GCN 5/22/2013

FREE VOLUME TWELVE, ISSUE ELEVEN MAY 22 - JUNE 4, 2013

Pages 4, 6, 28

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

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| May 22, 2013

Mark Carson’s murder and its aftermath 4, 6, 28 Cover Illustration by Michael Shirey

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

CRIME

Anti-Gay Murder Follows Wave of Homophobic Assaults Elliot Morales charged with May 18 shooting of Mark Carson at close range after allegedly menacing Village bar he point-blank shooting murder of a gay man this past weekend has galvanized concer n in the LGBT community about a spate of anti-gay attacks in Manhattan that number at least seven since May 5.

Mark Carson, 32, a gay man out socializing with friends in the West Village, was shot in the face and killed just after midnight on the mor ning of May 18 by a gunman shouting anti-gay slurs. Apprehended nearby shortly after the shooting, Elliot Morales, 33, has been charged

by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance with murder in the second degree as a hate crime, menacing in the second degree, and two weapons charges.

Less than 24 hours after the killing, hundreds turned out for a vigil at the site of the murder at 60 West Eighth Street just east of Sixth Avenue following a social media call from

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BY ANDY HUMM

An impromptu memorial has sprung up at the site of Mark Carson’s murder on Eighth Street just off Sixth Avenue.

Adam Feldman, a writer for Time Out. On May 20, three days after the murder, elected officials and LGBT groups

o rg a n i z e d a m a r c h o f m o r e t h a n 1,500 people from the LGBT Community Center on West 13th Street to a

rally at the same site.

Just hours after that rally, Dan Contrarino, a club promoter, was attacked on Avenue D and East Fourth Street by an assailant shouting “faggot,” NightLifeGay.com reported.

Contrarino posted on Facebook, “GAY BASHED LAST NITE... back from small surgery.... CHEST XRAYS THIS AM.... suspect still at large... police n media waiting to interview me... U JUST WANNA CRY N MOVE ON...”

At 5 a.m. on May 21, a gay couple, Steven Dixon, 42, and Michael Coleman, 41, were attacked in Soho by men shouting anti-gay epithets and repeatedly punching Dixon, causing lacerations, swelling, and pain to his eye, the New York Post reported.

Fabian Ortiz, 32 and Pedro Jimenez, 23, were arrested on charges of felonious assault as a hate crime.

Unlike these two attacks and four others since May 5, where violence erupted quickly, seemingly out of

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MURDER, continued on p.7

This Time, the Anger Was Institutionalized LGBT community, stunned by horrific murder, heeds calls from on top

BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

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ithin 24 hours of a pipe bomb exploding in a West Village gay bar in 1990, Queer Nation, a newly formed activist group, organized a protest demanding that the police department and City Hall act.

Estimates put the crowd at several hundred to more than 1,000.

Though still grappling with the AIDS epidemic, the community responded to additional reports of anti-gay attacks — called “The Second Epidemic” in a 1990 article in Outweek magazine — with more protests, self-defense classes, and patrols in the East and West Village.

This was the Queer Street bashing back by building its own institutions and criticizing the police and political leaders for their failure to protect a vulnerable population. This is how the community always responded in that era.

When mainstream health groups were not meeting the needs of gay men, three members of the Gay Lib-

Among those at the head of the march on May 20 were City Council candidate Yetta Kurland (center), Council Speaker Christine Quinn (to her right, one row back), and Glennda Testone, executive director of the LGBT Community Center (right end of banner).

eration Front founded the Gay Men’s Health Project Clinic, now called the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, in 1971. Launched in 1983, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center gave the com-

munity a home. The Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) was formed in 1990 to deliver political power.

In a decidedly different environment, Mark Carson, 32, was shot and killed in an alleged anti-gay hate

crime in the West Village on May 18.

Elliot Morales, 33, faces two weapons possession charges, a menacing charge, and one count of second-

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QUEER STREET, continued on p.12

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

CRIME

What Is To Be Done?

Activists, government struggle to stem anti-gay crime wave n the wake of the anti-gay murder of Mark Carson on May 18 and at least seven homophobic assaults across Manhattan this month, proposed initiatives to fight back have found their way into the mix along with plenty of heated rhetoric from LGBT leaders and elected officials that this “will not stand.”

At a West Village march and rally on May 20, ideas were put forward from the platform and discussed among participants in the crowd. And a new initiative to combat hate crimes has been ordered in the schools to take place before classes end for the summer in June.

It ain’t enough to chant “Hey hey, 5 22 GFiat WOF GCN 5/17/13 12:51 PM Page 1 ho4Cho, homophobia’s got to go” and “Whose streets? Our streets!” as more than 1,500 did at Monday’s march, but a diverse turnout such as occurred does send a signal that the community is not going to slink away in fear in the face of these attacks.

Florine Bumpars, Carson’s aunt,

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BY ANDY HUMM

Nick Porto addresses the May 20 rally, while partner Kevin Atkins looks on.

stirred the crowd by declaring, “We want justice served so that Mark’s death will not be in vain,” describ-

ing him as “a loving and caring per son, truly loved by his mother, father, friends, and co-workers.”

Marjorie Hill, CEO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, said, “We deserve to be out and proud on Staten Island,” likely still a tall order for those who want to walk the streets hand in hand — despite the emergence of the LGBT community there and the election of an out gay member of the Assembly, Matt Titone.

Ira Manhoff, an ACT UP veteran, wants to revive a variation of the Pink Panther community patrols that came out of Queer Nation in 1991, monitoring the East and West Village and the Ramble in Central Park after an rash of anti-gay assaults then.

Jay Kallio, a transgender man who has been an activist since 1972, attributed the current backlash to the fact that the community is “winning” the fight for equal rights. “The tragedy is that some of us are going to get hit,” he said. Indeed, Kallio called police about one bias attack he suffered on April 23 but didn’t both reporting a second one that happened this past week.

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WHAT’S NEXT?, continued on p.34

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| May 22, 2013

CRIME

7

Two Arrests in Second of Recent Madison Square Garden Area Bashings Person of interest wearing Knicks jersey sought in first attack

BY JOSEPH EHRMAN-DUPRE

Kevin Atkins and Nick Porto following their assault on May 5.

A person of interest in the May 5 assault on Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins.

after us and fought us because we’re homosexual.”

In the May 5 case, Porto and Atkins were walking arm in arm on Eighth Avenue between 34th and 35th Street when they were attacked by an undetermined number of men.

Surveillance video that surfaced several days after the assault shows a group of eight, several garbed in Knicks jerseys, walking together shortly before the incident.

Police have circulated a photo of one of the men, whom they have identified as a person of inter est in the investigation. The NYPD describes the man as Hispanic and in his 20s, approximately six foot, with brown hair and a tattoo on his

left forearm. The man was wearing a white Knicks jersey with the number 7 on it, a cap, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

Three other Hispanic men in their 20s are also being sought.

Porto posted a photo to Facebook of himself and Atkins, which shows dried blood under his nose and Atkins’ wrist and lower forearm covered by a cast.

“A group of men wearing Knicks jerseys just got out of the game at Madison Square Garden,” he wrote.

“We were verbally accosted by two of them… It was then that I realized we were surrounded. They broke my nose and his wrist… they called us fags and told us to not bother fight-

ing.” Both Porto and Atkins were treated at Bellevue. The bag the couple was carrying was also damaged, destroying an iPad and cell phone.

According to DNAinfo, Porto expressed regret that his ef fort to resist the assailants when they were verbally harassing him and Atkins led to Atkins being assaulted. “It’s my fault — I spoke back to them — that Kevin was hit,” he said. “He didn’t deserve it whatsoever. I was that idiot that should have just walked away.”

In his Facebook posting — made prior to the police release of the footage — Porto voiced doubts about whether the assailants would be apprehended.

“This event happened just outside [McDonalds] where they were caught on tape and several by-standers had their cameras out taking video,” he wr ote. “Despite this, police have informed us that they couldn’t promise anything as there were a ton of fans in the city at that moment.”

Porto raised a larger question of concern for many LGBT New Yorkers.

“This happened in Midtown, during the day, with a ton of people around, just across the street from the New Yorker,” he wr ote. “When ar e we safe?”

Anyone with information regarding the attack on Porto and Atkins is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Carson’s group moved on, but minutes later Morales — after his friends failed to dissuade him from another confrontation — allegedly came back at Carson’s group, saying to them, “You want to die tonight?” According to the district attorney’s complaint, Morales then asked Carson, “Are you with him?” and “Carson answered, ‘Yes,’ at which point the defendant shot Carson in the head with a silver pistol.” Carson was brought to Beth Israel Hospital and pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m.

Morales was confronted at 12:05 a.m. by police officer Henry Huot who ordered him to stop, “at which point the defendant drew a gun and turned toward Officer Huot, but the gun fell to the ground.” It contained three live

rounds. Morales was arrested.

In recounting the murder, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, “It’s clear that the victim here was killed only because and just because he was thought to be gay.” The Daily News reported that “the commissioner added that Carson in no way antagonized his killer.”

Morales’ sister told the New York Times her brother, who was in prison for ten years for robbery, had not been homophobic and “he doesn’t remember anything [about the mur der]; he was under the influence, he was drinking.”

The defendant “laughed in hideous glee as he confessed, a prosecutor told the judge” at Morales’ arraign-

ment, according to the Daily News.

Carson worked as a manager at the Ciao Bella gelato store in Grand Central Terminal and was “very good with people” and open about being gay, a colleague told the Times. He had once been a client at the Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBT youth, according to Thomas Krever, the agency’s executive director. Carson’s brother, Michael Bumpars, said Mark was a “courageous” and “beautiful” person, the Daily News reported.

Carson had recently moved from Harlem to Brooklyn, according to the Times. His friend Kay Allen told the newspaper, “His spirit was too big for this city. He didn’t have a negative bone in his body.”

AND PAUL SCHINDLER

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MURDER, from p.4

nowhere, Morales is alleged to have been carrying on in an abusive and menacing manner for some time prior to the Carson shooting. According to police, after urinating outside the Annisa bar and eatery on Bar row Street at West Fourth, he entered the establishment, spewing anti-gay slurs at the bartender, showing off a weapon, and threatening to kill him if he called 911. Morales and his friends then encountered Carson’s group on West Eighth Street, and Morales allegedly targeted anti-gay invective at them as well, including, “Look at you faggots, you look like gay wrestlers.”

NYPD

FACEBOOK

P

ort Authority police made two arr ests in a May 10 assault on a gay couple outside a PATH station entrance at 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue.

The attack came five days after two other gay men, Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins, were pushed to the ground and punched in the face just a block away, allegedly by a group of men wearing Knicks jerseys. That attack came shortly after the team lost to the Indiana Pacers at nearby Madison Square Garden.

In response to the attacks, the grassroots activist group Queer Rising , on May 16, held a rally and march that began outside a Knicks game at the Garden. A crowd estimated at more than 200 turned out.

In the May 10 assaults, Asllan Berisha and Brian Ramirez, both 21 and from Manhattan, who were with a group of three other men, were arrested at the scene on charges of misdemeanor assault and harassment, according to the Daily News.

The Port Authority characterized the assaults as bias crimes. Berisha was released on $1,500 bail but it is not known if Ramirez has yet posted bail.

The victims, whom Port Authority police did not identify beyond their ages — 27 and 37 — were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where one of them required surgery on his eye. A source told the Daily News that one of the victims said the assailants “came

8

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

HEALTH

HIV and Aging Draw Big Crowd at Town Meeting Spencer Cox’s 2012 death “burst” a “bubble” among the AIDS generation

BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

Peter Staley at the May 9 town hall.

through the early years of the AIDS epidemic asking if Cox’s death indicated a broader trend of unresolved problems related to that earlier time.

The May 9 town hall was meant to start a conversation on that topic.

Whether the AIDS generation is confronting post-traumatic stress dis-

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undreds turned out for a town hall meeting on AIDS and aging that was convened in response to the death of a leading member of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power .

“A kind of bubble had burst,” said Peter Staley, a longtime gay rights and AIDS activist, referring to the death late last year of Spencer Cox. “What did this say about us?”

Cox, 44, a founder of the Treatment Action Group (TAG) in 1992 and the Medius Institute for Gay Men’s Health in 2005, was among those who fought hardest for anti-HIV drugs in the late 80s and early 90s.

Friends and ACT UP members questioned why Cox, who well understood the need to comply with the sometimes difficult drug regimens, had died. Some wondered if he had succumbed to the depression or risk-taking behavior that the institute had earlier studied among gay men. Online and in person, there were discussions among those who lived

Activist Jim Eigo.

order or contending with some other ill is unknown. TAG is working with a researcher at Columbia University to assess the health and well-being of some 200 AIDS activists. Certainly, ACT UP, whose typically young members were on the front lines of AIDS, never came to terms with the deaths many saw around them.

“We had no activist way to deal with all that loss,” Jim Eigo, a longtime AIDS activist, told the crowd of roughly 600 that gathered at Mason Hall at Baruch College in Manhattan.

It could also be that the AIDS generation is showing a normal human response to the death and struggles that were a large part of the early epidemic.

Or it could be that this generation is just getting older.

“At around the age of 45, the body begins to reveal its wear and tear,” said Dr. L. Jeannine Bookhardt-Murray, the chief medical officer at Harlem United, an AIDS service group, at the town hall.

“It seems that the longer we live, the more we need to grapple with.”

In a community with many single members, the push for marriage rights notwithstanding, it could be that those individuals are entering middle age with their families of choice decimated by AIDS. “I have friends who tell me if they don’t go out to bars, they don’t see anyone,” said Joe Jervis, who blogs at joemygod.blogspot.com.

It is true that people with HIV confront challenges in addition to the virus as they age. A long-term study on aging and HIV in a 1,000-person cohort found that more than half reported they experienced depression, with two thirds of that group reporting moderate to severe depression, according to Mark BrennanIng, the director for research and evaluation at the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), the group

that completed the study.

The study also found high levels of loneliness and stigma, but also significant resilience in this population, in particular among those study participants who were religious, Brennan-Ing said at the meeting.

In his opening remarks, Staley noted that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study showing significant increases in suicide among older men in the US. While there have been recent suicides of some noted gay men, there is no data that show increases in suicides among gay men of any age.

“It’s too early in this process to say these are our community,” Staley said of the CDC data.

One theme that was consistent throughout the three-hour meeting was that gay groups had largely abandoned the HIV and AIDS cause.

“Gay, Inc.,” as Staley called the leading lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups, has “turned its back on us,” he said.

Several panelists also expressed concern about the rising rates of new HIV infections among young gay men, with the increases being particularly pronounced among young African-American men. The audience was overwhelmingly older and white. During the question and answer session, one young man said of those HIV infection rates, “This is a gay rights issue. This is the most important issue and yet no one is talking about it.”

Jesus Aguais, the founder and executive director of Aid for AIDS International was also a panelist. The moderator was Perry N. Halkitis, a psychology professor and the director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies at New York University.

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

HEALTH

Callen-Lorde, GMHC Deliver Nearly Third of Meningitis Vaccines With city now targeting up to 100,000 men, some private insurers ducking mandate to pay

BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

GMHC

R

oughly eight months after New York City’s health department reported a meningitis outbreak among gay and bisexual men and began a vaccination campaign, two gay health groups have combined to vaccinate roughly 30 percent of the 10,209 people vaccinated in that effort.

“It’s been a well-oiled machine,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a board member at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), on May 14 as he was preparing for a vaccination session at the AIDS agency’s West 29th Street HIV testing center. “They come pretty much every two minutes.”

In addition to vaccinating roughly 700 men at the testing center, Daskalakis has vaccinated others at two sex clubs, bringing the total to 916, or nine percent of all the vaccinations delivered. Daskalakis is sometimes joined by Dr. Frank Spinelli, also a GMHC board member.

GMHC gets the vaccine for free

GMHC board members Dr. Demetre Daskalakis and Dr. Frank Spinelli have taken lead roles in carrying out the group’s response to meningitis.

f r o m t he he a l th de p a r t m e n t a n d administers it free of charge. Some of the clients do not have insurance.

Others were sent by private doctors

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who don’t want to buy vaccine and then battle with an insurance company to get reimbursed or risk having it expire before they use it.

“I can’t tell you how many have said, ‘My doctor told me to come here,’” Spinelli said.

Separately, the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center has vaccinated 2,139 people since October 1 of last year, or roughly 21 percent of the vaccinations delivered.

Callen-Lorde has given away some vaccine doses or billed Medicaid, private insurance, or a federal program that pays for drugs for people with AIDS. While private insurers are required under state law to pay for the vaccine, some companies still refuse.

“Commercial insurances vary, but we pass the cost on to the patient if they don’t pay,” wrote Jay Laudato, the agency’s executive director, in an email. “We explain this to these patients who are generally fine with the co-pay or full charge ($68).”

Providers do not have to report adult meningitis vaccinations, so the 10,209 is likely an undercount, but the two agencies are making a significant contribution to the vaccination effort.

There have been 22 meningitis cases in New York City gay and bisexual men since 2010, with 17 occur ring since the start of 2012. Four were reported this year. Seven of the 22 men have died. A 23rd man who lived outside the city, but spent significant time here, was also infected.

While the health department ini-

tially said that it wanted to vaccinate 10,000 gay and bisexual men, it has now expanded that target to between 30,000 and 100,000 men.

The health department purchased 4,000 doses of vaccine in 2012, according to records Gay City News obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law. While the agency says it has sufficient vaccine supply to meet its new target, it would not say if it has bought more doses.

The health department has cobbled together a response by buying some vaccine and relying on private providers, such as Callen-Lorde, to purchase and deliver their own vaccine.

“There is ample supply of vaccine in New York City,” the department said in a statement. “For patients with health insurance, patients can visit their physician, and all government and commercial insurer plans cover meningitis vaccination in our target population. Patients without health insurance can visit [health department] clinics.”

Two other North American cities — Toronto and Chicago — that had comparable meningitis outbreaks among gay men responded by having their health departments buy all of the needed vaccine and administer the doses quickly. Neither city had new cases after their vaccine campaigns.

The city's queer elected officials have been pressed into service to promote New York City’s vaccination campaign. Out members of the City Council and the State Senate and Assembly have all issued statements urging men to get vaccinated.

“I’m grateful for the work the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has done in this area and I’m grateful... that they’ve been very aggressive and creative and unorthodox in a good way,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who represents Chelsea and the West Village, said at a May 20 press conference.

“That said, the level of meningitis is extraordinarily high in the LGBT community and it’s something that we can’t say we’ve done enough until we’ve gotten it under control. Notwithstanding all of our collective efforts, we have not yet not gotten it under control, so more work is needed.”

At the behest of State Senator Brad Hoylman, whose district runs from the West Village to the Upper West Side, the state Department of Financial Services wrote to all insurers who operate in the state telling them they must pay for the vaccination.

11

| May 22, 2013

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200 Chambers St. in New York, (212) 962–6600, www.emcny.com Emergency Medical Care is a gay-friendly healthcare practice and an efficient and compassionate urgent care concept. It is a healthcare practice dedicated to better, timely medicine.

Dr. Kate Brayman, DDS: Cosmetic & General Dentistry

44 W. 10th St., Ste. 1A in New York, (212) 505–0295, www.westvillagesmile.com Contact Dr. Kate Brayman for a great smile. Her office provides teeth whitening and porcelain veneers. Look your best on your big day and call Dr. Brayman today.

Lavaan Dental Spa

474 6th Ave. in New York, (212) 837–1833, lavaansmile.com Lavaan is the only true spa for your smile. There’s no drilling, no filling, just clean, while smiles.

INVITATIONS PaperPresentation

23 W. 18th St. in New York, (212) 463–7035, www.paperpresentation.com Paper Presentation is a unique retailer of specialty papers, envelopes, custom invitations, giftwrap, craft and art supplies, and other products to inspire your creativity.

JEwELRY The Clay Pot

(516) 860–9288, www.kupcakeswithak.com Kupcakes with a K offers over a dozen different unique flavors for you to enjoy! Sold in certain locations and through its website for your party or event.

162 7th Ave. in Brooklyn, (718) 788–6564, www.clay-pot.com The Clay Pot opened in 1969 as a pottery studio and now sells designer jewelry with an impressive wedding ring selection. Come visit and see what everyone is talking about!

Lou Babs & Moogs

Greenwich Jewelers

Kupcakes with a K

95A Main St. in Port Washington, (516) 883–8585, lbmgifts.com/store Lou, Babs & Moogs opened its doors in 2002, and sells an inspiring mix of unique and useful gifts for

64 Trinity Pl. in New York, (212) 964–7592, www.greenwichjewelers.com If you’re in search of something classic, contemporary, or completely eclectic, Greenwich Jewelers is

Wedding Ring Originals

MEN’S FORMAL wEAR Black Tie Formals

Multiple locations, www.blacktieofny.com Family-owned and operated since 1970, Black Tie Formals offers tuxedo and suit, rentals and sales. It has a large inventory with many labels. Come in and try on a style and see how dashing you look!

PARTY PLANNERS 2 To Tango

(646) 302–2801, www.2totango.org 2 To Tango believes that excellent planning starts with a clear understanding of the clients’ needs, style, and wishes. It offers help finding interfaith Ministers, caterers, wedding insurance, and more.

PARTY RENTAL Classic Party Rentals

336 W. 37th St. in New York, (212) 752–7661, newyork.classicpartyrentals.com At Classic Party Rentals, exceptional customer service is its hallmark. It offers a network of party specialists that can provide everything you need anywhere you need it.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES Accurate Building Inspectors

1860 Bath Ave. in Brooklyn, (718) 265–8191, www.accuratebuilding.com Accurate Building Inspectors is a full-service home and building inspection firm servicing the tri-state area since 1961.

RECEPTION SITES & CATERERS Alger House

and improved Staten Island venue can provide the perfect. elegant backdrop for your reception with prime dates still available.

Le Cirque

151 E. 58th St. in New York, (212) 644–0202, www.lecirque.com Le Cirque has offered an unparalleled dining experience for over 38 years. It welcomes you to enjoy a meal in its modern, circus-themed dining room where the food is just as exciting as the decor.

The Provincetown Business Guild

3 Freeman St., Provincetown, Mass., (508) 487–2313, ptown.org In 2004 Provincetown quickly became the number one destination for LGBT unions. The inclusive, gay-friendly spirit provides the perfect place for all couples to host a wedding, commitment ceremony, or spend their honeymoon.

reBar Brooklyn Gastropub

147 Front St. in Brooklyn, (718) 766–9110. rebarnyc.com This DUMBO gastropub located on the mezzanine of a 19th century tea factory offers seasonal New American fare, 135 beers, an organic wine list, and an extensive scotch selection.

Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel

370 Canal St. in New York, (212) 966–3400, www.sheratontribeca.com Let the Sheraton Tribeca help you celebrate your same-sex wedding. The sleek, modern hotel works with various New York City wedding venues in the area.

Tio Pepe

168 W. Fourth St. in New York, (212) 242–9338, www.tiopepenyc.com At Tio Pepe you have a choice of atmosphere. The skylight dining room supplies a touch of romance while the enclosed sidewalk cafe provides a room with a view of Greenwich Village.

Top of the Garden

251 W 30th St. in New York, (212) 643–0055, www.totg.biz Top of the Garden is an L-shaped raw loft space that lets your imagination come alive for a wedding. It’s 4,000-square feet offer seamless spaces in which to primp, prep, cook, and set up.

(212) 627–8838, www.AlgerHouse.com Alger House is a great venue for smaller weddings and corporate events (30 to 106 guests). The very private reception hall has high ceilings, custom lighting, and nearby transportation.

The Vanderbilt at South Beach

Brooklyn Museum

Villa Vosilla

200 Eastern Pkwy. in Brooklyn, (718) 638–5000, www.brooklynmuseum.org The Brooklyn Museum is an extraordinary venue located in the heart of Prospect Heights. It has oneof-a-kind backdrops for private events.

Circle Line

89 South St., Pier 17 in New York, (212) 742–1969, www.nywatertaxi.com Treat your guests — and yourself — like royalty aboard an enchanting Zephyr luxury yacht for your wedding, post-wedding brunches, rehearsal dinners, and more.

Columbia’s Faculty House

64 Morningside Dr. in New York, (212) 854–1200, facultyhouse.columbia.edu A smart and stylish choice for your unique New York City wedding, the prized University landmark has classic, flexible spaces with a surprising, modern twist.

Fort William Henry Resort

48 Canada St. in Lake George, (518) 668–3081, www.fortwilliamhenry.com The gay-friendly hotel is located on 18 acres that span the entire southern shore of Lake George. It assures that your wedding will be one spectacular memory — for you, your wedding party, and guests.

Grand Oaks Country Club

200 Huguenot Ave. in Staten Island, (718) 356–2771, www.grandoaksnyc.com Formerly the South Shore Country Club, this new

300 Father Capodanno Blvd. in Staten Island, (718) 447–0800, www.vanderbiltsouthbeach.com Boasting both a luxurious banquet hall, as well as magnificent outdoor oceanfront space, 6302 Main St. in Tannersville, (518) 589–5060, www.villavosilla.com Villa Vosilla is located in the middle of the Catskill Mountains. The hotel can customize your wedding with a cocktail party and gourmet cuisine prepared by a culinary chef from Italy.

World Yacht

81 W. 41st St. in New York, (212) 630–8100, www.worldyacht.com Operating since 1981, World Yacht at Pier 81 is the premiere destination on the Hudson River. It has four stunning vessels and is an ideal venue for romantic dinners, group outings, and weddings.

Yacht Owners Association

101 W. 23rd St., New York (212) 736–1010, www.yachtsny.com Yacht Owners Association has over two decades of experience planning events at sea, and the largest number of yachts in the tri-state area. The Yacht Owners Association can accommodate weddings anywhere from 2 to 600 guests.

TRAVEL Ace World Travel

8320 13th Ave. in Brooklyn, (347) 915–4287, www.aceworldtravel.net This full-service and certified romance travel agency specializes in destination weddings and honeymoons. It can also create custom-built itineraries.

12

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

POLITICS

Minnesota Enacts Marriage Equality Upper Midwest state becomes the twelfth, third in as many weeks

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oday we have the power, the awesome power to make dreams come true,” said out gay Senator Scott Dibble, a Minneapolis Democrat, just moments before the Minnesota Legislature concluded its debate on a marriage equality bill on May 13. Later in his speech, he added, “Vote yes for love.”

The measure passed by a 37-30 vote, four days after the House of Representatives approved the same bill on a 75-59 vote.

A day after the Senate action on May 14, Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, signed the bill on the steps of the Capitol in St. Paul. “Love is the law,” the governor told a crowd that the Duluth Tribune News estimated at 6,000.

Karen Clark, an out lesbian Democrat from Minneapolis who led the push to pass the legislation in the House, emphasized the importance of backing those who voted yes when they face reelection next year.

In r esponse, the cr owd chanted,

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QUEER STREET, from p.4

degree murder as a hate crime in the killing.

The Queer Street did not respond in 2013. The institutions the community built and elected officials the community put in office organized a May 20 march. The event drew 1,500 people, the police said. That response came with its own problems.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian who represents a district that includes Chelsea and the West Village, was a lead organizer.

Quinn was aided by the Community Center and the New York City AntiViolence Project (AVP).

Quinn is also seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor. She did not reach out to the other candidates and ask them to stand with her and condemn this crime.

“Aside fr om speaking to Police Commissioner Kelly, people in the Department of Education, and my staff, the staff has been doing the work,” Quinn said at a May 20 press conference hours before the march.

“We’ve been blasting it everywhere, we want everyone to come. Every time there has been a significant hate crime in this city, the City Council has responded.”

“We’ve got your back,” the newspaper reported.

It was only in November that Minnesota voters narrowly defeated an effort to write a provision into the State Constitution barring same-sex couples from marrying.

Minnesota becomes the 12th state to allow same-sex couples to marry, and only the second one in the Midwest. Marriage equality became law in neighboring Iowa in 2009, following a unanimous ruling by the State Supreme Court.

Minnesota becomes the third state in as many weeks to legalize gay marriage — following Rhode Island and Delaware. In addition to Rhode Island, all five of the other New England states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ver mont, New Hampshire, and Maine — also allow same-sex couples to marry.

New York approved gay marriage in June 2011.

Voters in Maryland and Washington State last November af fir med marriage equality enactments by their state legislatures earlier in 2012. Marriage equality is also the law in Washington, DC.

In Illinois, which also borders Iowa, the State Senate approved a mar riage equality bill on February 14 by a 34-21 vote. Advocates continue to work on identifying a majority in the State

House, where Democrats hold a vetoproof majority. Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, is committed to signing the law if it is placed before him.

The US Supreme Court, before the end of June, is expected to resolve a constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative that ended the right to marry that gay and lesbian couples there had enjoyed as a result of a State Supreme Court ruling earlier that year.

The high court is also considering a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act’s bar on federal recognition of valid same-sex marriages.

One Minnesota senator speaking in support of the gay marriage law reminded his colleagues of a speech “the greatest Minnesotan, Hubert Humphrey” made at the 1948 Democratic National Convention. The late vice president, who was then mayor of Minneapolis, speaking in favor of a civil rights plank in the party platform, declared, “The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.”

While the other candidates were at the head of the march with Quinn, she was accused of politicizing the event on the Facebook page dedicated to the march and by activists both on and off the record.

“I think Christine Quinn is shameless and would use any circumstance to promote her political agenda,” said Allen Roskoff, the president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, a gay political group. “That’s been her entire history.”

At the end of the march, which went from the Community Center on West 13th Street to Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street where Carson was shot, organizers decided that no elected officials would speak at the rally. City Council staffers did distribute flyers that listed endorsers, including Quinn and nine other straight, gay, and lesbian officeholders, and 43 private organizations. None of the other mayoral candidates were on that list. The other side of the flyer listed five anti-hate crime efforts, with four naming Quinn as the initiator.

A few people voiced criticisms of the city. Some Quinn opponents, including openly gay Donny Moss, stood on the march route holding a sign reading, “We need a hospital, we don’t need condos.”

Quinn has been attacked for supporting the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in the West Village and its conversion to luxury housing. Louis Flores, a gay Quinn critic, has said that Carson might have survived if he could have been taken to St. Vincent’s, which was a few blocks from the shooting, as opposed to being transported to Beth Israel Medical Center, which is further uptown. Flores does not have data to support this claim.

Carson and a friend first encountered Morales at roughly midnight, according to the criminal complaint. Morales allegedly said, “Look at you faggots, you look like gay wrestlers.”

Minutes later, Morales came back and asked, “You want to die tonight?

Are you with him?” When Carson said, “Yes,” Morales shot him in the head. Police arr ested Morales at roughly 12:05 a.m. Carson was pronounced dead at Beth Israel at about 1:40 a.m.

The fact that no criticisms of the city or the police were voiced from the rally stage may show how successful the community has been since 1990, and that government now responds to us. It could also mean that ESPA, the Community Center, AVP, and other

organizations are more likely to partner with government in 2013.

Collectively, many of the groups r epr esented on the stage r eceive hundreds of thousands of dollars in City Council discretionary funds and some likely get millions in city contracts. If these groups criticize the city, it is done privately.

This t r e nd is part ic ularly pr o nounced in the silence that greets the city’s continued failure to address rising HIV infections among gay men and the praise, which may or may not be warranted, for the city’s response to the current meningitis outbreak among gay men.

Rally attendees were told of a single opportunity to get involved in later actions. AVP is beginning Community Safety Night events on May 24 that will do outreach in neighborhoods affected by anti-gay violence.

“The march and rally were put together from the top down by nonprofits with help from politicians,” said William Dobbs, a longtime gay activist who praised the turnout at the event. “One of the really impor tant lessons from the AIDS crisis is that activism is crucial and if homophobia is going to be confronted, it’s going to require grassroots activism like in AIDS.”

SENATE.LEG.STATE.MN.US

BY PAUL SCHINDLER

Minnesota State Senator Scott Dibble, the lead sponsor on the successful gay marriage bill.

| May 22, 2013

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5/14/13 11:47 AM

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

SUMMER

The Pines No Longer Barren

Just in time for 60, the Pavilion shows off its facelift Memorial Day Weekend

The Pavilion’s developer, Matthew Blesso (below), and its entertainment director, Tony Fornabaio (above).

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his Memorial Day, make way for the Pines. The inter nationally known gay mecca is about to reclaim its status as the premiere summer nightlife capital with the grand re-opening of the Pavilion, a Fire Island institution. Just in time, too — the Pavilion is turning 60 this summer.

On November 14, 2011, the community lost this icon of gay nightlife and culture in a ferocious fire. The Pavilion at the Pines burned down to its foundation after more than a half century of parties, benefit galas, and frivolity. This summer, however, it’s back in what Matthew Blesso, one of its developers, termed “a phoenix situation.”

In 2010, in the largest commer cial land purchase in Fire Island history, 75 percent of the Pines’ commercial space was purchased by Blesso, Andrew Kirtzman, and Seth Weissman.

Their goal was a thoroughgoing revitalization of the buildings and businesses surrounding the harbor, including restaurants, bars, a hotel, and, of course, the Pavilion.

“Blesso Properties began the timesensitive process of dramatically repositioning the properties in preparation for the resort’s summer season,” the developers’ website says, and the pictures showcase that much was done to rejuvenate the outdated Canteen, a convenient quick food option, and the Hotel Ciel. Then, the fire struck and

plans changed.

Blesso Properties commissioned the design firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, global leaders in creating projects serving culturally diverse purposes — from the High Line to performance halls at Lincoln Center. Additionally, HWKN, another New York-based firm specializing in innovative, modern, convenience-oriented living and work spaces, was brought in to draw up and construct a dramatic, dynamic redesign of the famed Pavilion. The three partners have concocted an exciting, modern-yet-nostalgic space for all Pines vacationers, with an emphasis on sus-

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FIRE ISLAND, continued on p.15

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| May 22, 2013

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FIRE ISLAND, from p.14

tainability, something Blesso said he strives for in all his projects.

The building, which greets ferrygoing Pines revelers as they enter the harbor, has been re-imagined as a 7,000 square foot space with similar elements as the previous Pavilion, but with updated amenities. A dance club, the high-tea outdoor terrace, and even a crystal chandelier will take Pines regulars back to the glory days while the newly designed Welcome Bar will invite new guests in to join the fun. A shelllike geometric structure of large wooden beams crosses over the building.

Matthias Hollwich, co-founder of HWKN, described the exterior as “carved and rutted like a piece of driftwood washed ashore by the sea.” Constantino Papadakis, the Pavilion’s general manager, emphasized, “It’s really important not to make anything too modern out there. People really like the wood aesthetic, and it is very much in line with the architecture on the island.”

The beachy exterior gives way to modern facilities inside, however, with state-of-the-art sound and light systems elevating this nightclub experience — the develops promise — beyond anything yet seen on Fire Island.

“We had a devastating fire,” Papadakis said. “It took away the nightclub, which was really the heartbeat of the community. It changed the landscape out there. And then with Hurricane Sandy, it was a one-two punch. It was kind of a lost two years. Things were a little bit forlorn, a little on hold.”

The Pavilion’s re-opening gets things back on track, and with an upcoming holiday weekend of music, all-star DJs, and dancing, the anticipation is mounting.

Striking a balance between old and new is not simply a matter of architectural design. The developers also aim to pitch the programming to appeal to visitors of all ages and past Pines experience.

“Tony Fornabaio’s coming out,” said Papadakis, referring to the gay nightlife impresario who has helped revitalize the club scene in Manhattan in recent years. Fornabaio hopes to transfer his success in nightclub ventures like XL at the Out NYC Hotel on 42nd Street and with weekly parties —Rockit and special events with Logo, for example — to his efforts at the Pavilion.

“He is a 25-plus year resident” of the Pines as well, Papadakis emphasized.

“He gets it.”

His aim, Fornabaio told Next Magazine earlier this year, is “to recapture the unique sound the island used to have. Musically, the island has moved away from what it used to be. It’s become reliant on pop music. While there is nothing wrong with pop, it is our intention to bring back that memorable, soulful sound that Fire Island

Will your name be etched in the new Waterford Crystal chandelier in the Pavilion’s Welcome Bar?

Large wooden beams cross over the top of the new Pavilion.

is known for.” His influences, he said, would range from disco and house to tribal and circuit sounds.

Blesso acknowledged what he and his partners recognized when they first bought the property three years ago — that the Pines must forge a 21st century identity.

“The population absolutely dipped in the past couple years” he said. “We are under no false pretenses. This is 2013, being gay is okay and it’s cool. You can

vacation wherever you want as a gay couple.”

That means that the new Pavilion has to up the ante to make the Pines’ summer season the success its developers hope for. They emphasized that a top-tier hospitality experience is what visitors will encounter as a connective thread amongst the harborfront businesses, including the Botel, the Blue Whale Restaurant, and the Canteen.

The owners hope visitors will feel like

pampered guests, but also that a wider range of visitors will find themselves welcome.

“A lot of our programming is going to speak to everybody,” including drag shows on the pool deck, a morning party harkening back to the 1990s, and visual and performing arts exhibitions thr oughout the summer, Fornabaio explained. “It’s not just for circuit boys.”

Online innovations are also planned to provide the logistics for more visitors to be on the island at any given time. Pines Booker, an Airbnb-style program, will allow summer residents or time share operators to rent their homes and condos for a weekend or lengthier period of time. That would put the cost of a Pines getaway within reach of a large number of younger visitors who otherwise might not be able to experience it.

“The Pines Booker will be a real democratizing effort this year,” said Papadakis.

That effort, he said, will be supplemented by “The Pines Survival Guide,” an online guide containing essentials about the town’s history, traditions, and social opportunities — something of a Fire Island for Dummies. “You shouldn’t have to be in the know to visit the Pines as a vacation destination,” Papadakis said.

“We hope to make the people who have been out there for years proud,” Blesso said, by way of summing up the way he hopes to position the new Pavilion, “but we also hope to get a whole new population.”

Amidst the 72 hours of music and dance heaven this Memorial Day, one lucky Pines vacationer will have a chance to be part of history. Waterford Crystal is donating a chandelier for the Welcome Bar area of the new Pavilion etched with the names of 24 significant players in the Pines scene over the years — DJ’s, homeowners, and others who have made their mark — plus one more name that may not yet be quite so famous.

“We asked people to submit their favorite Pines memory and have the winner’s name etched there as well,” Fornabaio said. Choosing just one name was apparently a tough job — the entries received, he said, ranged from humorous to serious, and many carried deep emotional resonance.

“All of these efforts are coming into place to celebrate 60 years and come back bigger and better than ever,” Blesso said.

He and his partners clearly hope their effort will prove to be about more than new sounds and new faces — but stand as well as a moment to reinvigorate and redefine the gay cultural experience as a whole.

Blesso, for one, is determined.

“This year, we’re bringing it back,” he said.

16

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

FILM

Dos and Don’ts for a Gay Union Jack in America

I

BY GARY M. KRAMER

n “I Do,” Jack (David W. Ross, who also wrote the screenplay) is a gay British photographer living in New York. He is single and a surrogate father to Tara (Jessica Tyler Brown), his late brother’s young daughter. Jack’s life hits a major speed bump when his visa expires. Suddenly threatened with deportation, he marries his best friend Ali (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), a lesbian, to get a green card.

But things get complicated when he falls in love with Mano (Maurice Compte), an American-born Spaniard, and additional drama arises.

I DO Directed by Glenn Gaylord Gravitas Ventures Opens May 31 Quad Cinema 34 W. 13th St. quadcinema.com

“I Do” scores points about gay rights as difficulties surrounding Jack’s marriage and his relationship with Mano force him to make some tough personal decisions. Gay City News recently spoke by telephone with Ross — who has been an American citizen for about 20 years — about his important immigration-

themed melodrama.

The actor-writer explained that he spent nine years working on the script, which was prompted in part by the legalization of marriage equality in Massachusetts in late 2003. Even after nearly a decade, the Defense of Marriage Act’s bar on federal recognition of samesex marriages means that bi-national gay and lesbian couples still do not enjoy the same immigration rights as married heterosexuals. Ross explained he wanted to explore “the notion of living in the shadows — not fully living your life and not making massive life decisions because your life could be taken away at any moment. These couples want to live a full life and just aren’t able to because of the laws.”

He added, “I found it fascinating and heartbreaking, and wanted to take audiences through the experience that bi-national queer couples in this country go through.”

To do this, Ross’ script has Jack struggling in a variety of his relationships. His wife Ali expresses concerns about their fake marriage, while his boyfriend Mano issues an ultimatum when he needs to return home to Spain for family reasons. Jack also has strong ties to Tara and his brother’s widow Maya (Alicia Witt), which he finds difficult to sever. Faced with a choice between love and family,

GRAVITAS VENTURES

Writer, actor David W. Ross tells passionate story about a Brit New Yorker’s immigration woes

David W. Ross, the writer and star of “I Do,” directed by Glenn Gaylord.

he is, as Ross described it, “stripped down completely until he has a breakdown and a breakthrough.”

Jack’s options are all life-changing.

If he leaves the country, however temporarily, the law prohibits him from easily re-entering America. So, he must choose which “family” is most valuable to him — his lover, his wife, or his niece.

Ross said he wanted to tell a story that would “affect and enrage viewers”

—gay and straight — who may not be aware of the extent to which American law continues to discriminate against same-sex couples. Everyone knows gay couples can marry in New York; far fewer know that a gay man or lesbian still can’t get a green card for their immigrant spouse.

“I wanted to make DOMA the real antagonist in the film,” the actor writer emphasized. In Jack breaking the law to marry Ali, Ross explained, he is not being a bad guy; he is in important respects protesting his lack of options for otherwise staying in the US as a gay man. He can have security in a marriage to Ali that he and Mano would never achieve.

“I’ve heard stories of what people are willing to do or offer — often money,” Ross said. “I’ve heard great experiences and horrible experiences.”

When Jack’s marriage to Ali gets rocky due to her anxiety about being discovered, his next best alternative is impregnating a woman willing to exchange marriage and a green card for her dream of having a baby.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he remarked with a laugh.

Ross’ research included photographing anti-Prop 8 rallies, in his home state of California, and

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I DO, continued on p.26

Intimacy and Alienation Richard Linklater “Before” sequel brings Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy back together yet again

I

BY STEVE ERICKSON

’m not sure that there’s a mor e instructive contrast between two films playing New York theaters now than Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” and Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight.” “Gatsby” excites when it uses CGI fakery to create impossibly opulent parties in mega-mansions, but when it turns to matters of the heart, it falls flat. “Before Midnight,” Linklater’s follow-up to “Before Sunrise” and “Before

BEFORE MIDNIGHT Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater’s “Before Midnight” Directed by Richard Linklater Sony Pictures Classics Opens May 24 Angelika Film Center 18 W. Houston St. at Mercer St. angelikafilmcenter.com/ AMC Lincoln Square 13 1998 Broadway at amctheatres.com

Sunset,” consists mostly of the two lead characters from those earlier films talking about their relationship as they walk through Greece in a single day, and it’s fascinating. Its only weak moments are those that depart from the central cou-

ple.

Both “The Great Gatsby” and “Before Midnight” are cultural hybrids of a sort.

Shot in Australia, “Gatsby” imports Bollywood star Amitabh Bachcchan to play a Jewish gangster and just

comes up with a creepy new twist on 20th-century anti-Semitism, while using black people as decorative objects.

One could criticize “Before Midnight” for its use of the wildly troubled Greece as a picturesque setting, but in other respects it’s hardly mono-cultural or conservative in its perspective.

The dialogue constantly refers to the tensions between feminist aspirations and men who still expect women to cook and clean for them. Linklater’s style draws on art films of European directors of the 1950s and ‘60s; he does almost as good a job of reinventing himself in their image as Abbas Kiarostami did in “Certified Copy.”

In the opening scene of “Before Midnight,” Jesse (Ethan Hawke) sees his son Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) off at Greece’s Kalamata Airport after spending the summer with him. At 41, Jesse now lives in Paris with his

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MIDNIGHT, continued on p.34

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Ask your healthcare provider if it’s the one for you.

Patient model. Pill shown is not actual size.

What is COMPLERA? COMPLERA is a prescription HIV medicine that is used as a complete regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV medicines before and who have an amount of HIV in their blood (this is called “viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. COMPLERA contains 3 medicines – rilpivirine, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under the age of 18 years. ®

COMPLERA® does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking COMPLERA. Avoid doing things that can spread HIV-1 to others: always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids; never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them, do not share personal items that may contain bodily fluids. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information you should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA® can cause serious side effects: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold, especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain.

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking COMPLERA, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Ad page 1

Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if you have ever taken other anti-HIV medicines.

COMPLERA may change the effect of other medicines and may cause serious side effects. Your healthcare provider may change your other medicines or change their doses.

Do not take COMPLERA if you also take these medicines: • anti-seizure medicines: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) • anti-tuberculosis medicines: rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin) and rifapentine (Priftin) • proton pump inhibitors for stomach or intestinal problems: esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo), lansoprazole (Prevacid), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), omeprazole (Prilosec), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex) • more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate • St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) If you are taking COMPLERA you should not take other HIV medicines or other medicines containing tenofovir (Viread, Truvada, Stribild or Atripla); other medicines containing emtricitabine or lamivudine (Emtriva, Combivir, Epivir, Epivir-HBV, Epzicom, Trizivir, Atripla, Stribild or Truvada); rilpivirine (Edurant) or adefovir (Hepsera).

In addition, tell your healthcare provider if you are taking the following medications because they may interfere with how COMPLERA works and may cause side effects: • certain antacid medicines containing aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate (examples: Rolaids, TUMS). These medicines must be taken at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after COMPLERA. • medicines to block stomach acid including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine HCL (Zantac). These medicines must be taken at least 12 hours before or 4 hours after COMPLERA. • any of these medicines: clarithromycin (Biaxin); erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone), fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral) methadone (Dolophine); posaconazole (Noxifil), telithromycin (Ketek) or voriconazole (Vfend).

• medicines that are eliminated by the kidneys like acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex) and valganciclovir (Valcyte).

PALIO Date: 4.17.13 • Client: Gilead • Product: Complera • File Name: 9731_pgitvd_standard_ant_GayCityNews.indd • Trim: 9.875” x 11.4”

Gay City News

These are not all the medicines that may cause problems if you take COMPLERA. Tell your healthcare provider about all prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements you are taking or plan to take.

The most common side effects reported with COMPLERA are trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, and depression. Some side effects also reported include vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles) and pain.

Before taking COMPLERA, tell your healthcare provider if you: liver problems, including hepatitis B or C virus infection, or have abnormal liver tests • Have kidney problems • Have ever had a mental health problem • Have bone problems • Are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child • Are breastfeeding: Women with HIV should not breastfeed because they can pass HIV through their milk to the baby. Also, COMPLERA may pass through breast milk and could cause harm to the baby

This is not a complete list of side effects. Tell your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you notice any side effects while taking COMPLERA, and call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.

• Have

COMPLERA can cause additional serious side effects: • New or worsening kidney problems, including kidney failure. If you have had kidney problems, or take other medicines that may cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do regular blood tests.

• Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: feeling sad or hopeless, feeling anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself.

• Changes in liver enzymes: People who have had hepatitis B or C, or who have had changes in their liver function tests in the past may have an increased risk for liver problems while taking COMPLERA. Some people without prior liver disease may also be at risk. Your healthcare provider may need to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do additional tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV medicine.

• Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having new symptoms after starting COMPLERA.

Ad page 2

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Additional Information about taking COMPLERA:

• Always take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.

• Take COMPLERA with a meal. Taking COMPLERA with a meal is important to help

get the right amount of medicine in your body. (A protein drink does not replace a meal).

Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA and see your healthcare provider regularly.

Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

Learn more at www.COMPLERA.com

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information

•

COMPLERA® (kom-PLEH-rah) (emtricitabine, rilpivirine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.

What is COMPLERA? •

COMPLERA is a prescription HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) medicine that is used to treat HIV-1 in adults – who have never taken HIV medicines before, and – who have an amount of HIV in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. Your healthcare provider will measure your viral load.

(HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)).

•

COMPLERA contains 3 medicines – rilpivirine, emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate – combined in one tablet. It is a complete regimen to treat HIV-1 infection and should not be used with other HIV medicines.

•

It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under the age of 18 years old.

•

COMPLERA does not cure HIV infection or AIDS. You must stay on continuous therapy to control HIV infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

•

Ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions about how to prevent passing HIV to other people. Do not share or re-use needles or other injection equipment, and do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal fluids or blood.

Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if: • your HIV infection has been previously treated with HIV medicines.

•

you are taking any of the following medicines: – anti-seizure medicines: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital (Luminal); phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) – anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) medicines: rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin); rifapentine (Priftin) – proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medicine for certain stomach or intestinal problems: esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo); lansoprazole (Prevacid); dexlansoprazole (Dexilant); omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid); pantoprazole sodium (Protonix); rabeprazole (Aciphex) – more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate – St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)

•

If you take COMPLERA, you should not take: – Other medicines that contain tenofovir (Atripla, Stribild, Truvada, Viread)

What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take COMPLERA or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: – feel very weak or tired – have unusual (not normal) muscle pain – have trouble breathing – have stomach pain with nausea (feeling sick to your stomach) or vomiting – feel cold, especially in your arms and legs

– Other medicines that contain emtricitabine or lamivudine (Combivir, Emtriva, Epivir or Epivir-HBV, Epzicom, Trizivir, Atripla, Truvada, Stribild) – rilpivirine (Edurant) – adefovir (Hepsera) What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? Before you take COMPLERA, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have or had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C virus infection, kidney problems, mental health problem or bone problems •

– feel dizzy or lightheaded Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take COMPLERA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems:

•

– your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) – dark “tea-colored” urine – light-colored bowel movements (stools)

are breast-feeding or plan to breast-feed. You should not breastfeed if you have HIV because of the risk of passing HIV to your baby. Do not breastfeed if you are taking COMPLERA. At least two of the medicines contained in COMPLERA can be passed to your baby in your breast milk. We do not know whether this could harm your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

– loss of appetite for several days or longer

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

– nausea

•

– stomach pain •

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child.

Pregnancy Registry. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

– have a fast or irregular heartbeat •

Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take COMPLERA, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking COMPLERA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV, so you must discuss your HBV with your healthcare provider.

– Do not let your COMPLERA run out. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your COMPLERA is all gone.

– Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider.

– If you stop taking COMPLERA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly to check your HBV infection.

Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking COMPLERA.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

BS page 1

COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works, and may cause serious side effects. If you take certain medicines with COMPLERA, the amount of COMPLERA in your body may be too low and it may not work to help control your HIV infection.

The HIV virus in your body may become resistant to COMPLERA or other HIV medicines that are like it.

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21

| May 22, 2013

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take: • an antacid medicine that contains aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. If you take an antacid during treatment with COMPLERA, take the antacid at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. •

•

a medicine to block the acid in your stomach, including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac). If you take one of these medicines during treatment with COMPLERA, take the acid blocker at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. any of these medicines (if taken by mouth or injection): – clarithromycin (Biaxin) – erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone) – fluconazole (Diflucan)

•

trouble sleeping (insomnia)

•

abnormal dreams

•

headache

•

dizziness

•

diarrhea

•

nausea

•

rash

•

tiredness

•

depression

Additional common side effects include: •

– itraconazole (Sporanox)

vomiting

•

– ketoconazole (Nizoral)

stomach pain or discomfort

•

– methadone (Dolophine)

skin discoloration (small spots or freckles)

•

pain

– posaconazole (Noxafil)

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

– telithromycin (Ketek) – voriconazole (Vfend) •

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include:

medicines that are eliminated by the kidney, including acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and valganciclovir (Valcyte)

These are not all the possible side effects of COMPLERA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

What are the possible side effects of COMPLERA?

How should I take COMPLERA?

COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?”

•

Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA.

•

Take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.

•

Always take COMPLERA with a meal. Taking COMPLERA with a meal is important to help get the right amount of medicine in your body. A protein drink does not replace a meal.

•

Do not change your dose or stop taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider. See your healthcare provider regularly while taking COMPLERA.

•

If you miss a dose of COMPLERA within 12 hours of the time you usually take it, take your dose of COMPLERA with a meal as soon as possible. Then, take your next dose of COMPLERA at the regularly scheduled time. If you miss a dose of COMPLERA by more than 12 hours of the time you usually take it, wait and then take the next dose of COMPLERA at the regularly scheduled time.

•

Do not take more than your prescribed dose to make up for a missed dose.

•

•

New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure, can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your kidneys before starting treatment with COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems in the past or need to take another medicine that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do blood tests to check your kidneys during your treatment with COMPLERA. Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – feeling sad or hopeless – feeling anxious or restless – have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself

•

Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with COMPLERA. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with COMPLERA in people without a history of liver disease. Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA.

•

Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do additional tests to check your bones.

•

Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the main part of your body (trunk).

Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The cause and long term health effect of these conditions are not known.

•

Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having new symptoms after starting your HIV medicine.

BS page 2

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about COMPLERA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about COMPLERA that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.COMPLERA.com Issued: January 2013

COMPLERA, the COMPLERA Logo, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD, and VISTIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. ©2013 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. CPAC0022 03/13

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

IN THE NOH

Beyond Those Wire Hangers

A

BY DAVID NOH

ppropriate for Mother’s Day, Christina Crawford blew into town with her show, “Surviving Mommie Dearest” at the Snapple Theater, and it was a must for anyone obsessed with her harrowing story, her formidable adoptive superstar mom, Joan Crawford, Hollywood in its so-called Golden Age, or that infamous camp cult favorite movie with Faye Dunaway.

There are, of course, also the serious issues of abuse and bullying she has made her lifelong crusade.

The centerpiece of her show was a 72-minute documentary that outlined her life, from her not-so privileged Hollywood childhood through her career as an actress, two marriages, a near-fatal 1981 stroke, and her recovery and move to the Northwest. She has hosted her own TV show, run a bed and breakfast, and become an Idaho county commissioner and founder of the Benewah Human Rights Coalition.

During the Q&A period that followed the film, someone asked if she had experienced even one happy moment with her adoptive mother. Crawford said that while she may have as a very little baby, the one emotion that possessed her whenever they were together was fear. That was then, however. Today, nothing holds her back from revealing how beyond cruel Joan was to her and her beloved brother, Christopher — who Mommie Dearest once tried to ensure would never be able to enter the country again. Showing some stills I’ve always found a tad suspect, Christina backed up the rumor that before Hollywood beckoned Joan had appeared in nudie stag films. She even went so far as to conjecture that the sudden death of Alfred Steele, Joan’s fourth husband, in 1959 may have come about as the result of one of her drunken rages.

I grabbed the opportunity to interview her and soon realized that, even though she was no blood relation to Joan, she definitely inherited her steely survivor’s determination and unbendable will.

It’s fascinating to me, the relation that children have with their star parents — which can vary from Lorna Luft’s resigned acceptance of Judy Garland’s ubiquitous legacy to Maria Riva’s strangely vicarious appropriation of Marlene Dietrich’s life, both narcissistic and highly judgmental (along with a cruel and unseemly TMI reveal of her final, sad years in her biography), B.D. Hyman’s outright hostility toward her Mom Bette Davis (in her memoir, “My Mother’s Keeper”), and Tracee Ross’ bemused observation about

constantly being asked about Mama Diana, “Welcome to my life!”

More than once, Christina repeated to me that “this is not about my mother, it’s about me,” and she refused to even so much as take a look at the rare candid photos I had brought with me to the interview. “I don’t do that, David,” she said. “I’m really glad you have them, but it’s not part of what I do.” So the interview was a tightrope walk, with an unseen but nevertheless oh-so present Joan in the room, like some huge-eyed, lipsticksmeared Tinseltown elephant.

Still, exceptions continually arose, like when I mentioned how she’s always been a friend to the gay community, and Christina volunteered, “But that’s how I was raised! There were always gay men in our house. [Movie star turned interior decorator] William Haines and his partner Jimmy Shields my mother called the ‘happiest marriage in Hollywood.’ In those days, you knew these things but just didn’t talk about them, very different from today. But they were all completely accepted into our home.”

I mentioned how her book (and the film of it, which she disdains) has been, in a way, a blessing to Joan, as it’s kept her alive — even for younger generations who often know nothing before Madonna — while most of her contemporaries are largely forgotten.

“Any interest in her would have made her happy,” Crawford said. “She has been mythologized, but the truth of the matter is in the last 15 years of her life this was not the case, and in the last five she was a compete recluse. She only wanted to be the star and when that was no longer possible on her own terms, she made some very poor choices to try and perpetuate that stardom which wasn’t there any more.”

Crawford didn’t mince words about the film of “Mommie Dearest”: “It makes me sad that it’s not a very good film. I had nothing to do with it, was never on the set so I have to take a hands-off attitude about it. Besides not being a very good movie constructurally, they changed the point of view from my book and, thirdly, the performance level is melodrama.

“Unfortunately, another case of Hollywood not being able to make a good movie out of a good book. It was 30 years ago, but it refuses to go away because they keep putting it on TV. It has gained cult status, but that’s only one demographic.”

When I mentioned that Faye Dunaway also doesn’t want to talk about it, she laughed, “Do you wonder why?”

I mentioned the flack the book received when it came out from some quarters, and Crawford responded, “People are in

TYLER GOMES

Christina comes clean again; Drama Desk hopefuls Osnes and Settle

Christina Crawford doesn’t hold back.

denial. Everybody knew what was going on and had guilty consciences, didn’t they? Although Helen Hayes, who was my godmother, was very supportive and, in her autobiography, she speaks very openly about it.”

Asked about her stroke, Crawford said, “Look at me now! I’m here and fine, but, at 42, that stroke took five years to recover from. From that point on, I was determined my life was going to take a different course.”

Talking about her human rights work, Crawford said, “Abuse and bullying can come from texting, parents, the workplace, sports, or politics. It’s abuse of power on many different levels, affecting one psychologically and physically — and both hurt equally. Fortunately, even in rural America, we’re making progress helping kids, as they grow, to start taking responsibility and saying, ‘No, this is not acceptable’ in their peer groups. Once you start that conversation, things begin to change because the bully is no longer the fear factor, getting everything their way”.

Crawford has never had children: “I would be terrified if anything that happened to me would resurface in my parenting.”

Yet she feels that the indulgence of many parents today who “negotiate” with obstinate children “can also be harmful, when people don’t have boundaries and appropriate non-narcissistic attitudes.

Parenting is tough and I wish we made it equally as difficult to be a parent as it is to get a driver’s license. We don’t even think that way yet. In Europe, they do.”

The reception for the Drama Desk nominees at the

Essex Hotel on May 8 brought out a passel of gussied-up talent at an ungodly early hour, and I caught up with Annaleigh Ashford, who was the best thing about the disappointing “Kinky Boots.” Her delightfully daft, delayed timing and authentic Northampton accent made her every appearance smile-inducing, and she told me she researched her role “by looking

at a lot of episodes of ‘Little Britain.’”

Smart little cookie, this one, and just as sweet. She seemed absolutely thrilled to be recognized after 10 years of kicking around New York theaters.

Laura Osnes, also up for a Tony for “Cinderella,” told me, “I’m having a ball, no pun intended, but I love coming to work every day. The cast is one of the best, a funny, very close group, and the energy offstage is very lighthearted and super fun. We’re telling this great classic story, but with humor, charm, and wit, so I get the best of all worlds.

“There are days when the stage door action is insane, but I was actually expecting it to be more crazy. A lot of people have just sat through a two and a half hour show and are ready to go home.

But the children come, so adorable in their Cinderella costumes and tiaras, and grown women in their tiaras, for that matter. We have the advantage of crossing demographics: the kids love the magic and the story and the adults love the humor and the wit.

“Ann Harada [as a stepsister] gives the standout performance, I think. She took a role that could have been looked over and really made something of it. She’s so talented and is the nicest, most generous person, with a busy career and a sevenyear-old boy. I don’t know how she does it.”

Harada is originally from Hawaii, like Drama Desk nominee Keala Settle, who woke everybody up in “Hands on a Hardbody” with her searing, soulful voice.

I had a riot with this “tita” (Hawaiian for “sister’) after a few champagnes, screaming at each other in pidgin English so loud people were moving away. “Oh, yeah,” she said, laughing, “they always do dat when I get together wit local peoples!”

When I asked Settle, who’s been in New York for a while, having also appeared in “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” how she did what I saw her do so phenomenally on stage, she said, “That’s just us! You know, back home in Hawaii, when we get together and jam. It just comes out like that, naturally, full-force, which maybe some people aren’t quite ready for.”

Then, in ritual inevitable among people from Hawaii, I asked Settle where she went to high school, and she said, “Kahuku!” She then sang me her entire, and quite touching, school song, which created even more shock among our onlookers. Later, on the street, I spotted her teetering a bit on her high heels and said, “Sistah, you need rubber slippers!”

“I get ‘em in my purse!”

Contact David Noh at Inthenoh@aol. com, follow him on Facebook and Twitter @in_the_noh, and check out his blog at http://nohway.wordpress.com/.

| May 22, 2013

23

OPERA

A Prodigy Sacrificed

Trying to have a baby?

We CAN HeLP!

American Lyric Theater presents workshop reading of operatic tribute to Alan Turing

BY DAVID SHENGOLD

THE TURING PROJECT American Lyric Theater Jewish Community Center 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th St. May 30 at 7 p.m. $25; jccmanhattan.org/opera

The work, commissioned by ALT in honor of the great scientist and mathematician's centennial last year, receives a workshop reading on the evening of May 30 at the Goldman– Sonnenfeldt Family Auditorium at the Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side.

The Cambridge and Princetoneducated Turing's pre-war achievements, while he was still in his 20s, included unveiling the first universal computer, establishing the field of Artificial Intelligence, and creating other conceptual frameworks still used in computation theory. The day after Britain entered the war against Germany, Turing joined the famous Bletchley Park group of code breakers, racking up major achievements including developing a portable voice scrambler and cracking the U-Boat code, thus saving untold British and Allied lives. A biking and running fanatic, he and his personal life proved enigmatic to his colleagues. He received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1945, but the accomplishments associated with that honor were kept unspecified.

After the war, Turing continued making breakthroughs in several fields, even extending to biology. His remarkable life swam along — until 1952, when he ran up against the postWilde penal code and Cold War mores.

TA TA RIDE PHOTOGRAPHY

W

ith a Wilde-themed “Oscar” starring David Daniels in preparation for Santa Fe Opera this summer and “Harvey Milk” approaching its 20th anniversary, New York's valiant American L yric Theater adds to the operatic repertory on iconic 20th century gay martyrs. “The Turing Project,” an "historical fantasia" with a score by Justine F. Chen and a libretto by David Simpatico, explores the life, incredible legacy, homophobic persecution, and mysterious death of British computer pioneer — and seminal World War II code-cracker — Alan Turing (19121954).

Baritone Jonathan Estabrooks performs as Alan Turing in a workshop reading of Justine F. Chen and David Simpatico’s “The Turing Project” on May 30 at the JCC on the Upper West Side.

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Involved with a 19-year -old drifter, Arnold Murray, he reported a theft one of the young man’s friends committed at his home and naively admitted his sexual relationship with Murray. In pre1967 Britain, that remained a serious crime, a “gross indecency.” Other public figures — including John Gielgud — got caught in the same wave of repression.

But Turing, unashamed of who he was, met a fate among the direst.

Stripped of his security clearance, he was forced to choose between imprisonment and chemical castration.

The latter course left him impotent and heavy-breasted. A year later, he committed suicide — or was murdered — by means of a cyanide-laced apple, a plot device from his lifelong obsession “Snow White” (and perhaps the genesis of the Apple Computer corporate logo reputedly developed in tribute to him).

The British government has yet to formally pardon Turing, to which his country owes so much.

Chen and Simpatico call their work a "fantasia" to signal that they seek not to resolve the mysteries surrounding this figure seminal in shaping our current world but to imaginatively present his inner world, his outlook on his scientific work, and his forthrightly lived personal life.

On May 30, Keith Chambers will conduct pianist Gloria Kim and a cast of fine singers including baritone Jonathan Estabrooks (Turing), soprano Kathryn Guthrie (his mother), tenor Kyle Bielfield (Murray) and bassbaritones Joseph Beutel (Winston Churchill) and Justin Hopkins (Prince Charming). Be present as an ambitious new work comes into public view.

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

THEATER

Trips and Falls

“Bountiful,” “Pippin” are wonderful theatrical journeys; Cummings’ “Macbeth” stumbles over its concept

BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

L

onging permeates the plays of Horton Foote. Whether his characters are pining for a parent, a connection, or, in the case of “The Trip to Bountiful,” a lost home, Foote’s ability to dramatize the inescapably human, existential unease we all feel is his unique gift. He sets his plays in and around the fictional town of Harrison, Texas, but the emotional truths he explores are the same in Manhattan… and Manhattan, Kansas.

Stephen Sondheim Theatre 124 W. 43rd St. Tue.-Thu. at 7 p.m.

Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.

Wed., Sat. at 2 p.m.

Sun at 3 p.m. $37-$142; telecharge.com Or 800-432-7500

The centerpiece of this new production is Cicely Tyson’s luminous performance as Carrie Mae, who due to advancing age and declining health must live in Houston with her son, Ludie, and her daughter -in-law, Jessie Mae. Carrie Mae feels confined in their two-room apartment and aches to return to her hometown of Bountiful. Jessie Mae — who herself feels the limitations of life

JOAN MARCUS

THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL

Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful.”

in Houston, longing for something more glamorous like what she reads about in her movie magazines — is stuck caring for Carrie Mae while Ludie works. Carrie Mae has tried to escape, but never gets very far until the day Jessie Mae ducks out to meet her sister. When Carrie Mae makes a break for it, therein lies a play.

Carrie Mae gets as far as Harrison on a bus, only to find that Bountiful, never more than a bend in the road, has been erased by time. Though her home still stands, it is tumbling down, and the

play centers on the way she rediscovers herself during the trip. We hear stories from Carrie Mae’s life as she tells them to Thelma, whom she meets on the bus.

In time, Carrie Mae is found and must go back to Houston, but not before revisiting her original home — at least in her heart — gaining sustenance that may stay with her the rest of her life.

To watch Tyson’s transformation as she leaves Houston and returns to what’s left of Bountiful is the stuff of theatrical legends. In it, we see the

visceral, healing power home holds for her. We watch as decades drop away, witnessing the joy and love that define Carrie Mae’s true self.

Tyson plays brilliantly against Vanessa Williams as Jessie Mae. Williams, who looks smashing and sophisticated in Broughton Ramsey’s wonderful clothes, is not the shrew she seems but just another person hoping for something else. When she makes an uneasy truce with Carrie Mae by the end, Jessie Mae finally opens her heart just enough to discover the essentially good person inside her and to understand her conflict with her husband’s mother.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. makes an impressive Broadway debut as a man torn between his mother and a wife who craves peace of mind. Condola Rashad is delightful as Thelma, giving what could be a one-note part an impressive level of complexity and subtext.

Director Michael Wilson strikes just the right tone. It’s impossible not to care for and relate to all the characters and feel their longing. So engaged was the audience the night I saw it that when Tyson started singing a hymn, many members of the audience sang along.

Set in a backwater bus depot, the scene transported them to an entirely different place.

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TRIPS AND FALLS, continued on p.25

Servile Disobedience Pushed very hard indeed, personal assistant refuses to let big bad city destroy him

BY DAVID KENNERLEY

I

f you crossed “The Devil Wears Prada” with “The Rachel Zoe Project” (an early episode with the nerdy, bow-tied Brad Goreski), you might spawn something like “I Wanna Destroy You,” the wicked romantic comedy now playing on Theatre Row.

I WANNA DESTROY YOU

Written by Joshua Conkel (“MilkMilkLemonade”), the warped plot

MATTHEW MURPHY

At Hand Theatre Company Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row 410 W. 42nd St. Through Jun. 1 Tue., Sun. at 7 p.m.

Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.

Sat. at 2 p.m. $18; telecharge.com

Anthony Johnston and Geneva Carr in Joshua Conkel’s “I Wanna Destroy You.”

centers on Beau (Anthony Johnston), who is having a really bad day. His desperately needy boss, Cecile (Geneva Carr), a famous romance novelist who honed her skills at Vassar, treats him like a dog. It’s a stifling day in June, and the air conditioner in his dumpy Bushwick apartment is on the fritz.

His depressive, longtime boyfriend Mick (a scruffy Kieran Mulcare) announces he’s high-tailing it back to Kentucky. Beau makes a last-ditch marriage proposal and is rebuffed. (Mick agrees in principle with the right to tie the knot, but calls marriage a “bullshit straight people thing.”) The day this all goes down — June 24, 2011, to be exact — is an historic one. Marriage equality for New York State is being considered — and the Legislature’s decision is imminent.

Oh yeah, and it’s Beau’s 30th

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SERVILE DISOBEDIENCE, continued on p.27

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| May 22, 2013

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TRIPS AND FALLS, from p.24

If you know Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” backwards

and forwards, you may be able to follow Alan Cumming’s 90-minute version of it set in an insane asylum. If not, you won’t be blamed for nodding off — or be the only one who did.

While this is designed to be a tour-deforce for Cumming, who is a galvanizing stage presence, the concept collapses under its own weight because we have no idea who this man in the asylum is or why he would suddenly start spouting Shakespeare. Cumming speaks with passion and no one will question his commitment to the roles he portrays, but he often muddies the distinction between his characters.

Why he needs to pull the entrails out of a bird is unclear. (Perhaps a nod to the augury of the Weird Sisters — but I’m really just making that up.)

Concept theater is all well and good, but if it doesn’t communicate, it becomes hollow, even superfluous. It would have been far better for Cumming to simply do the play without ill-conceived trappings and let his gifts and Shakespeare’s genius create a more simple and affecting magic.

Alan Cumming in his one-man production of “Macbeth.”

When the chorus at the opening of “Pippin” sings,

“We’ve got magic to do,” they ain’t kidding. For the next two-plus hours, Diane Paulus’ magnificent production is a gasp-inducing, joy-filled spectacle that dazzles the senses and touches the heart. The true magic, though, comes from giving this slight show substance and an emotional core. What was, in the original, merely light entertainment with a cynical edge and an anti-war message about a boy who can’t find himself becomes a psychological exploration about the path to selfactualization and acceptance of the world on its ter ms. The ending is quite moving and inspired, going, like Paulus’ other work, straight to the heart of the matter.

This production’s other shining achievement is its perfect casting.

JOAN MARCUS

Ethel Barrymore Theatre 243 W. 47th St. Through Jul. 14 Mon.-Tue., Thu. at 7 p.m.

Fri., Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m. $69.50-$135; telecharge.com Or 212-239-6200

JEREMY DANIEL

MACBETH

Andrea Martin and Matthew James Thomas in Diane Paulus’ production of “Pippin.”

PIPPIN The Music Box 249 W. 45th St. Tue.-Sat. at 8 p.m.

Wed., Sat. at 2:30 p.m.

Sun. at 3 p.m. $59-$142; telecharge.com Or 800-432-7500

Matthew James Thomas has a wonderful, contemporary voice that works with the songs to keep them new, giving a fresh perspective to standards like “Corner of the Sky” and “Extraordinary.” Patina Miller is phenomenal as the Leading Player, a character symbolic of the conflicts Pippin confronts. Her precise dancing and laser focus are unforgettable.

Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine, the woman Pippin falls in love with, gives a per for mance of sustained

and understated comedy, which is juxtaposed against the first real feeling Pippin must confront. And Andrea Martin as Berthe, the granny who’s not going gently into that good night — or anywhere, for that matter — stopped the show with “No Time at All.” For all Berthe’s derring-do, Martin is also touching in portraying a woman who, nearing the end of life, holds on with a joyful ferocity.

Chet Walker’s splendid choreography pays homage to Bob Fosse’s original style, while integrating it with the contemporary athleticism that Gypsy Snider’s circus troupe brings to the production.

Productions of “Pippin” over the years have suffered from being dated and inaccessible. Paulus and company, however, have given this revival a welcome and beguiling shot in the arm.

GAYFEST NYC Returns Nurturing exceptional gay-themed plays for a worthy cause

BY DAVID KENNERLEY

I

n 2007, Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman hatched a plan to produce a theater festival dedicated to giving emerging gay playwrights a voice. A vital force in gay theater, the scrappy little festival emerged as a success on many levels. One of their productions was even nominated for a GLAAD Award.

GAYFEST NYC 2013 Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex 312 W. 36th St.

MOONLIGHT & LOVE SONGS The June Havoc Theatre May 23-25, 28-31, Jun. 1 at 8 p.m.

Jun. 1 at 2 p.m.; May 26, Jun. 2 at 3 p.m.

After a hiatus of a couple of years due to scheduling glitches, GAYFEST NYC is back.

This year, out of about 50 entries received from around the US and beyond, GAYFEST NYC selected two original works and is also staging a revival of a provocative gay classic. The festival runs May 23 through June 16 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex. Craig Wesley Divino is the associate producer.

When asked if we still need such a festival when gay characters populate plenty of plays both Off and On Broadway, Harris insisted we do.

“When we first for mulated the festival, we were trying to find gay playwrights with something to say about gay culture,” he said. “Now we are moving into diversity just like the gay community. We want to spotlight issues that are relevant, perhaps with gay leitmotifs, but not necessarily full-on gay

plays. We are not all living in the same bubble. We want theatergoers to pause and discover something fresh about a hidden corner of the community.”

“In a challenging economy, it can be difficult to raise money for not-for-profit

THE LOVES OF MR. LINCOLN The June Havoc Theatre Jun. 6-8, 11-15 at 7:30 p.m.

Jun. 15 at 2 p.m.; Jun. 9, 16 at 3 p.m.

[gay theater], unless you’re Terrence McNally,” added Batman. “There’s a great pool of untapped talent who just can’t get their plays up. We want to give them a shot at a first-class production.”

According to Batman, the fest has grown because of support not only from sponsors, foundations, and individual

donors, but also from local theater professionals. “We have major Broadway set, lighting, costume, and wig designers helping us do our little shows,” he said.

“The quality of the scripts is getting be t t e r,” s aid Harris . “The c r e am always rises to the top. This year, the work is particularly beautiful — and dangerous.”

First up is “Moonlight & Love Songs,”

by Scott C. Sickles, about a steamy, same-sex af fair between a lonely, 45-year -old architect and a much younger college student. A staggering revelation causes their idyllic romance to self-destruct, sending shock waves throughout the community.

“The play deals with themes found in relationships today,” said Harris.

“Older men dating younger men — very relevant and not often explored in

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GAYFEST, continued on p.27

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

OPERA

Ancient Airs and Dances Met returns to Handel, with McVicar production of “Giulio Cesare”

T

he Metropolitan Opera presented its first ever Handel opera, “Rinaldo,” in 1983. Five years later, it got around to his most popular opera, “Giulio Cesare,” in a John Copley English language production that originated at the English National Opera.

This April, the Met unveiled its second production of “Giulio Cesare” — also a British import — the David McVicar “Bollywood” spectacular that premiered in Glyndebourne in 2005.

This production uses a much fuller musical text, restoring arias for Cornelia, Nireno, and Achilla previously excised and including all da capo repeats.

Indeed, the evening stretched to four and half hours. McVicar sees Handel opera seria as pure entertainment.

Each da capo aria was treated as a kind of floorshow with its own distinctive choreography, stage business and props, performing supernumeraries, and sight gags.

McVicar equates Caesar’s Roman conquest of Egypt with Britain’s colonization of India. Caesar and his soldiers were in British Army uniforms circa 1912, and Cornelia and Sesto were dressed from the same era. Cleopatra time traveled from harem girl outfits to jazz age flapper gowns to Art Deco ‘30s Hollywood starlet style to full 18th century fig in the last scene. The set, enlarged from the Glyndebourne original, is a Baroque theater with receding proscenium arches opening up to a seascape vista. Silk draperies and flying scenery take us from the Roman camp to the palace of Alexandria.

The production highlights the libretto’s Shakespearean mixture of comedy and tragedy. The Egyptian characters are played for laughs — Ptolemy is a ridiculously vain popinjay, Nireno a dizzily effeminate old-school queen, and Cleopatra a calculating sex kitten. Meanwhile the Cornelia/ Sesto

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I DO, from p.16

interviewing bi-national couples to understand their struggles. He spoke with lawyers who do pro bono work on immigration cases and learned that 40 percent of bi-national couples have kids together, a statistic that surprises him — and will, no doubt, many others.

Ross lamented the fact that some couples find they have to move to another country to stay together.

“It is not romantic to be in a long distance relationship,” he said. “It’s hard

subplot is played for high drama —both are subjected to realistic physical abuse and, in Cornelia’s case, near rape by their Egyptian captors. Caesar ranged from a fool for love to a man of purpose.

Cleopatra developed tragic stature in later scenes when she faced defeat.

Supers dressed as native servants expressed dismay at their country’s submission to a foreign power at the final curtain.

McVicar’s hyperactive staging with its Bollywood dancing, self-conscious artifice, and camp flourishes often distances the viewer from any true emotional empathy. However, for an audience not versed in Baroque opera, this was a highly diverting, if long evening of musical theater.

The Met replaced the original star of the Glyndebourne production, the multitalented Danielle de Niese, with Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra. Countertenor David Daniels was Caesar. Both Dessay and Daniels have seen better days vocally. After an opening night reported to be uneven, Dessay canceled the second show on April 9. In a “surprise” appearance, de Niese, who according to Peter Gelb’s onstage announcement “just happened to be traveling to New York with her husband,” replaced Dessay on only a day’s notice with minimal rehearsal. Reliable sources, however, inform us that, weeks before, de Niese had been summoned by Gelb to stand by for the unreliable Dessay and rehearsed in private. The day after de Niese appeared, Gelb’s publicity machine spun into action with New York Times blurbs about her heroic “impromptu” substitution. Still, Dessay returned for all subsequent performances including the HD transmission.

After seeing the de Niesse performance, I returned to the production on May 7 to hear Dessay, and the comparisons were striking. The duskily beautiful, dance-trained de Niese shimmied and vamped with natural ease while the quirkier Dessay was more

self-parodying. However, de Niese has the voice of a soubrette with a shallow timbre that turns tinny or brassy under pressure and lacks innate nobility in slow arias. She chirped prettily through lighter numbers like “Venere Bella” and “Tu la mia stella sei.” But in the longlined sensuous “V’adoro, pupille,” the plainness and ordinariness of her timbre were evident. The charm was merely visual.

Dessay on May 7 surpassed her efforts on the HD transmission, where vocal fatigue and tonal fallout occasionally intruded. In person, she seemed vocally rejuvenated. Her silvery tone and aristocratic phrasing have an innate purity and nobility, and her coloratura has elegance and finish. Many phrases were spun like silken threads with a delicate precise touch in ornaments.

Cleopatra’s final triumphant “Da tempeste” revealed Dessay performing or nate r oulades while executing

— and expensive. But there are brave couples out there fighting because they realize it is their right.”

Mano was specifically created as a character who could claim Spanish citizenship for several reasons, Ross explained. First, even though Spain is a very Catholic country, it recognizes same-sex marriage, so Jack and Mano have the option of living there in order to stay together. He also felt that American audiences would relate better to a Spanish character than one from France or Italy. Finally, Ross conceded, he finds

Spanish men “really sexy.”

On that score, “I Do” was leaving nothing to chance, it would seem. Ross himself oozes plenty of sex appeal in the film — and not just because he plays many of his scenes naked from the waist up. He was apparently playing to type — during the interview, he interjected, “I’m actually shirtless right now!”

Ross followed that moment of titillating levity by getting serious again.

The film, he pointed out, opens with Jack announcing in voice-over that he believes in fate, family, and truth and

MARTY SOHL/ METROPOLITAN OPERA

BY ELI JACOBSON

Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra in Handel's "Giulio Cesare."

precision choreography with insouciant bravura. If this was her last Met engagement, as is rumored, Dessay has left on a high note.

Daniels’ turn as Caesar also improved as the run progressed. He is better at broad lyrical cantilena than martial dramatic coloratura. His runs were smudgy in Caesar’s bravura arias, with the voice losing core and dropping out lower down. This is an area where a mezzo or contralto has more tonal resonance and “balls” than a countertenor. Daniels, though, remains an authoritative stylist and stage performer.

Countertenor Christophe Dumaux as Tolomeo showed a remarkable command of his instrument and the stage — he sang with unfailing energy and purity, modeled outrageous costumes, and performed acrobatic falls and leaps with ease. Patricia Bardon’s Cornelia had some stiffness in the upper register and graininess below, but she is a stylish Handelian and a committed actress. Her intensity was matched by Alice Coote’s tortured Sesto — here almost a Hamlet figure. Coote’s dramatic delivery suited the fast vengeance arias better than the lyrical largos.

Moroccan countertenor Rachid Ben Abdeslam camped imperiously as Nireno, but his tone and diction were mushy and indistinct. Bass-baritone Guido Loconsolo’s hairy, sexy Achilla was more effective in recitatives than in his arias — the native Italian diction didn’t compensate for a fuzzy grumbling timbre.

Harry Bicket is emerging as the Met’s number one conductor of pre-Romantic opera — he made the Met orchestra sound like a historical instruments ensemble. He appreciates how each aria has its own unique musico-dramatic color and how the musical contrasts in each succeeding number build drama.

Four and a half hours flew by as one visual and musical delight followed another.

that actions have consequences.

“It was a meditation on what Jack wants,” Ross explained. “What he wants at the beginning of the film, he has lived through by the end, so he knows these things are true.”

Audiences will likely find this truth to be the powerful animating force in “I Do.” David W. Ross will attend a postscreening Q&A for “I Do” on Friday, May 31. Check out quadcinema.com that day for details.

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| May 22, 2013 SERVILE DISOBEDIENCE, from p.24

birthday. Shouldn’t he have a real career by now, instead of catering to the whims of a she-devil?

Complicating matters is that the selfabsorbed “Cuntessa” is getting married to a pompous cad (Jamie Jackson) and is in Bridezilla mode. Her wedding planner happens to be Daphne (Kathy Searle), an estranged friend of Beau and Mick who’s not nearly as successful as she seems. She has a dutiful assistant of her own, the calmly caustic Jim (Preston Martin) who, when he’s not tapping away on Grindr, throws shade in every direction.

Under the guidance of Dan Horrigan, “I Wanna Destroy You” is crisply paced and of fers keenly observed characterizations; however, not all of the

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actors have mastered their demanding roles. It’s not until the second act that they find their footing.

Johnston’s self-deprecating Beau is sweetly appealing, earning our sympathy for his usually pliant demeanor — even when he starts being as monstrous as his boss. Carr is hilarious as the shrill Cecile, who, hopped up on booze and pills, goes ballistic when she discovers Beau committed a costly act of rebellion.

Daphne’s preening assistant Jim is written as a smug, one-note character and Martin plays him as such, but it’s a splendid note indeed.

The set, by David L. Arsenault, morphs efficiently to evoke Beau’s tiny apartment (yep, there’s a sad futon festooned with dirty clothes), Cecile’s posh Upper East Side pad, a dress shop, a bookstore, and various eateries. The

wanting to cultivate beauty.

Beau explains he is repulsed by the whole “gay sidekick” thing, noting that on TV those kind of characters are never crucial to any storyline. He accuses Daphne of being a “faginizer” who exploits gay men to assuage her loneliness, and scoffs at her choice of living in Chelsea, “where the queens look just like the jocks that used to beat them up.”

To be a success in the big city, we must destroy each other. Cecile’s motto: “Be a cunt or the world just walks all over you.” Nice guys are naive “dodo birds” doomed to become extinct.

They say that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. “I Wanna Destroy You,” which sounds like a threat from the unforgiving city itself, suggests that if you cannot make it here, there are brighter alternatives.

backdrop is a marvelous peeling collage of a murky New York cityscape turned upside down, framed by iron beams like those found in a subway station.

Anthony Mattana’s music and sound design are top-notch as well.

Turns out this wry comedy has more than just hijinks on its mind. Conkel uses the setup to examine the vagaries of interpersonal relationships, gay stereotypes, and the marriage equality issue.

Beau is outraged how gays are portrayed as, or subscribe to, tired ster eotypes like hairstylists (the “ultimate servile fag job”), wedding planners, or materialists.

“Here you are fucking planning other people’s weddings when you yourself aren’t allowed to get married,” he says to Jim, who sees nothing wrong with

the plays to life. Some students even do internships at GAYFEST NYC for school credit.

What’s more, they’ve instituted a mentoring program where out professionals from various creative fields come to speak to the students. The underlying message, explained Batman, is, “You can be gay and still have a fabulous career ahead of you.”

GAYFEST, from p.25

theater. It’s got real truth to it.”

The other original play is “The Loves of Mr. Lincoln” by David Brendan Hopes, a Pulitzer-nominated poet. Lincoln loved not only his wife Mary, his children, and the United States of America, but also his lifelong confidante, Joshua Speed. Based on letters said to be between Lincoln and Speed, this historical drama promises stunning costumes and language.

“This work is haunting and brilliantly written,” raved Harris. “It’s one of those gorgeous, words-fall-off-the-page type of plays we always look for. We believe that plays should not just entertain but also enlighten. And this does that.”

Also on tap is “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” by Moisés Kaufman. The fearless producers were so impressed with the high-octane staging by the BASiC Theatre Project, a New York-based company, that they wanted to give them more exposure.

Directed by Zi Alikhan, this is the first revival since its Off Broadway premiere in 1997.

Why only two original shows? In defense of their limited slate of offerings, Harris explained that, when it came down to it, few plays met their exacting standards.

“We are trying to be discerning,” he explained. “We look at what’s going on in the world. We don’t want to stage anything that’s dated. Many playwrights create a work that’s cathartic for them, and that’s fine. But we also want what’s cathartic for audiences.”

Since the launch of GAYFEST NYC,

BASiC THEATRE PROJECT

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The cast of “Gross Indecency.”

Harris and Batman have made names for themselves in commercial theater, co-producing a string of hits including “Clybourne Park” (which won the Tony Award for Best Play), “Bonnie & Clyde,” and “Pippin.” They’re currently working to bring “Scottsboro Boys” to London and an immersive musical version of “Carrie” to LA. “We like to live on the dangerous side,” Harris said of these works. “But they have been embraced and beloved.

That’s our drug of choice — to find edgy, empowering plays. We use the same standards for not-for-profit as we do for our commercial work. Ideals and innovation are important. But we are also mindful of getting butts into seats.”

Giving exposure to new playwrights

is only half the mission at GAYFEST NYC. From day one, all proceeds go directly to the Harvey Milk High School for LGBT youth. Harris and Batman have expanded the work they do with the school, holding fundraisers and providing scholarships (they’ve granted 40 and counting). They’ve added a playwriting class so kids can tell their stories and hired equity actors to bring

GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE Dorothy Strelsin Theatre May 30-Jun. 1, 4-8, 11-15 at 8 p.m.

Jun. 8, 15 at 2 p.m.; Jun. 2, 9, 16 at 3 p.m. $25; 212-352-3101 or theatermania.com

“We are the only not-for-profit that gives financial aid to the Harvey Milk School,” said Harris, adding that G AY F E S T N Y C a l w a y s w e l c o m e s support from any business, gay or straight. “It’s a big responsibility. We present the festival because we want to stay close to our roots, but also to benefit the future of the gay community.

After all, when we get older, these kids

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

It’s Up to Us

PUBLISHER JENNIFER GOODSTEIN

Jennifer@communitymediallc.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER TROY MASTERS

BY PAUL SCHINDLER

troy@gaycitynews.com EDITOR IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER PAUL SCHINDLER

editor@gaycitynews.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Duncan Osborne

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Christopher Byrne (Theater), Susie Day, Doug Ireland (International), Brian McCormick (Dance)

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Seth J. Bookey, Anthony M.Brown, Kelly Jean Cogswell, Andres Duque, Michael Ehrhardt, Steve Erickson, Erasmo Guerra, Frank Holliday, Andy Humm, Eli Jacobson, David Kennerley, Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S. Leonard, Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass, Winnie McCroy, Eileen McDermott, Mick Meenan, Tim Miller, Gregory Montreuil, Christopher Murray, David Noh, Pauline Park, Nathan Riley, Chris Schmidt, Jason Victor Serinus, David Shengold, Yoav Sivan, Gus Solomons Jr., Kathleen Warnock, Benjamin Weinthal, Dean P. Wrzeszcz

SENIOR DESIGNER MICHAEL SHIREY

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Seven anti-gay attacks in 16 days. One a shocking closerange shooting of Mark Car son in the face, resulting in the 32-year -old m a n’s d ea th.

The West Village, the East Village, Madison Square Garden, Union Square, and Soho.

If there is any consolation in all this, it would seem to be the willingness of the city’s elected leadership to step up to condemn the hatred, support the victims, and mourn Carson.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke unsparingly of their outrage at the murder. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian and a leading mayoral contender, was the driving force behind a May 20 march in remembrance of Carson that drew an estimated 1,500 participants. All four of her Democratic mayoral rivals also joined the gathering.

The gay community in New York has enjoyed equal mar riage rights for nearly two years.

As Quinn’s strong position in the mayoral race attests, we are rapping on the doors of some of the highest political offices. In New York’s entertainment and business worlds, high profile gay men and lesbians are increasingly commonplace players.

And still the hatred continues. It’s always ugly, sometimes brutal, and on the most tragic occasions lethal. One hard truth about all this is that even among our closest allies — indeed, even within our own community — there is a reluctance to adopt the unwavering zero tolerance for bigotry that we should expect toward any form of prejudice. If you doubt that, think about the pass accorded to determined homophobes like Brooklyn State Assemblyman Dov Hikind. Consider the exalted position the Roman Catholic Archdiocese continues to hold in New York’s civic life. And remember how often, even in this “liberal” town, religious-based objections to

LGBT equality are rationalized as simply a competing civil liberties claim.

When gay marriage first headed for the floor of the Assembly in 2007, Hikind told Capital New York political reporter Azi Paybarah, “If we authorize gay marriage in the State of New York, those who want to live and love incestuously will be five steps closer to achieving their goals as well.”

When the issue was on the cusp of victory four years later, Hikind cloaked this nonsense in his Orthodox Jewish beliefs, telling his colleagues during debate on the bill, “Maybe we take the Torah, God forbid, and throw it in the garbage.”

To Hikind, gay couples are outside of God’s law. They are the Other. Hikind’s attitudes toward LGBT people are profoundly dehumanizing.

How do his fellow elected officials respond to him? The reaction to another outrageous episode of Hikind’s is instructive in this regard — and also discouraging. Earlier this year, for a costume party to celebrate Purim, Hikind dressed in blackface. Any easy call, right? Well, not necessarily for “progressive” Bill de Blasio, who — incredibly — told Paybarah, “In all the time I’ve known Dov, I’ve never found him to be prejudiced against anyone.” Hikind endorsed de Blasio for city public advocate in 2009 and has bragged he got him elected to the City Council in 2001.

Bill Thompson is the only African American in the Democratic mayoral field. His reaction to Hikind’s blackface?

“For years, Assemblyman Dov Hikind has played a crucial role in bringing together leaders from the African-American, Jewish, and other communities to stand against racism and anti-Semitism,” the former city comptroller said in a written release, which called on Hikind to apologize “consistent with his record of service and commitment to our diverse city.”

Quinn, for her part, was unambiguous in condemning Hikind, but the candidate who nailed the issue was dark-horse hopeful Sal Albanese, a former

Brooklyn City Council member, who said, “I strongly condemn Assemblyman Hikind’s tasteless attempt at humor and suggest my opponents stop begging for his endorsement.”

If de Blasio and Thompson have at times turned a blind eye toward bigots — especially in the Brooklyn political backyard they share — Quinn has on occasion shown her own measure of indifference. She explained her appearance at a 2008 Yankee Stadium Mass led

by Pope Benedict XVI — who in 1987, as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, declared a homosexual orientation to be “intrinsically disordered” — by saying, “To get to take my father to the pope was an extraordinarily special thing.”

That particular excuse, however, was unavailable last year when she was asked by Gay City News about her attendance at Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s annual Al Smith Dinner. The event is often billed as a fundraiser for disadvantaged children, but in fact the Catholic Archdiocese spends the money as it sees fit. Asked about a 2011 beneficiary that is “a nonsectarian organization founded in 1974 offering positive alternatives to abortion,” the pro-choice speaker offered a cringe-inducing response, saying, “What’s wrong with that? Choice doesn’t mean we’re for one choice.

Choice means we’re for an array of choices and women getting to decide for themselves.”

Dolan, of course, does not merely tangle with supporters of abortion rights. He is also a faithful prosecutor of the Church’s hostile policies toward the LGBT community.

In an April blog post about the Church’s posture toward gays, the cardinal wrote that his parents welcomed anyone into his childhood home, so long as they remembered to “wash your hands.” A group of gay activists with dirty hands who attempted to enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral the following Sunday were met with determined NYPD resistance.

No issue better crystallizes the unwillingness of progressive politicians in New York to con-

front religious bigotry squarely than the ongoing legal battle over the Department of Education’s policy barring religious congregations from renting space in schools. Prior to that policy, at least 50 churches — perhaps many more — held services in the schools, and some of them denied membership to gay and lesbian New Yorkers or had a stated mission of converting homosexuals to a heterosexual life. One such exclusionary congregation, the Bronx Household of Faith, took the city to court.

This year’s crop of Democratic mayoral contenders has not acquitted themselves well on this issue. De Blasio told Gay City News, “I do not want to see New Yorkers lose the church families they’ve come to rely on and contribute to in so many ways.” Even while conceding there should be a “line between church and state,” he argued that “common sense and fairness dictate” that the congregations be allowed to return.

City Comptroller John Liu, another “progressive” in the mayor’s race, took a similar position when asked last year, though he has tried to back away from it since.

Quinn is substantively on the right side of this issue, but in an election year, she has lost her nerve to stand firm. In 2012, she blocked a vote on a Council resolution urging the State Legislature to strike down the Department of Education policy.

But as Gay City News goes to press, the Council is expected to take up the very same resolution on May 22. Describing a committee hearing at which he took a drubbing from otherwise progressive colleagues outraged he was standing in the way of congregations reclaiming their place in the schools, out gay Councilman Daniel Dromm told me the resolution is a shoe-in.

Politicians will always have their reasons for wavering on principle. The need to name bigotry and call it out wherever it rears its head, however, is too important to leave to those willing to let their self-interest cut in line ahead of our right to dignity. Anti-gay rhetoric and glib dismissal of our basic humanity can no longer be countenanced — at any time or in any place. In this election year, we better wise up quick to the fact that the job is up to us.

29

| May 22, 2013

PERSPECTIVE

Time Traveling With Richard Bowes

BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL

GAY CITY NEWS

L

ately, I've been talking to students about the Lesbian Avengers. I stand up there like a figure of authority and show a video and answer questions about this dyke activist group I was a part of, and it's all so weird because what's my life is their history.

Like a strange kind of time traveler, I'm not just their past but their future, too. The Avengers may have been most active in the 1990s, but direct action and political organizing are never obsolete. And eventually, some of those kids I'm talking to will realize that the uncomfortable burning sensation in the pit of their stomachs is rage, and they'll also take to the streets.

One of our queer writers aware of just how life loops and intersects is Richard Bowes. The present is mixed up with the past and future. Good blends with evil — and also mediocrity. An Irish-American writer who grew up in 1950s Boston, Bowes mostly does sci-fi and fantasy. As a young writer, he wrote literally about time travel. Lately, much of his work is "realistic," with just a slightly paranormal twist though it is still concerned with time.

“Minions of the Moon,” one of his most autobiographical books, is also one of his best. Originally published in 1999 and just re-issued, the Lambda Awardwinning novel plays hard and fast with the details, though its author did grapple with his sexual identity and ended up a New York rent boy with a bad drug habit.

The twist is that Bowes turns his addic-

Author Richard Bowes.

tion into a doppelganger who also represents that part of himself that emerges whenever he's stressed out or needs to get out of a jam. The narrator, Kevin Grierson, calls that double his Shadow and it sticks with him, appearing periodically even when he thinks it's long gone.

Bowes reminds us that Shadow is something we all have, not just as individuals, but as a society. I was reminded again this weekend of how time doesn't move on an endless, upward trajectory with lessons learned, misery redeemed, and progress written in stone. Even as we celebrate small gains, like the right to marry, youngish queers like Mark Carson, who was murdered by a homophobe in the West Village a few days ago, still cannot walk safely even in our gayest neighborhoods. Everything that's good in

the past could happen again. But what was horrible is waiting for us, too.

Beyond that, there's also the merely surprising and absurd. Last week, I had a brief conversation with Bowes about his work and life which he writes about more factually in his upcoming book of interconnected stories, “Dust Devil On a Quiet Street.” He called his survival "pure luck." He should have died during all his years on the street. There were the sexual predators, the drug violence, the drugs themselves, but he somehow escaped. He never even did time because in those days the police were Irish and he'd get a break because he looked like every cop's youngest brother. In a miserable joke of fate, he even avoided HIV because he got cancer and was out of sexual commission during the worst of the epidemic.

Bradley Manning Blows Chance To Have Gay Wedding

G

BY SUSIE DAY

ay greetings, LGBT-town!

I’m your out-and-proud lesbian pundit. You may recognize me from my latest blog entry, “How Gay Was My Condo.” Today, I bring you a hard-hitting work of in-depth political analysis re: Private First Class Bradley Manning. It seems some malcontents on the board of San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade have suggested Private Manning

for grand marshal.

Private Manning is a 25-year -old, low-ranking intelligence officer facing a 22-count federal indictment — including one count of aiding the enemy — alleging he leaked the largest number of classified US military records in history. Indeed, in February, Manning admitted in court to feeding confidential data to the whistleblower website Wikileaks, thus stunning the world with more than 700,000 items revealing heretofore unguessed-at diplomatic corruption, military malfeasance,

and war crimes. These revelations, according to Bill Keller of the New York Times, played a role in launching the 2011 Arab Spring. Although prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty, Manning, if convicted, faces a possible 150 years in prison.

If Private Manning were some straight dude, we of LGBT-town would just keep shopping. But Bradley Manning is gay.

Therein lies our shame.

Thankfully, SF Pride board president Lisa Williams has already yanked

His surprise at lasting when so many around him didn't keeps his books honest. They never turn into "How I got clean" stories, or "Redemption through art" fables, or some queer mythology of survival. If he rebelled at Stonewall, it was partly because he was hanging out with some druggie friends and, being East Village riot aficionados, they never passed up a chance to screw with the cops. And if the old Italian ladies started screaming at the police from the windows, it was less solidarity with queers than a neighborhood hatred of the law. The big revelation: even when we have to fight hard to survive, we owe a fair amount to luck and sometimes the intervention of strangers.

In his books, gender also doesn't stay on its assigned track. As a gay man, when he takes on his life the main figures are naturally men. Still, when he writes about the enforced masculinity of the military system, even the draft board, he has a strangely "female" sensibility in revealing how he hated the way they owned your body, taking your clothes and shaving your head like convicts. Stripping you down to your underwear and staring and judging. They enforced their will with beatings and sometimes rape. It was worse than selling yourself on the street, where you could at least pretend to have some control.

In another recent book, “The Queen, the Cambion, and Seven Others,” Bowes takes on fairy tales, plunging further into the ambiguities of time and gender. Here, he narrates most of the stories from a female point of view, and he seemed a little puzzled telling me about a writer who asked him why — and how — he pulled it off. "There's no trick to it," he responded. "All the characters are still me."

Follow Kelly Cogswell on Twitter @kellyatlarge.

Manning off the roster, “repudiating” his selection as a “mistake” by an unnamed staff member. For making that announcement “prematurely,” wrote Ms. Williams, this person was — in what will prove an historic salute to the S/M community — “disciplined.” (Interestingly, Ms. Williams did not mention the use of a “safe word.”)

Lisa Williams, who organized campaign offices for Barack Obama and works for other Democratic politicians, wrote, “[E]ven the hint of support for actions which placed in harm[’]s way the lives of men and women in uniform … will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride.”

Right on, Ms. Williams! I share your

c

SUSIE DAY, continued on p.30

30

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

POLITICS

Liz Krueger Pressing for Pot Legalization East Side state senator leads forum co-sponsored by many fellow Manhattan Democratic lawmakers

D

raft provisions of a “tax and regulate” marijuana bill is being circulated by State Senator Liz Krueger, an East Side Democrat.

Washington State and Colorado enacted such laws last year in referendums that make the recreational use of cannabis legal. The voters in these two western states accepted the argument that legalization makes sense after weighing the risks of marijuana use against the benefits of increased revenue.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance that is helping to draft the new bill, explained that popular acceptance of marijuana has followed a path similar to that of marriage equality — with support steadily growing since the 1990s. A 2011 Gallup Poll showed 50 percent of Americans supporting legalization. The strongest supporters are 18 to 29-year-olds. Seniors over 65 are the least supportive. Democrats and liberals poll the highest in favor of a new direction.

The two recent referendums confirmed these polling results, especially Colorado, where legalized marijuana outpolled President Barack Obama, who won the state, by 60,000 votes. Nadelmann said that the Colorado referendum returns suggest that legalization could become a factor in next year’s gubernatorial election.

Krueger opened a May 15 forum on

c

SUSIE DAY, from p.29

Obama-driven anger! For is it not President Obama who finally abolished the military’s infamous Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy? Is it not Mr. Obama who is the first president to support, while in office, our right to legal marriage?

Bradley Manning has done something horrible to LGBT-town — far worse than revealing war crimes. He raises the question: Do LGBT people, in some way, owe our improving legal status to those very war crimes Manning revealed?

We of LGBT -town are oppressed enough without having to ponder that, thank you!

Besides, the fact that we have ignored the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and rarely if ever bother to protest, as LGBT people, foreign policy abuses, suggests that Bradley Manning wouldn’t even want to be our grand marshal.

The best example of Private Manning’s leaks is the video — at vimeo.

marijuana policy at Baruch College by saying, “I did smoke and inhale marijuana 30 years ago, and I have no plans to do it again.” She emphasized that she does not advocate pot use and would no more encourage young people to indulge than do countries like the Netherlands and Portugal that have already adopted legalization.

The Krueger proposal would allow the legal use of marijuana by those over 18.

Sales would be supervised by the State Liquor Authority, and retail outlets for marijuana would be subjects to the same sorts of restrictions that currently apply to bars and liquor stores — including prohibitions on proximity to schools and churches. A $50 tax would be levied on an ounce of marijuana, and local governments would have the option to add an additional five percent surcharge or to forbid its sale.

Nadelmann stressed that marijuana legalization is not an invitation to “turn on and tune out,” and he acknowledged that a revival of the days of “wake and bake” — when 10 percent of high school students were daily users of marijuana — could doom the effort at reform. Under the Krueger bill, youngsters would face civil sanctions for using and selling marijuana.

Dr. Julie Holland, the former head of emergency medicine at Bellevue Hospital and author of popular books on pot and ecstasy, said that cannabis is a natural ingredient in plants and humans and its use as a medicine would be approved if the US government looked at the ques-

tion rationally and without political considerations. The National Institute for Drug Abuse, a government agency, only supports research that will show the harms of marijuana. She acknowledged, however, that marijuana is associated with risk for some adolescents dur ing the period — generally up to 18 — when their brains are growing. For those youth susceptible to manic depression or schizophrenia, pot use can aggravate their problems.

Joanne Naughton, a retired New York City police lieutenant and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, strongly backed the Krueger legis-

lation. Prohibition, she said, is “a failed policy.” At the same time, she reminded those attending the Baruch forum that police departments are quasi-military organizations in which policies are set at the top and carried out down a chain of command. The mayor and police commissioner are the ones responsible for the staggering rates of stop and frisk arrests for minor marijuana possession, not the officers on the streets.

A draft memorandum from Krueger noted that the NYPD made 50,300 marijuana-related arrests — which constituted 14 percent of all arrests that year.

Those arrested were almost all people of color who received a criminal record for a first-time non-violent crime. This policing cost the city $75 million. Colorado estimates it would earn up to $22 million in taxes from its new law, and New York has a population nearly four times its size.

Alfred Carrasquillo, a community organizer for drug reform, spent time in jail for marijuana possession and failing drug tests for weed. He told the Baruch audience about his life in the “system” from 14 to 18. He attributed his fate to one factor: “racism.”

The forum Krueger convened was cosponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblymen Richard Gottfried, Brian Kavanagh, Micah Kellner, and Dan Quart, and City Councilmembers Dan Garodnick and Jessica Lapin. Krueger was the only elected official who attended, and there is not yet a formal draft of her legislation.

com/63389575 — that PC thugs entitled “Collateral Murder.” If you’re bored enough to click on the link, you’ll see a US Apache attack helicopter in 2007, hovering over a public square in eastern Baghdad. Soldiers piloting the copter dryly — yet with a certain patriotic panache — target and shoot down two Reuters employees and about 12 Iraqi civilians. A minivan carrying several children then arrives, attempting to rescue the wounded, and is fired upon. All those on the ground, including the children, are killed. We hear a soldier say, “Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids to a battle.”

It’s known that Private Manning, as a gay man, faced abuse in the military.

In fact, homophobia has been advanced as a motive for his leaking information in the first place. But think, LGBT-town!

Those shooters had been instructed by enlightened US military personnel not to be homophobic. In fact, all during that helicopter massacre, you do not hear one anti-gay slur!

At his February court appearance, Private Manning explained he had wanted to “spark a debate” on US policies concerning Iraq and Afghanistan, saying, “The most alarming aspect of the video to me… was the seemingly delightful bloodlust of the aerial weapons team.

They dehumanized the individuals… by referring to them as ‘dead bastards,’ and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers.”

Is this the type of person we want as our grand marshal? I’m all for outing people, but classified data is just TMI. Yet Bradley Manning brutally ripped the door off the US Army’s closet, thus placing in harm’s way the troops who daily and heroically place innocent civilians in harm’s way. He has betrayed our deep psychological need not to know anything about what our government does in our name.

In June, Manning will begin his trial — much of which will be, thank God, secret — a trial that will revive the homophobic stereotype LGBT-town has worked for

years to erase: the commie fag. To counter that stereotype, it’s important for us to surround ourselves — as does SF Pride —–with peppy, stalwart capitalist sponsors like Verizon, AT&T, and Wells Fargo (the latter, a proud investor in the private prison industry; take that, commie fag).

In conclusion: DUH?! It is impossible for Bradley Manning to be the grand marshal of any Gay Pride event: He’s in prison, you idiots. He can’t really be there.

Furthermore the UN special rapporteur on torture alleges that Manning’s been subjected to “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” so he probably doesn’t feel a whole lot of “Pride” these days.

Let that be a lesson to every LGBT town queer who seeks acceptance in President Obama’s US of A. When it comes to government-sponsored mass killings and human rights abuses, maybe Don’t Ask Don’t Tell isn’t such a bad idea, after all.

NEW YORK STATE SENATE

BY NATHAN RILEY

State Senator Liz Krueger

31

| May 22, 2013

AIDS WALK YIELD $5.5 MILLION

MEET@WNYC & WQXR LGBT Networking Event Thursday, June 6 at 7 PM

DONNA ACCETO

Join WNYC’s Richard Hake and WQXR vice president Graham Parker for an LGBT Networking Event in the intimate setting of The Greene Space.

Mingle with other public radio listeners while enjoying snacks and drinks.

Alex Newell, of “Glee” fame, wows the crowd at the opening ceremony.

Richard Hake

Presented in partnership with Out Professionals and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

gaps” created by “deep cuts due to the federal sequester [that] threaten HIV/AIDS programs here in New York and across the country.”

Among notable participants at this year’s opening ceremony were Laura Benanti (“Go On”), Mondo Guerra (“Project Runway”), Megan Hilty (“Smash”), Jack Mackenroth (“Project Runway”), two-time Tony and two-time Emmy Award-winner Bebe Neuwirth, and Michael Urie (“Buyer & Cellar.”).

R&B singer Martha Wash closed the ceremony with a performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone."

— Paul Schindler

The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space 44 Charlton Street in SoHo

Tickets: $40 at www.wnyc.org/events (includes hors d’oeuvres and a free drink)

DONNA ACCETO

The 28th annual AIDS Walk New York, which raises funds for Gay Men’s Health Crisis and more than 40 other service organizations in the tri-state area, drew a crowd of more than 30,000 people to a very soggy Central Park for a 10-kilometer outing aimed at putting the HIV epidemic back in front of the public eye — even if just for one weekend in late spring.

According to figures released by GMHC, this year’s Walk raised about $5.5 million, down from last year’s total of roughly $6 million.

Dr. Marjorie Hill, GMHC’s CEO, emphasized that the agency “continues to work hard to fill those

Enjoy a special preview performance from the cast of the upcoming television series Jillian’s Peak, which focuses on the everyday issues many LGBT people face.

DONNA ACCETO

State Senator Brad Hoylman and his daughter Sylvia at the AIDS Walk opening ceremony.

Graham Parker

32

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

BASIL CHILDERS

instructor. Puerto Rican-born New Yorker Samantha Galarza presents “Awaken, Sleeping Dummies," an experimental spoken word piece positioned from the experiences of a young queer woman of color living in the New York area; Ricardo Gamboa, a New Yorker who hails from Mexico, performs “Memories Like Kool Aid", which reflects on his experiences growing up as a queer kid in the suburbs of Chicago; and Cinemarosa founder Hector Canonge presents “Besame Mucho,” in which he playfully connects with the audience as he says goodbye to New York for the summer. Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows Corona Park (# 7 train to Willets Point/ Citi Field; walk toward the Unisphere). May 26, 3 p.m. Suggested donation is $5.

Rioult NY Dance, June 4.

THU.MAY.23

PERFORMANCE Musical Theater Meets Opera

The Empire City Men’s Chorus, a classical ensemble composed of gay and gay-friendly men, concludes its 20th season with evening of opera and musical theater works. ECMC is joined by the Manhattan-based Quo: Queer Urban Orchestra. Church of the Holy Apostles, 296 Ninth Ave. at 28th St., Manhattan. May 23, 8 p.m. Tickets are $25; $15 for students & seniors at empirecitymenschorus.org or 212-545-4110; $30, $20 at the door. VIP seating tickets are $75: $100 for two.

THEATER A Funkalicious Haven

“Neon Baby” is a new musical about Puerto Rican B-Boy and Keith Haring muse Juanito Xtravaganza. Inspired by the life of Juan Rivera and Arnaldo Cruz-Malavé’s book Queer “Latino Testimonio, Keith Haring and Juanito Xtravaganza: Hard Tails,” “Neon Baby” is set in a mythical dance club where runaway gay youths of color find family and courage Pregones Theater, 575 Walton Ave., btwn. 149 & 150th Sts. (#2, 4, or 5 train to 149th & Grand Concourse), Bronx. 23-25, 30-31 & Jun. 1, 8 p.m.; May 12, 19, 26 & Jun. 2, 3 p.m. Tickets are $24; $15 for students & seniors at pregones.org or 718-585-1202; $40, $28 at the door.

FRI.MAY.24

NIGHTLIFE Hudson Valley Pride Kick-Off

BigGayHudsonValley.com hosts a kick-off to its Memorial Day Weekend Pride celebration with a party featuring entertainment from Superior Sounds and DJ “K” Kevin Silas and dancing from New York City’s Dan and Francisco.

Canvas Bar and Lounge, 305 Main St., btwn. Market & Academy Sts. May 24, 9p.m.-1a.m. Admission is $5 at the door. On May 25, 5:30 p.m.-8:30-10:30 p.m., Hudson River cruises — benefiting Hudson Valley Community Services, an HIV/AIDS program — sail from Waryas Park, N. Water St. at Main St., Poughkeepsie. Tickets at $25 for early cruise; $30 for the later one, available at biggayhudsonvalley.com, along with complete information on the Pride weekend.

TUE.MAY.28

FILM Laurie Anderson Recommends…

The Modern School of Film is a series where special guests present a favorite movie. Tonight, musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson shows Vittorio De Sica’s “Miracle In Milan,” a 1951 comic fable about the battle between the residents of a poor shantytown and an enterprising industrialist. IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at W. Third St. May 28, 8 p.m., Tickets are $17 per screening at ifccenter.com.

WED.MAY.29

THEATER Unbroken, But Breaking You Up

Set in 1970 Galveston, Texas, James Wesley’s “Unbroken Circle” tells the story of a family brought together for the first time in years on the day of its patriarch's funeral. As the day turns into night, the man's impact on his family unfolds in unexpected and surprising ways. At turns hilarious and disturbing, “Unbroken Circle” explores how abuse and family secrets affect every person in each generation differently. The play stars Stacey Bone-Gleason, Lori Hammel, Suzanna Hay, Anika Larsen, Eve Plumb, James Wesley, and Juli Wesley, and is directed by Jason St. Little. Seth Rudetsky, host of “Seth’s Big Fat Broadway” on Sirius/XM Radio, is among the show’s producers. St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St. Wed., 2:30 & 8 p.m., May 29-Jul. 31. Tickets are $36.50-$59.50 at telecharge.com.

FRI.MAY.31

PERFORMANCE Celebrating that Famous HOWL!

The tenth anniversary HOWL! Festival is the quintessential community event celebrating the history of the East Village and Lower East Side. The spirit of Allen Ginsberg comes alive as more than 350 artists, poets, and performers, including youthful new talent, light up the Main and Kids’ Stages and transform Tompkins Square Park, Ave. A at E. Seventh St., into a participatory artwork infused with creative energy, flamboyance, and panache. Highlights of the weekend include a group reading of Ginsberg’s “Howl,” which is orchestrated and led by Bob Holman and includes a Greek Chorus of voices reading from their own work as well. Tyler Burba opens the reading by singing Ginsberg songs. May 31, 4:30-7 p.m. A children’s carnival takes place on Jun. 1., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., while from 1-5 p.m., a stage show is presented and St. Mark’s Church-in the-Bowery Poetry Project’s Todd Colby hosts a marathon reading by several dozen writers. From 5:30-7 p.m., Riki Colon’s Men in Skirts presents “And Still I Rise,” a vogueing and house ball performance starring Freddie De Jesus and Cesar Valentino which harkens all the way back to the famed black and tan clubs of the Harlem Renaissance. The stage show and carnival continue on Jun.2, with the festival climaxing from 5:30-7 p.m. with “Bowery Bombshells: Great Ladies of the Lower East Side” — a tribute to everyone from radical Emma Goldman and Mae West to La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart and poet and singer Patti Smith. Complete details at howlfestival.com.

SUN.MAY.26

FILM Nine Years of Queer Latin Cinema

Cinemarosa, a monthly film series that focuses on queer Latino/a work, celebrates its ninth anniversary with a program that includes Argentine director Marco Bergo’s “Ausente” (“Absent”), which explores a mysterious web of lust, guilt, repression, and voyeuristic taboo in the story of a young man, Martin, who finds a whole series of excuses to subtly invade the privacy of his swimming

MUSIC LuPone in Jersey

SAT.JUN.1

Two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone headlines the season finale of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s pops season. LuPone performs songs from her latest CD, “Far Away Places,” as well as signature pieces from her

storied career. Rob Risher conducts. New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St. at Park Pl., Newark. Jun.1, 8 p.m. and State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., btwn. George & New Sts., New Brunswick. Jun. 2, 3 p.m.

Tickets are $20-88 at njsymphony.org.

MON.JUN.3

BOOKS Lambda Literary Celebrates Achievement

The Lambda Literary Foundation hosts its annual Lammy Awards to honor excellence in LGBT literature. The evening will be hosted by comedian Kate Clinton, a past Lambda Pioneer honoree, and will pay tribute to three writers of note: Augusten Burroughs, the author of three memoirs, including “Dry” and “Running With Scissors,” as well as three collections of essays; National Book Award winner John Irving, author of “The World According to Garp,” “The Cider House Rules, and most recently “In One Person,” among many novels; and Cherríe Moraga, co-editor of “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color,” whose most recent collection of writings is “A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness: Writings 2000 – 2010.” Awardees also include winners in several dozen literary categories. Among the award presenters are cabaret singer Justin Vivian Bond, the New York Times’ Frank Bruni, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, novelist and critic Stacey D'Erasmo, journalist and documentary filmmaker David France, lesbian activist historian Karla Jay, Randy Jones of Village People fame, actor and filmmaker James Lecesne, celebrity photographer Mike Ruiz, AIDS activist Peter Staley, novelist and memoirist Edmund White, and transgender activist Riki Anne Wilchins. Janis Ian will perform. The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. Seventh St. at Third Ave. Jun. 3, cocktails at 5:30 p.m., reception at 7. An afterparty follows at the Sky Room of the New Museum, 235 Bowery, btwn. Stanton & Rivington Sts., 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $125; $200 including the afterparty, at lambdaliterary.org/awards.

ADVOCACY Fighting for Gender Equality

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund holds its 2013 benefit reception marking eight years of advocacy for the gender nonconforming community. Lance Bass and the family of Coy Mathis, a six-year-old Coloradan at the center of a battle with a public school over the issue of recognizing her gender identity, are special guests. The evening honors Dr. Marci Bowers, a transgender woman who is a leader in the field of gender reassignment surgery, and longtime activist David Mixner. Reality TV star Laverne Cox hosts the evening. Art Directors Club Gallery, 106 W. 29th St. Jun. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Tickets are $175; $88 for those 30 and under at tldef.org.

TUE.JUN.4

DANCE A Pascal Rioult Premiere

Rioult Dance NY presents an eight-performance season, featuring artistic director Pascal Rioult's newest work, “”Iphigenia,” a dance drama inspired by the Greek heroine of the same name from Euripides' "Iphigenia in Aulis."

Composer Michael Torke’s score will be performed by the Camerata New York Orchestra. The performances also include “On Distant Shores” (2011), “Prelude to Night” (2002), and one of the company's signature works, “Bolero” (2002). Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St. Jun. 4 & 9, 7:30 p.m.; Jun. 5, 7 p.m.; Jun. 6-8, 8 p.m.; Jun. 8 & 9, 2 p.m. Tickets are $10-$49 at joyce.org or 212-242-0800.

For information about the company’s gala dinner at the Altman Building, 135 W. 18th St., following the Jun. 5 performance, contact gala@rioult.org.

THU.JUN.6

BENEFIT Playing It Safe All the Time

AIDS Services Center, NYC, or ASCNYC, a non-profit community based organization that helps New Yorkers living with AIDS and other chronic illnesses get a second chance to take charge of their health and reclaim their lives, holds its annual June fundraiser, “HEAT — Reignite the Fight Against AIDS.” In an evening celebration coinciding with National HIV Testing Day, “Heat” sends a message about playing safe in the age of AIDS. The event playfully spotlights the importance of HIV testing, knowing your status, and protecting yourself and your loved ones. XL Nightclub, 512 W. 42nd St. Jun. 6, 6:30-10 p.m. Tickets are $50 at heatnyc.org; $75 at the door. VIP tickets are $150.

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34 c

WHAT’s NEXT?, from p.6

“I’m lucky to be alive,” he said. “I’m going to go out with friends more than I did before.”

For 15 years, Kallio was a member of the auxiliary police force where “I could be out there on my own behalf.”

He urged others to follow suit.

Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), said “all options are on the table,” but hastened to rule out a return to the West Street Gang, immortalized by the late gay Doric Wilson in a 1977 play of that name about the true story of gay men who organized to bash gay-bashers in order to get them to stop.

“Look at how strong we are,” Stapel said. “We will not tolerate this kind of violence. You are saying you won’t take it either.”

This kind of rhetoric of community empowerment dominated the rally.

Practical solutions were less in evidence.

AVP has scheduled Friday Community Safety Nights Out starting May 24 and running through LGBT Pride Month, when anti-gay violence often spikes.

A release from Speaker Christine Quinn’s office said, “AVP will conduct outreach in the affected neighborhoods to raise awareness and provide people with information and safety tips.”

The NYPD has committed to an increased police presence in the areas of the seven recent Manhattan attacks, including “setting up temporary headquarter command vehicles,” the speaker’s release said.

Quinn also announced a hate crimes public awareness campaign and a “Speak Out Against Hate Interfaith Weekend” at 50 houses of wor ship to take place in the near future.

Some religious leaders spoke at the rally, though none were of the stripe who claim to condemn anti-gay vio-

c

MIDNIGHT, from p.16

wife Celine (Julie Delpy) and their two twin daughters, who are all spending the summer in Greece at a writers’ retreat. Driving through the hillsides of Messinia, the couple talk. She hopes for a new job as an environmentalist but seems slightly ambivalent about its challenges, while he wishes he could see his son more often. Over dinner at the house of a British author, Patrick (Walter Lassally), Jesse charms the guests while Celine seems slightly prickly. Their friends have given the couple a gift of a night at an expensive hotel while they baby-sit the twins.

“Before Midnight” uses several extremely long takes. While I wasn’t staring at my watch, the lengthiest

May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com lence even as they teach that homosexual activity is evil.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, called out by some in the crowd at the Monday rally for not being there, said the following day, “The NYPD, however, can only do a certain amount to protect New Yorkers from violence. We’ll do everything that we can and we’ll prosecute, to the fullest extent of the law, anyone who commits hate crimes.

But all of us can do our part as well to end hate crimes and spread tolerance — as parents, as teachers, as friends, and as members of the community.”

Comptroller John Liu issued a statement that read, “The recent spate of anti-gay crimes tarnishes our city's reputation as a beacon of diversity and tolerance — and we must fight back by working even harder to achieve equal rights and treatment for all.”

B ut New Yor k Ci ty has p assed essentially all the sexual orientation and gender identity protections possible under municipal law. The key issue is implementation and on that score, the city is often found wanting.

At a press conference on May 20, hours before the West Village march, Quinn stood with Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to announce an emergency “anti-hate crime initiative.”

According to Quinn, every school is mandated to “take time out of their day and organize an event” before the end of the school year that teaches that “hate violence is unacceptable.”

“We are committed to doing what we can beyond Respect for All,” the current anti-bullying program in the schools, Walcott said. “We need to take it to the next level.”

However, details of that new program promised by the Department of Education in response to a follow-up question from Gay City News had not delivered as of press time the following evening.

Others spoke to the problems that continue on the ground in the schools.

City Councilman Daniel Dromm of Queens, an out gay former teacher, said, “I’m glad the Department of Education is doing this, but unless they tell everyone to use the words lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, the message is not clear to the students that homophobic remarks are wrong.”

Dromm also said that even today only a “handful” of LGBT teachers in the system are out to their students — a characterization Walcott disputed, noting that teachers are protected under the law no matter what their “sexual persuasion.” But teachers often shy away from being honest about their lives in ways that heterosexual teachers take for granted for fear of losing control of their classrooms and not being backed up by administrators.

Frank Jump, who teaches at PS 119, an elementary school in Brooklyn, said that while “it rarely comes up,” he will be out when a student presses him.

Teaching since 1990, he was pictured on the front page of the New York Post after marrying his husband, Vincenzo Aiso, in 2004. “They wanted to fire me at my old job,” he said. “The principal called the district office and said, ‘One of my teachers went to Canada to get married. What should I do?’ The district rep said, ‘You should congratulate him.’”

In his current job, Jump feels supported by his principal. “But I live in a bubble,” he said. “We have a great school. I imagine it is very hard to come out for most teachers.”

And, he explained, “I don’t have time to become a full-time gay teacher. I teach by example. If the Board of Ed wants to hire me to be a spokesperson for gay teachers, fine.”

Homophobia, Jump said, “has to be targeted from Day One in schools — spoken about very publicly, as embracing us the way President Obama does.

We are part of the fabric of the community and not just any thread. We hold

the community together.”

Marie Baker of the Lesbian and Gay Teachers Association is a librarian at Bronx In-Tech Academy and said that in 1991, when she started in the schools, telling a colleague she was a lesbian was unthinkable. She now feels “the atmosphere is better,” at least in her school, and that increasing numbers of students are also out.

Randi Weingarten, the out lesbian former head of the United Federation of Teachers, issued a directive that gay and lesbian teachers would be supported by the union, and Baker said “a statement from the chancellor would be useful — to help students and teachers come out safely.”

She complained that in the school system’s anti-cyberbullying program, “there wasn’t a specific reference to gay kids in it.” Similarly, Jump said, the mandatory AIDS curricula is woefully lacking in gay content, despite the fact that isolated LGBT youth are at highest risk for HIV. Thomas Krever, executive director at the Hetrick-Martin Institute for LGBT youth, told me at the rally that in the schools, “I tend to think there is more of a climate to broach the subject. Now the challenge for us as adults and young people is to come out” to make it safer.

The other challenge, of course, is following through on the expectations that marches and rallies like May 20’s create. Nick Porto, who survived a May 5 attack by Knick fans outside of Madison Square Garden, worries that the sense of urgency around his case is already fading. “We don’t know what’s going on,” he said, though AVP’s Stapel, standing nearby, chimed in, “We’re going to do everything we can to follow up.”

Two years ago, at the LGBT Pride March in June, the community exploded in joy at the passage of marriage equality. When Porto had the mike at the rally, he said, “Gay rights is a lot more than just marriage.”

seems to be a scene where Jesse, Celine, and their daughters drive from the airport. On the surface, this is one of the film’s lighter moments, but it brings up some of the pressures building up in Jesse and Celine’s relationship.

Perhaps because of their daughters’ presence, they don’t fight, but the couple are clearly drifting apart — her toward remaining in Paris, him toward returning to the US and re-connecting with his son. Neither partner seems wrong, but her willingness to stay in Paris and work for someone she dislikes is something we hadn’t seen in previous incarnations of the character in the earlier films.

Like some of Éric Rohmer’s films (especially when seen on home video), “Before Midnight” can seem like a

delivery system for per for mances and words, but Christos Voudouris’ cinematography is lovely, capturing a sunny holiday feel. It has a well thoughtout visual style. The camera operator tirelessly keeps up with the action in long takes as Celine and Jesse walk and talk. If one has seen Linklater’s two preceding films about this couple, the concept of the long take has a special significance. Via these films, made eight or nine years apart, we’ve seen Hawke and Delpy age. Their characters’ chemistry is quite believable, in large part due to smart dialogue, written by Linklater and the two actors. The fact that they’ve made three films together has established a bond of intimacy that seems genuine, even if Hawke and Delpy aren’t romantic partners in real life.

“Before Midnight” is a truly adult film — and not in the sense of being particularly sexually explicit, though it’s not prudish. Celine and Jesse’s conflicts will seem familiar to almost anyone over 35. One doesn’t have to be a father to share his horror that life may be passing too quickly to spend with the people he loves. And while some of their struggles stem from contemporary gender roles, one doesn’t have to be heterosexual for them to ring true. The film only slips once, in the dinner scene at Patrick’s house, where the characters’ thoughts on gender, sex, and technology sound like they came from the opening paragraphs of lifestyle articles from newspapers. The rest of the time, you’re unlikely to see a more riveting new film this year.

| May 22, 2013

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May 22, 2013 | www.gaycitynews.com

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