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From The Publisher Happy New Year. Welcome to 2015. Amazing isn’t it? Granted I am getting older, but it sure seems like the years are going by faster and faster these days. Case in point, Boston Spirit will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in April. That sure was a quick ten years! I will write more about our first ten years in the March/April issue. It’s been an incredible ride and one that I hope lasts many more years. For this issue I would like to delve a bit more into our cover feature, the Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England list. To give you some insight into how the idea came about and how our list came to be. Back in the spring of 2014 I asked a few people to name their top LGBT Power Players in the area. The response I received from almost everyone I asked was remarkably consistent. It started with a fairly long pause followed by a few tepid recommendations. That got me thinking, are there true ‘leaders’ of the community these days? If not, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Have we come so far that we no longer need the bold, outspoken, aggressive leaders of the past? I discussed this informal survey with Boston Spirit’s editor, James Lopata, and after a short chat I decided that Boston Spirit (with help from a group of influential friends) was going to come up with our own list of LGBT Power Players in New England. You might agree with our list and you might not. Either way is fine, in fact dissent is encouraged. The main purpose of this list to give our take on the state of leadership within the community in the area. Equally important, we invite you to join in the conversation. Do you agree with our list? Disagree? Let us know. It has been an eye opening, amazing process in which we have all learned quite a bit. I hope you enjoy reading the feature as much as we enjoyed putting it together. (And in case you are wondering what to get us for our 10th anniversary—just keeping reading the magazine and coming to all of our events, that would be the best present of all!)
David Zimmerman Publisher
2 | BOSTON SPIRIT
Boston Spirit Magazine supporters Accent Limousine
41
AIDS Action
67
Audio Concept
55
BAGLY
40
Bel Ari
58
Boston Symphony Orchestra
34
Burns & Levinson, LLP
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Carpe Diem
95
Celebrity Series
17
Circle Furniture
35
Club Café
13
Destination Salem
29
DJ Mocha
95
Eastern Bank
COVER
Fenway Health
30
Foxwoods Resort Casino
5
Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare
11
HRC
39
Ink Block South End
3
Jasper White's Summer Shack
COVER
Jimmy Fund
51
Lombardo's
59
Long's Jewelers
33
Lucia Lighting
1
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
63
Marriott Copley Place
45
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
43
Osorio Dental Group
9
Partners Healthcare
31
Peabody Essex Musem
10
Point Foundation
32
Provincetown Tourism
61
Roseland Properties
49
Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston
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Sage Inn & Lounge
94
Seasons Four
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53
Thought Action
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COVER
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Contribute your opinion: editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com
As We Go To Press … “Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a particular society.” —Michel Foucault Power. Now there’s a word that makes you want to sit up and take notice. Where? What? Who? Where is it? What’s it doing? Who has it? How is it affecting us? What can we do with it? What can we do about it? While assembling our list of the Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England, an article appeared in the New York Times—a powerful publication, right?—describing an encounter that young black activists had with President Barack Obama in the wake of Ferguson’s Michael Brown and New York City’s Eric Garner grand jury non-indictments. The young adults were frustrated and told Obama that they didn’t feel like anyone was listening to them.
rather, it flows through them, like water in riverbeds—pooling in places, surging in others. There is something about Obama that resists directing power toward some places in certain ways. As the out, Twentieth-century French philospher Michel Foucault once adroitly observed: “Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a particular society.” One could hypothetically imagine Obama, in another lifetime, being one of the most powerful advocates for civil rights that our country has ever known. But if he had allowed himself to channel power more directly toward that goal, how likely would it have been for him to have been elected president?
Obama’s response? “You are sitting in the Oval Office, talking to the president of the United States.”
Why am I going on like this? (Ah, the ‘power’ of the press to bore, entertain, or infuriate people, right?)
It didn’t help. The activists still left the White House wanting more.
Here’s the point: Putting together lists of powerful people is a fun exercise in thinking about who wields power, who doesn’t, what they do with it, whether we like what they do with it, and so on and so on. But it can be easy to deflect the discussion of power outward and to assign the rights and responsibilities of it onto others. It can be too easy to eschew our
Power. Right? Even the power of a president has limits, and not merely constitutional limits, but also political limits and personal limits. Power does not reside in people or things,
own responsibilities in being instruments of power. Telling ourselves that “This or that person has all the power. So what can I really do anyway?” can be a cowardly way to escape accountability for our own actions and inaction. Or, as the great advocate for the poor Dorothy Day once said, “Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed so easily.” It can be dangerous to deify power. My hope is that we not look at this list and argue about who should or shouldn’t be on it. But I would rather that we engage with these profiles and consider how each person employs power in our local, national, and global LGBT community. Then, let our reflections better inform how we channel power in our own lives. As our local Power Player Mary Bonauto told us: “I see power as the ability to make changes, and that means power lies far more in the hands of the larger LGBT community than with any individual.” To take it a step further, every individual must engage her or his own power properly in order for all of us to be effective. If and when each of us does that, then it will be helpful for all of us to follow the words that Barack Obama eventually told the impatient young activists in the Oval Office: “Shoot for the sky.”
James Lopata Editor
4 | BOSTON SPIRIT
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Contents
HauteButch
56
JAN|FEB 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 1
Spotlight
28
How the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Was Won
Urban Legend
Hit List The Reel Deal Casablanca on the Cape Scoring Digits Community Cliffnotes Gifts With Heart Ricardo’s List
8 10 11 12 14 18 20
Feature How the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Was Won
28
Touchdown
33
How one man—Bryan Bishop—broke the deadlock with an ingenious solution that led to a historic 5-4 vote that allows gay veterans to march in Boston’s famous parade BAGLEY scores with $100K gift from Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft
Seasonal Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England
54 Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England
54
Culture Honey Over Vinegar
54
Fashion Forward
56
Grindr Without Booze
58
Six-time, Tony-winning Lounge Singer
60
Diva with Portfolio
62
B-Girl
64
Dina Creiger encourages choosing nice-ness HauteButch designs clothes for butch and trans bodies Local gay boy creates social networking app for the sober set Audra McDonald’s talent, versatility and humanity has won hearts in every demographic Whether singing at the Met or the Super Bowl, Renee Fleming is the consummate artist
JAN|FEB 2015
Activist Robyn Ochs’ new book gives voice to bisexual men
66
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Coda
POWER
PLAYERS of NEW ENGLAND
Gay Boston in the 1950s
NE’s Gay Porn Industry?
The Giving Spirit
The Hub’s queer culture thrived in the McCarthy Era
It’s kinda puny, but Boston produces a few big ones
Gift ideas for your nearest and queerest
the McCarthy Era culture thrived in The Hub’s queer
a few big ones Boston produces It’s kinda puny, but
and queerest your nearest Gift ideas for
the 1950s Boston in Gay
Industry? Gay Porn NE’s
ON THE COVER Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England
PHOTO by Joel Benjamin
Spirit Giving The
of NEW ENGLAND
PLAYERS
POWER
6 | BOSTON SPIRIT
54
Gay playwright explores evolution of friendships in ‘A Future Perfect’
66
More Beau Brummell, Less Beyonce 68 South End couple’s home harkens to a new old high society
Scene Boston Living Center 25th Anniversary 74 HBGC 5th Anniversary 75 Boston Spirit Eldercare Symposium 76 National Gay Basketball Association Boston Tea Party Classic VI 77 Spirit of Justice 78 33rd Annual Human Rights Campaign New England Gala Dinner & Auction 79 Queen Mother’s Ball Coronation XI 80 Benefit for True Colors: Out Youth Theater 82 OUT MetroWest Fundraiser 83 World AIDS Day 84 Network it Out 85 Pie in the Sky 86 Toys for Joys 87 Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner 88
Calendar New England Events
89
Coda Snippy in New England
Drag phenom Bianca Del Rio storms the Northeast
96
SPOTLIGHT Trending STORY Scott Kearnan
Hit List NEWS, NOTES, AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA
SEND YOUR PURCHASE POWER to
the major New England companies that scored a 100 rating on the 2015 Corporate Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign’s annual evaluation of LGBTinclusive policies and practices. Of the record 366 businesses with perfect scores, 37 were based in New
England: 26 in Massachusetts (like State Street), 9 in Connecticut (like General Electric), and 2 in Rhode Island (like CVS). That’s a mighty showing for a small corner of the country. More: hrc.org/cei
SALUTE TWO LOCAL LEADERS who made the annual “POZ 100” list, “POZ” magazine’s look at brave and brilliant folks fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This year’s list specifically honored advocates and activists under 30
8 | BOSTON SPIRIT
years old, and included Jojo Amanfu, HIV case manager at Boston’s Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center, and Lawrence Vinson III, project manager at the Fenway Institute’s SMILE Youth Linkage to Care program. More: poz.com/100
STUDY UP ON STATE SNAPSHOTS just
released by GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network). Based on the organization’s annual National School Climate Survey, the snapshots illuminate the middle and high school On of POZ experiences of LGBT magazine’s Top youth in 29 states that 100: Lawrence yielded enough data Vinson III for localized analysis. Overall, Northeast students fare better than those in other regions. But the snapshots still show unsettling prejudices. Among the more dramatic numbers: 81% of LGBT students in Maine reported verbal harassment over sexual orientation, and 27% in the state reported physical harassment over gender expression. Only about half ever reported their harassment to a teacher or family member. More: glsen. org/statesnapshots
LISTEN UP
to “Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men,” an anthology of short fiction, poetry, and essays published by the Boston-based Bisexual Resource Center, a nonprofit offering support and advocacy for the bi community. Reflecting the experiences of 61 men from around the world, “Recognize” examines ideas of self-identity and the limitations of labels. Here’s one label we’ll
give it: Must-read. More info and to order: biresource.net
BOOK IT OVER to the Provincetown
Library, and congratulate the gay resort town’s bookworms on its top spot ranking by “Library Journal.” The industry publication annually evaluates libraries nationally based on elements like circulation, computer access and innovative programs, and the Provincetown Library was recently rated first among its category peers (those with annual expenditures of $400,000$999,999). More: lj.libraryjournal.com
PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES for
the Men’s Event on Saturday, February 28 and Women’s Dinner Party on Saturday, April 11, both at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. The major annual fundraisers for LGBT-focused Fenway Health are co-chaired this year by Justin Isaac, Brian Ramos, and Joblin Younger; and Lori Griffiths, M. Jane Powers, and honorary chair Elyse Cherry. For event info and tickets, visit mensevent.org and womensdinnerparty.org.
SLIP YOUR GUNS INTO GAYTANKS ,
a new Boston-based line of unisex tank tops that you may have noticed slipping into boutiques like House of LaRue in Provincetown. Mixing pride with playfulness, the ultra-soft designs feature kitschy designs: think poppers bottles, smartphone emojis of same-sex couples, and a few sassy sexual invitations. It’s never too early to start thinking about Tea Dance attire. More: gaytanks.com [x]
JAN|FEB 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 1 PUBLISHER
David Zimmerman EDITOR IN CHIEF
James A. Lopata ART DIRECTOR
Dean Burchell DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Jenn Dettmann jenn@bostonspiritmagazine.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Chris George, Michael Poulin
PUBLISHING/SALES CONTACT
CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR
publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com 781-223-8538
CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR
Boston Spirit magazine. A Division of Jake Publishing, LLC Published by Jake Publishing, LLC. Copyright 2004 by Jake Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written permission of Boston Spirit magazine. Neither the publishers nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the magazine. The publishers accept no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person, organization or business in this magazine does not reflect upon one’s sexual orientation in any way. Boston Spirit Magazine 398 Columbus Ave #395 Boston, MA 02116
Scott Kearnan Loren King
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Tony Giampetruzzi, Matt Robinson, Andrew Warburton CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Joel Benjamin COVER IMAGE Stan Rosenberg photographed by Joel Benjamin ON THE WEB
BostonSpiritMagazine.com TALK TO US Send comments, questions and encomia to feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com EDITORIAL CONTACT
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SPOTLIGHT Film STORY Scott Kearnan
The Reel Deal
Host your events in our magnificent Atrium For information please contact Natalia Laskaris at 978-542-1615 or visit pem.org/venues
2015 da
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still ava
One of last year’s honorees: “Magical Universe”
SALEM FILM FEST SPOTLIGHTS SPELLBINDING DOCUMENTARIES Salem knows a thing or two about movie magic. While the North Shore city is best known for those historic witch trials (and modern-day associations with all things Halloween), the Salem Film Fest draws visitors for a very different reason. The annual festival screens some of the world’s most spellbinding documentary films, and this year’s installment, taking place March 5-12, will be no exception. The Salem Film Fest’s success, and the quality of its content, has much to do with the festival’s process for selecting movies. Unlike many festivals that hold open calls for submissions, Salem takes an invitation-only approach: its team proactively researches prospective films and only requests screening copies of those that have clear potential. That means the final roster of films included has been curated with significant scrutiny. It shows. Last year’s Audience Award winner, “Magical Universe,” a quirky but intriguing examination of the late Maine artist Al Carbee and his Barbie Doll-centric photography, was recently secured for wider distribution by IFC Films, the 161 Essex Street | Salem, MA | 978-745-9500 | pem.org David Tucker Photography 10 | BOSTON SPIRIT
same company that helped hits like “Transamerica” and “Boyhood” find wider audiences. In other words, the Salem Film Fest offers a place to find tomorrow’s critically acclaimed picks, today. (Other 2014 Salem selections included “Maidentrip,” which followed 14-year old Laura Dekker’s mission to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world, and “Derby Crazy Love,” a look at the fierce, feminist sport of roller derby.) The weeklong series of film screenings, held at the CinemaSalem movie theatre, is only one aspect of the larger festival. In addition, Salem Film Fest features kick-off cocktail receptions and after-parties, pre-screening live music concerts, Q&A panels with filmmakers, and a climactic awards ceremony, all held at locations scattered among the city’s quaint cobblestone streets. And the world’s future filmmaking stars have their chance to shine through Mass Reality Check, a special showcase of short experimental and documentary films produced by local college students. To preview the attractions coming to the 2015 Salem Film Fest, and to purchase tickets and passes, visit salemfilmfest.com. [x]
SPOTLIGHT Spa STORY James Lopata
Casablanca on the Cape UNIQUE SPA TREATMENT IN PROVINCETOWN TRANSPORTS NEW ENGLANDERS TO MOROCCO Imagine sitting on the warm tiles of a Moroccan sauna with a handsome tellak—attendant— wearing a towel, pouring hot water all over you. The traditional mosaic tiles of the sensuous steam room fade gently from view as water vapor fills the air. The tellak
invites you to close your eyes as he caresses olive-based soaps all over, cleansing you with the gentleness of a parent bathing an infant. Next comes the deep cleaning from a special exfoliating glove that applies anti-toxin clay from the hills of the Maghreb in West Africa.
Before you know it, your 45-minute surrender is complete and you are rising, refreshed, renewed, and purified. After a relaxing rinse at the showers, you greet a sunny, beautiful day—in Provincetown. Yes! This relaxing and invigorating traditional Arab experience comes courtesy of Namaste Spa at Carpe Diem in the center of the great gay mecca of P’town. Rainer Horn, one of tellaks and an owner of the spa and guesthouse, explained how he fell in love with Hamam Gommage experience many years ago. He studied the art of this classic ritual and brought it to Cape Cod where he has shared it with countless enthralled
participants. Individual sessions and group classes, of up to four participants, are available. The Hamam Gommage is one of many popular spa treatments offered at Namaste Spa. In fact, Namaste’s services are so popular that this Winter they are expanding the spa facilities to include two more therapy rooms and a new outdoor spa. The new facilities are expected to be up and running by Memorial Day, which will create even more completely satisfied—and utterly refreshed—customers. To find out more and to book a treatment, visit carpediemguesthouse.com/ namaste-spa. [x]
Valuing differences and creating value through differences ...
Count us in. Harvard Pilgrim is a proud supporter of Boston Spirit Magazine.
SPOTLIGHTS Online STORY Scott Kearnan FIRST OF ALL, LET’S ACKNOWLEDGE THAT LGBT PEOPLE ARE ESPECIALLY WIRED TO EACH OTHER. According to a 2013 PEW Research Center study on social trends, 69% of gay men say they have met a new LGBT friend online or through a social networking site. 47% of lesbians and 49% of bisexuals surveyed said the same.
LIKE IT OR NOT, ONLINE DATING IS NOW A FACT OF LIFE FOR MOST SINGLES Whether you’re looking for a “LTR” (that’s “long term relationship”) or just a quick roll in the cyber-hay, there’s a matchmaking service out there. But how are LGBT people using them? Who is searching for love online? And what kind of info are they sharing? Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we hunted down some insightful, occasionally saucy statistics by scouring national studies and hooking up with some local experts: like Online Buddies, the Cambridge-based business behind the gay social media platforms Manhunt, Jack’d, and Dandy.
NH
APPARENTLY NEW ENGLAND PURITANISM DOESN’T EXTEND TO SELFIES. According to Cambridge-based Manhunt, New Hampshire ranks #1 for members with the “most revealing” photos on the network. The Green Mountain State isn’t modest, either: Vermont ranks #3 for users willing to show it all.
60% 69% of same-sex couples met online and
G-RATED SELFIES? GO “LUMBERSEXUAL.”
48%
of the most popular guys used photos of themselves in the great outdoors WANT TO STICK TO G-RATED PICS? Here’s a tip: Show yourself in the great outdoors. According to a meta-study conducted by “Wired” magazine, 48% of the profile photos of the most popular gay men on matchmaking site OkCupid were taken outside. (The moral: “Lumbersexual” sells.)
AND WHAT, EXACTLY, ARE THEY SHOWING? Let’s get this out of the way: Massachusetts Manhunt members report their—well, members—are an average size of 7.27”. That’s just shy of the national average of 7.37”. (Whether claims reflect reality is a separate story.) And about 18.36% of Bay State guys say they are uncircumcised. That’s on the higher side, compared to other states.
12 | BOSTON SPIRIT
of gay men met LGBT friends online
YES, THESE ONLINE MEETINGS LEAD TO RELATIONSHIPS IRL. According to a 2012 study in the “American Sociological Review,” about 60% of same-sex couples met online. Among opposite-sex couples, just over 20% met online.
60K
THE MEET-UP APP JACK’D SAYS IT HAS ABOUT 60,000 DAILY ACTIVE USERS IN THE BOSTON AREA. If you’re a younger man (or looking for one) this might be the place for you: Over 70% of Massachusetts users are age 18-29. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when asked to identify their “scene,” 27.44% of Massachusetts users chose “Twink.” (Nationally, the app’s most popular choice is “Bi/Str8/Curious.”)
IF YOU’RE THE TYPE TO POST TORSO SHOTS, CUT DOWN ON THE CRUNCHES AND ADD SOME PUSH-UPS TO YOUR GYM ROUTINE. According to a survey conducted by matchmaking site CoffeeMeetsBagel.com, 39% of gay male singles say “6-pack abs” is the photogenic body part they most strive to achieve. But what do gay men actually find most sexy? By a wide margin, 37% say a “toned chest.”
MOST SEXY: “TONED CHEST”
15:01
Scoring Digits
LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF GUY? The gents of Scruff might be for you. According to the makers of that app, the average age of a Boston-area user is 34 years old. When asked to claim a “category,” Hub guys most often file themselves under “Geek” (40%), “Jock” (36%) and “Bear” (24%). But when asked which “category” of guy they’re seeking, Boston Scruff users most often specify “Jock” (73%), “Muscle” (69%), and “Student” (49%).
34YO BOSTON AVERAGE
27% 42% ONCE A WEEK
ONCE OR MORE A YEAR
GEEK40% JOCK36% BEAR24%
CONSIDERING THE PROLIFERATION OF MATCHMAKING APPS, THIS SHOULDN’T BE A SURPRISE. But according to a recent study by Match.com, 27% of single smartphone owners had sex at least once per week, compared to 17% of traditional cell phone owners. And 42% of smartphone owners had one or more one-night stands over the course of a year, compared to 24% of traditional cell phone owners. But be careful what you send online: Match found that 57% of single men and 45% of single women have received a “sext”—and 23% of recipients shared that “sext” with someone else.
BOSTON IS THE 5TH MOST “GENEROUS” CITY IN THE COUNTRY, ACCORDING TO THE TEAM AT WHATSYOURPRICE. COM, A SITE FOUNDED BY MIT GRAD AND ENTREPRENEUR BRANDON WADE. The online matchmaker allows members to offer cash incentives to secure a first date. 12% of Boston users are looking for same-sex matches—and they’re willing to pony up. Nationally, the average accepted price for a first date is $80. LGBT members are already a bit more “expensive,” commanding an average of $105.20 for a first date. But in Boston, the average offer for a same-sex date is even higher: $130.94. [x]
SPOTLIGHT Community STORY Scott Kearnan
Community Cliffnotes
Spotlighting New England LGBT organizations and the work they do. Helping you to discover some new neighbors—and fresh facts—about our diverse community.
“ If you were a man calling a domestic violence hotline, they would assume you were the abuser—or hang up the phone. It was like being forced back into the closet. Curt Rogers GLBTQDVP founder
GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project For years, GLBT people have tried to send a simple message to straight folks: “Our relationships are just like yours.” That’s largely true. And it’s not always a good thing. Because while same-sex couples certainly experience equal love and joy, we also face many of the same destructive social issues: like domestic violence. In fact, national studies show that gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women experience higher rates of domestic violence, compared to their heterosexual counterparts. (What little data exists with regard to transgender people suggests the same.) Yet there are far fewer social services equipped to serve GLBT survivors of domestic violence – particularly men, who are already precluded from accessing many support organizations. The GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project is working to change that. Founded by a
survivor, GLBT-QDVP has been a local leader in providing supportive programs, influencing public policy, and increasing access to services for members of an already-marginalized community. Following the recent receipt of a historic federal grant, and having just commemorated its 20th anniversary, GLBTQDVP is only emboldened to continue its fight against a serious social problem – and the stigma that accompanies it.
WHAT IS GLBTQDVP? Based in Cambridge, GLBT-QDVP works with over 600 survivors of domestic violence every year in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Its work includes awareness and education campaigns, a 24-hour domestic violence hotline, an emergency safe-home, case management and counseling for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and access to legal
advocacy. Services are free to those in need—and available to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and gender expression. In addition, GLBT-QDVP offers cultural competency training to other community groups, fostering an environment where all service providers
can be better equipped to understand and support the needs of gay and trans folks.
HOW DID IT START? Curt Rogers, a domestic violence survivor, founded the organization in 1994. Only a few years earlier, Rogers’ had endured a terrifying three-and-a-half hour ordeal in which his then-boyfriend had restrained him and threatened to kill them. He escaped—but soon found he had nowhere to turn. Because he was a man, multiple shelters turned him away. “If you were a man calling a domestic violence hotline, they would assume you were the abuser—or hang up the phone,” says Rogers. “It was like being forced back into the closet.” The experience transformed Rogers, and motivated him to launch his Support Services for Gay Male Victims of Violence; soon the organization was renamed the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project, and by 2000 its focus had expanded to include bisexual and transgender survivors. In 2003 it formally changed its name again, to GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project. Just as the organization’s name has
GLBTQDVP Marathon in 2002 broadened over the years, so too have the cultural conversations about the experiences of domestic violence survivors that hail from already marginalized groups. Slowly. “When we started, it was a struggle just to get communities to open up to us,” says Rogers, now the executive director of GLBT-QDVP. “We had to get domestic violence organizations to be willing to
discuss male survivors. And the LGBT community had to be willing to tackle this issue – not think of it as dirty laundry.”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? That the issue would be regarded as “dirty laundry” says a lot about why an organization like GLBTQ-DVP was, and remains, important. Gay people have long seen their relationships demonized by
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the mainstream, says Rogers. Particularly in the pre-equal marriage era, acknowledging that domestic violence exists in same-sex relationships could be perceived as “giving ammo” to an opposition that wanted to portray gay couples as disordered. As a result, gay people – and gay men, in particular – see little representation of their relationships in broader cultural discussions of domestic violence. That can make it much harder for gay men to recognize when they are in an abusive relationship, a problem compounded by myriad other issues unique to LGBT people: like fewer relationship role models, and greater social isolation. (Even if they’re not closeted, gay people might be less comfortable discussing their relationships with
acquaintances – robbing them of the ability to gain context on what “normal” partner behavior looks like.) If they do recognize themselves in an abusive relationship, gay men can face unique obstacles to accessing help: including distrust of police, fear of being outed, and internalized homophobia. The last can even lead some men to believe that they somehow deserved their abuse, say some domestic violence experts. And all male survivors must face the specter of an added stigma, simply because of their sex. All of this creates a perfect storm whereby gay people report “significantly more intimate partner violence” than heterosexuals, according to a 2000 U.S. Department of Justice’s National Violence Against Women Survey. 39.2%
of women in same-sex relationships report being victimized at some point in their life, compared to 21.7% of women in opposite-sex relationships. Among men, the numbers are 23.1% versus 7.4%. And yet, GLBTQ-DVP is one of the few organizations offering resources that address this specific social issue.
WHAT HAS IT DONE? Over the years, GLBTQ-DVP has covered the bases. Helping those in abusive relationships begins with education and awareness-building, and since the ‘90s the organization has been behind high-profile ad campaigns that brought the issue of same-sex partner violence front and center: or at the very least, across the side of subway cars and on top of
taxi cabs. “With that kind of messaging, it was like a light switch went on,” says Rogers of how bold, groundbreaking awareness campaigns changed the dynamic of domestic violence discussions. “Suddenly we weren’t the dirty laundry anymore. I remember being out in Worcester once, where we had ads on the sides of buses, and one woman told me it was the first time she had seen anything gay-specific like that out in public. It was really powerful to her. It forced recognition of this as an issue.” In 1999, the organization offered its first LGBT-specific safe home (the first of its kind), launched its 24-hour LGBTspecific hotline (the first of its kind too) and introduced domestic violence case managers. In 2000, a Western Mass office opened, and in 2003 a
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Cape Cod office. By 2005, a legal services program was in place, and in 2011 the organization established sexual assault case managers. Over its 20 years, Rogers’ organization, started with the help of just a few dedicated volunteers, has grown to a staff of 15 people. And in addition to direct services, GLBTQ-DVP is a driving force behind research and public policy, from conducting massive surveys at Pride celebrations to issuing deep-dive analysis; Rogers co-chaired a committee that recently delivered to the Governor’s Council an incisive report on the disparity of prevalence and access to services for GLBT survivors. And GLBTQ-DVP has also worked with legislators to advocate for the community’s inclusion in funded programs for survivors.
WHAT’S IT WORKING ON NOW? Which brings us to more recent initiatives. In 2013, Congress passed a GLBTinclusive reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides funds for survivors. GLBTQDVP worked in concert with other organizations for years on this measure, the first federal GLBT non-discrimination provision, which opens up many new funding opportunities. For years, GLBTQ-DVP has been unable to apply for many vital grant monies because the organization does not “primarily serve women,” a requirement of VAWA-funded programs. This inclusive reauthorization of the act changes things, says Rogers. And the benefits are already rolling in. In October, GLBTVDVP received $40,000 under the S.T.O.P. (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors)
grant program, for which the organization had previously ineligible. The grant will be put toward free, trauma-informed counseling services. That same month, GLBTQDVP received a $5,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation’s New England Domestic Violence Solutions Awards. And last year, GLBTQ-DVP secured a $700,000 four-year federal contract to conduct pioneering researching into traumainformed services for GLBTQ survivors. The contract was one of seven awarded from over 100 applications, and the research will fill a major void in evidence-based practices for working with GLBTQ survivors. HOW DO I GET INVOLVED? From Halloween parties to Marathon teams, GLBTQ-DVP has mastered the art of fun fundraising initiatives – and brave souls can partake in one very special event on Sunday, February 22nd: the 11th annual Winter Plunge, when several dozen costumed revelers will dive in to the icy waters off Carson Beach raise money for GLBTQ-DVP. Last year’s event raised about $17,000 – here’s hoping that supporters will dive even deeper into pockets this winter. [x] GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project
Top Brass: Curt Rogers, executive director On the Web: glbtqdvp.org Snail Mail: 955 Massachusetts Ave. PMB 131 Cambridge, MA 02139 Buzz: 617-354-6056 24-hour domestic violence hotline: 800-832-1901 Tweet: @GLBTQDVP Friend: facebook.com/glbtqdvp
renée Fleming (Symphony Hall, February 8)
2015 SEaSOn (JANUARY-MAY) January
ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Emerson String Quartet angela Hewitt piano & anne Sofie von Otter mezzo-soprano Ira Glass, Monica Bill Barnes, & anna Bass – Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host an Evening with Branford Marsalis
FEBruary
Janine Jansen violin & Itamar Golan piano Christian McBride Trio & Cécile McLorin Salvant renée Fleming soprano & Olga Kern piano Calder Quartet Mahler Chamber Orchestra Leif Ove andsnes piano/conductor all-Beethoven Piano Concerti program Brian Brooks Moving Company with special guest Wendy Whelan
MarCH
an Evening with audra McDonald The Silk road Ensemble with yo-yo Ma 15th Anniversary Year Cameron Carpenter featuring the International Touring Organ Daniil Trifonov piano arturo O’Farrill & the afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with special guest Donald Harrison, CubaNOLA alvin ailey american Dance Theater Lisa Batiashvili violin & Paul Lewis piano
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Dublin Guitar Quartet 4/8 What Makes It Great? with rob Kapilow 4/10 with the Kyle athayde Dance Party It Don’t Mean a Thing, Music of Duke Ellington Celebrity Series Gala 4/11 Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock duo piano 4/12 Joseph Calleja tenor 4/17 Trio Jean Paul 4/22 Terence Blanchard E-Collective 4/25 & ravi Coltrane Quartet
May
alisa Weilerstein cello & Inon Barnatan piano Stephen Hough piano Jad abumrad Gut Churn Kurt Elling’s Passion World with special guest anat Cohen Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
5/1 5/8 5/9 5/15 5/15-17
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SEASONAL Gift Giving STORY Scott Kearnan
Gifts With Heart FALL IN LOVE WITH THESE ADORABLE IDEAS FROM LGBT COUPLES— AND BUSINESS PARTNERS With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, you might be struggling to find a token of affection for your other half. So here are some options that have far more meaning than some heartshaped box of chocolates: Gifts that are built, designed, or sold by samesex couples themselves. Love built their business. This Valentine’s Day, take a piece of their heart.
Flowers from New Leaf Flores. Giving a bouquet never fails as a romantic gesture. But there’s a special, sentimental touch when you get them from New Leaf, owned by longtime partners Daniel Lopez-Ospina and Jeb Taylor. (599 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain; newleafjp.com)
“Maine Classics” from Mark & Clark. You probably fell in love with the James Beard award-winning chef couple Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier at their Ogunquit restaurants, MC Perkins Cove and the late, great Arrows. Now you can find them at their first Boston restaurant, MC Spiedo in the Seaport. But this “Maine Classics” cookbook will help you and your honey recapture some of your delicious first dates. (shop.markandclarkrestaurants.com)
Adorable edibles from 2 Dogs Treats. Besides Christmas, Valentine’s Day is probably the most common occasion for gifting a sweetie with a red bow-tied puppy. Add 2 Dogs Treats, healthy, home-delivered noshes by married Boston couple Christian and Mike Merfeld. (2dogstreats.com)
18 | BOSTON SPIRIT
Duds from Inseam. Jamaica Plain couple John Robb and Jeff Diaz is the team behind this line of dapper menswear, which blends uniform-inspired functionality with fashion. From the perfectly cut “workforce” jeans to sexy officer-style shirts, they command attention. (inseammen.com) Threads from Dani + Dan’quell. Get your girlfriend’s Girl Splash gear ready. We love the t-shirts and tank tops from this fashion line run by lesbian designer Danquell Bradford and her partner Hansa Edwards, boasting edgy designs like skulls and inspiring mottos like “Love Your Body Love Your Self.” (danidanquell.com)
Fragrances from 2 Note Perfumery. In 2014, Carolyn Mix and Darcy Doniger closed their perfumery in Portland, Maine for a new location just over the Western Mass border in Hudson, New York. But you can still find all the luscious, hand-crafted fragrances and skin care products on their website, in styles like the bergamot-based “Encore” and honey-laced “Adagio.” (2noteperfumery.com)
A relaxing respite at Skoah. Everyone appreciates the gift of relaxation. Book you and your partner rejuvenating facials at the Back Bay or South End Skoah spas run by husbands Jay Judas and Pete Dziedzic, former chair of MassEquality’s board of directors. (skoah.com)
Soaps from Legend’s Creek Farm. Luscious body soaps are always a sweet surprise, but skip the generic mall-bought gift sets. Skin is a lot softer when washed with the eucalyptus, honey-almond biscotti, and honeyoatmeal soaps that Aden and Jon MottRestivo create using goat milk produced on their quaint Rhode Island farm. (legendscreekfarm.com)
Chocolates from Christopher Hastings Confections. Maine husbands Mark Simpson (the chocolatier) and Nate Towne (the marketing guru) combined their respective middle names for this brand new business of sweet treats. Mark applies his professional background in laser crystal engineering to chocolate crystals, bringing uniquely satisfying snap to creative goodies like the “Moxette,” a caramel bonbon infused with the essence of Moxie, Maine’s official state soda. (chconfections.com) [x]
JAN|FEB 2015 | 19
SPOTLIGHT Ricardo’s List STORY Ricardo Rodriguez
Ricardo’s List Hot Acts
BOSTONIANS KICKING BUTT AND TAKING NAMES Boston is no longer a city of just sports, academia, financial and medical institutions. Thanks in large part to this group of established and rising stars, Boston’s art and design fields have been taken to the next level. They are the toast of the town. Cheers to them in 2015!
STORY Ricardo Rodriguez PHOTOGRAPHY Joel Benjamin CREATIVE DIRECTION Ricardo Rodriguez MAKE-UP Tavi de la Rosa HAIR Tyler Trifilo for Salon Mario Russo
20 | BOSTON SPIRIT
Natasha Moustache Photographer When I say Natasha is hot, I mean it! She is sexy, smart, fun and has an eye for composition and light that make her images relaxed yet vibrant and exciting. This past year she has literally shot to the top with international and worldwide clients and events, among others PUMA in Italy, CMAFest in Nashville, a bourbon camp for bartenders in Kentucky, SXSW for Pandora Inc., and even had one of her pictures published in Amanda Palmer’s new book. All this led her to signing with Getty Images this past September. So what’s happening next? “It’s hard to imagine topping 2014, but my big goal is to shoot Garth Brooks on tour and if that works out, well then it’s already been a good year.”
Jonathan Soroff
What’s ahead for ’15:
Writer Jonathan Soroff needs no introduction. His brilliant writing and his cheeky take on Boston’s social scene have made him the It-Boy for the final say on the who’s who in town. To his already impressive resume he recently added his first novel “Crimes of Fashion”; a series of fabulous interviews including Andy Cohen (onstage for his new book), and multiple travel
stories on international destinations like Dubai, Cartagena, Costa Rica, St. Barth and St. John among others. This busy bee also started a new radio show “Status Report” (co-hosted with the gorgeous Erica Corsano) on Boston Herald radio and still found time to loose a celebrity burrito rolling contest to Tiffani Faison (“She’s a chef for Christ’s sake!” says Soroff).
“Writing a sequel to my novel. I will be doing travel stories on Kenya, St. Lucia, and Deer Valley. Turning “Status Report” into the most popular hour of radio. Becoming even more fabulous, if that’s possible.”—Jonathan, CC loves you…
Frankie Valenti Actor Frankie is as handsome as he is talented. His talent has taken him from a very successful gay adult film actor to becoming a bona fide film star. This past year he has been busy traveling around the world promoting his critically acclaimed film “Tiger Orange” and the reviews of his performance have been very positive, with the Hollywood Reporter mentioning his “considerable charm and skill’ and Variety calling his a “legit pic debut”. What should we expect this year? “I have a handful of other fun and successful projects coming together. Stay tuned. And I am keeping my hands busy by working on a new line of jewelry.”
Luke Aaron Fashion Designer In the diverse and close-knit world of Boston fashion, Luke has fast established himself as one of the top new designers in town. His extraordinary clean technique, luxurious aesthetic and superb taste allow him to create clothes that are simultaneously ethereal and strong. His ready-to-wear line is a hit with local fashionistas and for the past two consecutive years he has been named “Best Designer” in Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston awards. This past year he expanded his bridal offerings to the Boston and New York markets to great public response. What is happening for you in ‘15? “For 2015, I look forward to continuing both my bridal and ready-to-wear collections. I will be working with a beautiful bridal salon in Japan, bringing my gowns to an international audience and expanding my wholesale business. I am also expanding my design studio/ showroom into a new space in the South End and planning an exciting new retail concept for my North End location. “
Javier Cortes Creative Director A partner at the award-winning firm Korn Design, Javier is a force to be reckoned with in the brand strategy and design fields. This past year he played an integral part in the creation and launch of the Boston Harbor Hotel’s “Winter in The Wharf” program which includes the fabulous skating rink under the hotel’s iconic rotunda. The Hotel Commonwealth also benefited from his expertise during their latest relaunch. And as if this was not enough he worked closely with the Lewis Family Foundation launching their “Bigger Than My Block” program, focusing on inspiring young people of color to apply and succeed through college.
What are you looking forward to this year? “I am very excited about the work at The Envoy Hotel in Fort Point which will open this year; a collaboration with Group One Architects, it will be one of the most exciting new hotels in the city with an incredible rooftop bar and breathtaking views. I am also working with independent hotels in, Southern Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Colorado, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia and Saranac Lake, NY. This year I am looking forward to applying our innovation in hospitality to inform the experience of two new residential buildings: one in East Boston and the other in Kendall Square. Plus we are collaborating with Triangle, Inc, an organization focused on serving people with disabilities, on a very exciting and groundbreaking campaign working to shift the perception and expand awareness of people with disabilities. “
Steve Maler Artistic Director Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is one of the most beloved and respected artistic institutions in the city. Steve Maler has been at the center of it all and while he is surrounded by incredibly talented people one cannot deny his star power. As its Artistic Director he has overseen 19 productions of CSC’s headliner “Shakespeare on the Common”, all to rave reviews and with the most extraordinary casts. Seen by over 75,000 people each year, their production on the Boston Common is one of our city’s most exciting Summer traditions, and they manage to do it free of charge to the public. This past year CSC became the Theater in Residence at Babson College and Steve was named Director of the Sorenson Center/BabsonARTS with productions featuring big names like Charles Busch, Anthony Rapp, Brooke Adams and Tony Shaloub. And as if this was not enough, CSC brought us the epic “Shakespeare at Fenway Park” to incredible international attention and acclaim.
What special treats do you have for us this year? “This year we are producing King Lear on the Boston Common starring Will Lyman and a Theater in the Rough script-in-hand performance of Yasmina Reza’s “Art” starring Seth Gilliam (The Wire, Walking Dead). We are also bringing to Babson Doug Elkins Choreography, etc in Hapless Bizarre and Mo(or)town/Redux -he is known for his exuberant, humorous, and innovative choreography; a Boston concert debut by Broadway and film star Jeremy Jordan; and “Basetrack Live” a multimedia event developed by Edward Bilous and directed by Seth Bockley.”
John Lam Dancer This stunning man does it all. He is Principal Dancer at Boston Ballet and received great reviews for his work in Jewels, Ekman, Close to Chuck, and Bella. He was the poster boy for Boston Ballet’s debut at Lincoln Center in New York. Most importantly he has been busy raising a gorgeous baby boy Gio with his better-half John. And did I tell you about his successful restaurant and hospitality empire in posh Woodstock VT?
What else can we expect from you this year? “I have a season filled with roles catered to my promotion to Principal Dancer, including Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Shades of Sound, Edge of Vision and Thrill of Contact. My husband and I are welcoming baby #2 sometime in June plus I have been busy documenting our family journey as a LGBT family through my instagram account (@johndilam). I am also releasing a music video that was filmed this past summer, and getting a BA through Northeastern University.”
FEATURE Politics STORY DeeDee Edmondson
How the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Was Won How one man—Bryan Bishop— broke the deadlock with an ingenious solution that led to a historic 5-4 vote that allows gay veterans to march in Boston’s famous parade Bryan Bishop is a jovial guy. “It’s going to be a good day, I can feel it.” Bishop says with a deep North Carolina accent. He is eternally hopeful and there is good reason for him to be. Bishop is the Executive Director of the newly formed Veteran’s organization OutVets. OutVets is an organization for LGBT Veterans and allies that is a recognized veterans organization by the American Legion, the largest veteran’s organization in America. It is the first of its kind. Bishop works as the Chief of Staff to Boston’s Commissioner of Veterans Services. He works hard daily to make life better for the city’s veterans. He is a 20-year Air Force veteran and a native of North Carolina. His southern accent rises and falls as he talks about his upcoming meeting. Tonight—Monday, December 15th, 2014—Bishop will go before the South Boston Allied Veterans Council and advocate for OutVets’ application to march in its St. Patrick’s Day parade. The application was filed weeks before with the meeting. There have been many hushed conversations and off-the-record discussions with the president of the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council,
28 | BOSTON SPIRIT
OutVets on the Boston Common
Brian Mahoney. Mahoney and Bishop are very hopeful. Why? Because most everyone involved wants this to be the last year LGBTQ people are excluded from the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s blight on an otherwise inclusive Boston. It has been 21 years since an LGBTQ group has been approved to march in the St. Patrick’s parade—since the fight that resulted in an infamous 1995 Supreme Court case, “Hurley vs. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston.” The decades-long controversy might end quietly at a VFW post in South Boston on Monday night. Its 10 a.m. on Monday. T minus 7 hours until the meeting. Bishop and the leaders of OutVets are nervous but hopeful that they will prevail tonight and will be able to march. “We need to end this. It’s just that simple.” said Bishop. “OutVets is a recognized national veterans’ organization that is dedicated to honoring LGBTQ veterans who fought for our country. We are non-partisan and non-political. We are simply here for the vets. I hope that they
recognize and respect that—and I think they will. They do this for veterans too.” Bishop has many supporters echoing the same sentiment. Congressman Stephen Lynch, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and Massachusetts state Rep. Nick Collins from South Boston all spoke about how they want this to end. Mayor Walsh recently spoke on WGBH about the need for the parade to be inclusive saying, “I’m hopeful for this year to be the year. We need to be inclusive.” Congressman Lynch further noted, “OutVets is a recognized veterans’ organization and are there to honor veterans. They are about helping veterans who fought for our freedom. They should be able to march. It’s time.” “I’m happy to have helped lay the groundwork for this meeting to happen,” said Rep. Collins. “It’s all about dialogue.” All three men have been working behind the scenes, making inroads with the Council over the past two years, laying the groundwork for Bishop and Mahoney to start a dialogue about OutVets. On Monday afternoon, it looks like it’s working.
“We need to end this. It’s just that simple. OutVets is a recognized national veterans organization that is dedicated to honoring LGBTQ veterans who fought for our country. We are non-partisan and nonpolitical. We simple are here for the vets. I hope that they recognize and respect that—and I think they will. They do this for veterans too.” Bryan Bishop
How We Got Here To understand the history of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is to understand how Boston and the LGBTQ community have gotten to where they are today. The push and pull of the city’s old traditions and the “New Boston” undergirds Boston’s daily life. It’s a constant tension that is palpable. In February 1992, the recently formed Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB) applied to be in the Parade. The Council rejected the application and thus began a 15-day saga in March 1992 where the fight for gay rights took a big step.
Let’s set the scene for what was happening in America and Boston at the time: George H.W. Bush was president. The AIDS crisis was escalating at a rapid pace. It was the beginning of activist organizations like Queer Nation and ACT UP that sought attention for the AIDS epidemic and a demand for rights. Queer Nation was an activist group formed by members of ACT UP in NYC. In January 1992, the group staged a protest during a Boston appearance by New York Cardinal John O’Connor due to the Cardinal’s anti-gay stance in the face of the AIDS crisis. Members of GLIB attended the protest. In 1990, the group infamously hurled condoms at newly ordained priests
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and their families outside the South End’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross. In January 1992, Republican Gov. William Weld, created the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, much to the delight of gay rights groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, GLAD, and the Log Cabin Republicans. Weld’s move was in response to the growing political power of the gay rights movement in Massachusetts who had supported his candidacy. Mayor Ray Flynn led Boston. He was a moderate Democrat and staunch Catholic from South Boston who had been endorsed by gay rights groups in his reelection bid.
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Experience Salem’s historic and cultural sites, shops, restaurants, and special events year-round. Just 15 miles north of Boston. @DestSalem
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In the midst of the national turmoil over the AIDS crisis, gay bashings and protests, and the heightening of the political power of the gay rights movement, an application to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was submitted by GLIB. The Irish-American Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Group of Boston (GLIB) formed in late 1991 for the express purpose of marching in the Parade. Secretly it was born from an idea concocted after the January protest of Cardinal O’Connor. All members of GLIB were members of Queer Nation. Then-South Boston City Councilor Jimmy Kelly got wind of this and told the Council. On March 1, 1992, GLIB’s Parade application was rejected. GLIB sued in court and won the right to march. 25 GLIB members were allowed to march down Broadway in the parade. The Boston Police Department had two police vans filled with officers following the group. 300,000 people were predicted; 600,000 people showed up. GLIB marched the four-and0one-half mile Parade route through South Boston carrying a simple cloth banner, at waist
level, containing the words “Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston.” They were threatened, heckled, cursed, bombarded by rocks, bottles, cans, and smoke bombs, and doused with beer, coffee, and spit. The threats directed at the 25 marchers transformed parts of the parade route into scenes of raw rage. The hatred and the vitriol displayed on the streets toward the LGB marchers made international headlines and brought a whole new level of media attention to the gay rights movement. Subsequently, the Council took the issue all the way to the Supreme Court and got the infamous Hurley ruling in 1995, which gave the Council permission to reject any applicant they saw fit. Despite the loss, the case itself marked significant progress for gay rights, as the written decision was respectful, and for the first time, the Court acknowledged that “coming out” and “being out” were expressive acts.
And then came 2014 As the years passed there, efforts to get gay marches into the parade met with
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varying success. Attempts resulted in a second parade that followed the traditional parade. There LGBT advocates marched with Veterans for Peace, who also were not allowed in the main parade by the Council. In 2014, MassEquality concocted a scheme to put forward an application on behalf of a supposed LGBTQ veterans group to march in the Parade. At first the group looked legit, and it pulled at heartstrings. It looked like it might work. Elected officials got involved to push for the acceptance of this gay veterans’ application. Newly minted Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the son of South Boston Congressman Stephen Lynch personally went to the home of the leader of the Council, John “Wacko” Hurley, to coax him into agreeing to let the contingent in. They spoke with him almost an hour. Hurley did not want rainbow flags and banners i the parade, and he smelled a rat. Then something happened. According to multiple reports from sources who wish to remain anonymous, South Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan told the Council
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“This is a groundbreaking historical moment that we should all be proud of. Boston is an inclusive community where everyone deserves to live, work, and play. I commend OutVetS on their efforts to ensure that the hard work of LGBTQ veterans are recognized and honored in our City.” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a press release for the 2014 Boston Veteran’s Day parade
that there really wasn’t an LGBT veterans’ organization and that MassEquality’s application was all a front, just like 1992. When MassEquality was asked to account for their veterans, only one veteran was produced and the rest of the marchers were said to be “allies” of the LGBT veterans. Ghosts of 1992 began appearing in the minds of the Council. Someone leaked all the happenings to the Globe. Speculation in the press ramped up. The Council was looking for a reason to deny the application—and it found one. It was common consensus among the council members that they were trying to be tricked again. MassEquality went into hiding and didn’t answer press calls—or rey_phh_spirit_ad_1_14_final.pdf 1 12/12/2014 4:32:07 PM calls from elected officials. Hurley would have none of it: application denied.
“I was very disappointed that we couldn’t make it happen,” said Congressman Lynch. The LGBT veterans marched again in a second parade with the Veterans for Peace. Congressman Lynch invited all LGBT veterans to march with him in the traditional parade. But only one veteran from New Jersey took him up on his offer. The denial of the application made headlines nationwide. This got Bryan Bishop thinking.
Back to the Present Bishop and others realized that a creating a real, non-political veterans service organization modeled on the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars was
needed to support our LGBTQ veterans. It would also meet the standards to be in the parade. A real LGBTQ veterans organization that was recognized by the American Legion became a reality on September 20, 2014 —the third anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”—when OutVets was founded. On November 11, 2014, OutVets marched in Boston’s Veterans Day parade. Boylston and Tremont streets teamed with people cheering for all marching veterans. OutVets received a rousing reception all along the parade route. It was the first time a LGBTQ veterans organization marched in a major Veteran’s parade.
OutVets application to be in the Boston Veterans Day parade was not publicized until a few days before the parade occurred. It came from a simple press release with the blessing of Mayor Walsh sent out three days ahead of the event. “This is a groundbreaking historical moment that we should all be proud of,” said the mayor. “Boston is an inclusive community where everyone deserves to live, work, and play. I commend OutVets on their efforts to ensure that the hard work of LGBTQ veterans are recognized and honored in our City.” It made national headlines. When asked on the Boston Common about marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Bishop demurred, “No comment at this time.” In his interview about OutVets marching in the St. Pat’s parade, Congressman Lynch voiced support: “They are a recognized and respected organization that are honoring veterans. They were well received at the Veteran’s Day parade in Boston. I am hopeful for March 2015.”
The Vote On the phone on the afternoon of Monday, December 15, Bishop is talkative about OutVets prospects. “I feel really good about tonight. We are here to honor and respect veterans. We’re non-political. We’re not here to promote an agenda. We are only here to support LGBTQ veterans that fought for our country.” Bishop attends the meeting alone. He speaks to OutVets’ application and encounters some resistance. An 88-yearold woman curses him for being an activist. “No, I’m only here for veterans who served their country. This is only about veterans,” he says. The OutVets application called for veterans to march in formation carrying the flags of all fifty states. When he leaves the room he shook everyone’s hand. And with a whimper, 22 years of segregation and discrimination ended at the VFW post in South Boston with a vote of 5-4 with Brian Mahoney, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council’s President, being the deciding vote.
Join us March 5, 2015 for the annual Boston Cornerstone at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston. For more information, please visit www.pointfoundation.org/boston2015
Bishop had to wait outside the VFW post in his car during the vote. Mahoney came out, got in the car, and asked for a ride home. At his home, Mahoney and Bishop shook hands. “It was all about having a dialogue,” said Bishop. Mahoney agreed. Bryan Bishop and OutVets are heros. Mayor Walsh, Congressman Lynch, and Rep. Nick Collins stepped up to make inroads where others would not. Brian Mahoney willingly started a dialogue that helped change Boston history. We are embarking on a new era and it’s a beautiful thing for the City of Boston and the LGBTQ rights movement. Some might think the parade was never that big of a deal; some do. Whatever you think of the parade, the new Boston won; equality won on Monday night. “This is a great outcome. It’s over. Our veterans need to be honored—no matter whom they choose to love. This was a long fought battle. I better see everyone on the parade route cheering us on.” said Bishop. You can see history in action on Sunday, March 17, 2015, in South Boston. [x]
FEATURE Youth STORY Scott Kearnan
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BAGLEY scores with $100K gift from Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth (BAGLY) has entered its 35th year with a bang—and the support of one of the country’s most successful business magnates. In December, Robert Kraft announced a major gift: a pledge to match, dollar to dollar, up to $100,000 in new and increased donations. BAGLY, a group formed by a handful of volunteers in 1980 to offer a safe space and leadership development for marginalized queer youth, those so often relegated to the furthest margins of the fringe, now stands on the precipice of a great financial windfall orchestrated by the owner of an organization no
Robert Kraft at Boston Spirit’s 2011 LGBT Executive Networking Night less “mainstream” than the New England Patriots. What a difference three decades makes. “This is a very exciting time for BAGLY,” says executive director Grace Sterling Stowell. Stowell is also a founding member of BAGLY, and she has watched the organization grow in size and scope: from its roots as a small, tightknit coalition of queer Boston
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activists to a trailblazer of statewide “AGLY” programs and a national model for youth-led advocacy. And while every donation is a victory, another block towards building a better future for LGBT youth, Stowell admits there
is something uniquely special about receiving such a large gift from a prominent figure in the world of professional football—historically, not an arena oft associated with LGBTrelated philanthropy.
“This is someone in the mainstream community who represents a very different world than that of many young queer kids,” says Stowell. “I have been impressed with the immediate results and the lifelong impact that BAGLY
is creating for LGBTQ youth,” Kraft said in a statement announcing the donation. “I’m glad to be able to help support BAGLY in their mission of social justice, and helping to develop this generation of LGBTQ youth leaders.” If support were to come from someone in the football world, Kraft would be the likeliest source. He has already established a strong reputation as an LGBT ally. A past keynote speaker at the annual “Boston Spirit” LGBT Executive Networking Night, Kraft has previously told reporters that the Patriots would be “happy” to welcome an openly gay player. And Kraft’s attitude seems to have trickled down to his team: Rob Gronkowski has made headlines for saying a gay player would be just “another teammate and another friend,”
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Bret Lockett became a prominent supporter of the NOH8 Campaign during his time with the Patriots, and the Pats even sent Hall of Famer Andre Tippett to the opening ceremonies of a Gay Bowl in Boston back in 2003. Still, such a large, public gift from a prominent mogul has the ability to raise the profile of BAGLY in circles that might not otherwise become familiar with the organization’s work. The potential leverage is game changing. “It’s an exciting opportunity to identify new support and donors,” says Stowell. “Someone of his [Kraft’s] stature and reputation in the philanthropic community can really raise awareness of BAGLY. We see this as an opportunity, a challenge, and a catalyst toward
“ Someone of his [Kraft’s] stature and reputation in the philanthropic community can really raise awareness of BAGLY. We see this as an opportunity, a challenge, and a catalyst toward building sustainable, long-term programs. ” Grace Sterling Stowell BAGLY executive director
building sustainable, longterm programs.” If BAGLY donors can fully match Kraft’s $100,000 pledge, the organization will have raised nearly a quarter-million dollars toward sustaining its existing programs, including its statewide network of LGBTQ youth groups, while
creating new opportunities: from ensuring dozens of youth receive access and development at national conferences, creating an Advanced Youth Leadership Fellowship program. At press time, BAGLY donors had already helped the organization reach 75% of its goal—but the last haul
is always the hardest, says Stowell. “This is a historic opportunity for us and our organizational development,” says Stowell. “The work continues, and even as the adult community celebrates so many successes, we’re reminded that young people continue to bear the brunt of social injustice. We must stay dedicated to supporting the young people of our community and helping them develop as leaders. And that is exactly what Bob Kraft is investing in.” To help BAGLY reach its goal of raising $100,000 to be matched by Robert Kraft, visit bagly.org/donate or contact Kurtlan Massarsky, director of development, at 617-227-4313 x130. [x]
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SEASONAL Power STORY David Zimmerman, James Lopata, and Tony Giampetruzzi
LGBT Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England Welcome to Boston Spirit’s list of the 25 most Powerful Players in the New England LGBT community. How did we choose them? Some names were no brainers— Mary Bonauto, Maura Healey, David Cicilline, Stan Rosenberg. And then there were others, like, for instance, Mason Dunn, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. Should he be on it? Perhaps, but he hasn’t been around long enough for us to know, especially with other notable names. If we had an honorable mentions list, he’d be on it with a number
36 | BOSTON SPIRIT
POWER
PLAYERS of NEW ENGLAND
of others like: Marianne DuddyBurke, Executive Director of Dignity National; Grace Sterling Stowell, Executive Director of BAGLY; Kevin Dumas, Mayor of Attleboro; Paul Daigneault, Executive Director of SpeakEasy, who has produced toptier theater in New England that addresses LGBT issues for years; Sylvain Bruni of Boston Pride; and more. We’d also like to call out Ricardo Rodriquez’s list (on page 20) in this issue for seven additional arts and design mavens to watch—any of whom could have been possibilities for the list. There will be those who disagree with the final names and will have good reasons. We welcome the dialogue. (And, FYI, you’ll notice they are
in alphabetical order with no internal ranking.) In the end, it is less important who is on the list than that the list generate constructive conversations in our community about where power resides and how it is used. So, here’s our take on LGBTs of power in New England. Discuss! [x]
25 RONALD ANSIN
Philanthropist
We must educate people of all ages, redouble our efforts to support candidates for public office who are gay, lesbian or supportive of our issues, and to fight those who would undermine our victories in the name of religion.
Ronald Ansin doesn’t really think of himself as having that much power. But, then again, most philanthropists worth their salt never do. “I am not a board member of any LGBT organization nor an elected official, nor [generally] a major financial contributor. I am an enthusiastic supporter, and advisor when asked, and a donor when I can to a wide range of LGBT organizations. I suspect that what power I have results from the perceived wisdom of old age,” says Ansin. “I don’t think my type of power requires any ‘specific responsibilities.’ I do, however, feel responsibility to do what I can to help our community, not because I owe it, but because I believe deeply in equality for all.” Ansin previously amassed a fortune operating the shoe-manufacturing companies Anwalt Corp. of Fitchburg and
L.B. Evans’ Son Co. In the public realm he also served as the state commissioner of Commerce and Development, sat on the State Job Training Coordinating Council and served as the footwear-industry adviser to the White House. And, in terms of his civic activities, the list includes dozens of bullet points including work with the ACLU of Massachusetts; Fenway Health (consider that his name adorns the organization’s headquarters, the Ansin Building, which is “the largest facility ever constructed by an organization with a specific mission to serve the LGBT community,” according to Fenway Health’s web site.), and collaboration with Dr. Jerry Groopman to establish the Mapplethorpe Laboratory for AIDS research
25
RONALD ANSIN
at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, now the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine. “We have accomplished so much, but we cannot rest while any of our brethren are denied rights afforded by the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights or the Constitutions of the six New England states. In addition, we must educate people of all ages, redouble our efforts to support candidates for public office who are gay, lesbian or supportive of our issues, and to fight those who would undermine our victories in the name of religion,” says Ansin. “Today, we in New England have the opportunity to show the way to full equality for the LGBT community throughout our country and indeed the world. This is our opportunity. This is our challenge.”
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Yes. That’s really the job title. It’s a position created by Fidelity Investments, and Bostonian John Basile has it on his nameplate. Today, John works tirelessly to create an inclusive workplace for all associates.
JOHN BASILE
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Fidelity Investments
This includes across Fidelity’s U.S. and global locations, by influencing and engaging senior leaders on the business imperative of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace. “Although very honored to be included on the power list, I have never really thought of myself as a power player,” Basile demurs. His success speaks for itself. Basile led the development of an inclusion program at Fidelity that has grown to more than 10,000 employees worldwide. In 1999, Basile was one of the founding members of Fidelity Pride to create awareness and understanding of the issues LGBT employees face in the workplace. Since Pride’s inception, Basile has helped LGBT employees find a safe, welcoming workplace environment where employees can succeed, thrive, bring their authentic selves to work every day, and be valued and respected. Fidelity Pride currently has close to 1,000 employee members across the globe. Under Basile’s leadership, Fidelity has also developed partnerships and support for LGBT organizations nationally, including
Fenway Health, Greater Boston PFLAG, The Point Foundation, and National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). In 2007, Basile was a founding member of Pride in Our Workplace (PIOW), a network of LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERG) from financial services companies, professional services firms, and other major corporations in the Greater Boston area. PIOW is a forum for professionals and executives to share inclusion best practices promote networking, professional development and build ERG and Business Resource Group capabilities. In early 2014, Basile was recognized by the NGLCC as “Corporate Leader of the Year” for his efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the financial services sector. Basile also currently serves on the Board of Directors for Fenway Health. “I think the best way we can continue to make progress for the LGBT community is to focus on our youth,” says Basile. “Education and awareness is critical so the younger generation will experience a society where all have an opportunity to achieve and thrive.”
JAN|FEB 2015 | 37
25 ALLISON BECHDEL
Anyone whose work appears in Slate, the New York Times Book Review, McSweeney’s, Granta, and The New Yorker must be a person of note, right? Such is the case of Alison Bechdel whose comic strip Dykes To Watch Out has become a counter cultural institution. For 25 years, from 1983 to 2008, the strip was syndicated in dozens of newspapers (including Boston’s in newsweekly), translated into several languages and collected in a series of award-winning books. Utne magazine has listed DTWOF as “one of the greatest hits of the twentieth century.” And Comics Journal says, “Bechdel’s art distills the pleasures of Friends and The Nation; we recognize our world in it, with its sorrows and ironies.” In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel has also done exclusive work for a slew of publications, including Ms., Slate, The Advocate, and many other newspapers, websites, comic books, and ‘zines. In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. The bestselling coming-ofage tale has been called a “mesmerizing feat of familial resurrection” and a “rare,
25 Cartoonist and graphic memoirist
MARY BONAUTO
Civil Rights Project Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defender
I see power as the ability to make changes, and that means power lies far more in the hands of the larger LGBT community than with any individual MARY BONAUTO
38 | BOSTON SPIRIT
prime example of why graphic novels have taken over the conversation about American literature.” It was the first and only work of its kind to be a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. And the book became an Off-Broadway musical that opened in 2013. Described by The New Yorker as “an intellectual populist and a pioneer, as a woman, in a genre that is not only largely male but macho,” Bechdel is a true cultural phenom. Living near Burlington, Vermont, she told the magazine that “Glasses are my only jewelry, so I splurge on them.” The power of simplicity.
When Mary Bonauto was awarded a 2014 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, otherwise known as “the Genius Award,” the GLBT community heaved a collective “duh!” Not since Harvey Milk has one individual made such an enduring impact on the community, nor have there been many individuals who have established true hero status at any time in the past few decades. But Bonauto rates. Beginning with her groundbreaking work to pass the nation’s first civil unions law, in Vermont, in 1999, to her role as lead counsel in the groundbreaking case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which made Massachusetts the first state where same-sex couples could legally marry in 2004, Bonauto established a cadence of success. More recently, she led GLAD’s federal court challenges to DOMA in Gill and Pedersen, leading to the first District Court and Court of Appeals victories against DOMA—and the state laws against gay marriage have come tumbling down. At press time, 35 states now allow gays to marry, thanks in large part to Bonauto.
Charmingly, she eschews the praise. “I see power as the ability to make changes, and that means power lies far more in the hands of the larger LGBT community than with any individual,” she says, never forgetting to credit her colleagues at GLAD. “Together, and with allies, we have accomplished so much over these many years.” And, she says, there’s much more to do to help those who continue to be vulnerable—elders, young people, families, those who live in rural areas. “New England can continue leading the way of what equality and justice look like.”
25 STEPHEN L. BOSWELL, MD, FACP
President and Chief Executive Officer of Fenway Health
30 years ago, if you were diagnosed with AIDS, you were likely going to die. That was the conventional wisdom among a terrified gay community, which would soon be decimated by that foregone conclusion. For more than two decades, Fenway Health has been at the forefront of HIV/ AIDS care and research, and, since 1994, Stephen L. Boswell, MD, FACP, has been on hand as a physician, administrator, clinical researcher and key opinion leader representing and caring for the LGBTQ community in Boston, and New England. “My work has been driven by a desire to help build a stronger LGBTQ community by building needed infrastructure that addresses our health and other associated needs such as those that arise from violence, homelessness, homophobia, transphobia, HIV/AIDS, and aging,”
says Boswell. “I try to use what influence I have to accomplish this goal.” And what influence! The former head of HIV Clinical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boswell served as Fenway Medical Director prior to assuming his current role of President & CEO in 1997. In addition to his responsibilities at Fenway, today he serves as an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and holds joint appointments in the General Medicine Unit and Infectious Diseases Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. A past member of President Clinton’s Council on HIV/
AIDS, Boswell has also served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, and currently as a member of the Board of Directors of the HIV Medicine Association. He is also a researcher funded by the National Institutes of Health who serves as the Principal Investigator of several Fenway/Harvard research projects focused on HIV/ AIDS. “At Fenway, we are focused on enhancing our understanding of the health of those who are LGBTQ, teaching others how to improve their care to those who are LGBTQ, and advocating for policies that support the overall health of our community,” says Boswell. Perhaps most important, he is a husband (to John Neale). The pair have been together for, that’s right, 30 years.
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JAN|FEB 2015 | 39
25 RAY BUCKLEY
Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party
For those in New Hampshire, the credo “Live Free or Die” likely has special significance for gays and lesbians. Enigmatic, the Granite State was grudgingly conservative throughout the 1990s and much of the 2000s while much of the rest of New England was coming out of its homophobic shell. Then, in 2007, the state leap frogged over a handful of others with its passage of civil unions and then marriage in 2009. Many credit political power broker and ace organizer Ray Buckley as a catalyst for the shift. A teenage organizer for Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign, Buckley went on to serve several years on the staff of the New Hampshire House Democratic Leadership before taking up an office there of his own when he was first elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1986. In between, he held a number of positions in the Democratic Party and, since March of 1999, he has been a member of the Democratic National Committee, most recently serving as the organization’s first openly gay Vice Chair.
He was recently named one of the “Top 10 Most Powerful in NH” by NH Magazine. “I have the responsibility to speak out at every opportunity for individual members of the LGBT community and for the community as a whole. I actively support and encourage members of the community in their career and in politics,” says Buckley. “Because of the success we have enjoyed in New England … we [now] must be much more engaged in anti-bullying, anti-youth violence and LGBT youth suicide prevention.” It is painful to think that LGBT kids today still suffer from the same abuse I did in junior high in the early 1970s. It is simply unacceptable and we must do more.”
I have the responsibility to speak out at every opportunity for individual members of the LGBT community and for the community as a whole RAY BUCKLEY
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25 STEVE BUCKLEY
Sports columnist
If you get involved and help get things done, even in the smallest of ways, that’s power STEVE BUCKLEY
Okay—out professional athletes are one thing, but big time sports reporters and writers? Yes please! Steve Buckley made history in January 2011 when he became one of the nation’s first out big-city sports columnists. More notable, he has been a sportswriter for more than 36 years, a columnist at the Boston Herald, no less, since 1995. He also appears regularly on Comcast SportsNet New England and 93.7 WEEI and his most recent book (yep, there are more than one), “Wicked Good Year,” (2009), tells the back stories of the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and Boston Celtics vying for championships between October 2007 and June 2008. As for his relevance and power in the gay community, he keeps it real. “The so-called power I have in the LGBT community must be earned on a daily basis. If you get involved and help get things done, even in the smallest of ways, that’s power,” he says. “But you’re just an observer once you step outside of things, and I spent too many years of my life being just that—an observer. I owe.” He came clean in 2011 in a (gulp) Boston Herald column on January 6, 2011.
“I closed with this: ‘It’s my hope that from now on I’ll be more involved. I’m not really sure what I mean by being ‘involved,’ but this is a start: I’m gay. That’s where it began; I came out, and then I went out. I more or less showed up and said, ‘OK, here I am. What can I do?,” he says. “I wish I could report that I organized some kind of Million Man Gay Men’s March on Washington, but the reality is that many of my contributions have been made via the typewriter. ‘Coming out has been a major ongoing story in the sports world, and my job has been to chronicle the experiences of Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Derrick Gordon and other out athletes. I take this responsibility quite seriously.” In this case we agree, the pen is mightier than the march.
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25 ELYSE CHERRY CEO, Boston Community Capital
According to Elyse Cherry, members of the LGBTQ community often have a different relationship to the larger world than straight friends and allies. She reminds that circumstances that others take for granted—the ability to be open about our lives and our relationships, for example— historically were not available to us. “As a result, many of us have developed a unique perspective, an independence of thought and an openness to and respect for difference, that allows us to accept and contribute to diversity of views in the workplace and in the larger world,” she says. “By promoting and pushing for a culture respectful of that diversity, I’m able not only to advance issues of particular importance to the LGBTQ community but also to strengthen the larger overall community in which we participate. And that benefits everyone.” Talk about a unique perspective and a body of work to match. Cherry, an attorney and a former partner at the law firm of Hale, now serves as Chief Executive Officer of Boston Community Capital, and President of its affiliates, Boston Venture Fund, Aura Mortgage Advisors and NSP Residential. There, she leads a national tax credit program, a mortgage brokerage, a mortgage lender aimed at stabilizing urban neighborhoods, a real estate acquisition entity, and an alternative energy initiative focused on controlling utility costs in multi-family affordable housing developments. Her spare time work on marriage equality as well as other LGBT and women’s issues has not gone unnoticed. This year alone she picked up the Susan M. Love Award from Fenway Health in recognition of her commitment to championing LGBT concerns in healthcare and was placed on the UK-based network OUTstanding’s international “Top 100 LGBT Business Leaders” list for her work to promote LGBT equality in the workplace. “Fortunately, I am happiest when I stand with a foot in many worlds, at the intersection of many communities, in the traffic of ideas,” says Cherry. “But no matter where I stand, the goal is always the same— to help build the world we want, to pursue economic, social and political justice not just for LGBTQ people but for everyone, to further the ideals of justice and the public good rather than to be subject to someone else’s idea of a less inclusive world.”
42 | BOSTON SPIRIT
5
Wendell Chestnut could be a professional glass ceiling crasher for all we know! After all, as an openly gay African American leader of in the world of finance, he’s a rare figure of prominence having served as a senior Vice President in various functions at Bank of America for nearly 15 years at Bank Of America.
WENDELL CHESTNUT
Senior Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
But, his influence never stopped there. In fact, to review his resume is like absorbing a what’s what of finance and LGBT organizations (and often where those two roads meet in the form of internal inclusion programs)—and Chestnut is most often much more than just a member. A sample? How about Co-Founder of the Pride in Our Workplace LGBT Network organization from 2007 to the present; Board of Overseers Member for Beth Israel Hospital, serving on the Finance Committee from 2007 to 2010; Co-Chair of the Bank of America Northeast Executive Council from 2009 to 2010; and Board of Directors’ Member for GLSEN-Boston from 2004 to 2008. “Having power means that I have a chance to give all LGBT individuals a ‘voice’ and ‘power’ so they can achieve any goal that they set their minds to without feeling or fearing that sexual orientation matters to their success,” he says. “My responsibility is to listen and make sure that I pass on the message(s) that I have learned from those leaders before me, but I also take the messages that I hear from the LGBT community and share with the hope that they are thought about and built off of by those who I came in contact with in the community.”
Having power means that I have a chance to give all LGBT individuals a ‘voice’ and ‘power’ so they can achieve any goal that they set their minds to without feeling or fearing that sexual orientation matters to their success
WENDELL CHESTNUT
DAVID CICILLINE
U.S. Congressman, 1st District of Rhode Island
It’s nice to have a friend in the business, especially when that business is the U.S. House of Representatives. When then-Providence Mayor David Cicilline announced that he would make a play at a seat in Congress in 2010, it was widely expected that he might eventually assume the role of former Congressman Barney Frank, the stalwart, openly gay champion of LGBT issues in Washington. Well, he won that race, and two elections since, and things have changed: this year there are eight out congresspeople who work together to advance a LGBT agenda—that’s more gay muscle than ever before under the dome. As co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Rep. Cicilline has consistently been a strong voice for LGBT rights in Congress. He is a co-sponsor of the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act, the Respect for Marriage Act and joined an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and provide for full marriage equality. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Cicilline has worked to protect the international LGBT community and earlier this year introduced the Global Respect Act, legislation that would ban foreigners who have committed or incited gross violations of basic human rights against LGBT individuals from entering the United States. In addition, Cicilline has helped lead the fight against anti-LGBT bullying in schools to ensure that all children are able to attend school in a safe, welcoming environment. “As a nation we have a responsibility to stand for the principles of dignity, equality, and freedom of expression, and I’m committed to upholding our promise to defend basic human rights for all people,” says Cicilline, adding that, yes,
I believe it’s time to move forward with a comprehensive bill to ensure LGBT people are treated fairly in all facets of their life. DAVID CICILLINE
he does have a gay agenda. “I believe it’s time to move forward with a comprehensive bill to ensure LGBT people are treated fairly in all facets of their life, including employment, housing and education. I’ve met with my colleagues and advocacy groups who are supportive of this effort and I look forward to introducing a comprehensive LGBT civil rights bill next year.”
25 25 25 25 JONATHAN CRUTCHLEY Owner, Online Buddies
Thanks to Jonathan Crutchley lots of gay guys in their 40s or older actually got a lease on their dating life long before the advent of online hook-up sites and maybe even in spite of the smattering of gay clubs and bars that dotted the New England landscape. An early gay technology advocate, Crutchley was one of the guys (Basile was his partner) behind Dial Information Services in 1992. Yup: there was nothing more exhilarating at the time than spending an hour or two on the phone LISTENING to personal ads and then, *gasp* having an anonymous conversation over the phone. And then, as if by magic, Crutchley and Basile, pretty much invented online dating with Online Buddies Inc., in 2001. In its 13 years of existence, their flagship product Manhunt has become a category leader. It consistently ranks among the top two websites in the United States, according to the Hitwise Lifestyle Gay and Lesbian Quarterly Top Ten Report, boasting seven million active members in over 100 countries worldwide. Read: with a little help from the www, Crutchley changed forever the landscape of, er, dating. “Any power that I’m perceived to have comes directly from the gay community that my business
CATHERINE D’AMATO
President and CEO, Greater Boston Food Bank
serves, as well as the dedicated employees who make Online Buddies, Manhunt Cares, and the Online Buddies Research Institute possible,” says Crutchley, referencing the philanthropic ventures the revenue from his business now allows. “Together we facilitate the best possible interactions for men seeking men, and we help to raise awareness for health issues in our community. Often I have had men come up to me and thank me because they met their boyfriend, partner, or husband through one of our web or mobile applications. If this is power then I’ll accept that term, because let’s be honest: who doesn’t love love?”
Boston Magazine beat us to the punch when they named Catherine D’Amato to their list of the “Top 50 most powerful people in Boston” in their March 2012 issue. And then there are those Honorary Doctorate of Letters from four area colleges. Oh, did we mention that “Heroes Among Us Award” from the Boston Celtics? The list of lists literally goes on and on. It’s no surprise. D’Amato is the President and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank, New England’s largest hunger-relief organization, an extremely efficient and effective nonprofit food distribution business. She has relentless compassion for those she serves and galvanizes others in the corporate and civic communities to partner for this important cause. In addition to being a tireless advocate for the hungry for more than 30 years, D’Amato’s work in the LGBT community also began years ago and she’s still going strong. She is a founding incorporator of the world’s first LGBT foundation, the Horizon’s Foundation in San Francisco, California. After she moved from San Francisco to Western Massachusetts, she established the Valley Women’s Chorus in
44 | BOSTON SPIRIT
Northampton, Massachusetts. And Catherine published her album of original work, “First Loves,” performing throughout New England, opening for Holly Near and Sweet Honey and the Rock. When she moved to Boston she became involved with the Human Rights Campaign, serving on the New England regional board and the national Board of Governors, and most recently serves as the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation. “I am proud to be a part of Boston’s LGBT community,” she says. “By working together we help in deep and significant ways to provide greater safety and sustainability for our community and our families.”
TIFFANI FAISON
Chef and owner, Sweet Cheeks
For many people, power over the palate is just about as mighty as you can get. There’s nothing like rendering someone completely powerless by simply providing them with a mouthful of heaven.
ESMOND HARMSWORTH Literary Agent and Philanthropist
5
Tiffani Faison is a chef, restaurateur, culinary consultant and television personality whose three-year old Sweet Cheeks is one of the most well-regarded Southernstyle barbecue spots in the city if not the region. When not minding the shop at Sweet Cheeks, you’re likely to spot her and her cuisine at just about every local LGBT non-profit fundraiser, donating time, talent, and mouthwatering temptations for the palate. Working her way from busser to chef and owner, Tiffani began cooking for Todd English (talk about power!) in Boston and has traveled the country and the world working for such renowned chefs as Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse and Tony Maws. In 2009, she was tapped to run Rocca Kitchen & Bar, going on to earn a three-star review from the Boston Globe. After
opening Sweet Cheeks, she was tapped for the wildly popular TV show Top Chef, coming out in the number two slot. Speaking of coming out, Tiffani knows that her line of business and the profile that she has developed brings with it great responsibility—even if she dislikes calling it that. “I’ve always felt grateful and have closely identified to my community, regardless of my professional status,” she says. “Responsibility sounds arduous. I see it less as a responsibility as I do an honor and a tribute to those who came before me and lived proudly. Specifically, it’s imperative that I’m out, that I’m kind and that I’m trustworthy to the people I touch everyday; that I share my life openly; that I engage and give back to my community in a variety of ways.”
There’s nothing like a man of letters when it comes to influence. But how about a man of letters who represents other notable raconteurs—and just happens to be a philanthropist on the side? Esmond Harmsworth has been involved in LGBTQ activism since college and, through a private foundation, is a donor to most leading community groups, as well a deeply involved political donor and activist. A founding partner of the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency, Harmsworth was born in London, he was educated in England before graduating magna cum laude from Brown University and cum laude from Harvard Law School. Today he is one of the leading U.S. literary agents for business books and books on education; he also represents books on topics such as politics, psychology, culture, literary food writing and novels. His clients are numerous New York Times bestselling authors and prize-winners such as Sabina Murray, David Rothkopf, Adam Lashinsky, Erin Arvedlund, Jedediah Berry, Keith Ferrazzi, R. Keith Sawyer, Tony Wagner, Amanda Ripley, Josh Linkner and Michelle Hoover.
Nevermind his esteemed, clients, Harmsworth himself has been a featured panelist or speaker at, among others, the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, the national conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Boston Book Festival, and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He has been a board member, trustee or advisor at many arts, cultural and political organizations, including PEN/ New England, Grub Street, the Southern New Hampshire MFA program, the Boston Foundation LGBT Advisory Committee, the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Boston Center for the Arts, the Redwood Library (Newport, RI), MassEquality and the Harvard AIDS Institute. And he’s engaged to his fiancé Jérôme Buet.
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Assisted Reproductive Technology and Estate Planning LISA M. CUKIER - Partner, Burns & Levinson LLP lcukier@burnslev.com l 617.345.3471
JORDAN P. BOWNE - Associate, Burns & Levinson LLP jbowne@burnslev.com l 617.345.3301
Imagine a married or unmarried couple
The ART of Confusion
agreeing to take the steps to initiate the in
possible legal ramifications for individuals
trying for years to have a child, and then
This is but one illustration of the many
vitro fertilization (IVF) process by filling out
or couples interested in having a child
the requisite consent forms. Now imagine that several attempts at IVF treatments
by utilizing IVF or other types of
intestate succession, not unlike a vacation
home or a fine art collection, the difference being that this category of property could be used in the conception of a child.
services through the emerging field of
So what happens if a child is conceived
a term signifying the use of technology to
parents?
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART),
after the death of one or both genetic
achieve conception.
conceived posthumously could be deemed
time to have a child. The IVF facility notifies
As the technology has improved, the
certain conditions are met.
move forward with IVF post-separation, the
to help conceive a child has become
The
consent forms. After some initial protest,
coinciding with the advances in the
with a case of a surviving spouse who
under some “pressure” and signs the
of cryopreservation (a method used to
ART more than 16 months after her
years), are new challenging ethical and
as the couple learned of the husband’s
probate and estate planning. For example,
the husband’s sperm cryopreserved at
or embryos in the event of death of one
following
genetic material be considered property,
that was genetically theirs. Through ART,
were unsuccessful, and shortly thereafter,
the relationship sours and that once-blissful couple separate. The two go their separate ways, but one of the parties decides it is still
In
Massachusetts,
a
child
an heir of his or her deceased parent(s), if
the eager aspiring parent that in order to
popularity of using assisted reproduction
former spouse or partner must fill out new
increasingly
However,
decided as such, when it was presented
the former spouse/partner ultimately relents
technology, particularly the development
decided to become pregnant through
consent forms.
preserve sperm, eggs, and embryos for
husband’s death from leukemia. As soon
Fast forward to the birth of the healthy
legal dilemmas, especially in the areas of
cancer diagnosis, they agreed to have
what happens to any unused sperm, eggs,
a fertility clinic. After a grieving period
or both of the donors? Would the unused
surviving spouse wanted to have a child
and if so, to whom does it belong?
the wife gave birth to twins more than
From Property to Parentage
Massachusetts court determined that the
twins of this now-single parent. The IVF
procedure had finally worked! Several years go by with little interaction between
the parties. Then, when money for the single parent starts to dry up, the former
partner receives communication from the
single parent in the form of a summons in a legal action seeking child support. Child support?! These
facts
played
out
before
a
Massachusetts court in Boston in 2009. In
2012, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the judgment, which determined that the former partner consented to being
the father and was, in fact, on the hook to pay child support for twins who were
born to the eager single parent after the parties had separated.
commonplace.
As yet, only a few states have directly dealt with the issue of disposition of unused sperm, eggs, or embryos after the death of one or both of the partners
or spouses. While there is no universal consensus, the majority of those states have treated the frozen gametes and
embryos as “property” of the donors,
who would then have the sole discretion
highest
court
her
in
husband’s
Massachusetts
death,
the
two years after her husband’s death. The children born to the widowed mother
were the deceased father’s heirs and were eligible to inherit his Social Security
survivor dependency benefits. The court was careful to note that there may be
time limitations that could prevent a child
conceived posthumously from claiming inheritance from the deceased parent.
regarding the disposition of these items.
Consent is Key
death of one or both parties, it could be
and other ART have turned what was
As property of the donors, in the event of
The advancements to cryopreservation
passed down to heirs through a will or by
formerly the stuff of science fiction into a
reality, and the legal community has been
court has stated that it will not force
clients alike, the impact of these changes
expressly consent to his former spouse
trying to keep up. For attorneys and their in ART is particularly widespread in the
practice of estate planning. Fortunately,
individuals and couples pursuing ART can have considerable control over the process, including the disposition of any unused
sperm, eggs, or embryos, upon death, with proper estate planning.
parentage on an individual who did not using his unused cryopreserved sperm to
need for a guardian for the child(ren) born after your death.
Given parentage presumptions that arise
conceive a child after divorce.
in states that recognize same-sex marriage,
Plan for the Future
parentage disintegrate upon crossing state
and given that those presumptions of the
Given the uncertainty surrounding these ethical and legal dilemmas caused by ART, it is important to consult with an
The common thread in each Massachusetts
attorney who is knowledgeable about
consent. The Massachusetts court in the
soon as possible. Individuals and couples
that the husband who died from leukemia
during their lives (or after) should account
reproduction while he was alive. His
and make clear their intentions for what
that the twins conceived after his death
There are a myriad of possibilities in
inheritance.
certainly not limited to, how to account
The need for express consent allows an
upon death, whether you would be open
borders, it is even more important that you meet with a highly experienced and
versatile attorney who understands LGBT family law and estate law.
case involving ART issues is affirmative
family law, estate and LGBTQ issues as
A well-crafted estate plan can account
posthumous conception case determined
pursuing ART to conceive at any point
ART and put you and your heirs at ease
had clearly consented to posthumous
for any cryopreserved genetic material
consent was critical to the court’s decision
happens to the “property” upon death.
were his children and were eligible for
estate planning with ART, including but
individual or a couple to dictate what happens to any unused stored genetic material upon death. A Massachusetts
for any cryopreserved genetic material to posthumous conception, if so, whether you want the child(ren) to receive your
for the changes in the law relative to
knowing that you have prepared for any contingencies that may arise from ART. If you or your partner or spouse
are interested in pursuing ART, or have
already begun the process, it may be time to get advice.
This article by Burns & Levinson LLP provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. All views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Boston Spirit Magazine. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
inheritance, and whether there would be a
T H E F I R M ’ S LG BT G R O U P Burns & Levinson is a Boston-based law firm with over 120 attorneys and offices in Providence and New York, as well as in the Merrimack Valley/North Shore, Metro West and South Shore areas of Massachusetts. We work with entrepreneurs, emerging businesses, private and public companies and individuals in sophisticated business transactions, litigation and private client services – family law, trusts & estates, marriage and divorce law.
LISA M. CUKIER Estate Litigation, Family Law, Business Litigation SCOTT H. MOSKOL Financial Restructuring & Distressed Transactions, Bankruptcy, Corporate DEBORAH J. PECKHAM Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Licensing DONALD E. VAUGHAN Real Estate, Trusts & Estates, Estate Planning ELLEN J. ZUCKER Employment Law, Business Litigation, White Collar Criminal Defense TIMOTHY J. FAMULARE Real Estate LAURA R. STUDEN Employment Litigation, Business Litigation, Family Law Litigation
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25 25 25
5 CHRIS HARRIS
Nightlife Promoter & Club Owner
Chris Harris really does think he’s a god. Okay, we’ll give it to him. For the club set, the promoter/ club owner has been turning water to wine in New England for nearly 15 years, single-handedly keeping the local scene alive at a time when the mirror ball, in most cities, is the relic of a bygone era. Whether you’re gay or straight, if you have a penchant for nightlife and live within, say, a million miles of the Boston/Providence corridor, chances are you’ve been touched by Chris Harris and his cabal, Chris Harris Presents, a mainstay of the New England (and beyond) club scene. Aptly, when he started his most recent venue in Providence in 2013, he named it Club Ego
(ostensibly after his most endearing quality). “We’ve bucked all the trends and know how to deliver an impressive line up of talent by knowing our audience,” says Harris who is the probably the only club owner/ promoter who would ever take a gamble on A-list entertainment the likes of DJ Abel, Hector Fonseca, Richie Santana. But, he says, he also knows that club-goers in Boston don’t always need a headliner—they just need energy. Today, that energy is flowing through whichever room Harris thinks he can fill—and his instincts are usually spot on.
MAURA HEALEY
Massachusetts Attorney General-elect (at press deadline)
Less than a year ago, Maura Healey wasn’t mincing words about how powerful it would be for the people of Massachusetts to elect an out AG. “We’ve made a lot of progress and that’s reflected in the fact that someone like me can seek this particular office; it’s a statement about equality and fairness,” she told us last March. “Remember, it wasn’t too long ago that LGBT people were afraid of law enforcement and the ways laws were used against them.” With Healey now in office, it’s safe to say that, well, LGBT folks in Massachusetts may just be even safer than ever before. “I understand the importance of having a state’s Chief Law Officer be the one to stand up for equality, fairness and justice and try, in ways large and small, to make a difference for people—not just in the LGBT community, but for everyone in the broader community … people who are vulnerable and need a voice— children, the elderly, seniors,
consumers. That’s why we are there, to advocate for the people and make sure that we enforce laws that are fair and just.” At WilmerHale law form Healey distinguished herself by providing pro bono assistance to helping to challenge the 1913 law that then-governor Romney dusted off to prohibit marriages for same-sex couples from out of state. “I believe the Attorney General is the people’s lawyer. I will use my authority to advance equality and combat
48 | BOSTON SPIRIT
JOANNE HERMAN
Transgender rights activist
We now have the opportunity to continue to lead the country in achieving full equality for all residents. MAURA HEALEY
discrimination against all groups, including the LGBT community. In Massachusetts, which has been such a leader on issues like marriage equality, we know that marriage is just the beginning,” Healey told Boston Spirit. “I will ensure that Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in supporting LGBT rights. We led the country in marriage equality and brought the first successful case striking down the Defense of Marriage Act. We now have the opportunity to continue to lead the country in achieving full equality for all residents. That is my commitment.”
BARBARA LENK
Associate Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Joanne Herman has walked off the activist stage. That’s how powerful she is. Herman retired from transgender advocacy work in 2013. According to The Huffington Post, she affirmed her true gender in 2002 (in her late 40s), writing that she would actively help others understand what it means to be transgender. “During that time, increased transgender acceptance led to gender affirmations at ages much younger than Joanne’s. Joanne retired so that voices with more current experiences could come to the forefront,” wrote The HuffPo. “Nonetheless, she’s been the darling.” Joanne retired in 2010 as Financial Controller for Boston-based grant-maker New England Foundation for the Arts, where she was responsible for NEFA’s accounting, financial reporting,
benefits administration, and information technology. She was previously Director of Finance for what is now the French Cultural Center of Boston. Before entering the nonprofit world in 1996, Joanne worked as an information technology project manager and consultant for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and Johnson & Johnson. Before joining the corporate world in 1989, Joanne had been a Certified Public Accountant working with emerging businesses, first as an auditor for what is now PriceWaterhouseCoopers and subsequently as an independent part-time CFO.
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In the age of same-sex marriage, what makes someone powerful? How about being appointed to a very high court as an openly gay judge? That was the case with Barbara Lenk when Governor Duval Patrick offered her a position as Associate Justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 2011.
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community, we have been clear with the world about who we are; the world has changed considerably in the last three decades in response to this collective clarity.” Lenk understands her important role on the SJC and has a clear message about her mission: “Perhaps if I do my job well [on the SJC,] it will underscore that the judiciary in this Commonwealth is comprised of people who are diverse in background and experience but who share in common the quest for equal justice and the commitment to make it a reality.”
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The move made Lenk, a Harvard and Yale grad, the first openly gay member of the Massachusetts high court and part of a small club of other openly gay state supreme court justices in the country. “Like all judges, however, I have had life experiences that have inevitably left their mark and that allow me to see things from many perspectives. Central among these experiences was having met the woman who is now my spouse more than 27 years ago and raising two daughters together with her in the years that followed,” says Lenk. “As has been true of so many members of the LGBT
2525 MATTHEW V.P. MCTYGUE Partner-in-charge of the Boston office, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
It’s a wonder that Matthew V.P. McTygue wasn’t born with an “I” nestled between the telling consonants of his middle name. This guy seemingly does it all. Co-chair of the Debt Finance and Capital Markets Group, a partner in the Business Law Department and the partner-in-charge of the Boston office of the firm Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, he specializes in debt finance and private equity transactions in a variety of industries. He’s represented equity sponsors, investors and operating companies in connection with leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions and recapitalizations.
Outside of the office, he serves on the Board of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and serves as Co-chair of both the Diversity and Inclusion Section of the Boston Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association High School Summer Jobs Program, which places city public high school students in legal office internships each summer. Matt is also a Fellow of the Boston Bar Foundation and the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and has served on the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Grant Advisory Committee. He’s also a do-gooder. Matt has served on the boards of directors and fundraising committees of local nonprofit organizations, including GLAD, Transition House and the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. A member of his firm’s advisory committee and the Boston office diversity and pro bono committees, and previously as the chair of the Boston office diversity committee, the co-chair of the Firm’s technology committee and a member of the hiring committee. “It is important to me to use my power to help organizations dedicated to civil rights, diversity and inclusion and pro bono legal services,” he says. “No less important is the need to use my power to further the professional development and career advancement of others, in the LGBT community and otherwise.”
ALEX MORSE Mayor, Holyoke, MA
25 25 I think of power as a reciprocal relationship and collaborative energy that engages us all IRENE MONROE
What does the Rev. Irene Monroe think of power?
REV. IRENE MONROE
Syndicated Religion Columnist
“First, I think of power as a reciprocal relationship and collaborative energy that engages us all … concerning a social justice issue,” says the unabashed activist, author, Wellesley and Columbia grad. “Second, I think of power as a service one provides or donates to or for the community.” For Monroe, the latter may mean penning queer columns that enjoy publication all over the world, or enjoying the honor of officiating the nuptials of “folks in our community.” Just how prolific is the good Reverend? Her dossier now includes The Huffington Post, WGBH, the Cambridge Chronicle, Curve Magazine, and “Believe Out Loud,” an online network that empowers and educates Christians to work for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.
50 | BOSTON SPIRIT
“My columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer and religious studies. As a religion columnist I try to inform the public of the role religion plays in discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people,” she says. “Because homophobia is both a hatred of the other,’ and it’s usually acted upon ‘in the name of religion,’ by reporting religion in the news, I aim to highlight how religious intolerance and fundamentalism not only shatter the goal of American democracy, but also aid in perpetuating other forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism and anti-Semitism.” Top of mind for Monroe these days? Homelessness. “It breaks my heart,” she says.
SUE O’CONNELL Owner, Bay Windows
What’s it like to be elected to public office at the age of 22? Just ask Alex Morse, now 24, and just starting his second term as the mayor of Holyoke. And, you can ask him if, like him and just about everyone his age, you are an aficionado of the latest social networking technology. According to masslive.com, Morse takes to the tubes to connect with his constituents. He recently participated an in “Ask Me Anything” forums on reddit.com, “discussing the race for governor, how he got into politics, the city’s commitment to environmentally friendly energy, the sharp-elbowed politics played here, handsome robots, Comcast and whether he likes Matt Damon.” What’s on his mind these days? Homelessness, particularly as it impacts the LGBT community, is top of mind. “There should be a more intense focus on LGBT homelessness, particularly among young people. We should advocate for reforms within the Department of Children and Families to ensure that LGBT young people are placed with LGBT-friendly families and communities,” he says. “We should also focus more on
public health and healthcare delivery, and address the health disparities between various demographics among the LGBT community.” Alex Morse was born and raised in Holyoke and is a proud product of the city’s public schools. He is an alumnus of Brown University with a degree in urban studies, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. In his first term, he launched several new initiatives and incentives that have already catalyzed economic growth — helping both retain existing businesses and attract new development. In education, he has made early literacy a major priority. With help from the United Way, he created a Community Literacy office in City Hall and launched a campaign to increase 3rd grade reading scores. Mayor Morse has also made public safety a top priority. And, he’s just getting started.
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For old timers, the name Sue O’Connell is synonymous with One in Ten, the gay-themed WFNX radio talk show that she co-hosted throughout the ‘90s and 2000s. Because it was tucked away in a late Sunday night timeslot, tuning into the show was akin to sneaking into a gay bar, donning a hoodie and dark glasses. Or a first kiss. To be sure, O’Connell’s influence as a pioneer of Boston’s gay media has left an impression on (and provided education to) generations of gays and lesbians. By the time the show premiered in 1996, O’Connell had already established herself as the editor of the its namesake, an LGBT insert for the Boston Phoenix, launched in 1993. The stint led her to Bay Windows, a weekly newspaper, as Associate Editor. An effort in perseverence, Bay Windows, the largest and only surviving LGBT newspaper in New England, today lists O’Connell in the masthead as an owner. What makes O’Connell and her efforts endure? Agility and commitment.
Today she also writes and hosts Dangerously Normal, a YouTube channel featuring her commentaries on everything LGBTQ. “I don’t necessarily think of myself as a powerful person. Whatever influence I might have comes from the work I’ve been doing in the media for close to 30 years,” she says. “The ‘power’ I wielded, so to speak, originally came from simply being out in unexpected places. “While it’s hard to believe that it was once unusual to be out in the media, it’s true.”
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Yes, there is a world outside of Boston.
STAN ROSENBERG
Massachusetts State Senator Majority Leader (and presumed President of the Senate, as of press time)
BRYAN RAFANELLI Event planner
The sense of community and of bringing people together to have good time just for ‘good time’s sake’ has always been inside me. BRYAN RAFANELLI
It’s a fact that many of us often forget, but not Massachusetts State Senator—and presumed President of the Senate, as of press time—Stan Rosenberg. His dedication to the people of Western Massachusetts is a hallmark of his long service in the legislature. As a resident of the Pioneer Valley for more than 40 years, Rosenberg, who has served in the legislature since 1991, has been an active member of the community. He and his partner Bryon Hefner can often be found browsing the farmers market for fresh produce for his “famous” tomato sauce, or at a church supper, pie auction, or one of the many cultural events that he attends. In chambers, though, he’s changing the world. Dean of the State Senate, an honorary title recognizing his tenure as the longest serving member of the Upper Chamber, his handling of sensitive subjects such as legislative redistricting is viewed as the model for inclusivity and transparency in government. It also highlights his reputation as a problem solver. “I rarely discuss these facets of my character because I don’t practice identity politics. I’m interested in problem solving, I practice policy politics,” says Rosenberg adding that
his colleagues should share that credo for the equality of all. “One need not be a member of the LGBT community to understand and advocate for the causes that are important to us. However, as a member of the LGBT community and as an elected official, I feel I have a responsibility to serve as a role model, to encourage other members of the community to not let labels hold them back from reaching their true potential,” he says. “The issues that are important to the LGBT community are informed by the issues we are struggling with as a Commonwealth. How to work towards shared economic opportunity for all, maintaining and increasing access to quality and affordable higher education, ensuring that our air is clean and our energy green—these issues affect all of us and all of us should be working for solutions. I don’t think there’s a ‘right’ or a ‘wrong’ list of issues for the LGBT community. Now more than ever, our success or failure as a community, a Commonwealth, and a nation is dependent on the success of our fellow citizens, LGBT or not.”
Bryan Rafanelli makes us want to party. He and his firm, Rafanelli Events, have a simple philosophy: every event is a unique creative challenge deserving of a one-of-a-kind approach. “My team listens to what you’re imagining and then comes back with an idea you never expected,” he says. “We hone in on every last detail so we can always deliver clients the highest level of service.” Whether a fundraiser, wedding reception or a high profile party, nothing is more important than appearances. And food. And music. And ambiance. Lucky for anyone who has been out and about, Rafanelli has made a name for himself by making—or maintaining—the names of others in the form of a flawless event.
Named “The event planner of the year” by Town & Country magazine, Rafanelli is known for his exquisite sense of style, attention to detail and ability to transform clients’ visions into unforgettable celebrations. He has produced it all, from elaborate fairy tale-themed fundraising galas for Massachusetts General Hospital for Children to White House State Dinners to Chelsea Clinton’s “wedding of the decade”. Not bad for an Italian kid from a modest Rhode Island family. “The sense of community and of bringing people together to have good time just for ‘good time’s sake’ has always been inside me,” he says. He launched Rafanelli Events in 1996 as a three-person operation executing only a handful of events a year. It quickly evolved
into a full-service event design, strategy, planning and production company with more than 100 events annually in venues around the world. Rafanelli was named one of OUT magazine’s “100 Most Compelling People in 2010, a “Trendsetter of the Year” by Modern Bride, a “40 Under 40” by the Boston Business Journal and “Best in Boston” eight years running by Boston magazine. He has also appeared as an industry expert on regional and national television programs including: The Martha Stewart Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s The Today Show, and as a regular contributor on New England Cable News’ Morning Show.
25 PEDRO SEGARRA
Mayor, Hartford, CT
Creating and Supporting your Healthy, Beautiful Smile
Gay mayors are the new gay city councilor or gay school board member. In most cases they represent a decades-long shift in voter sentiment that continues to give us hope for the future of electoral politics. Take Pedro E. Segarra, the 66th mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. He was sworn in for the second time in November of 2011 in a sweeping victory with 81% of the vote—as an out politician. “As a gay mayor, when you look at issues, whether they are economic development issues, housing issues, whatever issue it is, you look at issues through that lens of being gay,” says Segarra. “You feel true compassion for those who may have been deprived of their civil or political rights. While we have gay marriage in most states now and we have a lot of protections, we also need to make sure that both our policies and our practices are working in concert.” Segarra knows policy. Elected with a clear mandate to bring stability to Hartford, Mayor Segarra demonstrated a sense of urgency when he created “Opportunities Hartford,” which focuses
on improvement in three pillars; income, education and employment. During his tenure, he has stabilized the city’s economy, added a record number of market, moderate, and affordable housing units in the City, and worked to reduce violent crime. Having lost his father at a young age to gun violence, Segarra has earned a reputation for being unwavering in his determination on this issue. Under his leadership, record breaking decreases in shootings have been achieved, and the City of Hartford was recognized as being safer now than in the past 25 years. “Cities are on the front lines of all issues. We get the calls in the middle of the night when there is violence, we get calls about potholes, we are impacted by immigration,” he says. “Every year we pass a budget and figure out how to advance our city, and how to meet the demands of our existing and growing populations amidst limited resources. In Hartford, we have done just that and have achieved enormous success.”
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Dina, with her son Jacob and partner Teresa
Honey Over Vinegar Dina Creiger encourages choosing nice-ness Though she says she has never been discriminated against of harassed on account of who she is, 30 years in sales have taught Dina Cregier how to be nice to people and how to deal with people who are not. Recently, the Babson MBA took advantage of the support she has long enjoyed from her partner of 30 years and her 16-year-old son to go out on her own in an
effort to make her pro-nice campaign a “thing.” “It’s just so easy and simple,” she suggests, “and it comes with a huge return!” The result is Choose to Be Nice (www.choosetobenice.com), an organization bent on making people who may appear unbending a bit more flexible and, in a word, nice.
“ My parents taught me to always treat people with kindness, respect and compassion,” she explains, “and to never be intimidated by anyone. ” Dina Cregier
“Choose To Be Nice is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring kindness whenever and wherever possible,” Creiger explains. Instead of forcing niceness upon people, Creiger and her CTBN colleagues (who include Representative Joseph P. Kennedy. III) offer potential nice people a choice and an opportunity to make their “nice” status official by taking The Choose to Be Nice Promise. The Promise (which can be accessed on the website at www.choosetobenice.com/make-the-promise) involves spreading kindness at every opportunity and being nice to the best of your ability. Most importantly, it requires the promise-maker to be nice to everyone with whom they come into contact, regardless of race, religion, color, creed or sexual orientation. Though she could probably list a few people she would like to personally encourage to make the promise, Creiger is still able to keep a positive outlook on humanity. People are inherently good,” she suggests, blaming much of the lack of patience so many exhibit on our
“ My goal is to get 1 million promises from around the world by 2020. ” Dina Cregier fast-paced world and a general lack of patience. “We’re are just overloaded, tired, and overwhelmed [and] niceness has fallen by the wayside.” As she has had to deal with so many un-nice people in her personal and professional life, the former media salesperson clearly has a deep well of niceness to draw from; one that was filled by her family. “My parents taught me to always treat people with kindness, respect and
compassion,” she explains, “and to never be intimidated by anyone.” So far, her quest for universal niceness is off to a great start! In only one year of officially running CTBN full time, Crieger has found promise-makers all over the country and all over the globe. “My goal is to get 1 million promises from around the world by 2020,” she says. In an effort to increase the nice numbers, Creiger has partnered with various schools and organizations, including Family Equality Council, a national organization that defends the rights of LGBT partners and couples. “I am a member of their Protectors Circle,” Creiger says proudly, “which helps to sustain their most important work.” Looking to the future, Cregier hopes to get the word out through partnerships and CTBN swag. She also hopes to publish a series of books, create a CTBN festival and create what she calls “a universal CTBN culture” among individuals, school systems, public administrations, and other entities. “That will be a good start,” she says. [x]
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CULTURE Fashion STORY Loren King
Fashion Forward HauteButch designs clothes for butch and trans bodies
“ I started going to corporate trainings and I felt uncomfortable,” she says. “I didn’t want to dress like the women around me. I liked to work from home so I could wear my own clothes, but when I had to go into the office and stand there with executives my discomfort and lack of confidence came down to my clothing.” Karen Roberts started creating clothes because no one else was making them for women like her. Roberts, a self-identified butch woman who lives Santa Rosa., Calif. with her wife, Michelle Porter, a nurse practitioner, had a full time job in real estate. “I started going to corporate trainings and I felt uncomfortable,” she says. “I didn’t want to dress like the women around me. I liked to work from home so I could wear my own clothes, but when I had to go into the office and stand there with executives my discomfort and lack of confidence came down to my clothing.” So Roberts, a Houston native raised in the Sonoma Valley, started sketching, just as she’d in high school: Tailored dress shirts, chic jackets with attitude, pants that look like menswear but fit women’s bodies. Two and one-half years ago,
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Robert and a small staff launched HauteButch, an online company (hautebutch.com) that offers non-gender specific clothing targeting androgynous women and transmen. Specializing in urban, hip hot-flavored clothes with attitude, HauteButch bills itself as a line of “fierce butch female fashions.” “My wife was like, ‘what are you doing? You’re not going to leave real estate, are you?’” she recalls. But the demand assured Roberts that, while not getting rich, she could make a living—and a difference—by filling a void in the clothing market. “We knew there was a need for it,” says Roberts, who is the founder, designer and CEO of the company. Roberts introduced her line at the Dyke March in San Francisco, selling T-shirts “to get the name out.” When she was met with an overwhelmingly positive
Models Marchelle, Christina and Alissa PHOTO Christine [BELOW] Models Nik Shae PHOTO D. Vaughn [OPPOSITE, TOP] Model Nik PHOTO Anjanette [OPPOSITE, BOTTOM] Models Jae and Brenda PHOTO D. Vaughn response, she cut back on her day job to focus on HauteButch and soon was designing and marketing clothing fulltime. Outwear is the company’s biggest seller, says Roberts, closely followed by underwear. Roberts draws, edits and sends the designs into production at a factory in San Francisco and recently contracted with a company in Hong Kong to import items. Right now the runs are relatively small—100 jackets, says, split across various sizes—so HauteButch sometimes runs out of items. Once HauteButch increases demand, she’ll be able to generate larger runs. Of course larger-sized women, butch women and transmen from around the world (many hail from Europe and Canada) are among the core customer base. But Roberts estimates about 25% of HauteButch’s clientele are straight women who “are expressive and like to assert their style in a masculine way ... I design within a spectrum,” she says. “I love how diversity come through in clothes. I’ve had women tell me ‘I feel powerful in this jacket.’”
Roberts says she’s influenced by designers such as Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, and Vivienne Westwood, producing dress shorts, T-shirts, accessories such as suspenders, bow ties and hats, and jackets including her signature faux leather and suede “Gotham jacket” with stitching outside the collar. “I consulted with a seamstress who gave it a zigzag stitch that made it pop,” she says. Roberts launched HauteButch with her own savings and credit and some borrowed money from friends in early 2013. But as the company grew, she needed capital to continue to continue to manufacture the line. A Kickstarter campaign allowed her to produce a collection for 2015. There will be another first this year: Roberts will travel to a handful of select popular cities including Boston to promote HauteButch, either at an event like LGBT Pride or a “pop up” store. “We bring merchandise and meet and greet potential customers. We want to let them know we exist and see who they are and what they want,” she says. Roberts, who spent three years in the Navy, also envisions getting HauteButch into stores on Navy bases. Many
customers in the military say they can’t find clothes and have asked me about it. That could be a game changer,” she says. [x]
JAN|FEB 2015 | 57
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CULTURE Online STORY Andrew Warburton
Grindr Without Booze Local gay boy creates social networking app for the sober set
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What happens when recovery from addiction meets digital technology? An online sober network called Sober Grid. Occasionally a smartphone app appears which excites people so much it becomes ubiquitous. Grindr is one such app within the LGBT community. Beau Mann, the out Bostonian creator of Sober Grid, a GPS-based social networking app for sober people, hopes his latest technological
innovation will do the same for the recovery community. Since even before Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935, sober people all around the world have gathered for mutual support. While recovery groups are usually considered “face to face” activities, the role of technology in the spread of the movement has been undeniable — phones, online meetings, web sites, and so on. For this reason, it makes sense that the age of digital technology would issue in another medium, an app like Sober Grid, to change the lives of sober people once more. Nobody should be surprised by the marrying of recovery and GPS-based social media. Meetings have always been places where people become “connected,” and in this sense, they’re a force for good in a fractured world. Websites like Facebook, and smartphone apps like Grindr, take this idea even further, promising
instantaneous connection. When you combine both types of connectedness — the digital and the recovery — you get Sober Grid. If it wasn’t for Utah, there might not be a Sober Grid. Every year, the app’s developer, Beau Mann, travels to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. It was during one of these trips that he first experienced his “light bulb” moment. On that trip, Beau found himself in a big, empty house in Park City, awaiting friends arriving later in the week. Having recently ended a relationship, it wasn’t the best time for him to be alone, and as a gay man, he knew he could meet people on Grindr. But being sober, he realized Grindr wasn’t the safest place for him to be, largely due to the high frequency of drinking and drugging users. “I thought, ‘Jeez, if there’s an app to meet
gay guys, there ought to be an app to meet sober people,’” he recalls. Armed with tickets to the latest premieres, Beau wanted to meet like-minded, sober people. The backstory to his Sober Grid “epiphany” demonstrates that the app has the potential to fill a gap for “clean and sober” social networking. “This app uses technology to help sober people in a sober community,” says Beau. “To be able to find a sober person near you at the touch of a button — you can’t beat that.” So far, people from all over the world have signed up, with London, New York, Los Angeles, Australia, and Toronto hot on the up-take. “People are dying for it to come out!” says Beau, “I’ve even had sober celebrities reach out to me, saying they think the idea is cool.”
Since the app was designed with the needs of sober people in mind, its features will be familiar to users in recovery. “There’s a button for ‘burning desires’ which puts a red box around your profile,” says Beau, referring to the time at the end of some recovery meetings when the chair invites anyone who feels a “burning desire” to drink or use drugs to speak up. Another button puts a blue box around your profile, drawing attention to the fact that you’re looking for a ride to a meeting. The app includes a sobriety calculator, an online “Big Book,” and a “Sober News Feed,” featuring your friend’s updates in real time.
Sober dating?
app is whether it’s a sober version of Grindr. Dating in recovery can be a controversial issue. Some people swear you shouldn’t start dating before your first sober anniversary. This doesn’t stop people from doing it, of course. And besides, Beau isn’t developing a sobriety program; he’s creating a sober network to support communities that already exist. If people decide to use Sober Grid for dating, he supports that, but it’s not the app’s primary goal. “Sober Grid is not a program of recovery,” says Beau. “In the same way that a sober cruise ship isn’t AA, neither is Sober Grid.” For this reason, he doesn’t have an opinion about the things people use Sober Grid for, as long as it’s connecting them. [x]
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CULTURE Music STORY Loren King
Six-time, Tony-winning Lounge Singer Audra McDonald’s talent, versatility and humanity has won hearts in every demographic Her mix of Broadway and television stardom has made Audra McDonald—like that fellow Juilliard grad Patti LuPone— one of the most recognizable classicallytrained singer/actresses working today. Never mind her record six Tony Awards; McDonald found new audiences and showed off her sense of humor with her regular “Yahoo! Answers Lounge Singers” appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. After winning fans during four seasons as Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit medical drama Private Practice, McDonald returned to the small screen in December, 2013 where she stole
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the show as Mother Superior in the live TV production of The Sound of Music. The star of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which debuted at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge before heading to Broadway where it earned McDonald her fifth Tony, was an early and passionate advocate for equal marriage. McDonald sang “Our Love is Here to Stay” to the first couple married in New York two years ago after passage of landmark marriage legislation in that state. “The states just keep coming; bam, bam, bam. It’s happening so fast now, It’s gratifying and so necessary to see the changing
tide and hearts and minds opening,” said McDonald during a phone interview from her home in New York City. “It’s wonderful to see that shift.” She’s currently on a 32-city tour that includes her Spanish debut at Madrid’s Teatro Real on January 31 and a return to Boston’s Symphony Hall on March 1. An Evening with Audra McDonald, presented by the Celebrity Series, tales place at 5 p.m. (tickets are available at www. celebrityseries.org). McDonald is thrilled to be coming back to Boston. “It’s one of my favorite cities and, more than that, one of my favorite audiences. I just find Boston audiences, and those at Tanglewood, to be so engaging, responsive and smart. They keep me on my toes,” she says. For anyone who missed McDonald on Broadway in any of her first four Tonywinning roles (Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, and A Raisin in the Sun) or in her most recent critically-lauded performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill which earned her a historic sixth Tony Award win, the most ever for a performer, her concert engagements are the best way to hear her
Audra McDonald lustrous voice from the stage. A distinguished interpreter of Broadway standards, McDonald is known for championing new composers such as John LaChiusa, who wrote the musical Marie Christine, an early vehicle for McDonald. On her 2013 CD Go Back Home, McDonald sang songs by theater luminaries such as Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Kander and Ebb alongside emerging composers Adam Gwon, Heisler and Goldrich, and Will Reynolds. “What I like to do is go out on tour and introduce new songs for my repertoire and really get to know the songs on the road. I like introducing new material and seeing how audiences respond. Then, from my concerts, I’ll put together a new album—but only after I’ve been singing the material to know it better; not just the songs but the characters of the songs,” she says. McDonald won’t be singing material from Lady Day in concert, at least not yet. “That really requires singing as Billie so it’s out of context for me,” she says. “There may be a time when I’ll find may way into one of her songs with my own voice but that hasn’t happened yet. I spent two years trying her explore her voice—I’m not ready to do it with mine yet.” But that legendary voice of McDonald as Holiday
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“ What I like to do is go out on tour and introduce new songs for my repertoire and really get to know the songs on the road. I like introducing new material and seeing how audiences respond. ”
is preserved in the muchacclaimed cast album of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. She recalls that on the night the show was recorded, director Mike Nichols was in the audience. McDonald was conducting her interview with Boston Spirit on the day the news broke that Nichols, whom McDonald worked with on the 2001 film version of the play Wit starring Emma Thompson, had died. “I had dinner with him about three months ago. It’s devastating,” McDonald said. “He was amazing and kind and the funniest man you’d ever meet.” Does she miss Lady Day? “It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done but one of the most difficult and absolutely exhausting. So it’s nice to have a break from her and from the incredible responsibility of playing her on a nightly basis for nearly two hours. But I miss Lady a lot,” she says. “I miss convening with her every night.” Holiday has only been portrayed on film by Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues, which despite some powerful moments is a flawed film. Asked if she’d consider revisiting Billie Holiday again on stage or on screen, McDonald offers a hopeful answer. “One never knows. I’d love to spend some time with her again at some point,” she says. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to her.” [x]
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CULTURE Music STORY Loren King
Diva with Portfolio Whether singing at the Met or the Super Bowl, Renee Fleming is the consummate artist Considered the reigning soprano in the world, Renee Fleming has been singing professionally since the 1980s but still embraces the rigorous vocal demands of opera and the international concert stage. She’s chosen not to rest on her mountain of laurels. She returns to the Metropolitan Opera through the end of January to star in
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Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman’s version of Franz Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow. (Broadway star Kelli O’Hara, who performed on Fleming’s new Christmas in New York CD, makes her Met debut as Valencienne.) Fleming has sung selections from the opera, but this is the first time she’s performed it. Fleming will also embark on
a tour this season with pianist Olga Kern, the young Russian Gold Medal winner of the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The tour includes one of Fleming’s favorite venues, Boston’s Symphony Hall, where Fleming and Kern will appear in recital on February 8 at 3 p.m. in a Celebrity Series presentation. “Olga and I worked together in St. Petersburg, Russia for a film I did highlighting the city,” says Fleming, referring to Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky: A Musical Odyssey in St. Petersburg (2010) “She is one of the loveliest human beings you could possibly meet, besides being so gifted and so beautiful, and I thought I’d love to tour with her.” Fleming says she wanted their program to include “pieces that say something about women and about music.” The
cornerstone of the program is Shumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben (“A Woman’s Love and Life”). Fleming calls it “a beautiful work that was a mainstay of the recital repertoire that went out of fashion because people were doing edgier work. I want to bring it back; the reason it was so popular for so long is because it’s great. It will be especially poignant for us, I think. We’ll also perform Rachmaninov together, which we’ve done before and she’s so brilliant at, and Strauss Lieder which is my specialty.” One of Fleming’s personal cornerstones is championing stellar but under-theradar artists. One is her friend, the acclaimed jazz singer, pianist and composer (and out lesbian) Patricia Barber. (“Cross Diana Krall with Susan Sontag, and you get Patricia Barber ....” raved Time.) Fleming calls Barber’s compositions “art songs” and says she’ll perform some of them at the Boston show. As she seeks out adventurous choices, opportunities keep opening up rather than narrowing for Fleming who, at 55,
is approaching the age when many opera singers retire or at least slow down. This past summer, she acted (without a song in sight) in Joe DiPietro’s comedy Living on Love at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. In January 2014 she sang the National Anthem prior to the Super Bowl XLVIII football game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Her rendition—little surprise—brought down the house. “It was amazing and the most terrifying experience of my life, but incredibly worth it,” says Fleming. “It opened many doors for me; I call it ‘the Super Bowl effect.’ But it was terrifying because I felt like I was responsible for helping others be open minded about what we do. I though, ‘Gosh, if I mess this up, I’ll ruin it for everyone else.’ Listen, how many things do we do that get one million hits on YouTube? Nothing in opera comes close.” Besides singing for football players and fans who never heard of Renee Fleming and would rather stick needles in
their eyes than sit through La Traviata, Fleming had to contend with a song that’s notoriously difficult to sing. “It has that interpolated high note at the end; it’s two octaves and there aren’t many people with a two octave range,” she says. “And the text is hard to make sense of and to remember. Gosh, ‘American the Beautiful’ would be easier for the public at large.” Whether it’s Strauss, a packed football stadium, or Letterman’s top ten list (check out Fleming’s priceless performance on YouTube), Fleming is at the point in her illustrious career when she is free to step way out of her comfort zone. She is also on a mission to de-mystify opera and opera singers. “I love, frankly, thinking about what we can do differently in the future,” she says, hoping to cultivate new audiences for the arts “by applying creative forces to rethinking things that have been done the same way for a long time.” [x] Renee Fleming
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CULTURE Literature STORY Loren King
B-Girl Activist Robyn Ochs’ new book gives voice to bisexual men For more than three decades, Robyn Ochs has been on a mission to spotlight the B in LGBT. Certainly the increased visibility of bisexuals, like gay, lesbian and trans folks, has led to greater acceptance than in the early ‘80s when Ochs launched the Boston Bisexual Women’s Network, now the longest-running such group in the world, and for which Ochs edits the newsletter Biwomen Quarterly from her Jamaica Plain home.
But as strides continue to be made, misconceptions about bisexuality endure. “I believe bisexual men remain the most misunderstood. Bi women are trivialized and sexualized; it’s a function of not taking women seriously. But many still deny that bisexual men even exist. And bi men are seen as more threatening,” says Ochs. Ochs and H. Sharif Williams teamed to edit the new anthology Recognize:
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The Voices of Bisexual Men, recently published by the Bisexual Resource Center, founded in Boston in 1985 by a group of bi activists and now one of the oldest national bi-specific organizations. The book follows up on Ochs’ last work, the anthology Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World, in which bisexual men and women from 42 countries told their stories. In the new volume, men from all walks of life and all corners of the globe
share their experiences with identifying as bisexual at some point in their lives. Since Ochs and Williams aim to educate, Recognize also includes a list of references and resources. But it’s the personal stories, essays and poetry that make the book so compelling. And for Ochs, that’s the point. “I’m a firm believer in the power of telling our stories. Social change comes about through legislative action but also by changing hearts and minds,” says Ochs, whose longtime activism makes her a frequent speaker on college campuses. She also serves on the board of directors of MassEquality and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth. “My work is based on the idea that human beings are intersectional. Each of us has multiple identities: age, geographic location, gender identity, race, and more, with each of our identities affecting how we experience the others. Therefore, multiple stories are required to help us begin to understand any given identity.” A priority from the start was that the widest possible range of individuals would be represented in the book, says Ochs, noting that there are contributions from men ages 20 to 77, many of them men of color, and including those who identify as queer or trans. Ochs has identified as bi privately since 1976 and publicly since 1982. On May 17, 2004, the first day it was legal to do so, she married Peg Preble. There’s no contradiction or confusion there for Ochs, who sees sexuality on a continuum
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all new hotel Co-authors Robyn Ochs and H. Sharif Williams PHOTO EllynRuthstrom that, for some people, changes throughout one’s lifetime. Bisexuals are routinely sexualized — there’s the stigma that they are more sexual than their straight or gay counterparts, she says. “I still only have one body and 24 hours in my day. I’ve chosen to be in a monogamous relationship. Of course, some bisexuals are polyamorous, as are some gays, lesbians and straight people,” she says. The image of the closeted bisexual man who live a double life — reinforced by many politicians, for instance — provokes more sympathy than judgement from Ochs. “The fact is that we live in a heterosexist culture and there are enormous penalties for embracing same-gender
attraction. So people cope in different ways,” she says. “I feel sympathetic toward those who are afraid. There are real reasons to be afraid just as there are great reasons to come out. The reality is that coming out is more dangerous for some than for others ... [People] can lose their families, their jobs, their communities — these are high costs.” That’s the reason that Recognize is important and why Ochs promotes the book on her speaking engagements and in local and national media. “My hope is that books like this will help people find much needed reflections of their own experiences and ultimately empower them to feel less alone,” says Ochs. [x]
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CULTURE Theater STORY Loren King
Urban Legend
Gay playwright explores evolution of friendships in ‘A Future Perfect’ Ken Urban, a past Huntington Theatre Fellow, Harvard instructor and still an indie musician, remembers the moment his play A Future Perfect first took root. Urban and his boyfriend (also an instructor at Harvard) hosted a gathering at their Kendall Square apartment for two of
Urban’s (straight male) bandmates and their wives. When both women refused drinks, it became apparent that each couple was pregnant. Urban recalls thinking ‘it’s the end of the band; it’s the end of nights like this.’
“People have kids, their lives change, their values change,” he says. “For a lot of us who grew up in the ‘90s, liking indie music deepened the friendship. It meant a shared sense of values, a kind of politics. Life choices inevitably create risks and challenges that friendships can’t overcome.” Urban, 40, says he normally takes months, even years to write his plays but this one came fast and furious; he quickly had a first draft in weeks and then a reading in New York City. “I could tell I was onto something after the reading,” he says. “It resonated in an intense way,” particularly with audiences in their 30s and 40s. Urban is an indie musician—his band Occurrence plays electronic music and their new album D E C K S was released in 2014—so it’s no surprise that the relationship between band mates and music figures prominently into the plot. He’d tapped into the zeitgeist of ‘90s hipsters who suddenly find themselves or their friends transforming into their own parents in the story of Claire and Max, a young New York City couple whose values
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“ People have kids, their lives change, their values change. For a lot of us who grew up in the ‘90s, liking indie music deepened the friendship. It meant a shared sense of values, a kind of politics. Life choices inevitably create risks and challenges that friendships can’t overcome. ” Ken Urban put to the test when best friends Alex and Elena announce they are having a baby. Speakeasy Stage Co. is presenting the world premiere of A Future Perfect now through February 7 at the Roberts Theater in the Calderwood Pavillion of the Boston Center for the Arts. The play stars Marianna Bassham, Chelsea Diehl, Brian Hastert, Uatchet Jin Juch and Nael Nacer. M. Bevin O’Gara, an early champion of the play, directs. Urban, who now lives in New York after seven years in Cambridge, says he’s looking forward to attending the Speakeasy production and doing talkbacks after select performances. He’s happy that the prolific O’Gara is directing, since
she worked on A Future Perfect dating back to the 2013 workshop and remains “emotionally connected to the play,” says Urban. “We got along famously. She’s a terrific director and she’s very good with actors.” He credits O’Gara with passing his play on to Speakeasy artistic director Paul Daignault after Speakeasy announced it would be staging world premieres this season. Urban and O’Gara workshopped A Future Perfect with the cast last September to hone the dynamics of the ensemble so that they’d be convincing as longtime friends. This marks the first time that one of Urban’s plays will be staged in Boston. He’ll experience another first in May
when his drama Sense of an Ending, about the Rwandan genocide, opens at the 503 in London. The play, which Urban worked on for 10 years, also has deep connections to Boston: while Urban was a fellow at the Huntington, Sense of an Ending won of the L. Arnold Weissberger Playwriting Award for Best New American Play. It was developed at the Huntington Theater and at Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. Besides plays and music, Urban wrote the feature film adaptation of his play The Happy Sad, directed by Rodney Evans, premiered at Frameline and OutFest in 2013. The film screened at twenty film festivals both in the US and internationally, with theatrical releases in New York and Los Angeles. The film is available on iTunes, Netflix and DVD. He also wrote a short film I Am A Big Ball of Sadness (And I Want to Throw Myself from Your Roof), which screened as part of the Manhattan Short Film Festival in over 200 venues across six continents, and was awarded the Bronze Award by the audience. [x] SpeakEasy Stage Co mpany
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CULTURE Home STORY Scott Kearnan
More Beau Brummell, Less Beyonce South End couple’s home harkens to a new old high society
JAN|FEB 2015 | 69
A lithe young dandy stares out from the portrait on the wall. His eyes – dark, expressive pools – are earnest, somber, and inquisitive. His close-cropped brown hair is sketched in a neat part to one side, and the cheekbones on his slender face are finely chiseled. His full lips sit at rest in a mannered half-purse. “This is an artist named Dickie Banks. He was a notorious society homo from Newport, Rhode Island,” declares the painting’s owner, Joshua Janson. Indeed, Banks was as well regarded for his erotic paintings of male figures, particularly NYC ballet dancers, as for his properly genteel portraits of New York, Newport, and Palm Beach’s fête-hosting upper crust. “This is his self-portrait,” continues Janson, who cuts a figure not unlike the man in the frame. Sure, the boyish 32-year old bears slight resemblance to the artist. (Though the energetic Janson, with his tousled hair and darting eyes, delivers the kind of rapid-fire repartee that never allows for lips at rest.) More striking, though, is the similarly bon vivant spirit embodied by Janson and his husband, Benjamin McGuire. The preppy South End power couple is a notorious fixture in Boston society (homo and otherwise), part of a new generation of philanthropists and in-demand gala guests. And for mature men who grieve some perceived loss of Gilded Era Gayness, these young guys are a charming anachronism: More Beau Brummell, less Beyonce. Their relative youth believes their mature relationship, though. Janson and McGuire have been partnered for 14 years and living together nearly as long. (Early in dating, Janson, who had been studying at Curry College, moved into McGuire’s dorm room at Brown University.) They married 10 years ago, shortly after Massachusetts became the first state to offer equal marriage, and they soon found themselves profiled in a splashy New York Times feature about the distinctly modern phenomenon of young, married, wellheeled gays. “It’s gone by in the blink of an eye,” says Janson of his years with McGuire. “I’m so lucky to have him. He’s such a calming influence in my life.” McGuire is a finance attorney at Greenberg Traurig, one of the largest US-based law firms, and a cooler, collected yin to Janson’s chatty, flitting yang.
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“I’m so – rawr!” Janson smiles, making a pouncing motion and a playful growl, something that could have come from the couple’s handsome dog Bernard, who totters about the bedroom. He makes a glib crack about their monogrammed pillows (“BJ”) and the visual double entendre beside their Restoration Hardware bed: a minutes-marking parking meter, procured from a Connecticut antique shop, showing a satisfied “Thank You” flag in its window. Then Janson wanders across the hall to a den, and toward a wall lined with framed art, photos of friends and family, and some published clippings with their bold-faced names. He points out a newspaper article about a book he published when he was
just 19 years old. It’s a gay riff on a Hardy Boys-type novel. The title is, “Stalking Dick.” We cackle. Janson may have a penchant for cheeky humor, but he and his husband are also known as serious volunteers and philanthropists. McGuire sits on Fenway Health’s Board of Visitors, and on the board of directors for the Providence After School Alliance (PASA), an organization that designs and enhances after-school, summer, and other expanded learning opportunities for that city’s middle and high school youth. Janson is on the board of directors of The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, and particularly active with the Young Friends of the
Public Garden. Together they fundraise for politicos like David Cicilline and align with countless committees, like the Museum of Fine Arts’ Museum Council. Not surprisingly, their home is filled with art. Objects d’art dot the built-in shelf in their den, which also boasts some homemade craftsmanship: industrial-style light fixtures that McGuire made himself. Many come from New York auctions and exhibitions: Asian prints from STAIR Galleries, street-inspired work from Jef Campion, a late firefighter and 9/11 first responder turned contemporary artist. And several pieces are the work of friends, like Davina Semo, McGuire’s old pal from Brown, and now an internationally
[OOPOSITE, TOP] Dining Room: The couple happens
to be hosting a dinner party tonight, but the dining room table, a custom piece of walnut and steel, is always set. It is lined with Philippe Stark’s now-iconic Louis Ghost chairs for Kartell, set atop one of several ornate Oriental rugs, and under a lovely chandelier found at a Maine estate sale. The painting is by Davina Semo, McGuire’s old pal from Brown, and now an internationally exhibited, Bushwick-based artist. [ABOVE AND PREVIOUS PAGE] Living Room: A
cozy fireplace warms the living area, which is full of books, objets d’art, and hanged pieces like this bright painting by artist Sidney Phillips Hardin, cheekily titled “Waiting For My Prince to Cum” There are masculine furnishings, like this leather club chair and a Montauk custom sofa. And European air conditioning units have been painted to match the glossy gray walls.
[ABOVE] Bedroom: The couple’s
bedroom, swathed in the beautiful Benjamin Moore shade of Salzburg Blue, boasts a gorgeously carved bed from Restoration Hardware with sumptuous linens from Room & Board. Furnishings are a mix of found antiques and high-end purchase: side by side on the bedside table are a vintage parking meter head and a limited edition gold Philippe Starck lamp for Kartell. Even the laundry hamper is high-end. It’s a repurposed Hermès horse feeder. “Naturally, it’s air tight. So it’s the perfect place for Ben’s sweaty yoga clothes,” laughs Janson.
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exhibited, Bushwick-based artist. One of her paintings dominates the dining area, an immediate icebreaker for guests gathered at the meticulously set table. And if Janson and McGuire elevate anything to an art form, entertaining would be it. When they’re not attending lavish affairs, from fashion shows to cocktail receptions at the White House, they’re hosting them: “I think our most outrageous party was a Christmas party about five years ago,” says Janson. “We had so many RSVPs, we had to hire a crane to install a tent up on the roof deck.” (And the band played on.) Throughout any given month, their home remains a door of simply elegant dinner parties. Hence the space rarely has a throw pillow out of place: the Philippe Stark Ghost chairs are always assembled around the dining room table, the kitchen candy dish is always full of Sour Patch Kids. “I’m sort of known for them,” says Janson, rearranging a few candies. He turns through the pages of “Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table,” a hulking hardcover filled with glossy photos of the designer’s luxe life, from his (five) ornate residences to his yacht. “He’s an inspiration of mine,” muses Janson. “His food, his linens, his parties. It’s all so fabulous. It’s unbelievable. I don’t think there’s a gay man who has a better life than him.” Not yet, anyway. “Look at this book. Isn’t it great?” says Janson, grabbing a small, weathered leather tome. It’s a copy of Almanach de Gotha, an exhaustive directory of European nobility – monarchs, dukes, princes – that was first published in 1763. He flips through the pages of miniscule print. On one largely white page toward the front, a looping script in pen jumps out. Had someone signed it for him? “Oh,” says Janson coyly, quickly. “I wrote my name in it.” [x] [TOP] Den: The den area features a built-in shelving unit
from the couple’s designer, W.R. Schroeder Interiors. (Below it: a design award-winning sofa from Denmark’s Flemming Busk, purchased at Design Within Reach.) The industrial-inspired lighting fixtures were actually made by McGuire, who seems to have something of a crafty side. He also enjoys bringing their souvenirs of travel and society life to Brookline’s Framers’ Workshop to prepare them for display himself. [OPPOSITE] Living Room chairs: Old meets new. A
pair of 19th century Asian “lion’s head” chairs are finds from the Cambridge Antique Market. On them are cashmere-backed pillows that McGuire made from Janson’s favorite Hermès handkerchief.
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Kitchen: “When we bought the home eight years ago, this was an awful 1980s kitchen full of formica,” says Janson. They removed half a wall to open it up to the living area, and outfitted the space in contemporary fixtures that are almost entirely from IKEA—including the Whirlpool appliances and granite countertops.
JAN|FEB 2015 | 73
SCENE RECEPTION PHOTOS Michael Basu
Kurt Wagner, Mark Van Dyke, Shawn O’Neill, Donald Vaughan and Lee Ridgway
Boston Living Center 25th Anniversary Boston Living Center | Boston | October 16
Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center (BLC) celebrated its 25th anniversary of serving people with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 100 guests were welcomed to the BLC for a cocktail party and reception.
Victory Programs’ President & CEO Jonathan Scott
Victory Programs Board Members Sharon Lowe and Andi Finard with Victory Programs’ 74 | BOSTON SPIRIT
Alfredo Hernandez, Victory Programs Board Member Sara Andrews and Dr. Bruce Walker
Bruce Silverlieb, Debbie Fellman, Rob Fellman and Victory Programs’ Senior Director of Development and Communications, Marc Davino
President & CEO, Jonathan Scott
Victory Programs’ Board Chair David Bancroft and John Nickulas
SCENE Benefit PHOTOS courtesy Hispanic Black Gay Coalition
HBGC 5th Anniversary Courtyard Marriott | Boston | November 15
Over 300 people joined the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC) at its annual gala to celebrate the organization’s 5 year anniversary. The event honored national leaders and local organizations working to advance LGBTQ people of color and fundraised to continue HBGC’s mission of inspiring and empowering the lives of Black and Latino LGBTQ people.
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SCENE SYMPOSIUM PHOTOS Melissa Ostrow
Boston Spirit Eldercare Symposium Fenway Health | Boston | November 19
Boston Spirit, joined forces with Partners Healthcare, the LGBT Aging Project, Burns & Levinson and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management to create a special expert panel discussion on LGBT Eldercare. Topics included: Continuing care options, patient/partner/ family rights, social support systems, financial and estate planning, and more.
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SCENE BASEBALL PHOTOS Courtesy Boston Gay Basketball League
Boston Tea Party Classic VI Planning Committee members. Back row: Marc Davino, Phil Paul, Kevin Quincy, Scott McIsaac, Kevin St. Gelais, Tim Walsh. Front row: Brad Mayeux, Jeff Hellman, Jim Hykel, Dustin Martin
National Gay Basketball Association Boston Tea Party Classic VI Boston University FitRec Center | Boston | October 25-26
The Boston Gay Basketball League (BGBL), in conjunction with the National Gay Basketball Association (NGBA), hosted Boston Tea Party Classic VI the weekend of October 25 and 26, 2014. Twentytwo teams from around the country, including six from Boston, participated. Champions were crowned in 5 divisions, including the Boston Revolution in the Competitive Plus Division.
Champions of the Competitive Plus Division, Boston Revolution
Members of the New York City Keep It Cute team JAN|FEB 2015 | 77
SCENE Gala PHOTOS InfinityPortraitDesign.com
Spirit of Justice Marriott Copley Place | Boston | October 24
GLAD’s 2014 Spirit of Justice Award Dinner honored Urvashi Vaid, and inlcuded remarks from Interim Executive Director Gary Buseck, Ugandan LGBTI activist John Abdallah Wambere, Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi and Vaid.
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SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Piper Jo Nevins Photography
33rd Annual Human Rights Campaign New England Gala Dinner & Auction
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Marriott Copley Place | Boston | November 22
In its 33rd year, the HRC New England Gala has become one of the largest LGBT fundraisers in the country.
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Keynote Speaker Maura Healey President of HRC Chad Griffin Performer Niki Haris with the crowd dancing with her on stage! The Hat Sisters Chris Flynn, HRC Board of Director; Cordy Elkins, Gala Co‑Chair along with Jim Carter and John Orrison Gala Co-Chairs Cordy Elkins and Mario Rodas
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SCENE Coronation PHOTOS ana m. reyes
Queen Mother’s Ball Coronation XI Courtyard Boston Downtown Hotel | Boston | November 22
The Imperial Court of Massachusetts held its ‘A Venetian Masquerade’ Queen Mother’s Ball Coronation XI to benefit The Boston Living Center.
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SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Courtesy The Theater Offensive
Benefit for True Colors: Out Youth Theater Hill Holliday | Boston | November 6
The Theater Offensive held a special benefit for supporting its youth programming.
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SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Tony Scarpetta Photography
OUT MetroWest Fundraiser Wellesley College Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center | Wellesley | September 27
Over $40,000 was raised at a sold-out event to support OUT MetroWest. The fundraiser, which sold out and raised, has earmarked these funds for the following initiative: “Our plans for the future include the creation of a program for LGBTQ middle school youth, the first and only such program in the State of Massachusetts. We have been able to provide a safe haven for high school students; but we know that youth are ‘coming out’ at younger and younger ages, and most students in grades 6-8 have little or no support as they struggle with their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. OUT MetroWest is committed to reaching out to these youth in the months ahead,” said Executive Director Jack Patrick Lewis.
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SCENE Commemoration PHOTOS Michael Rose Photography
World AIDS Day Prudential Center | Boston | December 1
AIDS Action marked World AIDS Day.
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SCENE Networking PHOTOS Anum Awan
Network it Out Marriott Copley Place | Boston | October 24
On Wednesday, December 3, more than 75 women gathered in Fenway Health’s Ansin Building conference center for Network It Out: A Networking Event for LBT Women, an opportunity for professional networking and socializing. Dorie Clark, branding expert, author of Reinventing You, and Co-Chair of Fenway’s Board of Visitors, was the featured speaker and networking facilitator. The event was sponsored by Cathy Burgess, financial advisor at Morgan Stanley.
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SCENE Fundraiser PHOTOS Melissa Ostrow
President of Coldwell Banker Residential Pat Villani, Harvest Executive Chef Pastry Chef Brian Mercury and Community Servings CEO, David Waters
Longtime volunteers Jim Liddell, Stephanie Carrigg, and Pie in the Sky co-chair Matt Kurkowski
Rialto Chef Jody Adams and Sous Chef, Matthew Ternosky shared their 50 pies with Community Servings CEO, David Waters
Pie in the Sky All over | Greater Boston | November 19
Community Servings had its best year ever for its annual pie drive fundraiser.
Gays for Good volunteers Gary Fortin and Art Nava
Ken at Fastachi, # 1 Pie Seller Ken Tutunjian hosting a pie pop-up store at Fastachi’s Boston location
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SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Piper Jo Nevins Photography
Toys for Joys Revere Hotel | Boston | December 6
Toys for Joys celebrated its 6th annual festivities this year to help children in need.
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SCENE Benefit PHOTOS courtesy Boston Living Center
Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner Hynes Convention Center | Boston | November 25
More than 700 guests raised over $140,000 at the Boston Living Center’s annual Thanksgiving gala.
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“Kinky Boots” PHOTO Matthew Murphy
Calendar COMMUNITY EDITOR’S PICK
First Event 2015 JAN 21 TO JAN 26
Now in its 35th year, First Event has grown into one of the largest trans gatherings in the world and the only major winter conference. Educational lectures, workshops and courses, nightly entertainment and dancing, banquets, fashion shows, special lunches, trans-oriented vendors, and more! WESTIN WALTHAM BOSTON | 70 THIRD AVENUE, WALTHAM
firstevent.org
DANCE
17th Annual Lesbians and Friends Dance: A Party for Prevention JAN 25
A benefit for the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC). Highlights for the 17th annual party include a free one hour dance workshop available to all event participants from 7:30pm-8:30pm led by Liz Nania, Director of OUT to Dance, music from DJ Jodi, a large
silent auction, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door. HOLIDAY INN BROOKLINE | 1200 BEACON STREET
mbcc.org/breast-cancerprevention/index.php/party-forprevention-2015/
Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias FEB 26 TO MAR 9
The heartbreakingly compelling story of a tragic affair between a poor gentleman and a sought-after courtesan. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ 19th-century French novel, known as the inspiration for the movie Moulin Rouge and the opera La Traviata. Music by Frédéric Chopin. BOSTON OPERA HOUSE | 539 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
www.bostonballet.org
Shades of Sound
MAR 19 TO MAR 30
Three riveting works featuring magnificent musicality and exhilarating choreography. Wayne McGregor’s mesmerizing Chroma returns, along with the Company premieres of George Balanchine’s Episodes and Hans van Manen’s
deliciously comic Black Cake. Music by Joby Talbot, Anton von Webern, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. BOSTON OPERA HOUSE | 539 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
www.bostonballet.org
world’s most forward-thinking choreographers. SHUBERT THEATRE | 265 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org
APR 30 TO MAY 11
Brian Brooks Moving Company with guest Wendy Whelan
www.bostonballet.org/
Brian Brooks is a daring choreographer, concocting precise, kinetic, and volatile choreography that tests the threshold of physical endurance. Wendy Whelan joins Brooks for a collaborative duet that was originally choreographed to be part of the Celebrity Series’ 2013-14 season.
Edge of Vision
This beautiful trio of contemporary dance features a world premiere by acclaimed Resident Choreographer Jorma Elo, Lila Yorks Celts and Helen Pickett’s visual feast Eventide. Music by J.S. Bach, Jan Garbarek, Philip Glass, and Ravi Shankar. BOSTON OPERA HOUSE | 539 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org
Thrill of Contact MAY 14 TO MAY 25
A striking program of precision and impressive athleticism, the Company performs George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations; Jerome Robbins’ The Concert; William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude; and a world premiere by Principal Dancer Jeffrey Cirio. Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Schubert. BOSTON OPERA HOUSE | 539 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
www.bostonballet.org
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet MAY 15 TO MAY 18
FEB 28
Founded in 2003, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has distinguished itself through its exceptionally talented corps of sixteen dancers, its constant quest for new forms and an extraordinary repertory of work by some of the
MUSIC
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain JAN 17
A Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain concert brings a genre-crashing ride through popular music: a funny, virtuosic, foot-stomping and melodious entertainment. Songs you’ve heard, songs you’ve forgotten, and songs you perhaps wish you hadn’t encountered, all transformed into a lively stream. JORDAN HALL | 50 GAINSBOROUGH STREET, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org/
Haydn: Symphonies and Concerto JAN 23 TO JAN 26
Artistic Director Harry Christophers and Concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky
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continue their critically-praised survey of the orchestral music of Joseph Haydn. The sequel to 2012’s Haydn in Paris, the program has Nosky taking the stage in Haydn’s seldom-heard Violin Concerto in C Major, followed by a powerful foray into the minor key, the dramatic Symphony No. 83. SYMPHONY HALL | 301 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, BOSTON
handelandhaydn.org EDITOR’S PICK
Renee Fleming, soprano FEB 8
One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. SYMPHONY HALL | 301 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org
Mozart and Beethoven FEB 13 TO FEB 16
Hear these titans of the Classical era as young composers. Composed by the master at the tender age of 13, Mozart’s Waisenhaus Mass receives a rare performance from conductor Richard Egarr, the Period Instrument Orchestra, and soloists from H+H’s own Chorus. You also won’t want to miss Egarr conduct one of his favorite works, Beethoven’s charismatic Symphony No. 1. JORDAN HALL | 30 GAINSBOROUGH STREET, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, BOSTON
handelandhaydn.org
Cabaret: Boston Gay Men’s Chorus FEB 20 TO FEB 23
Some of BGMC’s finest in a unique, fun-filled Cabaret. CLUB CAFE | 209 COLUMBUS AVENUE, BOSTON, MA
bgmc.org EDITOR’S PICK
Wicked Awesome: Boston Gay Men’s Chorus MAR 21 TO MAR 23
Stephen Schwartz joins the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus on stage for a show celebrating his music from Godspell, Pippin, Wicked and more! JORDAN HALL | 30 GAINSBOROUGH STREET, BOSTON
bgmc.org
Breath and Imagination: Daniel Beaty JAN 27 TO FEB 9
Author, celebrated poet and classically trained singer Daniel Beaty returns with an
exploration of the life and career of renowned African-American vocalist Roland Hayes. Through narrative, movement and song, Beaty shares Hayes’ journey from singing spirituals in a church in rural Georgia to performing before the crowned heads of Europe and becoming the first AfricanAmerican soloist to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. PARAMOUNT CENTER | 559 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
artsemerson.org
PERFORMANCE EDITOR’S PICK
Ira Glass in “Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host” JAN 24
This American Life host Ira Glass has been working with Monica Bill Barnes & Company to invent a show that combines two art forms that, as Glass puts it, “have no business being together—dance and radio.†One is all words and no visuals. One is all visuals and no words. The result is a funny, lively and very talky evening of dance and stories. SHUBERT THEATRE | 265 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org/ EDITOR’S PICK
The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma: 15th Anniversary Year MAR 5
Celebrate the 15th anniversary of this groundbreaking ensemble, the beautiful and affirming realization of Yo-Yo Ma’s remarkable musical vision. - See more at: www.celebrityseries.org/ CS_performers_2014_15/silkroad. htm#sthash.8ODq5h87.dpuf SYMPHONY HALL | 301 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra MAR 15
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with special guest, alto saxophonist and New Orleans native Donald Harrison, explore the common roots of jazz as seen in the early music of New Orleans and Havana. CubaNOLA features arrangements of early charangas, rags, and contemporary works. BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER | 136 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, BOSTON
www.celebrityseries.org
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EDITOR’S PICK
EDITOR’S PICK
Green Porno, Live on Stage
The Men’s Event
FEB 13 TO FEB 16
Iconic actress and art-house luminary Isabella Rossellini teams up with legendary French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere for Green Porno, Live on Stage, the hysterical and eyeopening zoology lesson on the kinky and confounding mating rituals of insects and marine life. This intimate one-woman conference uses cheeky theatrics to delightfully discuss the bizarre world of reproductive oddities, animal seductions and deadly enigmas, using puppets, props and projections. CUTLER MAJESTIC THEATRE | 219 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON
artsemerson.org/
FUNDRAISER EDITOR’S PICK
Taste of the South End MAR 3 TO MAR 4
A night you won’t forget, this foodie favorite event is a benefit for AIDS Action Committee. Experience unlimited food sampling with wine and beer tastings from Boston’s best kitchens. General and VIP tickets will be available. CYCLORAMA AT THE BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | 539 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON
www.aac.org EDITOR’S PICK
Winter Rendezvous JAN 21 TO JAN 26
“5 Days of Wintry Bliss,” this LGBT ski week in Stowe features plenty of time on the trails and off - with DJ parties, pool parties, ice carving competitions and drag shows including a special performance of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Bianca del Rio on her “Rolodex of Hate Tour.” STOWE, VERMONT
www.mjwadventures.com
Wine Tasting to Benefit Boston Gay Men’s Chorus JAN 11
A very special “tasting” to benefit the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Presented by The Wine Emporium, the event features an outstanding selection of wines, liquors and cognacs (samples listed below) along with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Plus: free parking, 25% discount on wine purchases, and a dinner discount for attendees. CINQUECENTO | 500 HARRISON AVENUE, BOSTON
bgmc.org
FEB 28 TO MAR 1
The annual black tie fundraiser for Fenway Health returns with music, dinner, auctions and dancing. This year’s recipient of the Congressman Gerry. E. Studds Award is James Morgrage, the 20-year manager of Club Café. BOSTON MARRIOTT COPLEY PLACE | 110 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON
mensevent.org/tickets/ EDITOR’S PICK
The Women’s Dinner Party
APR 11 TO APR 12
The annual black tie fundraiser for Fenway Health returns with music, dinner, auctions and dancing. This year’s recipient of the Dr. Susan M. Love Award is Judith B. Bradford, PhD, Director of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health and Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute. BOSTON MARRIOTT COPLEY PLACE | 110 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON
womensdinnerparty.org/tickets/
THEATER
Red Hot Patrio JAN 2 TO FEB 1
A dyed-in-the-wool liberal from deep in the heart of Texas, the unsinkable Molly Ivins’ rapier wit made her one of America’s highestregarded political columnists, satirists, and beloved rabblerousers. Red Hot Patriot weaves personal anecdotes with Molly’s unforgettable humor and wisdom, celebrating her courage and tenacity even when a complacent America wasn’t listening. LYRIC STAGE COMPANY | 140 CLARENDON STREET, BOSTON
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike JAN 2 TO FEB 2
In this wickedly wonderful Chekhovian mashup, Vanya and Sonia’s quiet, bucolic life is hilariously upended when their glamorous movie star sister arrives for the weekend with her brawny boy toy in tow. Christopher Durang’s smash-hit Broadway comedy and 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play. | Avenue of the Arts/BU Theatre 264 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON | WWW. HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
A Future Perfect JAN 9 TO FEB 8
Claire and Max find their values put to the test when best friends Alex and Elena announce they are having a baby. Claire is climbing
the corporate ladder in advertising, while her husband Max is a puppeteer for PBS. With friends entering into parenthood, they ask: What happened to the indie-rock kids that hated everything their parents believed in? A dark comedy about friendship, babies, and defining success. BCA | 527 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON www.speakeasystage.com
shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Featuring classic songs such as “My Girl” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Three week engagement. BOSTON OPERA HOUSE | 539 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
EDITOR’S PICK
Based on a famous Israel Zangwill play, Robert Brustein’s KING OF THE SCHNORRERS is a comedy with music, set on Manhattan’s Second Avenue. A wily Sephardic actor named Da Costa, now down on his luck, schnorrs (begs) Joseph E. Lapidus, a wealthy Hollywood producer, out of his clothes, money, groceries, and self-respect, in a hilarious sequence of con-games. ARSENAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS | 321 ARSENAL STREET, WATERTOWN, MA
Muckrakers
JAN 10 TO FEB 2
A young activist hosts a famous political journalist/hacker in her apartment. What follows is an evening full of rich debate over who has the right to information, how much the public needs to know, and the consequences of power. Dynamics shift when secrets are revealed and each discovers that there is always a price to pay for privacy ARSENAL CENTER FOR THE ARTS | 321 ARSENAL STREET, WATERTOWN, NY
www.newrep.org
The Second Girl JAN 16 TO FEB 16
Two Irish immigrant servant girls and the chauffeur search for love, success, and a sense of belonging in their new world in this lyrical and poignant world premiere by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ronan Noone (Brendan, The Atheist) and directed by Campbell Scott (The Atheist). CALDERWOOD PAVILION AT THE BCA | 527 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON
www.huntingtontheatre.org
www.broadwayinboston.com
King of the Schnorrers FEB 7 TO MAR 2
www.newrep.org/
Intimate Apparel FEB 13 TO MAR 15
A loving and evocative portrait of Esther, an independent but lonely African American seamstress in early 20th-century Manhattan who earns a living sewing exquisite lingerie for wealthy socialites uptown, and women of ill repute downtown. When Esther receives a letter from a stranger who is laboring on the Panama Canal, she begins an epistolary courtship with him, only to discover that he is not all that he seems. LYRIC STAGE COMPANY | 140 CLARENDON STREET, BOSTON
www.lyricstage.com
Father Comes Home From the Wars
VISUAL ARTS
Set during the Civil War, this explosively powerful new drama by Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks follows a slave, Hero, from West Texas to the Confederate battlefield. Inspired in part by the stories and scope of Greek tragedy, this trilogy examines the mess of war and the cost of freedom and is a co-production with the Public Theater. LOEB DRAMA CENTER | 64 BRATTLE STREET, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY, CAMBRIDGE, MA
The ICA presents the first U.S. solo presentation of work by Adriana Varejão, one of the leading voices in contemporary Brazilian art. Varejo’s work mines the history of Brazil referencing the history of art, architectural ruins, Baroque church interiors, Portuguese azulejos (blue and white ceramic tiles), scenes of colonialism, and Brazilian indigenous paganism. ICA BOSTON | 100 NORTHERN AVENUE, BOSTON
JAN 23 TO MAR 2
americanrepertorytheater.org/ events/show/final-cut
Motown the Musical JAN 28 TO FEB 15
The true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and many more. Motown
Adriana Varejo
NOV 19 2014 TO APR 6
Over There! Posters from World War I
JUL 26 2014 TO MAY 26
Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI, this exhibition features more than 40 wartime posters from the United States and Europe, including select examples from Britain, France, Germany and Russia. This marks the first display of the I Want You for U.S. Army (1917) poster by James Montgomery
Flagg at the Museum. Many of the works were used for recruitment and enlistment campaigns for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Service, while others depict appeals to buy war bonds (Liberty Loans), conserve food (from the US Food Administration), assist the Red Cross, donate books and maintain a strong work ethic on the home front (from the US Shipping Board). MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON | 465 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON
Shinique Smith: Bright Matter
AUG 23 2014 TO MAR 2
For the past decade, Smith has been internationally admired for exuberant paintings, sculpture, and large-scale installations that capture the power of human expression and resilience. Whether in graffiti, calligraphy, and vibrant sweeping strokes on canvas; patterned clothing densely clustered or hung as human forms; or even full-body impressions pressed in ink against walls, her works reflect intersecting forces of personal history, influence, and energy. MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON | 465 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON EDITOR’S PICK
Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen The MFA features gowns and exquisite jewelry from the 1930s and 1940s, the most glamorous years of Hollywood film, and focusing on starlets like Gloria Swanson, Anna May Wong, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Joan Crawford, exploring how jewelry and clothing contributed to their iconic style. Complementing the exhibitions fashions worn by these women will be additional period photographs, film stills, and film clips. MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON | 465 HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON
Visual Arts |
Branching Out: Trees as Art
Visual Arts
Someone Else’s Country, Photographs by Jo Ractliffe OCT 11 2014 TO MAR 16
Photographer Jo Ractliffe (b. 1961) has spent the better part of the last decade photographing the effects of the prolonged civil war in Angola (1975-2002), both in the country itself and in her native South Africa. From the capital city of Luanda to the former battlefields where mines and disused military installations litter the landscape, the artist explores the poignant, humane and occasionally surreal vestiges of violence past, and examines the lives of the people and animals who now inhabit the land. PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM | 161 ESSEX STREET, SALEM, MA
In Plain Sight: Discovering the Furniture of Nathaniel Gould
NOV 16 2014 TO FEB 17
Once an obscure figure in American furniture history, Nathaniel Gould is now recognized as Salem’s premier 18th-century cabinetmaker. New scholarship, based on the recent discovery of his detailed account ledgers and daybooks, has led to the identification and re-attribution of many pieces of furniture, including monumental desks and bookcases, bombé chests and scalloped top tea tables carved from the finest imported mahogany. PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM | 161, ZAGUBICA, SERBIA
Visual Arts
This exhibition explores the often surprising ways in which contemporary artists use trees as an inspiration as well as a medium for their art. Made from bark, wood, roots, seedpods, leaves and sap, over 30 varied works and a selection of hands-on interactive opportunities ask us to consider our relationship with trees as a vital natural force. PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM | 161 ESSEX STREET, SALEM, MA
Visual Arts
OCT 11 2014 TO FEB 9
Internationally renowned video artist Candice Breitz explores how we create, define and perform identities in a world of mass media saturation. In her newest work, a trilogy called The Woods, Breitz delves into the cinematic culture of three epicenters of global filmmaking — Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood -- to reflect the experiences of child actors and actors who perform childhood. PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM | 161 ESSEX STREET, SALEM, MA
Visual Arts
SEP 9 2014 TO MAR 9
SEP 27 2014 TO SEP 21
The Woods
Visit our online calendar for the latest events and submit listings for upcoming events: BostonSpiritMagazine.com
JAN|FEB 2015 | 91
BEAUTY | BODY
Beauty Medicine Boston
Your Source for Equalityminded People, Places, Services and Adventures in New England and beyond.
For information on including your business, e-mail jd@BostonSpiritMagazine.com
Botox®, Dermal Fillers & Skin Therapies Rejuvenate yourself with state of the art cosmetic injections and advanced skin therapies and treatments, including: Botox®. Juvederm®, Radiesse®, Belotero® and Ultherapy. Personalized, artistic and compassionate skin care administered by Advanced Practice Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Nelson Aquino. Two convenient locations: Office of Joseph Russo, MD, FACS: 575 Boylston Street Newton Centre, MA 02459 and 1318 Beacon Street, Ste. 7 (2nd floor) Brookline, MA 617.953.6261 http://www.beautymedicineboston.com
Elizabeth Grady
Because the world sees your face first Elizabeth Grady provides an innovative approach to beauty and skin health through our products, services, schools and franchises. The expertly trained estheticians, massage therapists and makeup artists at our many locations will prescribe the worlds best face care products and treatments that are right for you. At the Elizabeth Grady Schools, we also educate and nurture the next generation of highly-qualified professionals. 1-800-FACIALS www.elizabethgrady.com www.elizabethgrady.edu
Osorio Dental Group
We offer exceptional dentistry in a caring, non-judgmental environment. Our LGBTQ supportive dentists and staff will ensure your comfort.
BEAUTY | BODY
www.osoriodentalboston.com
Seligman Dental Designs
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Personalized dental care; healthy, beautiful smiles; comfortable, caring service in our state-of-the-art dental facility in the heart of the South End. It’s no secret that healthy teeth and a radiant smile can improve your appearance, your self-esteem and your overall health. Whether your goal is to restore your smile or maintain good oral health, you can benefit from Dr. James R. Seligman’s comprehensive approach to dental care. 617-451-0011 SouthEndDental.com
Wellspring Weight Loss
Your Weight. Your Life. Take Control. The country’s largest and most respected network of weight loss programs, includes an adults-only residential facility with upscale amenities, state-of-the art facilities, and chef prepared meals. or call us at 1-866-364-0808 wellspringweightloss.com
COMMUNITY | NONPROFIT Planned Giving at DanaFarber Cancer Institute
Invest in a future without cancer Include Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund in your estate plans to reach your financial goals and help fight cancer. 800-535-5577 Dana-Farber.org/spirit
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HOME | GARDEN Circle Furniture
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Furniture ... Made for Real Life Circle Furniture offers an eclectic selection of furniture for traditional and contemporary homes, fast delivery times for made-to-order items, corporate philanthropy, support of the regional economy, and most of all, fun. 31 St. James Ave. Boston, MA 617-778-0887 www.circlefurniture.com
PROFESSIONAL | SERVICES
47 Burns & Levinson, LLP Burns & Levinson LLP, a leading mid-size law firm with a clientcentric culture, has over 125 attorneys in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. We work with entrepreneurs, emerging businesses, private and public companies and individuals in sophisticated business transactions, litigation and private client services—family law, trusts & estates, marriage and divorce law. 617-345-3000 www.burnslev.com
Dover Rug
New Showroom Now Open Dover Rug & Home Dover Rug & Home offers the largest selection of fine floor coverings and window treatments in New England. Visit their BRAND NEW location at 721 Worcester Street in Natick (RT9) As the “Best of Boston Home 2011” recipient, their larger showroom has something for every budget. Natick, MA and Hanover, MA locations. 721 Worcester Street (Route 9) Natick, MA 508-651-3500 www.doverrug.com
Gardner Mattress
Gardner Mattress Corporation A New England favorite for generations, Gardner Mattress has been manufacturing quality custom-sized, odd-sized and handmade mattresses in their Salem factory for over 70 years! Though their landmark location is North of Boston in Salem, they also service satisfied customers throughout New England. At Gardner Mattress, you’ll find mattresses including lace-tufted, layered latex, pocketed coil, quilted cotton and ivory plush, all handmade with natural materials. Located in Salem, Woburn and Newton, MA and Rye, NH.
Harvard University
Harvard University Careers If you can work, you can work at Harvard! We are so much more than just students and professors. We are the 5th largest private employer in Massachusetts, with over 16,000 employees. Almost any job you can think of exists at the University. employment.harvard.edu
UBS Financial Services, Inc.
Peter Hamilton Nee and Robert S. Edmunds UBS is proud to support Boston Spirit magazine, and salutes Fenway Health for their faithful service to our community. Please contact us any time. Peter Hamilton Nee, AIF, CRPC, VP, Investments and Robert S. Edmunds, CFP, CRPC ubs.com/ team/neeedmunds. Wellesley, MA 781-446-8918 or 800-828-0717 ubs.com/team/neeedmunds
www.GardnerMattress.com
Lucia Lighting
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311 Western Ave. (RT-107 Lynn, MA 781-595-0026 www.lucialighting.com
Seasons Four
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The Outdoor Living Store For over 40 years, Seasons Four has been a destination for everyone in New England that values outdoor spaces. We are a trusted source for quality, heirloom furniture for your sunroom, porch, patio, deck, and garden. We also provide unique plant material, statuary, fountains and garden accessories to complete your outdoor room. 1265 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 781-861-1200 seasonsfour.com
Yale Appliance & Lighting
DINING | NIGHTLIFE
bright ideas begin at lucia Lucia Lighting & Design Our unique lighting store features 12 showrooms in 8,000 square feet of a lovingly restored mansion staffed with certified lighting specialists who are both educated and customer focused. Whether you want to visit our showroom or have one of our team visit you at your location in the Boston area, lucÃa lighting & design is the answer.
Turn it On!! Over 3500 lights, 800 appliances and 200 plumbing products on display. We service what we sell. 296 Freeport St Dorchester, MA 1-866-849-7838 www.yaleappliance.com JAN|FEB 2015 | 93
A
party you will love
WEDDING | EVENTS Accent Limousine
Winter weekends are always FUN in Provincetown. Make Sage part of your Valentine's Day. Join us on Feb. 14 for our 1st Annual Red and Black Party. Starting at 8pm, $10 cover, sponsored by the Women Innkeepers.
508.487.6424 | SageInnPtown.com 336 Commercial Street | Provincetown Open year-round| Creative cuisine | Unique private event space Seasonal entertainment | Comfortable guest rooms
RETAIL | SHOPPING Lux Bond & Green
A family-run business since 1898, at Lux Bond & Green we’re known by the company we keep. Rolex, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Tag Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Piaget, Mikimoto, David Yurman, John Hardy, and Hermés are just a few of the brands we carry. Our services include: Appraisals, Jewelry and Watch Repair, Custom Design, Wedding & Gift Registry and more. www.lbgreen.com
TRAVEL | ADVENTURE ArtBar
40 Edwin H. Land Boulevard Cambridge, MA 617-806-4122 artbarcambridge.com
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Great Location. Great Amenities. Boston Marriott Copley Place Located in the Back Bay and a few blocks from the South End, the Boston Marriott Copley Place is perfect for business or leisure travel. The hotel features deluxe rooms, Champions, Connexion Lounge, Starbucks, indoor pool, fitness center, 70,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and is minutes from top attractions. 110 Huntington Avenue (Boston) , MA 617-236-5800 http://goo.gl/soiy38
Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston
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Spectacular city views, luxury accommodations, regional cuisine, and contemporary art All of our 400 well-appointed guest rooms and suites offer guests the comforts of home with first-class amenities and overlook the Charles River, Cambridge or Boston's stunning skyline. The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston features both casual and elegant dining and delicious inspired cuisine in two highly acclaimed riverfront restaurants with seasonal patios, ArtBar and Restaurant Dante. 40 Edwin H. Land Boulevard Cambridge, MA 617-806-4200 www.sonesta.com/Boston/
94 | BOSTON SPIRIT
www.accentlimo.com/spirit
DJ Mocha
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Affordable great music for your party! Boston Spirit’s official Cruise DJ for four years. Bringing, Great Music and Fun to your Events! All genres: pop, jazz, techno, world beat, swing, disco & more! 617-784-1663 MochaDJ.com
Gourmet Caterers
Peace of mind. Now that’s a wedding vow. This is a day when only perfection will do. GourmetCaterers’ attention to detail means peace of mind, so you can enjoy your wedding along with your guests. Whether your dream wedding is a large event or intimate affair, Gourmet’s team of innovative planners, chefs, stylists and servers will be by your side to ensure that everything is perfectly, uniquely, your own. GourmetCaterers.com
art + eat + retreat ArtBar is a warm, intimate retreat for food and art lovers located at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA. The ArtBar boasts stellar selections from the hotel's world-class art collection while the restaurant features innovative cuisine, a well curated wine list and seasonal specialty cocktails. Patio seating along the Charles River, with full bar service offer unparalleled riverside dining with views of the Boston Skyline.
Marriott Copley Place
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LGBT Owned & Operated Accent Limousine & Car Service We provide professional transportation services throughout Greater Boston and the Metro-West. We grow our client base every year because we care for our clients as only a ‘Family’ business can. Our chauffeurs are professionally attired, knowledgeable, reliable, and friendly, and their professionalism and driving abilities will immediately earn your trust and confidence. We look forward to driving you on your next special occasion.
Konditor Meister
Konditor Meister—Voted #1 Wedding Cakes in Boston Extraordinarily Beautiful & Elaborate Wedding Cakes & fine European pastries. Delicious Custom Holiday & Party Cakes for all occasions. 32 Wood Road (Just South of Boston) Braintree, MA 781-849-1970 KonditorMeister.com
TRAVEL | ADVENTURE
Lombardo’s
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Lombardo’s has been providing the highest quality of hospitality and cuisine for over 50 years. From innovative menus to an upscale atmosphere, Lombardo’s ensures every wedding will exceed their client’s expectations. 781-986-5000 www.lombardos.com
Long's Jewelers
1
RELAX | RENEW | REFLECT
World-Class Luxury Guesthouse and Spa
Your Source for Diamonds, Wedding Rings, Fine Jewelry & Watches Long's Jewelers has been in the business of happy moments since 1878. We're honored to help our customers celebrate milestones like engagements, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and retirements and not to mention "just because" moments! Whether you're looking for diamonds, wedding rings, fine jewelry, Swiss watches, awards, or corporate gifts, Long's has you covered. Boston, Braintree, Burlington, Natick, and Peabody, MA 877-845-6647 www.longsjewelers.com
WEDDING | EVENTS
14 Johnson Street, Provincetown | 800.487.0132
www.carpediemguesthouse.com
Ptown Parties
Catering | Events The premier caterer on the lower cape, Ptown Parties is a full service catering and event planning company. Let them cater your next cocktail party, clambake or wedding, in your home, inn, rental condo or yacht. Let Ptown Parties take care of all the hassles, so you can enjoy a carefree day in Provincetown, and a great party that night!
DJMocha
508-487-6450 Ptownparties.com
MUSIC
music for your fundraiser wedding birthday
mochadj.com
JAN|FEB 2015 | 95
CODA Drag STORY Scott Kearnan from a place of truth and honesty. And I’m not oblivious to my own flaws. I’m the most self-deprecating person you’ll ever meet. Recognizing your own flaws doesn’t make you weak. It makes you smart. [SPIRIT] Speaking of smart, snippy,
and self-deprecating, you were one of the final guests on Joan Rivers’ “In Bed With Joan” web series. What was that like?
[BDR] She had always been one
Bianca Del Rio
Snippy in New England Drag phenom Bianca Del Rio storms the Northeast Bianca Del Rio is both queen and jester. The most recent winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has earned a legion of followers thanks to her smart and sharp sense of humor, fiercely filterfree attitude, and hilariously lacquered looks. (She calls it “clown realness.”) New Orleans native Roy Haylock, whose theatrical roots are in costume design, has spent 16 years turning his “insult comic” alter ego into a fixture of New Orleans and NYC gay nightlife scenes. But the success of the show — which showed just enough of the sweetness behind the salty veneer — has opened up all new opportunities for globe trotting gigs.
Hence her “Rolodex of Hate Tour,” coming to Boston’s House of Blues on Tuesday, January 20 and Stowe, Vermont’s Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center on Thursday, January 22. (The Vermont show is also a highlight of Winter Rendezvous, a 5-day LGBT ski event.) “Rolodex,” a reference to Bianca’s seemingly inexhaustible artillery of rapidfire quips, is a mix of standup comedy and cabaret that traces the performer’s life journey — with plenty of side splitting detours along the way. Up next: “Hurricane Bianca,” a crowd-funded comedy film set to shoot this summer, starring Del Rio as a small-town teacher who is fired for being gay but returns disguised in
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drag to seek revenge. But first we spoke to the queen about everything from skiing to Starbucks. [BOSTON SPIRIT] So, since you’ll
be up in Vermont for Winter Rendezvous — do you ski?
[BDR] No. We don’t ski in
Louisiana. Look what happened to Sonny Bono! And I’m definitely not skiing in these outfits. But I am very good at sitting my ass by a cozy fire to drink. [SPIRIT] “Rolodex of Hate” shows
off your caustic insult comedy. What draws you to that style?
[BDR] I’m gay — we’re all snippy
in some sense! The good ones are, at least. There’s nothing I enjoy more than going out to lunch with friends who are all bitter and nasty, and going back and forth. It’s a ball! Thank god I’m gay, because it helps. But basically, it comes
of my favorite comedians — not just for her humor, but also for her work ethic and appetite for life. She’s one of those people who taught me: if you want it, you have to work for it. She immediately made me feel comfortable. It was surreal to see this legend I loved laughing at something that I said. That little fag inside of me was going, “Is this happening?” I don’t fan girl about celebrities, but she was one I really looked up to. She was humble, genuine, and effortlessly kind. [SPIRIT] It was sad to lose her. [BDR] It’s so sad. And here
we are, stuck with the Kardashians. Please, take that whole family and leave us Joan. [SPIRIT] We’re going to play a Boston
celebrity version of “Marry, Fuck, or Kill?” Ready? Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg. [BDR] Matt Damon seems
like the good, wholesome type to marry. And I’d have to fuck Mark Wahlberg. So I guess I’d have to kill Ben Affleck. But that’s what he gets for fucking over J. Lo. [SPIRIT] I’m sure J. Lo would
have your back on that choice. [BDR] I’m sure she would.
She’s can’t fit anything else on her own back.
For more info and tickets to the “Rolodex of Hate Tour,” visit thebiancadelrio.com or livenation.com. For tickets to Winter Rendezvous, visit mjwadventures.com.
South End’s new modern classic.
Move-in February 2015 and receive two months free. troyboston.com | troyboston@greystar.com | 866.485.3855 | 55 Traveler St. Boston, MA 02118 #troyboston