GAY CITY NEWS, FEBRUARY 15, 2012 by Schneps Media

Is Prop 8 Case Over? 10 One Angry Young Man 25 City Admits AIDS Prevention Cuts 9 Futuristic Fassbinder 22 FREE VOLUME ELEVEN, ISSUE FOUR FEBRUARY 15-28, 2012

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

Will the State Re-Plant Churches in Public Schools? Religious groups, many anti-gay and part of a “church planting” drive, can no longer use city schools for worship — for now. 8 Illustration by Vince Joy

Marriage Equality the Law in Washington State But November referendum likely 20

Drawing the Brightest Line Possible The case for vigilance 32

Children of an Idle Brain “Romeo and Juliet” retelling hits wall 23 PAGES 38 & 39

| February 15, 2012

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

| February 15, 2012

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

| February 15, 2012

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

BY ANDY HUMM

Will the State Re-Plant Churches in Public Schools? PROGRESSIVES AMONG THOSE PUSHING END RUN AROUND COURT

Last summer, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan upheld the constitutionality of the city’s existing law prohibiting worship services in public schools. In December, the US Supreme Court refused to review that ruling. The Second Circuit decision ended an injunction in place since 2001 that resulted from a lawsuit brought by the Bronx Household of Faith. Jane Gordon, senior counsel for the city’s Law Department in defending against the Bronx Household suit, said, “Like other community organizations, religious congregations are able to use public school space for after-school programs and a host of other activities and events. However, public school buildings, which are funded by taxpayers’ dollars and used primarily by the city’s diverse public school children, should not be used as houses of worship or to subsidize worship.” The state bill now under consideration forbids school administrators from regulating the use of their space in a way “that would result in the exclusion or limitation of speech, during non-school hours, even where students may be present, including speech that expresses religious conduct or viewpoints.” “What does that mean?,” asked East Side Democratic Councilwoman Jessica Lappin at a February 2 City Council Education Committee hearing on a resolution supporting the state bill. “It means the Department of Education wouldn’t be allowed to turn away any groups at all, religious or otherwise. Not even the Ku Klux Klan or a pornography club could be denied.” The bill would change schools from “limited open forums” with some say over the kind of groups appropriate to meet there to completely “open forums” that would not be allowed to use their discretion in renting space, an alarming prospect to some educators and a concern Silver mentioned. Jay Worona, general counsel to the New York State School Boards Association, testified, “Although the proposed legislative language is clearly not intended to require school districts throughout the state to permit individuals to secure access to school facilities after school hours for the purpose of promoting

hateful, discriminatory messages, that is indeed a very real unintended consequence.” The Village Church, which has been meeting in PS 3 on Hudson Street in the West Village since 2003, runs an ex-gay ministry called GAME — Gender Affirming Ministry Endeavor — which is part of the Exodus International Church, a leading proponent of the discredited

ALINE REYNOLDS

nding a 16-year court battle, religious groups, many of them virulently anti-gay and part of a “church planting” movement to evangelize students, were finally stopped from using New York City public schools for regular worship services on February 12. But state and city officials — including pro-gay politicians such as Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu — are pushing to change state law to allow the services. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer opposes a change to the policy, while out lesbian City Council Speaker Christine Quinn had not taken a public stand by press time, but told Gay City News on February 4 that she intends to do so. Governor Andrew Cuomo has also not come off the sidelines on this issue. The State Senate, on February 6, voted 52-7 to approve a bill that would compel the city to allow the worship services in public schools. Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told Gay City News that the bill is “overly broad,” but that his members are open to a compromise on the issue. The measure is strongly opposed by veteran Manhattan Democratic Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, a West Village out lesbian, and Dick Gottfried of Chelsea. State Senator Tom Duane, an out gay Chelsea Democrat, voted against the bill and told Gay City News that religious groups should “share space with other churches,” not use public schools. It is uncertain what a compromise would look like, but Silver, in comments to this newspaper, said the Senate bill raised concerns about the “regularity” of religious access it would allow and the public subsidy of worship often involved. Some church groups have paid as little as $12 for use of school space on Sundays. The speaker said that based on Supreme Court precedent, there is a distinction between access for regular worship and use for specific events at which prayer is a more incidental factor, such as a Seder celebration. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which opposes the bill, said, “I don’t know that a compromise is available.”

Central School ruling that allowed religious meetings in schools. In “The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children,” published last month, Katherine Stewart argues that the “real mission” of Good News Clubs in schools is to “convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their ‘unchurched’ peers, all the while promoting the false but unavoidable impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school.” She also documents how leaders “of the church-planting movement have

After State Senate passage of a bill allowing church worship in public schools, the ball is in Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s court on where the issue goes next.

“reparative therapy” approach to “curing the gays.” Democratic Councilman Fernando Cabrera, the chief sponsor of the resolution and senior pastor of New Life Outreach International in the Bronx, led a march of 3,500 across the Brooklyn Bridge on January 29 to protest the ban. While Cabrera sought to minimize the depiction of the growth of worship services as an “Occupy the Schools” movement, the number of worship services weekly in the public schools has grown exponentially — increasing to as many as 160 — since the Bronx Household of Faith won its 2001 injunction. The congregation’s legal argument relied on the Supreme Court’s Good News v. Milford

declared their ambition to turn all 1,200 of New York City’s schools into churches.” Councilman Daniel Dromm of Jackson Heights, an out gay Democrat, objected to the resolution supporting the state bill on December 8 or it would have passed the Council. Since then, he has led the fight to defeat the resolution and gotten several colleagues to drop their support for it. Dromm wrote to his fellow Council members, “I believe allowing churches that preach virulent homophobia in public schools violates not only the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause but also New York City law.”

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SCHOOLS, continued on p.34

| February 15, 2012

HEALTH

City Admits Prevention Funding Down Health commissioner tells AIDS group $19 million cut includes efforts aimed at high-risk populations BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

GAY CITY NEWS

s New York City’s health department has reported that new HIV infections continue to increase among young gay and bisexual men, the city has cut $19 million in HIV prevention funding over the past five years and is moving to slash more of that funding. “In the past five years, city tax levy funding for HIV prevention has decreased by almost $8 million, with another loss of more than $11 million in HIV preventionrelated City Council funding,” Thomas Farley, the city’s health commissioner, wrote in a January 4 letter to a city AIDS group. “While the behavioral risk reduction category was largely spared the most severe budget reductions required in mid-2011, this category could no longer be spared when we were required to make cuts in the 2012 budget.” The health department’s entire budget for the current fiscal year is $1.6 billion. Its prevention contracts are administered for the department by Public Health Solutions (PHS), a non-profit group. The January letter followed a December 13 letter from PHS to at least nine AIDS organizations that were told their current contracts would be cut by 50 percent. Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the Latino Commission on AIDS, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center were among the groups informed their contracts would be affected. The groups appealed to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian Democrat who represents Chelsea, who was not told about the cuts by the department. The agency relented after Quinn’s office asserted the department could not unilaterally make cuts to a budget the City Council had passed and the mayor had signed. “Speaker Quinn’s office was quite vocal,” said Janet Weinberg, GMHC’s chief operating officer. The health department restored the full value of the contracts through June of this year, when the current fiscal year ends, and agreed to pay half of the dollars due on the contracts through the end of 2012 when they may be rebid. In a statement, the health department wrote, “HIV testing and prevention efforts for MSM remain a priority for the Health Department. With reductions in local funding, the Health Department, as well as all clinical and non-clinical community agencies have had to make difficult

Health Commissioner Thomas Farley at the time his appointment was announced in 2009.

choices. All activities and interventions have had to be assessed with respect to their potential to maximize the number of HIV infections averted and cost-effectiveness.” In a statement, Quinn called Farley’s comment that the Council had cut more than the department “baffling and misleading.” The Council speaker wrote, “As the Commissioner says in his letter, all City agencies have had to reassess the allocation of funding given the current fiscal climate and the leaner budget which the City of New York, including the Council, must operate under. The City Council is committed to funding HIV/ AIDS preven-

Quinn called Farley’s comment that the Council had cut more than the department “baffling and misleading.” tion initiatives and continues to support them while working with the Administration to avert and restore funding whenever possible.” The number of groups affected is unclear. In the 2010 fiscal year, the latest year Gay City News found data for, 63 groups had prevention contracts worth $17.5 million. Some of those contracts were funded with federal dollars. It appears that a subset of the 63 contractors, perhaps as many as 20 with contracts worth $4.6 million in 2010, could be affected. “On this round, I don’t think it’s that high, but in June it may very well be,” Weinberg said. The nine groups, which also include Iris House in Harlem, Health People in the Bronx, and the Bronx AIDS Task

Force, have programs working with the population that city data show is seeing increases in new HIV infections — young gay and bisexual African-American and Latino men. “I just don’t know where their head is at,” said Tokes Osubu, GMAD’s executive director, referring to the health department. In addition to the funding cut, GMAD

was told it would no longer receive free HIV testing kits from the department or be allowed to use the agency’s mobile testing van. GMAD has used the van three to four times a week for “six years, easily” to do HIV testing at clubs, parks, and shelters, Osubu said. The original contract was with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and GMAD performed 480 tests annually. That has climbed to 1,000 to 1,200 annually under a city contract, Osubu said. “It really gets us into hard-to-reach neighborhoods,” Osubu said of the van. The department wrote that GMAD’s testing efforts were not finding enough new HIV-positive people to justify their cost. “Internal data submitted by GMAD from their mobile testing activities has shown that, in terms of the total number of HIV tests conducted, the number of new HIV-positives identified and the seropositivity have all been comparatively low and under anticipated targets,” the statement said. “This information informed the decision to no longer support a van, driver, and other costs associated with this program.”

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

LEGAL

Prop 8 Ruling Limited to California Broad constitutional issue sidestepped, maybe dampening Supreme Court interest BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD

three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that Proposition 8’s enactment by California voters in November 2008 violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. The 2-1 decision on February 7 by the San Francisco-based panel upheld an August 2010 ruling by then-Chief District Judge Vaughn Walker that Prop 8 was unconstitutional, but did not embrace his expansive theories of the case. Instead, the panel majority adopted the narrowest available constitutional argument, and in so doing avoided the question whether same-sex couples have a federal right to marry. Specifically, the court ruled that there was no rational basis for passing a state constitutional amendment that revoked the right of same-sex couples to call their legally recognized relationship a “marriage.” Prop 8, which stated that only the union of a man and a woman is valid or recognized as a marriage in California, came less than six months after the State Supreme Court held that same-sex couples are entitled to a legal status, called “marriage,” that would afford them all the state law rights and benefits of marriage. The voter amendment, then, carved out a limited exception from the California Constitution’s equal protection requirement, depriving same-sex couples from the civil status the high court said they deserve, the State Supreme Court ruled in a May 2009 decision prompted by a state constitutional challenge to Prop 8. In that 2009 ruling, the California high court said that the only part of its ruling a year earlier affected by Prop 8 was the ability of same-sex couples to call their status “marriage.” Since the rest of the May 2008 ruling remained in effect, said that court, domestic partnership must provide all the rights and benefits of marriage, except the right to claim the term “marriage” itself. The court also ruled that the 18,000 same-sex marriages contracted prior to Prop

8’ passage remained valid and recognized as marriages. Anticipating correctly that the California Supreme Court would not overturn Prop 8, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), representing two same-sex couples denied marriage licenses, was prepared to immediately file its federal constitutional challenge to the amendment when the state high court ruled. Because none of the named defendants — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Attor ney General Jerry Brown (now the governor), the state officials in charge of administering marriage licenses, and the county clerks who denied marriage licenses to the two plaintiff couples — were willing to defend Prop 8 on the merits, the Propo-

nents were allowed to intervene as defendants. The City of San Francisco, which had been a plaintiff in the successful marriage litigation the year before, was allowed to intervene as coplaintiff. In August 2010, Walker ruled that Prop 8 violated the 14th Amendment on two grounds — it denied same-sex couples a fundamental right without evidence of a compelling government interest to do so and it singled out same-sex couples for exclusion from marriage without any rational justification. Had the Ninth Circuit panel affirmed Walker’s ruling on either of those theories, its opinion would mark the first time a federal appellate court had ruled that same-sex couples

have a constitutional right to marry. And, most likely, had the three-judge panel chosen that path, the Ninth Circuit judges, as a group, would have vacated the opinion and granted rehearing by an expanded panel of 11 judges — en banc, in legal parlance — following a well-established practice in that circuit. The panel majority, however, chose a narrower approach, avoiding the ultimate constitutional question and, instead, considering a question presented by the City of San Francisco during the appeals process — whether it violated the Equal Protection Clause for the people of California to vote to rescind from one group of citizens a right that was otherwise available to all.

In other words, once the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had a right to marry under the State Constitution, same-sex and different-sex couples there enjoyed an equal right to form legal unions called “marriages.” Passing Prop 8 kept that right intact for different-sex couples and took it away from same-sex couples. The government must have at least a rational basis for treating one group differently than another. The panel’s majority looked to the precedent established by the US Supreme Court’s ruling in the 1996 Colorado Amendment 2 case. There, the Supreme Court held that voters in that state violated the Equal Protec-

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PROP 8, continued on p.36

Is Prop 8 Case at its End? California amendment supporters face choice on forestalling gay marriage BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD

he Official Proponents of Proposition 8 — who have been allowed to defend the 2008 California constitutional amendment in the absence of the state stepping up — have lost two rounds in court and now face a critical decision. After a 2-1 defeat in front of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel, they can either seek to convince a majority of judges in the Circuit to grant a rehearing “en banc” — in which the chief judge would be joined by ten of his colleagues chosen at random — or they can appeal directly to the Supreme Court. Seeking en banc review would prolong the agony for marriage equality advocates in California eager to implement District Judge Vaughn Walker’s August 2010 decision overturning Prop 8. It would also give gay marriage opponents two bites at the apple — in the full Ninth Circuit and at the Supreme Court. If the Prop 8 Proponents win before an en banc panel, they don’t have to go to the Supreme Court. It would then be up to the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), established in 2009 to overturn Prop 8, to seek high court review. AFER aims to win a Supreme Court finding that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry — a view endorsed by Walker but skirted by the Ninth Circuit in its narrow ruling last week, which held that

once a constitutional right is granted, it may not be revoked except for some rational justification that it found lacking. Proponents might consider whether they want to give marriage equality supporters the opportunity to frame the questions brought to the Supreme Court or seek immediate review themselves on their own terms. The high court, however, can take up the issues in whatever form they see fit, so “gaming” that question is not a sure proposition. If this case goes before an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit, its outcome is difficult to predict without first knowing the 11 members. The Circuit has a liberal reputation, but Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W Bush, between them, appointed nine judges who are still active. The other 16 judges were appointed by Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. The Circuit, then, leans liberal, but not overwhelmingly. It should also be noted that several Democratic appointees are not so liberal, and some of the Republican appointees have emerged as more libertarian on gay rights than might have been anticipated when appointed. For example, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, appointed by Reagan, is unpredictable on gay rights cases, but he did write a strong decision in an internal Circuit hearing holding that a lawyer employed in a staff position there who married her same-sex partner in California in 2008 was entitled to enroll her spouse

in the federal employee benefits program, despite the Defense of Marriage Act. Proponents might look at the overall Ninth Circuit line-up and decide that they don’t have a great shot at winning a reversal. At the same time, they certainly know that the Ninth Circuit is overturned by the Supreme Court more often than other circuits, reflecting the “political” balance of its appointees. In speculating about how the Supreme Court might view the Prop 8 case, the first thing to say is that it has yet to decide any same-sex marriage case. Justice Antonin Scalia, the court’s most fiery conservative, charged, in his dissent in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas sodomy case, that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s reasoning for the majority opened the way for same-sex marriage. Scalia argued that, with sodomy laws gone, the only real justification for excluding same-sex couples from marriage was a legislative judgment that such relationships are immoral, and Lawrence seemed to eliminate moral judgments as a basis for making laws. As usual, Scalia was overstating his position for dramatic effect. Subsequent lower federal court rulings have generally given a narrower reading to Lawrence, particularly noting that it had to do with the validity of a criminal statute and that Kennedy had himself narrowed the scope of the holding by making clear what the

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ANALYSIS, continued on p.36

| February 15, 2012

LEGAL

Advocates Buoyant Over Ruling California gay marriage advance; path to airing federal question unclear BY PAUL SCHINDLER

encourages heterosexual couples to raise their children in marriage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no rational reason to think he February 7 appellate ruling that affirmed a 2010 federal that taking away the designation of district court decision striking â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;marriageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from same-sex couples would down Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Proposition advance the goal of encouraging Califor8 made crystal clear that its applicability niaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opposite-sex couples to procreate was limited to the unique circumstances more responsibly,â&#x20AC;? Reinhardt wrote. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;steering procreationâ&#x20AC;? argument of that 2008 voter initiative. After acknowledging that there is enor- is one that has provided the bulwark for mous interest in the question of wheth- numerous state supreme court rulings er â&#x20AC;&#x153;under the Constitution same-sex rejecting equal marriage claims, includcouples may ever be denied the right to ing the decision issued by New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marry,â&#x20AC;? Judge Stephen Reinhardt, in the Court of Appeals in July 2006. Boies and other attorneys representmajority opinion, wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need not and do not answer the broader question ing the American Foundation for Equal in this case, however, because California Rights (AFER), which initiated the federal had already extended to committed same- Prop 8 challenge on behalf of two samesex couples both the incidents of mar- sex couples in 2009, also talked about other sections of the majority opinion in which â&#x20AC;&#x153;the reasoning the judges use to make their decision is much broader and could have major repercussions,â&#x20AC;? Prop8TrialTracker.com reported. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proposition 8 operates with no apparent purpose but to impose on gays and lesbians, through the public law, a majorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private disapproval of them and their relationships, by taking away from them the official designation of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;marriage,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; with its societally recognized status,â&#x20AC;? Reinhardt wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proposition 8 therefore violates the Equal Protection Clause.â&#x20AC;? Drawing on the 1996 Supreme Court AFER attorney Ted Boutrous and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who wrote a play based on the transcripts ruling that invalidated Coloradoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of the Prop 8 federal trial, after the Ninth Circuit Appeals panel voter-initiated Amendment 2, which issued its ruling. barred the state and local governments there from providing nondiscrimination riage and the official designation of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mar- protections based on sexual orientation, riage,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Proposition 8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only effect was Reinhardt wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proposition 8 serves to take away that important and legally no purpose and has no effect, other than significant designation, while leaving to lessen the status and human dignity in place all of its incidents. This unique of gays and lesbians in California, and and strictly limited effect of Proposition to officially reclassify their relationships 8 allows us to address the amendmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply constitutionality on narrow grounds.â&#x20AC;? In other words, if the 2-1 decision by does not allow for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;laws of this sort.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? In the words of Prop8TrialTracker. a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel is denied further review or the theories of com, from the perspective of AFER attorthe case it adopted are upheld on appeal ney Ted Olson, â&#x20AC;&#x153;todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ruling demonto the full Ninth Circuit or the Supreme strates unequivocally that marriage is a Court, same-sex marriage will once again centrally important American institution, be available in California but there will be and that it is unconstitutional to call gay couplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; relationships civil unions or no immediate ramifications elsewhere. Still, according to Prop8TrialTracker. domestic partnerships, because doing so com, a project of Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progres- implicitly classifies those relationships sive Courage Campaign, in a post-ruling as less valid than heterosexual marriagpress call, David Boies, one of the attor- es. In his mind, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision lays the neys challenging the voter amendmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s framework for further expansion of marconstitutionality, emphasized that the riage rights in other courts.â&#x20AC;? The route from the Ninth Circuit panmajority opinion roundly rejected the only justification put up by the panelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion to progress in other courts, dissenter â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage ä&#x2030;´ ADVOCATES, continued on p.36

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

POLITICS

Joe Solmonese Wears Prada At HRC gala, Goldman Sachs, Anna Wintour — but without Andrew Cuomo, where’s the sex appeal? BY PAUL SCHINDLER

FACEBOOK.COM/ QUEERING OWS

Protesters outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on February 4.

by the Empire State Pride Agenda at its October dinner in Manhattan, where he gave the keynote address. HRC, meanwhile, honored New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at its October dinner in Washington. According to an HRC spokesman, the group hoped to have Cuomo appear at the Waldorf event, but he was “unavailable.” HRC’s recognition of Goldman was squarely in the LGBT lobbying group’s tradition — and that of most other large non-profit advocacy organizations — of honoring major corporate players who sign on to their agenda and, crucially, help sell tickets to their fundraisers. As the evening’s corporate sponsors were announced early in the dinner, the spirited applause coming from specific tables

GRCC

ith its critical contribution to the successful fight for marriage equality in New York last summer — and its efforts in Washington State headed for imminent payoff, as well — the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) had plenty to celebrate at its annual New York gala at the Waldorf Astoria this past weekend. A crowd the group pegged at 1,000 ponied up $450-plus each for an evening highlighted by fashion icon Anna Wintour, the longtime editor of Vogue, receiving HRC’s Ally of Equality Award from “Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy. Still, despite the red-hot state of the simultaneous fight for marriage rights and against some reversals — not only in New York and Washington, but also in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and North Carolina — and the fast-approaching presidential election, politics played curiously flat during the February 4 event. That was due not only to the surprising absence of a key player in the New York fight — Governor Andrew Cuomo — but also to HRC’s decision to honor Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs with its Corporate Equality Award. Most advocates credit New York’s Democratic governor with providing unprecedented leadership in turning a 38-24 State Senate deficit on marriage equality 13 months before he took office into a 33-29 victory in his first legislative session. In turn, Cuomo, in an interview with Gay City News just days after the vote, singled out HRC’s Brian Ellner by name for his contribution to the June 24 victory. In the months after the enactment of gay marriage, Cuomo made something of a victory lap and was fêted

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and his two daughters with HRC’s national field director Marty Rouse (left).

at the mention of Goldman, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Mastercard, KPMG, and Proctor & Gamble, among others, suggests just how many tickets were sold via outreach to the business community. Goldman was one of 190 major corporations — out of 636 officially rated — that scored a perfect 100 percent on the group’s most recent Corporate Equality Index, a measure of workplace fairness policies that has been toughened in recent years to include full employee benefits parity, medically necessary transgender health coverage, philanthropic and political support for LGBT equality and social services, and supplier diversity practices that include queerowned enterprises. As the New York Times noted on February 5, the company is one of a handful that grosses up the pay of gay and lesbian employees whose domestic partnership or spousal benefits receive disparate state and federal tax treatment due to either the lack of marriage rights or the Defense of Marriage Act. In the wake of the dinner, HRC announced that Goldman’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, has agreed to become what the Times described as the group’s “first national corporate spokesman for samesex marriage.” During the fight for gay marriage in New York and elsewhere, HRC has identified a host of well-known supporters in fields ranging from business to sports, and entertainment to religion and elective office, with many of them, such as Barbara Bush, one of the former president’s twin daughters, and Sean Avery, who plays left wing for the New York Rangers, recording brief video

endorsements. You don’t need to be a reflexive critic of Wall Street, however, to conclude that HRC’s choice of Goldman Sachs at this particular moment reflected quite the tin ear. The only political story out of New York that garnered more attention last year than marriage equality was the Occupy Wall Street movement — and, for many of its adherents and much of the media, Goldman Sachs has been an easy shorthand for the industry and its abuses. The decision to honor the firm drew heated criticism in the gay blogosphere. Posting on bilerico.com on February 2, Bil Browning wrote, “There are plenty of other ways to raise needed cash without honoring a company that has increased queer unemployment, housing loss, and played an overwhelming role in the political climate that oppresses us as politicians clamor for the big bucks the Wall Street giant donates to their pets.” In the Huffington Post, Andrew Beaver wrote, “Goldman advised the Greek government on how to cheat its way into the Eurozone, setting up a crisis that threatens to further depress the global economy. Goldman acted as a bookie for insurance giant AIG’s mortgage-based gambling operation and then pocketed $13 billion of AIG’s $182 billion government bailout.” Browning and Beaver’s outrage came amidst calls from groups including the Queer OWS Caucus and Queer Rising and Queerocracy, two grassroots organizations, for a protest outside the Waldorf. The groups criticized the award for Goldman Sachs and called on HRC to press a broader civil rights agenda focused on “full equality by 2014” and to make its decision-making more “transparent.” The announcement of a protest — focused, in part, on economic justice issues that have dominated headlines for months since OWS first gathered in Zuccotti Park five months ago — drew strangely churlish responses from HRC. “We are fortunate to live in a democracy that encourages many diverse points of view,” Fred Sainz, an HRC’s spokesman, told the Advocate, in one of several similar comments to the media. “The irony is that our programs serve the 99 percent of the population this group says it represents.” Being a bit more magnanimous would likely not have cost HRC anything. In the end, the protest was relatively small — numbering in the dozens of picketers outside the hotel’s entrances on Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets. As protesters chanted, “Everyone

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HRC, continued on p.13

| February 15, 2012

POLITICS

$2 Million Raised for Minnesota Marriage Fight Pro-gay groups out-hustle constitutional ban supporters by 50 percent BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

he groups that are supporting or opposing a ballot initiative to amend Minnesota’s state constitution to ban samesex marriage collectively raised $2 million last year. “It’s an amazing display of the energy in Minnesota when it comes to people wanting to stand united against this proposed amendment,” said Richard Carlbom, the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families (MUAF), the coalition that opposes the amendment. MUAF raised $1.2 million through the end of 2011 with donations from roughly 5,100 people, according to a 348-page report it filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Equality Minnesota, a gay group, gave $85,000 in cash, while other gay and civil rights

to defeat one,” Carlbom said. A poll of 1,236 Minnesota voters released by Public Policy Polling on January 27 found that 48 percent of those polled support the marriage amendment while 44 percent oppose it. The group that is backing the amendment, Minnesota For Marriage, raised $830,000, with $826,000 of that money coming from political action committees established by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Minnesota Family Council, a right-wing group, and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage. In contrast to MUAF’s report, the filings by the amendment’s proponents are notable for their brevity, and only the names of a handful of donors to Minnesota For Marriage were reported. The filings by Minnesota For Marriage and the Minnesota Family

Council are eight pages each. NOM’s filing is seven pages long. The Catholic Conference report runs to 15 pages. That report says its political action committee raised $750,000 and gave $350,000 to Minnesota For Marriage. That $750,000 came from three of the six dioceses in Minnesota. NOM is known for refusing to disclose the names of donors to its political campaigns, claiming they will be subject to harassment and violence if their names are made public. NOM is currently involved in at least eight federal lawsuits challenging state campaign disclosure laws. The courts have consistently ruled against NOM, but it has yet to release any data. NOM is represented by James Bopp, an Indiana attorney who has built a career out of opposing campaign disclosure laws and limits on political donations. Bopp is probably best

HRC, from p.12

paid their taxes; everyone but Goldman Sachs” and “LGBT, we demand equality,” Jenn M., a transgender woman affiliated with the Queer OWS Caucus, said, “We want HRC working for economic equality… We’d like to see HRC going more grassroots.” While acknowledging that the marriage win in New York was “amazing,” she charged the group has “given up on transgender rights for right now.” Bill Livsey, also affiliated with OWS, said, “HRC gets in bed with Wall Street just like they desire to get in bed with the Democratic Party.” He added, “They’re just a money-making machine.” The picket was too small to run afoul of the city’s requirement that gatherings of 50 or more obtain a permit and protesters kept moving as they marched back and forth from 49th to 50th Street, but that didn’t stop the NYPD from moving quickly to pen the protesters away from the hotel’s entrances. Once the picketers were boxed in, the cops next used the barricade to force them to the end of the block, at which point their visibility essentially evaporated. A woman who was live-streaming the protest by video was forced up against the hotel’s windows as the police dispersed the marchers. Todd Fernandez, a spokesman for the picketers, complained that the police action stepped on the message they

GRCC

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groups, churches, non-profits, and foundations made cash or in-kind donations ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. In addition to the many small donations, the coalition received $150,000 in cash and $28,000 in in-kind donations from a political action committee formed by Freedom to Marry, the nationwide pro-gay marriage group, and $90,000 in cash and $85,000 in inkind donations from a political action committee formed by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT lobby. In 31 contests in 29 states, the community has never stopped a marriage ban. It won just one initiative, a rollback of a domestic partner benefits law in Arizona in 2006. The coalition is banking that Minnesota will represent the tide changing. The vote is on November 6. “We feel good about our chances of being the first state

State Senator Tom Duane, the leader of the gay marriage fight in his chamber, and his partner Louis Webre.

hoped to convey and pledged, “This is just the beginning of our engagement with HRC, a corporation that refuses to have an open community process.” Inside, the most inspired political moment came when City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian Chelsea Democrat expected to run for mayor in 2013, spoke briefly, praising HRC for “having our backs” in the push for equal

marriage rights and other LGBT rights initiatives. Vermont’s Democratic governor, Peter Shumlin, was also on hand and could have offered the crowd a compelling narrative. As State Senate president in 2009, he led the successful override effort when Republican Governor Jim Douglas vetoed marriage equality legislation, a story with particular resonance

known for successfully arguing the 2010 case, commonly referred to as Citizens United, in which the US Supreme Court ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations. Minnesota For Marriage paid Bopp’s firm roughly $40,000 for legal advice. Prior to the January 31 release of the campaign finance reports, the proponents sought a series of opinions from the board — four altogether — on whether they must disclose the donors who gave the cash they then contributed to Minnesota for Marriage. The Minnesota campaign finance law is highly technical and complex. While the board’s general posture is that more disclosure is better, disclosure of the underlying donors depends on the amount donated, how the funds were solicited, and for what purpose they were collected.

now that New Jersey’s Chris Christie has reiterated his vow to veto gay marriage legislation headed for passage there. Oddly, Shumlin was not given a speaking spot during the dinner, but instead offered brief remarks during the cocktail hour as most of the attendees, gathered in a cavernous room, chatted amongst themselves. HRC’s outgoing president, Joe Solmonese, opened his address by noting the evening was his last New York event as leader of the group, but might just as well have added that he gave his final speech last year. He offered a perfunctory laundry list of accomplishments — enactment of federal hate crimes legislation, repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and gay marriage’s victory in New York — and reminded the audience that no state marriage victory was complete without federal recognition. Then, as if the final two-thirds of his speech had been swallowed up in the teleprompter, he abruptly introduced a married lesbian couple to make a pitch for greater giving to HRC. Fortunately, the couple, Lea Matthews and Rachel Black, offered a moving personal story of their journey from their college days in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to San Francisco and now New York, where they are raising their young daughter and at least enjoy all the rights of marriage under state law. In an imperfect evening, they served as a reminder of what the fight is all about.

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

BOOKS

The Discovery of Straight Folks The binary used by friends, foes alike less than 150 years old BY DOUG IRELAND

STRAIGHT: THE SURPRISINGLY SHORT HISTORY OF HETEROSEXUALITY

t is one of the ironies of history that heterosexuals were created as a category by a campaigner for the decriminalization of same-sex relations in Germany. It was in 1868 that the journalist KarlMaria Kertbeny coined the word in his pamphleteering against the infamous Paragraph 152 — which outlawed sex between members of the same gender — just as he invented the word “homosexual” to replace the pejorative appellations “sodomite” and “pederast.” In her important new book “Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality,” just published by Beacon Press, historian Hanne Blank — the author of seven books that explore the intersections of sexuality, gender, the body, and culture — writes that we should not be “deluded” that “‘heterosexual’ became such a culture-transforming success because it represented the longawaited discovery of a vital and inescapable scientific truth. It wasn’t [and] had nothing to do with biology or medicine. ‘Heterosexual’ (and ‘homosexual’) originated in a quasi-legal context, a term of art designed to argue a philosophical point of legislature.” Blank goes on to say that “‘heterosexual’ became a success, in other words, not because it represented a new scientific verity or capital-T Truth. It succeeded because it was useful. At a time when moral authority was shifting from religion to the secular society at a precipitous pace, ‘heterosexual’ offered a way to dress old religious priorities in immaculate white coats that looked just like the ones worn among the new power hierarchy of scientists. At a historical moment when the waters of anxiety about family, nation, class, gender, and empire were at a rather hysterical high, ‘heterosexual’ seemed to offer a dry, firm place for authority to stand. [It] gave old orthodoxies a new and vibrant lease on life by suggesting, in authoritative tones, that science had effectively pronounced them natural, inevitable, and innate.” Blank’s fascinating and wide-ranging essay constitutes a broadside blast at the increasingly irrelevant binary division of the world into heterosexuals and homosexuals. Unlike most scholars, Blank writes with verve and wit — as when she declares, “There are no such things as ‘opposite’ genders any more than a strawberry is the ‘opposite’ of a plum. They are merely different. Describing any two sexes or genders as ‘opposite’ is not fact, it is merely an outdated and inaccurate custom.” One of the founding culprits in estab-

By Hanne Blank Beacon Press 26.95; 228 pages

“Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality” should cement Hanne Blank’s reputation as one of our most creative and informed thinkers about sex.

lishing the cult of heterosexuality as “normative” was the Austro-German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing in his highly influential 1886 magnum opus, “Psychopathia Sexualis,” which he wrote in part to help jurists decide cases of sexual misconduct. “If we read between the lines of KrafftEbing’s terminology, we get a pretty clear idea of what he was willing to characterize as appropriate, healthy sexuality: potentially procreative intercourse and very little else,” Blank points out. Kraft-Ebing’s popularizers and interpreters among doctors, medical writers, and journalists did not fail to echo his prejudices. Then came the pioneering British sexologist Havelock Ellis, considered a “modernizer” of sexual discourse in his time, who by 1915 “had begun to use the word ‘heterosexual’ as shorthand for a type of relationship between male/ female pairs that simultaneously included the ennobling notion of love, the potential for procreation, and the experience of erotic pleasure.” And one mustn’t forget Freud and his own legion of popularizers, who traded in notions like the view that “the longing for maternity” was a primary motivation of sexual interest “in the majority of women.” Many of them have engaged, Banks writes, in “passing along other Freudian shibboleths, such as warning of the dangers of sexual neurosis and ‘psychic impotence’ among men who were ‘brain workers.’” Blank argues, “By the time of World War II, a basically Freudian understand-

ing of sexuality had become a cultural commonplace, a sex doxa [a Greek word meaning common belief or popular opinion] that has contributed not only to the now-laughable notion that comic books turn young people into juvenile delinquents and sexual deviants, but which continues to influence the ideology of American government-mandated ‘abstinence-only’ sex education.” The concensus embrace of a narrowly defined heterosexuality as normative was motored — as Blank points out in a particularly penetrating chapter entitled

“

ance could infiltrate their lives, an undercurrent of sexual self-consciousness and self-examination became an increasingly commonplace experience. The mandate to avoid degeneracy meant knowing at all times that what one desired and how one behaved were above suspicion…” Reinforced by a dimestore Freudianism adopted by masses who’d never read a word written by the Viennese sage, Blank emphasizes, “Western culture acquired sexual self-consciousness on a grand scale because self-assessment offered ways to defend against being marked as a degenerate or a deviant. Heterosexuals learned to experience heterosexuality — to think about themselves as ‘being’ and ‘feeling’ hetereosexual, to believe that there is a difference between ‘being’ hetereosexual’ and ‘being homosexual’ — because they needed, in newly official ways, to know what they weren’t.” Blank acknowledges her intellectual debt to the pioneering gay historian Jonathan Ned Katz’s seminal essay, “The Invention of Heterosexuality,” which she has called “a touchstone” for her own work. The conceits she and Katz note among heterosexuals were, of course, illusory, as the Kinsey Report later demonstrated convincingly. Reading Blank’s analysis, I was reminded of the early gay liberationist slogan, to which I’ve always subscribed, that “homosexuals are different from everyone else — except in bed.” The discourse about sexuality over less than a century “is where the concept and experience of this thing called ‘sexual orientation’ came from,” Blank writes. “It does not stem from relatively small numbers of people wanting to signal to others like them the ways in which they were sexually outside the mainstream. It stems from enormous numbers of people being very anxious about the possibility of seeing a degenerate in the mirror.” Indeed, Blank’s finely honed challenge to the whole notion of “sexual orientation” is central to her book and a hallmark of her sexual radicalism. The physical, biological, and medical sciences have failed to explain things

The mandate to avoid degeneracy meant knowing at all times that what one desired and how one behaved were above suspicion.” “The Degenerate in the Mirror” — by the need to define oneself as existing outside of, and in opposition to, any form of sexual difference. “Deviance, it was clear, was everywhere,” she writes. “ It was subversive and lurked even in the private and mysterious realms of thought and emotions. As people were made more and more aware of all the many ways in which devi-

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STRAIGHTS, continued on p.15

| February 15, 2012

COMMUNITY

Gay Chamber Welcomes Non-Proﬁts BY PAUL SCHINDLER

h e N e w Yo r k C i t y chapter of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCCNY) has taken an ambitious step toward broadening it mission by hosting a daylong retreat for non-profit organizations serving the community. At a February 4 gathering that drew board members and senior staff from more than twodozen non-profits, NGLCCNY leaders and the organization’s national president, Justin Nelson, initiated a dialogue about how such groups, large and small, can adopt best management practices and also pursue collaboration and capacitybuilding amongst themselves. Attendees ranged from representatives of leading advocacy groups in New York and nationwide, including the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), to leaders of smaller, specialized organizations like the Abzyme Research Foundation, which does HIV work, and arts groups, such as Visual AIDS. NGLCCNY and its affiliates in the national organization serve thousands of LGBT -owned business across the US, and a major push among them currently is certification for corporate and government supplier

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diversity programs that have been broadened from reaching out to women- and minorityowned companies to those with LGBT owners, as well. But in the February 4 retreat at the Standard Hotel, the organization was focused on issues long familiar in the non-profit world — overlapping missions versus issues that require greater effort, unity of effort as compared to the drive for more diverse voices and participation, and the goal of enlisting straight allies of the LGBT community. The Abzyme Research Foundation, which supports the search for a therapeutic vaccine to eradicate AIDS in those already infected, has, since its founding three years ago, faced the question of why there’s a need for another HIV organization. Its executive director, Zachary Barnett, understands the concern. When he arrived in New York five years ago, he recalled, there were four different groups working on the crystal meth problem among gay men. Still, he said that too few dollars are spent on vaccine research for those living with HIV — as opposed to HIV-negative people — and he has been eager to have better dialogue with other AIDS groups. Saying there is too often a “cloak

STRAIGHTS, from p.14

that are not physically tangible. “They can explain how vasodilation takes place and blood flow to the penis increases, how the spongy bodies in the penis fill with blood, what physics and hydraulics are involved in making the penis stiffen, and how blood is temporarily kept inside the penis so that the penis can remain erect,” Blank notes. “But no scientist can tell you whether that erect penis is gay or straight… From the standpoint of the physical and biological sciences, one erect human penis is more or less interchangeable with the next.” Blank tellingly mocks the very notion of the search for “gay” or “straight” genes. “If we found a ‘straight gene’ tomorrow, we still wouldn’t be able to explain how we get from the creation of specific proteins — which is all that DNA is capable of instructing the body to do — to a complicated, highly variable com-

JEFFREY HOLMES

February 4 Manhattan retreat emphasizes collaboration, best practices

Richard Oceguera, president of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce NY, addresses the group’s non-profit retreat at the Standard Hotel on February 4.

and dagger” atmosphere in the field, Barnett said, “The board retreat is a neutralized space to meet. We don’t come in in the defensive position we might be in at other venues. It’s much better than trying to set up individual meetings at bigger AIDS groups.” Ben Brooks, a human resources professional in a large

plex of behaviors like heterosexuality,” she writes. “At this stage, science cannot even figure out what causes some people to be left-handed while others are right-handed, a much simpler characteristic than sexual orientation by far. Our hubris in thinking that we would be able to make sense of a physical telltale of sexual orientation if one were found is every bit as entrenched as our certainty that there must be such a thing as sexual orientation in the first place. This, I submit, is no coincidence.” Blank is a felicitous writer, and her book is as entertaining as it is erudite. Her formidable command of all the scientific and historical literature regarding sex allows her to connect the dots between a wide-ranging array of subjects in ways that furnish profoundly illuminating challenges to the dogma dear to both the Focus on the Family crowd, on the one hand, and many gay activists on the other. It is an impressive accomplishment, and it will be interesting to

financial services company and an SLDN board member for the past three years, acknowledged that the community has groups that share goals at the risk of duplication of effort, but noted that many hands are needed. “I am a glass half-full guy,” he said. “I see an upside from greater collaboration. I am happy that there are a lot of groups

see whether this highly stimulating and original work gets the attention from the mainstream media that it unquestionanly deserves — nay, demands. As the headline-grabbing bleats about human sexuality from Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in recent weeks remind us, Blank’s book is also highly relevant politically. Again this year, voters in some states will be asked to cast their ballots in referenda for or against the dominance and extension of what gay liberationists think of as heterotyranny. “Would lifting the heavy hand of the binary sex/ gender system from the law really mean, as conservative critics sometimes warn it will, the end of marriage and the traditional family?” Blank asks. Her answer: “It doesn’t seem likely that it would. Nor would it necessarily spell the end of heterosexuality. Surely, if male and female are but two of a variety of sexes, and masculine and feminine two of a variety of genders,

working on these issues.” SLDN achieved its founding goal with the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but has just completed a strategic review of its aims going forward — chief among them the right of transgender soldiers to serve openly and benefits and recognition parity for LGBT military families. That latter goal was addressed in an October legal challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act by eight gay and lesbian married couples that include an active duty or veteran member of the military. While saying the question of how to coordinate the fight against DOMA is best put to Freedom to Marry, Brooks added, “I can attest that it is not at 100 percent efficiency, but we are all working toward that. And that’s important.” While Barnett and Brooks talked about reconciling specialized efforts with broader goals, Carlene Jadusingh, the president of the Lesbian & Gay Law Association of Greater New York (LeGaL), emphasized that diversity was too often ignored in community-building efforts. “The face of the movement is white and gay male,” she said. “But that does not represent the community.”

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NON-PROFITS, continued on p.33

then heterosexual and homosexual are only two of a variety of ways to combine them. Egalitarianism, human rights, and civil rights are slowly but surely forcing the hand of the law. The law may not eagerly embrace the complexities of sex and gender, but the more that human beings continue to exist in ways that challenge the borders and dynamics of ‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual,’ the law will be compelled to find some way to answer.” Hanne Blank is a national treasure, and if there is any intellectual justice in our culture with its ever-shortening attention span, “Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality” should cement her reputation as one of our most creative and informed thinkers about sex. This brilliantly researched and argued book deserves an important place on your shelves, for — regardless of what you believe you “know” — it will make you think in new and, indeed, revolutionary ways.

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

| February 15, 2012

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

| February 15, 2012

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

Gay Marriage the Law in Washington State But November referendum likely BY PAUL SCHINDLER

in approving the legislation. In a written statement after the govppearing before a crowd ernor’s signing ceremony, Lacey All, the numbering in the hundreds, chair of Washington United for Marriage, Democratic Governor Chris a broad coalition of equality supporters, Gregoire signed a marriage said,“ We thank Governor Gregoire for equality law in Washington her tremendous leadership in passing this landmark legislation. From her movState on February 13. “As governor for more than seven years, ing remarks endorsing the legislation to this is one of my proudest moments,” her unwavering courage and commitGregoire said. “And most surely today is ment throughout the legislative process, a proud day in the history of the Legisla- the governor has been a key ally in formture and the State of Washington. It is a ing the bipartisan coalition that passed day historians will mark as a milestone this bill.” Last week, All acknowledged the near for equal rights. A day when we did what was right, we did what was just, and we certainty that those fighting against did what was fair. We stood up for equal- marriage equality will force a vote on the ity and we did it together – Republicans question of whether Washington residents approve of the new law when they cast their ballots in November “We do not doubt our opponents will be successful in placing a referendum on the ballot, and we will continue to build upon our momentum and win in November,” she said. Now that the governor has signed the measure, which does not become effective until June, opponents can delay the start of same-sex weddings by filing a referendum question. They have until June 6 to submit 120,577 valid signatures to put the Josh Friedes, the director of marriage equality at Equal Rights Washington, said advocates would spend an “unprecedented” amount of money to defend the new question on the November ballot — a relatively law at the ballot box in November. low hurdle in a state with and Democrats, gay and straight, young more than 6.8 million residents. The National Organization for Marriage and old, and a variety of religious faiths.” The legislation won final approval on (NOM), a leading national group fighting February 8, when the State House of marriage equality and other gay and lesRepresentatives passed it in a biparti- bian partnership advances nationwide, san 55-43 vote. The measure cleared the underscored its commitment to fight the new law in comments it made after the State Senate on February 1. After last week’s House vote, the gover- Senate approved it on February 1. “We plan to submit a referendum on nor said, “We tell every child of same-sex couples that their family is every bit as this to the secretary of state before the equal and important as all other families ink is dry on the governor’s signature,” in our state. And we take a major step said Chris Plante, the regional coorditoward completing a long and important nator for NOM. “We’ve got a major conjourney to end discrimination based on stituency; faith communities across the state will carry a heavy load on this. But sexual orientation.” In 2006, Gregoire signed the state’s they’re not the only ones committed to sexual orientation nondiscrimination retaining the current definition of marriage.” law. The group pledged $250,000 toward Two Republicans joined 53 House Democrats in approving the measure, primary fights against the four Repubwhile three Democrats were among those lican senators who voted yes, but has who voted no. In the Senate, four Republicans voted with 24 of the 27 Democrats 䉴 WASHINGTON, continued on p.21 EQUALITY FEDERATION

| February 15, 2012

BIG STEP IN JERSEY â&#x20AC;&#x201D; BUT TO WHAT END? The New Jersey State Senate, in a 24-16 vote on February 13, approved a marriage equality law there. Two Republicans joined all but two of the Democrats in the majority. In January 2010, in the waning days of Democratic Governor Jon Corzineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration, the Senate rejected a gay marriage bill 20-14. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who made passage this year a top legislative priority, has repeatedly said he regrets his opposition two years ago. Corzine was prepared to sign a marriage equality measure, while Republican Chris Christie has repeatedly vowed to veto it. The Senate margin falls three votes short of the number needed to override a Christie veto, and even if the two Democrats who voted no could be prevailed on to change their position, it seems unlikely that a GOP senator would come forward only to defy a popular governor from their own party. The State Assembly, which has a 48-32 Democratic majority, is poised to pass the measure on

ä&#x2030;´

WASHINGTON, from p.20

made no statement regarding its intentions toward House GOP equality supporters or in fighting the referendum battle. Gay marriage advocates have not offered an estimate of how much they will have to raise to defend the law, but Josh Friedes, the director of marriage equality at Equal Rights Washington, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LGBT lobby, told Gay City News the total spending would be â&#x20AC;&#x153;unprecedented.â&#x20AC;? Noting the strength of the coalition formalized with the launch of Washington United for Marriage last year, he said everybody has long known that the advocacy effort is two-pronged â&#x20AC;&#x201D; enacting the law and defending it at the ballot box. If advocates survive the referendum fight, Washington will become the eighth jurisdiction in the US with equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples â&#x20AC;&#x201D; joining New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Iowa, and the District of Columbia. In late January, gay marriage advocates in Maine announced they had submitted petitions to put the issue on the

February 16, at which point the bill would go to Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desk. Angered by the Democratic legislative leadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; insistence on fast-tracking a measure he campaigned against in 2009, Christie accused them of treating â&#x20AC;&#x153;hundreds of years of societal and religious traditionâ&#x20AC;? like â&#x20AC;&#x153;a political football.â&#x20AC;? Recommending that the issue instead go to a voter referendum in November, the governor shocked many AfricanAmerican civil rights veterans when he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.â&#x20AC;? Christie later backtracked from that statement. In 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the Legislature to give gay and lesbian couples all the rights and benefits of marriage, with or without the name. Lambda Legal, which litigated that case, is back in court arguing that the civil union law enacted later that year did not meet the judicial mandate. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Paul Schindler

ballot in November. If their petitions are approved later this month, they will try to overturn a 2009 vote that threw out the marriage equality law adopted earlier that year by the Legislature. On February 7, a federal appeals court struck down Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Proposition 8, but further legal wrangling is expected before the status of gay marriage is settled there. Washington State adopted a broad domestic partnership law in 2009 similar to the civil union and domestic partnership statutes in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, and New Jersey. On February 13, the New Jersey State Senate approved marriage equality law there, and the Assembly is expected to follow suit on February 16. The Senate margin, 34-16, is not, however, enough to override a promised veto by Republican Governor Chris Christie. After last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House vote in Washington State, the Daily Kos blog, in tandem with Washington United for Marriage, launched an online petition (at tinyurl.com/7ae5yw7) to thank Gregoire for her support of marriage and collect email addresses for the fight to preserve the victory.

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

FILM

Futuristic Fassbinder From ‘70s vantage, late gay filmmaker explored psychic toll of an artificial world BY STEVE ERICKSON

es Lause vanishing. Puzzled by these mysterious events, as well n his brief lifetime, openly as a suicide attempt by one of gay director Rainer Werner the identity units, Stiller gets Fassbinder created a his- in touch with the simulated tory of 20th-century Ger- world’s “contact unit,” Einstein. Einstein is the only identity unit many through his films. With “World on a Wire,” made who understands his nature as in 1973, he ventured into the a simulacrum. Einstein shares future for the only time in his his suspicions about the unfilmography. This science fiction real nature of Stiller’s world film was adapted from Daniel F. with him, explaining the mysGalouye’s 1964 novel “Simula- teries as computer glitches. Cinematographer Michael cron-3.” “World on a Wire” took a long time making it to Ameri- Ballhaus’ camera is highly ca. It received its US premiere at mobile, and Fassbinder indulgMoMA’s Fassbinder retrospec- es his fondness for zooms. Howtive in 1997. After that, it was ever, the film is marked by its hidden from American specta- use of mirrors and windows. tors again until brief one-week As Ed Halter’s liner notes tesruns at MoMA and the IFC Cen- tify, Fassbinder continued to be influenced by the melodrater in 2010 and 2011. Criterion’s DVD release will mas of Douglas Sirk even when ensure that it reaches a much working in a completely differbigger American audience than ent genre. In “World on a Wire,” it ever did theatrically. Ironical- there’s a sense that everyone is ly, one suspects that Hollywood perpetually on display. Furtherfilmmakers are among the few more, the frame is often filled Americans who did get to see with black and white TV moni“World on a Wire.” Galouye’s tors or computer screens. In some ways, “World on a novel was directly adapted a second time, as the American Wire” is a very ‘70s vision of the future. The production design film “The Thirteenth Floor.” While I haven’t read it, “World is visibly influenced by Stanley on a Wire” suggests that the Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odysnovel explores themes close to sey” and “A Clockwork Orange.” the heart of Philip K. Dick. Like Half the men in the cast sport Dick novels such as “Ubik” and mustaches. Gottfried Hüngsberg’s score relies “The Three Stigmata WORLD ON A WIRE heavily on analog of Palmer Eldritch,” Directed by Rainer Werner synthesizer beeps “World on a Wire” Fassbinder and bloops. Some deals with paranoia In German with English of the computabout whether one subtitles Criterion DVD ers take up whole is really living in Feb. 21 release rooms. reality or in a simucriterion.com In other, more lation. Criterion’s important ways, presentation of the film is split between two discs, “World on a Wire” was quite and the first one ends with prescient. Its themes predict protagonist Fred Stiller (Klaus those of films like “The Matrix” Löwitsch) being told that he and “Inception” so closely I’d be may simply be a computer pro- amazed if the Wachowskis and jection. “World on a Wire” beat Christopher Nolan hadn’t seen American cinema to the punch, it. It’s even been adapted into as Hollywood didn’t start explor- a play, “World of Wires,” by Jay ing Dick’s themes until after his Scheib, which was performed at the Kitchen in January. death in 1982. But “World on a Wire” isn’t A computer plays host to thousands of “identity units” just important because it may who exist only in cyberspace have influenced other films. It but believe they’re real human describes the psychic toll of a beings. The program’s director world where people may remain suddenly dies in a mysterious real but our surroundings are accident. Stiller becomes his increasingly fake — or at least successor. While in conversa- thoroughly mediated. “World on tion with security chief Günther a Wire” didn’t just pave for the Lause (Ivan Desny), he witness- way for “The Matrix,” it set the

CRITERION COLLECTION

Klaus Löwitsch as Fred Stiller in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “World on a Wire.”

stage for philosopher Jean Baudrillard and his theories about the world turning to a simulation of itself. Thirty years after Fassbinder’s death, his filmography is the gift that keeps on giving. He died at age 37, but managed to direct 41 films. There are still

some mysteries hidden away from Americans, like his eightpart TV series “Eight Hours Are Not a Day.” If something as seemingly uncommercial as his mini-series “Berlin Alexanderplatz” can make it to the Criterion Collection, one hopes that another theatrical retrospective

as ambitious as MoMA’s is on the way, followed by more home video releases. Fassbinder continues to influence filmmakers as different as Todd Haynes and Lars von Trier. Watching “World on a Wire” now reveals just how far that influence has spread.

The Nowhere War The opaque ennui of a woman warrior back home BY STEVE ERICKSON he gulf between America’s all-volunteer military and the rest of the population has been glancingly acknowledged but rarely depicted with much insight in American cinema. Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” was popular with critics and Oscar voters, but widely criticized by Iraq War vets as inaccurate. Liza Johnson’s “Return” takes the brief scenes of American domestic life at the end of “The Hurt Locker,” in which Jeremy Renner’s character finds it harder to go shopping than defuse bombs, as its starting point. In many ways, “Return” is a photographic negative of “The Hurt Locker,” concerned with femininity rather than machismo and treating the battlefield as an unknowable territory. It fits into a tradition of American films about returning veterans, such as William Wyler’s “The Best Years of Our Lives,”

but its focus on how war affects women offers something new. In the first scene of “Return,” Kelli (Linda Cardellini) exits an airport. Her husband Mike (Michael Shannon) and their two daughters are there to greet her. She’s dressed in military fatigues, returning from a tour of duty overseas. She’s eager to get back to life in the Ohio small town where they dwell and goes back to the factory where she had worked. Something about her personality, however, seems off-kilter. She’s spooked by small incidents, like seeing her daughter’s image on a wall of TV monitors at a store. Mike’s attention drifts elsewhere, and he has an affair. She takes refuge in alcohol, leading to an arrest for DUI and a forced six-month participation in AA. The 12-step group meetings have unexpected consequences, as she bonds with an older vet, Bud

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RETURN, continued on p.23

| February 15, 2012

FILM

Children of an Idle Brain Alan Brown’s gay marriage retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” hits wall it means to “o’er perch.” BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE enturies before “Twilight,” “Gossip Girl,” and “Glee,” “Romeo & Juliet” was the ne plus ultra expression of adolescent angst. Hearing the poetry with contemporary ears, Shakespeare’s expression of rash passion, emotional excess, and forbidden, fatal love still carries more power, depth, and compassion than the persistent doggerel of the story’s modern echoes. Still, for all the durability of Shakespeare’s language and dramatic power, his plays can prove fragile when subjected to overly conceptualized productions. While many have succeeded, those that do not all share one thing in common — a political or ideological construct forced onto the play, plunging the audience into befuddlement and fruitless efforts to reconcile the production concept with the original. By far the worst of these I ever saw was a production of “Titus Andronicus” as performed by children in a Victorian nursery, where the mounting atrocities of the play were inflicted on defenseless stuffed animals in, one supposes, a “Lord of the Flies” type of examination of children’s inherent violence. It was a metaphor for unmitigated barbarism… I think. Not quite so frustrating but still unworkable is the concept of “Private Romeo,” a new film by Alan Brown, which transports “Romeo and Juliet” from

WOLFE FILMS

Seth Numrich and Matt Doyle in Alan Brown’s “Private Romeo.”

fair Verona in the late 16th century to the all-male McKinley Military Academy, presumably today, where eight cadets who were not sent on maneuvers are left in a classroom reading the play. With all the senior officers gone, another “Lord of the Flyboys” interpretation spins out from the reading into a rambling rendition of the story, with the boys integrating their roles and the play’s action into their daily life at the school. Brown, who has cribbed heavily from “Shakespeare’s R&J,” an all-male stage ver sion of the play with four young actors that caused a sensation in 1998, attempts a statement about same-sex love and marriage, but the incongruities of the concept continually get in the way. Where, for instance,

is the essential conflict that stage version, for all its own drives Romeo (Sam) and Juliet weaknesses, successfully estab(Glenn) together? Is the acad- lished its concept and provided emy plagued by two inherently a jumping off point for the story. opposite schools of thought? Once the play had absorbed Does Mercutio (Josh) support the four boys, also fellow stusame-sex relationships while dents, it had its own integrity. One went with it or Tybalt (Carlos) didn’t. is repelled? And, PRIVATE ROMEO Directed by Alan Brown In Brown’s film in this school, Wolfe Films version, the attempt would Sam and Opens Feb. 10 to integrate the Glenn really leave Cinema Village words of the play a poker game to 22 E. 12th St. into the daily life of make out in full cinemavillage.com high school cadets sight of everyone else? Is Friar Lawrence (Adam) simply breaks down. It’s lovedealing prescription drugs to ly, even romantic to think that the other cadets? And what’s up Shakespeare’s poetry is so compelling that it completely conwith the happy ending? I spent the entire movie ask- sumes these students’ every ing myself these questions, but waking moment — not devoted no one was telling. As a result, to study and physical fitness — the film is confusing and the but the conceit fails the basic concept crippled. The 1998 test of plausibility. Brown never

DADA FILMS

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Linda Cardellini and John Slattery in Liza Johnson’s “Return.”

finds a guiding logic to support his concept, so the film becomes a series of disjointed set pieces. The audience is held at arm’s length and never fully drawn into the story. Fans of cute boys in their underpants spouting Shakespeare and necking will be rewarded with plenty of eye candy, and to be fair where Brown succeeds is in working with his actors. The young men have a terrific facility with the language and an ability to make it seem contemporary. That’s the chief — nay, only — pleasure in this film. Seth Numrich (Romeo/ Sam) and Matt Doyle (Juliet/ Glenn) are particularly good, as are Hale Appleman (Mercutio/ Josh) and Sean Hudock (Benvolio/ Gus). Appleman’s version of the “Queen Mab” speech is technically and emotionally about as good as you could hear, but it makes no sense in the context of the story, delivered in a stairwell after curfew. Given only eight actors to convey the entire cast, one needs to be familiar with the original play to keep it all — you should pardon the expression — straight. Brown’s cutting of the play reassigns lines, but in focusing on most of the more famous speeches, even a Cliff’s notes Shakespearean is rewarded with plenty they’ll recognize. It’s clear that Brown has brought passion to this project. Ironically, it’s passion without reason that did in the original “star-crossed lovers,” and which, I’m sorry to say, ultimately undoes “Private Romeo.”

Johnson’s vision of female breakdown to Todd Haynes’ “Safe.” The two films’ settings are vastly different in terms of (John Slattery), and has sex with him. The opening shot of “Return” — a tight class, but while Kelli isn’t nearly as ill as close-up of the back of Kelli’s head — Haynes’ protagonist, they share an air suggests yet another Dardenne brothers of mystery. What exactly is wrong with knock-off. However, as the film proceeds, Kelli? Her husband likens her to a zombie, and she does seem Johnson’s personal vision RETURN content to drift through becomes clearer. Her images Directed by Liza Johnson life. The only decisions usually stick close to her DADA Films she’s capable of are negacharacters’ faces and bodies, Opens Feb. 10 tive ones — quitting her assuming a degree of intimaVillage East Cinema 189 Second Ave. at 12th St. job, leaving a bar through cy. Most of the film consists villageeastcinema.com the bathroom window. of close-ups and medium “Return” emphasizes shots. Johnson’s style seems designed as a showcase for her actors, the differences between vets and those especially Cardellini, who appears in Americans who haven’t served in the every scene. Critic Joshua Rothkopf has likened 䉴 RETURN, continued on p.26 RETURN, from p.22

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

THEATER

Seeking The High Road Three plays examine moral structures BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

never countenance. I’m willing to bet I am one of n his new piece “The the few theater critics who has Agony and the Ecstasy spent almost two decades years of Steve Jobs,” currently going to Hong Kong and Shenplaying a month-long zhen, China, visiting the factoretur n engagement at ries Daisey describes and sitting the Public, monologist Mike through their PowerPoint preDaisey sees himself as a great sentations that are not as deadsocial reformer as he essential- ening as he describes. His skill ly claims credit for alerting the as a writer is never in question. His observations world to the plight brilliantly renof Chinese factory THE AGONY AND are dered — whether workers. Yet there THE ECSTASY OF a b o u t t h e s k y is more of Gingrich above Shenzhen than Greenpeace in STEVE JOBS The Public Theater or the warren of his grandiose tale in 425 Lafayette St., btwn. vendor stands in which he is the star, E. Fourth St. & Astor Pl. Hong Kong’s dilapranting with outrage Through Mar. 4 idated Chung King about how Apple Tue.-Sat. at 7 p.m.; Sat., Mansions where exploits Chinese Sun. at 2 p.m. $75-$85; publictheater.org questionably legal labor. Or 212-967-7555 goods are sold. That’s much the When he curtly same thing, however, that he’s doing himself, profiting dismisses Hong Kong’s business from these conditions — though customs, however, he betrays certainly on a smaller scale — an insensitivity not unlike Gingrich’s. He is scornful of anything every bit as much as Apple is. Daisey, in fact, may be the that doesn’t fit his constructs of how things should be. I can’t dispute Daisey’s reported experience of talking freely with workers outside the factory gates clamoring to share their lives and work experience or having people open their souls to him by simply walking into a coffee shop. I can say, from my time spent there, that his access and ability to get people to talk are unusual. It’s always risky to extrapolate the stories of a few to characterize a population at large, but that’s not Daisey’s aim. The monologist’s or documentary filmmaker’s stock in trade is often the selective Mike Daisey in “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” reporting of facts to support a point of more cynical one. He wraps view. He reports 13 suicides himself not in free market reali- out of 400,000 employees at ties but in the mantle of self- the Foxconn plant, but ignores righteous morality that panders the fact that this is significantto an audience that pays up to ly lower than China’s overall feel self-righteous as well — and suicide rate, which the World absolve themselves of complicity Health Organization reports in a political economy in which as slightly more than 22 per they buy cheap goods made 100,000 people in 2011. Suiunder conditions they would cide is a tragedy no matter how JOAN MARCUS

SERGE NIVELLE

Morgan Spector and Raviv Ullman in Erika Sheffer’s “Russian Transport.”

it comes about, but Daisey’s proclamation that working conditions alone are the impetus is questionable. His attack on Steve Jobs ignores the role of many, many other foreign manufacturers in China. Jobs may have been a crazy guy to work for, but he understood the global economy, something many in America’s business and political leadership do not. And, of course, he is a lighting rod, easier for Daisy to attack than, say, Geesung Choi, a top Samsung executive. If you’ve seen previous work by Daisey, in addition to the wonderful writing, you’ll recognize the table thumping, eye rolling, and barking he employs to make a point. His lesson at the end — that we should be mindful of the “blood coming from our keyboards” – is well taken, but this moment of grand guignol provides catharsis and forgiveness without really challenging the audience. After all, Daisey wants you to buy a ticket to his next piece. And so, after standing and cheering, half the audience at the performance I saw switched on their iPhones as they left the theater.

t the end of Erika JFK and delivering them to Sheffer’s new play New Jersey where they think “Russian Transport,” they’re embarking on modeling getting its world pre- careers. Daughter Mira is commiere by the New pelling in her desperate effort to Group, I did a double take. break free of the family and find Surely, I thought, the playwright her own identity. These are the can’t be condoning human sex two best-observed characters trafficking as a way to make in the piece, and where the play ends meet in a down economy. succeeds is in chronicling the The fact that this question even uneasy route to assimilation and the Ameriarises points up dream. the weaknesses in RUSSIAN TRANSPORT canWhen Boris this play about an The New Group at the Acorn shows up, with immigrant famTheatre his criminal ily in Br ooklyn 410 W. 42nd St. Mon.-Wed. at 7 p.m. past and conwith Americanized Thu.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; tinuing nefariteenagers and a Sat at 2 p.m. ous activities, mysterious Uncle $60; telecharge.com the family is Boris who arrives Or 212-239-6200 threatened with from Russia. Sheffer’s play is bright and being pulled back into the life of boisterous and packed with corruption they came to Ameridiosyncratic, if sometimes ica to escape. Sheffer runs into facile, humor. The tensions problems as he explores the between recently arrived adults moral questions here, makand assimilated youngsters ing the ending confusing and can be charming, and the daily ambiguous. Still, “Russian Transport” is financial struggle and it impact on the family are keenly ren- a noble first effort, and the cast under Scott Ellis’ pointed direcdered. It’s easy to see how the son, tion hits enough high notes to Alex, can be seduced into the make the story work reasonably easy money Boris is offering for simply picking up girls at 䉴 THEATER, continued on p.30

| February 15, 2012

JOAN MARCUS

THEATER

Adam Driver and Matthew Rhys in the revival of John Osborne’s “Look Back in Anger.”

One Angry Young Man Smart revival features brutish crank, drenched in contempt BY DAVID KENNERLEY he first thing you notice upon entering the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theater, where “Look Back in Anger” is now enjoying a captivating revival, is a vast matte-black wall that’s been erected where a curtain might normally be. The stage is reduced to a narrow strip, maybe ten feet deep. The set, by Andrew Lieberman, consists of little more than a battered chest of drawers, a cupboard holding an electric teapot, an ironing board, a couple of folding chairs, and a stained twin mattress. The floor is strewn with dirty clothes, newspapers, tin cans, and other

debris. Is that a head of cabbage nestled in the corner? This being the Roundabout, I figured that at some key moment, the wall would open up to reveal some spectacular space. Or perhaps slick projections would dance across it and dazzle us. But that is not to be, for director Sam Gold aims to stress the gritty claustrophobia of the characters’ existence. After trimming some fat from the script, he has wisely chosen to trust the text of John Osborne’s 1956 landmark play — and the audience — so we can project our own experience onto that wall. And what a marvelous, albeit tem-

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LOOK BACK, continued on p.29

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

OPERA

Wagnerian Beginnings and Endings Artifice mixes BY ELI JACOBSON agner’s music drama “Götterdämmer ung” asks the stage director to present the end of the world onstage. The composer’s stage directions for the final cataclysm prefigure the cinematic montage of motion pictures, invented decades later. In the original 1876 Bayreuth production, 19th century stage machinery could only present a flimsy pasteboard mockery of his vision. Today, we have advanced automated and digital stage technology, but it is only as valid as the artistic vision that drives it. The limits of Lepage’s vision and the failures of technology have dogged this “Ring” from the beginning. However, until the final scenes, Lepage’s new “Götterdämmerung” (premiered January 27) seemed to me the most successful installment of his “Ring” tetralogy. The machine was augmented by an elevator platform installed in the trench that raised the performers to stage level. The singers were fully visible and could traverse a larger area of the stage. This platform needs to be retrofitted into the first acts of “Die Walküre” and “Siegfried.” The machine had no breakdowns and created visually effective wooden ramparts and interiors for Gibichung Hall. The Norns scene, with its twisting spider web of ropes, worked well, and the sight of the Siegfried stunt double and the mechanical horse Grane sailing

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on a skiff for “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey” was beautiful and appropriate. The performers showed signs of having been given real direction with effectively detailed blocking, but depth of characterization seemed largely a matter of individual temperament. Deborah Voigt, in her role debut as the “Götterdämmerung” Brünnhilde, sang better on opening night than she has in years. Though she sounded hollow and pressed in the “Zu neuen Taten” prologue duet, as the vengeful fury of the second act, Voigt’s vocal mechanism connected and her high notes blazed forth with brilliance and an appropriate metallic edge. The final Immolation scene was vitiated by a rather empty middle and weak bottom (always a problem, even in her big girl prime) overshadowed by soaring and lyrical upper register climaxes. However, Voigt’s attractive looking and human-scaled Brünnhilde lacked any sense of the far-seeing demi-goddess who realizes her role as an instrument of fate. Her articulation of the German text lacks focus and her acting is generalized. In their Act I confrontation, Waltraud Meier’s detailed trenchant delivery of Waltraute’s narrative threw all of Voigt’s shortcomings into bold relief. Jay Hunter Morris, in another role debut as the mature Siegfried, is a natural actor whose subtle dramatic nuances and unusually appealing stage presence created a sympathetic attractive if flawed hero. Like

RETURN, from p.23

military. Repeatedly, people make patronizing assumptions about traumatic experiences Kelli must have endured overseas. She always replies that what happened to her was no big deal and it could have been much worse. If she’s telling the truth, her job in the National Guard wasn’t much different from the factory work to which she initially returns. But one can’t be certain that she is indeed telling the truth. Johnson puts the spectator in the position of one of Kelli’s curious acquaintances. He or she is given no more information about her background than them. The audience never even learns where she was stationed. The words

KEN HOWARD/ METROPOLITAN OPERA

poorly with realism in Lepage’s “Götterdämmerung”

Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde and Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried in Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung.”

Voigt, he has basically a largescaled lyric-dramatic voice that blooms on top. The older Siegfried requires some heavy singing in the middle of the voice better suited to a more baritonal heldentenor. Morris paced himself shrewdly, but some-

“Afghanistan” and “Iraq” are not mentioned in the film. “Return” suggests that war has the power to wound even those whose proximity to it is relatively casual. That’s the closest it comes to making a political statement. The film never feels like the work of a slumming New Yorker taking a cheap holiday in the Rust Belt’s misery. Johnson conducted extensive research with female soldiers before writing her script, and it shows. It’s all too common for American independent films to condescend to the Midwest, but “Return” could be the product of someone who never left the town in which it takes place. It’s the kind of small-scale film that’s easy to underrate, but it suggests great promise to come from both Johnson and Cardellini.

times hoarseness crept into his middle register and high notes sounded forced. Their alternates (seen February 3), Katarina Dalayman and Stephen Gould, are more experienced interpreters. Dalayman has a more integrated dark mezzo-toned middle octave joined to a steely but reliable top. Her dramatic interpretation was also womanly, but more detailed and consistent. Gould was less attractive in vocal tone and visual appearance than Morris, but he has more metal in the voice. Hans-Peter König looked too genial as the glowering Hagen, but his booming Germanic “black” bass provided the best fit of voice and role in the cast. Iain Paterson’s Gunther had the intriguing self-loathing bitterness of a loser who perceives his own weakness. Wendy Bryn

Harmer’s bright-toned, visually radiant Gutrune suggested a born winner — unusual for this too often undercast role. Eric Owens again made a strong impression as Alberich in his one scene, despite murky lighting and dull staging. A strong mellifluous trio of Norns and Rhinemaidens rounded out a satisfying cast. Heidi Melton’s Third Norn and Tamara Mumford’s Flosshilde were vocal standouts. Fabio Luisi’s contained intellectual conducting seemed the antithesis of James Levine’s bigscaled emotional romanticism painted in broad brush strokes. The Italian maestro emphasized instrumental detail, inner voices, and subtle articulation. The lower volume level and fleet tempos helped several cast members with less than heroic voices. A few brass flubs did not lessen a sense of strong control over every detail. During the final Immolation scene, the bobble-head toy horse Grane slowly wheeled Brünnhilde into the pyre. The machine turned upright, and we were treated to a slide show projection of flames followed by water. For the destruction of the Gods, four cheesy plaster of Paris statues exploded like popping champagne corks. From then on, it was just waves projected over the planks and we were done. In a more stylized production, this might not have looked so artificial and silly. But Lepage has gone for a realistic Romantic aesthetic not dissimilar from what Otto Schenk created in the previous production. Schenk, however, used three-dimensional, built-up representational scenery while Lepage uses a modernistic high tech contraption. The aesthetic disconnect between the intended style and the means of presentation is everywhere in this production. François St. Aubin’s costumes mix shiny modishness with bearskins and jerkins ripped from the pages of the 1915 “Victor Book of the Opera.” We expect either more convincing realism or more imaginative expressionist stylization — what we get is a high tech video game no man’s land.

| February 15, 2012

FILM

Rites and Equality â&#x20AC;&#x153;Born Equalâ&#x20AC;? examines tradition of LGBT life throughout history BORN EQUAL

BY DEAN WRZESZCZ s the American Family Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Million Momsâ&#x20AC;? voices outrage over J.C. Penneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choice of Ellen DeGeneres as its official spokesperson â&#x20AC;&#x201D; claiming her life as an out lesbian does not reflect â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditional family valuesâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; filmmakers Alan and Tsvete Smith, a straight married couple, offer their documentary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Born Equal,â&#x20AC;? which argues for the human rights of all LGBT people, including the right to marry the person of their choice, and explores the presence of same-sex love and gender variance across many cultures and religions. The Smithsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; documentary, still in final production, will have its world premiere later this month as a fundraiser for Marriage Equality USA. Interviews with authorities in religion, psychology, sociology, medicine, and human rights are interspersed with the story of Renee Sugar and Kelly Smith, a lesbian couple living in upstate Rochester. Both women were once married to men and fully accepted by their neighbors and peers. Since living together as

Directed by Alan and Tsvete Smith Mark Fisher Fitness Clubhouse 411 W. 39th St. Feb. 25, 4:30-7:30 p.m. $25; tinyurl.com/787fxnw Screening followed by directorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Q&A, reception Information at born-equal.net

BORN-EQUAL.NET

Kelly Smith and Renee Sugar, the couple at the center of Alan and Tsvete Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Born Equal.â&#x20AC;?

at the kitchen table as the two read the newspaper. Smith helps one of their dogs retrieve a ball thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rolled under a cabinet and later cautions their teenage daughter that texting to Paris could be expensive. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also seen attending a service at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church. The intended message is that the women, married in Provincetown, lead family lives just as do tens of millions of other American moms. The Rochester couple form the thread that runs throughout the film, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;Born Equalâ&#x20AC;? also emphasizes the support for equality found among people of faith across the world, including followers of Buddhism, Judaism, Paganism, and Sufism. The film challenges claims about what is â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditionalâ&#x20AC;? made by anti-gay religious voices, examining historical evidence about the presence of LGBT people in Greek mythology, the contribution they made toward human survival according to Shinto folklore, and the practice among the Navajo people of embracing those known as two-spirit and conducting ceremonies in which children would claim their gender identities. The film also marshals psychological evidence to counter arguments that children raised by heterosexual couples are

The film examines historical evidence about the presence of LGBT people in Greek mythology, Shinto folklore, and among the Navajo people. a lesbian couple, they have experienced the discrimination, as Sugar puts it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;of being judged before getting to know who we are instead of the other way around.â&#x20AC;? Each has a boy and a girl from their first marriage, two of whom live in the coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, along with two dogs and a cat. The movie opens as Sugar empties her curbside mailbox and joins her spouse

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better off than those reared by same-sex couples or that two members of the same sex are unable to provide proper gender role models for children of a different sex. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association has found no discernable differences between children raised in these two types of households. Accord-

ing to 2010 census statistics, 25 percent of same-sex households are raising children, so there is an ample population from which to sample. The film provides a wealth of such information along with more secularfocused background, including footage of pro-equality speeches and rallies, but never becomes too heavy-handed. Animation is cleverly employed throughout the film, tempering but not compromising the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earnestness. The filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great strength is not only in showing that Renee Sugar and Kelly Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love is natural, but also that their partnership and family have rich precedents in cultures dating back throughout history. If there is anything traditional in the history of family life, it is the human yearning for equality and dignity.

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

IN THE NOH

Another Loving Sondheim Revival Rob’s revisions, Stein’s way, Apollo power BY DAVID NOH tephen Sondheim’s “ M e r r i l y We R o l l Along” is enjoying a revival in the “Encores!” series at City Center through February 19 (131 W. 55th St.; nycitycenter.org), and I met with music director Rob Berman. He told me that there are an impressive 20 cast members, with 23 in the orchestra, instead of the 20 in the original Broadway production. “When they rewrote and rescored the show, [orchestrator] Jonathan Tunick wrote it for a smaller band of 12, and that’s the version we did at the Kennedy Center in 2002,” Berman said. “When it became clear which version of the show, which Sondheim and George Furth had continued to revise over the years, we were going to use, I didn’t want to use the 12-piece orchestra, so I got in touch with Tunick, and he said, ‘While I’m at it…,’ there were things about the original orchestrations that he never loved and wanted to improve upon. It had three cellos and that was the entire string section, and he had always wanted a warmer body of strings. So he wrote for four violas and two cellos, which is now creating a richer string sound for the show. “It’s a bit of an exception for ‘Encores!’ in that we like to be pretty rigorous about trying to recreate the original sounds of shows, but this is the case of a show with such an interesting history, and these writers trying to make it the best it can be. Sondheim has been involved with some casting decisions, and certainly James [Lapine, the director] consulted with him about script things. He’ll come to the run-through and the orchestra sitzprobe and dress rehearsal. “I’ve done these with him before, and he’s so keen and perceptive. I always think he’d make a wonder ful director because he knows exactly why something was written and everything is so specific, with such thought behind it, that

of the new kids anymore. I’m in the middle of it now.” Tunick’s partner is Chase Brock: “He is the choreographer they brought in when they redid ‘Spiderman,’ a crazy experience but very exciting. We were actually married in San Francisco City Hall in 2008, made the cutoff before they passed Proposition 8. Although we don’t need to get married again, it might be nice to do something here, at least have a party where all our friends come.”

veritable New York treasure, film writer Elliott Stein is back in action, after a spate of ill health. He’s resuming his popular Cinemachat at BAM (30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Pl., Feb. 22, 6:50 & 9:30 p.m.; bam.org) with, as he described, “a wonderful archival print of ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.’ I remained a friend of [its special effects wizard] Ray Harryhausen until his death. He was a genius and the big thing in his life was ‘King Kong,’ which is just about my favorite movie, too. My father took me when I was about four years old to see it at Radio City Music Hall, and when I got back to Brooklyn, I acted it out for the kids in our backyard. Think I charged a penny.” Stein is a superb raconteur, detailing the flaneur way he made through the world and the arts with total recall, wit, and the delicious bawdiness of a true sensualist. Before becoming a film critic, he published fiction and poetry, worked on films, and lived in Brazil and Paris. He ghost-wrote Kenneth Anger’s infamous “Hollywood Babylon” (and has some very scary cuckoo bird letters from the aptly named Anger himself). And God, the people he met! “I knew Virgil Thomson well in Paris,” Stein recalled, “and they were reviving his Gertrude Stein collaboration, ‘Four Saints in Three Acts.’ He said, ‘Be sure to go to the Green Room during intermission because Alice [B. Toklas], who’s a bit frail, is making a rare visit to the outside world and I know you’d like to meet her.

JOAN MARCUS

A Colin Donnell and Elizabeth Stanley in the City Center “Encores!” presentation of “Merrily We Roll Along,” through February 19.

he can immediately say to us, ‘What about this?’ He’s always completely professional and respectful, and I can’t wait for him to come in, always has the greatest notes. “He explains, and you realize that they wrote something a certain way because it had to be that way. You think maybe you’ll try a different idea, but then you realize, no. He’ll listen to someone sing a whole huge complicated song and zero in on two or three tiny details, very specific, and I’ve learned that he thought the rest of it was just fine. If he’s happy, he won’t have much to say.” The lead casting of Lin-Manuel Miranda is a particular fresh idea: “That popped up one day. It hadn’t been on anyone’s mind, and when it came up we all thought, ‘What a great idea!’

Lin is so charismatic and such a wonderful performer, and he’s a writer in real life like his character, so it made a lot of sense and what he’s so good about in his work is all rhythm and words. “The last scene of the show has the potential to be really deeply felt and almost devastating, if we do it right. It all builds to the song ‘Our Time,’ and Tunick’s orchestration is the most beautiful thing. It’s interesting because I just turned 42 and the characters are all about that age. I’ve been in New York for about 20 years and it has an interesting resonance because these people are looking back over the last 20 years when they came to make it big. At this point I’m old enough now that twenty years seems like a long time ago, and I’ve come to a point in life when I’m not one

“Back then, one of things I did was go to Pére Lachaise cemetery to see the famous graves, but what people didn’t know was that there was a section for gay cruising. You could always find a mausoleum that was empty to go fuck in, and I always got laid there. “I most recently visited Gertrude Stein’s grave and next to it was a provision for Alice, which gave her birth date but no date of death. I went to the Green Room, and Virgil introduced me to this little woman with a moustache, charming and sweet. Somehow, I didn’t know what to say, so I said, ‘Glad to meet you. I just visited your grave, which has never happened before with anyone.’ She said, ‘Yes, young man, some day soon I’ll be visiting it, too,’ and she died six months later. “I moved to Paris in 1948 and lived in the Hotel de Verneuil, in the same ‘Giovanni’s Room’ where Jimmy Baldwin had lived, and he became a friend of sorts. The Corsican lady who ran it had helped him when he was broke and sick. She would nurse him and almost saved his life on several occasions. In later years, she would see him on TV being interviewed, but he never dropped by to say hello. At one point, a Dutch magazine asked me to write about the American literary scene and, in an oblique way, I implied that he was not heterosexual. “Now he’s known as a great icon, in addition to being a great figure in racial politics, but he was furious. I wasn’t outing him, but within a year it was on the record. It didn’t end our friendship. But he was complex, not jovial Mr. Sweetie Pie. Somebody who causes an important, wonderful career like that has to be selfish.” About Susan Sontag, Stein said, “It’s on the record in several books, like Ned Rorem, whose first opera I wrote the libretto for, that I was a great influence on her ‘Notes on Camp’ thing. She came to see me in Paris and I had decorated my room in, I suppose you could call it, a campy way, with all kinds of

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IN THE NOH, continued on p.29

| February 15, 2012

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IN THE NOH, from p.28

objects, sexual, movie star stuff. It was a gay apartment, and she vaguely understood and was sympathetic about it. We talked about it at some length and eventually it became her essay. I can’t claim credit for it, but I supplied a lot of the background. “She was a wonderful, complex person, could be a very close friend. We spent a lot of time at a magic place, the Cinematheque, which I took her to for the first time, and we always sat in the third row, with all the New Wave guys. Later, we met at Japan Society as she loved Japanese movies, and she always introduced me as ‘the man who taught me how to look at movies.” She was a user, like many people, but very talented and will be missed. She could be warm and cuddly, also cold and frigid, but one of a kind.” Peter Watson, the devastatingly charismatic British millionaire who besotted Cecil Beaton and a host of others in his time and funded the magazine Horizon, has always fascinated me. Stein said of him, “I met him through Richard Roud, founder of the New York Film Festival. Watson’s family owned British Margarine, which he inherited, and he was a playboy in his early life, not that interested in the arts. But Cyril Connolly changed that. Peter was a great guy, fun to be with, and his death was very shocking, in his bathtub, may have been some foul play. He was seeing

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an American guy, who might have been a hustler, who was suspected of being involved, very murky. “But every time Peter came to Paris, he would take me to lunch. He was having his portrait done by Giacometti and asked if I’d like to have lunch with them. We were in a brasserie in St. Germain, when Charles Laughton came in with a very young, curly-haired man and sat down right next to us. “Laughton’s voice carried, and the young man asked him, ‘Mr. Laughton, can I have champagne?’ Charles replied, ‘Mr. Laughton, Mr. Laughton! I’ve been sucking your ass all night and you call me Mr. Laughton! Ask “Charlie” for your champagne and you’ll get it!’” n the same sad day that Soul T rain’s Don Cornelius committed suicide, I attended this year’s opening night of the Apollo Theater’s “Amateur Night.” Thoughts of Cornelius were on everyone’s mind, obviously, and I fondly recalled how his show made Saturday morning’s rock back in the day when people of color were a scarcity on TV — especially such joyous images of them cutting loose with such glorious beauty and abandon. I also respected the man for bowing out of the business when rap took over, rather than venally pretend to love a sound so diametrically opposed to everything he adored and supported. Apollo guest star Jennifer

LOOK BACK, from p.25

pered, experience it is. “Look Back in Anger” is not easy to watch, and in the wrong hands it could be a dreary affair. The four characters, who carp and spar with each other in their cramped flat in the English Midlands, are so sullen it’s difficult to sympathize with any of them. The most disagreeable is Jimmy (Matthew Rhys), the quintessential “angry young man” (in fact, this phrase was coined in reference to his character) who, when he’s not whining about the inequities between social classes, is picking wrestling matches with his muscular flat-mate, Cliff. Alison is resigned to spending her Sunday evening ironing their clothes as the boys read newspapers and engage in horseplay. She seems immune to the fusillade of insults Jimmy hurls at her, and it takes a few beats to realize she’s actually his wife. Whether she enjoys

Elliott Stein (l.) as a prison tattoo artist, with Eric Penet (far r.) in Edouard Luntz’s “Les coeurs verts” (“The Green Hearts”), 1966.

Holliday dedicated her performance to him and, as she put it, “another tragic songbird,” the great Phyllis Hyman, before wreaking utter havoc to the place with her signature “And I Am Telling You.” This must have been the umpteenth time that torchy anthem has been performed on that stage, mostly by very hopeful wannabes, so it was quite something to hear it

taking care of them or is simply biding her time is unclear. Later, Alison’s meddling childhood friend, Helena, appears on the scene and turns their world inside out. At least for a while. Part of the drama’s brilliance is Osborne’s refusal to offer easy, artificially pat exposition, so the audience must work to figure out who’s who, what’s what, and why. Pregnant pauses abound. While I found this engrossing, for the timid theatergoer, it can be a chore — indeed, there were several empty seats after intermission. Over a half-century later, the dialogue still crackles with intelligence and savage wit, especially when Jimmy is on one of his tirades. “All this time, I have been married to this woman, this monument to nonattachment, and suddenly I discover that there is actually a word that sums her up… pusillanimous!” (Which means lacking conviction, by the way.)

done so very right by the original herself. Capone was a marvelously funny and sly host, pumping up the crowd, and the big winner of the night, lovely young Catherine Ochoa, with a searing rendition of “Fallin’” was enthusiastically applauded by another legend in attendance, Leslie Uggams. For a guaranteed good time,

hop the A train some Wednesday night and join the fun. You can cheer, boo, and dance your ass off in your seat with a fabulously diverse crowd in a joyous communal tradition ever more lacking in our sadly stratified town. Contact David Noh at Inthenoh@aol.com and check out his blog at http://nohway.wordpress.com/.

Fans of Rhys, who played the adorable than this piece. There’s a weirdly delicious moment gay son on “Brothers and Sisters,” may be surprised to see his ferocious side as that theater buffs can savor when the the young malcontent. And yet, despite venomous Jimmy, disgusted by Helena’s an impressive effort, there’s something haughty behavior, hisses, “Pass Lady about his boyish demeanor that just Bracknell the cucumber sandwiches, isn’t brutal enough no matter how much will you?,” a reference to a famous scene in the Wilde comedy. he snarls like a growling tiger cub. As the aimless, brooding roommate The other portrayals have more gravity. As Alison, Sarah Goldberg manages Cliff, Adam Driver, fresh from his stint opposite Frank Langella in a stunning transforma“Man and Boy,” is in some tion from phlegmatic ice LOOK BACK IN ANGER ways more compelling than queen to shattered soul. Laura Pels Theatre Rhys. Driver brings a menHer climactic scene is Roundabout Theatre Company acing intensity to the role, truly heart-wrenching. 111 W. 46th St. Through Apr. 8 with his Cliff serving as a Charlotte Parry, who Tue.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. battlefield buffer between makes the backstabWed., Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m. the working-class Jimmy bing, red-haired Helena $71-$81; roundabouttheatre.org and the middle-class Aliseem charmingly credOr 212-719-1300 son. ible, is unrecognizable “I’ve been a no-man’s land between from her recent turn as the frilly Cecily in “The Importance of Being Ear - them,” he says. “Most of the time, it’s nest.” While that escapist Oscar Wilde simply a narrow strip of plain hell.” Suregem also employed clever wordplay, it ly that line inspired the oppressive sliver couldn’t be more opposite in sensibility of a stage.

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

FILM

Tackling the Toughest Terrain Markus Schleinzer’s story of an adult abuser is austere and riveting BY GARY M. KRAMER n “Michael,” writer and director Markus Schleinzer painstakingly chronicles the life of the title character (Michael Fuith), a pedophile. Schleinzer, who has been a casting director — most notably for Michael Haneke, another Austrian who has tackled grim material — makes an impressive directorial debut here. He takes an appropriately austere approach to the risky, sensitive material. Most of “Michael” unfolds in long, fixed shots that provide a detachment toward the story and the characters. It is often mesmerizing. The film opens with Michael coming home, cooking dinner, and then tending to Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger), the ten-year-old he keeps locked in his soundproof basement. The nature of their relationship is made clear before the opening credits. At dinner, Wolfgang asks if he can watch TV and Michael agrees. Later that night, Michael is seeing cleaning his penis in the bathroom sink and making a notation of the evening’s events in his journal. The sex scenes between Michael and the boy always happen off-screen, but Schleinzer effectively conveys that there is a reward-punishment system in place. It also is made clear that Michael’s state of mind is intimately tied to what’s going on with Wolfgang. When the boy becomes sick, Michael’s efforts to care for him take a toll on his own wellbeing. Michael often tries to be play-

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STRAND RELEASING

David Rauchenberger and Michael Fuith in Markus Schleinzer’s “Michael.”

ful with the boy, taking him a tor and captive. When Wolfgang jigsaw puzzle for them to work suggests Michael’s job is in jeopon together or surprising him ardy, he responds by telling the with snowballs during one boy that his parents don’t want basement visit. But Michael him to contact them. Outside his home, Michael is gets quickly irritated when the a milquetoast figboy wants to MICHAEL ure, and the film play and the Directed by Markus Schleinzer includes several adult has other Strand Releasing interesting scenes ideas in mind. Feb. 15-28 Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. underscoring this. When Wolfgang filmforum.org He lies and makes tries to fight up excuses to his with Michael, he laughs at the boy’s efforts to sister when they meet in a restaurant to exchange Christmas overtake him. “Michael” also shows the psy- presents. On a ski trip with chological warfare between cap- buddies, he ends up having anal

THEATER, from p.24

well. Raviv Ullman is particularly good as the conflicted Alex, as is Sarah Steele as Mira. The rest of the parts are more onedimensional, but they are handled with aplomb by Janeane Garofalo as Diana, the foul-mouthed mother, Daniel Oreskes as Misha, the patriarch who sees his efforts potentially compromised by Boris’ arrival, and Morgan Spector as the unsavory uncle. The character studies at the heart of the play are what keep one engaged, and that is almost enough to make the evening.

he eponymous thoroughfare in Athol Fugard’s “The Road to Mecca,” now at Roundabout, is long indeed. After a heavy first act of talk and exposition, the play finally gets going, but by that time, the payoff, heavy on bromides about artists and individual spirit, proves not worth having waited for. Helen is an aging artist who has created sculptures on her lawn that are offensive to local sensibilities. The local priest, Marius, is trying to get her into an old-age home, ostensibly for her own good. The resistant Helen has

sex with a barmaid (there is no evidence he has sex with men), and in another tense scene, he is unexpectedly detained in a hospital. During each of these scenes, viewers remain mindful of Wolfgang captive in the basement. The film’s creepiest sequence has Michael trying to find a playmate for Wolfgang. The casual, insidious way he lures a potential victim to his car is riveting. The film is disturbingly realistic when depicting Michael’s behavior, but gets a bit contrived when situations arise

that could uncover his secret. The unexpected arrival of a work colleague at his home and another dramatic sequence later make viewers squirm, but the filmmaker risks cheapening his otherwise controlled approach to the difficult subject matter. This is a minor flaw in a film that faithfully renders Michael, but never explains him. The title character’s tentative and awkward social interactions suggest he suffers from a kind of arrested development, yet in his moments alone, his self-expression is telling. As he hides or burns letters and drawings Wolfgang has given him, we know he is concealing evidence of his crimes but also get a sense of what these offerings from the boy mean to him. A scene of Michael happily singing along to his car radio is pathetic, affecting, and revealing all at once. In the title role, Fuith manages to make Michael human. He is well matched by the young Rauchenberger, who is wisebeyond-his-years in one scene and believably childish in the next. Wolfgang is always sympathetic. Together, the actors give amazing performances. “Michael” is certainly a daring, provocative film — and not without a few moments of black humor. Wisely, Schleinzer does not overdo the humor, but he introduces just enough to keep the audience off balance. Viewers may be reluctant to see a film about a pedophile, but “Michael” is a worthwhile drama for anyone willing to take the chance.

summoned her friend Elsa from the Carla Gugino lacks focus as Elsa and city to help her make a stand against seems lost in Gordon Edelstein’s happriest and parish. The only conflict in hazard direction. Her accent, too, swings wildly — and the play arises when disconcertingly — Elsa and Marius go THE ROAD TO MECCA Roundabout Theatre Company from South African head-to-head, with American Airlines Theatre to plumy upper crust Helen essentially just 227 W. 42nd St. England. Jim Dale, standing by. Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat at 8 p.m. who has the best-writRosemary Harris Wed., Sat at 2 p.m.; Sun at 3 p.m. $67-$117; roundabouttheatre.org ten part, makes the plays Helen, and as Or 212-719-1300 most of it, deftly using wonder ful as she is, his presumed spirishe gets bogged down tual authority to try to and lost in the play. Her long monologue in the second act manipulate Helen. All three actors give is beautifully rendered, and she does it their best, but, unfortunately, that the best within the script’s limitations. isn’t very much.

| February 15, 2012

DANCE

Shanghai Sheath Jin Xing makes Joyce debut as female dancer, choreographer

DIRK BLEICKER

Jin Xing was an army colonel and a prize-winning dancer and choreographer in China. And then in 1995, Jin completed a gender transition and became a celebrity, as the first Chinese public figure to talk openly about transsexuality. Tall and elegant, Jin is a commanding presence. Her troupe, Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai, returns to the Joyce Theater after 20 years — and her first time as a woman — dancing 11 pieces from her 25-year choreographic career under the umbrella title “Shanghai Tango.” Once you get past her exotic backstory, you see that Jin’s choreography represents modern dance in its mid-20th century expression, with touches of Chinese traditional dance. Jin moves her 13 dancers through space with skill and exuberance, and she really knows how to exploit the movement of fabric. Costumes are mostly unisex — tunics, laced at the waist, or long skirts on both men and women — except in “Island,” where she strips the Jin Xing, the first public figure in China to men down to dance speak openly about being transsexual, brings her dance company to the Joyce. belts. In “Opening,” to music by Dead Can Dance, statuesque Liu MinZi, in a white dress, rotates on tiptoe like a shop-window mannequin, standing on a circular “carpet” of white costumes. One by one, the other dancers, in sports clothes, gather up the white garments and leave. They return next in “Steps,” clad in the sleeveless garments, which are gathered at the ankles, spinning, leaping, and dashing across the stage in an eye-catching kinetic display to lush instrumental music by René Aubry. In “Dance 02,” to a haunting vocal by Wim Martens, delicate Dai Shaoting and tall Han Bin portray a loving couple. Because they are both in gray shirts and loose pants and Dai has close-cropped hair, it takes a while to realize they’re man and woman, not father and son or male lovers. They mutually support each other as they fall and recover, then spoon and writhe on the floor tenderly, balancing precariously on each other’s bodies. The second act counterpart to “Dance 02,” “Island,” is a two-man duet — part Pilobolus, part Cirque du Soleil — not romantically sensual but impressive for its power lifts, especially one in which Liu Xian Yi arches like a bird in flight on the nape of sturdy Lu Ge’s neck. “Black and Red” delivers more visual spectacle with dancers opening, closing, and hiding large red fans behind their black pajamas. And the finale, “Sense of Colors,” involves the men on six bicycles, swerving amongst half a dozen ladies in jewel-colored gowns. The section that is itself titled “Shanghai Tango” is a soap opera, full of dramatic hyperbole and set to three familiar orchestral pieces by Astor Piazzolla. A woman (Sun ZhuZhen) appears in a flash snapshot; then, in subsequent shots, one by one, her husband (Wang Tao) and their two sons (Han Bin and Liu Xian Yi) appear.

ANGELO PALOMBINI

BY GUS SOLOMONS JR

“Steps,” from Jin Xing Dance Theatre’s “Shanghai Tango.”

The corps, dressed in spooky, hooded white raincoats, waft across the stage as the mother shows overtly incestuous feelings for her elder son and ends the ballet prostrate in his arms. Throughout, Jin’s musical choices tend toward orchestral lushness that sounds like movie music — not necessarily in a bad way. For MinZi’s solo “Monologue,” in fact, John Williams’ “Theme from Schindler’s List” adds a dramatic dimension to her deft manipulation of her white chiffon dress’ ample skirt. Wang Peng’s lighting designs alternate between harsh, overhead spotlights and washes that bathe the dancers in warm light. Sometimes the lighting sacrifices visibility for dramatic impact. Jin’s first appearance is in Act One’s “Red Wine,” wearing a sleek, Chinese sheath and high-heels. She

seduces the company’s bare-chested males in red tulle skirts. A jaunty song with English lyrics, again by Aubry, flatters her body parts and looks, including the shoes. The men work their skirts like fashion models and end up sprawled across her lap. And in “Half Dream,” Jin gets to show off her virtuosity, doing barrel turns and diving falls with her legs windmilling in the air. Here, you can still see the masculine power in her now female body. The company, in ecru tunics, provides a surging background to her star turn. When she sprints headlong back and forth across the stage with amped-up passion — her black coiffure blowing behind her and her bosom thrust forward — she reminded me of last season’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” runner-up, Alexis Mateo. But maybe that’s just me.

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER JOHN W. SUTTER

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Suddenly, it seems as though there was never a lull in the Culture Wars. In the past several months, as Mitt Romney’s iron grip on the Republican presidential nomination has faltered, and faltered again, and again, the GOP contenders, courting the party’s conservative base, have made ever more outlandish claims about how marriage equality or Barack Obama — they pick from several poisons — has threatened religious freedom. When the administration announced a regulation that all employee health insurance programs — including those administered by hospitals and universities affiliated with faith communities — must provide access to contraception, the Christian right, including the nation’s Catholic bishops, acted as though the religious protections afforded Americans in their worship activities also extend to any other sort of non-profit activity they might choose to engage in. It was disappointing to see progressive Democrats, such as Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, shrink from defend-

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR MONEY FOR HEARTS & MINDS THAT CHANGE February 3, 2012 To the Editor: We have expectations that the Democratic Party, so whipped in the last election, will come to their senses and do the right thing by their base. (“State Legislative Dems Left at Altar,” by Andy Humm, Feb. 1-14). Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the perfect example. Why did it take a lame duck session of Congress to end DADT? Democrats knew DADT was wrong. A large majority of Republicans

ing a crystal clear constitutional principle. Deborah Glick, the out lesbian veteran West Village assemblywoman, who is staunchly opposed to pending state legislation that would allow church groups to hold regular wor ship services in the city’s public schools, suggested to me last week that these cultural skirmishes might be popping up because the unemployment rate is dropping and Osama bin Laden is dead. What arguments can the Republicans carry into the 2012 campaign? There’s a lot to what Glick said, but I also think it’s important to remember just how unrelentingly vigilant we must always be in preserving separation of church and state — especially given the anti-gay hostility of too many faith groups — even in a town as secular as New York. Many otherwise progressive politicians are defending the Albany legislation by pointing to the financial burden facing small congregations, many of them serving communities of color and immigrants, in need of space. Why other community institutions — especially richer, more established churches that have open time slots on their calendars — have not stepped forward to pitch in remains an unanswered question.

Mixing up religious worship and public schools is simply not good policy. There is ample evidence of a movement afoot to “plant” evangelical congregations — many of them with avowedly anti-gay missions — in the city’s public schools. Such use of publiclyowned property is simply unacceptable in light of city and state nondiscrimination laws. The LGBT community should not countenance it. But queer New Yorkers are not the only ones who would lose under such a scheme. Everyone has an interest in seeing that there be a clear divide between church and state. Non-believers will understandably be wor ried about the impact a school’s implicit imprimatur on a congregation’s worship services will have on their children who learn the basics of American citizenship there five days a week. Given that schools are generally free to use only on Sundays, the unique access enjoyed by Christian congregations unfairly discriminates against Jewish and Muslim adherents, among other faith communities, under such a policy. Finally, there is the issue of a congregation’s own free exercise of their faith. Any church that uses school property must abide by all laws, including nondiscrimination provisions of stat-

polled thought DADT should be repealed. The WHOLE country saw the wrongs of DADT. Yet we had a Democratic White House, a MAJOR Democratic Congress, a super Democratic majority in the Senate, and all went “numbnuts” to get anything done. I lost a progressive congresswoman, Dina Titus, because frustrated Democrats stayed home. She lost by less than 2,000 votes. When it comes to the rights of LGBT Americans we should send our moneys to the candidates whose hearts and minds have been changed. The Democratic Party should take care of their own. And the Democratic Party will now hopefully have “grown a pair” and have taken a lesson from the Tea Party and

show that they can actually stand for something! Stuart Robert Wyman-Cahall ——————— February 1, 2012 To the Editor: So after stabbing the gay community in the back in 2009, Senator Addabbo wonders why the gays don’t love him more? Meh, cry me a river, Senator. You had your chance to be an equality hero, and that was in 2009, and we all remember you were a zero. The rest of the Democrats? Your day will come. The elections are six months away. It’s unnatural for State Senate fundraising to begin this early. Public whining isn’t a good fundraising tactic. Tell me what

ute. But if a congregation denies anyone access — to participating in a service or in becoming a member — the city would have the obligation to inquire as to that denial and take appropriate steps. How long would it be before a congregation cries foul about state interference in their religious freedom? The only sound policy is drawing as bright a line as possible distinguishing public school access from the ability to hold worship services. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver suggests that a compromise might be possible, but his comments that access not be granted with “regularity” and that worship be distinguished from incidental prayer — as in the rental of space for a Passover Seder — will not satisfy either the small congregations currently meeting in schools or the right-wing advocacy group fighting this issue in court. Best that the effort at new state legislation be abandoned. The Department of Education should follow existing city law — which laudably has strong support from Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Mayor Michael Bloomberg — and refrain from making public school space available for any form of religious worship. Faith congregations, like other community organizations, already have the right to rent school space for non-worship meetings on an asavailable basis after school and on weekends. But in this country, no faith has the right to ask the public to build the house in which they gather to pray. you’re going to do about HIV and homeless youth funding instead. Scott Wooledge

IT’S THE HEIRS, APPARENTLY February 7, 2012 To the Editor: Readers who rushed to see “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” after reading Christopher Byrne’s rave review are in for a shock if they have seen a performance or heard a recording of George and Ira Gershwin’s opera (“Rough Magic,” Feb. 1-14). The present title tells all. “Porgy” is now owned by George

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LETTERS, continued on p.33

| February 15, 2012

PERSPECTIVE

Viva Pinkwashing! BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL can’t help it. I cheer when I see headlines like “Hillary Clinton declares ‘gay rights are human rights’” or “Ecuador: Lesbian who led fight against ‘gay conversion’ clinics appointed to Presidential Cabinet.” I know the US currently has its own, unsavory civil rights failures from domestic spying and indefinite detentions to murder abroad by drones. And that the appointment in Ecuador is probably just a gay-positive bone tossed out there to quell international protests over the clinics before people start noticing how they’re just the tip of a human rights iceberg. President Rafael Correa’s pastime is pretty much tinkering with his Constitution to stifle the press and squash his opposition. Still, LGBT rights ARE human rights, no matter what you think about other aspects of American policy. And in the case of Ecuador, Carina Vance Mafla, an out dyke, is still going

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to lead the national Health Ministry, even if most of the gay conversion clinics that got closed apparently re-opened a b o u t h a l f a n h o u r l a t e r. Tyrants, especially, are always trumpeting that new bridge, that literacy program as they throw another dissident in jail, leave another journalist bleeding in the gutter. At least you end up with a bridge. The question for queer activists is: Do you burn the thing down in a fit of pique or go after the tyrant for his tyranny? Lately we’ve favored burning the bridge even if it leaves vulnerable queers isolated on the other side. LGBT puritans of the left are even going so far as to condemn “white, middle-class, Western” queers like me for supporting LGBT fights in the global South. Either I’m complicit with the tyrant’s pinkwashing or a racist colonial monster trying to enslave the masses and fiddle with unalterable foreign cultures for my own homonationalist gain.

NON-PROFITS, from p.15

One of her missions at LeGaL, which among other activities runs weekly free legal clinics at Manhattan’s LGBT Community Center and on Long Island, is to broaden the group’s membership and board. Many of the issues clients bring to the legal clinics involve the new marriage equality law, but with immigration officials showing more flexibility and discretion in their enforcement, lawyers there are also seeing more binational couples as well as individuals trying to remain in the US.

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LETTERS, from p.32

and Ira’s heirs, and they wanted the opera turned into a Broadway show. They haven’t come right out and admitted it, of course, but the fact that a hit musical would regularly bring in more royalties than an opera just may account for the change. The casting may be terrific. Replacing George’s lush orchestra with an amplified pit band of some 30 musicians was not done for artistic reasons. Harris Green

Who needs the likes of Rick Warren when we’ve got good old Judith Butler, et al., doing the work of conservative bigots by telling gay activists to stay at home? Especially now, when American Christian fundamentalist money is pouring into Africa and Latin America to support anti-gay campaigns by their protégés there who advocate torture and violence, not just on the street but as law in the courts, as well. Shouldn’t queer dollars (and US aid) support LGBT activists fighting back? Shouldn’t we care what happens to people like us in the rest of the world? Yes, America has problems with human rights. But does that disqualify us from also doing some good? We’ve never exactly shone around racial issues. But should we have abstained from participating in the boycott that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa just because our hands weren’t quite clean? Likewise, the United States has always had problems with

Emphasizing her view that community organizations must better reflect a broad range of life experiences, she said, “Someone said if we have a common goal, that’s good. I don’t agree with that.” Sue Sena, the president of Swish, a gay-straight alliance that works to engage more allies in the fight for LGBT rights, saw the NGLCCNY summit as a perfect opportunity “to hear from the community” on how to enhance that mission. Begun in 2003, the group has about 3,000 members, mainly in the New York area, and connects them to volunteer efforts across the community.

HOMELESSNESS = DEATH February 2, 2012 To the Editor: Thank you for your articles on the plight of homeless LGBT youth (“Advocates Press Cuomo on Homeless Youth,” Jan. 4-17, and “Homeless Youth Advocates Unhappy with Cuomo Budget,” Jan 18-31, by Paul Schindler). As a current New York City substitute schoolteacher, who is hoping to get hired at the Harvey Milk High School, I realize why it is important for me to work with LGBT youth. They

sexism and rights for women — what on earth were they thinking at the Komen Foundation??? — but should we have used that as an excuse to back away from supporting women’s rights globally? The real problem with “middle-class, meddling, Western” queers is that we don’t get involved nearly enough, considering all the money and power at our disposal. And when we do, we have the attention span of a flea and no understanding at all that we have to look at how LGBT rights fit into the broader picture of human rights if we want any of our gains to endure. We have to do more than click on online petitions, declare victory, then move on. The trick is to congratulate people like President Rafael Correa for appointing a dyke and closing 20 clinics. Then tell him we’ll keep a close eye on things, looking forward to the moment we can celebrate closing them all. And when it comes to Ecuadorian activists, we need to ask if they need more than just a click online. Do they need money? Technical assistance for websites and networking? Are they

Steed Taylor, an artist living with AIDS, who recently rejoined the board of Visual AIDS, which supports artists living with HIV and preserves and commemorates the cultural legacy of those lost to the virus, agreed that engaging those outside the LGBT community is vital. Noting that the fight against AIDS has been hurt by the fatigue of a threedecade battle, he said, “There is a great cultural loss from AIDS. We need to open the fight to non-gays, to emphasize tolerance in the broadest sense possible.” Among many younger artists, he said, “AIDS doesn’t seem as relevant, sort of

need to be reminded that “it does get better,” and I will work to help them. I may be diminishing my chances of maintaining my current substitute teaching jobs by writing to you. (The NYC elementary schools suggest that LGBT teachers stay hushed.) I’m not loud, but I’m proud, and there should be no reason why LGBT teachers should have to work quietly. The freer we are, the more diligently we work! I’m also a yellow cab driver, and if I have to continue driving a cab before an accepting school, like Harvey

hampered by problems in civil society? The crackdown on the press? Freedom of speech is the cornerstone for any civil rights movement to succeed. What else can we do? LGBT people who are still struggling for their rights have to seize — and celebrate — every single opening, pressure every ostensible ally, including Hillary Clinton. I remember that when Bush appointed Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, I sneered at them as mere tokens. But it’s hard to imagine America voting a black man into the White House if we hadn’t spent several years seeing people of color in some of America’s top jobs. The world is complicated. Politics are messy. Our progress can be manipulated. But so what? If we can split atoms, we can surely congratulate Ecuadorian queers for what gains they’ve made — AND denounce their country’s treatment of dissidents. Ditto for Uganda or Israel, pinkwasher extraordinaire. The good thing about getting tossed bones is that you can gnaw them clean, then carve them into unexpectedly sharp points. Yes we can.

like Abstract Expressionism.” Echoing Barnett, Taylor said the AIDS world is hobbled by “a lot of turf protection. This is an opportunity to address collaboration, which is a great opportunity.” The other attendees who spoke to Gay City News agreed. “NGLCCNY can be a great catalyst,” Sena said. “I would absolutely invest another Saturday in this effort,” said Brooks. Asked if she would stay involved in the collaboration, Jadusingh said, “Absolutely.”

Milk, hires me, then I’ll drive on, drive on! Newspapers like yours keep me motivated to give back to our LGBT community in ways that make me proud to be a lesbian in our New York community! There should never be the word “homeless” next to the LGBT youth. It reminds me of the pains of the AIDS crisis, when the slogan “silence=death” appeared. I may be an extremist, but homelessness in New York, from my cab-driving and substitute-teaching eyes, equals a similar death. Perhaps if the

elementary schools were more accepting of LGBT teachers, then we wouldn’t have a population of LGBT homelessness. Every age needs a mentor! Debbie Yorizzo Brooklyn

Write Us! Please address letters to the editor of 250 words or less to Editor@GayCityNews.com or mail them to 515 Canal Street, Suite 1C, New York, NY 10013. We reserve the edit any letter for space or legal considerations.

34 䉴

SCHOOLS, from p.8

On his church’s website, Pastor Robert Hall of the Bronx Household of Faith responded to the court ruling against his church and to the passage of marriage equality in New York last year by writing, “Both decisions refuse to recognize the authority of God, creator and sovereign of the universe, as the authority above the state.” In response to a question from Dromm, Hall acknowledged that he “would like to see” Christian congregations such as his meeting in all public schools in the city. The 700-member New Fr ontier Church holds three worship services, conducted in Korean, every Sunday in PS 11 in Gottfried’s district. Pastor Inhyun Ryu testified that the congregation has made “structural improvements” to the school, improved the air conditioning, and donated computers to the students “but never left a donor ID on them.” Pastor Stephen Leung of Ascension Church, which meets at PS 101 in Forest Hills, said, “We don’t proselytize children and do not exclude anyone from our worship services.” If the city policy stands, “it is ideologically driven,” he argued. “Folks like us don’t feel welcome anymore.” Matthew Stewart, a parent of children in PS 6 on the Upper East Side, said he investigated the Morning Star Church that meets there. “The church dominates the facility,” he said. “Part of the stage was used for their storage,” something that is not supposed to be allowed. “Teachers had to ask them not to use school supplies,” he said, “and I saw one pastor praying over children’s pictures on the walls of the school.” Stewart said he was “outraged” that “the blending led my child to develop the false impression that school and church are blended.” While Speaker Quinn has not yet taken a public stance on the Council resolution, when asked by Gay City News about her view of the matter, she noted that at least three Council members had recently removed their names from it — Democrats Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan and Karen Koslowitz and out gay Jimmy van Bramer of Queens. Still, the resolution continues to enjoy majority support, including from progay members such as Democrats Letitia James of Brooklyn and Margaret Chin of Lower Manhattan. The city’s Department of Education (DOE) allows outside groups to use school facilities at a nominal cost when they are not being used by the schools themselves. Religious groups are allowed to have meetings in these spaces, but existing state law explicitly authorizes the city to draw the line at worship services. The Bronx Household of Faith case decided last summer by the Second Circuit was argued by the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which has

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com challenged marriage equality and other LGBT rights advances nationwide. The court wrote that the DOE could “reasonably worry that the regular, long-term conversion of schools into state-subsidized churches on Sundays would violate the Establishment Clause by reason of public perception of endorsement.” The majority 2-1 decision also stated, “The exclusion applies only to the conduct of a certain type of activity — the conduct of worship services — and not to the free expression of religious views associated with it.” The majority noted that since schools were most often empty and available for use by outside groups only on Sundays, it favored “Christian worship” and created “a very substantial appearance of governmental endorsement of religion” — another factor Silver mentioned in his

“

cerns, has been challenged and upheld by the appeals court. Organizations, including churches and synagogues and mosques, that wish to use public school space for after-school programs or community events or basketball leagues or Bible study classes are welcome. But public school space cannot and should not be used for worship services, especially because school space is not equally available to all faiths. The DOE respects and recognizes the contributions religious congregations make to their communities and has consistently sought in good faith to minimize any disruption caused once the court injunction was lifted.” The DOE’s regulations (at tinyurl. com/6naa2va) mandate that groups renting school facilities may not “exclude persons on the basis of any impermissible discriminatory reason.” Pastor Jack Roberts of Bronx Household of Faith, testified, “Gay and lesbian people can come,” but not become members. “We don’t allow people who are not baptized or who have a lifestyle contrary to the word of God.” J o n a t h a n W i l l n e r, a Brooklyn teacher, testified, “I am outraged that [these religious groups] can use our schools to preach hatred. Any religious group must be required to eliminate antigay rhetoric and respect equality. To do any less would be discriminating.” Marci Hamilton, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and professor at Cardozo School of Law, specializes in church/ state relations and constitutional law. She testified that the Second Circuit ruled that the schools “could not and should not” be open to houses of worship. “If the Establishment Clause stands for anything, it must stand for the notion that it is not suitable for public schools to be churches,” she said. Hamilton added, “Bronx Household of Faith is not open to the general public. Its exclusionary practices, while fine for a religious organization occupying its own rented or purchased space, are intolerable in a public school.” Manhattan Democratic Councilman Robert Jackson, chair of the Education Committee, called Hamilton’s testimony her “opinion” and the “opinion” of the Second Circuit. “These are the facts,” Hamilton replied. Jackson said that while the court held that the city’s ban was constitutional, it did not say that a policy allowing for worship services was necessarily unconstitutional. Lieberman of the NYCLU said, “The church that gets to pray in school every week is likely to be viewed as the favor-

Christian worship,” a federal appeals court said, created “a very substantial appearance of governmental endorsement of religion.” comments to Gay City News. The DOE, the court said, had “a strong basis to fear that permitting such use would violate the Establishment Clause.” After the US Supreme Court declined to review the ruling in December, the city gave the religious groups until February 12 to find alternative space. The defeated religious groups are going back into court this week in an effort to obtain an injunction to get back into the schools — in a procedural maneuver known as an Article 78 motion that the NYCLU’s Lieberman termed a “Hail Mary pass” that would not succeed.’ Silver said the Assembly would take no action on the Senate bill or a compromise until the Article 78 issue is resolved. Jordan Lorence, the combative ADF senior counsel who lost the Bronx case — and is active in the group’s other anti-gay litigation around the country — insisted that of the top 50 school districts in the country, only New York bars worship services in schools. “Nothing in the Constitution prohibits it,” he testified. “Can’t explain why the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.” The DOE issued a statement saying, “Public school buildings, which are funded by taxpayers’ dollars, should not be used as houses of worship or to subsidize worship. This policy, which is based on important constitutional con-

ite by the kids who go to the school and the community at large. It gives kids the impression that one religious group is favored over others.” She blasted the bill as requiring schools “to subsidize churches” and as “devastating for the separation of church and state.” Asked about these constitutional concerns, de Blasio, who as public advocate has authority to place his name on Council bills and resolutions, did not return a call for comment. His press office referred to his written statement: “There is indeed a line between church and state, but common sense and fairness dictate that the longstanding practice of allowing these institutions to rent space from the city — as thousands of other organizations do — is hardly a transgressive one.” The only reason that there was a “longstanding practice,” however, was that the religious groups kept getting injunctions against the city’s enforcement of even longer standing policy. It was never city policy to allow the access. Dromm told Gay City News, “I am frustrated that sometimes my colleagues don’t seem to take these churches’ virulent homophobia as seriously as it should be taken. It is an outrage that progressive people aren’t as outraged as is necessary. These issues are at the core of determining whether you’re a progressive.” Allen Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, an LGBT group, said “the gay community is furious” over the bill, and he confronted Councilmembers Jackson and James over their support for the resolution. “Tish said these people take care of people with AIDS, but I said it is not right for government to give them places to pray,” he said. The Freedom from Religion Foundation has an extensive summary of the legal cases involved in the movement to place churches in schools at tinyurl. com/798ktjx. The Bloomberg administration is fighting the state bill. ADF’s Lorence wrote on the group’s website that, in Albany, “I ran into School Chancellor Dennis Walcott, who had been lobbying lawmakers to defeat the bill. The NYC School Chancellor is not going to travel to Albany unless he is concerned that the bill would pass.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who distinguished himself defending the right of an Islamic group to open a cultural center downtown near Ground Zero, spoke up on February 13 about the longstanding policy of barring worship services in schools. “I’ve always thought that one of the great things about America is that we keep a separation [between church and state] and the more clear that separation is, the more those people who want to be able to practice their religion will have the opportunity to do so.”

| February 15, 2012

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February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

PROP 8, from p.10

tion Clause when they enacted a state constitutional amendment prohibiting Colorado and its counties and municipalities from affording gay people specific protections under antidiscrimination law. The Supreme Court found that no rational justification supported singling out a particular group of people in this way, suggesting it was motivated by animus, an illegitimate ground for making public policy. “Proposition 8 singles out same-sex couples for unequal treatment by taking away from them alone the right to marry, and this action amounts to a distinct constitutional violation because the Equal Protection Clause protects minority groups from being targeted for the deprivation of an existing right without a legitimate reason,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the majority. He concluded that even if the reasons put forward in support of Prop 8 were accepted as legitimate government interests, enacting the amendment did not advance any of them. The Proponents and those who submitted amicus briefs in support offered

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ANALYSIS, from p.10

court was not deciding. He specifically wrote that the court was not saying whether states are required to extend legal recognition to same-sex relationships. Since Lawrence was decided, four new justices have joined the court. Even though two were appointed by Bush and two by Obama, most Supreme Court watchers see the four (John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan) as more conservative than the justices they replaced (William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O’Connor, David Souter, and John Paul Stevens, respectively). Overall, the four Democratic appointees on the Court —

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four justifications for Prop 8: “(1) furthering California’s interest in childrearing and responsible procreation, (2) proceeding with caution before making significant changes to marriage, (3) protecting religious freedom, and (4) preventing children from being taught about samesex marriage in schools.” Since California had already recognized equal parental rights for samesex couples, Prop 8 really has nothing to do with childrearing policy, the panel found. And, there is no logical connection between denying same-sex couples the right to marry and encouraging different-sex couples to get married before having children. Regarding religious freedom, the court pointed out that nothing in California law compels religious organizations to perform any marriage they disapprove of, and Prop 8 did not alter existing state anti-discrimination laws, which had long included protections based on sexual orientation. The court discounted the argument about “proceeding with caution” given that 18,000 couples had already married by the time Prop 8 was enacted. Finally, on the matter of schools, the

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan — are viewed as moderate-left, while four of the Republican appointees — Clarence Thomas, Roberts, Scalia, and Alito — are thought of as relatively hardright. Kennedy, the author of Lawrence — and of Romer v. Evans, the 1996 opinion on which last week’s Ninth Circuit panel majority relied, which struck down a Colorado amendment barring any sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections — is somewhere in the middle. He is generally — but not always — the swing vote in close cases, more of an economic conservative and, on social issues, sometimes more libertarian. Still, with the exception of Romer,

ADVOCATES, from p.11

however, is unclear, as is the future course of the Prop 8 litigation itself. On the press call, Ted Boutrous, an AFER attorney, stated that since the decision relied so heavily on the Supreme Court’s 1996 Colorado precedent, the high court might see no reason to take up the Prop 8 ruling for review. O l s o n , P r o p 8 T r i a l T r a c k e r. c o m reported, offered a different take, suggesting that since this federal ruling affects the status of marriage equality for roughly one-eighth of the US population, the Supreme Court might be

majority found that Prop 8 had no direct effect on curriculum. The panel conceded that since schools instruct students about the reality of the world, it is likely that the right of same-sex couples to marry would come up in their education, but found that blocking them from knowledge of reality is not a legitimate state interest. Judge N. Randy Smith’s dissent focused on the issue of steering procreation into heterosexual marriage — and his discussion seemed incredibly weak, as if he were grasping at straws. The argument conceded most points of the analysis to the majority, falling back on the notion that as long as it was “arguable” or contested that children are or are not better off in a particular kind of family, the state could rationally bar same-sex couples from marrying. His conclusion was at stark odds with the record in the case showing the large number of children being raised by same-sex couples who would be disadvantaged because their parents’ unions were not recognized as marriages. By ruling on the narrowest constitutional ground available to it, the court limited the immediate effect of its ruling

Kennedy has tended to be conservative on cases involving discrimination claims and affirmative action. Some press reports indicate that Kennedy knows and is friendly with gay people — he has taught, for example, at McGeorge Law School in his hometown of Sacramento, and there are openly gay faculty members there — and that this has prompted his openness to gay rights arguments. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he raised doubts in one opinion for the Ninth Circuit about the constitutionality of a pre-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that discharged gay service members. The Supreme Court takes up cases only if at least four justices

inclined to step in. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which litigated the successful 2008 marriage equality case before the California Supreme Court, shared the enthusiasm AFER’s attorneys voiced about the longterm implications of the panel’s decision. “The Ninth Circuit’s ruling finding that Proposition 8 violates the Constitution of this nation marks the first time a federal appellate court has held that a law excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry runs counter to our highest ideals of equality and fairness,” attorney Kate Kendell, the group’s executive director said, in a written statement.

to California. Given its conclusion that the state must have a legitimate reason for depriving a particular group of citizens a previously recognized right, its logic would be helpful in challenging any attempt in Iowa, for example, to put an amendment initiative on the ballot to rescind the right to marry proclaimed by that state’s Supreme Court. It would likely be less significant — if not irrelevant — in forestalling an effort in New Hampshire, for example, to overturn marriage equality enacted by the Legislature through a voter initiative. The limited scope of the ruling also makes it less likely that it will merit review by the full Ninth Circuit en banc or by the US Supreme Court. Prop 8’s Proponents, however, will almost certainly seek one or both routes of appeal, which would delay implementation of the ruling. Neither the full Ninth Circuit nor the Supreme Court, however, is obligated to hear the case, so it is not certain that it will go any further. The panel majority left in place for at least 14 days the stay of Walker’s order that has existed since 2010, and that will give Proponents time to file for further review.

agree to do so. The four justices on the right seem unlikely to accept a petition from the Prop 8 Proponents if they thought Kennedy was likely to affirm the Circuit panel’s decision striking it down. The four justices on the left would likely act similarly if they came to the opposite conclusion about Kennedy. But don’t expect Kennedy to signal in advance whether he sees the Ninth Circuit decision as an appropriate application of his ruling in Romer or he would see a need to re-examine that decision in light of the facts in the Prop 8 litigation. And it also bears repeating that confident predictions about how the Court will decide a case or how individual justices will vote are sometimes

“With today’s ruling we are a giant step closer to the day when the promise of our Constitution squares with the lived reality of LGBT people.” In assessing the victory at the Ninth Circuit, Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a nationwide advocacy group, said, “The Ninth Circuit rightly held that a state simply may not take a group of people and shove them outside the law, least of all when it comes to something as important as the commitment and security of marriage.” Asked whether the narrowness of the ruling diminished the chances that the Supreme Court will review the panel’s

proved wrong. For example, Kennedy voted with the majority in finding that the Boy Scouts had a First Amendment right to exclude gays, and not one member of the court voted to affirm the Massachusetts high court’s ruling that an Irish gay group was entitled to march as a unit in the Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The narrow basis of the Ninth Circuit ruling, I believe, means there is a good chance the Supreme Court would decline to hear an appeal from Prop 8’s Proponents. Analysis of whether they would take the case up if marriage equality supporters make an appeal after losing before an en banc panel is a different matter. One step at a time...

decision, Wolfson, via email, responded, “There are many twists in the road ahead, and whether this case or some other gets to the Supreme Court is not something we can know today — let alone when or who the justices might be at the time. Certainly the care, clarity, and even conservative focus on California’s lack of a legitimate reason to strip away the freedom to marry all help strengthen the argument that the Supreme Court should let this decision stand, even as we work hard to win more states and continue building public support as the foundation for an ultimate ruling.”

| February 15, 2012

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BOOKS A Beautiful Boy, His Spirited Grandmother

Robert Leleux, author of the comedic and heartbreaking coming-of-age book “The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy,” does a reading from his newest work, “The Living End: A Memoir of Forgetting and Forgiving” a tribute to his spirited grandmother. Barnes & Noble/ Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd St. Feb. 16, 7 p.m. Free. Call ahead to confirm at 212362-8835.

who won a 2011 Lambda Literary Award for his debut novel, “Bob the Book,” and whose story collection, “My Movie,” will be released by Chelsea Station Editions in March 2012. KGB Bar, 85 E. Fourth St., btwn. Broadway & Second Ave. Feb. 16, 7 p.m. Free.

She was murdered at Auschwitz. Kahn and Robert Gonzales, Jr., direct, with music by Arthur Abrams. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. at Tenth St. Through Feb. 26, Thu.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 at 212-254-1109 or theaterforthenewcity.net.

FILM The Kids Ain’t Alright

Primary Colors

“Private Romeo” is a contemporary film rendering of the Shakespeare classic, in which the forbidden love takes place between two male cadets at a high school military academy and the original text is supplemented by YouTube videos and lip-synched indie rock music. Seth Numrich (Romeo) and Matt Doyle (Juliet) both appeared in 2011’s Tony-winning “Warhorse.” Writer Alan Brown (“Book of Love”) directs. Cinema Village, 22 East 12th St. Screening times at cinemavillage. com.

THEATER Homophobia, Zenophobia Words & Whimsy This month’s edition of the “Drunken! Careening! Writers!” reading is titled “Deep Whimsy,” an evening featuring Jacob M. Appel, whose short fiction has appeared in more than 200 leading literary journals and won the North American Review’s Kurt Vonnegut Prize; Lisa Ferber, a prolific multidisciplinary satirist, whose paintings and illustrations have shown at National Arts Club and whose plays and songs have been performed at La Mama, the Duplex, and the Brick; and David Pratt,

Lesbian playwright Barbara Kahn premieres her “Unreachable Eden,” a standalone sequel to “The Spring and Fall of Eve Adams,” the real life story of Polish Jewish lesbian Eve Adams (born Chava Zloczower), who ran a tearoom and avant garde salon on MacDougal Street in 1926, before being entrapped by an undercover policewoman and charged with making unwelcome advances and offering her a book of short stories she wrote about lesbians. After an 18-month imprisonment, she was deported and never able to return despite an effort lasting through the 1930s.

Randy Harrison (Showtime’s “Queer as Folk”) and Bob Ari (Broadway’s “Frost/ Nixon”) star in John Logan’s “Red,” the award-winning Broadway play that examines the artistic passions and struggles of painter Mark Rothko. Anders Cato directs. George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Ave. at George St., New Brunswick, NJ. Tue.-Sat., times vary, Feb. 2-26. Tickets are $59.50-$63.50 at GSPonline. org or 732-246-7717.

Yosemite’s Secrets Playwrights Theater presents the world premiere of “Yosemite,” a new play written by Daniel Talbott (“Slipping,” a tale of gay seduction among two high schoolers) that is the story of three siblings sent out into the snow-silent woods in the Sierra Nevada foothills to dig a hole that will be deep enough to bury a family secret. The cast includes Kathryn Erbe (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” Tony nomination for “The Speed of Darkness”), Noah Galvin (“The Burnt Part Boys,” “Ace”), Seth Numrich (“War Horse,” “Blind”), and Libby Woodbridge (“Jerusalem,” “Gabriel”). Pedro Pascal directs. Rattlestick Theater, 224 Waverly Pl., off Seventh Ave. S., btwn. Perry & W. 11th Sts. Through Feb. 26, Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. Tickets are $55 at ticketcentral.com or 212- 279-4200. Student and theater art-

DANCE See the Motivation

Choreographer Doug Varone, formerly a dancer with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, curates the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival: “Stripped/ Dressed.” During a five-week run, five companies present programs that include a “Stripped Half,” in which the skeleton and seeds of full work is performed, stripped of theatrical devices, as one might see it in a studio rehearsal. The work is then presented “Dressed,” with costumes and lights in a more theatrical setting. On Feb. 17-18, 8 p.m.; Feb. 19, 3 p.m., Lar Lubovitch Dance Company presents “The Legend of Ten.” On Feb 24-25, 8 p.m.; Feb. 26, 3 p.m., Peggy Baker Dance Projects performs “Coalesce.” On Mar. 2-3, 8 p.m.; Mar. 4, 3 p.m., Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc. presents “Mo(or)town Redux.” On Mar. 9-10, 8 p.m.; Mar. 11, 3 p.m., Monica Bill Barnes & Company presents “Suddenly Summer Somewhere.” On Mar. 16-17, 8 p.m.; Mar. 18, 3 p.m., Susan Marshall & Company performs “Sawdust Palace.” 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St. Tickets are $15 at 92y.org/harnessfestival or 212-415-5500.

SAT.FEB.18

CABARET Judy & Liza, Now & Forever

Tommy Femia, a seven-time winner of a Manhattan Association of Cabaret and Clubs (MAC) Award, and Ricky Skye, who won a Bistro Award for “The Flip Side of Neil Sedaka,” perform the most famous mother-daughter act in history in “Judy and Liza Together Again.” The pair sing solos, duets, and just plain holler and whoop — though, in this case, not through

the Loop. Ricky Ritzel appears as Mort Lindsey/ Pappy as he music directs. Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St. Feb. 18 & 25, 8:30 p.m. There is a $25 cover charge and a two-drink minimum. For reservations, call 212-757-0788.

SUN.FEB.19

GALLERY Eroticism Unchained

In “F*ck Art,” the Museum of Sex responds to the growing anti-institution sentiment pervasive in our culture by engaging a group of street artists to occupy the museum’s third floor gallery to create their most provocative work to date. The installation is a work in progress, with the artists painting, pasting, and manipulating the walls, ceiling, and floor in real time over the course of two weeks. Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Ave. at 27th St. Feb. 8-26, Sun.-Thu., 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Admission is $17.50.

PERFORMANCE Downtown Goes Uptown Daniel Nardicio and Thirsty Girl Productions curate a series of downtown divas performing in the tony uptown environs of Feinstein’s at The Regency. On Feb. 19, 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6), Bridget Everett, whom the Times’ Charles Isherwood wrote “is, without doubt, the life of the party!,” and Amber Martin, whom the New Yorker’s Hilton Als said has a “big, moving Bessie Smith-like sound,” appear. On Feb. 28, 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6), modern cabaret star Molly Pope is joined by Logo TV star and YouTube sensation Cole Escola, whom Justin Vivian Bond said “somehow manages to be a throw-back and cutting edge at the same time. His comedic talent and brilliant timing are those of a classic live art star.” On Feb. 29, 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6), fiery redhead Angela Di Carlo, whose “Madmen” show has been making waves downtown, is joined by Broadway’s Natalie Joy Johnson, who originated the role of Enid Hoopes in “Legally Blonde.” 540 Park Ave. at 61st St. Tickets are $19.60, with a two-drink minimum at feinsteinsattheregency.com or 212-339-4095.

THU.FEB.23

BOOKS Cartoonist & Author to Look Out For

Alison Bechdel, an internationally acclaimed lesbian cartoonist (“Dykes to Watch Out For”) and a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator (“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic”) will deliver Long Island University’s annual “Starting from Paumanok” lecture on American literature and culture. The lecture, initiated in 1983, takes its name from a Walt Whit-

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䉴14 DAYS14 NIGHTS, from p.38 man poem that first appeared in the 1860 edition of “Leaves of Grass” and invokes the Native American word for Long Island and acknowledges the university’s geographic and cultural connection to one of Brooklyn’s foremost literary figures. Long Island University Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, Flatbush & DeKalb Aves., Brooklyn. Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m. More information at tinyurl.com/7md5bx2.

THEATER Rustbelt Blues Gay playwright Mark Snyder’s “As Wide as I Can See” is set in the backyard of a recession-stricken Ohio town, where the beer is on ice and the citronellas are ready to be lit. Dean, a disillusioned journalist, and his freeloading best friend unwittingly prepare for the most explosive barbecue of their lives. Tensions mount when Dean’s girlfriend inadvertently invites a mysterious woman from his past to the party. Burgers are flipped and scores are settled in this new drama about remembering who you were and confronting who you’ve become. Dan Horrigan directs. HERE Arts Center, 145 Sixth Ave., entrance on Dominick St. Feb. 23-Mar. 10, Tue.-Sun., 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 at here.org or 212-3523101.

Opening reception is Feb. 23, 6-8 p.m. More information at fredtorres.com.

FRI.FEB.24

OPERA They Got Spunk — Always Have

Who are opera’s Spunky Old Broads? One took off all her clothes to obtain her heart’s desire. Another threw a baby into the fire. Yet another seduced a French corporal. Working as a team, three of them slew a dragon and tormented two seekers of truth! Chelsea Opera presents the familiar and several less familiar ladies of opera as presented through their signature arias and scenes. Among the Spunky Broads represented are Turandot, Joan of Arc, Baba, Ma Joad, Three Ladies, Older Alyce, Lucretia, Marcellina, and Azucena. Special guests including dramatic soprano Maria Russo and dramatic mezzo soprano Eugenie Grunewald. Christ & St. Stephen’s C h u r c h , 1 2 0 W. 69th St. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Tickets are $20; $15 for students & seniors at chelseaopera.org or 212-260-1796; $25 & $20 at the door.

anniversary with an art auction featuring more than 65 works for sale, with bidding starting as low as $10. Contributing artists include Al Benkin, Jason Bishop, Nayland Blake, Ricardo Carranza, Avram Finkelstein, Baseera Khan Fox, Blaise Garber, Andrea Geyer, Morgan Hart, Sharon Hayes, Ren-Yo Hwang, Xylor Jane, Lim + Lam, Syd London, Marion Love, Amos Mac, Zave Martohardjono, Laimah Osman, R.H. Quaytman, Roberta Rivera, Jacob Robichaux, Trina Rose, Emily Roysdon, BrandyTuffGurlTattoos Scott, Buzz Slutzky, Tuesday Smillie, Martyn Thompson, Rachael Warner, Faith Wilding, and Sasha Wortzel. The evening also includes performances, DJs, and refreshments. Jack Studios, 601 W 26th St., 12th fl. Feb. 25, 6-9 p.m. Bidding ends at 8 sharp. The cover charge is $5 -$10 on a sliding scale. More information at srlp.org.

TUE.FEB.28

Fred Torres Collaborations present “Earth Laughs In Flowers,” a new series of ten large-scale photographs by David LaChapelle, whose photography career began in the 1980s when his artwork caught the eye of Andy Warhol and the editors of Interview magazine. First shown at the Kestnergesellschaft Museum in Hannover, “Earth Laughs In Flowers” appropriates the traditional Baroque still life painting in order to explore contemporary vanity, vice, the transience of earthly possessions, and the fragility of humanity. Expectations of the still life are satisfied through the inclusion of symbolic objects such as fruit, flowers, and skulls, but also upended by the insertion of everyday items such as cell phones, cigarette butts, balloons, Barbies, and a Starbuck’s iced coffee cup. The title comes from the poem “Hamatreya” (1846) by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which flowers articulate nature’s ridicule and contempt for human arrogance in the pretense to dominion over earth. 527 W. 29th St. Feb. 23-Mar. 24. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

SAT.FEB.25

BENEFIT Small Works for Big Change

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence, celebrates its tenth

The raunchy, demented drag diva of Wigstock fame, Lady Bunny presents her first full-length one wo-man show in almost a decade. Gay City News’ David Noh writes, “There surely have been drag queens more beautiful and more vocally expressive, but none has ever made me laugh as hard and consistently over the years as Lady Bunny.” For mature audiences who enjoy irreverent humor! La Nueva Escuelita, 301 W. 39th St. Feb. 28, 8 p.m. Admission is — oddly — $14.98 at tinyurl.com/3jzfrk9. The show is followed by an hour of two-forone drinks. ALINA WILCZYNSKI

MATTHEW MURPHY

GALLERY LaChapelle’s Flowers

The Museum of Modern Art presents “Cindy Sherman,” a retrospective tracing the groundbreaking artist’s career from the mid-1970s to the present. The exhibition brings together 180 key photographs from the artist’s significant series— including the complete “Untitled Film Stills” (1977–80), the critically acclaimed centerfolds (1981), and the celebrated history portraits (1989–90) — plus examples from her fashion photography of the early 1980s, the breakthrough sex pictures of 1992, her 2003 clowns, monumental society portraits from 2008, and the American premiere of her 2010 photographic mural. The Joan and Preston Robert Tisch Exhibition Gallery, 11 West 53rd St., sixth fl. Feb. 26-Jun. 11. Wed.-Mon., 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Fri.., 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m. Admission is $25 adults; $18 for seniors; $14 for students. Free admission, Fri., 4-8 p.m.

CABARET No Lady Here. ¡Ninguna!

MUSIC New Song Sets in Brooklyn The Brooklyn Art Song Society teams up with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Yehudi Wyner (“Chiavi in Mano”) in the second installment of its new music series, “In Context.” Wyner performs three of his own sets of songs with bass Paul An (“Psalms and Early Songs”), soprano Melissa Fogarty (the American premiere of “Three Medieval Latin Lyrics”), and Dominique Labelle (the New York premiere of the piano-version of “The Second Madrigal”). Also on the program are Samuel Barber’s “Hermit Songs Op. 27” and Dmitri Shostakovich’s “7 Poems by Alexander Blok Op. 127 for Soprano and Piano Trio.” Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing, at the East River. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Tickets are $15-$35 at bargemusic.org. More information at brooklynartsongsociety.org.

GALLERY Cindy Sherman Retrospective

SUN.FEB.26

MUSIC Legrand Meringolo

Marieann Meringolo brings her new show, “You Must Believe In Spring! The Music of Michel Legrand” to Feinstein’s at Loews Regency for four consecutive Sunday evenings. The show features Legrand song selections with masterpiece lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Norman Gimbel, and Johnny Mercer. Meringolo will sing renditions of “The Windmills of Your Mind,” Summer Me Winter Me,” and “What are You Doing The Rest of Your Life.” “I have always been drawn to the music of Michael Legrand, especially the Legrand/ Bergman collaboration,” Meringolo said. “The combination of the beautiful melodies and breathtaking lyrics has always stopped me in tracks — a match made in heaven!” 540 Park Ave. at 61st St. Feb. 26, Mar. 4, 11 & 18, 8:30 p.m. The cover charge is $30-$50, with a $25 food/ drink minimum. For reservations, visit feinsteinsatloewsregency.com or call 212-339-4095.

FRI.MAR.2

PERFORMANCE A Very Queer Buddha

Tokyo’s Company East returns to New York with the world premiere of “Buddha.” Director and choreographer Kenji Kawarasaki’s production, which blends Eastern traditional techniques of Noh with Western modern dance to produce culturally rich movement theater, is an Oriental take on the Seven Deadly Sins that juxtaposes the biography of Siddhartha Buddha with the fever dream of a contemporary gay man. It is an aggressive, scandalous, spiritual journey based on the Buddhist ideas of love and death and the spirit of Zen. The production incorporates multiple video projectors that will display both words and images, making the experience truly multicultural and accessible for Japanese and English speaking audiences alike. The Club La MaMa ETC, 74A E. Fourth St., btwn. Bowery & Second Ave. FriSat., 10 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m., Mar. 2-11. Tickets are $20; $15 for students & seniors at lamama.org or 212-475-7710.

February 15, 2012 | www.gaycitynews.com

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