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Volume 25, Issue 630 • July 18-31, 2019

Amy Ruzick RE/MAX Results 651-492-1044 Kay T. Johnson, RSS 612-802-8261 Chris Goble, RSS 612-396-8708 “Working hard for our clients while serving the community” Each Office Independently Owned & Operated

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Administration Publisher Lavender Media, Inc. President & CEO Stephen Rocheford 612-436-4665 Chief Financial Officer Mary Lauer 612-436-4664 Distribution Manager/Administrative Assistant Matt Terry 612-436-4660 Founders George Holdgrafer, Stephen Rocheford Inspiration Steven W. Anderson (1954-1994), Timothy J. Lee (1968-2002), Russell Berg (1957-2005), Kathryn Rocheford (1914-2006), Jonathan Halverson (1974-2010), Adam Houghtaling (1984-2012), Walker Pearce (19462013), Tim Campbell (1939-2015) Letters are subject to editing for grammar, punctuation, space, and libel. They should be no more than 300 words. Letters must include name, address, and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Priority will be given to letters that refer to material previously published in Lavender Magazine. Submit letters to Lavender Magazine, Letters to the Editor, 7701 York Ave S, Suite 225, Edina, MN 55435; or e-mail <editor@lavendermagazine.com>.

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FROM THE EDITOR | BY CHRIS TARBOX

Of Pride And Cheesesteaks

Seeing how jam-packed with gay frivolities our Pride season was this year, it made sense to split our usual Pride in Pictures issue into TWO colorful time capsules of Pride parties past, and with Part 1 in the rearview mirror, it’s time for Part 2! Relive more wondrous moments of Twin Cities Pride Season, including the festival in Loring Park, the Ashley Rukes Pride Parade, Pride Weekend at the various GLBT bars in the Twin Cities, Leather Pride, an utterly fantastic Lady Gaga/Madonna drag brunch, and much more! On top of that, we even have amazing shots taken during the NYC World Pride celebrations in New York City for the 50th anniversary of Stonewall! As for those who read my column in the previous issue, yes, Philadelphia was absolutely awesome. Really, really hot and humid, but awesome. It felt quite apropos to celebrate Fourth of July weekend in our nation’s

birthplace, and even though I was sweating like a maniac, I managed to enjoy a lot of Philly’s historical pleasures, such as Independence Hall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Betsy Ross House, and my personal favorite, the National Constitution Center. Also, most importantly, my friend and I finally settled the debate that has haunted Philadelphia for ages: who has the better Philly cheesesteak—Pat’s or Geno’s? Obviously, we were tourists and opinions may vary, but for us, an exhaustive and very scientific exploration brought us to the shared conclusion that based on overall presentation, flavor, use of cheese, bread, and meat proportions, the undisputed cheesesteak champ of South Philly is Pat’s, King of Steaks. Fight me. In any event, I hope you all had a fantastic Independence Day weekend, and enjoy this final batch of Pride photos! Next year’s Pride celebrations can’t come soon enough! 

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A WORD IN EDGEWISE | BY E.B. BOATNER

What’re the Odds?

Damon Runyon (1880-1946) wrote eighty short stories, of which twenty, including Little Miss Marker (Shirley Temple), Lady for a Day (story “Madame La Gimp”), Pocket Full of Miracles, 40 Pounds of Trouble, and, of course, Guys and Dolls, were made into movies, the latter now live at the Guthrie. None of Runyon’s stories was titled “Guys and Dolls”—his definition of men and women of the Broadway type; the 1950 musical and 1955 film were mainly drawn and constructed from stories “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown,” “Blood Pressure,” and “Pick the Winner.” Runyon’s domain, tracked through time on a GPS, would travel to New York, down Manhattan, onto Broadway to Mindy’s delicatessen. There, Guys gathered, gossiped, gambled—on anything—used monickers; Nathan Detroit, Harry the Horse, Nicely-Nicely, while the Dolls were usually referenced to one of the guys—“ever-loving fiancée,” “ever-loving wife.” Certain Dolls yearned for “little white houses with green shutters and yards and vines all around and about,” yet other, beadier-eyed Dolls ran nightclubs, chorus danced, or deployed other skills. Some of Runyon’s lady descriptors wouldn’t fly today, but on the whole, although Dolls (along with most everything/everyone else) played second fiddles to the Guys’ ponies, dice, and propositions, plenty of Runyon’s Dolls showed grit, spark, and cunning, keeping their keen eyes on the main chance. Manicurist Cutie Singleton, (prototype of G&D’s Miss Adelaide) in “Pick the Winner,” ditches Hot Horse Herbie, her fiancé of “going on ten years,” to marry a Princeton professor. How to best prepare a more representative picture of Runyon’s Broadway, the country and its citizens? The 1950 musical and 1955 film were overridingly white, with a bland (though very athletic) collection of Broadway denizens; nor was the 1976 all-black version Broadway-representative. Mau-

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rice Hines, actor, director, singer, who played Nathan Detroit in the 1976 production and was about to reprise the role in 2002, was interviewed in the Los Angeles Times. He described being raised in Harlem, and two of his beloved uncles: “My uncles had friends who were white, Asian, black, Hispanic. They all had one thing in common: they were gamblers. All-white company of Guys and Dolls in 1950? Wrong! All-black company in the 1970s? Wrong! If you celebrate New York, you celebrate all cultures.” Echoing Hines’s sentiments, Guthrie’s Guys and Dolls Director Kent Gash has added further diversity: “If you look at who’s been cast, it looks like the whole world. That’s important. That has not always been the case in the telling of Guys and Dolls. But Guys and Dolls is as much about the idea of what it is to be American, to show up in New York and to aspire. To be your best authentic self. And that’s something that belongs to everybody and everybody is welcome in that.” “Everybody” includes gender; Karen Wiese-Thompson is playing the role of (male) gangster Big Jule, while Mark Andrew Garner, member of the Ensemble/As Cast, will play both a Guy and a Doll. Runyon’s purlieus were not limited. Monickers Spanish John, Hymie Banjo Eyes, Big Nig, Little Yid, Wop Joey, Guinea Mike, and Little Manuel make numerous appearances and show more accurately the teeming mixtures of ‘20s-‘30s Broadway life. The center holds, Runyon’s stories grip. After… well, go figure: Cutie met Hot horse Harry in 1923 in Hot Springs, became engaged in 1928. So, going on a century, while Broadway’s 1950 Guys and Dolls hurtles down the backstretch towards seventy, and they will continue on. Runyon died in 1946, too soon, at 66. Cremated, his ashes, carried aloft in a DC3 piloted by Jimmy Doolittle, were scattered illegally over Broadway. 

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ARTS & CULTURE | SPOTLIGHT | BY JOHN TOWNSEND

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

July 30-Aug. 4 Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis 800-982-2787 www.HennepinTheatreTrust.org Former Guthrie Theater company director and Tony-winner Bartlett Sher directed the 2015-16 Best Revival Tony-nominee of that cultural phenomenon by Harnick, Stein & Bock. Fiddler on the Roof is set in what was known as the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia, where the Jewish population that wanted residency was relegated. Although in certain parts of that western region, Jewish residency was still not permitted. And beyond that, the Russian nation had even fewer allowances for Jews. The village, also called a ‘shtetl’, in Fiddler on the Roof is named Anatevka and is located in the Pale Settlement. Israeli actor Yehezkel Lazarov portrays Tevye, a dairyman with three headstrong daughters who chafe against the marriage norms tradition demands. Motherwife Golda and the local matchmaker are actually less flexible than Tevye when it comes to tradition. The musical contains sumptuous classic tunes such as If I Were a Rich Man, Do You Love Me?, and Sunrise, Sunset. Sher notes out how close knit the Anatevkans are and that their devotion to God compels them to respect tradition. Sher states, “Our concentration is evoking the the spirit of two things: One, of the pogroms and the intense world where (the characters) grew up and at the same time, the color and light and beauty and humor that’s in the actual spirit of the telling.” He points out, “I do a lot of research when I prepare for a show. I’ve read the Sholem Aleichem stories. I’m very familiar with the history that surrounds the Jewish diaspora throughout the twentieth century. I look at contemporary politics and ideas and the experience of the Jewish community in the United States and around the world at this time. I look at the many ways Fiddler has been performed before and how other people have approached it. I think there are a lot of interesting things—the system of matchmaking and how it sets up the plot, and that wards against the ideas of love. I explore all of these elements that are part of building blocks of Fiddler, and the build my own block up from that.” The director adds, “The more specific this production gets to the Jewish community, the more I hope that people see it as a universal

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story. My father was born in a shtetl in Lithuania, and when he was three years old, my grandmother put him on a train and came up through Canada all the way across to Southern California. My grandfather came through Ellis Island. So, I’ve always had a sort of connection to the tale, but it’s only an imaginary one. I don’t actually know what that was like. My grandparents spoke Yiddish, but I don’t have much of a memory of what that meant to me. In a way, I think that’s similar to a lot of people who read these tales. They think they should understand them better than they sometimes do. These stories are very powerful, but you can ‘t really explain why. It’s more in the spirit of them: the spirit in going forward, the spirit of enduring, the spirit of holding on, the spirit of living by your faith, the spirit of living by your family.”

42ND STREET

July 23-Aug. 11 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., St. Paul 651-224-4222 www.ordway.org Tap dancers, dreams of stardom, and authoritarian directors. Oh, the ups and downs of showbiz on the Great White Way! The Ordway has created a re-imagined original inhouse production of 42nd Street with nostalgic favorites like We’re in the Money and Lullaby of Broadway. Producing Artistic Director Rod Kaats says it “celebrates what audiences love about the show, but the Ordway’s version includes some revisions, updates, and some new twists that are totally unique to our production.” Featuring Jamecia Bennett, T. Mychael Rambo, and Tyler Michaels King.

RUTHLESS!

Through July 21 Elision Playhouse, 6105 42nd Ave., N., Crystal www.elisionplayhouse.com Theatre Elision goes full madcap in their production of Paley and Laird’s Ruthless!, featuring one of Minnesota’s great Funny Ladies, Greta Gosch, at their new digs in Crystal. It’s quite a contrast from Elision’s previous production of Sea Cabinet, a dreamy musical meditation on grief at seaside presented at the Southern. Director Lindsay Fitzgerald shares, “This all-female production of Ruthless! spoofs Broadway musicals like Gypsy and Mame, and movies such as The Bad Seed and All About Eve. When combined with some major show stoppers, it creates a

Stinkers. Photo by Jess Ekstrand

delightfully twisted dark comedy. It is the story of Tina, a precocious eight-year-old who knows she was born to play Pippi Longstocking in her school play, and will do anything to get the part, including murdering the leading lady! The narrator begins the show with a question: Where does talent come from? Is it a product of your environment? Or is it something… in the blood? This musical is absurdly dramatic and really, really funny. And on top of that, we have a killer cast of powerhouse women who do comedy so well! You do not want to miss this.”

STINKERS

Through Aug. 18 Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave., Minneapolis 612-822-7063 www.jungletheater.org John Catron plays a stay-at-home dad whose ex-con mother, played by Sally Wingert, has just been released from prison to visit him and his two toddlers while his wife is on a business trip. The children are played by puppets operated by Megan Burns and Reed Sigmund. Playwright Joshua Tobiessen says, “I didn’t want to see grown-up characters talking and complaining about or adoring their off-stage children; I wanted to see that relationship play out onstage. I wanted to write a comedy about parenting where no one talks about being a parent.” Tobiessen’s wife, Sarah Rasmussen, directs. The production is getting a lot of buzz because it’s Guthrie legend Wingert’s first Jungle show in almost 15 years, as well as Children’s Theatre legend Sigmund’s Jungle debut. The talented George Keller is also in the cast. If ever there were a sure bet, it’s Stinkers. 

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TRAVEL | BY CARLA WALDEMAR | PHOTOS BY CARLA WALDEMAR

Ireland’s Ancient East

Ireland, and no Guinness mugs, no clover t-shirts? Good on ye, as they say around here. We’re traveling throughout the island’s Ancient East, a landscape punctuated by massive medieval castles (in which we bed and dine) and gracious formal gardens to meander, all with nary a tour bus in sight. It’s the real deal, and so are the genial hosts of these family-owned properties, open to the public to help sustain them from ruin and keep the historic legacy alive. We set forth in County Wicklow, “the garden of Ireland,” eager to inspect Powerscourt Gardens, where twinkle-eyed, red-bearded Alex Slazinger leads us through the property owned by the Wingfield family before him from 1691 to 1961. A graceful, Palladian-style manor house overlooks an Italian garden framing iconic Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance. Its terraces were dug during the potato famine, giving employment to one hundred men as they defined the kitchen gardens, the rhododendron walk, a pond and more. With 47 acres featuring plants from all over the world, it’s been voted “third best garden in the entire world” by National Geographic. Young Alex is not only lord of the manor, he’s its head gardener, toiling from dawn to dusk. Then it’s on to the Norman-built Kilkea Castle of 1180—the oldest castle in continuous use— to spend the night. Recently purchased by an American couple dedicated to sustaining it, its muscular stone exterior, slit with narrow Gothic windows and crowned by crenellated turrets, hosts a genteel dining room where we feasted on crispy oysters, local crab and beef and Baileys caramel ice cream. After a hearty Irish breakfast, we set off for Huntington Castle of 1165 in Clonegal, erected as a soldiers’ garrison to control trade “back in the day before much law and order,” says present owner Alexander Durdin Robertson. Today, sheep graze peacefully aside the squat gray structure where, indoors, hunting trophies and clunky suits of armor greet us as we tour the dining room, fashioned like a Bedouin tent, hung with somber family portraits, including granddaughter of legendary pirate Grace O’Malley. The castle was the first to employ electricity in the 1880s; peasants traveled from near and far to watch the lights go on at dusk. Its drawing room hosts a trapdoor to a secret, hide-from-marauders chamber. The heirs of the original family live here today amid its ornate original furnishings. However, in the 1970s, a couple of hippies in the clan fashioned an Egyptian-style temple in the basement to honor female divinities. The surrounding gardens, planted in 1680, boast a majestic, 500-year-old Yew Walk. Next, it’s off to Lismore Castle and Gardens for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s performance of Donizetti’s hilarious “Don Pasquale,” punctuated at intermission by dinner of asparagus salad and guinea fowl amid the festive locals. Lismore’s upper garden of 1620—the longestcultivated in Ireland—is arranged formally, while its lower gardens, of the 1850s, have adopted the

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St. Stephen's Green is colloquially known as "Dublin's Living Room."

The ancient Kilkea Castle now operates as a hotel.

A demonstration of a trained owl at Castle Martyr.

“modern,” free-flowing, natural style of design. After bedding at Castlemartyr Resort—anchoring a site first occupied by the Knights Templar of 1210, and where Norman leader Strongbow and later Sir Walter Raleigh held sway—we’re treated to an demonstration by its trained owls and falcons, who soar and hunt on its grounds. In turn, each perches on my gloved arm and stares me in the eye. Then off to lunch at Dromana House and a tour of the 13th-century medieval manor and gardens, perched high above the Blackwater River. We’re greeted by Nicholas, whose family harks back to 1680 here, and his wife, Barbara, whose roots run even deeper—back to 1215. Twenty years ago, the gardens had deteriorated into jungles, he says. Today they’ve been meticulously restored. Indoors, Barbara points out a portrait of her great-grandfather, who fought for emancipation, and beyond, voila!—a telephone room, designated to house this revolutionary new form of communication. “And here,” instructs Barbara, “is where Lord X”—a relative, of course—“killed himself” (yes, there’s a ghost)—just one among the spicy stories of love and politics from her family’s trove. Dunbrody Country House, our home for the next night, is set on 300 acres of parkland and home to Dunbrody Cookery School (classes for one, two and five days) by owner/TV celebrity chef Kevin Dundon. Kevin treats us to exquisite canapés and cocktails of local gin in the mansion’s sunken garden before we head to Loftus Hall—a moody site since the 1700s on the isolated Hook Peninsula—considered one of Ireland’s most haunted mansions. Here, Lorainne O’Dwyer, who

introduces herself as a witch, guides through the ill-fated, decaying mansion, where more than a few necks were broken by tumbling down the staircase. Woodstock Garden, in County Kilkenny, is our final garden tour. Head gardener John Delaney meets us for tea and scones before guiding us through the gardens he’s diligently restoring to their Victorian heyday. The mansion war burned in the 1922 struggle against British landowners. Today the grounds still boast one of the premier collections of conifers in Ireland amid miles of footpaths (with the wider ones made to accommodate ladies’ giant hoop skirts). We tour the garden—walled, says John, “to keep the pheasants in and peasants out.” High time for a wee dram, and Ballykeefe Distillery is calling. It was launched on his family’s cattle farm in 2017 by Morgan Ging, where he’s producing gin, vodka and that once-illicit liquor, potsheen, and offering tastings in the former stable. The spirits gird us for an afternoon’s stroll through the medieval streets of Kilkenny before we we reach our final garden at Burtown House & Garden, complete with Green Barn gift shop and destination restaurant for Dubliners, 50 miles away. Here James Fennel, a noted photographer and designer, is carrying on the legacy of his grandmother, herself a botanical painter, whose passion was returning the overgrown wilds to cozy, informal gardens. James has added a sculpture walk to the landscape here in the Ancient East. It’s calling your name, too. To plan your visit, contact www.ireland.com. 

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The place to be in Minneapolis for live music and entertainment, for EVERYONE. 2916 Lyndale Ave. S. | Minneapolis, MN 55408

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Check calendar online for more upcoming shows and events!

Happy Hour 11-2 and 4-7 Daily Karaoke Nightly at 9pm

Tuesdays 6:30pm

Bingo

Wednesdays

10pm

Thursdays 6:30pm

Sat at 1pm and Mon at 6pm

Friday July 19

Saturday July 20

Thursday July 25

Saturday July 27

ZUMBA Class 7PM $15

Wyd? Dance Party 10PM $5

LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS 8PM $16

BALLENTINE'S BURLESQUE 9PM Free to get in

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Photos by Chris Tarbox PRIDE WEEKEND AT THE 19 BAR June 21-23, 2019

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Photos by Barry Leavitt PRIDE WEEKEND AT EAGLEBOLTBAR June 21-23, 2019

Photo bySophia Hantzes

Photos by Sophia Hantzes

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THE SALOON PRIDE WEEKEND BLOCK PARTY Photo bySophia Hantzes

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June 21-23, 2019

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Photos by Chris Tarbox MIX TOTALLY 80'S PRIDE June 22-23, 2019

Photos by Mike Hnida PRIDE WEEKEND AT THE BLACK HART June 21, 2019

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COMMUNITY CONNECTION

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OUR HOMES

OUR RIDES | BY RANDY STERN | PHOTO BY RANDY STERN

Mercedes-Benz... at The Mall of America? Sometimes, automotive consumers really want a space to look and, possibly, shop for their next vehicle. While most dealerships offer a hassle-free, no-pressure environment, some customers hate the process of car shopping altogether. They are looking for alternatives to the process. They want a relaxed area to sit in a new vehicle and ask questions without having to give any information. That is why temporary spaces were created out of available retail space at any given shopping center— otherwise known as a pop-up store. The pop-up retail store is not a new phenomenon. We have had quite a few in the Twin Cities over the past couple of decades. For example, Chrysler has a storefront on the first floor of the Mall of America in the late 1990s. The store featured the hottest and latest models across a few brands: Dodge pickups, Jeeps, and a Chrysler to name a few. It is probably not the first such storefront to be established away from the brick-and-mortar dealership network. In recent years, White Bear Mitsubishi established one over the holiday season inside the old Borders bookstore at Rosedale Center. Around the same time, Carousel’s two Porsche stores combined for a boutique pop-up store at The Galleria of Edina. It is not just the automotive retail business that have created a temporary space to engage with potential customers and curious holiday shoppers. The new AutoMotorPlex garage condo complex in Medina took over a retail space

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next to Nordstrom’s at Ridgedale Center for an “experience center” to promote the next phases of construction at their Far West Metro location. The space also included other vehicles, such as the Polaris Slingshot and a couple of Indian motorcycles, alongside a trio of luxury automobiles from local dealerships. These were just to set the atmosphere of what you would find inside the garage condo complex. Which brings us to the latest pop-up retail location at the Mall of America. Mercedes-Benz opened up their own display and pop-up store on the first floor in the north wing of the mall on May 9. The space includes a set of Mercedes-Benz models available for closer examination. You might even get inside to see what they feel like—or, rather, fit. In addition, you can actually create your dream Mercedes-Benz inside their Design Immersion Studio. There are also multiple displays from the Mercedes-Benz Collection available for purchase on site. If you need assistance, a staff of product knowledge people can answer your questions about Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The pop-up store is something shoppers can’t miss when they arrive through the new North entrance underneath the JW Marriott hotel. It is just to the left (or, the right coming from the mall itself) with a big three-pointed star greeting you. A new A-Class sedan awaits your arrival, as well. The newest small Mercedes-Benz is joined by a 2020 GLE SUV, a new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door coupe, and an AMG SUV. As for the Mercedes Collection

merchandise, there is an array of apparel, personal accessories, and a few toy cars. Once you walk past the A-Class sedan, there is a red AMG SUV right for very young drivers. In fact, the performance sub-brand features quite prominently in parts of the store. On the luxury side of threepointed star, there is a small display of merchandise representing the Mercedes-Maybach subbrand. It comes as no surprise that they would be the most expensive goods inside the store. Stepping inside Design Immersion Studio, you are greeted with two walls of paint samples and some leather swaths to let you feel what is possible for your next Mercedes. The left side represents the design line, a custom trim available on select MercedesBenz models. Standard colors dominate the right wall, which you can dream of that perfect color. You can also see how good a performance driver you are by trying one of two AMG driving

simulators. They are designed to show you what AMG performance is all about. A computer is available for you to build your own Mercedes-Benz. Following the Build Your Own tool on the Mercedes-Benz USA website, you can select colors, interior packages, and other options. We admit in going a bit crazy at this station, with a deep blue Mercedes-Maybach S 650 sedan that eventually came to a final cost of over $220,000. That, by the way, is currently the most expensive Mercedes sold by the company. Mall of America also mentioned that a couple more Mercedes-Benz models can be found display around the mall itself. The Mercedes-Benz pop-up store is only open through August 18. If you are considering a Mercedes-Benz, check them out at the Mall of America for a short time. Then, head to your local dealer to pick one up for yourself. 

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