time mance world of San Francisco. to continue teaching all my weekly classes, I asked her to start teachYou describe the event as ining my 8PM slot at Dance Mission. clusive of all body types. Can you I recently went to take her class and share that a bit about that? I think it was so fun, and so surreal. She has many people are daunted by atbuilt her own following, doing what tending a dance or workout class, I created with her own spin. Half the where a certain ideal of physical class had no idea who I was. It was fitness is not perceived as inclusive. the moment that it became crystal Sexitude is a body-positive, sexclear for me, it’s more than people positive, age-positive dance expericoming for me, but to be part of ence. The goal is to create a space to something joyous, inclusive and fun. move your body, to let yourself be sexy, to get dressed up, to look ridicIs the nightlife version is a bit ulous, all without judgment. It gives more wild? folks an opportunity to learn a choI started Sexitude PM, a nightreographed routine to fun music, time dance party that includes to exercise (we sweat for sure) and learning a routine. We started doto actually practice making “sexy

face.” Where else can you stand in a room with 50 other people and be applauded for your sexy face. It’s also a space to exercise being fabulous. I firmly believe that the more fabulous we can all be walking through the world, it inspires more people to want to be fabulous too, to be amazing and that in turn creates social change. Do people come for the workout, the fun, or both? Some people come for the work out. Some come to dance. Some come for the community. But they all leave with a little more glitter in their life.t Sexitude is Friday, September 11 at 10pm. $10. Oasis, 298 11th St. www.sexitude.com www.sfoasis.com

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU San Francisco:

(415) 430-1199 Oakland:

San Jose:

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I am the future of the LGBT community. I’m gay.

I’m 22 years old and I’m an exchange student from Spain. Going to college here means a fun time, lots of hard work and getting to see new things. It also means a chance to really be myself. My parents are supportive of my sexuality, and my host family here is a couple with two teenage boys. Nobody cares if they’re gay or straight. I’m excited to be part of a world where that can be true. I am the future of the LGBT community. And I read about that future every day on my Android tablet. Because that’s where I want it to be.

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

<< On the Tab

36 • Bay Area Reporter • September 10-16, 2015

On the Tab Sept. 10-17, 2015

Xcess Thursdays @ The Café

Midnight Show @ Divas

Frisco Robbie and Persia’s dance and pop music night gets the weekend started, with gogo guys and gals, plus drink specials and guest DJs. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.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

Zepparella @ Guerneville Plaza

Minnie Driver @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

The all-women Led Zeppelin tribute band rocks the Russian River outdoor concert series. No alcohol or pets; folding chairs and picnics welcome. Free. 6:30pm. Armstrong & River roads. www.zepparella.com www.rockintheriver.org

Fri 11

Boy Bar @ The Cafe Gus Presents’ weekly dance night, with DJ Kid Sysko, cute gogos and $2 beer (before 10pm). 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Sat 12 Violet Chachki at Mother @ Oasis

hen was the last time you stayed up all night, dancing and sweating and having fun with the young kids? If it’s been too long, here are some options for a night of revelry. We’ve even got early evening and afternoon daytime fun, for those who don’t like to stay up late.

Thu 10

Bulge @ Powerhouse Grace Towers hosts the weekly gogotastic night of sexy dudes shakin’ their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

FCKD @ Oasis Vivvyanne Forevermore and Honey Mahogany’s drag show with Dottie Lux, Dulce De Leche and Miss Rahni. $10. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, Oakland LGBT comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Homo Thursdays @ Qbar Franko DJs the weekly mash-up/ pop music night. No cover. 2 for 1 well drinks, 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.qbarsf.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show continues, with gogo guys and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

My So-Called Night @ Beaux Carnie Asada hosts a new weekly ‘90s-themed video, dancin’, drinkin’ night, with VJs Jorge Terez. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90cent 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

Thirsty Thursdays @ The Cafe Drink specials, Top 40, gogo studs and no cover. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Throwback Thursdays @ Qbar Enjoy retro 80s soul, dance and pop classics with DJ Jorge Terez. No cover. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle Music with local and touring bands. 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. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

California Honeydrops @ The Fillmore The popular Bay Area swing ‘New Orleans’-style jazz band performs music from their four albums, including A River’s Invitation. $22.50. 9pm. Also Sept. 12. 1805 Geary Blvd. at Fillmore. 346-6000. www.cahoneydrops.com www.thefillmore.com

El Mundo @ Empire Ballroom The new Latin night at the Civic Center renovated nightclub features drag shows, gogo guys and gals, and DJed grooves. 9pm-3am. 555 Golden Gate. www.theempireroomsf.com

Opulent Temple @ Public Works The Crystal Method, the masterful dance electro DJ/composers, return for a remix DJ night; also, Deekline and several other DJs. $15-$30. 9:30pm-3am. 161 Erie St. www.thecrystalmethod.com www.publicsf.com

Comedy Noir @ Balancoire Valeria 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

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun 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

Hard Fridays @ Qbar DH Haute Toddy’s weekly electro-pop night with hotty gogos. $3. 9pm-2am (happy hour 4pm-9pm). 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Lulu, Jacki, and Vicki cohost the festive gogo-filled dance club that features Latin pop dance hits with DJs Speedy Douglas Romero and Fabricio. $6-$12. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Fri 11 Minnie Driver @ Feinstein’s

Party Nights @ Club BnB, Oakland Different events each week; 1st Fri: Taboo with DJ Harness. 2nd: Menage with DJ Rapture. 3rd: Seduction Feroce, a burlesque cabaret show (9pm). 4th: Bleu Sugar shows with hotess Miss Lady Lana. July 30: eightyear anniversary party. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Queer Sphere @ Club BnB, Oakland The Bay Area leather-kink group hosts a happy hour for folks of all genders and kink interest. 6pm-9pm. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Sexitude P.M. @ Oasis D’Arcy Drollinger’s aerobic dance lesson and party brings out the Spandex grooves for people with all kinds of shapes and sizes. $10. 10pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Some Thing @ The Stud Mica Sigourney and pals’ weekly offbeat drag performance night. 10pm2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Sat 12

20th Street Block Party @ 20th, Bryant Streets Enjoy food, drinks and live music (Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Nick Waterhouse, SF Rock Project and more). Free. 12pm-6pm. 20th st. between Bryant and Harrison. www.20thstreetblockparty.com

Get groovin’ at the weekly hip hop and R&B night at their new location. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

The monthly “queer, dyke, tranny, lezzie homo” dance party rocks it, with DJs Nuxx and Zax. $10. 9pm2am. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Frolic @ The Stud The monthly party (2nd Saturdays) for Furries and their pals features DJ NeonBunny. Animal costumes encouraged but not required. $5-$8. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.neonbunny.com www.studsf.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s weekly drag show night with different themes, always outrageously hilarious. This week, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7 winner Violet Chachki in her first Bay Area appearance. $15-$25. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Prowl @ The Edge Saturday night’s alright for cruising at the neighborhood bar. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Runway 27 @ Cowell Theatre The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance’s 27th annual contest and show to crown the new Mr. and Miss GAPA take son an ‘Under the Sea’ theme, hosted by Jezebel Patel and Sir Whitney Queers. $40-$70. 6pm-10pm. Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd. www.gapa.org

“Sing Til It Hurts” the new weekly night with hostess Sister Flora (Floozy) Goodthyme. 8pm; happy hour drinks til 10pm. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes weekly drag show. $5. 10:30pm show. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Enjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Cockblock @ Rickshaw Stop

Karaoke Night @ The Stud

Mary Go Round @ Lookout

Rock Fag @ Hole in the Wall

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, Oakland

Sing your heart out at the free lively night. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Miss Galilea Avila hosts a new weekly “old school drag show” with guest performers. Shows at 10:15 and 11:30pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

The saucy women’s burlesque revue’s weekend show; different musical guests each week. Sept. 11 is a special Red Hots’ Hottest at 10pm ($12-$25). Also Wednesday nights. $10-$20. 7:30pm. 314 11th St. www.redhotsburlesque.com www.beatboxsf.com

DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland’s premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www. club21oakland.com

Karaoke Night @ Club BnB, Oakland

Ladies of San Francisco @ Club OMG

Red Hots Burlesque @ Beatbox

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Fantastic Negrito @ The Independent The local blues-soul talent performs with his band. $12$15. 9pm. 628 Divisadero. www.theindependentsf.com

Saturgay @ Qbar

Fri 11 Red Hots Burlesque @ Beatbox

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

ShangriLa @ The EndUp The gay Asian –and pals- dance party takes on a ‘Super Duper Anime’ theme, where costumes are encouraged. 10pm-6am. 401 6th St. www.theendup.com

On the Tab>>

September 10-16, 2015 • Bay Area Reporter • 37

Karaoke @ The Lookout Paul K hosts the amateur singing night. 8pm-2am. 3600 16th St. at Market. www.lookoutsf.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany’s weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge

Sat 12

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

Frolic @ The Stud

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

Stand Up for Recovery @ Castro Country Club Comedy night with sober comics, and host MGM Grande. $6. 10:30pm. 4058 18th St. www.castrocountryclub.org

Sugar @ The Cafe Dance, drink, cruise at the Castro club. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Sun 13

Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon The ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

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

Big Top @ Beaux

Oakland Pride @ Broadway at 20th Streets Sixth annual parade and festival with LGBT organizations, plus drinks, food and live entertainment (Netta Brielle, Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus, Graciela Beltran, and more. Parade 10:30am, Festival 11am-7pm. www.oaklandpride.org

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

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

Mon 14

Drag Mondays @ The Cafe

The fun Castro nightclub, with hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.Beauxsf.com

Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko’s weekly drag and dance night, 2014’s last of the year. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Brunch @ Hi Tops

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, Oakland

Enjoy crunchy sandwiches and mimosas, among other menu items, at the popular sports bar. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Domingo De Escandal @ Club OMG

Mondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 6523820. www.whitehorsebar.com

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

Underwear Night @ 440 Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Tue 15 13 Licks @ Qbar

The “lezzie queer dance party” brings out the femmes and butches. 9pm2am. 456 Castro St. 864-2877. www.qbarsf.com

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

Bombshell Betty & Her Burlesqueteers @ Elbo Room The weekly burlesque show of women dancers shaking their bonbons includes live music. $10. 9pm. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Cock Shot @ Beaux

Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez and DJ Tejeda. 7pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

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

GlamaZone @ The Cafe

Cured? @ The Stud

Pollo del Mar’s weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:3011:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Release party for local photographer Tom Schmidt (aka Photo by Dot), whose new book documents dancer Luis Paul Canales (aka Strobe) and his journey of being possible cured of HIV by UCSF researchers. 8pm-11pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com www.PhotoByDot.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

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey’s

Lenny Kravitz @ The Greek Theatre, Berkeley The Grammy-winning powerpop/soul stud returns for an outdoor concert in the East Bay. Estelle opens. $55-$95. 7pm. 2001 Gayler Road, UC Berkeley campus. www.lennykravitz.com www.apeconcerts.com

Thu 17 Sandra Risser at Full Frontal Comedy @ Lookout

Liquid Brunch @ Beaux No cover, no food, just drinks (Mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc.) and music. 2pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Morning After BBQ @ Oasis The weekly barbeque brunch on the newly opened rooftop deck, with Mimosas and Bloody Mary cocktails. 11am-3pm. GAYmous Video release party with Disco Witch Coven at 3pm. $10. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night include 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 @ Oasis Irene Tu and Jessica Sele cohost the comedy open mic night for women and queers. No cover. 6pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

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

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 at the famous strip club for dancer shows and refreshments. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 3976758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Retro Night @ 440 Castro

Una Noche @ Club BnB, Oakland

Jim Hopkins plays classic pop oldies, with vintage music videos. 9pm-2am. 44 Castro St. www.the440.com

Vicky Jimenez’ drag show and contest; Latin music all night. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Switch @ Q Bar Weekly women’s night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Underwear Night @ Club OMG Weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, and drink specials; different hosts each week. $4. 10pm2am. Preceded by Open Mic Comedy, 7pm, no cover. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

See page 38 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

38 • Bay Area Reporter • September 10-16, 2015

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On the Tab

From page 37

Wed 16 Booty Call @ QBar

Juanita More! and her weekly intimate –yet packed– dance party. $10-$15. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.qbarsf.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops 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

Follies @ Oasis Holotta Tymes hosts the new weekly variety show with female impersonation acts, and barbeque in the front Fez Room. Also, Yuri Kagan’s comedy set. $20. 7pm. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Latin Drag Night @ Club OMG Weekly Latin night with drag shows hosted by Vicky Jimenez. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU San Francisco:

(415) 430-1199 Oakland:

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

Man Francisco @ Oasis The weekly all-male striptease revue with a storyline of San Francisco’s history, from the Gold Rush to the tech boom, performed by sexy local hunks. $20 (plus optional $30 lap dances!). 9:30pm. Thru September. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF Eagle Kollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm-8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Pussy Party @ Beaux Weekly women’s happy hour, with allwomen music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm-9am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.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

San Jose:

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Tom Reardon @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Full Frontal Comedy @ Lookout

Night at the Jewseum @ Contemporary Jewish Museum

The local musical theatre actor performs Until the Night, his cabaret show of classic songs, performed with a full band and back-up singers. $25$40 ($20 food/drink min.) 7pm. Sept 17 at 8pm Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.tommyontherocks.com www.ticketweb.com www.hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins

Sandra Risser headlines a night of comedy, with Joe Tobin, Nicole Calasic, Michael Brandon and Yuri Kahan; Valerie Branch hosts. $5. 8pm. 3600 16th st. www.lookoutsf.com

Enjoy soul music, specialty cocktails, dancing to DJ Phengren Oswald (of Saturday Night Soul Party) and view of Amy Winehouse and other exhibits. $5. 6pm-9pm. 736 Mission St. at 3rd. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Weekly screenings of vintage music videos and retro drink prices. Check out the new expanded front window lounge. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 8614186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Thrill Kill Kult @ DNA Lounge

415-730-9777

Way Back @ Midnight Sun

Thu 17

24 HRS, 9”, 27”W –

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440

Godless Perverts Social Club @ Telegraph Beer Garden, Oakland The LGBTQ and poly, kink-friendly group discusses issues of sexual freedom and the law, including the recent shut-down of Rentboy.com, with advocate and lawyer Kristina Dolgin, at the popular bar/restaurant. Free. 7pm. 2318 Telegraph ave., Oakland. (510) 444-8353. www.telegraphoakland.com

Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Thu 17 Baloney @ Oasis

The sexy comic gay all-male revue, created and choreographed by Rory Davis and Michael Phillis, returns for a special Folsom edition. $20-$25 ($200 champagne group VIP specials). 8pm. Thru Sept 19. 298 11th St. www.sfbaloney.com www.sfoasis.com

Confess @ Oasis Storytelling night with the Austinbased BedPost Productions. 10pm. $15. 298 11th St. at Folsom. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com

Fauxgirls @ Infusion Lounge The classic monthly drag show (3rd Thursdays), now in its fifteenth year, features Victoria Secret, Alexandria, Chanel, Mini Minerva, Kipper, Ruby LeBrowne, and Lulu Ramirez. Dinner seating 6pm on. 8pm show. No cover. 124 Ellis St. 421-8700. www.fauxgirls.com www.infusionlounge-sf.com

Thu 17

Baloney @ Oasis

Thrill Kill Kult @ DNA Lounge Chicago’s darkly fun electro-industrial rock band performs; Night Club and Striplicker open. $15-$20 and up. 8:30pm. www.dnalounge.com www.mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

Read more online at www.ebar.com

Shooting Stars

September 10-16, 2015 • Bay Area Reporter • 39

photos by Steven Underhill Femme @ Balancoire

emme, the new brunch and entertainment Sunday event, included rousing drag acts by Bebe Sweetbriar, Au Jus, Amelia D. Ross, Ruby Red Monroe, and hostess Carnie Asada. DJ Tweak Turner provided grooves that got the mimosa-happy patrons to do a group line dance. Tables fill up quickly, so reservations are recommended. Show times are each Sunday at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm. 2565 Mission Street at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.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

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