A M E R I C A’ S L A R G E S T C I R C U L AT I O N G AY A N D L E S B I A N N E W S P A P E R !
Gay City
S E R V I N G G A Y, L E S B I A N , B I A N D T R A N S G E N D E R E D N E W Y O R K • W W W . G A Y C I T Y N E W S . C O M
■ POLITICS
Hundreds March
for Jack Price
BY ANDY HUMM
T
he Queens LGBT community was
joined by activists from across
the city, allies from the political
world, and neighborhood residents for
a march through quiet College Point on
Saturday afternoon, October 17, to show
solidarity with Jack Price, a 49-year old
gay man savagely beaten October 9 to
within an inch of his life.
Two young men from his neighbor-
hood are charged in the assault, cap-
tured on a surveillance video.
The alleged assailants are in custody,
and the victim has come out of a med-
ically-induced coma and spoken about
the assault. And while a few in the neigh-
borhood are protesting the designation
of the attack as a hate crime, others are
saying that the defense being mounted
by friends of the alleged perpetrators is a
fabrication.
“Justice for Jack Price!,” shouted
longtime Queens gay activist Daniel
Dromm through a megaphone as he led
yet another march against an alleged
hate crime — in 1990, in a galvanizing
moment for the borough’s LGBT move-
ment, community members marched
to protest the murder of Julio Rivera in
an anti-gay attack in Jackson Heights.
MARCH P. 16
WHAT’S WITH THE POST?
11
SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND AT THE LGBT CENTER EMPHASIZING HER ENGAGEMENT
A New Advocate
Emerges
EXCLUSIVE
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
“F
or himself, I think, he’s going
to take all the time he believes
he needs in order to be suc-
cessful, because it’s all about being suc-
cessful.”
Those words were part of New York
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s answer
to a question about the frustration
some LGBT activists and leaders have
expressed about the pace of Obama
administration action on gay issues.
Gillibrand was speaking specifically of
the effort to repeal the military’s Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell policy (DADT).
But that perspective applies as well
to the senator’s own advocacy on LGBT
issues — she is committed, apparently
with some good measure of urgency, but
she is also pragmatic. That became clear
in an interview with Gay City News on
October 25, and at a community forum
© GAY CITY NEWS 2009 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TM
NEWS YOUR FREE
GLBTQ
NEWSPAPER
OCT 29-NOV 11, 2009
VOLUME EIGHT, ISSUE 22
■ POLITICS
At ESPA Dinner,
Upbeat Pledges,
Stern Warnings
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
D
uring an evening when Gover-
nor David A. Paterson employed
both his trademark humor and
a sobering lesson in the state’s fiscal cri-
sis to reiterate his pledge that “marriage
equality is coming to New York State” ––
“just in the next few weeks,” no less ––
the head of the Empire State Pride Agen-
da issued a stern warning to members
of the State Senate, allies included, who
might fail to help make that a reality.
DONNA ACETO
Addressing Senate supporters who
have nonetheless “run to the sidelines
as fast as they can,” Alan Van Capelle,
the executive director of New York
State’s LGBT lobby, said, “We have cam-
paigned for you, we have raised money
for you, we have supported you in every
way imaginable, and we should have no
patience for these sorry summer sol-
diers.”
Coming less than a year after ESPA
orchestrated the raising of more than
$1 million to support the Democratic
she hosted the same day at Manhattan’s takeover of the Senate, Van Capelle’s
LGBT Community Center.
Earlier this year, Gillibrand proposed ESPA P. 14
incorporating an 18-month moratorium
In this issue:
on DADT discharges into the Defense
Department’s funding authorization,
only to pull back when it became clear
that the 60 votes needed to beat back a
■ MAYORAL ENDORSEMENT
Republican-led filibuster were not there. The campaign that
“When I didn’t have 60 votes on my has not happened
amendment, a lot of the advocates said
do not drop” — in this instance, mean- ■8
ing put up for a vote — “your amend- —————————————————
ment; we don’t want to have a failure ■ PROGRESS REPORT
on the first vote as a strategy,” the sen-
ator explained. “Because we want to The state of our community
build momentum and not lose momen- as 2009 draws to a close
tum with a failed vote, and I said fair ■ 13
enough.” —————————————————
Instead, she said, she successfully
prevailed on Michigan Senator Carl ■ PUSH ON FILM
Levin, the Democratic chair of the Armed
Services Committee — a committee on Lee Daniels adapts
which she does not sit — to hold a hear- Sapphire in “Precious”
■ 25
ADVOCATE P. 22
2 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

NEWS BRIEFS By PAUL SCHINDLER

Obama Signs
Hate Crimes
Legislation
In a ceremony held in the early
evening on October 28, as Gay City
News was going to press, Presi-
dent Barack Obama, LGBT lead-
ers, and other advocates for hate
crimes legislation were due to
mark the signing of the Matthew
Shepard and James Byrd, Jr.
Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The
measure, which had stalled in
Congress for more than a decade,
adds actual or perceived sexual
orientation and gender identity
and several other categories to
existing federal hate crimes law.
The Justice Department is now
empowered to prosecute bias-
related crimes and to assist state
and local governments to do the
same.
The legislation is named for
a gay Wyoming college student
murdered in October 1998 by two
men who left his battered body on
a rural fence and a Texas African-
American man slain when his
body was dragged by a rope from
the back of a truck the same year.
The measure was first introduced
on Capitol Hill a year before the
murders for which the law is now
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named.
The measure was approved
on October 22 in a 68-29 vote of
the Senate as part of a Penta-
gon appropriations measure. The
House approved the same bill on
October 8, by a vote of 281-46. The
House passed an earlier, stand-
alone version of the hate crimes
measure by a much narrower 249-
175 vote, but the legislation was
folded into the defense bill in order
to stave off a GOP filibuster in the
House.
The defense bill was signed
into law earlier on October 28.
Attorney General Eric Holder
was scheduled to join Obama for
the evening reception for hate
crimes advocates. In a statement
released prior to the event, Judy
Shepard, Matthew’s mother, who
founded an advocacy organization
named in her son’s honor, said,
“The legislation went through so
many versions and so many votes
that we had to constantly keep
our hopes in check to keep from
getting discouraged. But with
President Obama’s support and
the continually growing bipartisan
majorities in the House and Sen-
ate lining up behind the bill this
year, it became clear that 2009 was
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the year it would finally happen.”
Shepard was due to be joined
by her son Logan and members of
the Byrd family at the White House
event.
The hate crimes measure is
the first piece of federal legisla-
tion providing specific protections
based on sexual orientation and
gender identity.
Army Signals
Readiness, But
Obama Still in
Court
John McHugh, a former
upstate New York Republican con-
gressman who is now secretary of
the Army, told the Army Times on
October 25 that he believes the
military would be prepared in the
event that the Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell policy were overturned. “The
Army has a big history of taking on
similar issues predictions of doom
and gloom that did not play out,”
McHugh said.
In characterizing the secretary’s
statement, the Army Times wrote,
“It is possible, for example, that
homosexuals could be allowed
in some occupations or units but
barred from others, McHugh said,
stressing that he was not aware of
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any such plans but only discussing
how the issue could play out.”
Despite the provisional nature
of McHugh’s comments, leading
advocates for overturning DADT
were quick to note the progress
they signaled.
“What we’re seeing is a tip-
ping point in the opinions of both
military and civilian leaders on this
issue,” said Dr. Nathaniel Frank,
senior research fellow at the Palm
Center, a University of California,
Santa Barbara think tank that
researches issues of gender, sexu-
ality, and the military. “The Army is
the largest of the services and the
most heavily involved in our wars
abroad, and for Secretary McHugh
to state clearly that it can handle
repeal sends a strong signal to the
other service secretaries that they
can do the same.”
However, the Palm Center’s
director, Dr. Aaron Belkin, took
on McHugh’s cryptic suggestion
that gays might initially only be
assigned certain occupations,
saying, “The rationale for the
ban applies equally across all job
categories. So if it’s okay to be an
openly gay Arabic interpreter, it’s
also okay to be openly gay in the
infantry or on a submarine.”
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McHugh’s comments come just
weeks after an article by Air Force
Colonel Om Prakash calling for
an end to DADT appeared in the
Joint Force Quarterly, a publica-
tion released by the Pentagon and
overseen by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. Senator Carl Levin’s Armed
Services Committee is due to hold
hearings on DADT in November,
the first such time that the Senate
has undertaken such review since
the policy was adopted in 1993.
Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, another group advocat-
ing for the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell, found the recent nomination
of Marine General Clifford Stanley
Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness as a posi-
tive step in building momentum for
ending the policy, though Stanley
has made no public statement on
the issue.
Amidst these hopeful signs, the
Log Cabin Republicans on October
23 issued a blistering attack on
the Obama administration for its
decision to file a motion to delay
its lawsuit challenging DADT in
federal court in California. An LCR
press release notes that “the 11th
hour move” by the administra-
tion “was surprisingly formulated
at the same time that President
Obama was reassuring LGBT activ-
ists that he still firmly opposes the
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law at the
Human Rights Campaign’s annual
dinner.” Terry W. Hamilton, the
group’s national chair, charged,
“This aggressive move by Presi-
dent Obama’s Justice Department
seriously undermines not only his
commitment to our community and
to the defense of our nation, but it
also casts doubt on the motives of
those at the highest levels of LGBT
leadership in Washington who
refuse to criticize the President
over this double speak.”
The Washington Blade this
is looking at another West Coast
case, this one challenging the dis-
charge of Air Force Major Marga-
ret Witt, a lesbian nurse, after 18
years of service. Last year, the US
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sent
the case back to the district court
in Washington State to review the
discharge in light of the Supreme
Court’s 2003 sodomy ruling. An
unnamed Senate aide told the
Blade that the Defense Depart-
ment is examining whether the
Ninth Circuit ruling has any gen-
eral implications for the execution
of DADT. The newspaper quote the
Senate staffer saying, “Given the
fact that [Defense] Secretary [Rob-
ert] Gates has publicly said we’re
going to look for humane ways to
do this, clearly, the higher standard
established in the Ninth Circuit
provides some guidance on how to
do that.”
Quinn Tepid
Endorsement
Secures
Speakership
City Council Speaker Christine
Quinn’s blink-and-you-missed-it
endorsement of Democratic may-
oral candidate William C. Thomp-
son, Jr., just eight days before
the election should be enough for
Council Democrats to deliver her
back to the top spot, sources said.
According to one councilmem-
ber, Quinn’s reelection as speaker
was all but guaranteed when she
offered support for Thompson at
an unrelated press conference on
October 27. “The speaker’s leader-
ship in the City Council is secure;
it was never in jeopardy,” said
Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia
James, a strident voice against
the legislative overturning of term
limits that Quinn helped engineer
last year. “An endorsement is an
endorsement, despite its tepidity.

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29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009

Community /3
14 DAYS For the Love of Companions
14 NIGHTS Dr. David Wohlstadter applies medicine’s best to New York’s friendliest
BY JARED T. MILLER

FRI.OCT.30
DANCE
When Truth Helps
Some
Dancer Jen Abrams poses the ques-
tion: Can queer relationships stand in for
all relationships? Athletic and intimate,
her “Most of This Is True” is an evening-
length dance/theater work that gets
under the skin of four deeply flawed,
instantly familiar women, bound to each
other by history, habit, love, and duty.
It presents three lesbian relationships
as normative, addressing issues that
come up in all relationships — queer or
straight. WOW Café Theater, 59-61 E.
Fourth St., fourth fl. Oct. 30, Nov. 2,
4 & 5, 8 p.m.; Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 7,& 8, 5
p.m. Tickets are $16. For information,
email mostofthisistrue@gmail.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ists, one of the most advanced
D
r. David Wohlstadter
was giving me the
grand tour of the hos-
pital. As we passed by the ICU,
the radiology rooms, the neu-
rosurgery suites, and the emer-
gency room staffed with about a
dozen employees, I kept having
to remind myself of one thing:
this wide array services wasn’t
designed for New Yorkers — it
was for their pets.
“What you can do with
humans, you can do with
pets,” Wohlstadter said. “All the
things you see in a human hos-
pital, we have here.”
Wo h l s t a d t e r i s a g a y ,
32-year -old emergency clini-
cian at NYC Veterinary Special-

GAY CITY NEWS

PERFORMANCE
BAAD in the Bronx
The Bronx Academy of Art & Dance
(BAAD!) continues its five-week annual
BlakTino Performance Series. Among this
year’s highlights are: (Oct. 30, 8 p.m.;
$15) Sean360x and the Universoul SpiRi-
tual Ankhestra and the Ganessa James
Trio take the stage for a rollercoaster
evening with funky, poetic hip hop
sounds; (Oct. 31, 9:30 a.m.; $7) Moses
McCarter leads a class in capoeria ginga
mundo, an amazing folk dance that ritual-
izes movement from martial arts, African
dance ,and acrobatics, for dancers of all
levels; (Nov. 7, 8 p.m.; donate what you
can from $5-$25) hip hop duo Kwikstep
and Rokafella present a special evening
of music, jamming, art, and a sneak peek
screening of “All the Ladies,” Rokafella’s
new documentary that highlights the
lives of six iconic female street danc-
ers from San Jose, Atlanta, Miami, and
Chicago who’ve carved a niche in the
physically challenging, male dominated
breakdance world. 841 Barretto St.,
btwn. Garrison & Lafayette Aves.,
Hunts Point (#6 to Hunts Point Ave.).
For complete information, visit Bronx-
AcademyofArtsandDance.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ in a time of crisis — that makes
BENEFIT
Fifty Years of Opera
Faves
The West Side Opera Society pres-
ents a gala concert to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of Maestro David
Clenny’s operatic debut, with favorite
䉴 OCT 30, continued on p.11
veterinary hospitals in the city.
Born in St. Louis, his interests
in both science and working
with people led him to St. Louis
University, where he graduated
with bachelor’s degrees in Biol-
ogy and Psychology. Combin-
ing his academic interests with
a longstanding love of animals,
he pursued a doctorate in Vet-
erinary Medicine from the Uni-
versity of Missouri. Afterwards,
he headed to New York to begin
his career as a veterinarian,
interning at the Animal Medi-
cal Center in Manhattan and
practicing in Yonkers until join-
ing NYC Veterinary Specialists
when it opened in 2006.
“I really like working with
New Yorkers,” Wohlstadter said,
citing the diversity and size of
his local clientele as an impor-
tant factor in working there.
“There are some wonderful peo-
ple you meet by working in this
kind of environment.”
Wohlstadter explained that
it’s his unique position as an
emergency veterinarian —
helping both pets and people
doing his job especially reward-
ing. For many New Yorkers,
their pets are their family, he
said, and he enjoys being able
to ease the minds of pet own-
ers by practicing medicine.
And Wohlstadter noted that
the sheer volume of clients who
come in each day allows him to
meet an interesting mix of per-
Dr. David Wohlstadter’s client may have been unlucky to land in an emergency room, but fortunate to find one as well-equipped as that at NYC
Veterinary Specialists.
sonalities.
“It’s nice to see the human-
animal bond and relationship,”
he said. “You never know what
medical condition is going to
come in, and you never know
what kind of person is going to
come in with that animal, so it’s
a fun job to have.”
Wohlstadter owns three pets
of his own — a nine-year-old
Siberian Huskie named Eva, a
four-year-old mix named Nia,
“People’s attitudes toward animals
as being a part of their family
are very progressive here.”
and a cat named Sophia. He
developed his love for animals by
being surrounded by pets from
an early age. He lives in Chelsea
with his partner, an oncologist
and the medical director at NYC
Veterinary Specialists, whom
he met while working there.
Though they work in the same
hospital, Wohlstadter and his
partner specialize in different
fields and rarely end up work-
ing on the same patients. Even
so, Wohlstadter admitted that
sharing a common profession
is a beneficial part of the rela-
tionship.
“I think it’s great to have
someone that you can relate to
on a personal level, and then
someone who understands
your profession.” he said. “For
us, it’s great.”
Working in New York has
provided Wohlstadter with sev-
eral insights — technical ones,
like the “High Rise Syndrome”
that befalls some pets when
they stray too close to open win-
dows, as well as a better look
into the character of pet owners
here in the city. He said New
Yorkers are especially attuned
to the needs and behavior of
their pets, and share especially
close ties with the animals they
keep.
“You can’t just open your
back door and just let them out,
and let them back in an hour
later like you can in other plac-
es,” Wohlstadter said, adding
that New Yorkers often provide
surprisingly accurate histories
of their pets’ health. “People’s
attitudes toward animals as
being a part of their family are
very progressive here,” he said.
“People really rely on their pets
as a source of their well-being
and their happiness.”
When asked about the
apparent large number of gay
vets, Wohlstadter brushed off
the notion that the two charac-
teristics are related. For him, as
well as many New Yorkers, he
said, it’s the joy and the sup-
port that a pet brings that are
most important.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re gay
or if you’re straight, it doesn’t
matter who you are or where
you came from,” Wohlstadter
said. “I think there’s something
special about people wanting
to be with animals and around
animals, and I think it’s mutu-
ally beneficial for the people and
the animals to have each other.”
View video highlights of
Jared T. Miller’s interview with
Dr. David Wohlstadter at gayci-
tynews.com.

4/ History
The Century Leading to Wilde
Charles Upchurch unearths public awareness, legal crackdown on 19th century gay sex
BY DOUG IRELAND
T
wo signal events that would have
important and dark consequenc-
es for same-sexers occurred with-
in a couple of years of each other early in
what is known as the Age of Reform in
Queen Victoria’s England. One was the
establishment of London’s Metropolitan
Police Force in 1829. The other was the
“infamous crime” section of the 1827
revision in the sodomy law. Sodomy had
long been a capital crime — and would
remain so until 1861 — but the new
statute codified attempted sodomy in
such a broad way that not only were a
new spectrum of acts criminalized, but
so too was the language that could sug-
gest such acts.
The new law’s “Section X” chillingly
declared that “for defining what shall be
an infamous Crime, within the mean-
ing of this Act, be it enacted, That the
abominable Crime of Buggery, commit-
ted either with Mankind or with Beast,
and every Assault with Intent to commit
the said abominable Crime, and every
attempt or Endeavor to commit the said
abominable crime, and every Solicita-
tion, Persuasion, Promise, or Threat
offered or made to any Person, where-
by to move or induce such Person, or
threat offered or made to any Person,
whereby to move or induce such Per-
son to commit or Permit the said abom-
inable Crime, shall be deemed to be an
infamous Crime within the Meaning of
the Act.”
The result of this immensely broad-
ened statute was a huge increase in
the number of arrests for attempted
sodomy, with 864 trials on that charge
between 1811 and 1861, compared to
only 116 cases of sodomy. Thus, one
Henry Webb was arrested and thrown
into a dank Bow Street holding cell
after Thomas Addy pulled him toward
an officer in Covent Garden and said,
“I give this gentleman in charge for an
indecent assault.” Not a shred of fur-
ther evidence was required to hold a
man on such a charge.
A high percentage of the “indecent
assault” cases brought under sodomy
statutes involved men of modest means
— soldiers, laborers, apprentices, and
tradesmen — swearing out complaints
against upper-and-middle class men.
At the same time, in 1823, Parliament
broadened the laws governing extortion
in such a way that men of property had
their chances of successfully defend-
ing themselves against an attempted
sodomy charge improved by counterat-
tacking with an allegation of attempted
robbery against their accuser.
The ruling class that wrote the new
extortion statute had uppermost in its
mind the unfortunate Lord Castelragh,
British foreign secretary from 1812 to
1822. In August the year before the new
extortion statute was enacted, Castel-
ragh had confessed to King George IV
that he was being blackmailed over the
accusation that he’d committed sexu-
al acts with another man. Two weeks
later, the foreign secretary went home
to his lavish country estate and slit his
throat.
In “Before Wilde: Sex Between Men
in Britain’s Age of Reform,” Charles
Upchurch writes that the “profound”
influence of the new extortion statute
on courtroom cases meant that “dis-
cussion of the validity of the initial
claim of attempted sodomy was always
complicated and often compromised in
the courtroom when a man countered
it with an accusation of extortion, even
if no formal charge was made to this
effect. The younger and poorer men to
whom those with greater wealth often
turned for sex were particularly sus-
ceptible to the offer of a week’s or even
a year’s wages in return for silence, and
the burden of proof was often placed on
them in the courtroom to demonstrate
that they had not asked for or accept-
ed money. Disproving such allegations
was critical for a working-class man,
because evidence that he had accepted
payment left him open to prosecution,
even if he had been the object of an
unwanted sexual advance.” The men
who ruled England were obsessed with
BEFORE WILDE: SEX BETWEEN MEN
IN BRITAIN’S AGE OF REFORM
By Charles Upchurch
University of California Press
$45; 276 pages
how public disclosure of an accusa-
tion of sex between men would affect a
man’s reputation, and so the penalties
for making such an accusation were
greater than for “unnatural assault”
itself.
The influence of class differences on
how male same-sexers were treated
and how they thought of themselves
is a constant presence throughout
Upchurch’s book, as he recounts doz-
ens of court cases involving homosex-
ual conduct and how those cases were
covered in the burgeoning newspapers
of the day. For example, “Lower-class
men were thought to lack the self-dis-
cipline and personal restraint of their
social betters and therefore more likely
to instigate such [sexual] acts, either
for the gratification of base desires or
for financial gain,” one publication
claimed.
Previous historical accounts have
made the unwarranted assumption
that there was little public discussion
or public awareness of same-sex activi-
ties in Victorian England until late in
The men who ruled England were obsessed
with how public disclosure of an
accusation of sex between men would
affect a man’s reputation,
the century, when a series of notori-
ous cases involving queers culminated
in the prosecution and conviction of
Oscar Wilde.
But Upchurch, after a decade of
meticulous research, demonstrates
that this assumption is palpably false.
Earlier examinations of the press in
early-and-mid Victorian England relied
on indexes and databases built on key
words that missed many published
reports on same-sex conduct and legal
action. But by minutely examining
the files of three newspapers with dif-
ferent class audiences between 1827
and 1870, and cross-checking them
with court records, official documents,
and correspondence, Upchurch has
shown that not only was there broad
public awareness in these years of sex
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
between men, but that male homosex-
ual conduct was a matter of consider-
able public discussion.
The Morning Post was the favorite
newspaper of the British upper classes,
filled with court gossip and accounts of
the frivolities of the wealthy and power-
ful. Its coverage of court cases involv-
ing attempted sodomy was skewed to
those in which men of social standing
and property successfully defended
themselves against “indecent assault”
charges. The Weekly Dispatch, with the
largest circulation among the working
classes, usually gave priority in its cov-
erage to those cases involving men of
modest means in some way, usually as
accusers of the wealthy. And the Times
of London, the favorite newspaper of
the upwardly mobile middle class, was
replete with the Methodist morality of
a rapidly expanding bourgeoisie — in
those years much influenced by the
mushrooming of evangelical religion
with its strict codes of sexual conduct.
So extensive was newspaper cov-
erage of legal proceedings involving
homosexuality that, as Upchurch dem-
onstrates, judges repeatedly held that
those brought into court by charges
and countercharges involving “inde-
cent assault” had to be well aware
of the nature and extent both of the
broad legal prohibitions against sex-
ual advances between men and of the
extortion statutes that also covered
them. The parties to such legal action
were also assumed to be aware of noto-
rious places around London in which
men seeking sex with other men were
known to congregate and even engage in
sexual conduct, in the view of those on
the bench. A quarter of the press reports
on same-sex conduct in the years 1842
to 1870 focused on extortion charges
involving attempted sodomy. Of the
remaining articles, five involved clergy-
men, seven focused on cross-dressers,
and four involved the questioning of
police methods in same-sex cases.
One of the peak years in which there
was a spike in newspaper coverage of
䉴 WILDE, continued on p.5
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 WILDE, from p.4
homosexuality was 1842, and much
of it was devoted to the Churchill and
Springer case. Newspaper accounts
first reported that a “respectable look-
ing” man named William Springer testi-
fied that, while walking in Hyde Park at
about 9:15 p.m., “on passing a clump
of trees he saw two men in indecent
behavior.” He said he sprang on the two
men, one of whom got away. “The man
he caught, named John Ellis Churchill,
allegedly begged to be let go and indicat-
ed that he was a gentleman and would
give Stringer any amount of money”
Churchill, the nephew of a member of
Parliament, asserted that “while walk-
ing through the park at night, a young
man came up to him and asked him the
way to Oxford Street. Churchill said he
would show him, as he was going the
same way. Stringer came upon them
and accused them ‘of having commit-
ted a most opprobrious crime.’ At this
point, Churchill said, he began to sus-
pect that the young man asking for
directions was in league with Springer,
as he was giving Churchill advice to go
quietly with his accuser and not resist.”
The young man had run away before
Stringer dragged Churchill to a group
of police.
If the first day’s press coverage indi-
cated that the judge appeared to believe
Stringer, the second day the newspaper
reports began to turn in Churchill’s
favor, when it was revealed that friends
of his had found out that Stringer had
lied about working at the firm of Shep-
pard and Smith. Following this discov-
ery, Churchill had brought a counter-
charge against Stringer for assault.
Newspapers devoted even more
space to the case when Churchill’s
friends located and brought into court
William Newstead, “a good looking,
well-dressed young man,” who had
worked with Stringer that first night
in Hyde Park. Churchill’s attorney told
the court he “could prove that the two
men were connected with a number of
persons concerned in similar conspira-
cies.” Another friend of Newstead and
Stringer cooperated with the police and
declared “there were a good many more
in the gang.” It was also revealed that
Stringer used multiple aliases and had
recently returned illegally from a crimi-
nal sentence that had sent him to one
of England’s colonies. Letters to the edi-
tor began to appear in the newspapers
about the case, with one to the Times
signed “A Solicitor” asking, “Now, Sir,
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29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 5
we may ask, if this be the law of Eng-
land, what security is there for any
man’s reputation!”
Press coverage mushroomed still
further when another friend of String-
er and Newstead, William Fitzgerald,
was brought into court on an extortion
charge for having lured a working-class
hairdresser named Watson to his lodg-
ings and then threatened to expose
him for attempted sodomy unless he
received payment. Eventually all three
men were convicted and sentenced
together, with the judge declaring that
“a more detestable or foul conspiracy
he had never heard of.”
Upchurch, an assistant professor
of history at Florida State University,
writes like an academic, which is to say
that his prose, while readable, is often
stilted and unimaginative. And he has
an annoying tic, quite noticeable in a
number of instances, of referring casu-
ally to historical facts, laws, or notori-
ous court cases without explaining
them until much later in his book, if at
all.
But Upchurch displays an impres-
sive command of both original sourc-
es and previous historical accounts Endorsed by
of homosexuality in this period, and
his groundbreaking new research is
impressive and invaluable. The book
comes with a well-merited jacket blurb
from the admirable, pioneering Brit-
ish gay historian Jeffrey Weeks, a key
figure for decades in the British intel-
lectual “gay left,” saying that it “fills an Republican Mike Bloomberg overturned term limits
aching gap in the history of male homo-
sexuality in Britain in the middle years even though you voted for them TWICE.
of the 19th century.”
Moreover, Upchurch distinguish-
He continues to fund Republican State Senators that
es himself by placing the events he block Marriage Equality legislation in New York.
recounts in their social, cultural,
and political context, and by his well- Now we’re facing skyrocketing MTA fares, taxes,
informed reflections on the implications water hikes and record unemployment.
of class and race for the matters under
discussion. The result is a fascinating HIV rates continue to rise.
and informative picture of sex between
men in mid-Victorian England that Eight years is enough. It is time for a true
greatly increases our knowledge and advocate for LGBT Communities in City Hall.
insight.
It is unfortunate that gay studies pro-
grams in US universities, so preoccupied Vote Bill Thompson on November 3rd.
with the arcana of “queer theory,” are A Mayor for all New Yorkers
not sufficiently encouraging research of
this kind on our own history, so much
of which still remains unexplored, and Also endorsed by:
not producing more books like this on
homosexuality in America. With “Before State Senator Assemblymember
Wilde,” Upchurch has set a standard for Thomas Duane Daniel O’Donnell
depth and originality of research and
creative social analysis that our own gay Assemblymember Assemblymember
historians would do well to meet. Deborah Glick Matt Titone
Assemblymember Councilmember
Micah Kellner Rosie Mendez
www.thompson2009.com
Paid for by New Yorkers for Thompson

6/ Legal
Trans Dad Can Seek Custody
Brooklyn judge finds “extraordinary circumstances”
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
A
Brooklyn trial judge has ruled that
due to “extraordinary circumstanc-
es” a mother may not object to the
standing of her transgendered spouse in a
custody dispute pending in State Supreme
Court. Justice Esther M. Morgenstern,
having denied a motion by the mother,
J.R., to disqualify the father, K.B., from
seeking custody, will proceed to determine
whether the father’s petition should be
granted in the best interests of their son,
K.B., Jr., who has already lived with uncer-
tainty for two of his seven years.
K.B. was born female but has identi-
fied since his teen years as male. In 1998,
he obtained a legal name change from his
birth name, Cassandra, and married J.R.
K.B. has taken hormones to masculinize
his body, but has not yet undergone his
planned gender reassignment surgery.
Four years after marrying, J.R. became
pregnant through donor insemination,
with K.B. signing the required consent
form. Their son, named after K.B., was
born in June 2002, and K.B. was named
We proudly support the gay community!
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as father on the birth certificate. J.R.
remained home with the baby for the first
six months, with K.B. providing the fam-
ily’s sole support. After that, the couple
switched roles.
When the couple broke up in 2006, J.R.
moved out, leaving the child with K.B. J.R.
later claimed that she had been the victim
of domestic violence, but K.B. countered
that she moved out to live with another
man. Justice Morgenstern noted that J.R.
“never explained why she left the child
with” K.B. Both parties filed petitions for
legal custody of K.B., Jr., in 2007. J.R.
alleged that it was in the child’s best inter-
est to be in her custody because K.B was
a woman, one whose domestic violence
was a threat to the child’s safety. The
city’s Administration for Children’s Servic-
es investigated, and found that the child
considered K.B. his father and was bond-
ed to him, and also found that the couple
married and together planned to have the
child, with K.B. in the role of father.
Serious charges surfaced against J.R.
— that during her visitation with the child,
she gave him food that aggravated his
www.manatusnyc.com
asthma condition, neglected to give him
his medication, had him share a bed with
her and her boyfriend, and, in front of the
child, referred to K.B as a “fucking bitch.”
The child told the attorney appointed to
represent his interests that J.R. disciplined
him severely, using a belt on his genitals
and butt. As a result, J.R temporarily lost
his visitation rights.
The couples’ agreement that their mar-
riage was void, since K.B. was not consid-
ered male under the law, opened up the
main legal question in the case — under
New York law, an “unrelated” person (in
many such cases, a same-sex ex-partner)
does not have standing as a “parent” to
seek custody of a child over a natural par-
ent. The exception to this precedent, how-
ever, is the doctrine of “equitable estoppel,”
under which the natural parent’s preroga-
tives are constrained by the “extraordinary
circumstances” of a particular case — fac-
tors involving a strong parental relation-
ship that the “unrelated” person has estab-
lished with the child.
“Psychological bonding between a non-
biological parent and a child has resulted
in a court finding that extraordinary cir-
cumstances do exist which allowed the
non-biological party to petition a court for
custody,” Morgenstern wrote. “Extraor-
dinary circumstances may be found even
in the absence of a finding of unfitness by
the biological parent. If removal from the
custody of a non-parent would cause ‘sig-
nificant emotional injury’… the possibil-
ity of that injury would justify a finding of
TRANS NAME CHANGE VICTORY
A New York State appellate panel has unanimously
reversed a February decision by Civil Court Judge Manuel
J. Mendez that sought to require a transsexual applicant
for a legal name change to provide medical substantiation
of gender transition.
At the same time, the Manhattan Supreme Court
Appellate Term ruling, issued on October 21, cautioned
that the name change would not signify that Olin Winn-
Ritzenberg, previously known as Leah Yuri Winn-Ritzen-
berg, had won a legal change of gender.
The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund’s
Name Change Project had filed a petition on Winn-
Ritzenberg’s behalf in New York City Civil Court, where it
was assigned to Judge Mendez. Mendez’s opinion deny-
ing the petition, finding that the court could not allow
somebody born female to take up a male name without
medical proof., stirred outrage and consternation in the
transgender community. The volunteer attorneys prepar-
ing the petition — Brenna DeVaney, Benjamin Edwards,
Daniel Gonen, and Janson Mao —understood that state
law freely allows people to change their names.
TLDEF appealed on Winn-Ritzenberg’s behalf, with
amicus assistance from Lambda Legal and cooperating
attorneys at Debevoise & Plimpton. Gonen argued the
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
extraordinary circumstances.”
The judge found that K.B.’s custody
petition met these requirements. The court
noted that the couple had lived as hus-
band and wife for eight years, and acted
in every way during the child’s early years
as a family, leaving the documentary trail
of a family, including a marriage cer-
tificate, the consent form for J.R.’s donor
insemination, and the birth certificate.
The couple had “encouraged K.B., Jr.,
to accurately and without qualification
address and consider the Petitioner as his
father for more than six years,” she wrote.
Morgenstern also pointed out that J.R.
had chosen to interrupt her custody of the
child, and then lost her temporary visita-
tion rights due to her conduct. The judge
wrote, “It is more than likely that if the
relationship is terminated it would have a
devastating psychological and emotional
effect on the child.”
Morgenstern specifically found that
K.B.’s biological status as a woman was
irrelevant to the case. The judge discount-
ed J.R.’s argument that K.B. had com-
mitted a fraud by applying as a man for a
license to marry, noting that the mother
was complicit in that, and so could not
use it against the child’s father. The court
found that J.R. had “abdicated her parent-
ing authority” to K.B., fostered his relation-
ship with the child, and could not dispute
the existence of close father-son bonds. It
would not be equitable to allow her now to
disavow all of that and bar him from seek-
ing custody.
appeal. The Appellate Term panel — Justices Douglas
E. McKeon, Martin Schoenfeld, and Martin Shulman —
unanimously reversed Mendez, granting the name change
“corresponding with petitioner’s male gender identity”
McKeon wrote, “in the absence of evidence of fraud, mis-
representation, or interference with the rights of others.”
The opinion continued, “There is no sound basis in
law or policy to engraft upon the statutory provisions an
additional requirement that a transgendered petitioner
present medical substantiation for the desired name
change.” However, the court emphasized, “in granting
petitioner’s application, we do not address the separate
issue of whether petitioner has changed gender for legal
purposes.”
There is an unfinished debate among the courts about
what is legally necessary to recognize an individual’s
change of gender identity where the law takes account
of gender, such as the right to marry in all but six states.
Many courts insist that only after a full gender transition,
including surgical alteration, can an individual change his
or her legal gender, a contention that is a matter of consid-
erable controversy among legal scholars and transgender
rights advocates.
— Arthur S. Leonard
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 7

“NARAL Pro-Choice New York is thrilled

to endorse Speaker Christine Quinn for
re-election to the New York City Council.
A true ally and tireless advocate, Speaker
Quinn has made the rights and health of
women a priority for New York City. New
York City’s women could not ask for a
more committed friend and partner.”
¯2%6%04VS'LSMGI2I[=SVO

“Quinn is the complete package; she

has the experience, the skills and the
commitment that the district needs.”
¯8LI:MPPEKIV7ITXIQFIV

“Tenants have never before made the

kind of advances in strengthening tenant
protection laws and preserving affordable
housing as we have in the last three-and-
a-half years. That’s thanks to Christine
Quinn. We’re lucky to have her as City
Council Speaker. And for those of us who
live here, we’re even luckier to call her
our Councilmember.”
¯1MGLEIP1G/II
8IRERXW4%'8VIEWYVIV

“Chris has been just incredibly involved in

the fight for marriage equality. When New
York finally grants LGBT couples our full
civil rights—and it will—it will be in no
small part because of the calls she’s made,
the rallies she’s led, and the proud exam-

'LVMWXMRI
ple she sets every day, for all New Yorkers,

5YMRR
at City Hall.”
¯8SQ(YERI
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Paid for by Quinn 2009
 29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009

8/ Endorsement
■ THE RACE FOR MAYOR
PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER

The Campaign That Has Not Happened

JOHN W. SUTTER
JWSutter@communitymediallc.com
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER
TROY MASTERS
troy@gaycitynews.com

L
GBT supporters of Mayor tion to the Independence Party At an endorsement meet- based evolution curriculum.
EDITOR IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER
PAUL SCHINDLER
Michael R. Bloomberg last year was used to sup- ing on October 9, the mayor Why then did his all-star
editor@gaycitynews.com cite attributes and port the three most stridently acknowledged that Pada- health commissioner, Thomas
ASSOCIATE EDITOR achievements valued by other anti-gay Republican senators. van was not “gettable,” this Frieden, now the head of the
Duncan Osborne voters –– his compelling per - The mayor’s support for one time simply alluding vague- federal CDC, say, when dis-
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS sonal story as a business of them, Frank Padavan of ly to “upstate Republicans” cussing a new AIDS curricu-
Christopher Byrne (Theater), Susie Day, builder, the city’s continued Queens, helped him squeak whom he might bring around. lum under development, “I
Doug Ireland (International), Brian McCormick success in driving down crime, out a victory over Democrat- Bloomberg may be, as he don’t know that we will be able
(Dance), Dean P. Wrzeszcz
the curb on indoor smoking in ic City Councilman James says, the “main funder” of the to achieve everything that you
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Betsy Andrews, Seth J. Bookey,
public spaces, an ambitious Gennaro, a vocal supporter of Senate Republicans, but the would want or I would want.”
Anthony M.Brown, Kelly Jean Cogswell, focus on greening the city. equal marriage rights. upstate incumbents have not That’s politics, not prog-
Dean Daderko, Tate Dougherty, Andres Duque, Many also single out his It’s fair to note that there accumulated the political debt ress.
Michael Ehrhardt, Steve Erickson, Nick Feitel,
Jim Fouratt, Joe Fyfe, Deborah Garwood, advocacy for marriage equal- are marriage equality oppo- that a Padavan has, so where The mayor’s record on
Erasmo Guerra, Emily Harney, Andrey Henkin, ity. The mayor has made sev- nents among the Senate is the mayor’s leverage? AIDS education stands in
Frank Holiday, Andy Humm, James Jorden, Brendan eral high profile appeals to Democrats, too, and that even Since the last election, stark contrast to the positions
Keane, David Kennerley, Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S.
Leonard, Rachael Liberman, the State Senate this year to after gaining the majority last Bloomberg has continued his championed by his opponent,
Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass, approve the gay marriage bill November, their party did not support for the Republican City Comptroller William C.
Winnie McCroy, Eileen McDermott,
Gregory Montreuil, Ioannis Mookas, Carrie Moyer,
already adopted by the Assem- deliver a floor vote. But it’s a and Independence Parties, T h o m p s o n , J r. , w h e n t h e
Stephen Mueller, Christopher Murray, bly. On October 1, Bloomberg good bet that had Gennaro donating about $500,000, Democrat served as School
David Noh, Wayne Northcross, Lori Ortiz, recounted for a group of gay and perhaps another Demo- money that could return the Board president in the late
Pauline Park, Sheila Pepe, John Reed,
Nathan Riley, Andrew Robinson, Gerard Robinson, supporters how he had, that 1990s.
Chris Schmidt, Sarah D. Schulman, day, called the top Democrat Elsewhere, we can see
Jason Victor Serinus, Linda Shapiro, and Republican in the Sen- where politics has trumped
David Shengold, Gus Solomons Jr., David Spiher,
Drew B. Straub, Stefen Styrsky, Jerry Tallmer, ate and told them, “This is our Bill Thompson has a longer progress on issues the mayor
Stefanos Tsigrimanis, Kathleen Warnock, number one priority.” now trumpets. Just weeks
Benjamin Weinthal, Lee Ann Westover,
That’s heady stuff –– as the
and stronger suit on LGBT before the election, Bloomberg
James Withers, Kai Wright, Susan Yung
ART DIRECTOR
mayor spoke, the crowd came rights issues. named a commission to study
Mark Hasselberger
alive with applause and spirit- the issues facing LGBT home-
ed shouts. There is real value less youth, pulling in many of
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen in the public debate in the the leading advocates. But in
cumulative suasion of leaders crat or two prevailed in 2008, GOP to the Senate majority in each of the four years since
SENIOR VP OF ADVERTISING/MARKETING
FRANCESCO REGINI like the mayor. the two disgraceful senators 2010, a perch from which they the City Council began appro-
francesco@gaycitynews.com The problem is that who this past summer crip- have consistently opposed gay priating money specifically
Bloomberg’s actions regard- pled a body riven by a 32-30 marriage. Our community can- targeting this vulnerable pop-
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
ing gay marriage have been at split would not have had their not afford that risk. ulation, the administration
COLIN GREGORY
colin@gaycitynews.com sharp odds with his laudable opportunity. The best infor - has refused to incorporate

O
words. A disjunction between mation available to Gay City n other key LGBT into its budget the funding
ALLISON GREAKER
allison@gaycitynews.com words and deeds are unfortu- News indicates that with- issues, the mayor also critical to providing the beds
JASON SHERWOOD
nately all too common in the out that disruption, Senator talks a better game that still number only in the
jsherwood@gaycitynews.com mayor’s LGBT record. Thomas K. Duane would have than he has played over the dozens — intransigence that
JULIO TUMBACO In 2005, at the same time gotten the marriage equality past eight years. He frequent- City Council Youth Services
julio@gaycitynews.com the mayor decided to appeal vote he seeks. ly mentions the continuing Chair Lew Fidler described as
DANI ZUPANOVICH a Manhattan district court The more salient question, decline in AIDS deaths in the “almost cruel.”
dani@gaycitynews.com judge’s pro-gay marriage though, as we face November city, yet fails to reiterate his Asked earlier this year
Please call (212) 229-1890 for ruling, for the first time he 3 is what the mayor can do long-since discarded 2003 about the false arrests of gay
advertising rates and availability. announced his support for to deliver Republican votes pledge to cut new infections men in video stores through-
ACCOUNTING marriage equality and pledged to bring the bill to the Sen- in half. Six years later, by the out Manhattan, the mayor
DAVID JAFFE
david@gaycitynews.com to lobby Albany to secure that ate floor, and on that point city’s own data, infections insisted questions be directed
NATIONAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING
right. That December, he told Bloomberg’s comments simply remain resistant to reduction to Police Commissioner Ray-
Rivendell Media / 212.242.6863 Gay City News, “When I say strain credulity. On Septem- among gay and bisexual men, mond Kelly. Two weeks ago,
Web master I’ll do something, I’ll do some- ber 17, Bloomberg told Gay with transmission actually Bloomberg said, “I’ve asked
Arturo Jimenez thing.” City News that he “suspected” rising among young men, par- Kelly about it,” but then
Arturo@gaycitynews.com
Gay City News, The Newspaper Serving Gay and Lesbian NYC, is pub-
he could deliver Padavan and ticularly men of color. added, “I’m not so sure he’s

Y
lishedby Community Media, LLC. Send all inquiries to: Gay City News, et since that statement, Brooklyn’s Marty Golden, who Asked this month why he doing an investigation.”
145 Sixth Ave., First Fl., NYC 10013 Phone: 646.452.2500 Written
permission of the publisher must be obtained before any of the contents Bloomberg has contrib- have both backed up their has neglected more aggres- Mike Bloomberg is a CEO of
of this paper, in part or whole, can be reproduced or redistributed. All
contents (c) 2009 Gay City News. uted nearly $3.4 million outspoken opposition to mar- sive AIDS and condom edu- a mayor — he attracts top tal-
to support the state Republi- riage equality with legisla- cation in the public schools, ent and empowers them with
Gay City News is a registered trademark
of Community Media, LLC. can and Independence Par - tive and legal maneuvering. Bloomberg likened the ques- important missions. But some
John W. Sutter, President
Fax: 646.452.2501; ties, the bulk of those dollars When the two senators’ offices tion to divisive social debates smaller issues, especially
E-mail: JWSutter@communitymediallc.com directly funding State Senate were called to learn what the such as evolution versus cre- those that are thorny — home-
Republican incumbents, at a mayor had done to lobby them ationism. But the mayor is a less LGBT youth, gay men
Subscriptions:
26 issues, $90.00 time when that party’s major- on marriage, Golden’s office world-renowned public health falsely arrested — never make
(c)2009 Gay City News. ity refused to bring marriage did not respond. Padavan’s advocate, and he would never it onto his radar, and other
All rights reserved. equality to a floor vote. A $1.2 director of public affairs said countenance the schools
million Bloomberg contribu- Bloomberg had done nothing. backing down from a science- 䉴 ENDORSEMENT, continued on p.9
29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009
Other Picks For November 3
NEW YORK CITY
COMPTROLLER
“I don’t see the comptroller as a
bureaucratic position,” John Liu said
in a June Gay City News interview.
“It absolutely can be and should be
an office as agent of change.” Liu has
amply demonstrated his follow-through
in his eight years on the City Council,
and that record lends substantial cred-
ibility to his pledge to “shatter all the
records” in using New York City’s sub-
stantial pension investments as a tool
to nudge corporate America toward fair
workplace practices for the LGBT com-
munity.
NEW YORK CITY
PUBLIC ADVOCATE
As head of the City Council Gen-
eral Welfare Committee, Bill de Blasio
mobilized voters to advocate for their
own interests. “The public advocate
is the watchdog,” de Blasio told Gay
City News earlier this year. “But you
don’t just stand up… you go and orga-
nize communities to achieve political
change.” When discussing the recent
false arrests of gay men on prostitution
䉴 ENDORSEMENT, from p.8
important questions — mar -
riage equality and AIDS edu-
cation — take a back seat to
political imperatives, whether
helping out GOP friends in
the State Senate or letting his
schools chancellor overrule
his health commissioner.
B
ill Thom p s o n h a s a
longer and stronger
suit on LGBT rights
issues. On every issue that
the mayor claims bona fides,
the comptroller was there first
and holds a more unambigu-
ous position. His advocacy for
workplace fairness — through
shareholder resolutions aimed
at companies in which the city
pension funds invest — has
led to nondiscrimination pro-
tections and equal partner
benefits for LGBT workers at
nearly 75 major corporations.
That is a significant accom-
plishment that had helped
reshape American business
well beyond the borders of
New York.
Given Thompson’s record, it
charges, he tied them to a much broad-
er pattern of “concerns about policing.”
That holistic perspective will serve de
Blasio well as public advocate.
CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 2
Rosie Mendez will probably not have
trouble in the general election, but it should
not go unmentioned that the critical issues
that brought her to public life — tenant pro-
tections, affordable housing, civil liberties,
and LGBT rights — have remained at the
center of her work on the Council. Still an
activist after four years in office, Rosie Men-
dez deserves strong support on November 3.
CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 3
In the next four years, we would like
to see more aggressive leadership from
Christine Quinn. It is clear to us, how-
ever, that Quinn’s reelection — and the
potential that she will serve another
term as speaker — will preserve a criti-
cal progressive voice on the Council and,
crucially from the standpoint of our com-
munity, keep a proven LGBT advocate at
the highest councils of city government.
is unfortunate that the mayor
has made the divisive argu-
ment that the comptroller is
laying low in this campaign
on the question of marriage
equality in order to pull out
his African-American base.
But Thompson’s limited
campaign funds –– Bloomberg
is currently outspending him
more than 16 to 1 –– has
given him a very small win-
dow for snaring public atten-
Elections are about making
choices. We urge a vote
for Bill Thompson.
tion; unfortunately he has not
used it to best advantage. It
is certainly appropriate that
the Democrat emphasize an
issue that disturbs many New
Yorkers –– the mayor’s machi-
nations last year that allowed
him to run for a third term.
But “Eight Is Enough” is sim-
ply not enough of a public
CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 25
Dating back to the early 1990s, when
the anti-gay murder of Julio Rivera sparked
outrage and a determination to speak up
and be visible in Queens, Daniel Dromm
has played a critical leadership role in the
borough’s LGBT community — in its annu-
al pride celebration, its community center,
a gay Democratic club, and assisting the
Victory is within our grasp, and
counting on Corzine to sign a
marriage bill as a lame-duck
governor is an iffy proposition.
victims of homophobic violence and their
families. He is a dedicated activist and
hard worker who has kept on his toes
throughout a long campaign season.
CITY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 26
Jimmy Van Bramer has been an activ-
ist dating back to his years as a student
reassurance for voters during
anxious economic times.
We have known Thomp-
son throughout his tenure as
comptroller, and have taken
a favorable measure of the
man and his core principles.
Recently, we had the chance
to sit down with him for an
hour to discuss the current
campaign. While his record,
we believe, makes him the
superior candidate on LGBT
issues, we have been disap-
pointed that his campaign
has not built on his animating
beliefs to better articulate a
vision for steering the city at a
time of great potential but also
severe fiscal stress.
The mayor’s unfettered per-
sonal spending on his own
campaign does real dam-
Endorsement /9
at St. John’s University, and was among
the founders of the Queens Pride House
nearly a decade ago. One of the youngest
board members at the Empire State Pride
Agenda in the 1990s, he was also active
in early election campaigns by Manhat-
tan LGBT officials. Van Bramer’s impres-
sive history of activism as an out gay man
would make him an urgent voice on the
Council for the needs of our community.
NEW JERSEY
GOVERNOR
In the hotly contested race for Gar-
den State chief executive, only one of
the two major candidates — the incum-
bent Democratic governor, Jon Corzine
— supports our right to same-sex mar-
riage. That is a live issue because the
age, but the victim is not Bill
Thompson. The real losers are
the voters of New York, who
deserve real debates on ques-
tions for which neither our
elected officials nor our som-
nambulant city press corps
are providing clear answers.
D
uring this campaign, we
should be addressing
the intractable problem
of HIV transmission.
Bloomberg ought to explain
why he brags about how few
people live on the streets com-
pared to other large cities, even
as the census of families living
in city shelters breaks records.
Thompson needs to con-
vince voters that he has con-
crete ideas for smart and
tough-minded stewardship of
the city budget when resourc-
es are severely reduced. Both
candidates must address, in
detail, how they will balance
the budget in a climate of fall-
ing city revenues and uncer-
tain transfer payments from
a state in even worse shape.
It is easy to talk about new
programs, but voters need to
Democratic leaders of both the State
Senate and Assembly also support the
issue and have expressed a willingness
to move forward to make gay marriage
a reality in New Jersey. Victory is within
our grasp, and counting on Corzine to
sign a marriage bill as a lame-duck gov-
ernor is an iffy proposition. To help Cor-
zine win, visit gardenstateequality.org or
actblue.com/page/stonewallforcorzine.
PROTECT
MARRIAGE
EQUALITY IN
MAINE
Maine’s newly enacted gay marriage
law is facing a grave threat on Novem-
ber 3. The current polls show an evenly
divided electorate with anti-gay forces,
including the Catholic Church nationwide,
pouring money into a television and get-
out-the-vote effort. The No On 1/ Protect
Marriage Equality effort still needs to
make roughly 500,000 calls to Maine
voters and is actively seeking volunteers
from the Northeast to pitch in. If you are
able to travel to Portland and give a day
or two of your time, visit http://protect-
maineequality.org for details.
hear the specifics of how each
candidate will go about cut-
ting programs or increasing
revenues in this brutal fiscal
climate.
On the question of policing
and crime prevention, how do
we balance the need for public
safety with the NYPD’s appall-
ing rate of stop and frisks––
pegged at more than 600,000
a year, the vast percentage of
them people of color?
The city deserves debate
about whether vacancy decon-
trol has canceled out the prog-
ress on building new afford-
able housing.
Elections are about mak-
ing choices, no matter how
dissatisfied we as voters may
be about the responsiveness
of candidates to our desire
for infor med debate. Mike
Bloomberg has not convinced
us that he and his Republican
allies will put the needs and
aspirations of the gay commu-
nity ahead of politics. LGBT
New Yorkers are looking for
a leader and advocate in City
Hall. We urge a vote for Bill
Thompson.

10/ Perspective
■ DRUG WAR DEBATE
US Policy Invites Medical Marijuana Golden Age
T
he National Equality March drew
an affable response from Presi-
dent Barack Obama, who stepped
into the spotlight with a major speech
about gay rights.
The next week another campaign com-
mitment received different handling from
the administration. Medical marijuana
was sent out of town for try-outs.
And nearly everyone is happy with the
result.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s new
policy allows states to develop their own
medical marijuana laws and regulations.
Reformer Ethan Nadelmann, of the Drug
Policy Alliance, praised the administra-
tion for sending “a persuasive signal
that the feds will respect state medical
marijuana laws and no longer exercise or
threaten the constitutional trump card of
federal supremacy.”
The policy shift has an immediate
impact on Rhode Island and New Mexi-
co. They have passed MMJ laws and are
now drafting regulations licensing medi-
cal marijuana dispensaries. Officials in
the states will be in a position to use their
best judgment without worrying that
hostile US officials will second-guessing
■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
AIDS POLICY &
LEADERSHIP
October 23, 2009
To the Editor:
Both in spirit and in facts, Bradford Campbell’s
letter “A fuller Picture on HASA Rents” (Letters
to the Editor, Oct. 15-28) was misguided. While
Mr. Campbell asserts that the financial assis-
tance that people receive from the HIV/AIDS Ser-
vices Administration constitutes a “lifestyle” that
inspires “envy,” he fails to mention that all HASA
recipients who would benefit from the 30 percent
rent cap are disabled — hardly what most people
would consider the basis of an enviable lifestyle.
Campbell is also miffed that HASA recipients
receive a $200 monthly subsidy for food. No rea-
sonable person would consider a daily $6.67 food
subsidy a luxury.
Enviable lifestyles aside, Mr. Campbell and
state legislators considering the 30 percent
rent cap (which would cap HASA-recipient rent
contributions at 30 percent) should focus on the
fact that housing for poor people and the associ-
ated improved health care outcomes save money.
Housing reduces the demand for emergency room
care, shelters and other costly city services. If
HASA clients also lead an enviable lifestyle, well,
then so much the better.
Charles King
President and CEO
Housing Works, Inc.
BY NATHAN RILEY
their decisions.
The old laws are still being enforced,
but a new attitude is blossoming. The
audience receptive to permissive policies
is growing. The Gallup Poll found that
54 percent of all Democrats favor legal-
ization. Support for legal smokes in the
general public has reached 44 percent,
up from 31 percent in 2000 when George
Bush was elected president. This is not
medical marijuana; this is legalization.
Go to the store, buy a joint, and pay your
taxes.
Of course, the federal government did
not legalize pot. Major growers and drug
enterprises remain in trouble. A few days
after the attorney general’s announce-
ment, 300 members of a Mexican drug
cartel operating in the United State were
indicted. In the San Francisco Bay Area,
US attorneys indicted 18 for converting
suburban homes into grow houses like
the ones so vividly portrayed on Show-
time’s “Weeds.” Marijuana is still illegal,
and the government continues to crack
down on international drug enterprises.
But a door has opened, and those who
want to end drug prohibition can now
see a path to walking through it.
October 26, 2009
To the Editor:
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) would like to
respond to Bradford Campbell’s perspective in the Oct.
15-28 issue of Gay City News. GMHC fully supports
legislation led by Assembly Member Glick and Sena-
tor Duane that would call for a rent cap ensuring cli-
ents of New York City’s HIV/AIDS Services Administra-
tion (HASA) would pay only 30 percent of their income
toward rent. This would standardize HASA benefit cal-
culations to be consistent with federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development policy. HASA clients
must demonstrate income criteria and symptomatic
HIV infection; they are more likely to be living in pov-
erty and have progressed HIV infection. In most cases,
they are unable to remain in the workforce.
It is important to remember that the benefits
included with HASA as it stands now do not account
for transportation, hygiene products, furniture, and
other basic necessities. While GMHC is grateful for all
of the benefits New York City and HASA do provide for
those living with HIV/AIDS, it is important to always
advocate for the highest quality of life possible. Not
only would this bill bring rent caps to a consistent 30
percent level for federal programs, but it would better
ensure stable housing and increase the quality of life
for the clients.
While giving a speech on the State Senate floor
about the importance of this legislation, Tom Duane
stated, “What does this bill do? This bill would let
someone living, if they could find a private home to
live in, to live on more than $30 a week... Toilet paper,
The most permissive medical mari-
juana law was passed by referendum in
California. There, almost any disorder
a patient describes can qualify them for
medical marijuana. Rhode Island and
New Mexico may develop tighter stan-
dards.
The California law shields users from
one of the greatest harms smoking poses
— getting arrested. It creates safe places
for buying cannabis in a form that can
be smoked — or drunk or eaten, for that
matter. Many doctors prefer that their
patients chew marijuana brownies or
use marijuana teas. These safer inges-
tion routes are seldom prepared in illegal
markets.
Less certain is the impact that creat-
ing a medical setting for marijuana use
will have. Will people less focused on the
illicit liberation of the underground pot
world be more cognizant of dosing and
less likely to take risks? It’s clear that
the venue for acquiring marijuana has
improved dramatically under the Califor-
nia law; the markets for pot and for other
drugs are severed. Medical pot buyers
can’t include in their one-stop shopping
meth, cocaine, and heroin, drugs that
socks, underwear, telephone, visiting your grand-
children, toothpaste, toothbrush… the only people
in New York State, the only people who have to pay
more than 30 percent of their income” are those living
with HIV.
We couldn’t agree more.
Marjorie J. Hill, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
October 26, 2009
To the Editor:
I and many others are surprised that Gay City News
seems to ignore the split that is taking place within the
HIV/AIDS community.
The rally last week held outside of Mayor
Bloomberg’s headquarters, supposedly to express
rage against his HIV/AIDS policies, drew maybe 100
people, if not less.
The rally was not the story, but rather the lack of
participation, and support from most of the current
leaders in the HIV/AIDS community. It had nothing
to do with support, or non-support of Bloomberg, but
rather the changing faces of leadership, which has
broken down around racial lines.
The organizers of the rally were mainly white, pro-
fessional organizers, and policy staffers who, main-
taining a tight collegial bond among themselves, do
not have a solid base within the actual PWA commu-
nity, whose mandate they say they uphold.
Rather, the new leaders within this community,
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
pose far greater problems. A Californian
can toke on grass without establishing
social ties with criminals.
New York State will choose its own
approach to MMJ. Congress will not be
debating the issue any time soon, but
it seems probable that the State Legis-
lature will be confronting it as early as
next year. Medical Marijuana is a popu-
lar policy, making it likely that the Alba-
ny debate will be focused on just how
liberal a law to settle on. Agreement may
elude the Legislature next year, given
that 2010 is an election year, but the
issue will arrive foursquare on its agenda
in any event. This represents a drastic
change in the political climate, and even
though there will be no debate on Capitol
Hill in Washington, the US attorney gen-
eral’s action has proved already how big
a difference a Democratic administration
makes.
In New York City, the question is how
much longer the police department will
send people to jail overnight for pub-
lic possession of marijuana. The issue
didn’t surface in the 2009 mayoral elec-
tion — really, what issue did? — but it
may catch the public’s eye next year.
who it appears, have the support of the overwhelm-
ing number of actual PWAs, are almost all black and
Latino. These leaders have rejected the top-down
approach of organizers; basically, they publicly stated
these people don’t reflect the new face of HIV/AIDS,
and refused to be led or “organized” by them.
Almost all PWA leaders and HIV/AIDS agencies
— including GMHC, Harlem United, and the New York
City AIDS Housing Network — refused to endorse and
attend this protest. Further, Manuel Rivera, the new
PWA member of the GMHC board of directors, has
pressured GMHC to withdraw from the entire coali-
tion.
It may be a hot topic to discuss, as this same type
of split is becoming evident in the larger LGBT commu-
nity. And people may not want to talk about such.
But that is the real story, and I urge you to write
about that.
Richie Qwan
Via Email
WRITE US!
Address letters to the editor, of no more than 250
words, to:
Editor@gaycitynews.com ;
Or fax them to 646-452-2501;
Or mail them to 145 Sixth Ave., 1st fl., New
York 10013.
Please include your phone number, for confirmation
purposes only. The editors reserve the right to edit all
letters due to space constraints.
29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009

Perspective /11
14 DAYS ■ A DYKE ABROAD

Herta Müller Is A Hero

14 NIGHTS BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL

䉴 OCT 30, from p.3
scenes from “Un Ballo in Maschera,”
“Rigoletto,” “Don Carlo,” “Norma,” “La
Forza del Destino,” “The Pearlfishers,”
and more. Special guests include Lucine
Amara, Zexun Shen on cello, Elizabeth
Friedman on violin, and Horace Beasley
on piano. All proceeds benefit the Trinity
Place Shelter for Homeless LGBT youth.
Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhat-
tan/Iglesia Luterana Trinidad, 164 W.
100th St., east of Amsterdam Ave., 7
p.m. Suggested donation is $10.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ owner characterizing Müller
TELEVISION
The History Around
Us
Village Voice columnist Michael
Musto hosts a lively tour of gay history
locations in New York City, exploring how
gay sexuality and gender identity have
been woven into the city’s fabric for hun-
dreds of years. The half-hour program,
produced by CUNY TV, was inspired by
two books written by Daniel Hurewitz,
a Hunter College history professor —
“Stepping Out: Nine Walks Through New
York City’s Gay and Lesbian Past” and
“Bohemian Los Angeles.” The special
premieres Oct. 30, 10 p.m., on CUNY
TV, channel 75, and repeats Oct.
31, 5:30 & 11 p.m. After that, it will be
streamed on demand on cuny.tv.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ date for civil liberties with the
I
t should have gone to Philip
Roth. Philip Roth, or maybe
Joyce Carol Oates. That was
the consensus on the American
side of the pond after Herta Mül-
ler was named the latest winner
of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
In a Washington Post article,
Mary Jordan asked, “Herta
who?” and quoted that lumi-
nary Harold Bloom announcing
he had, “Nothing to talk about
because I have never heard of
this writer.” Jordan likewise
featured a German bookstore
as popular only “with a minor-
ity of intellectuals.” Finally, an
unnamed but “prominent editor
and writer in New York” sealed
her insignificance, declaring
that the 18-member Nobel jury
was “in some other universe.”
Which is absolutely true.
In this other universe that
does not have America as its
heart, we’re celebrating the 20th
anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall. From Europe, the
world seems bigger than from
New York, and the stakes high-
er. Many countries of the former
Soviet bloc are struggling with
their totalitarian pasts, while
established democracies are
wrestling to balance their man-
so-called exigencies of fighting
terrorism.
she’s obsessively and brilliantly
considered the legacy of com-
munism in Romania: the spy-
ing, betrayal, hatred, and loss.
Born into a German-speak-
ing minority in the Romanian
countryside in 1953, her peas-
ant mother suffered several
years in a Ukrainian gulag, sent
there like other ethnic Germans
by Romania’s Soviet occupiers.
During World War II, her father
was in the SS. “My father hated
After 30 years under a dictatorship,
she’s an expert on the damage we do
to ourselves with each complicit act.
working in the fields and when
he returned from the SS in
1945, he became a lorry driver
and alcoholic,” she has written.
“The combination is possible
in the countryside. My mother
was and remained a peasant in
the corn and sunflower fields.
Corn for me is the socialist
plant par excellence: it displays
its colours, grows in colonies,
blocks the view, and cuts your
hands with its leaves while
you’re working.”
She herded cows as a child
and worked on the farm. After
studying literature in college,
you in the river.” Instead, he
denounced her to the other
workers as a spy and made her
a pariah. Shortly afterwards,
she lost her job.
Like other uncooperative
writers, her work was censored,
and she was under constant
surveillance. She was inter -
rogated and humiliated. Her
house was bugged. They threat-
ened her. Even in 1987, when
she finally was able to move
with her husband to Berlin,
there were traces of the secret
police.
In Muller’s July 23 essay,
“Securitate in all but name,” pub-
lished in the German weekly Die
Zeit, she wrote that despite the
execution of Ceausescu, the fall
of the Berlin wall, and an innoc-
uous new name, the Romanian
Information Service, the secret
police continues largely intact:
“According to their own figures,
40 percent of the staff was taken
on from the Securitate. The real
percentage is probably much
higher. The rest are retired, or
each complicit act, the active
betrayals, as well as the times we
turn our eyes away. She shows
what happens when we accept.
And forget. And go silent.
We are lucky when writers
like Müller refuse. There’s a cer-
tain amount of courage you have
to have. A certain amount of
mulishness. A sense of self-pres-
ervation that extends beyond the
body. We get a glimpse of that
in her 1991 “Der Teufel Sitzt im
Spiegel” (“The Devil Sits in the
Mirror”), quoted in Verena Auf-
fermann’s biographical essay
about the writer:
“Writing is always the last
thing, the only thing that I
can (still) do, have to do, when
there’s nothing else I can do.
When I write, it is always at
the point where I can no longer
deal with myself (and that also
means the things that surround
me). When I can no longer
endure my senses. When I can
no long endure thinking. When
everything has become so com-
plicated that I no longer know
where the external things begin
or end. Whether they are inside
me or the other way round.”
Word by word, our best writers
pull back the curtains and show
us the world. Müller does that
in her novels and her life. One of
her first acts as a laureate was to
support embattled Chinese writ-

HALLOWEEN
SAT.OCT.31 And in this other universe,
where literature is still a battle-
ground of ideas and not some
she found work as a transla-
tor in a factory. To keep her
job, she had to agree to spy
“the new architects of the market
economy.”
In her novels, those calcula-
ers at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Support KELLY in EXILE. Help

A Hell of a
Celebration!
Theater for the New City’s 33rd
annual Village Halloween Costume Ball,
a unique festival that’s a grand coming-
together for everyday New Yorkers and
artists alike. The one-night fiesta takes
over all four of TNC’s theater spaces,
plus its lobby and the block of E.
Tenth St. btwn. First & Second Aves.
Big-band dance orchestras — includ-
ing La Cumbiamba, Hot Lavender Swing
Band, an all-gay and lesbian 18-piece
ensemble, and New York Flaggers —
take over the large Johnson Theater.
Outside, there are bluegrass and jazz
bands, fire-eaters, jugglers, storyweav-
ers and stilt dancers, all free to the pub-
lic. Indoors, there will be two continuous-
ly-running cabarets. Lobby attractions
will include a Wiccan psychic reader,
astrology/numerology, astral portraits,
䉴 OCT 31, continued on p.24
popularity contest, Herta Müller
was the perfect choice. Through
more than 20 books and a
string of Europe’s top prizes,
䉴 BRIEFS, from p.2
At least [Quinn] mentioned his
name, and even went further and
added two additional sentences,”
she quipped of the unenthusiastic
thumbs-up, which came during
a question-and-answer session
with reporters following a press
conference on healthy eating in
city schools. “So we’ll accept it,
and we’ll run with it, and we look
forward to the next four years with
her as our leader.”
Quinn, an out lesbian Chel-
sea Democrat, had apparently
approached Thompson, the city
comptroller, earlier about the
for Ceausescu’s secret police. tions are translated into human kickstart a gallery for free-range
When she refused twice, a gov- terms. After 30 years under a dic- art by visiting kickstarter.com/
ernment functionary told her, tatorship, she’s an expert on the projects/cogswell/b-ville-in-
“You’ll be sorry, we’ll drown damage we do to ourselves with exile-gallery.
endorsement, but due to tensions explain why even her staff seemed Councilman Charles Barron, who Gotbaum Goes
between the two — the speaker is confused as to the endorsement’s has publicly called for Quinn’s to Bat Against
seen as too close an ally of Mayor timing, with one Council employee ouster — are too few to have an Post
Michael R. Bloomberg, the Repub- intimating last week that the impact. “It’s a win-win for every- The October 27 cover of the
licans’ candidate — he refused announcement would come before one,” she said of the endorse- New York Post, with a composite
to accept. So Quinn slipped in the the weekend. ment, “and now what we have photo doctored to put Philadel-
nod with little fanfare when speak- Still, the last-minute tip of the to do is get out the vote for Bill phia Phillies outfielder Shane Vic-
ing to reporters after the press cap should be enough to boost Thompson.” torino in a cheerleader’s skirt, has
conference, framing her position Quinn, regardless of any linger- Kenneth Sherrill, a political drawn the ire of New York City
as an afterthought despite broad ing bad feelings between her and science professor at Hunter Col- Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
speculation over what she would Thompson allies on the Council. lege, believes James “knows In a press release issued just
ultimately do. “I’ve spoken to “I’ve spoken to a number of mem- what she’s talking about.” He hours after the rag hit the streets,
Comptroller Thompson,” she said bers, and I believe I speak for a said, “I think that any speaker her office issued a release quot-
at the event. “I told him that I am majority of members here in this who didn’t endorse his or her par- ing her saying, “Today’s cover
supporting him and I’m ready to be body,” James said. “Her leader- ty’s candidate for mayor would makes it clear that the New York
helpful in any way.” ship is secure.” be in difficulty. I don’t think this is Post is eager to add gay-baiting
The back and forth between She added that “dissenting” going to be a cause for difficulty.”
Quinn and Thompson helps members—such as Brooklyn — Patrick Hedlund 䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.12
12 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009
䉴 BRIEFS, from p.11
Metropolitan Community Church of New York
Social Spiritual
to its tradition of tasteless, offen-
Homeless
Youth sive humor. Surely the Post could
Services have found a better, and more con-
Service
A church of lesbian,
and Sylvia Rivera
Home
Food Pantry
gay, bisexual
and transgender vincing, way to point out the Yan-
people. Open to all. kees’ superiority without suggest-
ing that the Phillies are gay (“Only
in the City of Brotherly Love…”)
Advocating
— and therefore, by their logic,
Marriage Equality and bad at baseball. The sub-head of
Transgender Rights
the cover read: “The Frillies are
The Reverend Pat Bumgardner, Pastor coming to town.”
Weekly Sunday Services: 9 am (Traditional), 11 am (Celebration) The Phillies hope to extend
3 pm (Mandarin) and 7 pm (Praise & Worship) their World Series string to two in
11 am features ASL interpreter (1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday of each month)
446 West 36th St. bet. 9th & 10th Ave. NY, NY 10018 the seven-game autumn classic
212-629-7440 website: www.mccny.org email: info@mccny.org that began in New York as Gay City
News goes to press.
US Initiatives on
Rage against the machine...
Joe Nardiello
LGBT Housing,
Elders
The US Department of Hous-
ing and Urban Development has
announced a series of steps aimed
at ensuring that federal housing
programs do not discriminate on
For City Council 39th District
the basis of sexual orientation
and gender identity and that the
federal government improves its
Unbiased.
knowledge base about discrimi-
Independent. nation the community faces. In
Non-partisan. an October 21 release, Secretary
Unwavering devotion to the public, period. Shaun Donovan announced that
the definition of family under fed-
Visit joe439.com Vote Nov. 3rd. Lets Go Joe! eral housing programs would be
Paid for by Joe Nardiello for City Council
expanded to include LGBT couples
and their children, that their regu-
lations would abide by state and
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local nondiscrimination protec-
tions, and that all FHA loan evalu-
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leen Sebelius announced the cre- October 15, said of marriage
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organizations understand the
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 unique needs and concerns of older
LGBT individuals and assist them
in implementing appropriate pro-


grams. The department’s release
noted that expert estimates of the
number of LGBT Americans range
from 1.5 to 4 million.

 Michael Adams, executive
director of Services and Advocacy
Dignity/New York meets every Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. for Mass and a for GLBT Elders (SAGE), said, “this
social at St. John’s in the Village Church, 218 West 11th Street. For more resource center is a truly historic
information, please visit us at www.dignityny.org or call 646-418-7039. recognition of the needs of LGBT
older adults across the country
$ĖĝĖēģĒĥĚğĘ
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and will make a huge difference
in the lives of so many seniors.
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-(#5
ġĖĠġĝĖ For too long, programs that serve
LGBT older people have been
ignored and shut out from most
public funding.”
Golden Girl,
Indeed
The Ali Forney Center, which
provides housing and other critical
services to as many as 1,000 home-
less youth across New York City,
announced on October 27 that it
had received a gift of $300,000.00
today from the estate of the late
actress Bea Arthur. In September,
at a memorial service for Arthur,
who found fame on stage in
“Mame” and on TV in “Maude”
and “Golden Girls,” that it is pur-
chasing a building to house 12
youths to be named in her honor.
“We are overwhelmed with
gratitude that Bea saw that LGBT
youth deserve as much love and
support as any other young person,
and that she placed so much value
in the work we do to protect them,
and to help them rebuild their
lives,” Ali Forney executive direc-
tor Carl Siciliano said.
Governor Don
Carcieri Is a Big
(But Not Fat)
Idiot
Surrounded by five fellow New
England states that allow same-
sex couples to marry, tiny Rhode
Island, at least under its current
leadership, is digging in to resist.
Don Carcieri, the state’s Repub-
lican chief executive, traveled to
Newton, Massachusetts, in the
Boston suburbs, to speak at a fund-
raiser for the Massachusetts Fam-
ily Institute, which the Providence
Those opponents are not hopeful,
uality “destructive to individuals,
equality has existed in Massachu-
setts since 2004, and gay advo-
cates successfully squashed two
it “would authorize discrimination,”
The Rhode Island governor,
“This is the whole ballgame
equality, “It is a not civil right. I get
aggravated when it is portrayed
that way.” He also said families
with one mother and one father
produce the healthiest climate for
raising children, an assertion con-
tradicted by prevailing social sci-
ence research. “We are failing our
children,” he added.
The governor and the leaders
of the State Senate and House in
Rhode Island all oppose a marriage
equality bill that was introduced in
the Legislature. Carcieri said the
issue should be decided by refer-
endum. His office confirmed that
he has agreed to a meeting with
gay advocates, but no specifics
have been worked out.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
Lincoln Is No
Lincoln
Blanche Lincoln, the US senator
from Arkansas in the news for join-
ing Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman in
threatening to filibuster any health
care reform bill that includes a public
option, is also proving to be useless to
her party on LGBT rights. According to
the Arkansas Times, Lincoln respond-
ed to a constituent’s query, “Thank
you for contacting me regarding the
Employment Non-Discrimination
Act (S. 1584) which would prohibit
employment discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation and gen-
der identity. However, equal rights
should not become special rights.”
So, apparently, she seems like
an unreliable ally in any effort to
stave off a filibuster effort by anti-
gay Republicans, although she could
stand with her party on gaining the 60
votes to invoke cloture and then vote
no on the underlying question. Still,
it’s a good thing that there are a few
Republicans — like Olympia Snowe
and Susan Collins, both of Maine —
who act in the spirit of their party’s
founding president on questions of
basic equality.
Legal Battle May
Be Brewing In
DC Marriage
Effort
As the Washington, DC, City
Council began holding public hearings
on a bill to give same-sex couples in
the nation’s capital the right to marry,
opponents of the move are pressing
the city Board of Elections and Ethics
to allow them to place a referendum
on the ballot that would limit mar-
riage to different-gender couples.
the Washington Post reported — the
put the statute that grants recognition
to same-sex marriages from other
jurisdictions on the ballot because
contrary to the city’s 1977 Human
right here,” the Post quoted Brian
Brown, executive director of the
National Organization for Marriage,
which has battled marriage equality
in California, Maine, and elsewhere,
as saying. Brown added that if his
group loses at the elections board,
“We will go to the higher courts…
The other side better be careful
what they wish for.”
An October 26 City Council hear-
ing attracted emotional testimony
from both sides of the issue. “Pass
this bill and finally make my brother’s
partner of 15 years my brother-in-
law,” Marisa Levy said. But marriage
equality opponent Kathryn Pearson-
West said, “I am just outraged at
this hearing. I think it’s a joke. This is
 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 13

GAY CITY NEWS

DONNA ACETO

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Lieutenant Dan Choi. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Governor Jon Corzine.

WA
Partnership Rights ME
MT ND
at Risk on Nov. 3
MN VT.
OR ID NH
Marriage Rights at
SD Risk on Nov. 3
WI NY MA

WY MI CT RI

IA PA
NE NJ
NV OH MD
IN DE
IL
UT
WV
Marriage Equality
CO
VA
Approval Possible
CA KS
MO KY
Marriage Rights

Progress
NC
Eliminated Nov. 2008 TN
AZ OK
AR SC
NM

Report
MS AL GA

Equal Marriage Rights

LA
TX
Out-of-State Marriages Recognized

Comprehensive Non-Marriage Spousal Rights

HI
FL
Nov. 2009
Partial Partnership Rights

ESPA’s Alan Van Capelle and Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. State Senator Thomas K. Duane and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
GAY CITY NEWS

GAY CITY NEWS


14/ Progress
Upbeat Pledges, Stern Warnings
Governor sees marriage in “next few weeks”; Van Capelle demands Senate allies step up to plate
䉴 continued from cover
remarks, delivered at the group’s
annual Manhattan fall dinner on
October 22, reflected his rising frus-
tration with the allies the LGBT com-
munity helped install. “We can find
other friends who will do that job for
us and do it faster,” he said of the
potential that Senate Democrats
might fail to heed his call. “We know
such friends exist.”
The threat to find “other friends”
was, in fact, an echo of challeng-
es Van Capelle once issued to the
Republican leadership that held sway
over the Senate for decades until last
November’s election. Then, he warned
that if the GOP leadership was unwill-
ing to allow votes on marriage equal-
ity, transgender rights, and a school
anti-bullying measur e, the Pride
Agenda would work to put a new team
in charge. The group held true to that
pledge.
Now, the Pride Agenda is stepping
up pressure on the Democrats to make
certain that, after a summer of chaos
in the Senate, they do not simply kick
the can further down the street on
marriage equality.
“Some senators, even sponsors
of the bill, in an attempt to slow us
down, will say that we have not made
our case,” Van Capelle argued. “That
is a lie. We have made our case. We
have made it in union halls and fac-
DUANE, O’DONNELL RESPOND
TO ESPA PRODDING
Three days after Alan Van Capelle, executive
director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, used the
occasion of the group’s Manhattan fall dinner to put
pressure on out gay Senator Thomas K. Duane to
deliver on his assurance he has the votes to pass
marriage equality, the Chelsea Democrat was
not interested in challenging ESPA on the value
of steely determination, even anger, as a tool in
demanding action.
“I am angry also,” Duane told Gay City News,
following an October 25 forum hosted by US Sen-
ator Kirsten Gillibrand at the LGBT Community
Center. “I don’t just gotta pray it’s going to hap-
pen. I know it’s going to happen. I have tremen-
dous sympathy for the anger, the impatience, the
fear that it might not happen. I absolutely under-
stand and I feel that myself very deeply.”
At the Sheraton Hotel on October 22, Van
Capelle, warning the majority Senate Democrats,
“We can find other friends who will do that job for
us and do it faster,” added, “Senator John Samp-
Governor David A. Paterson fields reporters’ questions following his address to the October 22 fall dinner of the Empire
State Pride Agenda in Manhattan.
tories and offices. We have made it
in churches and synagogues and in
mosques. We have made on radio, on
television, and in newspapers.” But, he
insisted, “The time for making cases is
passed… The time for lame excuses,
son, you are the leader of the State Senate. Sena-
tor Tom Duane, you have told us on multiple occa-
sions you have the votes to pass this bill. Give us
the dignity, the rights, and respect we deserve.”
When asked whether ESPA adopting that sort
of posture helped him in his vote-building effort in
Albany, Duane said, “I’m a street activist at heart,
so it’s a very, very important tactic to get things
done. I use my emotions in my job to get things
done, and I think that’s what activists do.”
Daniel O’Donnell, the out gay Democratic
assemblyman who steered the marriage equal-
ity bill to passage in his chamber both in 2007
and 2009, said, “The carrot often works better
at the beginning of the process; the stick at the
end. Asked to clarify where in the process he
thought the Senate was, O’Donnell responded,
“One thing about making threats is that you
need to be willing to follow through. I mean, are
you going to primary Tom? That doesn’t make
any sense.” — Paul Schindler
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
the deepening fiscal crisis gripping
the state, the principal reason he will
be calling the Legislature into special
session sometime in November.
At the conclusion of his remarks
about the budget, Paterson said,
“There are difficult times, there are
good times and bad times, but it is
always a good time for justice.” Then
referring to “unfinished business from
earlier this year” — which he later told
reporters also included mortgage fore-
closure reform and other matters —
the governor pledged to put marriage
equality on the very first agenda, or
calendar in Albany parlance, for the
special session.
That, he said, would lead to a favor-
able vote by the Senate, and his sign-
ing marriage equality — approved by
the Assembly in June –– into law “just
in the next few weeks.”
After his remarks, reporters
pressed Paterson on how he could be
so confident about an issue the Sen-
GAY CITY NEWS
ate has avoided all year. “I don’t see
the future,” he responded. “I believe it
would pass. Many of the advocates are
demanding that it come to the floor.
Either they want it to pass, or they
want to see how people will vote.”
for botched maneuvers, and simple, The governor took another occasion
plain old foot-dragging is passed.” for humor, riffing, “Perhaps we could
And then, Van Capelle took the bat- change the law and I could be gover-
tle directly to the two senators in the nor and majority leader of the Sen-
best position to ensure that there is ate.” But when asked directly about
follow-through. “Senator John Samp- the leadership that Sampson — a
son, you are the leader of the State Brooklyn Democrat who only became
Senate. Senator T om Duane, you head of his caucus this past summer
have told us on multiple occasions amidst the upheaval that crippled
you have the votes to pass this bill,” the Senate — is equipped to provide,
Van Capelle thundered. “Give us the Paterson responded, “Senator Samp-
dignity, the rights, and respect we son I’ve heard on occasion say that he
deserve.” thinks the bill can pass... My under-
A political insider in the hall could standing is he’s a supporter.”
hardly be faulted for taking a quick The evening’s other speaker was
moment to catch their breath — the Senator Charles Schumer, a Brooklyn
head of the state’s gay rights organi- Democrat making his first appearance
zation was challenging an eleven-year at the dinner in a number of years.
gay veteran of the Senate, who has Earlier in 2009, Schumer embraced
carried the marriage equality bill for marriage equality for the first time,
years, to prove true to his promise. 13 years after voting for the federal
An hour or so later, the governor Defense of Marriage Act while a mem-
arrived to lighten the mood. ber of the House. Schumer noted that
“If you’ve been telling your loved earlier in the day the Senate complet-
ones, you know, ‘I’d marry you, but ed action on the federal hate crimes
we have a legal problem,’” Paterson law, which now goes to President
said, to gently rolling laughter. “Maybe Barack Obama for his signature.
like many straight people have done, The two mayoral candidates ––
you’ve led someone along … you’d incumbent Michael R. Bloomberg,
better leave now. Marriage equality is running on the Republican line, and
coming to New York State.” Democrat William C. Thompson, Jr., the
The governor’s joke, however, came city comptroller –– made appearances
only after he offered the diners a bit during the evening’s cocktail hour but
of spinach himself –– an overview of did not stay for dinner.
29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009
Ducking Marriage Recognition Issue
Oral arguments questioning at Court of Appeals suggest desire for narrow ruling
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
T
he Court of Appeals, the
state’s highest bench,
heard oral arguments
on October 13 in two cases
that provide a vehicle for
weighing in on whether same-
sex couples who marry else-
where are entitled to have
their marriages recognized in
New York.
But judging by its ques-
tioning, many members of the
court appear to be looking for
a way to give a narrow ruling
that would not necessarily set-
tle that question.
The court is fully aware that
the State Senate might obvi-
ate their need to make a con-
troversial ruling by voting for
Governor David A. Paterson’s
marriage equality bill, already
approved by the Assembly,
before the end of the year.
The two cases before the
court were Godfrey v. Spano,
in which the Appellate Divi-
sion for the 2nd Department
rejected a constitutional chal-
lenge to an executive order by
Westchester County Executive
Andrew Spano commanding
The court is fully aware that the
State Senate might obviate their
need to make a controversial ruling.
agencies under his direction
to afford same-sex marriag-
es the maximum recognition
available under the law, and
Lewis v. Department of Civil
Service, in which the Appellate
Division for the 3rd Depart-
ment rejected a constitutional
challenge to a decision by the
department to recognize same-
sex marriages for purposes of
public employee benefits pro-
grams in the state.
The 2nd Department ruling
was unanimous in finding that
because the Spano order had
merely instructed county offi-
cials to follow the law, it was
not subject to challenge.
The 3rd Department ruling
was expressed in divergent
opinions, three judges hold-
ing that same-sex marriages
are entitled to recognition as
a matter of the state’s well-
established marriage recog-
nition principles, while two
judges held that it was within
the discretion of the Civil Ser-
vice Department to decide that
same-sex couples who mar -
ried outside the state qualified
to be treated like dependents
in interpreting employee ben-
efits rules. The minority opin-
ion said it was not necessary
or desirable for the court to
take on the broader question
of marriage recognition in this
case. The majority, in contrast,
adopted the reasoning of the
Appellate Division for the 4th
Department in a 2008 case
requiring Monroe Community
College to recognize the Cana-
dian same-sex marriage of one
of its employees.
Both cases were brought by
the Alliance Defense Fund, an
Arizona-based Christian advo-
cacy outfit that specializes in
attacking any laws or govern-
Progress /15
ment actions that advance the
human rights of gay people.
ADF found New York taxpay-
ers willing to be named plain-
tiffs in the lawsuit, claiming
that Spano and the Civil Ser-
vice Department had exceeded
their constitutional powers
with actions that could result
in the expenditure of taxpayer
funds. New York law authoriz-
es taxpayers to file legal chal-
lenges to unconstitutional gov-
ernment expenditures.
ADF attorney Brian Raum
argued to overturn both Appel-
late Division rulings. His main
line of attack was that same-
sex marriages should be treat-
ed the same as polygamous
and incestuous marriages
— the two categories of mar -
riages from other jurisdictions
that courts treat as exceptions
to the general rule that out-of-
䉴 RECOGNITION, continued on p.20

16/ Progress
Hundreds March for Jack Price
Counter-protesters support accused; other College Pointers say defense fabricated
䉴 continued from cover
In September, Dromm won
the Democratic nomination for
City Council from the Jackson
Heights district, a victory tanta-
mount to election.
As 300 pr oceeded down
the boulevard past the site of
the attack, Millie Franco and
other staff from a beauty shop
applauded them and con-
demned the alleged perpetra-
tors. “It was disgusting,” she
said. “These two punks, two
against one. Let’s see how
tough they are behind bars.”
“We’re here to deliver a mes-
sage of hope,” Dromm told the
diverse crowd at the Poppen-
husen Playground. “This will
never happen again. Enough is
enough.” He praised the swift
police work in the case.
“I am really pissed off,” said
Marisa Ragonese, director of
Generation Q for LGBT youth
in Queens, who the day before,
with Queens United Against
Hate Crimes, leafleted students
coming out of Flushing High
School, trying to dispel preju-
dice against LGBT people. She
bemoaned the failure of Con-
gress to pass the federal hate
crimes act and of the state to
enact an anti-bullying law, as
well as the lack of education
about LGBT issues in the city’s
public schools.
“I would bet my last mega-
phone that these two young
men were never educated about
gay people,” she told the crowd.
“We need education in every
single grade.”
Council Speaker Christine
Quinn, an out lesbian Demo-
crat from Chelsea, said, “We’ve
done too many of these march-
es. It’s important we keep doing
them. These individuals didn’t
beat him because they knew
Jack. They beat him because of
who he is.”
“It is inappropriate to hate,”
Quinn added. “It is unaccept-
able to feel so confident in your
hate that you act out violently.”
C o m p t r o l l e r Wi l l i a m C .
Thompson, Jr., the Democratic
candidate for mayor, said, “We
will not let ourselves be divid-
ed… Those of you who hate,
keep it to yourselves. We will
Among those marching on College Point Boulevard on Saturday were City Councilman Tony Avella, gay activist and City Council candidate Daniel
Dromm, Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr., Jack Price’s sister-in-law, Joanne Guarneri, and Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Workers at a hair salon a few yards from the scene of the beating applaud as the march against
hate proceeds on College Point Boulevard.
not look the other way.”
Congressman Anthony Wein-
er, a Democrat who represents
portions of Queens and Brook-
lyn, thanked “the good people
of this diverse community.” He
spoke up for Kevin Jennings,
formerly of the Gay, Lesbian
and Straight Education Net-
work, whom right-wingers at
Fox News and elsewhere, he
said, are trying to hound out
of his job as head of the fed-
GAY CITY NEWS
nearby Flushing, the Demo-
cratic candidate for city comp-
troller, who said, “This is a hate
crime that leaves emotional
scars on all of us, not just Jack
Price.”
Price’s sister-in-law, Joanne
Guarneri, and niece, Amanda,
also spoke.
There was much talk of what
to do to counteract the kind of
bigotry that often drives these
attacks. Councilman Tony
Avella, who represents Col-
lege Point, said, “The one thing
that has to happen is marriage
equality so that people see that
gays and lesbians are equal to
everyone.” He said his support
of that issue and LGBT rights
in general has not cost him
politically in his district, despite
its conservative reputation. He
also said the city needs a “dep-
GAY CITY NEWS
uty mayor for Human Rights to
educate kids” and pursue these
investigations.
Queens Councilman Peter
Vallone, Jr., head of the Coun-
cil’s Public Safety Committee,
eral Department of Educa- marched and told Gay City
tion’s Office of Safe and Drug- News, “The message to youth
Free Schools under President has to be that everyone needs
Barack Obama. to be respected.” He said that
“When Jack comes back,” the message to those who
Weiner said, “we’ll walk shoul- would commit these crimes is,
der to shoulder with him.” “We will find you and put your
Other elected officials speak- miserable self in jail.”
ing at the rally included Queens Asked if students should
Borough President Helen Mar- be taught about the human-
shall, Manhattan Borough ity of LGBT people, Vallone
President Scott Stringer, and said, “I have no problem with
City Councilman John Liu of that.” But systemic programs
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
to integrate curricula with the
reality of gay lives and help
students overcome anti-gay
prejudice have been deflected
for decades by the New York
City public schools. (This
reporter writes as one who
lobbied for them in the late
1980s and early ’90s as direc-
tor of education at the Het-
rick-Martin Institute.)
Both alleged perpetrators,
Daniel Aleman, 26, and Daniel
Rodriguez, 21, who was appre-
hended in Virginia, are now in
custody and charged with fel-
ony assault as a hate crime. “I
hope they rot in jail,” Price told
the Daily News from his hos-
pital bed where he is recover-
ing from a broken jaw, broken
ribs, and collapsed lungs. “I
don’t understand how someone
can do this to somebody. They
almost killed another human
being.”
Price told the News that as
he went into a bodega on Col-
lege Point Boulevard to buy cig-
arettes, the men taunted him in
Spanish, calling him “a stupid
faggot” and “dumb faggot.” He
said, “They didn’t know I spoke
Spanish.” When he came out of
the store, he said, one yelled, “I
know where you live, faggot,”
and the other said, “You better
run before he kills you.” Short-
ly thereafter, they began their
attack.
P r i c e ’ s b r o t h e r, J o s e p h
Guar neri, said befor e the
march, “This kid, Danny Rodri-
guez, knew my brother. Some
people can’t grip reality. They
build up hatred. It has to stop.”
He also said that Price is “wor-
ried about retaliation” when
he returns to the community.
While Guarneri said his fam-
ily accepted Price being gay, “a
lot of people still think Jack was
wrong.”
Sp e a k i n g o f t h e a t t a c k ,
Guarneri said, “If my own kids
did that, they’d be gone.”
A reporter from NY1 News
told Gay City News that “peo-
ple said on camera that Price
got what he deserved.” Quinn
responded to that news by
saying, “There will always be
ignorant people. A few mis-
䉴 MARCH, continued on p.17
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 17

at ihi
FOR,'"41PARENTS
and prospective parents

A free support program of monthly workshops and

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Funded by the NYS Department of Health

Next Upcoming Workshops:

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GAYC ITY NEWS

VW
The Institute For Human Identity
About 20 counter-demonstrators tried to send the message that alleged perpetrator Danny Rodriguez was not guilty of a TH!VE TH3T-ANHATTAN
hate crime.
LGT JUNOCOM
䉴 MARCH, from p.16
THERAPYCENTERORGFAMILYQ
guided supporters [of the attackers] are
a minority.”
An interracial group of about 20 of
Danny Rodriguez’s supporters boldly
demonstrated across the street from
the rally with signs and chants insist-
ing that he did not commit a hate crime,
though most conceded the assault itself
was a crime.
Marcel Gelmi said, “Danny has gay
relatives and friends. It was an assault.
Drop the hate crime.”
Gelmi is now famous for display-
ing to WABC-TV News a tattoo on his
&ORFURTHERINFORMATIONFUTUREWORKSHOPS
ANDRESERVATIONSORIHI
lege Point woman at the anti-hate crime WWWIHI
march who wore a hood to obscure her
identity and asked that her name not be
used said that the stories are lies and
that some among the suspect’s support-
|trinity choir
ers are threatening people.
“A lot of teens wouldn’t come here
today because they’re a gang,” she said.
the
“I’m afraid they’ll come after me. It’s
people who don’t like Jack who wrote
a New Season of Exquisite Music
it,” referring to the graffiti saying that
Price was looking “for a good time” and
giving out his number. She said vandals
wrote that her son “is a pussy” on her
Requiem & Remembrance
door using the same magic markers in
the same script. “Everyone knows these
bicep reading, “Thou shall not lie with
a male as one does with a woman. It
is an abomination. 1 Leviticus 18:22.”
Asked why he picked that particular
Bible verse, he said, “It’s what I believe
in,” but refused to elaborate. When told
that the end of the verse is “they shall
surely be put to death,” Gelmi pro-
tested and pulled out his version of the
Bible that omitted that phrase.
“There’ll be gay people testifying in
Danny’s defense,” Gelmi claimed.
Joseph Perez, another of Rodriguez’s
friends at the counter -protest, said,
“[Price] blew kisses at [Rodriguez]. [Price]
was always writing on walls, ‘For a good
time, call Jack,’ and putting his num-
ber there. [Price’s] a drug addict and a
crackhead.” Perez said if a man blew
him kisses, he’d beat him up, too. “Take
me to jail,” he said.
Rodriguez’s friends have been telling
these stories in his defense to the media
and prosecutors, but a middle-aged Col-
-ONDAY.OVEMBERsPM
boys are troublemakers.” Jane Glover, Guest Conductor
Stanley Rygor of Long Island City,
father of the late gay and AIDS activist 3CHÓTZMusikalische Exequien, (OWELLSRequiem,
Robert Rygor, said before the march, 2ICHAFORT Requiem, *OSQUIN Déploration sur la mort
“I saw that video over and over, and it
made my blood boil. What I would have de Johannes Ockeghem
done if I witnessed it is killed them with Ticket prices Ticket sales
my bare hands. My son had close calls $20 General Admission trinitywallstreet.org/tickets
in the Village with the likes of these bas- $10 Student/Senior* 212.866.0468
tards.” Rygor said he came to the march * Available at the door Trinity Church Gift Shop
“to let people know what many of us feel
about this kind of atrocity.” In addition Venue
to calling for retribution, he said there Trinity Church
needs to education about gay people in Broadway at Wall Street
the schools.
Gay activist and civil libertarian Bill
Dobbs, who opposes hate crimes laws,
said, “Let’s keep our focus on justice
and not veer off into vengeance. They
deserve a fair trial.” He believes in work-
ing on community attitudes to reduce
anti-gay bigotry, but not in “making
these two individuals pawns in that
larger fight.”
 29 OCT -11 NOV 2009

18/ Progress
■ PERSPECTIVE

Friends of Religion-Based Bigotry

BY BRENT CHILDERS

“H
omosexuality is an
abomination” is the
thought tattooed
on the hearts of and minds of
too many in this nation, and it
is a harbinger of religion-based
bigotry and prejudice toward
gay Americans today.
The view that homosexuality
is immoral or sinful is behind
the opposition to every legal
measure aimed at allowing gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and trans-
gendered Americans to enjoy
the same rights, protections,
and human dignity as other
citizens — from a City Council
vote in Kalamazoo, Michigan,
to a statewide referendum to
repeal marriage equality in
Maine.
An article on GetReligion.org
asked whether religion has any
relevance to the story about
a gay Queens man who, on
October 9, was attacked by two
assailants allegedly because
he was gay. The article posed
that question because of the
fact that a friend of one of the
perpetrators had a tattoo on
his shoulder that reads “Thou
shall not lie with a male as one
does with a woman. It is an
abomination. Leviticus 18:22”
It shouldn’t take an assail-
ant’s friend having a biblical
verse tattooed on his shoulder
to realize that religion is rel-
evant to any discussion about
the violence toward gay, lesbi-
an, bisexual, and trangendered
Americans. Too many of our
friends, parents, co-workers,
elected officials, and church
members have it tattooed on
their minds and hearts.
Gay Americans have been
made free targets of condem-
nation, discrimination, and
violence – whether physical,
emotional, or spiritual – by reli-
gion-based bigotry and preju-
dice for far too long. It is time
we recognize and acknowledge
its relevance to the opposition
to equality and dignity.
In Ames, Iowa, in 200, I met
a mother whose daughter, 20
years ago, had come out during
her marriage. In her daughter’s
court case over custody of her
child, a South Dakota judge
cited the same Bible verse that
the man in Queens has tat-
tooed on his shoulder to say
that the mother was unfit to
have custody of her two sons.
In Nashville, North Carolina,
last month, I met a mother who
had ostracized her son because
she had been taught that her
child’s homosexuality was an
abomination before God. He
died six years ago in a town far
away from home — both in dis-
tance and emotionally. Her son
experienced immense pain at
the hands of church teaching
that had taught this mother
that it was okay to look upon
her son with rejection and con-
demnation — as an abomina-
tion.
That same pain and trauma
is being inflicted upon millions
of gay and lesbian youth and
their families all across Amer-
ica, and it must end.
We do not need theologians
or religious groups to com-
municate the social and moral
injustice of religion-based prej-
udice, bigotry, and discrimina-
tion. History is the arbiter; it
has judged such prejudice and
discrimination as unjust time
and time again throughout
history — particularly the his-
tory of our own nation.
American Natives, women,
African Americans, interra-
cial couples, and even those
who have held minority reli-
gious beliefs have all been the
targets of misguided church
teaching used to justify looking
upon those groups as inferior,
unworthy, and undeserving
of the same rights and protec-
tions as others. In each case,
society can look back today
and see the harm that was
caused in these instances and
understand why it was wrong.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgendered Americans are
targets of religion-based big-
otry and prejudice today.
All Americans, particularly
those straight allies within
faith communities, must talk
to our friends, parents, co-
workers, elected officials, and
fellow churchgoers and let
them know that religion-based
bigotry is no friend of ours —
and is no ally of our core faith
principles of love, compassion,
and respect.
Brent Childers is the execu-
tive director of Faith In America
(faithinamerica.info), which edu-
cates the public about the harm
caused to gay Americans when
religion-based bigotry and preju-
dice is used to justify condemna-
tion, discrimination, and violence
toward the community.

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®

20/ Progress
■ PERSPECTIVE
N
ail-bitingly close con-
tests in three states vot-
ing on November 3 will
determine whether marriage
equality continues in Maine,
a comprehensive package of
domestic partnership rights
roughly equivalent to those in
civil unions remain available
in Washington State, and a gay
marriage law moves forward in
New Jersey.
In the Garden State, incum-
bent Democratic Gover nor
Jon Corzine, a same-sex mar-
riage supporter, could be on
the verge of successfully rising
from the political dead, as the
most recent polling shows him
with a statistically significant
lead over challengers Christo-
pher Christie, a Republican for-
mer US attorney, and Indepen-
dent Christopher Daggett, the
ex-commissioner of the state
Department of Environmental
Protection. A Quinnipiac Uni-
versity poll released October 27
gave the Democrat a 43-38 per-
cent lead over Christie among
likely voters, with Daggett pick-
ing up 13 percent.
In July, Christie enjoyed a 12
point lead over Corzine, based
in part on the state’s economic
troubles, an increase in the
sales tax, and proposed hikes in
roadway tolls. By all accounts,
however, Christie has run a bad
campaign, and the flavor -of-
the-month appeal of Daggett,
who dramatically won endorse-
ment from the Star-Ledger, one
of New Jersey’s leading newspa-
䉴 RECOGNITION, from p.15
state marriages are recognized
in New York.
Raum conceded that if the
Civil Service Department had
extended benefits without for-
mally recognizing the same-
sex marriages as “marriages,”
his clients would have no
objection. That point led Chief
Judge Jonathan Lippman to
suggest that the Civil Ser -
vice challenge was just about
semantics.
On the Spano order, Raum
worked hard to convince the
court that it was not just a
symbolic statement of sup-
port for same-sex couples,
Down to the Wire In Three States
per, siphoned off potential anti-
Corzine votes.
Corzine’s fate is of utmost
concern to New Jersey marriage
equality advocates, given the
governor’s increasingly enthu-
siastic embrace of the issue. At
a February 28 fundraising gala
held by Garden State Equality,
the state’s LGBT lobby, Cor -
zine said, “I’m a Democrat and
I’m straight and I believe in
marriage equality. If we work
“I’m a Democrat and I’m
straight and I believe in marriage
equality,” Corzine said.
together, 2009 will be the year
when I will take this pen out of
my pocket and we will sign the
marriage equality bill.”
In contrast, as recently as
October 1, Christie said, “I do
not support same-sex mar -
riage. I’ve said that before, and
I repeat it tonight... I would not
sign a bill if it came to my desk.”
Steven Goldstein, GSE’s
chair, and the leaders of the
State Senate and the Assembly,
both controlled by Democrats,
have consistently predicted
that the votes would be there
for passing a gay marriage bill
once it hit the floor. Corzine
picked Teaneck State Senator
Loretta Weinberg, the Legisla-
but he could not come up with
any example of where it had
resulted in taxpayer funds
being expended.
Three attorneys argued to
uphold the Appellate Divi-
sion rulings. Assistant Solici-
tor General Sasha Samberg-
Champion from the attorney
general’s office appeared
to defend the Civil Service
D e p a r t m e n t ; We s t c h e s t e r
County Attorney Mary L ynn
Nicolas- Brewster argued in
support of Spano’s executive
order; and Lambda Legal’s
Susan Sommer appeared on
behalf of some same-sex mar-
ried couples who had inter -
vened in the case to protect
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
ture’s leading marriage equality
advocate, as his running mate
in his reelection campaign. Still,
the issue did not come to a vote
this year, almost certainly out of
an aversion for tackling some-
thing so controversial — even in
a state where marriage equality
enjoys majority support in poll-
ing — during an election year.
Privately, some marriage
advocates suggested that even
should Corzine lose, the Legis-
lature could still pass a bill in
time for the lame-duck governor
to sign it before leaving office in
January. Whether elected offi-
cials, however, would be willing
to incur voter wrath and politi-
cal heat by going against the
express wishes of a newly elect-
ed governor is an open ques-
tion.
And LGBT activists are not
taking the chance. As the elec-
tion approaches, they are busy
on two fronts. Barbra Casbar
Siperstein, president of the New
Jersey Stonewall Democrats
Continuing Political Committee,
has been beating the bushes
and the Web to raise funds to
support Corzine’s reelection.
their employee benefits.
Samberg-Champion led off
and quickly conceded that
his client could “live with” the
court deciding the case with-
out resolving the underlying
marriage recognition issue.
He was pushed on this by
more than one of the judges,
as they probed to determine
whether there was a way
they could avoid taking up
the politically charged ques-
tion. Judge Victoria Graffeo
expressed concer n that a
broad marriage recognition
ruling would go beyond pub-
lic employees and also affect
private businesses through-
out the state.
GSE is pitching in, with an
appeal for volunteers to work
on the governor’s behalf during
the campaign’s final weekend
and to help press for a marriage
equality vote in Trenton after
the race is decided.
In Maine, a poll issued on
October 11 by Public Policy
Polling found the electorate
evenly divided, 48-48 percent,
on the effort to repeal the mar-
riage equality law enacted this
past spring. Democrats opposed
repeal 70-25, while Republicans
were in favor by a nearly inverse
74-23. The other major divide
was by gender — with women
opposing repeal 52-43 percent,
but men in favor 53-42.
Voting patterns by age were
a surprise — 18-29-year-olds
were about evenly split; those
30 to 45 favored repeal by a
53-44 percent margin; those
46-65 opposed repeal 53-42;
but then those over 65 favored
repeal 54-40.
With the Catholic Diocese of
Portland, bolstered by the efforts
of local parishes and other dio-
ceses nationwide, contributing
at least $550,000 to the effort to
repeal marriage equality, LGBT
advocates and their allies are
flooding into Maine to assist
the No on 1/ Protect Marriage
Equality campaign. An official
with that effort estimated that a
half-million phone calls need to
be made in the final week lead-
ing up to November 3; the group
is offering as many free hotel
rooms in Portland as it can to
The most active question-
ers, Lippman, Judge Robert
Smith (who wrote the court’s
plurality opinion in the Her -
nandez case in 2006, rejecting
the state constitutional claim
for same-sex marriage in New
York), and Judge Eugene Pig-
ott, Governor George Pataki’s
last appointee to the court,
all pushed on the question
of whether affirming the 3rd
Department’s majority opin-
ion would mean that the court
was deciding that marriage
recognition question with all
its potential ramifications,
and not just for purposes of
public employee benefits.
Pigott harped on the odd
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
out-of-staters.
Opponents of marriage equal-
ity are using some of the same
TV ad messages that proved
successful in California — in
one ad, a youngster asks her
mother whether two local clergy
are “bigots” for opposing gay
marriage, something the girl
says she was told in school, and
in another, an announcer calm-
ly assures listeners that the
rights of gay and lesbian cou-
ples can be protected through
domestic partnerships while a
piece of paper floats by recount-
ing how a second-grader in
Massachusetts was taught he
could marry a boy.
The gay marriage proponents
have responded to this sort of
scare tactic by quoting the state
attorney general’s statement
that nothing in the marriage
equality law places any require-
ment on what is taught in pub-
lic schools. But Matt Foreman,
the former executive director of
the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force, writing on Bilerico.
com, argued that the battle for
the small sliver of “movable”
voters will not be won through
television ads — and need not
be in as small a state as Maine.
“Ads cannot do it,” Foreman
wrote. “They must be matched
with face-to-face conversations
with voters. That ultimately was
our downfall in California — our
side just didn’t have the capacity
to do this because the scale was
䉴 THREE STATES, continued on p.34
contention that recognizing
out-of-state same-sex mar -
riages at a time when same-
sex couples can’t marry within
the state would be like placing
a higher value on the resi-
dents of other states than on
New Yorkers, characterizing it
as “discriminatory.”
Samberg-Champion kept
coming back to the argument
that the court would only
be deciding the issue with
respect to public employee
benefits, and that the lower
courts would be left to decide
recognition issues on a case-
by-case basis depending on
䉴 RECOGNITION, continued on p.21
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 RECOGNITION, from p.20
circumstances.
Lippman was persistent in raising
the question of whether it was more

1$
appropriate to settle the recognition
issue broadly or to let it play out agen-
cy by agency, county by county, deci-
sion by decision.
Nicolas-Brewster was in the posi-
tion of trying to defend a Westchester
County executive order that, upon
close scrutiny, appears circular and
more symbolic than meaningful. Judge
Smith in particular pressed hard on
whether the order had any substantive
effect, and if affirming the 2nd Depart-
ment required the court to decide the
broader marriage recognition issue,
again signaling the court’s eagerness
to avoid a broad ruling.
Finally, Sommer was peppered with
questions about the scope of the rul-
The New York Court of Appeals is a “hot
bench” that prides itself on issuing decisions
quickly after oral argument.
ing, and whether the court might
refrain from taking a position on the
marriage recognition issue in general.
By the time the argument came around
to her, it was clear that many members
of the court were loath to take on the
broader issue, knowing that the Legis-
lature could quickly render any deci-
sion by the court irrelevant.
ADF’s Raum had saved some time
for rebuttal, and argued that Spano’s
order was not merely symbolic, con-
tending that it could have an impact
on Medicaid eligibility in the county,
but he could not come up with a con-
crete example where somebody had
received such benefits because of the
order rather than as a result of Gover-
nor Paterson’s 2008 directive to Exec-
utive Branch agencies to comply with
the Appellate ruling on Monroe Com-
munity College by recognizing same-
sex marriages contracted out of state.
(ADF also filed a lawsuit challeng-
ing Paterson’s directive, but suffered
a defeat in the trial court. That case
has not yet been heard at an appellate
level and was not before the Court of
Appeals. A broad ruling on the cases
now before the court could well make
that lawsuit moot.)
Predicting an outcome after viewing
an appellate argument is always dan-
gerous. For one thing, Judge Theodore
Jones sat mute during the entire argu-
ment, and Judge Carmen Ciparick said
very little. Jones, the lone appointee of
former Governor Eliot Spitzer, was not
on the court at the time of the 2006
Hernandez ruling against marriage
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 21
equality, and Ciparick, an appointee of
former Governor Mario Cuomo, joined
former Chief Judge Judith Kay’s dis-
sent in that case.
Judges Graffeo and Susan Phillips
5IPNBT
%
4IBOBIBO
Read, both Pataki appointees, asked
plenty of questions without necessar- ±"UUPSOFZ
BU
-BX±
ily signaling their view on the merits.
Graffeo authored a concurring opinion
in Hernandez, rejecting the constitu-
tional marriage claim, but her ques-
tioning this week did not convey overt
hostility toward marriage recognition.
She and Read seemed most concerned
with the potential scope of a marriage
recognition ruling.
The most active questioners, Lipp-
man, Smith, and Pigott, all seemed
very concer ned about limiting the /FX
:PSL
&NQMPZNFOU

scope of the ruling. Lippman, a pro- -BXZFST
"TTPDJBUJPO
tégé of former Chief Judge Kay, might
well share the strong views in favor of
same-sex marriage she articulated in
Over A Decade of Experience
Litigating Employment and Civil Rights
Cases for our Community
2007 - 2009 Deputy Commissioner,
New York State Devision of Human Rights
2006 Honoree: New York City Council -
her Hernandez dissent, but the ques-
tion before the court in these cases is
“Contributions and Service to New York City”
different, and there’s no telling how he
might vote. 2003 Honoree: Common Cause
Pigott was not on the court for Her-
nandez, and his questioning signaled a “Holding Power Accountable”
very practical approach to the problem
facing the court, which would argue
Ethical New Yorker of the Year Award
for a narrow ruling.
Smith was very open about this,
suggesting more than once the court’s
general preference for finding a nar -
Former Aide to Mayor David N Dinkins
row basis to rule rather than issuing a and Public Advocate Mark Green
broad ruling with unforeseeable rami-
fications. “We’ll get the next case soon
enough,” he said.
The New York Court of Appeals is a
“hot bench” that prides itself on issu-
ing decisions quickly after oral argu-
EMPLOYMENT LAW / CIVIL RIGHTS
ment, which means the judges take ',6&5,0,1$7,21‡6(;8$/+$5$660(17
time to study the briefs and have 3$571(56+,3$*5((0(176',63,7(6‡&,9,//,7,*$7,21
begun formulating their views before
the argument takes place. Smith, in 0$75,021,$/&8672'<‡0(',&$/0$/35$&7,&(
particular, seemed to be intimately
conversant with the details of old mar-
3(5621$/,1-85<
riage recognition cases during his
questioning.
There could be a ruling in this
case well before the end of the year,
Thomas D. Shanahan, P.C.
although if the State Senate takes up
the marriage equality bill and passes
it before the court can rule, it might
551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2010
decide to hold up and ask the parties
for briefing on whether the cases were
then moot.
New York, NY 10176
The oral argument is available for
viewing on the court’s website. Go to
nycourts.gov/ctapps/, then click on the tel (212) 867-1100 WWW.SHANAHANLAW.COM
box where it says “Click here for Web- fax (212) 972-1787 TOM@SHANAHANLAW.COM
casts of Selected Oral Arguments.”
22 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

■ PROGRESS

A New Advocate
Emerges
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand aggressively
courts New York’s LGBT community
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eign citizen wishes to live permanently
in this country with their US partner.
Gillibrand said she would “fight very
hard to get a more aggressive response”
from the administration on the targeted
killings and intimidation of LGBT Iraq-
And, in response to a question from
longtime activist Jim Fouratt, she
acknowledged she did not know much
about the issues facing gay, lesbian,
and transgendered seniors, but was
willing to work with him to “develop
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She said of her first meeting with Choi,
“It was the fire that was lit under me
only in her current post since Janu-
ary, when she filled the vacancy left by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, made
clear she would defer to the judgment
of both advocates and more senior col-
leagues.
On taking the lead role on DADT
repeal, she said, “I’m willing to be the
sponsor. I would be eager to be spon-
sor, but we’re working with the advo-
cacy groups to see who is the most
powerful sponsor. Certainly some of
the information I’ve read in the media
about what makes Lieberman attrac-
tive is that he brings the independent
argument, he brings the seniority on
Armed Services. I’m not even on the
committee.”
Asked what her sense of the trac-
tion Nadler’s DOMA repeal effort had
in the Senate, Gillibrand responded,
“I’m going to look into that. Because if
it doesn’t have a lead sponsor, maybe
that’s something where I could be the
lead sponsor. So I’m going to start dis-
cussing this with my colleagues to see
if this is something that somebody
has put a placeholder down for them-
selves.”
During the community forum, she
advocated lobbying New York’s senior
It’s not surprising politically that
Gillibrand is moving aggressively on
LGBT and other progressive issues.
When she was appointed to the Sen-
ate by Governor David A. Paterson, she
came under considerable fire for posi-
tions — particularly on gun control and
immigration — that many Democrats
felt were to the right of where the party
consensus is in New York State.
Gillibrand had not in her two years
in the House become known for LGBT
issues, but it should be noted that in a
radio interview during her first reelec-
tion campaign last fall, she did endorse
marriage equality. That interview was
with Fred Dicker, the New York Post
political columnist whom a politician
would not go to if they were trying to
downplay their advocacy on this sort of
issue.
In making her case at the Commu-
nity Center that she is emerging as a
national leader on LGBT legislation,
Gillibrand had the unstinting endorse-
ment of Lieutenant Dan Choi, an Iraq
War veteran who became a symbol and
leader of the drive to end DADT when
he came out on MSNBC’s “Rachel Mad-
䉴 ADVOCATE, continued on p.23
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 ADVOCATE, from p.22
dow Show” in March. In fact, while
introducing the senator at the forum,
Choi started what became something
of a love fest between the two. He called
Gillibrand “more than a true fighter,
more than a warrior… [someone who]
refuses to accept the strategy of silence
and patience that would lead nowhere.”
He later called her “a battle buddy.” She
in turn said of her first meeting with Choi
in the spring, “It was the fire that was lit
under me to get me to get to work.”
Specifically addressing the hearing
that Levin’s Armed Services Committee
will hold in November, Gillibrand told
Gay City News, “For me, the goal of the
hearing is to create the record. To con-
vince the last of the 60 colleagues that
I need to pass the bill. When I started
counting votes for an amendment to
put a moratorium on Don’t Ask Don’t
Tell for 18 months, the ones who were
not decided — what they said they
wanted to see was leadership from the
military or leadership from the admin-
istration.”
She noted that earlier in October,
the Joint Force Quarterly, a publica-
tion released by the Pentagon, includ-
ed an article by Air Force Colonel Om
Prakash calling for an end to DADT.
“That article,” she said, “was approved
by [Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral
Michael] Mullen to be published.” The
same day Gillibrand made this point,
John McHugh, secretary of the Army,
told the Army Times said that his ser-
vice branch would be able to accom-
modate a change in policy regardless of
“predictions of doom and gloom.”
Gillibrand said that the public aware-
ness created by Levin’s hearing would
allow her and other advocates to win
the final votes needed to achieve the
support of 60 senators for DADT repeal.
“There are at least two or three Repub-
licans I am working on,” she said.
The senator professed to be agnostic
on the proposal made by many of her
former House colleagues that Presi-
dent Barack Obama suspend discharg-
es under stop-loss powers he has to
redress manpower shortfalls. “I think
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 23
it’s a fair option,” she said. “I would
want to check with the military and see
if they could implement it and it would
be in keeping with what the policy is.
But based on my reading, it sounds
reasonable to me because we use a
stop-loss for all sorts of reasons.”
Acknowledging that unilateral action
by the president could trigger a conser-
vative backlash, Gillibrand once again
voiced a pragmatic philosophy, saying,
“How do you get to 60 the fastest? The
goal is to end the policy. If you have a
stop-loss, do you take off the pressure?
Maybe. I don’t know. My view is that
let’s get to success.”
Now that the federal hate crimes bill
has been signed into law, Gillibrand
echoed the conventional wisdom that
enactment of the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act is the next achiev-
able goal. She would not, however, pre-
dict definitively that there are 60 votes
in the Senate for the inclusive ENDA
which incorporates the transgender
protections dropped by out gay Demo-
cratic Congressman Barney Frank of
Massachusetts when the measure first
passed the House in 2007.
“I don’t know the last time that was
counted,” she said. “But I will look into
that.”
Repealing the Defense of Marriage
Act, she predicted, would be a heavier
lift than enacting ENDA or replacing
DADT. Citing “religious” concerns that
many Americans have, she wouldn’t
even say that repeal would happen
during Obama’s current term. “I don’t
know if we’ll be able to pass it, but we
can certainly start advocating for it,”
she said. “What I learned in my three
short years in Washington is that these
things take time.”
Gillibrand, however, offered political
cover to Obama on any such delay.
“People surely have a right to be frus-
trated because this is their most impor-
tant issue,” she said. “But I do believe
the president is our ally and is going to
be a very strong leader on this issue.
I truly believe in what he says… The
president may have his own strategy
that we’re not privy to, and I trust him. I
trust him as an ally on this issue.”

24/ Dance
Evolution And Experience
Two contemporary choreographers on the edge of a nervous century
BY BRIAN MCCORMICK
K
arole Armitage is the
homecoming queen of
American dance. Ever
since she returned from her
studies abroad, accolades and
commissions have come eas-
ily — including, not least, cho-
reography credits on “Passing
Strange” and “Hair,” two of the
more notable works in recent
musical theater history.
“It’s true,” Armitage said, in a
recent interview with Gay City
News. “There’s been an enor-
mous amount of work.” But the
gig choreographing “Passing
Strange,” the semi-biographical
new rock musical, with songs
written and performed by com-
poser Stew, she called “a fluke.”
“Stew knew me,” she said.
“We both went to Europe on
our paths as artists, although
we never met.” Bill Bragin, the
producer at the Public Theater
where “Passing Strange” first
opened, also knew Armitage,
and it was through this connec-
tion that the die was cast.
“Because of doing that,” Armit-
age said, “the Public knew who I
was.”
After seeing her work on DVD,
“Hair” director Diane Paulus
became intrigued, and the Tony
Award-winner for Best Revival
of a Musical was set in motion.
“Hair” received a total of eight
nominations, including best cho-
reography.
“The cast,” Armitage said,
“was quite young and inexperi-
enced, but I’ve worked with so
many kinds of people in so many
different countries, I’ve learned
that you can work with anyone
who is willing.”
It was the choreographer
who learned a lot in developing
“Itutu,” a new work for her com-
pany created in collaboration
with Burkina Electric, the first
electronica band from the West
African nation of Burkina Faso.
The band consists of four musi-
cians and two dancers.
“Working with these African
musicians and dancers has been
thrilling,” Armitage exclaimed.
“Their performance changes
each time, so there’s been a big
learning curve. We have had to
learn how to cue each other and
Kristina Bethel Blunt in Karole Armitage’s “Itutu.”
ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE/
BURKINA ELECTRIC
“Itutu”
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Pl.
Nov. 4, 6 & 7 at 7:30 p.m.
$20-$45; bam.org
Or 718-636-4100
TERE O’CONNOR DANCE
“Wrought Iron Fog”
Dance Theater Workshop
219 W. 19th St.
Nov. 10-14 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 13 at 10 p.m.
$15; dtw.org
Or 212-924-0077
pay attention to where it’s going.
The choreographer describes
the outcome as akin to “‘Agon’
goes to Africa. At the turn of the
20th century African masks
inspired Picasso. Stravinsky
experimented with jazz, which
has its roots in African music.
Now, we’re really all together,
but there are still continuums
of African and Western art. And
there are still mysterious parts of
African aesthetics, as dance is a
practice performed with both the
living and the ancestral dead.”
The poly-visual design for the
work by Philip Taafe will reflect in
set and costume what Armitage is
trying to do with the poly-rhyth-
mic choreographic structures. “I
don’t want it to be exotic in any
way,” she said. “It’s not pseudo-
African, but a pure synthesis
from the collisions and layering,
drawing on the inherent sophisti-
cation of both companies.”
people getting lost reading sign
systems. Dance has a different
grammar.”
“Inside of dance,” O’Connor
asserted, “philosophy and psy-
chology and systemic elements
shape the surface. Instead of
designing of shapes over time,
there is a process that gives
birth to dance. There can be
elements of the known on that
surface, but they are not strung
together on a narrow accumula-
tion of time.”
JULIETA CERVANTES
Cultural bias, the artist
believes, inclines audiences
to approach dance in a man-
ner he called “looking for the
ghost of the choreography.” He
explained, “People go in trying to
A
s Jean-Luc Godard was read dance like a book. It is not
to cinema at the height a book. It may have pages, and
of the New Wave, so Tere words are there, but reconfig-
O’Connor is to phenomenologi- ured.”
cal dance in his rejection of what O’Connor suggested, too, that
he calls “narrative ideologies” or dance has more to offer than
“abstraction as a cliché.” an artistic experience. “I would
“My work is not a journey like the power of this form to
toward aboutness,” O’Connor be unleashed,” he said. “It’s the
told Gay City News. “It’s more great diffuser of monothematic
a kind of immersion or reflec- dogmatic ideologies. It uses
tion on things without singular complication as a way to under-
meanings.” mine linguistic logic, and shows
O’Connor has been creating its otherness. It’s a journey
important experimental work in away from language, toward let-
New York for almost 30 years, ting go of the naming of things.
putting theory into practice in It’s an other experience that has
the service of allowing dance to its own value.”
exploit its inherent properties. “Dance,” the choreographer-
For his latest work, “Wrought philosopher concluded, “is look-
Iron Fog,” the artist is subjecting ing at a constellation of con-
language to his choreographic sciousness and daily necessity;
process. “The overall experience,” a work derived from total experi-
he explained, “is more important ence. I want to erase episodes, to
than the hieroglyphic elements. create a sensation cloud where
I’m allowing experience to teach you can fall in and engage with
me how to make that frontal your own narrative.”
in the work, instead of letting
TERE O’CONNOR
Heather Olson and Daniel Clifton perform in Tere O’Connor’s “Wrought Iron Fog.”
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 OCT 31, from p.11
an aura reader, throwing of the I Ching,
and Hellsouls. The entire facility will be
elaborately rendered for Halloween,
featuring intricate and massive environ-
ments by leading theatrical scenarists,
sculptors, and artists including Donald
L. Brooks, Susan Gittins, Alexander Bar-
tenieff, Mark Marcante, Richard Reta,
Zen Mansley, Candice Burridge, Pamela
Mayo, Desiree Conston, Evan Laurence,
Viviane La Corte, and Terry Ferrari. The
annual costume judging begins at mid-
night with the “Monsters and Miracles
Costume Parade,” as all revelers are
invited to march past a panel of celebrity
judges. 155 First Avenue at Tenth St.,
7:30 p.m. The free outdoor program
begins at 3 p.m. Admission to the
indoor evening program is $20 at the-
aterforthenewcity.net or 212-254-1109.
Costume or formal wear is required.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
DANCE
Strut Someone
Else’s Stuff
It’s Halloween at Dance:208, so
expect a night of ghoulish fun. Snaxx
DJs Rich King & Gustavo and hosts
from the Imperial Court and Metro
Bears preside over a special holiday
edition. Parade and strut your stuff
in the costume contest with prizes,
judged by celebrity judges. LGBT
Community Center, 208 W. 13th St.,
9 p.m.-2 a.m. The contest starts at
11:30. Tickets are $8 at gaycenter.org;
$10 at the door.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Costumed Two-
Step
For the past ten years, Big Apple
Ranch has hosted a weekly Saturday
night country-western dance for the
gay and lesbian community. The huge
dance floor welcomes people of all
dance abilities, with friendly folks
going out of their way to make sure
everyone has a good time. Tonight, Big
Apple hosts “Halloween Hoedown,”
as a benefit for Metro Wrestling,
New York’s accessible, gay-friendly
freestyle adult wrestling club. Wear
comfortable shoes and a good cos-
tume. 39 W. 19th St., fifth fl. Two-
step lessons at 8 p.m.; line dance
at 8:30 p.m.; and dancing from 9-1.
Admission is $10. For more informa-
tion, visit bigappleranch.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
䉴 OCT 31, continued on p.26
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
■ FILM
Precious & Queer
Ten years on Sapphire’s trail, Lee Daniels
brings her novel “Push” to the screen
BY GARY M. KRAMER
L
ee Daniels, the out — and outspo-
ken — producer and director, sat
down to discuss his searing new
film, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’
by Sapphire.”
Dressed in a bright yellow shirt and
blue jeans, he emoted and effused about
being a queer filmmaker.
Recounting one recent exchange,
Daniels’ blood was flowing, possibly even
boiling. “A very powerful Hollywood pro-
ducer told me [about ‘Precious,’] ‘You
can tell a gay man made this movie,’” he
recalled, saying, “It was a compliment, I
think,” then adding another, more sar-
castic, “I think. All of my films have a
queer sensibility, because my finger-
prints are all over them.”
From “Monster’s Ball” and “The
Woodsman,” which he produced, to his
directorial debut, “Shadowboxer,” Dan-
iels’ films are extraordinary, edgy, and
frequently over-the-top.
“Precious” is all of these things. The
story concerns an illiterate African
American teenager, Clareece “Precious”
Jones (Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe), preg-
nant for the second time (by her father),
who is mentored by a lesbian teacher.
Full of wild, tense, emotional moments
and dazzling performances, the film has
won awards at Sundance and Toronto.
Mo’Nique is already garnering Oscar
buzz for her role as Precious’ abusive
mother, Mary, and Sidibe is a strong
contender for a nomination as well.
While “Precious” and the films he pro-
duced have received accolades, his direc-
torial debut, “Shadowboxer” — which
starred Helen Mirren as a dying hitwom-
an in love with her stepson (Cuba Good-
ing, Jr.) — received almost uniformly
negative reaction from critics.
“Bastards! Bastards!,” Daniels cried.
“That’s my baby, too. I love my baby!”
After regaining his composure, he con-
tinued, “I think that people were expect-
ing something different from me after
‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘The Woodsman.’
‘Precious’ goes back to that world. But for
me, ‘Shadowboxer’ was a fucking party. I
have Dame Vivienne Westwood in to cos-
tume my movie in Philadelphia. C’mon!
I have Dame Helen Mirren! I’ve got Macy
Gray…”
As he recalled the film, he stopped
himself, and admitted, “I think I’m really
humbled by the experience of ‘Shadow-
boxer,’ because I never got a bad review
ever. I grew up. That [film] made me grow
up, and I needed that as a filmmaker. I
had no perspective, except from the other
two films I produced.”
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 25
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PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL
PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
Directed by Lee Daniels
Lionsgate
Opens Nov. 6
Regal Union Square, Empire 25
Lincoln Square Cinemas
Daniels more than answers his critics
with his new film, “Precious,” something
he wanted to bring to the screen even
before he made “Monster’s Ball.” Recall-
ing the incendiary response the book had
upon publication, the filmmaker said, “I
stalked Sapphire for ten years. Her book
is a piece of brilliance. My reaction to it
was guttural, absolutely guttural. Why
I wanted to do this was to say, ‘Guess
what? — the hero is a lesbian!’”
Daniels captures the very essence of
the novel on screen. Viewers can smell
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one scene, or the mustiness of the hall-
ways and apartments where the charac-
ters eke out their lives. The film features 212-564-4025
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by her father as well as flights of fancy,
such as one in which Precious and Mary
enact an homage to “Two Women.” The
sequence, shot in black and white, and
featuring the actresses speaking Italian,
is a highlight.
“That was really funny,” recounted
Sidibe, in a separate phone interview.
“We had three weeks of Italian training,
and not once did Mo’Nique say the lines
correctly — until the camera rolled. We
did two takes, the one in the film, and
one for safety.”
Daniels deflected criticism that has
surfaced about this scene. “Somebody
said to me, ‘Why would they be watch-
ing “Two Women,”’ and I said, ‘Because
I am watching “Two Women,” and it’s my
movie. You’re in my world!” He calmed
down again, and added, “I thought it was
so truthful — so in the moment.”
The scene is truthful, and it is impor-
tant in establishing the universality of
these women struggling against oppres-
sion. How Sophia Loren and Eleonora
Brown fared in World War II Italy is not
that far removed from the experiences of
Mary and Precious in Harlem, 1987.
And it is not that far removed from
Daniels’, who grew up in southwest
Philadelphia, where he says there was
“zero tolerance” for gays. He recalled, “I
was beat up, and I went away to a white
world that was more tolerant. I don’t
want to know what I would have become
if I’d stayed where I was. In our culture,
homosexuality is so bashed, and I think
䉴 PUSH, continued on p.34

26/ Theater
Lies, Spies and Family Ties
Of three recent Broadway openings, only “The Royal Family” scores
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
T
he Cavendish clan is not
your normal theatrical
family — not that such a
thing ever existed. Loosely mod-
eled on the Barrymores, with
comedy and satire generously
ladled on, “The Royal Family,”
a George S. Kaufman/Edna
Ferber classic, is getting a spar-
kling revival by the Manhattan
Theatre Club. The story focuses
on three generations of a family
for which there is no such thing
as offstage, and, with a loving
bite and a constantly winking
gimlet eye, plays into all the ste-
reotypes of those who trod the
boards.
The plot concerns comings
and goings of the family over
the course of a year as some
swear to leave the stage and
others yearn to return to it. At
the center of the storm is Julie
Cavendish, a leading lady, fol-
lowing in the footsteps of her
mother, Fanny, and about to be
eclipsed by her daughter, Gwen.
Brother Tony, who abandoned
the stage for the new-fangled
films, returns, trying to escape
a breach of promise suit, while
Fanny’s brother and sister-in-
law strain to find just a bit of the
limelight for themselves. The
family home is in a constant
state of upheaval, and com-
plain though they might, none
of them can really live without it
for very long.
Directed by Doug Hughes —
who seems to have lavished on
this production all the care and
attention he denied “Oleanna,”
now at Golden Theater — this
is a delightful romp that’s rich
in comic detail with a mostly
strong cast and lots of fun. The
two highlights of the evening
are Rosemary Harris as Fanny
and Jan Maxwell as Julie. They
understand how to play this
mannered comedy perfectly.
Harris can use understatement
and a withering look with a pre-
cision that is pure genius, and
the always-wonderful Maxwell
surpasses even her own high
standard here, particularly
when the elegant and classical
Julie Cavendish, the generous
heart of the piece, finally goes
off the rails.
THE ROYAL FAMILY
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 W. 47th St.
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m.
$57-$97; telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
OLEANNA
Golden Theatre
252 W. 45th St.
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m.
$75.50-$116.50; telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
A STEADY RAIN
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 W. 45th St.
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m.
$66.50-$140; telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
Maxwell’s performance alone
is enough to make this a must-
see, and she seldom leaves the
stage. But this is also a sweet
revival of a little-seen comic clas-
sic that’s got plenty of warmth
to beguile a chilly fall evening.
“A
Steady Rain” is that
perennial theater
favorite — a triumph
of commerce over art. It sold
out almost instantly on the star
power of Hugh Jackman and
Daniel Craig, as throngs flocked
to see Wolverine and James
Bond live on stage. Star power
Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in “A Steady Rain.”
Jan Maxwell as Julie Cavendish, Kellie Barrett as Gwen Cavendish, and Rosemary Harris and
Fanny Cavendish in “The Royal Family.”
they have. Watching these two
charismatic actors, who would
be fascinating to watch if they
were just eating soup, is the
only pleasure this thin, unorigi-
nal play affords.
Written by Keith Huff, the
play is two parallel monologues
about cops in Chicago, once
close friends ripped apart when
one goes rogue. We’ve seen it a
million times, and it’s hard to
shake the feeling that this play
was selected so that the two
men could rehearse separately
and only come together for the
few times when the characters
JOAN MARCUS
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 OCT 31, from p31
CABARET
On the Radio
Justin Bond is back at Joe’s Pub this
fall with several new shows, the final
one of which is “Scary, Mary!: A Hal-
loween Extravaganza!” 425 Lafayette
St., adjacent to the Public Theater,
below Cooper Sq., 9:30 p.m. Tickets
are $20 at joespub.com. To reserve a
table, with a food/ drink minimum, call
212-539-8778.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMEDY
SUN.NOV.1
JOAN MARCUS
Halloween
Hangover
Brad Loekle’s “Electro Shock Therapy
Comedy Hour” hosts headliner Yama-
neika (BET), along with Lori Sommer
(Gotham Comedy Club) and Jackie Mona-
have to interact. han (HereTV’s “Hot Gay Comics”). Ther-
Craig and Jackman are bona apy, 348 W. 52nd St., 10 p.m. No cover
fide stars, and they have each charge and $6 cosmos all night long.
clearly delved into the char - ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
acters, trying to give a unique
stamp to timeworn stereotypes.
Craig, in particular, abandons
his James Bond persona com-
CABARET
MON.NOV.2
pletely, finding a surprising gen-
tleness in the character Joey. Not Zipped Up
Jackman has the showier part Tight
as Denny, the cop gone bad, Kate Pazakis enjoyed success with
and even when it’s a ride over her debut CD, “Unzipped,” and has been
familiar ground, one can’t help seen in night spots around town and on
being swept along just on the Rosie’s R-Family Cruises. Tonight, she
force of his charisma. joins Scott Nevins for his weekly “Cur-
The men are almost too care- tain Call.” Splash Bar, 50 W. 17th St.,
ful not to upstage one another 11:30 p.m. Admission is free until $10;
and, seldom interacting, they $5 after that. You must be 21.
address most of their lines ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
directly to the audience. That
seems to be what’s demanded,
because the audience at the
performance I saw was enrap-
tured — proof positive of anoth- GALLERY
TUE.NOV.3
er showbiz maxim: “give ’em The Spirit Can’t Be
what they want.” That they do; Denied
so perhaps it’s wrong to want David Livingston and Osvaldo Perdomo
more. But I can’t help it. curate an exhibit, “Art & AIDS: Living for
the Moment,” to celebrated the humanity
D
avid Mamet’s “Olean- and spirits of artists — and clients of Gay
na,” now in revival at Men’s Health Crisis — living with HIV/
Golden Theatre, is a AIDS. Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Founda-
highly manipulative play. Its tion, 26 Wooster St., btwn. Grand &
plotting and characters strain Canal Sts. The opening reception is
credibility and logic in order tonight, 6-8 p.m. The exhibition runs
to make political points about Nov. 4-7, noon-6 p.m. For more informa-
gender and power in a credu- tion, visit leslielohman.org.
䉴 LIES, SPIES, TIES, continued on p.29 䉴 14 DAYS, continued on p.28
29 OCT - 11 NOV 2009
Hurts So Good
Re-imagined Strindberg classic makes us feel the pain
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
L
ast winter, as you may recall, the
Roundabout Theater Company
attempted to reinvigorate the
1890 Ibsen classic “Hedda Gabler” but
stumbled badly. The creators slathered
an incongruous contemporary tone onto
the 19th century setting, neutralizing the
drama’s potency. Not even the usually
reliable Mary Louise Parker, in the title
role, could make sense of it.
Well, the Roundabout has decided to
hop back on the horse and try again —
this time with a restaging of “Miss Julie,”
another Scandinavian standby featur-
ing a crazed heroine, written by August
Strindberg just two years before “Hedda.”
But this production wisely tips its hand
up front. By re-titling it “After Miss
Julie,” playwright Patrick Marber makes
it abundantly clear that this masterwork
has received a major makeover, reca-
librating expectations and absolving him
of any fault for tinkering with the text.
Lucky for us, the risks this bold new
Theater /27
AFTER MISS JULIE
Roundabout Theatre Company
American Airlines Theatre
227 W. 42nd St.
Through Dec. 6
Tue.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m.
$66.50 to $111.50; roundabouttheatre.org
Or 212-719-1300
“Julie” takes are smarter and far more
rewarding. And, unlike “Hedda,” it
remains true to the aching, combustible
spirit of the original.
By transporting the action from 19th
century Sweden to an English country
manor in 1945, just as the Labour Party
was about to give the British class sys-
tem the boot, the play’s central theme —
the power struggle between gentry and
commoner — stings even harder.
JOAN MARCUS
The gentry, as any drama geek knows,
is represented by the tempestuous
䉴 MISS JULIE, continued on p.28 Jonny Lee Miller as John and Sienna Miller as Miss Julie in the Roundabout Theater adaptation “After Miss Julie.”

28/ Theater
Not So Rosy
This limp “Birdie” revival just doesn’t fly
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
W
hen “Bye Bye Birdie”
became a smash on
Broadway half a cen-
tury ago, it was a well-timed
fluke. Considered revolution-
ary — and risky to mount — in
1960, the show was the first to
speak to the younger generation
and insert a couple of rock ‘n
roll songs among its traditional,
syrupy score.
A takeoff on a recent event,
the induction of Elvis Presley
into the Army, the zippy tuner
tapped into the zeitgeist of the
era, and audiences ate it up.
What’s more, the show cast
complete unknowns named
Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rive-
ra in the leading roles, both
immense talents who went on
to become iconic stars. The cho-
reographer Gower Champion,
who doubled as director, was
also a neophyte to Broadway.
All this a huge gamble that paid
off, big time.
Which begs the question, why
revive it now?
It’s no accident that “Bye Bye
Birdie” has never seen a Broad-
way revival. Besides being a
product of its time, getting the
tone and casting right is next to
impossible. Nearly everybody has
seen the show butchered by their
local high school at least once.
Appar ently none of this
occurred to Todd Haimes, artis-
tic director of the Roundabout,
when he decided to restage the
relic, now playing at the newly
refurbished Henry Miller’s The-
atre. Or if it did, he felt that
director Robert Longbottom
could reanimate it with clever
casting and snazzy sets. Boy,
was he wrong.
This anemic, misguided pro-
duction of “Bye Bye Birdie” is a
䉴 MISS JULIE, from p.27
temptress Miss Julie (Sienna
Miller, in her Broadway debut),
25-year -old daughter of the
master of the house. The com-
moner is John (Jonny Lee Miller,
no relation to Sienna), the mas-
ter’s devoted valet, who is the
object of Miss Julie’s desire, if
not affection. John, who recalls
John Stamos puts a happy face, though not necessarily a good face on “Bye Bye Birdie.”
BYE BYE BIRDIE
Roundabout Theatre Company
Henry Miller’s Theatre
124 W. 43rd St.
Tue.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m.
$86.50 to $136.50; 212-239-6200
Or byebyebirdieonbroadway.com
failure on nearly every level.
With a book by Michael Stew-
art, music by Charles Strouse,
and lyrics by Lee Adams, the
story seems sillier than ever.
Albert, a two-bit record produc-
er — along with Rosie, his girl-
friend/ secretary of eight years —
decides to drum up sales by hav-
ing Elvis-esque heartthrob Con-
rad Birdie plant one last kiss on
15-year-old Kim MacAfee from
Sweet Apple, Ohio. Kids being
kids, and adults being dolts, the
plan goes horribly awry. Mean-
time, Rosie wants Albert to grow
a backbone and stand up to his
smothering mother so they can
finally get married.
Presumably to sell tickets,
Longbottom went with bank-
able names — John Stamos
and Gina Gershon, known
being smitten by her as a boy,
calls her “too stuck up in some
ways and not proud enough in
others.”
The plot points remain large-
ly intact. The play opens with
John bantering with the pretty
cook, Christine (Marin Ireland),
as they go about their duties.
Gradually, it is revealed that
the two are engaged to be mar-
JOAN MARCUS
mostly for their work in film
and television. While the affable
Stamos (“E.R.,” “Cabaret”) looks
cute in his trim sharkskin “Mad
Men”–style suit, he doesn’t have
the vocals or moves or timing to
carry a show. The feisty, curva-
ceous Gershon (“Bound,” “Boe-
ing-Boeing”) looks uncomfort-
able as the Spanish Rosie. The
entire enterprise hinges on their
complex bond, but we don’t feel
the love.
As Mr. MacAfee, Bill Irwin
breathlessly tries to pump some
life into the proceedings with
his trademark antics — whiny
accent, goofy faces, clownish
pratfalls. They fall embarrass-
ingly flat.
If nothing else, you’d at least
expect raucous musical num-
bers, right? Not a chance.
For the young fans crushed
out on Conrad Birdie, Long-
bottom cast actual teenagers
(at least one is 14) who, while
somewhat gifted, don’t have
the dynamism that Broadway
audiences demand. In the gar-
ish, candy-colored costumes by
Gregg Barnes, they look cartoon-
ried, though plans are some-
what murky. When Miss Julie
comes down to the kitchen from
the annual servants’ party that
she has scandalously crashed,
she demands a waltz from
John. This sets in motion a fatal
love triangle, driven by power,
betrayal, and lust, and clouded
by moral conflict.
“We kill what we love,” John
ishly pre-pubescent. The “Tele-
phone Hour” number in my high
school’s production delivered
way more energy than this.
Allie Trimm (who turned 15
in October), as Kim, has super
vocals—her rendition of “One
Boy” is sublime — but seems
lost in her bedroom festooned
with Conrad posters and stuffed
teddy bears. There’s a reason
why they cast 24-year-olds to
play teens in multi-million dol-
lar musicals. Although Nickel-
odeon teen idol Nolan Gerard
Funk sounds terrific, he lacks
the presence and polish of an
Ed Sullivan-worthy star.
And the threadbare orches-
tra, buried deep in the pit,
sounds thin and muted. No
wonder the numbers are limp.
One of the few engaging
turns is from Jayne Houdy-
shell, as Albert’s doting mother,
who makes a tired cliché dev-
ilishly funny. Also outstand-
ing is the impish, irrepressible
Jake Evan Schwencke as the
10-year-old Randolph MacA-
fee, who performs with the con-
viction and verve the rest of the
production lacks.
On the night I attended, a
set malfunction in the first act
forced a lengthy delay. A flus-
tered Stamos did his best to
entertain the audience, ban-
tering with Don Rickles, who
rattled off a few zingers, and
asking Gershon to do a num-
ber from “Showgirls.” He even
coaxed his “Full House” pal Bob
Saget onstage for a chat. With-
out a mike, Saget was reduced
to speaking into the top of Sta-
mos’ head. “Good thing this
isn’t attached to your crotch,”
Saget quipped.
Regrettably, this proved to be
the most inspired moment of
the evening.
observes when discussing the
hunting habits of the aristoc-
racy. To our horror, this theory
is proved more than once by the
end of the play.
Perhaps the biggest risk was
casting former model and film
actress Sienna Miller in the
lead. Mostly famous for her bro-
䉴 MISS JULIE, continued on p.29
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 14 DAYS, from p.28
CAREERS
WED.NOV.4
In the Market?
Out Professionals brings back one of
its most popular programs — the Career
Boot Camp, presented with the Five
O’Clock Club, a leading outplacement,
search, and employer-consulting firm.
Tonight is session two — building a suc-
cessful job search in difficult economic
times, presented by Renee Rosenberg.
LGBT Community Center, 208 W.
13th St., 6-8 p.m. Each session is $10;
$5 for OP members. The final session
is Nov. 4, 6-8 p.m. — career change
for the New Year, presented by Susanne
Rhow. For complete information, visit
outprofessionals.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
NIGHTLIFE
Hoop Dreams
Will Clark’s “Porno Bingo” — the all-
American game with the all-adult twist
— tonight features rapper Lester Greene
and nightlife legend Trai la Trash, in a
benefit for the New York City Gay Bas-
ketball League. Expect erotic giveaways,
cheap drinks, and even cheaper men.
Clark’s weekly event has raised nearly
$100,000 for New York LGBT clubs and
charities. Pieces, 8 Christopher St. at
Sixth Ave., 8-10 p.m.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
THEATER
THU.NOV.5
Poems in Heaven
Juneteenth Legacy Theatre and
Sugar Valley Theatricals remount Steve
Willis’ “Passing Ceremonies,” a gay
love story about an imagined meeting
between the poets Bruce Nugent (1906-
1987) and Essex Hemphill (1957-1995)
set in the hereafter. Nuyorican Poets
Café, 236 E. Third St., btwn. Ave. B &
C. Thu.-Sat., 7 p.m. through Nov. 21.
Tickets are $15-$20 at nuyorican.org or
212-780-9386.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
FILM
Queer on Queer
Butt Magazine contributing editor
Adam Baran and filmmaker Ira Sachs
curate a series of queer films presented
and discussed by artists from the gay
䉴 NOV 5, continued on p.30
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 LIES, SPIES, TIES, from p.26
lous culture where emotionalism trumps
rationality. Manipulation is nothing
new in works of fiction, of course. Still,
it’s easier to accept a greenish villain
flying in on a broomstick and shooting
fire from her fingertips, for instance —
because that’s what happens in Oz and
we don’t know any differently — than it
is to accept a coed walking into a profes-
sor’s office and spouting all manner of
lies and getting away with it. That’s not
what happens in a university. At least
not today.
In reality, once charges of sexual
harassment showed up in the relation-
ship between John, a college professor,
and Carol, a below average student,
they never would be alone together, and
Carol would be required to substantiate
her charges more than she ever does. As
dishonest and self-serving as her behav-
ior is, and as damaging as it is to John,
the plotting is so obviously engineered to
make a political point that the charac-
ters become dimensionless puppets, and
while it may once have been shocking to
play sexist power games, today it’s the
stuff of bad movies and TV shows, and it
feels dated.
Not to mention boring. Doug Hughes’
listless direction seems to abandon the
䉴 MISS JULIE, from p.28
ken engagement to Jude Law, she shifts
seamlessly between privileged seductress
to quivering romantic with the aplomb
of a Broadway veteran. This is no celeb-
rity stunt-casting here. Jonny Lee Miller,
deeply affecting as the muscular, wide-
eyed lackey, blasts any preconceptions
of merely being that guy that once was
married to Angelina Jolie. Even stripped
to his shorts, his dignity stays intact.
Ireland is also superb — her evolution
Director Mark Brokaw is not afraid to
incorporate extended, silent stretches of
mundane tasks like polishing shoes
or smoking a cigarette.
from dutiful servant to defiant lover is as
heart-rending as it is astounding.
In this largely lean, razor -sharp
drama, director Mark Brokaw is not
afraid to incorporate extended, silent
stretches of mundane tasks like wash-
ing, polishing shoes, cooking, or smok-
ing a cigarette. In other hands, this
would grind a production to a crashing
standstill, but here it actually heightens
the tension.
Unfortunately, as the increasingly
complex plot (involving swiping a stack
of cash and fleeing to New York) and
tempers spin out of control, so does
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 29
rhythms of Mamet’s text. The first 20
RENT BROOKLYN
minutes of the 80-minute play actu-
ally plod, and there are long sections
between the scenes, inexplicably length-
ened by the automatic raising and lower-
ing of the blinds in John’s office, where
all the action occurs. (Set designer Neil
Patel has a very romantic view of what a
college professor’s office is like. The set
…find youtopia.
is as implausible as the play.) Even the
violence at the end — both verbal and
physical — is clumsy and labored.
The problem is partly a function of
the casting. Bill Pullman plays John, as
a tic-ridden neurotic, not the type who Kaleb, Apt. 4102
would be believed to make the kinds of
Has more vintage records
sexual advances to Carol he’s accused of. in his spacious closets
It’s a one-note performance with a forced than he does clothing.
explosion at the end. He at least tries to
convey the struggle of his character, but
his best scenes are into a phone talking Liam, Apt. 3404
to unseen characters.
That’s because Julia Stiles as Carol Loves the spectacular
can’t muster a single note to enliven views of Manhattan.
her character. Her line readings are
largely dead, and there is no perceiv-
able through-line to her character. She
seems to go blank when it’s not her turn Fiona, Apt. 3201
to speak, giving Pullman nothing to work
Scoots out of the park-
with, which is the antithesis of what hap- ing garage and onto the
pens in Mamet’s worlds. The cumulative streets of Brooklyn.
effect is that a lesser Mamet piece has
been severely diminished.
Noah, Apt. 2715
Brokaw’s handle on the proceedings.
Motivations become confused, contradic- Spends hours in his
tions are bewildering. gourmet kitchen.
Allen Moyer’s exquisite set of a cav-
ernous, white-tiled basement servant’s
kitchen — complete with working fau-
cet — looks lifted from “Gosford Park,” Niki, Apt. 2301
the similarly-themed Robert Altman film.
Shops the local bou-
The progression from night to dawn to tiques with Coco, who‘s
morning is beautifully articulated by always by her side.
Mark McCullough’s lighting design. In
the center of the room is a vast, elongated
wooden table that marks the emotional
Chloe, Apt. 1703
Enjoys waking up early
to work out at the state-
of-the-art fitness center.
distance between the characters. Later,
it supports a carnal coupling, as well.
This version also emphasizes Strind-
berg’s tantalizing S&M streak. Appar-
ently Miss Julie, who admits she’s “a
bad girl,” was jilted after an incident in Brand New Fort Greene Rentals
a barn involving her irate fiancée and a
kinky role-play whipping that got out of
Call for Specials!
hand. If she revels in commanding the Rents Starting at $1,824*
servants, who are “born to obey,” deep
down she longs to be a slave herself. 866-297-2132
“Tell me what to do,” she begs of
John. What he tells her to do may be a www.avalonyoutopia.com
vile expression of human cruelty — or a
* Rents/Specials subject to change.
supreme expression of love.
30
■ IN THE NOH
Finian Fever
Bikel’s Sholom, Cheets triumphant, winning Wainwright, new musical joys
BY DAVID NOH
I
have “Finian Fever.” After
the enchanting Encores!
revival, “Finian’s Rainbow”
is opening on Broadway, and
the production put on a dazzling
press preview on September 23.
A tasty selection of songs was
performed by its wonderful
cast, cheered on by the families
of brilliant composer and lyricist
Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg.
Harburg’s son, Ernie, described
his father as “all of the Algon-
quin Round Table characters
combined. He hung out with
them and impressed them all
with his fascinating mind.” E.Y.
also wrote the lyrics for “Over
the Rainbow,” but, sadly, Ernie
told me, “the royalties for that
all go to MGM, and not the fam-
ily.” Lane’s widow, Lynn, is eter-
nally grateful to Ernie’s father,
for it was he who introduced
her to Lane and a life filled with
glorious melody, one of which
we sang together, my favorite,
the criminally non-Oscar-nom-
inated “Love with All the Trim-
mings,” from the Streisand film
“On a Clear Day.”
As always, Terri White
brought down the house with
her growlingly soulful rendition
of “Necessity.” She’s finally mak-
ing her return to Broadway after
her 1980 Tony-nominated turn
in “Barnum,” and, when asked
the secret to her powerhouse
voice, White said, “I don’t warm
up at all. I just smoke a lot.
When I get to my third coughing
fit, I know I’m good to go!”
Both Ernie Harburg and Lynn
Burton dissed the 1968 film of
“Finian’s Rainbow,” decrying it
as a vehicle for a very miscast
Fred Astaire, but that didn’t
prevent me from attending
Chelsea Classics’ screening the
following day. Brini Maxwell
hosted a Q&A with headed-
to-Broadway star Cheyenne
Jackson, who finally gave Don
Francks, who played his role,
Woody Mahoney, in the movie,
the props he deserved (despite
a horrendous rug): “He has one
of most beautiful voices ever.
The first time I heard him sing-
ing, ‘Old Devil Moon,’ I thought,
‘I wish we could do it like that,
lying back in the grass.’ I think
it’s very sexy and asked my
director if we could do some-
Cheyenne Jackson as Woody Mahoney in “Finian’s Rainbow,” which opens on Broadway on
October 29.
thing like that when we were
staging it, and we do a little
homage to the movie.”
(See David Kennerley’s review
of “Finian’s Rainbow” in the
November 12-25 issue, or online
at gaycitynews.com.)
T
here are character actors
and then some, but if
you look at Theodore
Bikel’s résumé, the credits are
truly amazing –– ranging from
“The African Queen” (Katha-
rine Hepburn would appear at
night in a rowboat, handing out
cups of rum and brandy to the
everyone, to keep from catch-
ing cold) to episodes of “Star
Trek,” “Dynasty,” and “Char-
lie’s Angels.” Bikel is appearing
in “Sholom Aleichem: Laugh-
ter Through Tears” at Baruch
Performing Arts Center, open-
ing November 8, as part of the
150th anniversary of Aleichem’s
birth (55 Lexington Ave. at East
24th Street , through December
13; folksbiene.org).
“Aleichem was really to my
mind the greatest Yiddish writ-
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009
JOAN MARCUS
er of his generation,” Bikel told
me. “He died in 1916 in New
York, but what he wrote con-
veyed an entire world, much of
which is gone now, but it’s so
vivid and true in the folk sense
of how people lived and where
and how they inherited their
problems. How they overcame
them by managing to sing and
dance when even the act of
walking the street was some-
times dangerous.
“They find the humor in dire
situations, and the play is in a
small sense about me and in a
larger sense about Aleichem. I
play him writing and remem-
bering, and I act out 20-some
odd characters –– young boys,
old women, teachers, grandfa-
thers. We have one of the most
memorable characters, Tevye,
but not the Tevye from ‘Fiddler
on the Roof.’ There was far more
to him than what you see there,
stories about his other daugh-
ters. We have music which we
found, but there are also songs
from ‘Fiddler.’”
Bikel counts Tevye in “Fid-
dler” and “Zorba the Greek” as
two of his favorite parts. And
wishes he had been cast in
the film of the former: “I think
I was considered, but there
were circumstances. I replaced
Zero Mostel on Broadway but
played it very differently. Zero
was a comedian who chose to
get serious, and I’m a serious
actor who gets laughs. I work
a different corner of the room,
as it were. I played Tevye like
my own grandfather, who was
very much like him, irreverent
at times, giving up on the world
and then not. But ‘Fiddler” is
a much lighter version of Ale-
ichem.”
Bikel originated the role of
Captain Von T rapp in “The
Sound of Music”: “To me that
was just another play, but with
music, and I had not done a
musical ever. The circumstanc-
es were extraordinary because
the pressure was on for it to
be a huge success, since Mary
Martin was in it. The last thing
Oscar Hammerstein ever wrote
was a song for me, ‘Edelweiss,’
which was written eleven days
before we opened on Broadway.
One fine day they came in and
said, ‘Here is your song. You
know how to play the guitar,
go ahead.’ And they were right
–– it’s a very good song. Richard
Rodgers was more robust and
Hammerstein was more of an
aristocrat, but they were nice to
work with.
“The rest of the cast was
intimidated by them, but I
wasn’t. Mary was very good,
very professional. That was
strange for me, being a Jew
playing this very Aryan charac-
ter, and I had problems with the
play because it pulled punches.
In those days, a musical was
called a musical comedy and
therefore had to be lighter in
tone. Out of town, the Nazis
wore swastikas, but by the time
we opened on Broadway, the
swastikas were gone, so it was a
toned down Holocaust.
Bikel played Zoltan Karpa-
thy in the film “My Fair Lady”:
“I insisted on ballroom dancing
lessons because I was dancing
with Audrey Hepburn, who was
lovely –– you can’t say anything
bad about her –– and it would
䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.32
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 NOV 5, from p.28
performance, film, visual, and literary
arts. All screenings are at 92Ytribeca,
200 Hudson St., btwn. Vestry & Des-
brosses Sts., and cost $12 at 92YTribe-
ca.org/film. On Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., artist
Angela Dufresne presents Apichatpong
Weerasethakul’s 2004 “Tropical Mala-
dy,” an hallucinogenic tale of two men in
a passionate relationship facing the con-
fusion and terror of an unknown menace
lurking deep within the jungle shadows.
On Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., New Yorker writer
Hilton Als presents Sidney Lumet’s 1966
“The Group,” based on the Mary McCa-
rthy novel about depression-era Vassar
grads as they enter adulthood on the eve
of World War II. Candice Bergen, in her
first major role, plays a snooty lesbian.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
PHOTOGRAPHY
New York’s Nature
Legacy
Photographer Joel Meyerowitz and
author Phillip Lopate appear in a talk and
book signing on the occasion of the publi-
cation of “Legacy: The Preservation of Wil-
derness in New York City Parks” (Aperture,
October 2009). The result of a commission
Meyerowitz received from the city Depart-
ment of Parks & Recreation, the book
documents, interprets, and celebrates one
of the city’s greatest legacies — nearly
9,000 acres of parks in the five boroughs
that still exist close to their original pristine
state. Barnes & Noble, 150 E. 86th St., 7
p.m. Exhibition of the series is on view at
the Museum of the City of New York,
1220 Fifth Ave. at at E. 103rd St., Tue.-
Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., through Mar. 7. For
complete information, visit mcny.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
SAT.NOV.7
We Sing ’Em All!
Tommy Femia is a seven-time Man-
hattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs
(MAC) Award-winner for his legendary
impersonation of Judy Garland. He con-
tinues his 20th season with a series of
four more appearances at Don’t Tell
Mama, 343 W. 46th St. Nov. 7 & 21,
Dec. 5 & 19, 8:30 p.m. He is joined by
“As the World Turn”’ Eileen Fulton (Nov.
7), “Forbidden Broadway”’s Christine
Pedi (as Liza Minnelli, Nov. 21), and
Michael Musto (Dec. 19). Cover charge
is $20, with a two-drink minimum (cash
only). Reservations at 212-757-0788 or
dontellmamanyc.com.
䉴 14 DAYS, continued on p.32
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
Charlotte Gainsbourg as She in Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist.”
■ FILM
Von Trier’s Spiral
With “Antichrist,” director juggles nature,
religion, misanthropy, misogyny, depression
BY STEVE ERICKSON
B
ack in the ’90s, Lars von Trier
was a major director. Then, his
tendency toward provocation
and self-promotion began taking prece-
dence over his films themselves. At his
best — in “The Kingdom,” “Breaking the
Waves,” and “The Idiots” — von Trier cre-
ated genuinely challenging work.
However, he soon became infatu-
ated with his reputation as a misogy-
nist, stemming from his fascination with
female martyrs and the onset of reports
about his cruelty toward actresses.
His later work, including “Antichrist,”
is extremely self-conscious about this
theme, to the point where one suspects
the director is trying to bait feminists.
Rather than coherent character develop-
ment or storytelling, “Antichrist” settles
for shock value — featuring images of a
man ejaculating blood and a woman cut-
ting off her clitoris with scissors — and
seemed designed to get gasps from the
audience at its premiere at Cannes last
spring.
In a prologue, the young child of an
unnamed couple — referred to in the
credits as He (Willem Dafoe) and She
(Charlotte Gainsbourg) — commits sui-
cide by jumping out a window after see-
ing them have sex. She is devastated by
grief; He remains infuriatingly rational.
Torn with anxiety, She fears nature,
but He suggests a trip to their cabin in
rural Washington State, Eden. She tries
to return to her thesis about violence
against women, but comes to believe
that executed witches really were evil.
Meanwhile, He meets a talking fox, who
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 31
CHRISTIAN GEISNAES/ IFC FILMS
539 North Birch Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
ANTICHRIST ssF
Directed by Lars von Trier
www.grandresort.net
IFC Films
Opens Oct. 23
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at W. Third St.
ifccenter.com
Buying a home?
tells him “chaos reigns.” This marks the
point where both the film and her behav-
ior go haywire.
Give us a call.
“Antichrist” closes with a dedication
to the late Russian director Andrei Tark-
ovsky. Some have seen this as a joke,
but I think von Trier’s sincere. Some of
the film’s forest imagery, if not its sexual
excesses, really does recall Tarkovsky’s
work. Before it becomes risible, the
film offers moments of genuine beauty.
Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography, The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)
which sometimes shimmers as char- can help you become a first-time homebuyer.
acters cross the frame, brings out an
uncanny quality from the German for- SONYMA mortgages offer:
ests where the film was shot. While the • 30- or 40-year fixed interest rates that are typically
opening five minutes, which are shot in
black-and-white and take place in slow
below market;
motion, resemble a pretentious perfume • Financing up to 97%;
ad, the rest of the film has a seductive
• Flexible underwriting guidelines;
look.
Over the years, von Trier’s interview • Closing cost assistance (up to higher of $3,000 or 3%
statements about his religious beliefs of the loan amount);
have varied. He now says he’s an atheist,
but in the past he claimed otherwise. In • No points;
any case, his films are filled with Chris- • No financing add ons.
tian symbolism; the religion has clearly
had an impact on him. Carl Dreyer’s
“The Passion of Joan of Arc” and “Ordet”
For more information, call
and the handful of films Roberto Rossel-
lini made with Ingrid Bergman set the
1-800-382-HOME (4663)
or visit www.nyhomes.org THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
䉴 SPIRAL, continued on p.34

32/ Opera
Graham, Fleming Reunite
Strauss better with age; D’Indy’s cause still not found
BY ELI JACOBSON
R
ichard Strauss’ “Der
Rosenkavalier” came
back to the Met on Octo-
ber 13, with Edo de Waart replac-
ing an injured James Levine
in the pit. The Dutch maestro
brought a brisk objective clar-
ity and transparency of musical
texture to the score that avoided
sentimental schmaltz and pom-
posity. Renee Fleming returned
to the role of the Marschallin
after a decade, reuniting with
the Oktavian of Susan Graham.
Both are now more slender of
tone, the soprano chesting some
low phrases to pump up the vol-
ume while the mezzo has lost
some ease and radiance on top.
Looking exquisite and singing
with myriad vocal inflections,
Fleming captured the surface of
the pensive princess but some-
how missed her core.
In the Marschallin’s Act I
monologue on the passing of
time, I was more moved by Gra-
ham’s heartstruck bewilder -
ment than by Fleming’s soul-
searching. The Fleming tone is
still a beguiling mix of silver and
cream, and her artful style bet-
ter suited to Strauss than Ital-
ian opera. Graham may look
and sound a tad mature for
the youthful rose cavalier, but
she inhabits the stage with an
authority and naturalness that
only decades of experience can
bring. Swedish soprano Miah
Persson debuted as a winsome,
spunky Sophie with a tone that
was surprisingly dark-toned in
the middle yet still reached sil-
very high notes marred only by a
touch of unsteadiness.
The audience must spend
more time with the boorish
Baron Ochs in Acts II and III
than is desired — it takes forever
to get him offstage for the final
trio. Finnish basso Kristinn Sig-
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.30
have killed me if I’d been caught
treading on her toes. [Direc-
tor] George Cukor was fun.
He asked me when I made my
entrance, ‘How would this Hun-
garian greet Henry Higgins?’
and I said, ‘Well, you may not
Susan Graham as Oktavian in Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.”
mundsson missed the overgrown
child aspect of Ochs, lacking
roguish charm and joie de vivre
— his tone is a little hollow and
short both on the bottom and
top. Ramon Vargas bawled the
Italian Tenor’s aria with surpris-
ingly spread and graceless tone.
On October 19, Barry Banks
trumped him, tracing the high
cantilena with silvery firmness.
The 40-year -old Merrill/
O’Hearn production still has
beautiful color schemes and
clever use of stage space and
perspective. It looks a trifle
tatty but has a real Old-World
atmosphere. Like the Marschal-
lin, time has only added to its
charm.
W
agner has a lot to
answer for. His domi-
nating influence
caused even composers who
hated him to be branded imita-
tors. One who didn’t hate Wag-
ner was Vincent D’Indy, who
led the French Wagnerian con-
tingent and taught several gen-
erations of French composers,
including Milhaud, Magnard,
Albeniz, Honnegger, and Satie.
have noticed this, but between
the two of us, you’re the Hun-
garian.’ He said, ‘Yes, but you’re
the actor and they have better
instincts.’ “Well, I would kiss
him on both cheeks,’ and he
said, ‘Why don’t you do that?’
so that’s how I became the only
actor who ever kissed Rex Harri-
hours.
The music is simultaneously
lush and tuneless, all shim-
mering texture that sounds too
generic to make specific dra-
matic points. An expert orches-
trator, D’Indy’s musical style is
also reminiscent of other late
Romantic French composers
like Debussy, Chabrier, and even
Massenet. All the vocal solos are
long declamatory tirades that
KEN HOWARD/ METROPOLITAN OPERA
never develop a melodic profile.
Wagner gave such extended nar-
rations to his basses but always
had a big tune for the tenor and
soprano. The vocal leads are
composed for heroic French
voice types that largely disap-
peared after World War I.
Richar d Crawley, a fine
His 1897 opera “Fervaal” is focused lyric tenor, once again
something of a footnote in musi- stepped into the breach in the
cal history, the title showing up wake of a late cancellation, as he
in musical tomes but absent did last year in another thank-
from the stage, like much of less resurrection — Opera Grat-
D’Indy’s output. However, that tacielo’s concert presentation of
champion of forgotten causes Mascagni’s “Il Piccolo Marat.”
and lost pages in musical his- Both tenor roles consist of end-
tory, Leon Botstein, in cahoots less declamation in the high
with the American Symphony passaggio with nary a melody
Orchestra, decided that “Fer- in sight. His musicianship and
vaal” would leap from musi- dedication compel admiration
cal footnote to the footlights of despite a less than heroic tone.
Avery Fisher Hall in concert on Ideally, the role of Guilhen
October 14. should be sung by a “Falcon”:
The libretto by the composer a wide-ranging dramatic sopra-
concerns the titular Parsifal- no-cum-mezzo. Deanne Meek
esque youth sworn to abjure the is merely a fine medium-weight
female sex as destined priest- mezzo-soprano. She struggled
king of the pagan kingdom of hard at the high climaxes, but
Cravann. Wounded by bandits, her vibrant tone radiated luster
Fervaal falls into the hands of and warmth elsewhere. Don-
Saracen queen and sorceress nie Ray Albert and Barbara
Guilhen, daughter of his father’s Dever brought sonorous vocal
killer, who, taking a cue from strength to the roles of Arfa-
Kundry, cures his wounds but gard and Kaito — the goddess’
infects him with the forbidden prophecy scene with wordless
passion of a Tristan. The lov- chorus in Act II is the most
ers are separated by war and interesting section of the score.
death, Cravann falls, and a new Botstein conducted with energy
Christian god looms on the hori- but little dynamic nuance in a
zon, ushering in a new era. It all piece that didn’t inspire one to
rambles on for three and a half hear it again.
son on film. He could be a hand-
ful, but he reacted okay, with a
indeed the greatest. She was
very fragile, and yet there was a
very proper British, nonplussed steely interior. It was daunting
demeanor.” because you didn’t want to mis-
Bikel understudied and step ever, and, of course, Lau-
played Stanley Kowalski with rence Olivier was the director.
Vivien Leigh in the London “A That was upsetting from time to
Streetcar Named Desire”: “Vivi-
en Leigh’s performance was 䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.33
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 14 DAYS, from p.30
FILM
SUN.NOV.8
Spain Before
Franco
Chillfest, the mostly gay and lesbian
film series of Jersey City, continues its
Second Sunday season with a screening of
“Little Ashes,” an exploration of the hugely
influential and controversial Salvador Dali.
With 1920s Spain teetering on the brink of
civil war, repressed sexual tensions rage
within the main characters — three rebels
portrayed by Havier Beltran, Marina Gatell,
and Robert Pattinson. LITM, 140 Newark
Ave., just steps from the Grove Street
PATH stop, 4 p.m. Full bar and dinner
menu available. Admission is $5 at chill-
fest.org; $8 at the door.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
BENEFIT
Helping Kids With
AIDS
Help Is On The Way Today provides
for the unmet needs of 650 New York City
children — orphans as well as some liv-
ing in low-income families — as well as
40 young people in Africa, all of whom are
living with HIV/ AIDS. The group supplies
everything from baby carriages, bottles, and
bibs for newborns to pencils, erasers, and
backpacks for young students. The group’s
annual Project Backpack will culminate
this year in a designer backpack auction
at Iguana VIP Lounge, 240 W. 54th St.,
12:30 p.m. For complete information on
Help, visit HelpIsOnTheWayToday.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMEDY
Fall For the Jokes
“Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour”
host Brad Loekle welcomes headliner
Helen Hong (VH1, WE network), along
with Marc Maietta (Here TV’s “Hot Gay
Comics”) and Adrienne Iapalucci (VH1).
Therapy, 348 W. 52nd St., 10 p.m. No
cover charge and $6 cosmos all night.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CONCERT
MON.NOV.9
Songs of Bernadette
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning
Broadway Star Bernadette Peters appears
in a benefit for Broadway Cares/ Equity
Fights AIDS in a concert of her own stage
䉴 NOV 9, continued on p.34
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
Chita Rivera remains a simple, endorphin-exploding miracle.
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.32
time. He would show you how he would
play the part, and you knew you couldn’t
do it that way or that well. Normally a
director doesn’t do that, they guide you
to where you want to go, but he was
a superb director as well, who knew
where he was going.
“I remember going to Vivien’s dress-
ing room and asking her if she wanted
to talk about anything. She said, ‘No.
Larry gave you this job –– let’s see if
he was right.’ She gave the same great
performance every night, very consis-
tent, and also had a bawdy side, talked
like a truck driver at times.” Bikel has
recounted how, after one particularly
bad audience, during the curtain call,
he heard Leigh, with her head bowed
down at its lowest, hissing, “Stupid
cunts!”
Bikel said, “I was also very proud
to be able to play a Southern sheriff
and get away with it” [in “The Defiant
Ones,” for which he was Oscar-nomi-
nated], and I worked with Susan Hay-
ward twice, a very interesting, shy lady.
She called me into her trailer and said,
‘I need some help. How do you produce
a belly laugh?’ I realized that she could
smile, but she didn’t know how to laugh
audibly, so I put her through some exer-
cises and it worked.”
A
t her Birdland show on Octo-
ber 15, Chita Rivera remarked
that she sometimes sees her
whole life literally passing in front of
her, with all the billboards and buses
advertising “West Side Story,” “Bye Bye
Birdie,” and “Chicago”: “I think, it’s 8
o’clock –– shouldn’t I be in a theater
somewhere?” She then proceeded to
exuberantly do numbers from all these
>Ê˜œÜ
shows, which she originated, turn-
ing the tiny stage into Radio City in
an act both exhilarating and exhaust-
ing in its opulent generosity. The voice
may be worn –– though she hits every
note of “All That Jazz” like it’s 1975 all
over again –– but who cares when that
29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 33
LAURA MARIE DUNCAN
divine body is in perpetual, feverishly
dynamic motion? The sight of her,
merely rolling her shoulders in sub-
lime rhythm to the band, is a simple,
endorphin-exploding miracle.
A
t the October 5 Ali Forney Cen-
ter gala at Chelsea Art Museum,
Rufus Wainwright performed a
set of songs, including an aria from his
opera “Prima Donna,” Leonard Cohen’s
rather overdone “Hallelujah,” and,
especially “I’m Going to a Town” with
its lyric, “I’m So Tired of You America,”
with a huskily buzzing voice –– more Gay,
effective than that familiar whining
drone –– that made me finally succumb Str8,
to his talent. I only wish he hadn’t Bi,
waited, like he said, for Mayor Michael Curious?
Bloomberg to leave before performing
that last number. I just wanted to shout
at Mayor Mike, “Stop raiding our busi-
nesses!” Also in attendance: Christine
Quinn, Lieutenant Dan Choi, Sandra
Bernhard, Paul Mooney, Danny Nardi-
cio, and all those well-heeled queens
you only see in the Pines, Hamptons,
and orchestra seats.
Since her criminal loss of the 2003
Tony Award for “Gypsy,” we haven’t
seen much of Bernadette Peters, so
I’m happy to report that on November
9, she will perform a concert benefit-
ing Broadway Barks/ Broadway Cares
at the Minskoff Theater. Homeless
animals have always been a concern
of hers and, with a 30-piece orches-
tra, she plans to do right by them.
I’ve missed having her on Broadway,
and truly yearn for the good old days
when she and Patti LuPone, her fellow
Mama Rose, had a healthy diva rival-
ry to match that of Mary Martin and
Ethel Merman before them. Will she
be still be serving cascades of ringlets /ÀÞʈÌÊÀiiÊUÊ
and mucho décolletage, along with her
soaring pipes? I’m willing to stake all my
Galliano on it.
646-731-6657
Contact David Noh at Inthenoh@aol.
com and check out his new blog at http://
nohway.wordpress.com/. 1800GayLive.com MC 7002 Ent only 18+ *Limited Free Trial Photography by Kevin E. McPherson

34/ Film
䉴 PUSH, from p.25
that’s what fucked me up.”
In contrast, while Sidibe
insisted that she can iden-
tify and empathize with her
screen persona, she said she
is nothing like the character
she portrays. “I felt like I knew
Precious,” Sidibe explained.
“She was such a real per -
son to me. What makes her
story universal is that she’s
been ignored, neglected. I’ve
felt that more times than I
care to count in my life, but
I’ve not been what she’s been
through. [Lee] reminded me
that we’re getting a peek into
her life. She can’t be com-
pletely sad or pathetic. It’s
just a Tuesday for her. It’s a
bad day, but they’ve all been
bad days.”
The student-turned-actress
used the insights gained
studying psychology to inform
h e r c h a r a c t e r. S i d i b e h a s
always been interested in what
she called “the anatomy of a
victim and victimizer.” In the
film, Precious’ body language
䉴 SPIRAL, from p.31
template for von Trier’s tales of
modern-day Christ figures.
Even if Christianity only
interests von Trier when fil-
tered through the prism of art,
it still influenced “Antichrist.”
The title is an obvious indica-
tion, as are the reference to
the Garden of Eden and the
parallels between the central
couple and Adam and Eve.
Some defenders of “Anti-
christ” have pointed out that
it criticizes the behavior of
both of its characters. It’s true
that He initially comes off far
worse than She. Against her
doctor’s orders, He advises
her to go off her meds. He acts
䉴 THREE STATES, from p.20
too large and our infrastructure
too small. In Maine, the scale
is more manageable: 275,000
votes to win as compared to over
5.5 million in California. That is
exactly what No on 1 campaign
is doing, under the leadership
of Jesse Connolly, one of only a
tiny handful of people that have
ever defeated an anti-gay state-
wide ballot initiative.”
In addition to support from
Director Lee Daniels with Gabourey Sidibe (as Precious, center) and Xosha Roquemore (as
Joann, right) on the set of “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”
is very telling, and the actress
conveys more with a silent
squint than with a whole page
of dialogue.
Daniels had nothing
but praise for his cast. He
as her de facto therapist while
continuing to sleep with her.
His attitude is rather patron-
izing. Paradoxically, he seems
to represent von Trier’s notion
of the Achilles’ heel of main-
stream feminism — a resis-
tance to metaphysical con-
cepts of absolute good and
evil.
Early on in the film, at the
least, the viewer might con-
clude von T rier is a misan-
thrope rather than a misogy-
nist. However, She’s behavior
lives up to all the worst stereo-
types of female irrationality.
She runs out of the house for
crazed outdoor masturbation
sessions. He never lays a hand
on her until their situation
the attorney general, the mar-
riage equality forces have
enjoyed the active participation
of the Democratic governor,
John Balducci, who on May 6
became the nation’s first chief
executive to sign a gay marriage
law not mandated by a court,
even though he had earlier
expressed a preference for civil
unions.
In Washington State, gay
advocates are buoyed by the
results of the yearly Washing-
at the film’s end. Daniels has
Mo’Nique as Mary sporting
“Whatever Happened to Baby
Jane” powder on her face in
that scene. He remembered
telling the actress, “Mary’s
going out in public, honey.
She has to put powder on her
face!” If the actress was initial-
ly reluctant, the moment pays
off fabulously.
The filmmaker explained his
theory about why Mo’Nique is
able to surprise viewers with
her dramatic talents. “Come-
dians have a third eye — they
don’t see the world the way
ordinary actors, or people, do.
They are able to take a char-
ANNE MARIE FOX
acter and really twist the fuck
out of them. Jim Carrey does
it. Richard Pryor did it in ‘Lady
Sings the Blues.’”
And yet Daniels, as a gay
man, not a comedian, has the
same ability to twist a char -
described Sidibe’s per for - acter or a story and make it
mance as “phenomenal,” relatable. With “Precious,” he
and insisted that Mo’Nique does an extraordinary job —
is equally revelatory in her and Daniels will debate any-
role — especially when she one who argues with that con-
gives an astonishing speech clusion.
grows desperate, long after
she has har med him — as
well as herself — physically, in
same act that gave life to him.
I’m sure von Trier thinks he’s
transgr essing taboos, but
extremely graphic fashion. He it would be far more daring
may be a jerk, but he doesn’t to show a loving couple hav-
deserve her punishment. As ing joyous sex in an equally
in “Dogville,” von Trier seems explicit manner.
incapable of imagining women “Antichrist” is an easy film
rebelling constructively. to get angry at or simply laugh
“Antichrist” draws on the off, but von Trier claims that it
visual vocabulary of pornog- was inspired by his own trou-
raphy— including a close-up bles with crippling depression.
of penetration and a “money There’s real pain on view here,
shot” of sorts — but tur ns nestled alongside cringe-wor-
it away from pleasure. In its thy sensationalism.
equation of sex and death, What on Earth was von
and its depiction of female T rier trying to accomplish
libido as feral and untamable, with this muddled whatsit?
this is a deeply puritanical The audience for “Antichrist”
film. Here, a couple essen- will find themselves frequently
tially kills their child by the asking that question.
ton Poll, which found that by a onto the November ballot for
margin of 56-39 voters support voter approval.
Referendum 71, a measure that
asks them to affirm or reject the
most recent enhancement of
However, the anti-gay side
has been outspent by allies of
the LGBT community, including
the state domestic partnership many in the business commu-
law that gives same-sex cou- nity. This week, Google became
ples rights similar to those in the latest corporation to state its
civil union states. In July, Pro- endorsement of the comprehen-
tect Marriage Washington, an sive domestic partnership law.
anti-gay group, had submitted Nike and Puget Sound Energy
137,000 signatures to force the are among other corporations
measure, signed by Democratic that have spoken out on the
Governor Christine Gregoire, issue.
29 OCT -11 NOV 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 NOV 9, from p.32
and recording music, aswell as favorites
from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen
Sondheim, and Jerry Herman, among
other composers. Richard Jay-Alexan-
der directs, with musical direction by
Marvin Laird. Minskoff Theatre, 1515
Broadway at W. 44th St., 8 p.m. Tick-
ets begin at $75 at BroadwayCares.org
or 212-840-0770.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
If You Dare, If You
Will
“Curtain Call” guest host Emily
McNamara welcomes Ashley Springer,
Cady Huffman, and Adam Fleming — the
stars of “Dare,” which opens Nov. 13 at
City Cinema Village East. The actors
are joined by writer/ co-producer David
Brind. Splash Bar, 50 W. 17th St., 11:30
p.m. Admission is free until 10 p.m.; $5
after that. You must be 21.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
HEALTH
TUE.NOV.10
What Will It Be?
While Congress moves closer to a
pivotal vote on health care reform, there
is still confusion and tension around
what reform will actually mean. What
will it cost? Will coverage be universal?
Will there be a negative effect on current
programs like Medicare? Will there be a
public option? Are we merely tweaking
a bad system? New York Congressman
Anthony Weiner, Sinsi Hernández-Cancio
of SEIU’s Healthcare Equality Project, Dr.
Laura Boylan of Physicians for a National
Health Program; and Cheryl Matheis of
AARP talk about the issues. New York
Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th
St. at Central Park W., 7 p.m.; doors
open at 6:30 p.m. Free. For more informa-
tion, visit nysec.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
RECITAL
WED.NOV.11
Classical 25
Pianist Sara Davis Buechner, in a
celebration of 25 years of performing,
presents a recital program that includes
works by Bach, Mozart, Miklós Martinù,
and Kouji Taku. Merkin Concert Hall,
129 W. 67 St., 8 p.m. Tickets are $25;
$15 for students & seniors at kaufman-
center.org or 212-501-3330.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 29 OCT – 11 NOV 2009 35

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