May 12, 2011 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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The 'Summer of Slither'

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First mayor's race forum

Sing out!

The

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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 41 • No. 19 • May 12-18, 2011

Rallies, parties planned for Milk Day

Witt settles DADT lawsuit

by Lisa Keen

T

he American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state announced Tuesday, May 10 that Air Force Reserve nurse Major Margaret Witt has reached a final settlement with the Department of Major Defense in her highly Margaret Witt publicized litigation to avoid discharge under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

According to an ACLU press release, the DOD has agreed to allow Witt to retire with full benefits and the Department of Justice will drop its appeal of a federal district court ruling in her favor.

Last September, Judge Ronald Leighton of the U.S. District Court for Western Washington ruled that Witt’s sexual orientation did not negatively impact her unit’s morale or unit cohesion and that her discharge under DADT violated her Fifth Amendment right to due process.

“I am proud to have played a role in bringing about the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” said Witt, in a statement released by the ACLU. “I am so pleased that the tens of thousands of lesbians and gays who have served their country honorably will be able to serve openly.”

The Witt v. U.S. case has been a high-profile one and the subject of debate on the floor of the Senate and in the confirmation hearing of the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest member, Elena Kagan. It was just one of several cases that applied pressure to Congress to repeal DADT before a federal court ordered it to do so immediately.

After several failed attempts, Congress did pass legislation to repeal DADT and President Barack Obama signed it last December. DOD officials said earlier this year they expect to satisfy a necessary requirement – certifying that repeal can take place without affecting military readiness – about mid-summer this year.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has been working to pass repeal, congratulated Witt and the ACLU on their “stunning victory.”

See page 10 >>

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

million. Neither Leung nor Stiener would say for how much the business, which includes the liquor license and assets, is being sold.

Leung, who has owned the bar since 2005, said the bar is in escrow, pending liquor license transfer and entertainment permit applications.

an Franciscans will have numerous options to mark the state’s second annual Harvey Milk Day, as various rallies and parties are planned for next weekend to celebrate the life of the gay icon.

Rick Gerharter Fittingly, for Milk was not only a community Tommi Avicolli activist and organizer Mecca is one of the organizers for but also liked a good the Sidewalks are party, the events range for People rally on from the political, such Harvey Milk Day. as a “queen in” in the Castro in defiance of the city’s sit/lie law, to the entertaining; a comedy and burlesque fundraiser at El Rio will benefit the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center.

This year’s Milk Day will take place Sunday, May 22 and coincides with the birthday of the late San Francisco supervisor, who became the first out politician in California when he won election in November 1977. Milk died a year later along with then-Mayor George Moscone after being shot inside City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White.

City leaders and the Harvey Milk Foundation are hosting a rally that day from 1 to 2 p.m. at Jane Warner Plaza, at the intersection of 17th and Castro streets. Speakers include Mayor Ed Lee and several local out politicians as well as Milk’s family and friends.

Immediately following will be a march down to 575 Castro Street, the site of Milk’s campaign headquarters and camera store.

Also that Sunday across the street in Harvey Milk Plaza will be a demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. against the city’s new law banning people from sitting on the sidewalks during the day and early evening hours. The group QUEEN – Queers for Economic Equality Now – is hosting the event to mark Sidewalks are for People Day. Tommi Avicolli Mecca, one of the organizers, said it was a fitting tie-in to Milk Day, as Milk opposed a similar sidewalk measure during his day. In another homage to Milk, there will be a soapbox for people to stand on and address the

See page 11 >>

See page 13 >>

Jane Philomen Cleland

Brendon Constans, center with hat, and Elan Segfarra, right, enjoy the beer bust at the Lone Star Saloon last Sunday. With the closure of the Eagle Tavern, which had beer busts for local groups every week, other bars in the South of Market neighborhood are stepping in to fill the void. See story, page 2.

EndUp club is being sold

by Seth Hemmelgarn

J

ust weeks after the closure of the Eagle Tavern, another South of Market night spot is undergoing ownership changes.

The EndUp club is being sold, but those involved say there won’t be major changes to the business, which has drawn people for almost 40 years.

In response to emailed questions, Sydney Leung said that Ynez Stiener, one of his current business partners, and others are buying out him and other existing investors.

“They will continue the EndUp and its legacy for the last 38 years going forward,” he said. The name of the EndUp, which Leung has described as “the premiere house music club in the world,” befits its purpose. Many people go after 2 a.m., when other venues have closed.

The club was listed in January 2010 for $1.8

Steven Underhill

The EndUp, which is soon expected to have new owners, celebrated 2011 with a Playboy-themed party.

{ FIRST OF TWO SECTIONS }

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Bar’s closure leaves fundraising hole

by Seth Hemmelgarn

bust” at his bar can bring in $1,000 to $1,500. efore the Eagle Tavern “We do half the business closed April 30, the South on a Sunday” that the Eagle of Market bar was popular did, “because we don’t for its beer busts, which have have that much space,” said raised money for numerous Morgan. Unlike the Lone LGBT groups over the years.

Star and the Eagle, Kok The legal firm representing doesn’t have a patio. the bar’s landlord filed an “There’s no other bar unlawful detainer complaint that’s going to be able to in San Francisco Superior replace the Eagle,” said Court last month, claiming Morgan. He said his bar’s Eagle owners John Gardiner starting to do beer busts on Saturdays and offering more and Joseph Banks owe almost Friday and Saturday night $18,000 in rent. fundraising parties.

With the future of the tavern “There are only so many building and its famous, large Sundays in a month,” he back patio, at 398 12th Street, noted. still uncertain, many groups Morgan, who founded are left to find other bars to the SOMA Bar and Business go to. (A man who answered Guild, named after the South Gardiner and Banks’s phone of Market neighborhood declined to provide an update where his bar and others Tuesday. Others contacted for reside, said he’s hopeful that this story, including landlord the Eagle will reopen.

John Nikitopoulos and “Hopefully the Eagle’s prospective buyers of the bar, Courtesy Folsom Street Events closing is not going to put didn’t respond to interview Folsom Street Events unveiled this year’s fair a damper on SOMA,” said requests.) poster at last Sunday’s beer bust.

Morgan, who added, “to It appears that alternative lose that space is so sad. It’s space is tight, both on ridiculous.” barroom floors and in The Powerhouse bar, at year’s Folsom Street poster at the booking calendars.

1347 Folsom Street, is one of the Lone Star.

On Sunday, May 8, Folsom Street most popular fundraising spots in Tony Huerta, one of the Lone Events, which produces the famous the South of Market area.

Star’s owners, said that since the Folsom Street Fair, held its first Scott Peterson, the bar’s general Eagle’s closed, he’s scheduled a beer bust of the season at the Lone manager and a member of the SOMA couple other events that had been set Star Saloon, 1354 Harrison Street, guild, said he’s heard from people for the tavern. He wants to help any instead of the Eagle. asking about doing fundraising way he can, and “I wish I had more Demetri Moshoyannis, Folsom events since the Eagle closed, but space on my events calendar,” but Street’s executive director, said because of the uncertainty around “We’re pretty full for the rest of the the day was “exceptionally fun what will happen with the tavern’s year,” he said. and profitable.” The group made space, “everybody’s kind of on hold Even though the Eagle’s closing at least $1,260, which “could go a little bit.” up, depending on what additional might seem to be one less competitor Asked about his booking calendar, pledges come in,” he said. for Lone Star, Huerta, who said his Peterson said on Sundays the bar’s However, he said an event like bar’s doing well, didn’t seem happy “open for the most part,” but the Sunday’s probably would have raised about the tavern’s end.

Powerhouse has “never been a beer between $1,500 and $1,750 at the “We didn’t want the Eagle to bust bar.” larger Eagle space, a difference of close,” he said. “ ... We want our Plus, some other days aren’t between about $250 and $500. neighborhood to stay gay.” He nearly as flexible as Sundays.

Moshoyannis said when that’s referred to the Lone Star and some Peterson said they have fundraisers multiplied over the course of a year, other bars in the neighborhood as every Thursday and Friday, and the difference is “pretty significant” “very historic gay institutions.” generally every other Saturday, so for the many groups smaller than “The Eagle closing is a sign of the they already do at least 125 of the Folsom. times,” he said. “If we don’t want events a year.

He said his organization did “a more of our bars to close, we’ve got He also said the bar has a minimum of one very important to support them. I hope the Eagle small smoking patio “the size of beer bust” each year at the Eagle, but closing doesn’t have a negative a bathroom,” and they don’t have their relationship with the bar wasn’t impact on South of Market.” He the outdoor barbecue space that’s just economical. added the more gay bars that are in generally considered right for a “San “We used that as an opportunity the area, “the more of a destination Francisco beer bust.” to debut our posters and connect this neighborhood is.”

However, he said, they’re “Willing with the community in other ways,” David Morgan, who owns Kok, to have fundraisers to help anyone he said. Sunday, they debuted this 1225 Folsom Street, said “a good beer out at any time.”▼

B

Bernhard to headline Pride

by Seth Hemmelgarn

hours will give the community more time to enjoy themselves at Pride,” interim Executive Director Brendan Behan stated. “We look forward to giving our community more time this year than we have in years past.”

The Pride Parade will start at Market and Beale streets at 10:30 a.m., the usual time, that Sunday morning.

Celebration hours Saturday, June 25 will still run from noon to 6 p.m. as has been the tradition in years past.▼

A

ctress, singer, and comedienne Sandra Bernhard has been confirmed as a headliner for Pride’s main stage this year, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee announced this week.

Bernhard, who is bisexual and among other achievements once starred on TV’s Roseanne, will be performing Sunday, June 26, the second day of the festival.

Pride also announced that rainbow flags along Market Street, which are hung annually, will be going up two weeks earlier this year.

The flags will start appearing next week, with a scheduled completion date of May 18.

This year, the flags will go up early in coordination with SF Travel to help greet attendees of the U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow, which is May 21-25.

Pride will also extend festival hours on Sunday at Civic Center Plaza.

For more information, visit www.sfpride.org.

Sandra Bernhard

Officials said in a statement Tuesday night that the June 26 celebration will start an hour earlier this year at 11 a.m. and run till 6:30 p.m.

“Expanding our Sunday celebration to a full seven and a half

On the web Online content this week includes an Academy of Friends update, the Wockner’s World column, and more community news briefs. www.ebar.com.

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Community News>>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Academy showcases feared creatures

by Matthew S. Bajko

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eligious leaders have reviled them. Movies depict them as menaces to society. Numerous cultures teach their young to fear them.

“People really don’t understand them. They are fundamentally misunderstood,” said Chris Andrews, director of the Steinhart Aquarium and chief operations director at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

The British-born Andrews could very easily be talking about homosexuals and the persecution LGBT people have faced throughout millennia.

Instead, the self-described “closet herpetologist” is talking about snakes, one of the animal kingdom’s least loved and most feared creatures.

“There is something in our DNA that tells us to be wary of them. If you look at where human society began in the Middle East, there are a lot of dangerous snakes,” said Andrews.

“Snakes are also kind of unusual.

People often tell me they think they move a little different.”

Andrews’s genetic wiring omitted any snake recoil. As a boy, he grew up loving the slithering Serpentes despite the fact Great Britain is home to only three species. Today, his officemate at the San Francisco scientific institution is Balthazar, an 11-year-old, 25-pound red-tailed boa constrictor that he raised himself and is a crowd-favorite at the academy.

This summer Balthazar and the academy’s other resident squamates, the group that includes both legged and legless lizards, such as snakes, will be showcased as part of its newest exhibit, “Snakes and Lizards: The Summer of Slither.” Joining the locals will be more than 60 new scaled reptiles taking up residence at the academy through September 15.

“This is the largest display of these creatures outside a zoo’s reptile house,” said Andrews, who has been dubbed the institution’s “chief slitherologist.”

All told there will be more than 300 feet of snakes slithering throughout the building in Golden Gate Park.

The assemblage of exotic animals is the longest amount of snake that has ever been on display together at one time at the academy, said Executive Director Gregory C. Farrington.

“This summer these special creatures take a larger share of the spotlight,” said Farrington, who joked during a May press preview of the new exhibit that he was now its “chief snake.”

Visitors will be able to see three of the largest snakes on the planet: an anaconda, a Burmese python, and a reticulated python. Also on display will be two creatures whose names are derived from mythical beasts, the gila monster and the eastern water dragon.

“They are cute and cuddly, though not everyone agrees,” said Andrews.

Nicole Chaney, a biologist at the academy’s aquarium who specializes in reptiles, said same-sex interactions have been documented among snakes, mainly during the breeding season. But unlike other creatures known to form bonds with a partner of the same-sex, snakes only mate with the opposite sex, she said.

“When snakes get together, sometimes they will confuse genders and are not always successful in finding a sex partner,” said Chaney.

“But there is no coupling like in other animals. Once they try to copulate with a snake of the same sex, they will go oops, my mistake.”

The exhibition combines new elements created by academy staffers with parts of the American Museum

Jane Philomen Cleland

Scott Moran, director of concepts and exhibits, holds Balthazar, a red-tailed boa constrictor.

of Natural History show “Lizards & Snakes: Alive,” which was organized by the New York institution in collaboration with Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the assistance of Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

One key difference is academy officials wanted to bathe their show in natural light, said Andrews, “so people who don’t like snakes won’t get freaked out.”

At the same time, the habitats housing the various species are built so that door locks are clearly visible to allay the fears of nervous visitors, said Scott Moran, a gay man who is the academy’s director of concept and exhibit development.

“We didn’t want it to be dark and scary,” said Moran.

Unlike his colleagues, Moran had never been a fan of snakes.

“I used to have a big fear of snakes as a kid. Working on this exhibit opened my eyes to how beautiful they are,” said Moran, who was gracious enough to hold his first giant snake, Balthazar, for several publications’ photographers. “You think they are going to be slimy but they are not.

The only time they are scary is when they feel threatened.”

A highlight of the exhibition is the queerly named Lemondrop, a 59-pound male albino lavender reticulated python. At 15 feet, he See page 11 >>

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<< Business News

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Big plans for small businesses

by Raymond Flournoy

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mall Business Week is May 1621 in San Francisco. Sponsored

by Wells Fargo Bank, the annual event is designed to encourage entrepreneurship via a program of educational and social activities. And it culminates in a sidewalk sale, so everyone benefits.

The kick-off event for Small Business Week is Flavors of San Francisco, a showcase of local restaurants held in the City View Room at Metreon (101 4th Street). Representing the Castro neighborhood will be Ike’s Place (3489 16th Street), Cafe Flore (2289 Market Street), Urban Bread (3901 18th Street), and Soup Freaks (coming soon to 499 Castro Street).

The free event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on May 16.

On Tuesday, May 17, each member of the Board of Supervisors will recognize an outstanding small business from his or her district.

District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener will honor Castro eatery Orphan Andy’s (3991 17th Street) for its work to maintain Jane Warner Plaza.

Tuesday night, the Golden Gate Business Association joins the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, the LGBT Community Center (1800 Market Street), and Betty’s List (www.bettyslist. com) to host the MEGA Make Contact LGBT Mixer. The networking event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center. This is also a free event.

The week ends with the Shop Your Neighborhood sidewalk sale on Saturday, May 21. Business districts throughout the city will be hosting shopping events, with MUMC organizing the Castro festivities.

For more information on Small Business Week, visit www.sfsmallbusinessweek.com.

Cliff’s celebrates 75 years of variety The celebration of small businesses continues next month, as Castro landmark Cliff’s Variety (479 Castro Street) celebrates its 75th anniversary on June 4. In 1936, Hilario DeBaca opened the original

Steven Kasapi

Cliff’s Variety celebrates Sunday’s Bay to Breakers foot race in another of its trademark window displays.

Cliff’s Variety at 545 Castro Street, the spot currently occupied by Best in Show. Named for DeBaca’s youngest son, Clifford, the store has moved multiple times throughout the years, opening in its current location in 1971.

Today Cliff’s continues to thrive under the watchful eye of general manager Terry Asten Bennett, greatgreat-granddaughter of Hilario DeBaca.

The anniversary celebration events will include a family matinee showing of The Love Bug at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street) at noon, with tickets, popcorn, and soda at a special anniversary price of 75 cents each.

For the adults, Cliff’s will host a benefit tea dance in the back parking lot from 2 to 6 p.m., featuring the music of the late Castro legend Sylvester.

Throughout the day, vendors will host product demonstrations in front of the store. Raffle tickets are also available with a grand prize of an iPad 2 with carrying case. The dance and raffle will benefit the AIDS Emergency Fund, Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, and the Rainbow Honor Walk project.

Queerty is still here Reports

of

the

demise

of

See page 13 >>

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Politics >>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Courtesy Herrera for Mayor campaign

City Attorney Dennis Herrera has been endorsed by lesbian pioneer Phyllis Lyon in his bid to be San Francisco’s next mayor.

Lesbian icon backs Herrera for SF mayor

by Matthew S. Bajko

O

ne of the women who was the first to say “I do” on the morning of February 12, 2004, kicking off a weeks-long procession of gay nuptials at City Hall, has endorsed San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera in this year’s mayoral race.

Lesbian icon Phyllis Lyon married her late partner, Del Martin, in a ceremony that city officials kept secret until after the couple had exchanged vows. The couple had been prominent civil rights activists and LGBT community leaders since the 1950s, having formed the group Daughters of Bilitis, the first national lesbian organization in the U.S. Their wedding, along with the thousands of other couples who wed during the city’s “Winter of Love” seven years ago, was later invalidated by the state Supreme Court. The ruling kicked off a legal challenge Herrera’s office brought forward that led to the court’s historic 2008 decision to overturn California’s anti-gay marriage statutes.

Once again, Lyon and Martin were asked to be the first samesex couple to marry that summer in San Francisco once the court’s ruling allowing the gay nuptials to resume went into effect June 16.

The women had been together 55 years at that point; Martin died two months later at the age of 87.

Now Lyon is trying to help elect Herrera to Room 200 in City Hall, where her second marriage took place. Herrera’s campaign announced Lyon’s backing in a statement released to the Bay Area Reporter this week.

“Dennis Herrera has the leadership and experience to make a real difference in people’s lives,” stated Lyon. “I know, because he made a difference in mine. That’s why I’m proud to support him for mayor.”

Herrera said he was “deeply touched” to have Lyon’s support in the race.

“Phyllis and Del, and thousands of San Francisco families like theirs, are abiding testimony to the promise of local government to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

It has been the honor of my career to share in a small fraction of Phyllis’s lifetime of activism for equal rights,” stated Herrera. “I will proudly carry that commitment with me if elected mayor.”

The news of Lyon’s endorsement could help Herrera shore up support among more progressive queer residents as he battles with state Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and District 11 Supervisor John Avalos for their votes. In a signal of how divided the city’s LGBT community is over whom to back among the nine leading contenders in the mayoral race, neither of the two main LGBT Democratic clubs, Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk, have coalesced around one candidate to trigger an early endorsement in the race.

Lyon’s decision to back Herrera is also another indication that former District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty, so far the only openly gay candidate among the mayoral front-runners, cannot take the LGBT community’s support for granted.

While he did receive the national Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund’s nod in the race, his successor in the District 8 seat, Scott Wiener, endorsed Herrera, whom he worked for as a deputy city attorney.

As was evidenced during last week’s first mayoral forum, all nine of the leading mayoral candidates are making plays for LGBT votes.

[See story, page 8].

Gascón brings D.A. campaign to the Castro The city’s district attorney, George Gascón, will bring his campaign for a full term in the office to the Castro this weekend as he ramps up his election efforts.

Formerly the city’s police chief, Gascón switched jobs earlier this year when former Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed him to succeed Kamala Harris, who resigned as D.A. following her election last fall to be the state’s attorney general.

Both Harris and Newsom have endorsed Gascón’s campaign.

His main opponents, so far, are David Onek, the founding executive director of the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, and Sharmin Bock, an Alameda County assistant district attorney in charge of special operations and policy development.

Onek has lined up a long list of progressive backers, including former lesbian Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg and gay former school board member Mark Sanchez. He has been hammering Gascón over See page 11 >>

<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

Volume 41, Number 19 May 12-18, 2011 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn Bob Ross (Founder, 1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Matt Baume Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Scott Brogan • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell John F. Karr • Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy David Lamble Michael McDonagh Paul Parish • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith Ed Walsh • Sura Wood

ART DIRECTION Kurt Thomas PRODUCTION MANAGER T. Scott King PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Marc Geller Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith

GENERAL MANAGER Michael M. Yamashita DISPLAY ADVERTISING Colleen Small Scott Wazlowski CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING David McBrayer

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad

15 years of DOMA O

n May 7, 15 years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act and since then, the law mandates discrimination against same-sex couples in numerous ways. Today, courts are hearing several cases involving DOMA and the Obama administration has stated that it no longer plans to defend the law in the courts. We believe the demise of DOMA is near as public opinion is shifting in support of marriage equality.

DOMA was launched in 1996, during Clinton’s re-election campaign. As reporter Chris Geidner recounts in his article in Metro Weekly, the lagging campaign of Clinton’s GOP opponent, then-Senator Bob Dole, latched on to same-sex marriage as a classic wedge issue – and what a wedge it turned out to be. Fifteen years later, same-sex couples are flatly denied benefits that heterosexual couples receive through marriage. Same-sex couples can’t get married, except in five states. And even when they do tie the knot in those states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Iowa – same-sex couples still do not receive the federal benefits reserved for opposite-sex married couples. So, although we can get married in those states, we are still not equal.

It might be funny if the consequences weren’t so serious. Many of those who supported DOMA in 1996 no longer do; and that goes to the very heart of what’s wrong with the law: the federal government should not be in the business of dictating who can and cannot marry. Same-sex couples are singled out for financial inequities, including tax filings, access to health insurance, and many more benefits. Tellingly, Bob Barr, a former Georgia Republican congressman who authored the bill and was a Libertarian candidate for president in 2008, now believes it should be repealed. “I’ve wrestled with this issue for the last several years and come to the conclusion that DOMA is not working out as planned,” Barr wrote in a 2009 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. “In testifying before Congress against a federal marriage amendment, and more recently while making my case to skeptical Libertarians as to why I was worthy of their support as their party’s presidential nominee, I have concluded that DOMA is neither meeting the principles of federalism it was supposed to, nor is its impact limited to federal law.”

Barr was right, of course, in realizing that DOMA remains a primary barrier to full equality. This year, shortly after the Obama administration’s announcement that it would no longer defend the law, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to repeal DOMA. Both Houses should act swiftly and vote on the

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legislation in the coming months. If they were honest about their rhetoric Republicans who control the House would see that supporting DOMA contradicts their party’s own mantra for smaller government. They must realize that ending this discriminatory law is in the best interest of the country.

GOP members of Congress must move past the standard party line and make their own decisions.

In California, legislators who supported marriage equality bills in recent years have not been voted out of office, which goes to show that lawmakers can vote for equality and not be punished for it. Public opinion supporting same-sex marriage is quickly changing, even among conservatives. Just this week, a Washington Post poll of 1,180 adults in Virginia, a conservative state, found that 47 percent favor legalizing same-sex marriage, while 43 percent are opposed.

Most people are far more concerned with the tepid economy and rising gas prices than they are about wedge issues like marriage equality.

When Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who is a moderate Democrat, can announce that she’s a lead sponsor of the bill to repeal DOMA, you know times have changed. To her credit, Feinstein was one of a handful of senators who voted against DOMA 15 years ago, and she must use her considerable influence in the Senate to move the bill.

Uganda anti-gay bill lives another day It was reported Wednesday morning that a

vote on the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda’s parliament was postponed until Friday.

The bill, derisively known as the “Kill the Gays” law, is truly horrific. It would imprison for life anyone convicted of “the offense of homosexuality,” punish with the death penalty “aggravated homosexuality” (repeat offenses, or having gay sex while being HIV-positive), forbid “promotion of homosexuality” and incarcerate gay-rights defenders, and jail individuals in positions of authority for up to three years if they fail to report within 24 hours the existence of all LGBT people or sympathizers known to them.

Countries around the world have condemned the legislation. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and numerous administration officials have voiced their opposition to the bill. Gay rights leaders and our allies have been outspoken in condemning the bill, which if passed would be a gross violation of international human rights standards. Out Congressman Barney Frank this week sought and received approval of an amendment urging the Treasury Department to oppose any financial assistance from multilateral institutions to countries that persecute people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious beliefs.

We strongly oppose the efforts by Ugandan politicians who are working to bring this bill to a vote this week. It is clearly a step backward.

The U.S. government must implement a plan for severe sanctions if this bill is approved in any form, including, as Frank has proposed, opposing aid to Uganda from the World Bank or other international financial institutions.▼

Shining a light on homeless LGBTQ youth

by Beck, Adele Carpenter, and Tommi Avicolli Mecca

I Best Bay Area Community Newspaper 2006 San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club

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t is estimated that nearly 2,300 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in San Francisco are homeless.

In 2007, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition on Homelessness concluded in their joint study, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness,” that 40 percent of homeless youth in this country identify as LGBT. One would have expected a tremendous outcry in the queer community when that study was released. Especially here in San Francisco.

Where was that outcry?

You’d think that a community such as ours, which is capable of raising millions to promote gay marriage and to fight “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” would have poured a lot of effort and money into housing young people by now. But, where are those resources?

Programs that support transitional age homeless youth are usually left out of local and national fundraising strategies that allocate millions of dollars for lobbying efforts in the name of our families and the safety of our community. What about the homeless queer youth who reside on the streets and who are looking for family and safety, but instead often encounter exploitation, violence, and criminalization under laws which make it illegal to sit or lie in public?

They need services, but where are the queer youth services in San Francisco?

An activist group spearheaded three emergency winter shelters, a food program, and a shower project for homeless youth and others in the Castro in the late 1990s after the dot-com boom caused a sharp spike in rents throughout the city, making it impossible to afford an apartment. Those services opened despite unbelievable opposition from merchants, landlords, and residents. When the last of the shelters folded, the Youth Empowerment Team secured $750,000 in city funds for 29 beds for LGBT homeless youth under Larkin Street’s Castro Youth program. That program is now down to 22 beds and looking at more cuts this year. Not to mention the devastating cuts to the LGBT Community Center’s Transitional Youth program, which packs in over 300 youth a year for food and resources.

Meanwhile, the LGBTQ youth space at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center was shut down in 2010. Advocates have been negotiating with the Recreation and Park Department for nearly a year to have it re-opened, but it is clear that consistent staffing, hours, and overall youth access to the space, will continue to be compromised. The Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center has been forced to reduce its open-door programming for transitional age youth due to lack of city support, and its internship program, which was cut last year, is facing a possible total elimination

in the budget of the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

The closure of New Leaf: Services for Our Community’s youth substance abuse treatment program was a hard hit for those attempting to access LGBTQ friendly substance abuse counseling and mental health treatment. While the clinicians at Dimensions Clinic do an excellent job, services meant to engage youth in treatment have not been fully restored.

Clearly, the community needs to speak out.

This Saturday, May 14, queer youth and allies are taking part in a national effort to shine a light on homelessness among queer youth. Hosted by Operation Shine America and the AJ Fund, youth organizers will provide makeovers, video and photo booths, art workshops, freeze tag, and a free dinner donated

by Food not Bombs. This begins at 6 p.m. at the Civic Center. At 7:30 p.m., youth art from the AJ Fund will be used to decorate a march that will make its way toward Harvey Milk Plaza. Marchers will remember AJ Trasvina, a local youth who spent his last years providing support to homeless queer youth.

At Harvey Milk Plaza, we will illuminate our lanterns and shine a light for a homeless youth open mic. Participants are encouraged to wear purple and bring candles. The event will culminate with a sleep-in at the plaza that See page 10 >>

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Letters >>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

How Pakistan can redeem itself Perhaps the Pakistanis could renew their pledge to fight global terrorism by converting Osama bin Laden’s secret Abbottabad location into the new prison to replace Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Michael Brownstone San Francisco

AIDS group should honor hotel boycott “I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.”

This is part of the Hippocratic Oath all doctors are sworn to uphold. But for the International AIDS Society USA these words ring hollow. In San Francisco 300 hotel workers are in the midst of a struggle for their livelihoods. It is these workers who make this city’s tourism industry prosper. While the corporate owners of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt are enjoying the fruit of economic recovery, they are trying to force these workers to accept a recessionary contract. The workers of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt have called for an ongoing consumer boycott. They are asking all customers not to eat, sleep, meet, or spend money at their hotel until they achieve a fair and just contract.

LGBT groups in San Francisco have led the way in endorsing and honoring the boycotts called by Unite Here Local 2 members. The Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic clubs, Equality California, Transgender Law Center, San Francisco Pride At Work/HAVOC, and One Struggle, One Fight all endorse our boycott.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Openhouse, the Pride Committee’s VIP party, and the GLBT Historical Society have all moved events away from boycotted hotels. This solidarity with hotel workers follows a long tradition of mutual support between Unite Here Local 2 members and the LGBT community. These efforts have helped Local 2 become the first union in the United States to establish an HIV fund. They also led the union and the LGBT community to work together closely in the battle to defeat Proposition 8.

Unite Here Local 2 recognizes and honors the important work that IAS is doing on behalf of individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. However IAS’ decision to violate the consumer boycott of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt is an insult to the 12,000 San Francisco workers we represent. Every dollar IAS or its conference attendees spend at the Grand Hyatt funds Hyatt’s efforts to strip away affordable high quality coverage for working families in San Francisco. Many of those families have had someone they know and love diagnosed with this disease. It is glaringly hypocritical for a research institution based in San Francisco, invested in finding a cure for HIV/AIDS, to aid and abet the Hyatt Corporation’s attempt to restrict access to resources hotel workers need to benefit from the work that IAS provides.

Michael Floyd, Organizer Unite Here Local 2 San Francisco

Pro-Prop 8 attorneys forgot basic law Apparently, the Proposition 8 lawyers forgot Trial Law 101 and Appellate Law 101. You can only challenge, on appeal, those objections you raised at trial. Since Prop 8 attorneys never challenged the impartiality of Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, they don’t get to do it before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.

Furthermore, the allegation he had a “direct stake” in

the outcome of the trial is specious and disingenuous nonsense. Before, during, or after the Prop 8 trial Judge Walker and his partner could have flown to Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, or the District of Columbia and entered into a lawful same-sex marriage.

Do Prop 8 lawyers believe U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should have recused himself from the cross burning cases? Should all six Catholic justices recuse themselves from all abortion and same-sex marriage cases? Should the two female justices recuse themselves from all female civil rights cases? Should the three Jewish justices recuse themselves from civil rights and First Amendment cases involving Jewish plaintiffs?

Somehow I doubt it.

Steven L. Kendall Seattle, Washington

Expanding on WCRC I read the article in the Bay Area Reporter on the Women’s Cancer Resource Center for which I was interviewed [“East Bay women’s cancer center celebrates its silver anniversary,” April 28]. After reading the article I realized that there were some points not made and an error.

Jackie Winnow, who founded the WCRC, died from metastatic breast cancer in 1991 (not 1995 as stated in the article) at the age of 44. The loss of such a vibrant fighter for justice underscores how deeply we are all impacted by the epidemic of cancer. We will never know the contributions that she and countless other women would have made if we were able to prevent cancer.

When the women of the WCRC first started the support groups, one thing they did was to counter the dominant ideology that somehow “you” as an individual were responsible for having cancer. There was the recognition that growing up and living in an environment filled with pesticides, radiation, and other toxic chemicals put us all at risk for cancer. Long before Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Brightsided, Jackie and the founding members knew there was nothing positive about having cancer, and understood that fighting cancer was political as well as personal.

The founding members were also strong in their belief that we needed to demand a health care system that worked for people rather than for profit. That struggle is even greater today as the federal government challenges our right to Medicare. Twenty-five years ago the founding members of the WCRC understood that large pharmaceutical companies and the health care industry made money from our illnesses, at the same time that chemical companies destroyed our environment. The lack of health care also disproportionately impacts poor women and women of color.

For those of us who have dealt with cancer on a personal level, we know that there is neither a cure nor a good treatment for cancer. The treatments for cancer create many health problems while supposedly fighting cancer cells.

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center plays a vital role in allowing women to have information that will empower them when dealing with the medical profession.

But we must always keep in mind that ultimately our goal is to work for a world in which prevention is in the forefront.

Carla Schick Oakland, California

[Editor’s note: The online version has been corrected regarding the erroneous date.]

Bliss to boost Maitri compiled by Cynthia Laird

H

awaiian getaways and other vacation packages are among the live auction items this weekend as Maitri Hospice holds Bliss, its annual gala and auction.

Taking place Sunday, May 15 from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Hall of Flowers at Golden Gate Park’s County Fair building, 1199 9th Avenue (at Lincoln) in San Francisco, the event will also include entertainment, food, drinks, and a silent auction.

This year’s event also marks the first one for Michael Smithwick in his capacity as executive director.

And the event will honor several “ambassadors,” people who have supported the organization over the years. They include former Executive Director Tim Patriarca, volunteer

Shirley Hamilton, former board member and donor Boone Callaway, care group member and donor Nancy Nipper, and volunteer and donor Joseph Mott.

Maitri started 24 years ago as a response to the AIDS crisis and provides compassionate residential care to men and women in need of hospice or 24-hour care as they near end of life.

Tickets for Bliss are $150 and can be purchased online at www.maitrisf.org.

Special $95 tickets are available for supporters under 30.

AIDS candlelight march Sunday in the Castro The Golden Gate Guards, Metropolitan Community ChurchSan Francisco, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will hold Candles on Castro Sunday, May 15 at

7 p.m. Part of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, people should gather at Castro and Market streets or Castro and 18 streets. Illuminated bags of remembrance will be available for a $5 donation, with proceeds going to AIDS Emergency Fund, Castro Community on Patrol, and Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners.

HIVision public forum Long a taboo subject, the search for a cure for HIV/AIDS has recently resurfaced as a hot topic among advocates and researchers.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, in partnership with the American Foundation for AIDS Research, Project Inform, and the Well Project, will present a public forum, “Is ‘Cure’ Still A Four-Letter Word?” Thursday, May 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street in San Francisco.

See page 10 >>

<< Mayor’s race

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Jane Philomen Cleland

Candidates Leland Yee, Phil Ting, Joanna Rees, Dennis Herrera, Tony Hall, Bevan Dufty, David Chiu, John Avalos, and Michela Alioto-Pier took to the stage at a candidates’ forum last week.

LGBT themes emerge at first mayoral forum

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

he theme of the first candidate forum in this year’s San Francisco mayoral race was public service, but that didn’t deter the nine leading candidates who took part from peppering their responses with references to LGBT concerns.

Taking the stage together for the first time, the seven men and two women running to be San Francisco’s next mayor spent 90 minutes Thursday, May 5 pitching themselves to a packed house of college students and residents gathered inside the McLaren Conference Center at the University of San Francisco, whose Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public

Service and the Common Good teamed up with the group buildOn to host the forum.

While none of the questions spoke directly about LGBT issues, several candidates’ remarks included not so subtle pitches to the city’s LGBT voters for their support.

One of the most blatant references came from District 11 Supervisor John Avalos, who in his closing statement stole a famous line that the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk used on the campaign trail back in the 1970s.

“I am John Avalos. I am a community builder and a community organizer. I want to recruit you to help rebuild San Francisco to make

it a city that works better for all of us,” said Avalos, incorporating Milk’s “I am here to recruit you” riff on the anti-gay belief that homosexuals recruit youth to replenish their ranks.

It wasn’t the first time that Avalos has associated himself with the gay civil rights leaders’ legacy. In a video interview where he discusses his mayoral bid, which he linked to on his Facebook account May 2, Avalos is seen wearing a T-shirt bearing an image of a mustached Milk.

While a new group called Queers for Avalos has formed to support his mayoral candidacy, not everyone is pleased to see him referencing Milk.

“I find it an insult. If he is running for mayor he should come up with an

original line. That man couldn’t shine Milk’s shoes,” said Wayne Friday, a former political columnist for the Bay Area Reporter who was close with Milk and who has donated to the campaigns of City Attorney Dennis Herrera and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty.

Avalos isn’t the only candidate utilizing allusions to Milk. Outside the conference center volunteers for candidate Joanna Rees, a venture capitalist, handed out a campaign flier with a cover photo showing her talking to a gentleman under signage reading “Harvey Milk Plaza.”

Visible in the background is a photographic memorial to Milk that greets people entering the Castro Muni station. During her forum remarks, Rees did not directly refer to the city’s LGBT residents but did allude to San Francisco’s reputation as a tolerant city.

“I moved here 18 years ago to raise a family because of the diversity, inclusiveness and commitment to community in San Francisco,” said Rees. “I love the fact we open our arms to the world and work hard to support all of our citizens.”

Several candidates made reference to the city’s diversity as being one of its strong points. Former Supervisor Tony Hall also hailed the city’s cultural makeup.

“When it comes to cultural, ethnic, and social differences in the communities we live in, we have to redefine our approach. We have to look at the strengths of each community – the African American, Asian, whatever community you want – we have to appreciate the differences they bring,” said Hall. “That is what it is all about, is appreciating our differences. Every group has a little bit of something to offer.”

Both District 3 Supervisor David Chiu and Herrera referred to the city’s leadership in the fight to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples.

“Our greatest moment, whether standing up for marriage equality or the environment, is when we get together to get things done,” said Chiu.

Herrera noted his office’s successful legal fight to overturn the state’s antigay marriage statutes as one example of how San Francisco leads the country on important issues.

“I have seen how local government has the power to impact people’s lives each and every day. On issues of national significance – marriage equality, choice, health care, guns and more – we have impacted people nationwide across this country, not just here in San Francisco,” said Herrera.

Dufty, so far the only gay top-tier candidate in the race, spoke of how his sexual orientation has not been a barrier in achieving his dreams since moving to town. Being in the mayoral race, he noted he gets invited places, such as Catholic churches and other venues, he “would never get to go to as a gay Jew.” He elicited approving giggles from the crowd when he praised the fact that local drag queen Pollo del Mar was invited to be a judge at a recent fundraiser for a Gaelic football club held at a Catholic church.

“That is what makes our city great,” said Dufty. ▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

<< The Sports Page

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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No Olympic post for former gymnast

by Roger Brigham

A

las, gymnast Peter Vidmar will not be serving as the chef de mission of Team USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

I was so looking forward to him partnering in the three-legged race with Canada’s Mark Tewksbury in the pre-event welcoming party for all of the Olympic team leaders.

The rise and fall of Vidmar’s selection as chief team liaison last week was the latest hiccup in the Olympic glacial evolution toward a gentler, kinder vision. When the United States Olympic Committee announced April 28 it was naming the gold medalist from Utah to be its chief liaison at the next Olympics, Vidmar issued a statement saying, “This role allows me to work with the USOC and national governing bodies to ensure that all Team USA athletes have the support they need to achieve their full potential at the Games. For many athletes, the opportunity to represent their country in the Olympic Games

comes only once, so it is crucial that this experience is as rewarding and successful as possible.”

But almost immediately, emails began flowing in to the USOC challenging Vidmar’s ability to represent all Olympians. Outsports. com followed with a blog post reporting on Vidmar’s public activism to help overturn same-sex marriage in California – he gave $2,000 to the Prop 8 cause and spoke out at a rally. That prompted a Chicago Tribune follow-up, which caught the attention of numerous other publications.

Even former Women’s Sports Foundation President Aimee Mullins, chef de mission for the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Games team, was quoted as saying Vidmar’s past actions “concerned and deeply saddened” her.

“The Olympic movement is about promoting equity for all,”

Mullins said.

At first, the USOC and Vidmar pleaded ignorance and irrelevance, the USOC saying it hadn’t known of Vidmar’s political activism when selecting him (note to USOC: One word – Google), and Vidmar saying, “I fully respect the rights of everyone to have the relationships they want to have. I respect the rights of all our athletes, regardless of their race, their religion or their sexual orientation.”

That is, of course, unless the relationship they want is marriage to a person of the same sex. You know: a fully committed, loving, legally recognized and acknowledged relationship. That right – not so much respect.

The USOC’s three-monkey defense held up about three nanoseconds. Vidmar resigned Friday, May 6. It didn’t set up the Times Square celebrations that the downfall of Osama bin Laden did, but fizzy bubbles tickled our noses all the same.

Knee-jerk apologists have been quick to say Vidmar was forced out because of his personal political views against same-sex marriage.

The reality is that Vidmar is a high profile public figure who has advertised his opposition to gay marital rights and as chef de mission would have to be an advocate for and representative of gay Olympians, closeted or otherwise. Trying to get access or accommodations for your significant other? Maybe you get a sense that the strength of the advocacy depends on whether your

books, put it in your minds, and get your governing bodies to come on board. Then maybe next time you vet your potential candidates, you won’t end up with a finalist who is for all of the athletes some of the time and some of the athletes all of the time, but never for all of them all of the time.

Hockey coaches discuss queer acceptance

Peter Vidmar’s public advocacy against marriage equality cost him his USOC liaison post for the 2012 London Olympics.

mate’s name is Eve or Steve.

And if Vidmar had been thrown out for his private views – well, aren’t the folks who are objecting to that ejection the same ones who are trying to get Judge Vaughn Walker’s verdict against Prop 8 thrown out because of his private life? Laws of physics and fair play say you can’t have it both ways.

London organizers are being incredibly proactive in trying to put an inclusive face on the 2012 Games, and the USOC has come a long way since it went after San Francisco organizers in 1982 over the name Gay Olympic Games. In late 2009, the USOC even said it was including sexual orientation in its employment non-discrimination policy.

But sexual orientation is still missing in the USOC’s discrimination policy in its bylaws, and that is where it could have real, visible social relevance. Put it on the

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DADT From page 1

“Today’s events underscore once again the unjust nature of this discriminatory chapter in American history,” said Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN executive director, in a statement.

“Her case established a new rule of law in the 9th Circuit, and her voice and story were pivotal in building support for the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ This is not just a victory for Major Witt – it’s a victory for justice and for service members everywhere.”

Witt, 46, joined the Air Force in 1987 and moved quickly up the ranks, becoming a major in 1999, working with a unit that provided airborne intensive care units for wounded military personnel. She received a number of commendations and even

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Guest Opinion From page 6

is a separate event organized by Welcome Ministry. Later, some plan to perform a peaceful street sweep with handmade brooms and signs, symbolizing the poor being displaced by lack of access to space and support.

Through stories and information, we will illuminate the local and national issues of homelessness among queer youth, much of which is caused by rejection by family and community, the high cost of

<<

News Briefs From page 7

Featured panelists will include: Dr. Maupali Das, director of research, HIV prevention section, Department of Public Health and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCSF; Dr. Steven Deeks, professor of medicine at UCSF and faculty,

The American Hockey Coaches Association included a discussion of homophobia in sports at its annual convention last month in Naples, Florida. The discussion was led by GForce Sports, a Denver-based gay sports club and advocacy group.

The convention brought together coaches from all levels from youth to the pros.

For information about Gforce, visit www.gforcesports.org.

Swim for Equality Equality California’s Swim for Equality will be held Pride Sunday, June 26 in San Francisco and Saturday, September 24 in Malibu.

The San Francisco event will be a 1.2-mile swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park, with swimmers being asked to raise $2,000 each while helping raise awareness for LGBT rights. Swimmers must be able to swim one mile comfortably in open water in 50 minutes or less and have completed at least two open water swims. (SwimArt offers $60, threehour clinics; see www.swim-art. com for details.)▼ For information, registration or how to get involved in Swim for Equality as a non-swimmer, check the Events menu on the EQCA Web site, www.eqca.org.

appeared on a recruitment poster.

She was discharged in 2006 for having acknowledged she had a relationship with a woman in Tacoma, Washington, where Witt was based. In the initial round of her lawsuit, she won –at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals level – the right to a trial on the merits of her individual discharge under DADT. During Witt’s trial, DOJ attorneys put on witnesses to discuss Witt’s relationship with a married civilian woman and argued that it was not just Witt’s sexual orientation but also her adulterous behavior to blame for her discharge. The government also noted that Witt had told at least two colleagues she was gay, thus putting them in an awkward position of either keeping silent to protect her or informing superior officers of Witt’s being in violation of the DADT law.▼ rent, criminalization, and a lack of employment opportunities and training.

It’s time for all LGBT organizations and our community to make homeless queer youth a priority by allocating resources to these vital services. Not from year to year, but for many years to come.▼ Beck, Adele Carpenter, and Tommi Avicolli Mecca are all members of the newly formed coalition, QUEEN, or Queers for Economic Equality Now.

Positive Health program at San Francisco General Hospital; Rowena Johnston, Ph.D., vice president and director of research, amFAR; and Matt Sharp, person with AIDS, treatment advocate, and writer. The panel will be moderated by the Well Project’s Shalini Eddens.

People interested in attending can RSVP online at www.sfaf.org or call (415) 487-3073.▼

▼ <<

Community News >>

EndUp

From page 1

Stiener, 41, and whose legal first name is Agnes, said she has already been part owner of the EndUp, and Leung said she has been in charge of producing events and some aspects of the club, which is at 401 Sixth Street, since 2005.

Stiener describes herself as “a big advocate of LGBT rights” and said anyone concerned about big changes has “nothing to worry about.”

“We want to continue basically the same life,” she said. “ ... There’s not going to be a whole lot of drastic changes, other than making it better for the community.”

Stiener said she and others would work to make the club look “cleaner” and improvements would include better sound and lighting.

Concerns about bar changes have taken center stage in recent weeks, largely because of the closure of the Eagle, which had been in existence for 30 years. However, the situation at the EndUp is different, Stiener said.

<<

Hints of disagreement Leung said with the accomplishments that have been made over the last six years, including

New EndUp owner Ynez Stiener

more efficient operation of the club, it’s “the right time to hand over the reins to Ynez, who is passionate about the EndUp and music.”

Stiener suggested last week there’d been some disagreement among management, but she didn’t offer much detail.

“We all want to be able to make the place better,” said Stiener.

“Sometimes it’s hard to do that when too many of us are making

Creatures From page 3

is the longest snake on display. His yellow color is a genetic fluke, and in the wild, would have made the nonvenomous constrictor easy prey to a predator.

“I love Lemondrop,” said Moran.

Later this summer an even longer snake is set to make an appearance as part of the show. The female Bali yellow head reticulated python is nearly 16 feet long and weighs 130 pounds, said Moran. Currently in quarantine, she will be introduced into the academy’s rainforest exhibit in early July and housed in the ground floor cave space.

“We don’t have a name for her

<<

“I know this is a sensitive issue for a lot of people,” said Stiener.

“People care about the EndUp and they care about who ends up with it, understandably so, as I care about it very, very much,” she said.

Along with Stiener, data on the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s website lists Kam Luen Cheung and Christian Morgenstern as members of Jook House Entertainment LLC, the group buying the EndUp. Stiener, who is listed as the managing member, said Cheung and Morgenstern are investors who live outside the country. She wouldn’t share their contact information.

She said property owner Carl Hanken is assigning the lease for the bar to her. She declined to say how much the rent would be. She also wouldn’t say when the lease expires.

Hanken couldn’t be reached for comment.

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Political Notebook From page 5

his refusal to not seek the death penalty. While Onek has said he “unequivocally” is against the death penalty, Gascón has not made a similar pledge.

The issue likely will be a major talking point in the race. In a sign of how important it may be, Gascón attempted to clear up his position in a May 1 op-ed piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.

He wrote that his experience as a police officer makes him “hesitant to say that I would never consider the death penalty” as D.A. But he also indicated he would support efforts to outlaw the death penalty in California.

“Rather than refuse to enforce our laws, I believe the more appropriate approach is to accept the law and

Jane Philomen Cleland

Meet Lemondrop, a lavender albino python, at the California Academy of Sciences’ new exhibit, “Snakes and Lizards: The Summer of Slither.”

work to change it,” added Gascón.

Supporters from the LGBT community, including both Wiener and Dufty, will join Gascón at his 11 a.m. kickoff event Saturday, May 14 at Harvey Milk Plaza. Following brief remarks, Gascón will do a merchant walk through the gayborhood.▼ Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check www. ebar.com Monday mornings around 10 a.m. for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion.

This week’s column reports on queer youth’s fight for access to a Castro rec center space.

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

Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

Obituaries >> Gary Wayne Powell August 29, 1949 – April 15, 2011

Gary (Garrison) Wayne Powell, occupational therapist, died April 15 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

He was 61 and had been living at Coming Home Hospice.

Gary was born in Hornell, New York on August 29, 1949. He is survived by two brothers: Bob (Hsiao-Ping Moore) of Birmingham, Michigan and Scott (Jane Powell) of Rochester, New York; three nephews: Aaron (Marisa Powell), Collin, and Matthew; two nieces, Jessica Bowen (Mike Bowen) and Amy; and one great niece, Nora.

Gary graduated from the University of Rochester in 1971 and the University of Buffalo in 1976. He was a licensed

occupational therapist and was widely known in the Bay Area for his work, which specialized in geriatrics, adolescent autism and Asperger’s, and dysphasia. He was active in the Sai Baba Center and a founding member of the Gay Men’s Spiritual Retreat. He was a life member of the Thomas Wolfe Society. Throughout his life and career, Gary sought new ways of thinking, experiencing, believing, and loving.

These he embraced, and implemented into all aspects of his professional, personal, and spiritual being. This rare man was above all else a healer and giver.

Gary will be interred in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Kane, Pennsylvania.

A celebration of his life will be held Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m. at the Sai Baba Center of San Francisco, 573 South Van Ness Avenue.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sai Baba Center or the Thomas Wolfe Society, c/o Bob Powell, 1509 Birmingham Boulevard, Birmingham, Michigan 48009-1994.

decisions or not making decisions.”

Asked if Leung had gotten in the way of changes, she said, “No, not necessarily,” and she added being in a partnership “means everybody’s got to agree.”

In response to emailed questions about Stiener’s comments, Leung said, “As in all partnership and business, different viewpoints always arise, as you would expect naturally.

We strive to make the EndUp a better and better place, and with different viewpoints, sometimes, decisions are bound to be deliberate.”

Stiener expects the sale to be complete by July. She suspects a staffing shortage at the state ABC department is delaying the completion of the liquor license transfer.

ABC spokesman John Carr couldn’t give specific reasons why the EndUp license transfer is still pending. Data from the department indicate the transfer has been on hold since March.

Asked about staff shortages, Carr said he didn’t think the ABC is “much different than any other state

organization.”

“We certainly have some vacancies at the department we haven’t filled, but we’re trying to move as fast as we can with what we’ve got,” Carr said.

Jocelyn Kane, executive director of San Francisco’s Entertainment Commission, indicated she doesn’t expect any problems with the EndUp getting a permit from the commission and said, “Ynez has been there forever, so we expect it to continue exactly how it’s been.”

In an April 19 letter to the Entertainment Commission, David Helton of Ghettodisco Promotions and Productions said Stiener “is one of the few people I look up to and respect in the nightlife industry. ... I am grateful to Ynez for all the work she has done. It’s a thankless job. But her generosity to the LGBT community – both in the form of monetary donations – and in time and kindness are unmatched.”

Stiener provided a copy of the letter to the Bay Area Reporter.

Helton didn’t respond to a request for comment.▼

yet. Some are already calling her Big Momma,” said Moran.

Having witnessed first-hand the misconceptions people have surrounding same-sex marriage and LGBT people in general, Moran has a unique understanding of the image problems snakes face.

“It is the whole thing of ‘Once you get to know them.’ It is the same thing with marriage,” he said.

Academy officials hope the show will lead the public to see snakes and their brethren in a new light.

“Snakes are not all bad. Hopefully, the next time you see a snake, please don’t hit it with a shovel. Walk the other direction instead,” implored Andrews.

San Francisco residents who live

in the 94110 and 94114 Zip codes, which covers the Mission, Bernal Heights, Noe Valley, and the Castro, will be offered free admission with proof of address to the academy during Pride weekend, which runs from Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26.

Otherwise, admission to the academy is $29.95 for adults; $24.95 for youth ages 12 to 17, seniors ages 65+, and students with valid ID; $19.95 for children ages 4 to 11; and free for children ages 3 and younger.

Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday.

For more information visit www. calacademy.org or call (415) 3798000.▼

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

Business Briefs

From page 4

gay blog Queerty are greatly exaggerated, as San Francisco-based website GayCities has announced acquisition of the highly-trafficked site.

On April 17, after a temporary outage, Queerty founder David Hauslaib posted a farewell note announcing that the blog was going to shut down. Immediately, GayCities founder Scott Gatz and his team reached out, and a plan was put into place for Queerty to join the GayCities family.

In a phone call with the B.A.R., Gatz indicated that he has no plans to change the site substantially.

“Queerty has a distinctive voice, and we want to preserve that. Our immediate goal is to bring Queerty back, and elevate it with some of the editorial expertise and worldwide reach we have with GayCities’ group of contributors,” said Gatz.

Among those contributors is Matt Baume, who also writes for the B.A.R. GayCities and Queerty have a combined audience of over 1 million readers, and to celebrate their new partnership the sites will be giving away a trip for two to Aruba. For details on the giveaway visit www.

GayCities.com or www.Queerty. com.

flower baskets proposed for the Castro district. The event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and features a variety of works by local artists.

The flower baskets are the brainchild of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, which hopes to have baskets hung throughout the commercial district by the late-summer tourist season.

According to CBD Executive Director Andrea Aiello, $5,210 has been raised so far toward a goal of $29,760. This amount would cover the initial installation of the baskets plus two years of maintenance.

Castro men’s clothing shop Citizen (536 Castro Street) has won special recognition from Londonbased apparel line Ben Sherman for having the window display which “best represented the identity and persona of the Ben Sherman brand.”

This past week, owner Petyr Kane and manager/buyer Josh Ellman were flown to London to meet the Ben Sherman creative team and to attend the launch of their newest line, Plectrum.

In the meantime, Citizen itself is prepping for a move to 489 Castro Street, the spot formerly occupied

by A Different Light Bookstore.

Renovations are under way, and Ellman estimates that the store will open in the new space in mid-June.▼ More online at ebar.com.

On Thursday, May 19, Herth Real Estate (555 Castro Street) is hosting an art show to benefit the hanging

Contact Raymond Flournoy at castroshopper@yahoo.com.

Milk Day From page 1

crowd similar to the one Milk used to deliver speeches at the same spot during the 1970s.

“We are calling it a ‘queen in.’ We are going to be hanging out in the plaza,” said Avicolli Mecca, a gay housing rights activist. “We are going to do what Harvey used to do and have people get up on a soapbox and talk about whatever they want.”

It is not being billed as a protest but more as an outdoor party.

Organizers are encouraging people to bring games to play and have invited musicians to perform.

“It is not a protest, it is like a be-in.

We want people to use the space,” said Avicolli Mecca. “The idea is to have fun. We are not there to be heavy duty political people.”

Nor are the two different Milk Day events meant to be dueling rallies, said Avicolli Mecca, noting that the “queen in” participants plan to march to Milk’s old camera space when the city event begins.

“We have no intentions of confronting anybody. It is Harvey Milk Day; we don’t want to confront,” said Mecca. “We are not trying to aggravate them or be in their way and disrupt them. We are doing our thing.”

District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose office has helped spearhead the city celebration, said he was not concerned about having two different events competing for people’s attention that day.

“No one has a monopoly on celebrating the holiday,” said Wiener, whose seat is considered to be the one Milk represented, although the men’s districts looked vastly different.

“It would make sense people plan different things. I wish them the best in their celebration of Harvey Milk Day.” The QUEEN group does plan to protest the Human Rights Campaign renting Milk’s old camera shop for its store and action center. The national LGBT rights group has said it plans to officially celebrate its opening in the storefront that day but has yet to release any details about its plans.

“We will address some issues we have with HRC. It is all going to be

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May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

peaceful,” said Avicolli Mecca.

At 7 p.m. the evening of the 22nd, El Rio in the Mission will host the LYRIC fundraiser. Organized by queer comic Simone Campbell, the show will feature a host of entertainers and performers, including Dottie Lux, Alotta Boutte, Isis Starr, Scott the Blue Bunny, and comics David Hawkins and Natasha Muse. A screening of the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk will follow the performances.

“I think it is important as an out queer performer in San Francisco to celebrate Milk Day. I felt I had to do something,” said Campbell. “I hope people come and bring their friends to come have a great time.”

The club is located at 3158 Mission Street at Cesar Chavez. Entrance costs $10 at the door.

The Milk foundation scrapped plans to host its own fundraiser in the city Sunday night. And Campbell said the foundation turned down her offer to partner with her on the El Rio event.

“I don’t know if they are doing something. I brought this to the table; they opted out, I guess,” she said.

According to its website at www. harveymilkday.co, San Francisco is listed as hosting the foundation’s “signature event to celebrate Harvey Milk Day” this year. But as of Wednesday, there was no information about what that event may entail.

A spokesman for the foundation told the B.A.R. this week that the organization’s “signature event” would be the city rally and march to Milk’s old storefront. Stuart Milk, Milk’s openly gay nephew who founded the Milk foundation, plans to be at the event.

“At this point, the foundation decided to just focus all efforts behind the public rally,” said Justin Knighten, of Sacramento-based Lucas Public Affairs, who is handling PR for the foundation.

As the B.A.R. reported last month, the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is reprising its Milk Day outdoor carnival and “Hotcakes for Harvey” breakfast fundraiser from last year. But the celebration of the school’s namesake will take place Saturday, May 21. ▼

PROGRAM DIRECTOR Resources for Human Development, Inc. (RHD) (www.rhd.org) is seeking a full-time Program Director for a new Housing and Drug & Alcohol Treatment program for 18 transgender adult individuals.

Ideal candidate will be a member of the transgender community, and have a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree preferred) in a clinical field, with prior drug & alcohol experience. In addition, the candidate will have 3-4 years experience providing clinical services to transgender individuals.

Three to four years of experience managing and supervising others, and managing a program required.

Please send your resume and cover letter with salary expectations to Debbie Kulp, by email: mgh@rhd. org, for consideration. EOE.

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May 12-18, 2011 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

Legal Notices>>

Legal Services>>

state of california in and for the county of san francisco file# cnc-11-547660

Statement of abandonment of use of ficticious business name: #A-0320452-00

In the matter of the application of NICHOLAS KAYE ROSING for change of name. The application of NICHOLAS KAYE ROSING for change of name having been filed in Court, and it appearing from said application that NICHOLAS KAYE ROSING filed an application proposing that his/her name be changed to RICKY DAVID WRIGHT. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Room 218 on the 14th of JUNE, 2011 at 9:00 am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as HA TIEN HUT, 1109 Ocean Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112.This business was conducted by a corporation, signed Steve Cheng. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/09/09.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033492100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as WAROE LLC,71 Stevenson St.,Suite 400 San Francisco,CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company,signed Daniel Asfaha. 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 04/15/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033494900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as J&M HEALTH SPA, 1560 Noriega St.,San Francisco,CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Meili Ji.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/18/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/18/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033492300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.SAN FRANCISCO REALTY, 2. .SAN FRANCISCO HOUSES, 3.BAY AREA HOUSES, 4.BAY BROKER,101 California St., #2450, San Francisco,CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Steve Atkinson. 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 04/15/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033494100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as JIM XU MARBLE, 1034 Sutter St.,Apt. 5, San Francisco,,CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Ji Xin Xu.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/15/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033493100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 5 STAR UNITED, 3601 Cabrillo St., San Francisco,,CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Igor Belov.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/15/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 Statement of abandonment of use of ficticious business name: #A-0326148-02 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as UNITED ARTISTS INTERNATIONAL,3601 Cabrillo St., San Francisco, CA 94121.This business was conducted by an individual, signed Igor Belov.

The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/05/10.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 Statement of abandonment of use of ficticious business name: #A-0300916-02 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as SUSHI FACTORY,901 Kearny St., San Francisco, CA 94133.This business was conducted by a general partnership, signed Aoieong ,Chim Peng.

The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/26/07.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033461200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MEANINGLESS WORLD RECORDS, 4918 California St.,#2, San Francisco,,CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Nathan Pugh.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/01/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011 statement file A-033489300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.BLINK, 2.BY THE WAY, 3.BTW, 522 2nd St.,San Francisco,,CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Bruce Slesinger. 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 04/14/11.

apr 21,28,may 5,12,2011

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 state of california in and for the county of san francisco file# cnc-11-547677 In the matter of the application of SARAH NICHOLE MANGAN for change of name. The application of SARAH NICHOLE MANGAN for change of name having been filed in Court, and it appearing from said application that SARAH NICHOLE MANGAN filed an application proposing that his/her name be changed to SARAH MANGAN MILLER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Room 218 on the 28th of JUNE, 2011 at 9:00 am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033473100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TAJ EXPRESS INDIAN CUISINE, 525 Valencia St.,San Francisco,,CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Uday Shetty.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/07/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/07/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033512800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LAW’S GENERAL SERVICE, 486 Dewey Blvd.,San Francisco, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Marco Law. 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 04/25/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033511100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PRECISION DENTAL CARE, 44 Monterey Blvd.,San Francisco, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Ronald Green Tanega. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/22/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033502900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SARAH K. SPENCER PSYCHOTHERAPY, 842 California St.,San Francisco, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Sarah Spencer Weinberg. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/20/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/20/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033482500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO FURNITURE OUTLET,104 9th St.,San Francisco, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Semi Hong,The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/12/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033493000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as HA TIEN HUT, 1109 Ocean Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Jerry Cheng.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/12/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/12/11.

apr 28,may 5,12,19,2011 statement file A-033535400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LATITUDE 20 SOUTH, 3118 22nd St., San Francisco, CA 94110-3219. This business is conducted by an individual, signed James B. Lappin Jr. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/26/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033500000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO SURGICAL ARTS, 301Main St., Unit 1A,San Francisco, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed A. Michael Sodeifi.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 04/19/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011

To view our expanded Classifieds, visit us at:

statement file A-033537800

statement file A-033531400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BABCOCK & DONNE, 233 5TH Ave., San Francisco, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, signed John A. Hiser. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/11.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIVE STAR WINERY TRADING COMPANY, 181 Taraval St., San Francisco, CA 94116, This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Derrick Luu.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/02/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/02/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033481400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BANKERS PREFERRED, 88 Kearny St.,3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Brett McGovern. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/15/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/11/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033509600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as KINTON GROUP, 501 Beale St.,#5A, San Francisco, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Ken Morimoto.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 04/22/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033522000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LET’S CUPCAKE, 2255 Judah St., San Francisco, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Ken Chen.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/27/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/27/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033516200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PUPPLAY, 4455 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114.

This business is conducted by an individual, signed Eric Chamberlain.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 04/26/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033518500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as STAR 16, 2074 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Michael Wannaviroj. 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 04/26/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033485100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PRIORE LAW, 1025 Minna St., #G, San Francisco, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Kenneth Priore.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/13/11.

may 5,12,19,26, 2011 statement file A-033545800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIMPLY BRILLIANT PRESS, 110 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94104, This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Scott Ellis.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 05/06/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033546000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIMPLY BRILLIANT PRESS, 2336 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94114, This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Scott Ellis. 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 05/06/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033535800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SF REIKI CENTER, 1167 Bush St., #504, San Francisco, CA 94109, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Christopher Tellez.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/03/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033546500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as COMPUTER TIME, 4342 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94124, This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Fred Zupancic.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/06/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033537900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TL CAFÉ, 393 Eddy St., San Francisco, CA 94102, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Tony Tran.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/04/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033530700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CS TRUCKING & TRANSPORT, 457 Wheeler Ave., San Francisco, CA 94134, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Charles M. Shepard III. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/02/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 Statement of abandonment of use of ficticious business name: #A-0331938-02 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as ALL-PHASE TILE,33 Dorman Ave., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94124.This business was conducted by an individual, signed Peter Mar. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/05/10.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS -GENERAL INFORMATION The SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT (“District”), 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California, is advertising for proposals to Provide Supplier Services for the Rental of Digital Monochrome Copy Machines at Various District Offices/Facilities, Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 6M4137, on or about May 7, 2011, with proposals due by 2:00 PM local time, Tuesday, June 21, 2011.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED The District is soliciting the services of a Supplier to provide for the rental of seventy-nine (79) new digital monochrome copy machines and associated maintenance at various District Offices/Facilities for a term of 3 years with options to renew for 2 additional one-year periods. The District may also exercise its option to order ten (10) additional copy machines within 240 calendar days from the Notice to Proceed. A Pre-Proposal Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2011. The Pre-Proposal Meeting will convene at 10:00 AM in District Offices located at 300 Lakeside Drive, 17thFloor, Conference Room No. 1700. At the Pre-Proposal Meeting the District’s Non-Discrimination Program for Subcontracting will be explained. All questions regarding MBE/ WBE participation should be directed to Ms. Ruby Smith, Office of Civil Rights at (510) 464-6324 – FAX (510) 464-7587. Prospective proposers are requested to make every effort to attend this only scheduled Pre-Proposal Meeting, and to confirm their attendance by contacting the District’s Senior Contract Administrator, telephone (510) 464-6390, prior to the date of the Pre-Proposal Meeting.

WHERE TO OBTAIN OR SEE RFP DOCUMENTS(Available on or after May 5, 2011) Copies of the RFP may be obtained: (1) By written request to the District’s Senior Contract Administrator, Ms. Irene G. Gray, 300 Lakeside Drive, 17th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612.

Reference RFP No. 6M4137, Rental of Digital Monochrome Copy Machines at Various District Offices/Facilities and send requests to Fax No. (510) 464-7650. (2) By arranging pickup at the above address. Call the District’s Senior Contract Administrator, (510) 464-6390 prior to pickup of the RFP. (3) By email request to igray@bart. gov Dated at Oakland, California this 3rd day of May, 2011. /s/ Kenneth A. Duron, District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 5/12/11 • CNS-2095923# • BAY AREA REPORTER

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Vol. 41 • No. 19 • May 12-18, 2011

Yale Glee Club to perform in concert with Darren Criss ~ by Jim Provenzano ~ The Yale Glee Club is coming to SF.

C

horal groups have become a lot more popular recently, thanks to the hit Fox show Glee. One of America’s most prominent choral groups, the Yale Glee Club, doesn’t need a TV program to boost its reputation. The Yale group will sing at Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco on Sat., May 14.

Although they’ve been wowing audiences for 150 years, the Yale Glee Club might be

momentarily overshadowed by their guest singer, Darren Criss, whose performances in Glee as Blaine, the gay love interest to Kurt, have grown millions of fans. At the heart of both the TV show’s storyline and this Saturday’s concert is a serious topic: bullying.

With a flood of suicides resulting from teen bullying, fighting antigay violence has become a notable cause for many, from online videos to benefits.

Along their busy national tour, Michael Dobbs, Director for Major Cities for the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA), replied to a few e-mailed questions about the upcoming concert, as did Artistic Director Jeffrey Douma.

Dobbs described the Yale Glee Club as fairly competitive, with about 150 people auditioning for 80 positions. With perhaps a dozen Glee Club members who are also music majors, Dobbs said, “Our best undergraduate

Pushing the art envelope Works by Romare Bearden & Jacques Villeglé show in SF

musicians are majoring in other fields, and chose Yale because they knew they would have many opportunities to sing.”

The repertory is somewhat demanding, a broad spectrum of choral music from the past 400 years, from the Renaissance to the present day. “Because this is our 150th anniversary year, we also have a set of pieces premiered by the Glee Club in recent years by composers See page 29 >>

The Family (1975), etching and aquatint, edition 25,

by Romare Bearden.

by Sura Wood

W

hen the remarkably fruitful collaboration between Pablo Picasso and George Braque forged the brandnew art-form of collage (they also originated Cubism), the barrier that had separated the lofty aerie of fine art from real life dissolved. They couldn’t have imagined how ubiquitous collage would become, but since that seminal development, a myriad of artists of lesser or greater ability have adopted, co-opted, experimented and dabbled in collage, using it as either an adjunct, jumpingoff point, or main event of their art practice. The

results have been uneven, ranging from ingenious and radical to bewildering, excessive and just plain junky. Two very different 20th-century artists from vastly different cultural backgrounds push the envelope in a pair of exhibitions now on view in the city.

From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden at MoAD is a thrilling show that wraps viewers in its warm embrace because of the consummate mastery of the artist and the deep, abiding humanity of the man himself, See page 28 >>

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

Courtesy of Alex Rosenberg, NY, NY

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Masterpiece library

by Roberto Friedman

L

ebar.com

ike everyone else who has access to the Internet and the fullest panoply of electronic gadgets ever invented for our own distraction, Out There finds it an increasing struggle to concentrate on one thing at a time. Perhaps that’s why we’ve had a lifelong love affair with books: there are no pop-ups or hot links in them, so we’re not tempted by the digital sideshow.

Here are a few books we’ve been reading in our off-hours.

The Lost Michelangelos by Antonio Forcellino, translated by Lucinda Byatt (Polity), tells the story of Italian art restorer and scholar Forcellino’s long road to establishing that two Renaissance paintings, the Pieta with Mary and Two Angels and the Cavalieri Crucifixion, could authoritatively be attributed to the studio of great gay artist Michelangelo Buonarotti.

Forcellino picks up the trail en

medias res, in Niagara Falls, NY of all places, but his researches take him all over the world and involve a fair amount of document-sifting in libraries, treasure-hunting papers and letters left by noble figures who figure in the story of the paintings’ provenance. “I had come across many of these men in letters and books,” he writes; some “had had their faces immortalized in paintings by Titian and Sebastiano del Piombo. A few were just faceless names, but these were the most exciting ones because I could give them faces of my own choice, pieced together from the character traits I found in their letters.”

Clearly, the hunt was at least as gratifying for Forcellino as the goal, as he describes the appeal of investigative scholarship. Private letters can offer literary rewards.

“For instance, [Archbishop of Ragusa, Ludovico] Beccadelli describes ‘the fresh melons from Lunghezza which arrived the day before yesterday,’ ‘a bout of catarrh I can’t shake off,’ and ‘the memory of the wonderful summer that you, Monsignor Pole, and I spent at the villa in Pradalbino.’” The very same Pole is now believed to be the original owner of the Pieta with Mary +2.

The author’s description of the “true bliss” experienced by an art restorer at work seems almost erotic. “The slow but steady results of reinstating the marble surfaces were very satisfying, and even the proximity of the statues, the perfection of the carving and the beauty of their forms generated, as always, a feeling of well-being that relegated every other requirement, even physical ones, into second place.”

Through a circuitous route that begins with some unpublished letters from Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, son of the important Renaissance figure Isabella d’Este, and runs through the deciphering of wax seals and notes of sale, Forcellino establishes the paintings’ provenance and their link to the Michelangelo studio. An unlikely and rather miraculous piece of art history is made.

King Queer If you’re looking for clues to Romeo and Mercutio’s secret romance in the new academic

volume Shakesqueer – A Queer Companion to the Complete Works of Shakespeare, edited by Madhavi Menon (Duke), you’re barking up the wrong yew tree. American University professor Menon and her queer-theorist contributors find queerness in Shakespeare in that term’s most all-encompassing meaning of oddball, unusual, or non-normative. But when you come to think of it, fairy queen Titania falling in love with an ass named Bottom is pretty queer, in all senses of the word.

In fact. the essay on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Shakespeare’s Ass Play” by Richard Rambuss, makes a strong case for its inherent anal erotics. Alas, “the space the play magically opens in Act 3 to interspecies sodomy is closed off in Act 4 when the spell is lifted and Titania returns, tail between her legs, to her proper mate, the bullying Oberon.” (This chapter is also notable in staking a claim on ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, “who wore a bridle and let himself be ridden by Phyllis, making him the first ponyboy.” This dom-sub horseplay is illustrated by a 16th-century woodcut.)

The other Shakespearean comedies and tragedies, along with the sonnets, also get fine-toothcombed for their queer nature.

Take this description of a “popinjay who is said to have appeared inappropriately at Hotspur’s victory” in Henry IV Part 1: “He was perfumed like a milliner, And twixt his finger and his thumb he held a pouncet-box, which ever and anon, He gave his nose, and took’t away again.” Snuff queen.

Jeannie dreams Lest you think we sit around reading nothing but scholarly tomes, another book that has made a quick tour of our nightstand is Jeannie Out of the Bottle, the “magical, heartwarming memoir” by actress Barbara Eden with Wendy Leigh (Crown). There we read behind-the-scenes I Dream of Jeannie stories such as series creator Sidney Sheldon’s explanation of leading man Larry Hagman’s temper. “Suddenly, Larry found himself in a show with a beautiful, half-naked girl, and there was no way that it would be his show. I tried everything, but it was always only Jeannie the public was interested in, and through five seasons he became frustrated and very angry.”

See page 26 >>

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Theatre >>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Joan Marcus

Showman Hugh Jackman throws off sparks in San Francisco.

Flirt deluxe

by Richard Dodds

I

f Broadway and Hollywood hadn’t beckoned, Hugh Jackman might have become the world’s most desirable flasher. Not that he exposes any part of his body that the 7-yearold girl in the front row, whom Jackman repeatedly chatted up on the opening night of his dazzling show, couldn’t see in a G-rated Disney film.

But the omni-flirty Jackman seems to revel in throwing off sexual sparks, turning even the rolling up of his shirt sleeves into a teasing suggestion of more to come. The audience eats it up, and it certainly looks like it’s charging Jackman’s batteries as well.

When his tight trousers ripped up the back seam after some kungfu-fighting choreography, he didn’t retire to the wings for a trousers swap. He simply stripped down to his

undies while a new pair of pants was trotted out. He blithely provides his own thunder from Down Under.

What makes it all work is that Jackman is a super-charged charmer with talent to back up his nonthreatening sexual allure. In a way, Jackman is kind of a throwback to stars who could shuttle between virile screen roles and slick nightclub gigs with the ease of shooting a seven with a pair of loaded dice. Jackman pulls it off with nary a whiff of mothballs in his bag of tricks, high kicks, and sexy self-confidence.

Through whatever alchemy wielded by Carole Shorenstein Hayes, the Best of Broadway producer whose name Jackman frequently invoked, San Francisco is the only city in which this concert is currently planned. (Though I can’t imagine See page 20 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Theatre>>

Isle woebegone

by Richard Dodds

P

bartabsf.com

erhaps because I just got a big dose of Three Sisters at Berkeley Rep, I began thinking of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan as an inside-out variation on Chekhov’s classic.

While the Russian sisters long to leave their stultifying provincial town for cosmopolitan Moscow, the characters living in Inishmaan on Ireland’s Aran Islands don’t bother speculating on a life beyond their shores. Not that they don’t like some positive reinforcement from time to time. “Ireland musn’t be such a bad place,” the characters repeat whenever an exotic visitor such as a Frenchman, a Negro, and a film director pass through the Emerald Isle.

The year is 1934, and the filmmaker is real-life documentarian Robert Flaherty, who is shooting Man of Aran on an island adjacent to Inishmaan. In a place where a sheep being born without ears passes for big news, the Flaherty production is the story of the century. Yet life goes on with almost ritualistic regularity in a village where your role in life seems to be assigned at birth.

Cal Performances is presenting this co-production between New York’s Atlantic Theatre Company and Ireland’s Druid Theatre. First staged in Druid’s hometown of Galway, it has been touring the UK and the States. Populated with Irish actors, and staged by Druid founder Garry Hynes (a Tony winner for McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane), the production resonates with a lived-in authenticity.

Those who known McDonagh from such grisly plays as Leenane, The Pillowman, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore might be surprised at how tame the 1996 Inishmaan is –

Ros Kavanagh

Tadhg Murphy plays the title character in The Cripple of Inishmaan, now in the Bay Area as a stop on a tour that began in Ireland.

tame, at least, in terms of physical violence. But the townsfolk can be casually cruel as they create their own long-running soap opera. They can also be wickedly funny.

The title character, whom everyone calls Cripple Billy, is a gentle young man with a clubfoot and a withered arm. He lives with a couple of biddies (his aunt and her likely lesbian partner) who run a meagerly stocked general store. (If you’re looking for canned peas, you’re in luck.) “Billy has a sweet face,” says one of his aunties, “if you ignore the rest of him.” Counters the second auntie, “Poor Bill’ll never be getting kissed, unless it be by a blind girl.”

Billy was orphaned as an infant when his parents drowned, either by accident or by suicide prompted by the sight of their disfigured son, a mystery that continues to haunt Billy. He is the only character who really wants out of Inishmaan, and concocts a way to get to the island where Flaherty is shooting his movie, and eventually to America. It turns out to be a round-trip journey with

<<

Hugh Jackman From page 19

Jackman won’t want more of the rush he exuded, and received, on opening night.) He’s at the Curran, by the way – or “Kern,” as his Aussie accent would have it.

As his character Curly did in his breakthrough performance in the 1998 London revival of Oklahoma!, Jackman starts the show off-stage, singing a cappella the opening verse of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” before striding into view while the 17-piece onstage orchestra provides lush backing. From there, the repertoire zigs to Dreamgirls, zags to Elvis, and zeroes in on a recreation of his acclaimed performance as the flamboyant Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. You never really know where Jackman is headed next, from Las Vegas glitz (his two spangled backup singers look like they could be invitees at a conventioneer’s hotelroom party) to probably the first time the eight-part “Rock Island” from The Music Man has ever been performed as a solo. He makes a big deal about his bifurcated career, how studio execs supposedly fret that he’ll undermine his action-hero image as

heartbreaking consequences.

Dearbhlay Molloy and Ingrid Craigie are wonderful as the alwaysfretting aunties, and Tadhg Murphy brings an empathetic, woebegone charm to the role of Billy. Other characters, all delightfully played, and who always bring their own little bundles of chaos to the situation, include town gossip JohnnyPattenMike (Dermot Crowley), his grousing alcoholic mother (Nancy E. Carroll), the town’s bad girl Slippy Helen (Claire Dunne), and her simpleton brother Bartley (Laurence Kinlan), whose obsession is limited to any kind of candies that the aunties don’t carry in the store.

As a playwright, McDonagh can fall back on contrivances, and while he isn’t obviously a celebrant of our species, he is a masterful interpreter of the human comedy.▼ The Cripple of Inishmaan will run at Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus through May 14. Tickets are $68. Call (510) 642-9988.

Wolverine from an upcoming X Men sequel if he indulges in fruity musical theater. This leads into his delightful “I Won’t Dance” medley, though he offered the same setup when he performed this piece of specialty material at the Tony Awards in 2005.

I’m not quite sure why Richard Marx, who had some pop hits in the 1980s and 90s, shows up for one duet. Two didgeridoo players from Australia also only get a single number, accompanying Jackman on “Over the Rainbow,” but this moment packs an emotional wallop as Jackman makes a plea for reconciliation between aboriginals and settlers through music and culture.

Jackman is a unique hybrid on the current showbiz landscape, and this concert show celebrates that fact with a performance generous not only in the sweat of his go-forbroke pizzazz but in the rapport he establishes with the audience. I’m not ashamed to admit that a silly smile never left my face from start to finish.▼ Hugh Jackman will be at the Curran Theatre through May 15. Tickets are $40-$250.

Call (800) SHN-1799 or go to www.shnsf.com.

▼

TV >>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall will appear at the GLAAD show.

Gay media love

by Adam Sandel

G

LAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, celebrates 25 years as the media advocate and watchdog for the LGBT community. This year’s starstudded GLAAD Media Awards on Sat., May 14, at the Marriot Marquis will honor high-profile LGBT films and advocates, including Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall.

Glee’s Naya Rivera, who plays the recently out cheerleader Santana, will host the event, which will also honor out tech columnist Kara Swisher and corporate ally AT&T. Special guests will include Mario Lopez, Grey’s Anatomy’s Sara Ramirez, Oscar-winning Milk writer Dustin Lance Black, Oscarnominated The Kids Are All Right writer/director Lisa Cholodenko, hunky rugby icon Ben Cohen, Tabatha Coffey (Tabatha’s Salon Takeover), Louis Van Amstel (Dancing with the Stars) and True Blood’s Nelsan Ellis, among others.

It’s hard to tell whether Cattrall’s Sex and the City character Samantha has inspired or was inspired by legions of gay men, but the actress is being honored with the Golden Gate Award for her personal and professional work. According to GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios, “Kim Cattrall has not only grown acceptance of our community through storylines on shows like Sex and the City, but used her platform to speak out for equality.”

The recognition of Cattrall’s work for the LGBT community comes after an interview with The Advocate in which she spoke about her support for marriage equality for gay people.

She is also recognized for her part in a SATC storyline during which Samantha has a lesbian relationship with her friend Maria.

Cattrall acknowledges her debt to her gay male fans. “Where would I be without gay men? I love gay men.” Although most gay men recognize her as Samantha, she says, “Some know me from [the 1987 film] Mannequin, and some know Big Trouble in Little China. Some know me just from my theater work.

I have a couple of gentlemen who traveled all the way from New York to Liverpool to see me in Antony and Cleopatra. I’m overwhelmed that someone cares enough to follow me where my career goes.”

In Cattrall’s recent independent film Meet Monica Velour, she plays an over-the-hill (and slightly overweight) porn star who’s

struggling as a single mom to make ends meet. The role couldn’t be further from the high-powered, oversexed Samantha.

Also representing the gay-friendly film community at the GLAAD Media Awards is screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, whose career has skyrocketed since winning the Oscar for Milk. Black worked on the GLAAD-nominated documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition. “I was contacted by the film’s director Reed Cowan to narrate the film,” he says.

“I was a kid just like him who grew up in the Mormon Church, and I ended up collaborating with him on the film. It was important to me not to mock the religion, but to hold them accountable for what they did in backing that proposition. My goal was to make it fair and honest, not religion-bashing.”

Black had always been involved in the struggle for LGBT equality.

“But after Milk, the Oscar, and my acceptance speech, more people have been listening. In Hollywood, more people are also willing to take my calls and hear my pitches.” One of those people was Clint Eastwood, who recently finished directing J. Edgar, Black’s biopic of closeted FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover. The film, set to open next fall, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, and The Social Network’s Armie Hammer as his reported lover, Clyde Tolson.

“I wanted to explore what happens to a powerful man who was closeted,” says Black. “Without Milk, no one would have listened.” He describes working with Eastwood as a writer’s dream. “He wanted to include me, I was on the set every day, and he was so interested in the history. Leo knocked it out of the park. He worked incredibly hard, and he’s one of the best actors we have. And I love Armie. He’s a great guy, a real rising star, and he’s not hard to look at, either.”

For its portrayal of yet another aspect of the gay experience, it’s not a stretch to predict that J. Edgar may be among the nominees for next year’s GLAAD Media Awards. In the meantime, Saturday night’s event will celebrate the strides made in the media over this past year by LGBT artists and allies, and the social changes that have been made over the 25-year history of GLAAD.▼ GLAAD Media Awards, Sat., May 14, SF Marriott Marquis, 55 4th St, SF. Tickets ($350): www.glaad.org/mediaawards/ 22/sf or (212) 219-0111.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Paul Dano in Meek’s Cutoff, a work of grade-A, Sundance-approved revisionist American history.

Film >>

Oregon or bust!

by David Lamble

T

ebar.com

he deliberately-paced “preWestern” Meek’s Cutoff, from feminist, queer-friendly director Kelly Reichardt, is a work of grade-A, Sundance-approved revisionist American history. Now playing in the Bay Area, this wagon-train saga has women who can handle a long rifle, and men who range from passive to an incipient lynch-mob.

Reichardt has spent a profitable decade exploding myths about male friendship (Old Joy) and homeless drifters (Wendy and Lucy).

In her third feature she gives us a female-driven, pre-Civil War “adult Western” inspired by the diaries of women traveling in wagons

along the Oregon Trail circa 1845.

The movie plants us down among disoriented settler families who suspect their guide has gotten them dangerously lost. With a top-flight indie cast – Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood and Paul Dano – framed in the classic square-box aspect ratio of pre-WWII Westerns, the story focuses on the unceasing monotony of the journey. The nighttime, naturally-lit cinematography makes it pretty hard to put faces to the muttering voices of mutiny against the nasty Meek. Veteran Canadian actor Greenwood uses a kind of black-influenced dialect for Meek, and he’s grown a bushy, faceobscuring beard that might induce a tip of the cap from the Giants’ “Fear the Beard” closer Brian Wilson.

Williams draws on her early TV training (Dawson’s Creek) to ratchet up the tension as a guns-a-blazin’ shootout seems possible between her Emily and Meek. The everreliable Dano is used subtly in the role of a youngish aspiring settler whose underlining timidity makes him a great candidate to lead a sudden eruption of mob justice.

The trickiest and most enigmatic part of Reichardt’s moral fable involves the film’s sole Native

American character, called simply “the Indian,” and played with skill by veteran stuntman Rod Rondeoux.

The Indian becomes a prisoner of the settlers, many of whom are fearful that Meek’s incompetence as a guide, or perhaps treachery, has led them into a possible massacre situation. Reichardt expertly invokes their mob psychology while neatly undercutting it with the sight of the Indian possibly helping the group find a desperately needed water hole, or maybe luring them to a parched desert debacle.

Conjuring up the bleak beats of Peter Weir’s early Aussie masterwork Picnic at Hanging Rock, and providing a sort of feminist rejoinder to such John Ford classics as The Searchers, Reichardt has also, perhaps unintentionally, evoked what was best about so-called adult oaters like Gunsmoke and Wagon Train. Here, there is no resolute white guy with a gun to sort things out. As the Indian wanders out of the frame in the inconclusive but stirring finale, we are left with the disorienting vertigo of what can happen when old myths are debunked but nothing persuasive is erected in their place. Everything old is new again.▼

DVD >>

Student affairs

by David Lamble

I

was surprised how much I enjoyed Bloomington, a succulent, lesbian bodiceripper from Brazilian-born Fernanda Cardoso, who’s done her homework on the inside baseball of both WB network-style TV and the incestuous precincts of Midwest academia.

This is a fantastic résumé piece for all three female leads: Sarah Stouffer as the freshman psych major eager to discover if there’s life after primetime TV stardom; Allison McAtee, who reminds one of a young Kathleen Turner as the lesbian abnormalpsych seductress professor; and Katherine Ann McGregor, as the controlling mom who’s desperate to be neither cliché stage-mother nor a mere prop in her daughter’s fight for fame.

Cardoso, from a land that exults in soap opera, understands that the

real issue in student/teacher affairs is often one of appearances. This very funny and honest film is a glorious homage to all those who lack impulse control. Features: Widescreen. (Wolfe Video, $24.95)▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

The Lily’s Revenge @ Magic Theatre

Queer Ballroom @ Magnet Same-sex salsa, tango, swing dance lessons and more. 2nd Saturdays. Free. 7pm-9pm.

4122 18th St. www.magnetsf.org

Playwright-performer Taylor Mac’s vaudeville drag theatre music extravaganza about a flower who wants to become a man. With dozens of talented performers and diversionary “recess” intermissions between amazing set changes, the four hours fly by. Dinner ($15 sandwich box), beer, wine and beverages available. $20$75. Tue-Sat 7pm. Also Sun 2:30pm. Bldg. D, Fort Mason Center, Marina Blvd at Buchanan St. Thru May 22. 441-8822. www.theoffcenter.org www.magictheatre.org

Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Exhibit of personal artwork, collected work and archival materials showing how the lesbian poet’s life, mostly in Paris, changed over the decades before and after WWII. Free-$10.

Thru Sept. 6. 11am-5pm daily (closed Wed), Thu 1pm-8pm. 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Loveland @ The Marsh

Out&About

by Jim Provenzano

Sounds Great Music to fight bullying? Sounds great! Saturday, May 14, the Yale Glee Club and Darren Criss (above) perform at the Marines Memorial Theatre in a Gala Performance to End Bullying, with the historic Yale singers, Yale’s GALA (LGBT Alumni Association), and Glee star Darren Criss. $125-$250. 6:30pm pre-party (plus $50) and concert at 8pm. Proceeds benefit New Conservatory Theatre Center’s Youth Aware Program, and No Bully. 609 Sutter St. www.nctcsf.org www.marineclub.com/theatre.php Rock out with Eric Himan (left) and Namoli Brennet Monday, May 16 at El Rio. The out gay folk-rock singersongwriter performs with the Tucson-based artist as they share songs from their new CDs, Supposed Unknown and Black Crow. $5. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. at Cesar Chavez. 282-3325. www.erichiman.com www.

Fri 13 >> Angels in America @ LGBT Center Local restaging of the classic Tony and Pulitzer-winning Tony Kushner play about AIDS, Mormons and Reagan’s America in the 1980s. $15-$30. Thru May 14. 1800 Market St. (800) 838-3006. www.angelsinamericasf.com

As You Like It @ Zeum Theater American Conservatory Theatre’s student production –with core acting ensemble alumni– of the Shakespeare romantic comedy. $20. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also Sat 2pm.

Thru May 28. Yerba Buena Gardens, 4th St. at Howard. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Bali @ Asian Art Museum Art, Ritual and Performance, an expansive exhibit of more than 100 historic art works in exhibits that showcase the practicality of the performing and visual arts in this beautiful culture. Special performances and interactive workshops throughout exhibit run; May 12, Makrokosma Bali, a musical work with video and soundscapes. $10 includes exhibit admission. 5pm-9pm. Also May 13, 8pm; May 14, 7pm & 9pm, May 15, 1pm. $20-$37. Reg. admission: $7-$17. Reg. hours Tue-Sun 10am5pm. Thu til 9pm. Thru Sept. 11. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Battlin’ Bluebirds @ Dolores Park Café Blair Hansen joins the Cincinatti blues band in a dual bill. 7:30pm.-10:30pm. 501 Dolores St. at 18th. 621-2936. www.doloresparkcafe.com

Beauty and the Beat @ de Young Museum Party and celebration of the Balenciaga and Spain exhibit, with live music by Trio Paz, DJed Latin tunes by Djette Dulcinea, and a beauty bar, plus drinks. Free, or with museum admission. 6pm-8:45pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.famsf.org

Del Shores’ A Sordid Affair @ The Rrazz Room Creator of the campy Sordid Affair series performs a stage act about his stand-up tour, with several Sordid actors. $35-$45. 9:30pm.

Also May 14, 9:30pm & May 15, 7:30pm.

Hotel Nikko lobby, 222 Mason St. at O’Farrell.

(866) 468-3399. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Eat Our Shorts @ Stage Werx Guy Writers presents seven short plays, with gay male themes set in one apartment, by Joe Besecker, Rodney Clay, Joseph Frank, Tom W. Kelly and others. $10-$15. 8pm. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Thru May 21. 533 Sutter St. www.guywritersonline.org www.stagewerx.org

Hugh Jackman @ Curran Theatre Handsome star of stage and films performs a musical review with a 17-piece orchestra. $40-$250. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm.

Thru May 15. 445 Geary St. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

International Banned Pride Photos @ Magnet Photographers Sarah Baxter and Chad Meacham’s fascinating 15-country photo exhibit of banned and underground LGBT Pride marches in Moscow, Lithuania, Istanbul and other cities worldwide.

Exhibit thru May. 4122 18th St. at Castro. www.walkwithpridenow.com www.magnetsf.org

I Wake Up Dreaming @ Roxie Theatre Two-week noir film festival of obscure and strange features and shorts like Kiss Me Deadly, Witness to Murder, Whispering City and lots more. Double-feature killers, catty women, private dicks, dangerous blondes and hoodwinked thugs. $10 each or up to $112 for full pass. Thru May 26. 3117 16th St. at Valencia. www.roxie.com

Devil/Fish, an acrobatic musical theatre variety show with contortionists, aerialists and more. $26. Fri & Sat 7pm. Sun 6pm. Thru May 22. 2781 24th St. www.cirquenoveau. com www.brava.org

Opening reception for an exhibit of remarkable realist oil paintings. Free. 6pm-8pm.

Reg. hours Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. Sat 10am5pm. Thru June 3. 750 Post St. 441-1138. www.johnpence.com

Passion Play @ Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley Actors Ensemble performs the West Coast premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s new play about the meaning of devotion, identity and performance, with historic scenes set in Elizabethan England and Nazi Germany. $12-$15. Fri & Sat 7pm. Sun 2pm. Thru May 21. 1310 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. (510) 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org

The Real Americans @ The Marsh Dan Hoyle’s moving and funny solo show, with multiple characters based on Midwesterners on the right and Coasters on the left, asks how a politically divided America can survive. $25-$35. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru July 24. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Reborning @ SF Playhouse Zayd Dohm’s unusual play about a dollmaker whose new demanding client may be her long-lost mother. $20-$50. Tue-Wed 7pm.

Thu-Sat 8pm. + Sat 3pm. Thru June 11. 533 Sutter St. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Risk is This @ Exit Theatre Cutting Ball theatre company’s experimental plays festival, with comic, serious, odd and unusual themes; most plays run two nights.

Free. $20 reserved. $50 five-play donation.

Thru June 25. 277 Taylor St. (800) 838-3006. www.cuttingball.com

SF Follies @ Theatre 39

Lillias White @ The Venetian Room Broadway musical theatre legend ( Dreamgirls, Cats, Funny Girl, Hair) sings favorite songs by Cy Coleman in her solo show which won rave reviews when it opened at New York City’s Lincoln Center. $40-$45. 8pm.

Fairmont Hotel, 900 Mason St. 392-4400. www.bayareacabaret.org

Fri 13 Katya Takes You Home @ The Jewish Theatre Exiled drag Russian royal Katya Smirnoff-Skyy (actually talented comedic singer/actor Conrad Frank) returns to the stage with Songs and Stories for the Gypsy, Vamp and Vodka Drinker in Your Soul, a hilarious campy autobio with music from Bizet to Katy Perry. $20.-$30.

Thu-Sat 8pm. Also May 17, 8pm.

Thru May 22 (4pm). 470 Florida St. at 16th. www.russianoperadiva.com

Sat 14 >> Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi Musical comedy revue, now in its 35th year, with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25$130. Wed, Thu, Fri at 8pm. Sat 6:30, 9:30pm.

Sun 2pm, 5pm. (Beer/wine served; cash only).

678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.).

421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Cabaret Lunatique @ Pier 29 Teatro Zinzanni’s monthly locally-themed late night cabaret shows continue, with Celebrate the Mission, featuring Herbert Seguenza as Neil Diamante, Paul Flores, La Chica Boom, and several Zinzanni talents. $25-$35.

11:15pm. Pier 29 at Embarcadero Ave. 4382668. www.teatrozinzanni.com

The Cripple of Inishmaan @ Zellerbach Playhouse Cal Performances presents Druid Theatre’s production of Martin McDonagh’s comic drama (based on a true events) about a small Irish village that gets stirred up when a film crew shoots a documentary. $68. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru May 14. Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., UC Berkeley campus.

(510) 642-9988. www.calperformances.org

Caliente is the new show at the theatre-tentdinner extravaganza, with twin acrobats Ming and Rui, Vertical Tango rope dance, plus magic, comedy, a five-course dinner, and a lot of fun. $117-$145. Saturday 11:30am “Breve” show $63-$78. Wed-Sat 6pm (Sun 5pm). Pier 29 at Embarcadero Ave. 438-2668. www.teatrozinzanni.com

Vice Palace @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers, the fabulous ensemble that brought us Pearls Over Shanghai and Hot Greeks, now brings forth the last Cockettes show, the saucy 1972 very loose Fellini-esque parody of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. $30-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm Sun 7pm. 575 10th st. at Bryant/Division. Thru July 31. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Music, performance and food at a concert for and by LGBTQ youth, with Joshua Klipp, Jojo, Rice Rockettes, Freeplay Dance Crew, Poisoned Cupcakes and more. Free. 2pm-5pm.

1800 Market St. www.tlish.org www.centersf.org

Three Sisters @ Berkeley Rep Sarah Ruhl’s re-written version of Anton Chekhov’s classic drama. $14.50-$73. TueFri,Thu, Sat 8pm. Wed 7pm. Thu, Sat, Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru May 22. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. at Shattuck. (510) 6472949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Sun 15 >> Antiques & Collectibles Faire @ Candlestick Park Large sale of all kinds of items, with hundreds of sellers; food, drinks, parking, too. $5-$10.

6am-3pm. (650) 242-1294. www.candlestickantiques.com

Bike Tour @ Colma Cemetery See the mausoleums of famous San Franciscans along this informative scenic and slightly morbid tour. $15-$50. Meet at Colma BART 12pm. www.counterpulse.org

Denis Matsuev @ Davies Symphony Hall Russian piano virtuoso performs works by Schubert, Beethoven, Liszt and Rachmaninoff. $35-$85. 8pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. 864-6000. www.sfwmpac.org

Jamie Drake @ Duboce Park Café Guitarist-singer performs with Marianne Keith and JT Spangler. 7:30pm-10:30pm. 2 Sancez St. at Duboce. www.doloresparkcafe.com

Naked Girls Reading @ Center for Sex & Culture

Smuin Ballet @ YBCA

Some Thing @ The Stud

Spring Rocks @ LGBT Center

Gala fundraiser, with live and silent auctions, tasty fod and drinks, Paula West performing and more. Proceeds go to the AIDS hospice. $95-$150. 6pm-10pm. Hall of Flowers, 1199 9th Ave. at Lincoln. www.maitrisf.org

42nd Street Moon’s production of Cole Porter’s final Broadway musical, about Hollywood stars and Russian spies. $24-$44. Wed 7pm, Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm. Sun 3pm. Thru May 22. 215 Jackson St. 255-8207. www.42ndstmoon.org World premieres and repertory dances are performed, including Choo-San Goh’s Momentum, Amy Seiwert’s Requiem, and Smuin’s To the Beatles. $20-$62. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. Also Sat 2pm. Thru May 15. 701 Mission St. 978-2787 www.smuinballet.org

The Glide Pride Team presents a fun cabaret fundraiser for Glide Memorial Church, with raffle prizes and drag acts Sapphire Shade, Simone, Kerli Grand, Racine and more. $10$20. 2pm-9pm. 2369 Market St. www.glide. org/events

Maitri Gala @ County Fair Bldg.

Silk Stockings @ Eureka Theatre

Teatro Zinzanni @ Pier 29

Sat 14

Spring-licious @ The Café

The popular alternative city parody musical revue returns, with jokes on and about San Francisco’s illustrious history. $35. Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Thru June 5. Pier 39, Beach St. at Embarcadero. (800) 838-3006. www.sffollies.com

Shelley Mitchell’s solo play tells of multiple characters searching for meaning and survival in Nazi-occupied Hungary. $21-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru May 21. 2901 Mariposa St. at Harrison. www.talkingwithangels.com www.roycegallery.com

Cirque Noveau @ Brava Theater

Dean Larson @ John Pence Gallery

Kurt Weill’s Tony Award-winning Street Scene, based on Elmer Rice’s drama, with lyrics by Langston Hughes, is performed in a concert setting with talented vocalists. $20$65. 8pm.2025 Broadway. (800) 745-3000. www.oebs.org

Talking With Angels @ Royce Gallery

Longrunning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on e.e. cummings’ cat poems tours. $30-$175. Wed-Sat 7:30pm. Sun 6pm. Also wed, Sat & Sun 1pm. Thru May 15. 1192 Market St. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Kat Worthington’s Secret’s Lament , a new dance work, is performd with music by vocalist-composer Katy Stephan; and four other dances. $18-$22. 8pm. Thru May 15 (at 5pm). 450 Florida St. www.copiousdance.org

Oakland East Bay Symphony @ Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Wild weekly drag show with SF’s most unusual talents, and a special photo shoot for BARtab’s June issue! 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Cats @ Orpheum Theatre

Copious Dance Theatre @ Z Space

Ann Randolph returns with her solo show about a sexually frustrated woman who flies home and faces the greatest love of her life.

Fri 8pm. Sat 5pm. $20-$50. Thru May 8. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. (800) 838-3006. www.themarsh.org

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Sun 15 Kitka, Meredith Monk @ Kanbar Hall Hauntingly beautiful vocals composed by Monk and performed by the local women’s ensemble with the composer. $32-$41. 7pm.

Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. 292-1233. www.kitka.org www.jccsf.org/arts

Eadweard Muybridge @ SF Museum of Modern Art Fascinating exhibit and the first-ever retrospective examining all aspects of artist Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering photography. $9-$18. Daily 11am-5:45pm (closed Wed.).

151 Third St. 357-4000. www.sfmoma.org

Hot Flash Dance @ Ruby Skye Women’s T-dance party with DJ Dirty Kurty. $15. 5pm-9pm. 420 Mason St. After-party at Adagio, 9pm. www.hotflashdances.com

The Laybelline Show @ Castro Country Club It’s a gay extravaganza with the diminuitive yet powerful dragutante as host. Fruit Bomb, Serenity Heart, Euphoria and others perform at the sober space. $10. 10:30pm. 4058 18th St. www.castrocountryclub.org

Burlesque Legends are read about by Lady Monster, Ophelia Coeur de Noir, Cherry Galette and Gypsy Rose Lee biographer Robert Stron. Burlesque performers Holiday O’Hara, Isis Starr, Madame E and Viva LaFever perform and tell tales. 18+. $15-$20.

8pm. 1349 Mission St. at 9th. www.nakedgirlsreading.net

Pocket Opera @ Marines Memorial Theatre Donald Pippin’s music ensemble performs Mascagni’s Cavelerria Rusticana and Offenbach’s The Cat That Became a Woman. $20-$37. 2pm.Also May 22, 2pm. 609 Sutter St. 771-6900. www.pocketopera.org www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com

SF Hiking Club @ Round Valley The southeast slope of Mt. Diablo is the quest this time for the GLBT hiking group. Bring sunscreen, water, lunch, etc. Carpool: 9:15am at Safeway sign, Market St. at Dolores. 3785612. Also, May 18 5-mile hike to East Bay panoramic hills. Meet 5:45pm at Rockridge BART. (510) 910-8734. www.sfhiking.com

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the fabulous weekly brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square.

395-8595. www.harrydenton.com

Mon 16 >> Amanda King @ The Rrazz Room The Swing of Things, a concert of great swing jazz classics sung by the popular local vocalist. $30. 8pm. Two-drink minimum. Hotel Nikko lobby, 222 Mason St. at O’Farrell. (866) 468-3399. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Marga’s Funny Mondays @ The Marsh, Berkeley Marga Gomez, “the lesbian Lenny Bruce” (Robin Williams), brings her comic talents, and special guests to a weekly cabaret show. $10. 8pm. 2120 Allston Way. (800) 838-3006. www.margagomez.com www.themarsh.org

Past & Present @ Castro Country Club Group exhibit of photos of visitors and organizers of the Castro sober space’s 28 year history. Thru May 31. 4058 18th St. 552-6102. www. castrocountryclub.org

West Coast Painters @ John Pence Gallery

Rolando B. Rosler @ Mark I. Chester Studio Opening reception for an exhibit of the artist’s pastel male figure drawings. 5pm-6:30pm.

Exhibit thru June by appintment. 1229 Folsom St. 621-6294. www.markichester.com

Wesla Whitfield @ The Rrazz Room The talented local cabaret singer performs with the Mike Greensill Trio. $35-$45. Tue-Sat 7:30pm.

Sundays 5pm. Thru May 29. Twodrink minimum. Hotel Nikko lobby, 222 Mason St. at O’Farrell.

(866) 468-3399. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Group exhibit of realist painters, from landscapes and still lifes to portraits and nudes. Thru April 30. Mon-Fri 10am6pm, Sat til 5pm. 441-1138. www.johnpence.org

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Japan Relief Exhibition @ Nieto Fine Art Auction of fine art, with 30% of proceeds going to Give2Asia. 6pm-8pm. 565 Sutter St. 393-4511. www.nietofineart.com

John O’Reilly, Reed Danziger @ Hosfelt Gallery Dual exhibit of homoerotic saint and wrestler montages by O’Reilly, and abstracts by Danziger. Thru May. 430 Clementina St. 495-5454. www.hosfeltgallery.com

Mission Politics in the 1970s @ CounterPulse Discussion with Alejandro Murgia and Jason Ferreira about the book Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco 1968-78. Free. 7:30pm.

1310 Mission St. www.counterpulse.org

Omar Sosa Quintet @ Yoshi’s Afro-Cuban jazz great in a shared concert with local fave Santos. $12-$20. 8pm & 10pm. 1330 Fillmore St. www.yoshis.com

Romare Bearden @ MOAD From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden, one of the greatest 20thcentury collage artists; exhibit includes 85+ lithographs, prints and displays showing his process, and inspiration in capturing Black culture, jazz and urban and Southern scenes. $5-$10. Thru July 3. Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. at 3rd. 358-7252. www.moadsf.org

Smack Dab @ Magnet Larry-bob Roberts and Kirk Read cohost the eclectic often queer-themed reading and performance showcase. Featured is Keva I. Lee, dominatrix, fetish model and performer.

8pm. 4122 18th st. www.magnetsf.org

Thu 19 >> Classic Clips Whether it’s an animated film scene or a carefully constructed collage, a picture tells a thousand words. Friday, May 13, enjoy Movies at the Castro Theatre. Midnites for Maniacs screens Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (7:20; The Ramones! PJ Soles! Vincent Van Patten!), The Blues Brothers, (9:30) and Out of the Blue (12am). $15 for all three. Classic films continue May 14: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1pm; 6:15). And Aguirre, the Wrath of God (4:20, 9:30). May 15, scifi classics 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2pm, 6:40) and the original Clash of the Titans starring Harry Hamlin (photo, top). 4:25, 9pm. May 18, The Women (the original!) 2:30pm, 5:15, 8pm. May 19, Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona (7pm) and The Big Lebowski (8:50). $10. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com For more eye-pleasing beguiling visuals, Saturday, May 14 is the opening reception for David King at Inclusion Gallery (above), a new exhibit of large collage work by the innovative local gay artist. 6pm-8pm. Wed-Fri 2pm-8pm. Sat & Sun 12pm-6pm. Thru June 19.

627 Cortland St. 817-1493. www.DavidKingCollage.com www.InclusionGallery.com

Tue 17 >> Cryptecology @ Visual Aid Group exhibit of works by four artists combining nature and other themes; curated by Gary Weiss and Jeff Shipley of Ixia florist shop.

Tue-Fri 2pm-6pm or by appointment. Thru May 31. 57 Post St. www.visualaid.org

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey’s Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gayfriendly comedy night. One drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th.

431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

In Paths Untrodden @ SF Public Library Walt Whitman’s Calamus Poems and the Radical Faeries, curated by Joey Cain; an exhibit of the gay poet’s influence on contemporary queer culture. Thru May 19. James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, 100 Larkin St. third floor. www.sfpl.org

Wed 18 >> Care of Trees @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ production of E. Hunter Spreen’s drama about two people whose lives become connected via an ancient oak tree, and how the environment and a mysterious ailment alter their lives. Previews thru May 20. $17-$26.

Open May 21. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm (Wed 7pm from June 1). Thru June 26. 1901 Ashby Ave. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Geezer @ The Marsh Veteran clown and actor Geoff Hoyle’s witty solo show about his young life in England and his ruminations on aging. $25-$50. Wed & Thu, 8pm. Sat & Sun 5pm. Thru July 10. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. (800) 838-5750. www.themarsh.org

Here Now Dance Collective @ The Garage The Apology Project, an audience-interactive dance with projected imagery. $10$20. 8pm. Also May 19. 975 Howard St. www.975howard.com

Art MRKT @ Concourse Exhibition Center Large-scale art exhibit and sale/auction. $25$110. Benefit preview and VIP party, May 19, 5:30-10:30pm. Fri-Sun 11am-7pm (Sun 6pm).

Program online May 3. Thru May 22. 620 7th St. at Brannan. www.art-mrkt.com

ArtPad SF @ Phoenix Hotel Benefit for the Black Rock Arts Foundation (Burning Man and other arts events), with live music, DJed dancing, artists, drinks and more. $50-$75 poolside soiree. $125-$150 premiere lounge event and poolside party.

7pm-12am. 601 Eddy St. Exhibits thru May 27. www.artpadsf.com

Baskets on Castro @ Herth Real Estate Benefit for the Hanging Basket Project, which hopes to add flower displays along Castro Street; art works for sale. 5:30-8pm. 555 Castro St. 861-5200. www.castrocbd.org

Our Vast Queer Past @ GLBT History Museum Exhibit from the GLBT Historical Society, with a wide array of rare historic items on display.

Free for members-$5. Wed-Sat 11am-7pm.

Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

SF Fine Art Fair @ Fort Mason Large-scale exhibit of 400+ artists’ works in all media, represented by 80+ galleries, with an opening preview benefit party and other events $15-$100. Thru May 22. Festival Pavilion. Buchanan at Marina Blvd.

(800) 211-0640. www.sffineartfair.com

Teatr Zar @ St. Gregory’s Church Theatre ensemble performs the three-part Gospels of Childhood Triptych, about the Gnostic elements of early Christianity. $20$25 for single sections, $48 for all three. May 19: 12pm & 7pm, 8pm. and 9:30pm. Thru May 25. Part of the SF International Arts Festival. 500 De Haro St. www.sfiaf.org

Vintage Erotica @ YBCA Odd straight sex film screenings; Radley Metzger’s Cam ile 2000; A Labor of Love, a rare documentary about filming a hardcore film, and Dimis Dadiras’ The Wild Pussycat. $6-$8. Various times thru May 26.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. 701 Mission St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com.

Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

Thu 19 Barack Marshall Company @ Marines Memorial Theatre The San Francisco International Arts Festival presents Monger, the Israeli company’s intensely physical dance-theatre work about servants trapped by an abusive mistress. $16. 2pm. 609 Sutter St. 771-6900. www.sfiaf.org www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com

For bar and nightlife events, go to

www.bartabsf.com

www.ebar.com

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26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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My favorite flings

by Donna Sachet

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t Marines Memorial Theatre on May 1, the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation produced Divas & Dames, a delightful evening of music featuring Valerie Pettiford, La Toya London, Maureen McVerry, Carmen Milagro, and Matthew Martin. Act II held some of the best musical moments, especially Connie Champagne’s “Stormy Weather,” Carly Ozard’s “I Know Where I’ve Been,” and Lisa Vroman’s “My Favorite Things.”

A spirited duo, new to us, called B.O.O.B.S!, Jessica Corker and Soila Hughes, brought the house down with two hilarious songs about body parts and body types.

Never one to disappoint, Sharon McNight delivered two songs with musical chops and comic timing that perfectly completed this cabaret event. Credit goes to Musical Director Michael Grossman and Founders Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler for continuing a long tradition of top-quality entertainment for a great cause. The lobby was crowded after the performance with wellwishers, including Michael Loftis & Erik Nickel, Richard Sablatura, Larry Horowitz, Don Berger, Xavier Caylor & Jeff Doney, Patrik Gallineaux, Paul S. May & Frank Stein, and Gary Virginia.

The Rrazz Room is always a dependable location for quality entertainment in a lovely, intimate setting. Last Tuesday was no exception as the legendary Betty Buckley delivered on all expectations, with a wide-ranging selection of songs and just enough interesting patter inbetween to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. She graciously met each waiting attendee afterwards.

Mother’s Day ended up being a sunny day, offering loyal sons and daughters a variety of choices to entertain their respective mothers.

At Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, the first show of Sunday’s a Drag welcomed residents of Hamilton Family Center, which provides emergency shelter and services for homeless families in San Francisco.

For years now, Harry Denton has made this day very special for a group from this organization, and these ladies reveled in a great show and a delicious meal.

This Saturday, May 14, head to the Marriott Marquis Hotel for the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. GLAAD does such important work in the media, making sure our LGBT community is represented fairly, accurately, and inclusively.

With Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, Christian Chavez, Lisa Cholodenko, Tabitha Coffey,

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Out There From page 18

Eden grew up in San Francisco, but her book mostly lives in Hollywood and Vegas. She tells tales of show-biz legends behaving badly, e.g., the married yet skirt-chasing Desi Arnaz, but let’s just “Jeannieblink” ahead to her own stalking by a somewhat vulpine Warren Beatty: “Whenever I was on my way

On the web This week, find Victoria A. Brownworth’s Lavender Tube column, “Mission: accomplished,” and Scott Brogan’s leather calendar, “Coming up in leather & kink,” on the web at www.ebar.com.

Steven Underhill

Donna Sachet with stage star Betty Buckley last week at the Rrazz Room in the Nikko Hotel.

Steven Underhill

Peaches Christ takes on the infamous role of Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest, last Saturday night at the Castro Theatre.

Mario Lopez, Louis Van Amstel, Kim Cattrall, and a performance by members of the cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, this promises to be an evening not soon forgotten.

On Sunday, May 15, we’ll be joining the Meals on Wheels Star Chefs & Vintners Gala at Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion. This annual event is one of the biggest showcases of specialty wines, as well as a tremendous silent auction, followed by a gourmet dinner catered by the Bay Area’s top chefs, all supporting the incredible work of Meals on Wheels, providing vital

to makeup, he’d loom out of the shadows and scare the living daylights out of me by whispering, ‘Barbara Eden!

Barbara Eden! I’m gonna come and get you right now!’”

We learn also that actor Tony Randall was a cheat at gin rummy during dressingroom downtime. “Tony never lost a single game, and after a while I realized that he was winning a small fortune from me. So I started to watch him more closely.

Then it dawned on me: he was sitting opposite a mirror that was reflecting my cards back to him.” That’s pretty tawdry behavior, but still: Winning!▼

nourishment to homebound seniors and other individuals.

Also this Sunday is Bliss, the annual fundraising event for Maitri, a local AIDS hospice. Paula West and Kim Nalley provide music at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

For something totally different this Sunday, enjoy Flagging in the Park from 1-4 p.m. in the AIDS Memorial Grove of Golden Gate Park, benefiting Friends of Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. This is a glorious way to enjoy the warm weather, catch a picnic lunch, and revel in the beautiful self-expression of colorful flagging and dancing outdoors. Of course this event is dependent on the weather, and a warm wrap is advisable.▼

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Karrnal >>

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Butch & faux butch

by John F. Karr

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his week, let’s continue our Falcon survey, looking at a pair of movies from Falcon’s Jocks and Mustang brands that are some of the last – if not the last – movies made before the Falcon/Raging Stallion merger.

Parker London’s got three scenes, the box cover and the title in Jocks’ Parker’s Mirage. I sure was hot to see him, fresh off the superlative treatment given him in scenes for Lucas Entertainment. This movie, proficiently directed by veteran Brad Austin, is one of those traditionally enjoyable Falcon summertime romps – robust youths having fun in the sun – in which Parker’s given traditionally standard Falcon treatment: glossy, professionally made scenes that are over-edited into short confines, and mostly lack personal connection while showing off the performers’ good looks and plus-size cocks. In short: scenic but infrequently exciting. Within all that, Parker’s pretty compelling. Before a solo, he tops Devon Hunter, thrilling him so much that the overexcited bottom surprises himself (and us) by suddenly cumming, way early and way hard. Later, Parker flipfucks with tasty Tyler Andrews, who is not as languorous a cocksucker as Hunter was earlier, but who’s dedicated. Also really cute and a good fucker. Parker’s a rousingly responsive bottom, getting himself off big, and getting me off big, too.

There’s a disposable scene for a pair of youngsters, and a thoroughly enjoyable three-way that finds big, tattooed stud Cliff Jensen, smooth and sturdy Jake Austin and happy hottie Logan Drake flipfucking in various combinations. When Jake sits on Cliff ’s great big gutstick and moans, “Oh, you have a big dick,” it doesn’t sound scripted. He is, as they say, in the moment. Which is pretty momentous.

A Mustang film like the Erik Rhodes-directed Man Up means we’re gonna see some body hair on conscientiously butch performers.

The movie’s basic idea of manning up is conflicting, though, since Being a Man is different from Being Butch.

But both imperatives are to be heard in the phrase. Which will the movie portray? Have no doubt it’ll be the latter, cock filling in for character.

I’m a Spencer Reed fan, and wasn’t disappointed by his topping of Logan Smith. Also fine are earnest scenes of Alessio Romero flipping with Heath Jordan, and Alexsander

Falcon Studios

Parker London gets the three-scene star treatment in Mustang’s Parker’s Mirage.

Freitas topping Shane Frost. And I really liked Connor Habib bulging his eyes out upon seeing handsome, hairy hunk Trent Locke’s cock. “Oh, fuck,” gulps Connor before rising to its challenge. Trent’s kinda surly, and Habib, as always, goes for it.

After getting royally screwed, he shoots a sharp, longrange jet o’ cum. But shortly before that, he makes a scripted comment that was a bone-wilter for me.

Logan is portrayed as str8 only by inference.

He finds Connor jacking off to a gay mag, and accosts him brusquely, asking, “You a fag?” They then engage in homosexual acts during which Logan is reciprocal, kissing Connor, sucking his cock, and after fucking him, straddling his cock and bouncing on it. At which point, Connor rather gleefully says, “You’re a faggot now.”

This whole str8-downgraded-togay thing is a standard porn trope that distresses me no end. Why are we supposed to be turned on by the use of its associated epithets?

Because it’s considered butch.

Coincidentally, I’ve been reading Jennifer Pozner’s Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV. Reviewing the book in the May 9 New Yorker, Kelefa Sanneh summarizes Pozner’s criticism of the form: “The pernicious images and ideas it portrays are more powerful than benign ones.” In other words, it’s what Oscar Hammerstein II wrote: You’ve go to be taught; it’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.

That’s true of the self-loathing dished out in porn so steadily and without stealth. But does anyone buy a film because one of its characters is called a fag? Okay, maybe a few. The rest of us may ignore it, deplore it – or come to believe it. Despite porn’s frequent assurance, I can tell you we are neither bitches nor faggots, epithets which should be heard only on sites for those who like humiliation and degradation. But in mainstream porn? In something as faux butch as a Mustang movie? I’m ashamed for the movie’s creators.

Here we are, mounting nationwide campaigns to stop bullying in high schools. Who is going to stop us from bullying ourselves?▼ www.FalconStudios.com

bartabsf.com

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • May 12-18, 2011

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Courtesy of Modernism Inc., SF

Les À-côtés de la rue de la Gaîte (1987), décollage mounted on canvas, by Jacques Villeglé.

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Fine art From page 17

whose engagement with life and his community leaps from nearly every inch of the seductive surfaces he created. While the comprehensive 2003 retrospective of Bearden, a lauded African American artist bestknown for his textured collages, offered the broad scope of his prolific career, the new exhibition at MoAD zeros in on his less-familiar but no less dazzling explorations of printmaking, rendered in a variety of techniques honed over a 30-year period, from the turbulent 1960s through the early 80s. The show includes over 80 lithographs, etchings, collagraphs, monotypes, screen prints, drypoints, engravings

Carolina Memory (Tidings) (197072), and cast those narratives with black characters. In his work, one discerns his masterful control, precision, delicacy and boldness, coupled with an ebullient freedom; an admirable combination, and no small achievement. It doesn’t trivialize his importance as an artist or the weight and complexity of his art to say that he also brought the elixir of joy and jubilance to an aching world. Through July 3. More at www.moad.org.

Modernism Gallery Jacques Villegle: Decollages: 1960-2004 Sixty years ago, the French mixedmedia artist Jacques Villegle started down the path of re-appropriating imagery by collecting objects that washed up on the shores of Saint-

“Villeglé transports the street to the gallery with lacerated posters torn from the walls and surfaces they once adhered to.”

www.ebar.com

and black-and-white photoprojections like The Conjur Woman (1964), a scarily powerful, mystical figure who looks like a snake coiled in the tall grasses, poised to strike.

The ghost of Picasso, the organic, puzzle-piece unity of patchwork quilts, the brightly colored cut-outs of Matisse and African art motifs like those found in the intricate patterns, orangey melon hues and azure blues of Falling Star (1980) stalk the show – vivid, symphonic color is another common thread – but Bearden tailored those influences with a sensibility all his own. His works are so diverse it’s difficult to believe they are the product of a single artist.

Bearden based the prints on his collages, a medium at which he excelled, and somehow retained the sculptural, three-dimensional qualities of their original format when translating and revisiting his favorite themes: the great Northern migration, trains, family life, urban scenes of Harlem where he grew up, spiritualism, women, ritual, mythology, memories of his rural Southern roots in Mecklenburg, N.C., and African American culture and experience in its many charged, often colorful permutations, especially blues and jazz, as in the hopping Jamming at the Savoy (1980-81).

Bearden drew on universal human experience as well as Biblical stories, interpreted in moving pieces such as The Annunciation (c. 1976), Mother and Child (c. 1972) and

Malo, Brittany. A Euro-intellectual and charter member of the Nouvelle Realisme group which sprang to life with its own manifesto (but of course!), Villegle transports the street to the gallery with lacerated posters torn from the walls and surfaces they once adhered to. (The term decollage derives from de-coller, or to unglue.) He layers these on top of one another, thereby revealing unclaimed, discarded remnants of civilization and urban reality.

Faded photographs of glamorous women, models with perfect teeth, performers like Joan Baez, and fragments of advertisements and the fantasies they peddled, wrenched from the messages they once strove to imprint on us, peer out from the abstract compositions the artist mounts on canvases of varying size. In some cases, anonymous graffiti artists or casual vandals made a bid for posterity.

After taking in the show’s 60-some pieces, it appears Villegle’s works are best digested one at a time.

The sheer number assembled here for exhibition purposes reinforces the repetitive and somewhat dated nature of his oeuvre. Most compelling are smaller-scale efforts such as Los Angeles (1993), whose maize/parchment suggests a beach shack and the bleachedout, eternal summer of Southern California, or the Matisse-inspired shapes and spring-like palette of Rue de Patay (1962). Through June 23 at Modernism. More at www. modernisminc.com ▼

▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

May 12-18, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Books >>

Evolution of a reputation

by Tavo Amador

D

espite his stature, misinformation about Tennessee Williams (1911-83) is widespread. Many of these misconceptions are demolished in Tenn at One Hundred: The Reputation of Tennessee Williams (Hansen Publishing Group, $29.95).

Edited by David Kaplan, this collection of essays is the best book about the great American dramatist since the late Lyle Leverich’s Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams (1995).

(Full disclosure: Leverich was a close friend.)

Leverich excepted, Williams has been poorly served by biographers, asserts contributor Kenneth Holditch.

Donald Spoto’s inaccurate The Kindness of Strangers (1985), for example, perpetuated the myth that Williams was a guilt-ridden homosexual. Among other sources, Holditch cites Donald Windham, Williams’ old friend, to disprove that assertion. “I never knew anybody who reveled more in his sexuality than Tom did.”

Spoto and many critics believed Williams’ failures following his last triumph, The Night of the Iguana (1961), were evidence of a dissipated talent. Not so, writes Annette Sadik. After Iguana, he consciously experimented with new forms, including Kabuki. These later plays weren’t the product of an “exhausted” author. Their merits have yet to be determined, but they’re creations of an artist in command of his gift.

Williams hurt himself by demanding Broadway productions for these plays, rather than Off-Broadway ones, where the experimental Suddenly Last Summer (1958) succeeded.

By the late 1950s, Williams became associated with sex, violence, and

“depravity,” a perception created

by Hollywood, which heavily censored movie versions of his plays yet marketed them salaciously. As Thomas Keith demonstrates, the difference is evident in the advertising for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), which emphasized Williams’ Pulitzer Prize and director Elia Kazan’s credentials, as compared with that of Suddenly Last Summer (1959). In the latter, Elizabeth Taylor, wearing a revealing bathing suit, is surrounded by handsome young men, while a voice in the preview warns, “Cathy knew she was being used for evil,” i.e., “beach bait” for her homosexual cousin, who is later cannibalized.

Williams objected, saying the movie was too literal an interpretation of his allegorical original. The trailer for Iguana (1964) featured Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, and Sue Lyon while James Earl Jones misleadingly declaimed, “One man.

Three women. One night. Since man has known woman, there has never been such a night.”

Williams, according to his friend Gore Vidal, craved awards. His failure to win the Nobel Prize for Literature stung. He blamed the snub on the Swedish press’ hostility, but as Dirk Gindt writes in “Tennessee Williams and the Swedish Academy: Why He Never Won the Nobel Prize,” he was nominated in 1958. (Records remain confidential for 50 years; thus, Williams knew nothing about it.) Gindt cites several reasons for Williams’ loss to Boris Pasternak, including a belief that American drama had been recognized with Eugene O’Neill’s 1936 award; the failure of Stockholm’s leading theatre to produce Williams’ plays (although other theatres staged them); his commercial success, which implied

his work wasn’t sufficiently artistic; the themes of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955): repressed homoeroticism, alcoholism, and terminal cancer; and the homophobic climate of the period.

Although Gindt’s analysis is generally persuasive, he neglects to mention that openly gay Andre Gide won the prize in 1947. Did that influence the Academy’s 1958 decision?

Williams lived openly as a gay man in an era that at best regarded homosexuality as a psychological disorder. He also wrote about it, which unnerved many critics.

Kaplan’s mesmerizing “Mr. Williams Is Advised To Stay Silent” discusses the impact this had on his reputation.

In assessing Williams’ successful Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), Marya Mannes lamented the “public’s appetite for the theater of violence, aberration, and decay.” In 1961, New York Times theatre critic Howard Taubman claimed that gay dramatists produced “tainted, unhealthy, contaminated” characters and situations. Early in 1966, Taubman’s replacement Stanley Kauffman wrote a sympathetic but misguided article about public and critical discomfort with gay authors. “Because three of the most successful American playwrights of the last 20 years are (reputed) homosexuals, and because their plays often treat women and marriage, postwar American drama presents a badly distorted picture of American women, marriage, and society.

Certainly there is substance to that charge; but is it rightly directed?” The unnamed authors were Williams, Edward Albee, and William Inge. (A fourth, Thornton Wilder, was deeply closeted.) Kauffman believed that gay authors were forced to disguise their characters as heterosexuals, thus creating a “distortion.” Williams and

Alb d idd i so. N th l Albee denied doing Nonetheless, rampant homophobia allowed many critics to attack Williams rather than review his plays.

Perhaps the greatest harm to Williams’ reputation was unintentionally and posthumously self-inflicted. He named friend Maria Britneva, Lady St. Just (who many insisted was none of those) co-trustee for his estate’s beneficiary, his lobotomized, beloved sister, Rose.

A minor actress and social climber, St. Just assumed the role of Williams’ “widow,” suggested they had a sexual relationship (they didn’t), forbade authorized biographer Leverich from quoting letters, diaries, and journals, refused permission to publish or produce many of his postIguana plays because she didn’t like

th d controlled t ll d revivals i l off hi them, and his works. John Lahr’s “The Lady and Tennessee” documents the damage she committed. Her 1994 death freed Leverich to publish the first of his twovolume biography, but he died before completing the second book. Her death also allowed the publication and staging of his later works, often to sympathetic reviews.

Other excellent essays include Sam Staggs’ description of the Broadway opening of Streetcar (1947), Amiri Baraka’s (LeRoi Jones) claim that “Tennessee Williams Is Never Apolitical,” and John Patrick Shanley’s evocative appreciation of Williams’ greatness. Anyone interested in the politics of art and its impact on Williams will find this book invaluable. ▼

1987 lesbian relationship-focused collection The Persistent Desire, whose sage words preface works by queer literary artists like Jewelle Gomez, Victoria A. Brownworth, and Thea Hillman.

The opening entries wax rhapsodically about the lesbian experience in their examination of love, affection, gender identity, relationship roles, and the immensely complex dynamic of the butch/femme mystique.

Bay Area writer Gomez offers some revolutionary ideas on approaching and embodying gender roles and the notion that if identity is “seen as a door, not a box, then you’ve got a very different

aand an extraordinary adventure.”

T The editors reflect passionately on iissues of solidarity and “femme iinvisibility” in their pieces, while B Brownworth insightfully ponders tthe evolution of queer culture as iit relates to mainstreaming and cconformity, and Amber Dawn w writes a bittersweet letter to 10 yyears’ worth of butches she’s loved, aand the “consequential and heartfelt q queue of things I never said to you.”

IIn other standout contributions, E Elizabeth Marston contemplates ““rogue femininity,” and Elaine M Miller explains the logic and rresonance behind the term “futch,” a queer woman who identifies as b both butch and femme. Adding a multi-layered cross-perspective is the piece by “multi-gender trans person of color” Prince Jei and ““queer-fem-inist person of color”

Misster Raju Rage, as they interview each other and share stories about the trials and tribulations of gender acceptance and individuality.

Editor Coyote’s touching, literary genuflection to the “beautiful, kickass, fierce, and full-bodied femmes out there” closes out the book, begging these women to never “stop looking at me the way you do.” The author admits that even “20 years later, ‘butch’ fits like my favorite boots, like my oldest belt.”

Touching on a wide range of colors in the prism of butch and femme sexuality and identity, this compilation is indispensable to the lesbian community as an emblem of how far the female gay community has come, and in what direction their mighty assembly is headed.

It’s the ultimate “gift to those just discovering themselves.”▼

Group, and Yale GALA. Yale’s LGBT Alumni Association decided to have a benefit to support anti-bullying programs in the public schools as part of Yale’s Annual Day of Service (www.yaledayofservice.org). They invited the Yale Glee Club, the SFGC Alumni Chorus, the Duke’s Men of Yale University and Darren Criss to be part of the benefit.

Gay awareness has long been a part of the choral group’s activities.

Yale GALA: Yale’s LGBT Alumni Association was founded in the early 1980s. Yale GALA has chapters all around the world, including seven U.S. cities and London. Last week, Yale GALA hosted an all-Ivy LGBT leadership forum in San Francisco to train alumni from various schools to be volunteer leaders in the LGBT community of the Bay Area.

A recent highlight was the Club’s 150th anniversary concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, which Douma called “an

second half was a piece by Vaughan Williams, Dona nobis pacem. The Yale Symphony performed with us.”

Asked to make comparisons between the historic Yale club and the fictional TV high school glee club, Douma said he thinks the show has definitely increased young people’s interest in ensemble singing.

“Even though we perform a different kind of music than what you hear on the show, I think the Yale Glee Club has gotten more attention this year because we share that word with the show.” But Douma doesn’t think the pop version on the TV show diminishes the impact of a more traditional ensemble like his. “I think there’s plenty of room in the world for all kinds of music. The existence of Lady Gaga in no way diminishes the existence of Stravinsky, and in many cases, the worlds of pop music and classical overlap and augment one another.”

Such is the case with Darren Criss, who first performed with the Yale University Whiffenpoofs in a Los Angeles benefit concert in March. Fans of Criss’ solo music may know the songs he’ll be singing, including “Not Alone,” which he also performed at the recent Trevor Project benefit in LA. The song has become an informal theme song for the anti-bullying movement. Criss composed it years earlier, and it’s among the songs in his co-written show A Very Potter Musical, and on his solo EP. “It was such a great partnership that he agreed to perform with the Yale Glee Club in San Francisco for this benefit to end bullying,” said Dobbs.▼

Girls aloud

by Jim Piechota Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme edited by Ivan E. Coyote and Zena Sharman; Arsenal Pulp Press, $19.95

D

edicated to “all the femmes and butches who came before us” in an effort to continue the butchfemme conversation, co-editors Ivan E. Coyote and Zena Sharman have compiled Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, a lengthy collection of essays, opinions, poetry, and interviews from 40 farflung contributors based in Canada, Europe, and America. The book is an homage of sorts to Joan Nestle’s

<<

Yale Glee Club From page 17

like Dominick Argento and James Macmillan,” said Dobbs.

While Artistic Director Jeffrey Douma decides on the music, “I always listen to the club’s suggestions, and take their ideas into account when I decide. I want to be sure they are engaged by the music we sing.”

Asked how their work with No Bully came about, Dobbs said that the AYA, Yale GALA and Eli’s Mishpacha researched Bay Area organizations that work on bullying in the schools, and decided that No Bully and the Youth Aware programs at New Conservatory Theatre Center had extensive and complementary programs that deal with this issue.

The concert was organized by Yale alumni from the Bay Area in Eli’s Mishpacha: Yale’s Jewish Alumni

Glee star Darren Criss.

amazing time. The first half of the program consisted of recent Glee Club premieres and a new choral orchestral work composed for us

by Ted Hearne called Partition. The

Tickets for the May 14, 8 p.m. concert, at 609 Sutter St., are $75-$250 (with 6:30 p.m. VIP reception). Call 771-6900 or go to www.marineclub.com.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

30 • Bay Area Reporter • May 12-18, 2011

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