Boston Spirit Nov | Dec 2015

NOV|DEC 2015

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Get dressed to impress for the holidays Dubious Death Down Under Bostonian pushes Australian inquiry into brother’s suspicious demise

Aging Gracefully First-in-nation commission on LGBT Aging in Massachusetts

Ogunquit & P’town For when you don’t go home for the holidays

2015 Scrapbook A look back at one heck of a gay year!

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publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com

Boston Spirit Magazine supporters

From The Publisher Holiday, celebrate Holiday, celebrate If we took a holiday Took some time to celebrate Just one day out of life It would be It would be so nice —Madonna It’s baaaaaack. How can it be that we are already back in the holiday season? I think I just stopped shoveling the last of the snow! Well, since it is here, let’s embrace it and have some fun. There are so many great things going on in the next few months from the Holiday Pops and Holly Folly to the Nutcracker and ski weekends and we can’t wait to do it all.

For me this time of year is all about friends and family (including my Boston Spirit family). And thanks to my forum on this page I have the chance to say Thank You to so many people who have supported, and continue to support, Boston Spirit.

First to you, our readers, we made it through another year…this one was our 10th. We couldn’t produce the magazine (or any of our events)

2 | BOSTON SPIRIT

without you and we appreciate your loyalty. We also could not publish the magazine with the support of our advertising partners. They are a truly wonderful group of people and businesses and I encourage you to seek out their products and services whenever possible.

In past years I have used this space to remind you that not everyone enjoys this time of year. For many of our friends and neighbors the holiday season is an extremely difficult time of year. Once again, let’s try and take a little time to check in on those who might be struggling to embrace the ‘holiday joy.’ It doesn’t take much to make a couple of extra phone calls, send an email or two, or to stop by and say hi.

The result of that extra effort could be life changing.

Have a wonderful holiday season and we look forward to seeing you in 2016.

David Zimmerman Publisher

Boston Residential Group Boston Symphony Orchestra Burns & Levinson, LLP Carpe Diem Celebrity Series Circle Furniture Club Café Destination Salem DJ Mocha Dover Rug Eastern Bank Fenway Health Fusco and Four Gardner Mattress Harbor Hotel Provincetown Ink Block South End Jasper White’s Summer Shack Jimmy Fund Kolman Artisan Glass Landry & Arcari Lombardo’s Long’s Jewelers Lucia Lighting Macy’s Marriott Copley Place Osorio Dental Group Peabody Essex Musem Provincetown Royal Jewelers Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston Seasons Four Seligman Dental Designs Ski Haus Thought Action Tresca Troy Boston Osorio Dental Group Peabody Essex Musem Portside at East Pier Rockland Trust Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston Seasons Four Seligman Dental Designs Sienna Ski Haus Staples Thought Action Tresca Troy Boston W Hotel

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Making progress, together.

Rates may fluctuate, markets rise and fall, trends come and go, but here at Eastern Bank our success is driven by yours. Whether it’s by providing free checking, offering online and mobile banking to make life simpler or advocating for fairness and equality in the communities we serve, our mission is to move you and your life forward. That’s why here, you’re first.

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Contribute your opinion: editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com

As We Go To Press …

Who is starting to get requests for holiday season charitable giving?

I see a few hands.

Who gets asked for charitable giving all year round?

That’s what I thought—just about everyone’s hand is up!

There’s the the HRC Dinner, Fenway Health’s Women’s Dinner Party, The Men’s Event, GLAD’s Spirit of Justice gala, The Theater Offensive’s ClimACTS!, The Community Research Initiative’s Summer Party in Provincetown, Community Servings’ Pie in the Sky event, Harbor to the Bay bike ride, Toys for Joys, and …

Whew!

We are continually asked to pony up money for causes.

And we deliver!

When asked to contribute $100,000 for a matching gift at the recent GLAD Dinner Party attendees mustered up well over $200,000!

For fundraisers worried that the Supreme Court’s legalizing of marriage equality across the country would take the wind out of giving to LGBT human rights concerns, the answer came in the form of

a flood of pledge cards filled out at so many tables in Boston’s Back Bay. As editor in chief of Boston Spirit, I attend countless LGBT fundraisers and benefits. I have to say that GLAD’s Spirit of Justice dinner this year was a highlight.

There was no comic emcee, no big band, and no live auction.

Organizers streamlined the event to a handful of compelling speeches that perfectly mixed the celebratory nature of a year peaked by the realization of coast-tocoast marriage equality with the need to remain vigilant in helping protect against against spurious attacks on so-called “religious freedom,” while keeping an eye on assuring the expansion of important gender identity rights, sex education, education in general and so on.

Loving v. Virginia did not put an end to racism any more than Obergefell v.

Hodges will stop homophobic injustice, noted Mary Bonauto at the GLAD dinner.

It’s not always easy to find the proper tone and balance for a rights movement.

Activism need not always be in-yourface. Fundraising does not need to be tedious.

Fortunately, the LGBT community has been pretty darn good at concocting the proper mix. There are times for strident protests and storming of government buildings, as was done to gain non-discrimination legislation in Massachusetts in the 1990s. And there are places for entertaining activism, like The Theater Offensive has offered over the years, first in the Fens under the auspices of the guerrilla theater troupe United Fruit Company. There are places and times for black tie dinners. And there are situations that warrant throwing the ashes of loved ones who died of AIDS over the White House fence.

For a movement born out of barroom politics and raucous State House storming, it’s extraordinary to witness the broader support evidenced in black tie events.

As we look back on a distinctive year of wins, here’s a new year’s toast that we continue to adroitly balance might and right, protest and prayer, victories and vigilance.

Happy Old Year!

Happy New!

James Lopata Editor in Chief

4 | BOSTON SPIRIT

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Contents

First-in-nation commission on LGBT Aging recommends sweeping reforms in Massachusetts

Feel the Bernhard

The pioneering performer headlines Winder Rendezvous, New England’s annual gay ski weekend

NOV|DEC 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 6

Holiday, Celebrate 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Feature Boston Spirit Scrapbook Dubious Death Down Under

Third inquest in 1988 Australian homicide case could force nation to reexamine tragic time when ‘poofter bashings’ were routine and frequently fatal

32

Dubious Death Down Under’

22 32

It would be so nice

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46

Culture Holiday in Maine

Qgunquit Playhouse and Music Hall team up for ‘White Christmas’

58

Season’s Greetings from Provincetown 60 Wintertime pleasures in New England

The Clothes Make the Man

63

The Play’s the Thing

66

Coming of age, coming out

69

Harvey Fierstein’s ‘Casa Valentina’ premieres at Speakeasy Stage Company Boston Public Works Theater Company puts the writer in charge

Well-crafted ‘Those People’ hits the Boston Film fest screen

46

Fashion

A ‘Room’ All Her Own

Emma Donoghue makes the leap to the big screen 38 | BOSTON

Seasonal

Spotlight Hit List Ready to Ride?

Gay Days Queer Guise Bauble, Bangles, and Beads From the Blogs Go Figure

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SPIRIT

Scene GLAD Spirit of Justice Awards 72 Historymaker Awards 74 Boston Community Capital’s 30th Anniversary Celebration 75 Out MetroWest Gala 76 PridePlanner Conference 78 Harbor to the Bay 79 Victory Programs’ Prevention Summit 80 Victory Programs’ Dinnerfest Party + Auction 81

Calendar New England Events

82

Coda Cook Time

‘Top Chef’ winner Kristen Kish takes on the Travel Channel with “36 Hours”

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MAONRY 66 | BOST

Senior Spirit

Jim and Joe

Cook Time

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New INC collection available at Macy’s and macys.com

SPOTLIGHT Trending STORY Scott Kearnan

Hit List

Tufts Universi

NEWS, NOTES AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA a drug used as PrEP (PreExposure Prophylaxis) to significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission. The complaint would be the first step in a lawsuit against the insurer.

University of Vermont campus

STUDY UP on the recently

released 2015 Campus Pride Index, which ranks American colleges and universities on their LGBTQ-friendliness based on campus policies, programs and practices..

This year five New England schools made the Top 25: Tufts University, University of Maine at Machias, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Vermont, and Williams College. More info: campuspride.org

resource group, and Terry Holzman, communications consultant for organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Family Equality Council. Meanwhile senior staff attorney Vickie Henry will move on from GLAD, appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to serve on the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

KEEP UP with some recent

shuffles at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the Bostonbased, pioneering LGBT legal rights organization.

Recently joined to its board of directors is David Hayter, who co-founded Liberty Mutual’s first LGBT employee

STAY TUNED as GLAD takes on yet another legal case that is the first of its kind. In September the organization filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on behalf of a 61-year old gay man, identified as “John Doe” in the complaint, who alleges that he was denied insurance

by Mutual of Omaha because he takes the drug Truvada,

SHARE THE NEWS that The

Home for Little Wanderers, a non-profit child and family services agency, has just launched the Safe Space Program for LGBTQ Youth, a new initiative located at the organization’s Young Adult Resource Network in Dorchester. The program is designed to provide certain supports still needed by young people who have otherwise aged out of state-run systems of care. Open weekdays (with weekend drop-in hours available), the Safe Space will offer social space for LGBT young people, staff-run activities and workshops, suicide prevention efforts, and peer mentorship and life coaching opportunities. More info: thehome.org

PUBLISHER David Zimmerman EDITOR IN CHIEF James Lopata MANAGING EDITOR Robert Phelps [rob@bostonspiritmagazine.com] ART DIRECTOR Dean Burchell CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR Scott Kearnan [lifestyle@bostonspiritmagazine.com] CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR Loren King CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Joel Benjamin ON THE WEB [bostonspiritmagazine.com] TALK TO US [feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com] EDITORIAL CONTACT [editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com] PUBLISHING AND SALES CONTACT [publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com or 781-223-8538] COVER PHOTO Joel Benjamin THE FINE PRINT Boston Spirit magazine. A Division of Jake Publishing, LLC Published

NOV|DEC 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 6

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

8 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Raymond Buckley

DON’T FORGET to order your Thanksgiving dessert through Pie in the Sky, the annual fundraiser for Community Servings, an organization providing warm meals and other assistance to housebound individuals struggling with HIV/AIDS and other lifethreatening illnesses. Each $28 pie, baked by dozens of top bakers around Boston and distributed to purchasers at 60 distribution points on the day before Thanksgiving, supports one week’s worth of meals for a Community Servings client. Better yet, sign up to be a pie seller and encourage your friends and neighbors to reserve their tasty holiday treat while supporting a vital community nonprofit. More info: pieinthesky.org

GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE

to NH Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley, who was awarded an Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) at this fall’s largest state party convention in Granite State history.

Buckley, who founded the NH Citizens Alliance for Gay & Lesbian Rights in the 1980s, is the first openly gay politician to serve as the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs and as the vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee. More info: hrc.org

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS, and the

work of Massachusetts’ Special Legislative Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Aging, a first-inthe-nation commission formed in 2013 that this fall released a sweeping set of reform recommendations designed to improve care of LGBT older adults. The commission, which conducted several public hearings to inform its report, issued a multitude of recommendations to improve LGBT elder treatment in areas like housing and health, such as the collection of data on sexual orientation and gender identity so that service agencies can understand and address disparities with non-LGBT peers. [x]

SPOTLIGHT Sports STORY Scott Kearnan

Ready to Ride?

Gentlemen, grab your poles. It’s time to kick off the next season of OutRyders, New England’s 250-member strong gay ski and snowboard club. Every winter the group organizes a mountain-sized slate of events, from group ski resort trips to off-slope soirees at city hangouts like Cathedral Station and Club Café.

And whether you’re cruising down a slope together or just clinking drinks at an après-ski party, OutRyders is a chance to build community and find new friends during the cold winter months, when options for social outings tend to be fewer and far between.

Trust us. Word spreads far.

“Five years ago I was on vacation in Amsterdam, waiting to meet friends for dinner,” says PJ Redmond. “I was making conversations with this guy, and he realized I was from Boston. The conversation turned to skiing;

he gave me his business card.”

By winter, PJ had joined OutRyders — and skied “about 43 days in that first season.” And now he’s the one getting word about the organization as its marketing director. He enjoys paying it

forward, and connecting others to a group that has become a huge part of his year-round social network.

OutRyders is also a nonprofit that supports other New

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something with other gay people that isn’t focused on the bar, and that’s not political. Having fun is the best way to get to know other people.”

England organizations like Chill Foundation, a Vermont outfit that brings skiing, snowboarding, and self-esteem building opportunities to disadvantaged young people, and the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont.

“I love the philosophy of OutRyders,” says Mike Mell, the OutRyders board member who introduced PJ to the group during that chance Amsterdam meeting. “Yes, I love skiing.

But it’s also great to be doing

And OutRyders has plenty. This year’s agenda kicks off with an “OutRyders Opening Party” on Thursday, November 12 at Club Café. It’s a casual, no-pressure opportunity to meet some of the members, share some drinks, and perhaps sign up for the season. Membership dues then score you group discounts on lodging and lift tickets during OutRyders trips: This year they include excursions to New England ski resorts like Bretton Woods, Sunday River, and Mount Sunapee, among many others, plus a week-long getaway to Telluride in Colorado.

And there’s plenty of entertainment in between, from monthly meet-ups at Cathedral Station,

the South End’s gay sports bar, to live theater, movie, bowling, and brewery outings.

Newbies shouldn’t feel intimidated about diving snow driftdeep into the fun. OutRyders members are always conscious of creating a welcoming environment, says Steve Sage, the group’s president.

“My first trip was in 2006 with 25 guys to Lake Tahoe,” says Sage. “I remember it being a little nerve-wracking. I was from Connecticut and I didn’t know anyone. But I remember being at this hotel overlooking the lake and thinking, ‘I’m hooked.’”

For more background on OutRyders, a full lineup of season events, and registration information, visit outryders.org [x]

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SPOTLIGHT Design STORY Scott Kearnan

Gay Days

1

THE SPIRIT OF THE ‘70S LIVES ON IN HOME DÉCOR Leisure suits and lava lamps are best left in the past, but other hallmarks of 1970s style are firmly back in fashion. Just ask the stylish minds behind Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, the gay-founded furniture brand that just celebrated the grand opening of its third Boston-area showroom at Burlington’s 3rd Ave, an upscale-skewing outdoor dining and shopping destination. From suede fabrics and polished brass to high-gloss lacquer finishes, nods to the Feel Good Decade abound in Mitchell Gold’s glamorous fall collection.

“The ‘70s was a decadent period for fashion, furniture styles and the urban lifestyle in general,” says gay interior designer Andrew Terrat, who co-owns the Boston-area showrooms. “It was a time when you dressed — your self and your home — to be noticed and adored. Fabrics shimmered, wood furniture got richer in color, and accents of metal, glass, and mirror were added for a dramatic new effect.” The era’s association with fun and frivolity has helped its style sensibility endure, and it still lends to lovely looks for modern lounging and living areas. Add some ‘70s swag to your own home with some of our favorite fall pieces.

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“The Other Side of ‘8 1/2.’”

Dip back even further, to the swinging 1960s, with this framed behind-the-scenes photo from the Oscarwinning Fellini flick. ($1350) Table Tennis Table.

Ping-Pong, anyone? This elegant game table is a contemporary take on your rec room toy of yore. ($4120) Marcel Media Console.

This wowing walnut and black glass unit recalls the bold geometry of late mid-century architecture.

Bring some Betamax-era style to your Apple TVequipped home. ($2870) London Sofa. This sumptuous sofa in Boulevard-Indigo is a gorgeous spot for a shag, baby. A carpet underneath, that is. ($3390) Jere Chandelier. Let there be light! And let it come from this gorgeous sculpture of frosted glass and polished nickel inspired by 1970s Italian design. ($1675) Mantra Pillows. We love the pithy sayings on these decorative pillows. Stay groovy, man. ($150) Petrified Wood Pull-Up Table. Pet rocks? Good riddance. Petrified wood?

Makes a lovely accent piece, if you ask us. ($620) Presley Chair. This metaltrimmed chair has vintage flair with unabashedly modern edge. ($3660) Bronze River Stone Cocktail Table. Hosting? Your stiff gin & tonics will look sexy set upon this glitzy smoothtopped centerpiece. ($1680)

SPOTLIGHT Fashion STORY Scott Kearnan

Queer Guise LGBT PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS WORKED BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY— BUT FINALLY, WE’RE GETTING A CHANCE TO WORK THE RUNWAY More and more major brands are moving toward androgynous models and unisex fashions.

And this fall, some of the rising movers and shakers within the boundary-pushing corners of the style world had a chance to shine at Boston Fashion Week.

“VERGE,” a show featuring eight queer designers, rocked the Institute of Contemporary Art; it was produced by dapperQ, a popular website pioneering “unconventionally masculine” fashion. DapperQ

previously brought an even bigger queer fashion show to the Brooklyn Museum during New York Fashion Week.

Even if you’re not looking to refresh your wardrobe, it was an excellent opportunity to see some talented designers who are bringing a unique aesthetic to the fashion world. We’ve selected our four favorites from “VERGE” to help you learn a little bit more about who’s on the cutting edge of queer style.

JAG & CO. [ABOVE] Jag & Co. (short for Jaguar & Company Clothier) is a Brooklyn-founded brand that filters the dapper sensibility of vintage Ivy League vestments through a queer lens. The result is bespoke menswear-inspired ensembles with a transidentifying element — or as Jag & Co. often describes it, “prettyboi couture.”

KQK [OPPOSITE-TOP] Founder Karen Quirion goes bold and blurs the borderlines of gender with her fashions, designed primarily for the urban, female-identified form but taking inspiration from the cuts of menswear. There’s a hint of punk to KQK’s casual nonconformity, which mixes a wide array of materials together: from leather to silk, denim to knits.

NOTEQUAL [OPPOSITE-BOTTOM] Brazilian-

SUNSUN [ABOVE AND RIGHT] This queer-owned, Toronto-based clothing line features unisex fashions in bold colors, vibrant geometric prints, and cool street wear-evoking patterns.

Founder Francesca Nocera is also a DJ—hence the hip-hop vibe—and incorporates materials like kente cloth, a silk and cotton fabric of interwoven strips used widely in South Ghana.

14 | BOSTON SPIRIT

born, Brooklyn-based designer Fabio Costa scored the runner-up spot on the tenth season of “Project Runway.” Now he (alongside creative partner Rebecca Diele) runs this gender-fluid fashion line that aims to “challenge traditional tailoring and concepts of identity.”

It’s all about unconventional silhouettes and proportions. [X]

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SPOTLIGHT Gift Giving STORY Staff 1

Bauble, Bangles, and Beads SILVER AND (ROSE) GOLD AND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR HOLIDAY SPARKLE When it comes to making the yuletide gay, there’s nothing like a bit of sparkly, and we’re not talking champagne. We’re talking substantive, real, gorgeous, beautiful, magnificent jewelry! There’s hardly a better way to make the loved ones in your life smile like you’ve never seen them smile before as they unwrap one of these gems. Everyone wishes for it!

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Legends Eagle Head Cufflinks in Sterling Silver by John Hardy, $450, Long’s Jewelers [2] Legends Naga Dragon Head Cufflinks in Sterling Silver by John Hardy, $495, Long’s Jewelers [3] Graham Chronofighter Oversize, Black PVD Steel, 46 mm, Military dial, $8050, Royal Jewelers [4] DeWitt Academia Day-Date, White gold, 42 mm, “Glacier” dial, $52,700, Royal Jewelers [5] Wellendorff P752 and S752 Rings, $7,400 & $10,100, Royal Jewelers [6] Spiritual Beads Bracelet with Tigers Eye by David Yurman $450, Long’s Jewelers [7] Classic Chain Medium Bracelet in Bronze & Sterling Silver by John Hardy, $450, Long’s Jewelers [8] Daniel Bass Dog Tag , $8,390 , Royal Jewelers [9] Exotic Stone Tag Necklace with Black Onyx by David Yurman, $650, Long’s Jewelers [10] Girard-Perregaux Vintage 1945 Big-Date Moonphase, 18K Rose gold, Open sapphire dial, $34,800, Royal Jewelers [11] Legends Eagle Head on Leather Bracelet by John Hardy, $695, Long’s Jewelers [12] Legends Eagle Head on Extra Large Flat Chain Bracelet in Sterling Silver by John Hardy, $1,695, Long’s Jewelers

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‘TIS THE SEASON TO

sonesta

This holiday season, Royal Sonesta Boston is trimmed with seasonal specialties and perfectly wrapped for your holiday pleasure. Celebrate the season with us in our newly renovated and spirited meeting rooms, dressed in their best. We are pleased to offer $12 event self-parking and a discounted guest room rate of $129 for overnight guests.

Book your holiday function and receive one of the following holiday bonuses: • Give Back to your Employees with a variety of gift cards for you to use as you please • Give Back to your Community with 5% of your total food and beverage spend donated to the local community of your choice • Give Back to your Team with creative menu options for a late night snack buffet from our Food is Art Collection FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK YOUR PARTY 617.806.4125 | CATERING.CAMBRIDGE@SONESTA.COM

*This offer is valid from November 30, 2015 through February 28, 2016. F&B revenue minimums do apply for each of our event spaces and this offer.

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NOV|DEC 2015 | 17

SPOTLIGHT News COMPILED Rob Phelps

From the Blogs GOOGLE, EASTERN BANK BACK TRANSGENDER PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS PROTECTIONS Major corporations like Google and Eastern Bank have signed on with Freedom Massachusetts to ensure that transgender people are not denied service at any hotel or restaurant.

The new organization Freedom Massachusetts and its Co-Chairs Kasey Suffredini and Mason Dunn are making a push to make discrimination against transgender people illegal once and for all in the Bay State.

And it includes backing from significant businesses.

Vicky Henry, senior staff attorney and Youth Initiative Director, GLAD. PHOTO InfinityPortraitDesign.com

GLAD’S VICKIE HENRY NOMINATED TO STATE APPEALS COURT Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker nominated Vickie Henry, senior staff attorney and Youth Initiative Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), to serve on the Massachusetts Appeals Court

by Governor Charlie Baker.

In an Oct. 1 GLAD press release, Janson Wu, GLAD’s executive director, described Henry as “thoughtful, thorough, compassionate, and extremely hard-working. The citizens of the Commonwealth—and most especially its youth—will benefit from her service on the bench. We will be sad to see Vickie go, but GLAD’s incredibly high quality lawyering means we will occasionally be poached!”

Freedom Massachusetts is also launching its Lobby Day on September 17, where “hundreds of transgender Bay Staters will stand alongside our family, friends and allies in the Massachusetts Statehouse—and together, we’ll make the case to lawmakers that it’s time for full transgender equality,” according to promotional materials from the event.

BAY STATE RANKS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO BE GAY IN CORPORATE AMERICA Massachusetts ranks as the second-most diversity-friendly state in the union, according an analysis by Expert Market on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s national index. The Bay State is topped only

by Maryland.

“Vickie created a strong foundation for the Youth Initiative, and the lives of LGBTQ youth are the better for it,” said Wu. “We are committed to building on her work, and continuing the many strong partnerships she nurtured.”

As part of GLAD’s legal team challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, Henry worked tirelessly on numerous groundbreaking cases, including DeBoer v. Snyder, which went before the U.S. Supreme Court as one of the cases consolidated with Obergefell v. Hodges—the 2015 case establishing the right to marriage equality nationwide.

Dallas Black. Courtesy of Dallas Black

18 | BOSTON SPIRIT

“The Human Rights Campaign Foundation have been creating an annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) since 2002 to measure the LGBT equality policies of large, influential companies across the US. Each company is given a score out of 100, based on criteria such as non-discrimination policies, equivalent spouse and partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health coverage and public commitment,” according to the Expert Market press website (expertmarket. com).

NEIGHBOR OF ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE COUNTY CLERK DEFENDS HIS COMMUNITY AS LGBT-FRIENDLY When Kim Davis—the infamous anti-gay county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky— told ABC news reporter Paula Faris on “Good Morning America” that she had gay friends, apparently she was telling the truth.

A least one gay man stepped forward to back her up.

Dallas Black, also of Moorhead, Kentucky, told The Daily Beast “he’s known Davis his whole life—her first husband is even a distant cousin of his—but said he and Davis became close after she helped him with paperwork at the Rowan County clerk’s office after his mother died. While he said Davis wasn’t someone he “would get lunch with,” she would give him advice. Black even had her home phone number.

Now, he says, he hardly recognizes her. “I was friends with Kim in the past, but I don’t

“ With 76% of Catholics favoring laws that would protect LGBT people against discrimination, this is an opportunity for the Pope to hear the stories of those who remain steadfast in their faith, yet are often still alienated by a minority group within the Church.”

know this woman I’ve been seeing,” he said.

“I somewhat feel like she is taking this to an extreme, because she didn’t become a Christian until four years ago.”

Most importantly, Black wants the world to know that his community is far from the “backwater” Davis’s story implies it to be.

“Davis has become the face of Morehead, and that’s not the face we want to portray,” Black said.

“Morehead is one of the most progressive college towns in Kentucky, Black proudly told the Beast. “In 2013, its city council unanimously passed an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance, only the sixth city in Kentucky to do so. With its arts scene, students, and coffee shops, Black said many LGBT Kentuckians choose to make it their home.”

LGBT CATHOLICS REACH OUT TO POPE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN For Catholic LGBT grown-ups and their friends who’d like to reach out to Pope Francis and catch his ear in the wake of his recent visit to the United States, GLAD has come up with a pretty ingenious way to share all that we’d like him to know about our community.

Just submit a post to tellthepope.tumblr.com/ submit sharing your experience as an LGBT person or ally. Submissions may include photos, videos, illustrations and stories. You can also go to the website to see what many others have already posted.

The ultimate goal of the campaign is for Pope Francis to accept GLAAD and other LGBT-rights groups’ invitation to meet with them in person.

CirCa “OPUS” with the Debussy

GLAAD

Pope Francis PHOTO courtesy glaad.org

As GLAAD points out, “With 76% of Catholics favoring laws that would protect LGBT people against discrimination, this is an opportunity for the Pope to hear the stories of those who remain steadfast in their faith, yet are often still alienated by a minority group within the Church. A meeting with those members of the LGBT Catholic community would be the beginning of a healing process between both communities.” [x]

“✶✶✶✶✶ ... an evening so remarkable as almost to defy description.”

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Groups of 10+ Call 617-532-1116 or email groups@citicenter.org

SPOTLIGHT Statistics COMPILED staff

Go Figure

48% more money was spent on wine

by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households.

[Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

10%

more shopping trips are made by LGBT consumers than straight consumers.

20 | BOSTON SPIRIT

ent on coffee by L p s s wa y non-LGBT house GBT y ho e nb ld ha

19%

lds eho us ho . s

[Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

mor em on t

$4,135

is the additional amount of money, on average, that LGBT households spent at retail stores over their straight peers in 2014. That’s seven percent more. [Source: Nielsen:

35%

more money was spent on liquor by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households. [Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

32% more money was spent on shaving supplies by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households. [Source:

Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

32% more money was spent on men’s toiletries by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households. [Source:

Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

31% more money was spent on candles and incense

by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households. [Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

43%

more money was spent on computer and electronic products by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households.

[Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

27% more money was spent on fresheners and deodorizers by LGBT households than by non-LGBT households.

[Source: Nielsen: ‘Proudly Setting Trends: The 2015 LGBT Consumer Report]

SEASONAL Scrapbook COMPILED Rob Phelps

SPOTLIGHT Trending 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 NEWS, social networking site. 47%NOTES of lesbians and 49% of bisexuals surveyed said the same.

Hit List

Boston Spirit

SCRAPBOOK

60% 69%

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.

Tufts Universi

AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA

25%

of LGBT Asian American

and Pacific Islanders As 2015 draws to its festive finale, same-sex couples are same-sex couples of gay men met we at Boston Spirit want to share raising children. et online and LGBT friends online just a few of our favorite moments University from this memorable year. From of Vermont resource group, and Terry STAY TUNED as GLAD takes TOAS chart-toppers, to ground breakers, campus Holzman, communications on yet another legal case consultant for organizations that is the first ofTOGE its kind. I to back slappers, we’ve pulled a like the Anti-Defamation September the organizatio SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Melissa Ostrow few pages from our coverage of League and Family Equality filed a complaint with the Council. Meanwhile senior Massachusetts Commissio on the recently a community we know is STUDY already THE MEET-UP APP UP JACK’D staff attorney Vickie Henry Against Discrimination on released 2015 Campus Pride SAYS IT HAS ABOUT 60,000 David Zimmerman, publisher of Boston Spirit magazine will move on from GLAD,and James behalf of a 61-year old gay busy making new milestones to Index, which ranks American DAILY ACTIVE USERS IN THE A. Lopata, Boston Spirit’s editor in chief with honoree Mary Bonauto Boston Harbor | Boston | June 17 appointed by Governor and Human colleges andauniversities on Rights Campaign’s Marty Rouse at Boston Spirit’s Top 25 man, identified as “John Do BOSTON AREA. If you’re Charlie Baker to serve on the keep usannual onboat our toes in 2016.

Boston Spirit’s cruise brought out hundreds of Power Players of New England Gala. in the complaint, who alleg younger mantheir (or looking LGBTQ-friendliness

60K

15:01

ATED SELFIES? LUMBERSEXUAL.”

[Source: The Williams Institute]

11%

Boston Spirit Boat Cruise

48%

all

PHOTO Marilyn Humphries

Massachusetts Court. andthat he was denied insuran partiers. Ticket sales benefit Fenway Health. of the most popular of LGBTAppeals Asian American for one) this based might on be campus the policies, Pacific Islanders experience of Omaha becau place for&you: Over 70%and of practices.. guys Halls used photos of Colleges of life for LGBT students native, was one by of Mutual just eight Deck the Universities programs unemployment, twice thescholarship U.S. he takes the drug Truvad Massachusetts users are age themselves in the by analyzing institution nationwide compiled by Campus This year five New England The Boston Gay Men’s 18-29. unsurprisingly, programs and policies.national average. recipients out of 1,300 great outdoors Pride, anPerhaps organization that the Top schools made 25: Chorus rang out 2014 at [Source: The Williams Institute] when asked toindexes identifyquality The New England schools applications received for measures and Tufts University, University of Jordan Hall in Boston with their “scene,” 27.44% of that earned A grades are: 2014.

Maine Machias, University its traditional concert of STICK TO G-RATED PICS? Here’s a tip: Massachusetts usersatchose Amherst College; Brown of Massachusetts Amherst, self in the great outdoors.

According decidedly untraditional REC “Twink.” (Nationally, the University; Connecticut University of Vermont, and study conducted by “Wired” magazine,a Top Scores to yuletide tunes, including app’s most popular choice POS College; profile photos of thecalled most popular gay Williams College. More info:Dartmouth College; is “Bi/Str8/Curious.”) medley “Forbidden New England Harvard University; University atchmaking site OkCupid were taken campuspride.org Holiday,” a spunky and sexy Corps Co of Massachusetts, Amherst; he moral: “Lumbersexual” sells.) twist from the writers of

University of Rhode Island; In early 2015, 37 New England 617.806 “Forbidden Broadway” and KEEP UP with some recent and University of Vermont. companies received a 100 the group’s own quirky new shuffles at Gay & Lesbian rating on the 2015 Corporate “Sparklejollytwinklejingley.”

Advocates & Defenders Equality Index, the Human The guys also warmed hearts (GLAD), the Boston-LGBT Rights Campaign’s annual with some old standards IF YOU’RE THE TYPE TO Scholarship based, pioneering POST TORSO LGBT evaluation of LGBT-inclusive like “The First Noel.” Your SHOTS, CUT DOWN ON legal rights organization.

THE CRUNCHES Salute million dollars of foundation policies and practices. Of conservative aunt’s idea of AND ADD SOME PUSH-UPS TOjoined to its board Recently funding were provided for The Harvard College student the record 366 businesses Christmas caroling, this was YOUR GYM ROUTINE.ofAccording to a LGBT Asian American directors is David Hayter, Theodore Waechter received with perfect scores, 37 were not. survey conducted by matchmaking [x] and Pacific Islanders. who co-founded Liberty of a LEAGUE Foundation based in New England: 26 site CoffeeMeetsBagel.com, 39% of Mutual’s first LGBT employee scholarship from the Dallasin Massachusetts (like State gay male singles say “6-pack abs” is This issue’s focus on LGBT Tip Your based organization, which Street), 9 in Connecticut (like the photogenic body part they most Asian American and Pacific Mortarboard strive to achieve. But what do gay men was founded inPUBLISHER 1996David andZimmerman bills General and 2 in MANAGING EDITOR Robert P EDITOR IN Electric), CHIEF James A. Lopata Islanders was provided from CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR Scott Kearnan [lifestyle@bostonspiritmagazine.com] CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR Lore itself as the country’s oldest Rhode Island (like CVS). That’s Late in 2014, eight New actually find most sexy? By a wide materials provided

by AAPIP Melissafor Ostrow ON THE WaEB mighty [bostonspiritmagazine.com] TALK TO US for [feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com] EDITORIAL CONTA 37% say aGay “toned chest.”

Boston Men’s Chorus rang scholarship program showing a small England schools made themargin, The [publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com or 781-223-8538] COVER PHOTO BalletBoyz by George Piper THE FINE PRIN out 2014 with its traditional concert of and Funders for LGBTQ Issues.

LGBT-identified individuals. corner of the country.

Edw Top 50 List of LGBT-friendly LLC Published by Jake Publishing, LLC. Copyright 2004 by Jake Publishing, LLC.40 All rights re decidedly untraditional yuletide tunes.

Waechter, a North Carolina the written permission of Boston Spirit magazine. Neither the publishers nor the advertisers w The publishers accept no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers. Publicati NOV|DEC 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 6

$1.8

MOST SEXY: “TONED CHEST”

IT

22 | BOSTON SPIRIT 86 | BOSTON SPIRIT

business in this magazine does not reflect upon one’s sexual orientation in any way. Boston Spi

Living Well RUGS | CARPETING | FLOORING | WINDOW TREATMENTS BOSTON • NATICK • Coming Soon: 3RD AVE. BURLINGTON

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something I fully understand, honestly, and I don’t fully relate to it—therefore I’m not a spokesperson for it. I can’t put myself spent a lot of time thinking about in the middle of this super-sensitive issue ve volcano that is the transgender so I’m choosing to not comment on it an’t say thatPOZ-itive I’m completely clear other than to say that I’ve always been a and I’m notLeadership sure what I want spokesperson for people being who they people about it except that it’s Also early in 2015, two local are. I’ve always stood up and said, “I don’t made the annual e’s personalleaders decision.

When I was care who you are: if you’re groovy and on 100” list—that’s he gay scene“POZ there were butch “POZ” my vibe and we can talk and have fun, magazine’s honor roll of drag queens, butch guys, feminine you’re alright with me. If you’re serious brave and brilliant folks minine lesbians, and so on.

It’s still and a bummer, then I don’t give a fuck fighting to end the HIV/ and now ifAIDS you epidemic. want to take all if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, Theitlist you can do that.

It’s anhonors issue that specifically advocates I’m not interested.” That’s my criteria.

30 olitical. It’sand veryactivists highly under charged.

I don’t want to be part of this didactic old, and Jojo conversation. I already got dragged into ething that Iyears noticed nowincluded you can’t Amanfu, about.

HIV caseIt’s manager asual conversation not that whole fucking thing in the late ‘80s at Boston’s Sidney Borum Jr.

gender roles and binaries that community has long worked to What are your thoughts on that?

Health Center, and Lawrence Vinson III, project manager at the Fenway Institute’s SMILE Youth Linkage to Care program.

when everyone was coming out and everyone had to come out, and I was like, “I don’t need to come out. Sometimes I’m liking a man and sometimes I’m liking Anyone whose w a woman. I’m whatever, man. Call me Marriage of Review, bisexual.” I was A branded and tortured

by McSwee Master Chefs that whole young gay scene of the late ‘80s. right? Su of note, “Out” magazineJames shunned me.

So thisDykes has To Watch Beard award-winning duosince Markthe Gaier and been happeningchef to me beginning 25 years, from 19 Clark Frasier married in of my fucking career because I’ve never newspapers (inc Februarybandwagon. after 25 yearsI’ve jumped on the fucking together. The culinary couple been an individual. I like people whoseveral I like. language

25

course in California. It was Pat andinPiper world it, with its so an intimate ceremonyIn addition to her com fit for “Top Chef Masters” has also done exclusi of LGBT Asian American alums: from a gourmetof publications, incluJ and Pacific Islanders four-course dinner to aAdvocate, taco and many o same-sex couples are websites, comic book stand, mini Manhattan and Cartoonist and graphic raising children. [Source: 2006, Houghton M Negroni cocktails, and In even memoiristThe Williams Institute] graphic grilled cheese sandwiches memoir, Fun Tragicomic. The best with tomato soup as age tale has been calle late-night, post-dancing feat of familial resurr noshes. Cheers, gents! More: TOAS markandclarkrestaurants.com

ALLISON BECHDEL

25%

The 2015 Women’s Dinner brought the community out on a cold winter night. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries

Winter Rendezvous 2016

behind Ogunquit restaurant

And I highly recommend whoBoston you magazine has li MC Perkinsbeing Cove and Utne are, but don’t expect jump eateryeveryone MC Spiedototied the of the greatest h “one century.” on the 18th hole of on your fuckingknot bandwagon to make you And Comics “Bechdel’s art distills famed Pebble Beach[x]golf feel okay about it.

That’s bullshit.

Friends and The Nati

25

Boston ’s Power Ready to hitSpirit the slopes with your nearest and queerest? Annual gay ski Galais coming up from January 20—24, 2016. Besides eek WinterPlayer Rendezvous

11%

arving up the at Stowe Mountain Resort—alongside other outOnmountains January 15, Boston Spirit magazine’s celebrated oor activities like snow shoeing its and sleigh rides—you’ll find plenty of fun Boston Pride inaugural presentation of hat non-skiers will enjoy just as much.

Marches in the Top 25 Power Players of Highlights of course include headline performer Sandra Bernhard, who St. Patrick’s New England at the Ritzill bring herCarlton show Boston. “#Blessed” to the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center Day Parade With the n Stowe, Vermont.

(Tickets are included in a full pass.) But you’ll also find hope that the list generates Boston Pride, which James Beard award-winning chef duo Mark Gaier and Clark constructive in the près ski dance parties atconversations area bars: from opening partyafter featuring Girls Civil Rights Project commemorates its Frasier married in February 25 years together. our community about where LGBT American and as an 45th anniversary atofGay & Asian n Girls, a tribute band performing hits from fiercepreviously females from Deb- November,Director appointee served and condemned power resides and how it is Pacific Islanders experience organization celebrating the Lesbian Advocates & e Harry to Katie Perry, to a Pool Party with DJ Harrison. Plus there’s aUganda’s anti-homosexuality unemployment, the U.S. in June, used, power players gathered as an openly gay U.S. State LGBTtwice community Defender hampagne-soaked bonfire ice carving competition Department officer.and more. bill in February 2014.” national average. from around Newnight, England was accepted by the South [Source: The Williams Institute] For the fullto line-up of events, or to purchase full or weekend passes, visit attend. Special thanks to The appointment expedited Boston Allied War Veteran’s the event JWAdventures.com [x]sponsors: Eastern Dancing Away the substance of a bill Council to march in the

IT

MARY BONAUTO

Bank, Morgan Stanley and U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management along with: Blue Cross and Blue Shield Massachusetts, Burns & Levinson, Edwards Wildman, Fenway Health, Fidelity Investments, GLAD, Human Rights Campaign, The Ritz Carlton-Boston, Online Buddies and Rockland Trust.

First Openly Gay Overseas Envoy for LGBT In February, U.S. Secretary of State and former Mass. State Sen. John Kerry appointed a special envoy for LGBT rights around the world. The

sponsored by Mass. Sen. Edward J. Markey and N.Y. Rep. Alan S. Lowenthal that was killed in Congress back in 2014.

“The new job will be an extension of State Department’s recent initiatives to enhance and discuss LGBT rights both at home and abroad,” stated a Boston Globe report. “The U.S. in August 2013 began issuing immigrant visas to same-sex couples in August, released the first Department statement to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance that

Tom and Jimmy

24 | BOSTON SPIRIT

the Winter Blues

TOGE

all

114th annual South Boston REC St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

PHOTO KATE MCELWEE Tommy and KyleThe R parade took place on Sunday, P O S March 15.

In late February and early April, respectively, the annual Men’s Event and Women’s Co “We are looking forward Dinner Party, warmed up 617.806 to celebrating Boston’s the Boston Marriott Copley diversity, our veterans, Place on a couple of cold, Irish heritage very snowy winter I seenights. power asand thetheability to of so many members of our Both Theses two major community by marching in annual fundraisers for LGBT- and make changes, that means theofSt.foundation Patrick’s Day parade,” focused Fenway Health weredollars million said Sylvain president co-chaired this yearlies byfunding Justin provided forBruni, power far were more in the hands of Boston Pride.

“While Isaac, Brian Ramos, andLGBT Joblin Asian American we recognize Younger; and Lori Griffiths, M.LGBT [x] there is still and Pacific Islanders. of the larger community much work to be done to Jane Powers, and honorary protect the rights of the LGBT chair Elyse Cherry.

(ForThis infoissue’s focus on LGBT than with any individual community both here and and tickets for the 2016 Asian American and Pacific MARY BONAUTO around the world, and to events, visit mensevent.org Islanders was provided from ensure everyone’s rights to and womensdinnerparty.org.) materials provided by AAPIP express themselves and to and Funderscelebrate, for LGBTQwe Issues.

40 Edw are aware of

$1.8

April and Pepper

Tony and Miro 38 | BOSTON SPIRIT

P E A B O D Y

E S S E X

M U S E U M

Experience the visual range, creative expression and political nuance of Native American fashion, from vibrant street clothing to exquisite haute couture.

NOVEMBER 21, 2015–MARCH 6, 2016

“ Beautiful, Leonardo-esque, wind-powered machines …”

— The Boston Globe

THE DREAM MACHINES OF THEO JANSEN THROUGH JANUARY 3, 2016 PEM.ORG/STRANDBEEST The Coby Foundation Ltd., Ellen and Steve Hoffman, and Mimi and Jim Krebs generously supported Native Fashion Now. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation and the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum provided additional support. Orlando Dugi (Diné [Navajo]), Cape and dress from “Desert Heat” Collection, 2012. Courtesy of the designer, Santa Fe. Hair and Makeup: Dina DeVore. Model: Mona Bear. Photo by Nate Francis.

Just five stops from Boston’s North Station!

Audemars Piguet is the national sponsor for Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen. Mondriaan Fund provided generous support for the exhibition. The AMG Foundation and Eaton Vance Management sponsored the exhibition. The Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation also provided support. Strandbeest is made possible in part by supporters of PEM’s Present Tense Initiative: Terry and Dick Albright, Dick and Deborah Carlson, Mr. Alfred D. Chandler III and The Reverend Susan Esco Chandler, and Fay Chandler. The East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum also provided support. In-Kind Media Partner: 90.9 WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station. Theo Jansen with Animaris Apodiacula (detail), 2013. Courtesy of Theo Jansen. Photo by Uros Kirn.

NATIONAL SPONSOR

IN-KIND MEDIA PARTNER

161 Essex St. | Salem, MA | pem.org

w Warburton

CULTURE Books STORY Loren King

how symbolically important it is for members of our community to be proudly out among their friends and neighbors as a part of this historic parade.”

credited with launching the careers of now-icons, most notably Whitney Houston.

In 2013, Davis came out as bisexual in his autobiography “The Soundtrack of My Life.”

SCOTUS Marriage Equality Defenders Selected

Buddies for P-FLAG

Two Boston-based lawyers have been chosen to stand before the U.S. Supreme Court and defend the rights of same-sex couples to marry in every state in America. For the landmark cases facing the Court on April 28, the plaintiff’s counsel named Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s civil rights project director, and Doug Hallward-Driemeier, a partner in the firm Ropes and Gray, to represent their clients.

25%

Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Kennedy III and Jason Collins appeared together as special guests at PFLAG’s annual benefit bash.

Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Kennedy III and Jason Collins, the first openly Pat and Piper gay player in the NBA (now retired), were roommates in college and have been of LGBT Asian American J buddies every since (Check and Pacific Islanders out aare story about their same-sex couples [Source: in Boston Spirit’s raising children. friendship The Williams Institute] May/June issue). Collins and Kennedy appeared together as special guests at Pride & Passion, the annual benefit TOAS bash for PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of TOGE Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people) of Greater Boston on May 11 at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center.

A ‘Room’ 11% All Her Own

all

Bonauto famously argued Goodridge vs. DPH, which UMass basketball player Massachusetts innovationmade will do the same for the Derrick Gordon also showed first state where same-sex the recovery community. his support for PFLGA at of LGBT Asian American and couples legally marry Since even beforecould Alcoholics the event with “a moving Pacific Islanders experience in was 2004.

Hallward-Driemeier Anonymous founded in tribute in the support unemployment, twice U.S. of Greater has argued more than 14 Boston PFLAG’s mission 1935, sober people all around national average. cases before the Court, to create environments of the world have gathered for Alison Bechdel’s Broadway musical won 5 Tony Awards.

[Source: The Williams Institute] served as assistant to the Emma Donoghue not only wroteunderstanding, the era); historical novels (Sla inclusion, mutual support.

While recovsolicitor general in the U.S. and acceptance of best-selling novel Room, now a major Mask,LGBTQ The Sealed Letter, F ery groups Department are usually considof Justice, and, Rand Eed C people,” according to a motion picture, she’s also the rare novelist short stories; ered “face to face” activities, like Bonauto, has provided PHOTO KATEplays; MCELWEE Tommy and KylePFLAG R recent Greater Boston P O S pro bono representation in who penned film’s screenplay—and her nonfiction anthologies.

Sh the role of technology in the press release, which went on many other LGBT spread of the movement hasrights cases. acclaimed adaptation just might earn her writing her first novel for to say: Co been undeniable — phones, an Oscar nomination. readers (8-12) The Lotter “’Rep. Kennedy and Collins Harvard Rocks online meetings, web sites, and So who’s Emma Donoghue? Readers of everything slated for release617.806 in 2017. personify so on.

LGBT literature have claimed the the IrelandThe Man Booker Prize-s Harvard University’s organization stands For this reason, it makes illustrious Hasty Pudding for.

Leading by example, born writer since the 1990s. Her first (2010), told from the poin sense that the age of digital Theatricals, America’s Representative Kennedy novel Stir-Fry, which Donoghue wrote who’s spentand all of his five y Jason Collins are changing technologyoldest wouldtheater issue inorganization, when she was 25, is the coming-of-age single room with his belov bestowed record million dollars of foundation hearts and minds, making another medium, an app likeproducer story of a young woman funding who leaves rural for biggest were provided music mogul Clive Davis environments safer forsuccess but it hard Sober Grid,and to change the lives LGBTand Asian American Ireland for college in Dublin shares nowhere. with its most prestigious LGBTQ people,’ said [Greater of sober people once more. [x] and Pacific Islanders. award, the Order of the Boston PFLAG President living quarters with a lesbian couple.

Her “It reallyTom] helped that I’d w Nobody should be surprised Golden Sphinx Award, at a Bourdon. ‘Their actions and second book, Hood, is about the romantic historical fiction by the marrying ofApril recovery This issue’s focus on LGBTdemonstrate the because gala on 13th at NYC’s interactions relationship between two female students fiction you’re saying to the and GPS-based Asian American and Pacific Plaza social Hotel. media.

Davis, who importance of people being in a repressive Dublin convent school in know Bilbao in the 1 Meetings have always been Islanders was provided from turned 83 in April, is chief supportive ofdon’t each other, the first the late 1970s. with me.

Let me introduce places where people become creative officer of Sony Music In June, the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus became and prove how powerful materials provided

by AAPIP gay chorus to tour the Middle East. PHOTO Michael Leclerc.

Entertainment and a major inclusion and acceptance can‘this is my w “connected,” and in this sense, A five-time finalist in the LiterJack is saying andLambda Funders for LGBTQ Issues.

40 Edw and Jimmy industry magnate be.’” they’re aTom force for good in a widely ary Awards, the prolific Donoghue has also Donoghue in an interview fractured world. Websites like written nonfiction (Inseparable: Desire Toronto International Fil Facebook, and smartphone Between Women in Literature and Paswhere Room premiered April and Pepper Tony and Miro a 26 | BOSTON SPIRIT apps like Grindr, take this sions Between Women: British Lesbian win the Grolsch People’s C

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When Mary Bonauto was awarded a 2014 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, otherwise known as “the Genius Bechdel’s Award,” the GLBT community heaved a collective “duh!”

Not since Harvey Milk has one individual made such an Musical Wins Five Tonys enduring impact on the community, nor have there been many individuals who have established true hero status “Fun Home,” the Broadway musical based on the at any time in the past few decades. graphic memoir of Vermont’s Alison Bechdel (“Dykes to But Bonauto rates. Beginning Watch Out For”) won five with her groundbreaking work Tony Awards at thetoJune pass7the nation’s first civil ceremony, including Best law, in Vermont, in 1999, unions Musical, Best Booktoofher a role as lead counsel in the groundbreaking case Goodridge Musical, Best Original Score v. Department of Public Health, of a Musical, Best Director of a Musical and Bestwhich Actor made in a Massachusetts the first state where same-sex couMusical.

The songs come courtesy of veteran Broadway composer and four-time Tony nominee Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics writer Lisa Kron, the Tony-nominated actress and former member of the stage troupe The Five Lesbian Brothers. Tesori and Kron share Bechdel’s sensibility and life experience of growing up in the ’60 and ’70s.”

FREE

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.”

Pat and Piper

ples could legally marry in 2004, Boston Spirit magazine artsestablished a cadence Bonauto editor Loren King wrote in More recently, she led of success.

And, she says, there’s much more Boston Spirit magazine’s GLAD’s federal court challenges to do to help those who continue May/June 2015 issue: to DOMA in GillMarriage and Pedersen, for same-sex couplestowas in all 50 states by the U.S. Supreme berecognized vulnerable—elders, young leading to the first Court

by Michael Key courtesy of The Washington Blade CourtDistrict on June 26, 2016. PHOTOpeople, families, those who live “Based on the acclaimed and Court of Appeals victories in rural areas. “New England can graphic memoir byagainst AlisonDOMA—and (Michael Cerveris) who runs a Bechdel (Judy Kuhn) who the state continue leading the way of what Bechdel, ‘Fun Home’ is a laws against gayfuneral marriage haveand has home secret preferslook denial to confronting equality and justice like.” coming of age/coming comeout tumbling affairs down. At press and a mother, Helen reality. story centered on atime, young 35 states now allow gays In the musical, three different lesbian wrestling with her thanks in large part to to marry, actresses play Alison at own identity, a closeted Bonauto.

gay father, Bruce Bechdel

Lea

various ages.

DeLari

Menino honored at Gay Pride

Boston’s late Mayor Thomas M. Menino was named honorary marshall for the city’s 45th annual Boston Pride Parade, held on Saturday, June 13.

This perennial girl is wow

In a March 26 press release, Boston Pride’s President Sylvain Bruni said, “Mayor Menino was a longtime friend of Boston Pride and

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Tony and Miro 10/19/15 10:43 AM

Anyone whose work appears in Slate, the New York Times Book Review, McSweeney’s, Granta, and The New Yorker must beunequivocal a person in urging the justices to rule for the of note, right? Such is the case of Alison Bechdel whose comicplaintiffs. strip Dykes To Watch Out has become a counter cultural institution. For ‘Gay and lesbian people 25 years, from 1983 to 2008, the strip was syndicated in dozens of Solicitor General are equal,’ newspapers (including Boston’s in newsweekly), translated into Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said. ‘They several languages and collected in a series of award-winningdeserve books. equal protection of

5 25 a tireless ally of the LGBT community, ensuring that our city was both a safe and inclusive place to live and work. Boston Pride will always be grateful for his friendship and proven leadership.”

the laws, and they deserve it Also serving as 2015 grand Utne magazine has listed DTWOF as prime example of why graphic now.’” novels marshalls were Erica “one of the greatest hits of the twentieth have taken over the conversation Or about as GLAAD put it in its Kay-Webster of Marstons century.” And Comics Journal says, American literature.” It was thebreaking-news first and e-blast: only work of its kind to be a finalist for Mills, Mass., the celebrated “Bechdel’s art distills the pleasures of and The Nation; we recognize our the National Book Critics Circle award.

“We did it! This morning, transgender human rights Friends Kathryn Livelli, longtime ownerand of Provincetown’s iconic lesbian bookstore Pat and Piper world in it, with its sorrows ironies.” became an Off-Broadway And the book the United States Supreme Womencrafts turned over the keys to staffer Michelle Axelson, advocate and veteran of the In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel musical that opened in 2013.Court made history when 1960 Stonewall Rebellion; has also done exclusive work for a slew LGBT Asian American that all it “an announced David V. Bermudez of Cape of publications, Described

by The New Yorker as Ms.,Well Slate, Thenumber Chorus in aincluding statement. of states withof sameJ and Pacific Islanders Americans should be able to intellectual Advocate, many other Cod, the first Stonewall done,and gents.

We singnewspapers, your sex marriage to populist 24, alongand a pioneer, as same-sex couples are woman, in a genre that is not marry only the person they love. websites, comic books, and ‘zines. praises. with alargely the District of Columbia, rtoonist andRebellion graphic veteran to be Ca raising Bechdel children.is[Source: male but macho,” a true In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her legally married in a sameup from 19. phenom. The With this landmark decision, moirist m cultural Living near Burlington, Williams Institute] sex marriage; and Samuel graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family loving and committed Vermont, she told the magazine that Marriage as a consequence of Brinton of Washington, D.C., aTragicomic. The bestselling coming-of- Largely “Glasses are my only jewelry, sosame-sex I splurge couples can finally age tale has been called a “mesmerizing the Supreme Court’s decision Equality Rules on them.”

The power of simplicity. recent MIT graduate who hasfeat of familial resurrection” and a “rare, rest knowing their families not to act, the number of given talks to Google and the Marriage for same-sex are protected and their states allowing same-sex TOAS United Nations as part of the couples, which began in dignity is no longer up for marriage has since grown to TOGE #BornPerfect campaign.

New England with legal 36, and more than 70 percent public debate. Today, love civil unions in Vermont and prevailed.”

Servings as parade marshalls of Americans live in places full-fledged matrimonial were Ellyn Ruthstrom, of When Mary Bonauto awarded a 2014 MacArthur where gaywas couples can marry. rights in Massachusetts was Melrose, Mass., a writer, Turn These Foundation Fellowship, otherwise known as “the Up Genius The court did not agree recognized in all 50 states editor, and spokesperson Kid-Friendly to resolve the issue for based on the U.S.Award, Supreme ” the GLBT community heaved a collective “duh!” for the Bisexual Resource Tunes the rest of the nation until Court’s ruling on Not June since 26, Harvey Center, and Woody Glenn Milk has one individual made such an January, in cases filed by 2016.

Grammy-nominated artist of Somerville, Mass., whose il Rights Project Ci enduring impact on the community, nor have there been gay and lesbian couples in Alastair Moock, helped establish of LGBT Asian American andthe BostonWithin minutes of the ector at Gayleadership & Di Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and many individuals who have established true status areahero folk musician (and the Boston Bisexual Men’s Pacific Islanders experience ruling The New York Times bian Advocates & Le The decades. court heard unemployment, twice the U.S.his latest father), released at any time inTennessee. the past few Network and made Boston reported: ender De extended arguments in April, average. national album for families and one of the most supportive “The 5-to-4 decision, the and the justices seemed [Source: The Williams Institute] children, “All and vibrant bisexual cities in But Bonauto Beginning Charmingly, she eschews theKinds of You culmination of decades of rates. sharply divided over what and Me,” the country. with her groundbreaking work praise. “I see power as thewhich abilitypairs bright, litigation and activism, came the Constitution has to say sunny with progressive to pass the nation’s first civil to make changes, and tunes that means against the backdrop of law, fast-in Vermont, about same-sex REC unions in 1999, marriage. power lies far more in thethat hands messages celebrate, Tommy and Kyle PHOTO KATE MCELWEE R moving changes to in her public role as leadLawyers counsel in of the larger LGBT commuforthe the plaintiffs among other things, inclusive P O S BGMC Goes to opinion, with polls indicating groundbreaking case nity individual,” said Goodridge their clients had a than with any themes related to gender and that most Americans now the Middle East v. Department of fundamental Public Health,right to shemarry says, neveridentity; forgettingone to song invokes Co approve of same-sex which made Massachusetts theprotection, credit her colleagues at GLAD. and to equal the work of Harvey Milk In June, the Boston Gay marriage. first state where same-sex cou“Together, with allies,other we social justice 617.806 adding that the bans they andalongside Men’s Chorus became the ples could legally marry in 2004, have accomplished so much over As in earlier civil rights challenged demeaned their icons like Martin Luther King, first gay chorus to tour the Bonauto established a cadence these many years.” see power as the Court dignity, imposed countless Jr. and Gloria Steinem. Moock Middle East. ability From Juneto 18-29 cases, the Supreme of success. More recently, she led much more had moved cautiously and practical difficultiesAnd, andshe says, there’s has previously offered his the BGMC performed at GLAD’s federal court challenges to do toon help those who continue careful ake changes, and means methodically, laying m inflicted particular harm support for LGBT families historic sitesthat in Jerusalem, to DOMA in Gill and Pedersen, to be vulnerable—elders, younglike “Two judicial groundwork for ato the firsttheir children. million dollars of foundation through songs Tel Aviv, and Ein Gedi, Israel leading District Court people, families, those who funding were provided forlive transformative decision.

Mommies,” breezy melodies wer lies far inTurkey, the hands po andmore Istanbul, where and Court of Appeals victoriesadministration, The Obama in rural areas.

“New England can LGBT Asianadults American and kids appreciate. the final show took place against DOMA—and the state As late as October, the which had gradually come continue leading the way[x]of what and Pacific Islanders.

More:look moockmusic.com laws against gay marriage havethe cause Pridecommunity celebrations. he largerduring LGBT of justices ducked the issue, to embrace of and justice equality like.” come tumbling down. At press “Music builds bridges, refusing to hear appeals same-sex marriage, was This issue’s focus on LGBT time, 35 states now allow gays enhances communication, than with any individual from rulings allowing sameto marry, thanks in large part to Asian American and Pacific breaks down stereotypes sex marriage in five states.

MARY BONAUTO Bonauto.

Islanders was provided from and humanizes the “other” That decision delivered a in powerful ways,” said the materials provided by AAPIP tacit victory for gay rights, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues. immediately expanding the 40 Edw

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April and Pepper

Tony and Miro

Anyone whose work appears in Slate, the New York Times Book Smith College Granta,and restaurant study’Yorker by a must be Review, McSweeney’s, and‘formal The New a personSweet Cheeks Q, Tiger Mama is a sexier type board appointed to examine Admits of note, right? Such is the case of Alison Bechdel whose comic strip of spot serving Southeast the question. The policy Transgender Dykes To Watch Out has become a counter cultural institution.

For (think Thai, Asian cuisines allows for those born as One of only a dozen feminist 25Students Vietnamese, biologically male who self- in dozens years, from 1983 to 2008, the strip was syndicated of and more). bookstores left in the Smith College, the Faison identify as women to apply, newspapers (including Boston’s in newsweekly), translated into says she opened the country, Womencrafts in “seven sisters” women’s eatery in honor of the first though it excludes people several and collectedwho in awere series offemale award-winning books.she took with nowProvincetown got a new schoollanguages in Northampton, vacation born but

5 New Life for Iconic Lesbian Bookstore

lease on life when longtime Massachusetts, announced wife Kelly Walsh. now self-identify as male.

Utne magazine hasadmissions listed DTWOF as (Students prime example of why graphic novels owner Kathryn Livelli sold a change in its who transition “one of thethat greatest hits of the twentieth have ataken overfemale the conversation about the business to staffer policy would officially away from strictly And Comics Journal says, American literature.” It was Hillary the first andClinton Michelle Axelson. Founded century.” accept male-to-female identity “Bechdel’s art distills the pleasures of genderonly workafter of its being kind to be a finalist for P’town Visits in 1976, Womecrafts sells transgender into admitted permitted to Friends and Theapplicants Nation; we recognize our the are National Book Critics Circle award. hundreds of titles related Pat and Piper its student world in it, withbody. its sorrows and ironies.”

Hillary Clinton came out for stay enrolled. students an Off-Broadway And theThese book became to lesbian fiction and LGBT In addition to her comic strip, Bechdelalreadymusical LGBT rights at a fundraiser in form a notable that opened in 2013. to a Boston also done exclusive work for a slewminority on campuses like issues, as well as craftworks hasAccording Provincetown only a week of LGBT Asian American Magazine report, ‘[T]he Smith Described by The New Yorker as “an including Ms., Slate, The from female artisans. Axelson of publications, after the andand Pacific Islanders intellectual populist a pioneer, as US Supreme Court’s Advocate, and many other newspapers,Smith.)’”

College Board of Trustees is dedicated to preserving landmark same-sex couples a woman, in a genre that is not only are ruling that made websites, comic books, andpolicy ‘zines. revised its admissions Cartoonist and its graphic place. “My journey as raising Bechdel children. male but macho,” is[Source: a true marriage equality the law include applicants In to 2006, Houghton Mifflinwho published her Tigerlargely Mama memoirist a woman and as a lesbian cultural phenom. The Living nearofBurlington, Williams Institute] the land, and in just a few graphic memoir,as Fun Home: A Family roarsVermont, she told the magazine that self-identify transgender. has been made easier by hours the 325 attendees, Tragicomic.

The bestselling coming-ofis not the first female “Glasses are my only jewelry, so I splurge institutions like Womencrafts ageSmith tale has been called a “mesmerizing mostly locals or supporters “Top Chef” star Tiffani Faison on them.”

The power of simplicity. college to do so.

Nearby feat of familial resurrection” and a “rare, and women like Kathryn with strong Provincetown opened Tiger Mama, her Mt. Holyoke, for instance, Livelli,” says Axelson, 37. “I TOA new restaurant near Fenway already opened its doors am inspired by the shop’s Park.

Debuting in July at 1363 to transgender applicants TOG history and excited to keep Boylston Street in Boston, last year.

But Smith’s it dynamic and relevant for announcement comes after a just a few doors down generations to come.”

When Maryfrom Bonauto was awarded her existing barbecue a 2014 MacArthur year of public soul-searching

ALLISON BECHDEL

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MARY BONAUTO

ivil Rights Project irector at Gay & esbian Advocates & efender

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 A National Historic Landmark... enduring impact on the community, nor have there been of LGBT Asian American and An American Masterpiece many individuals who have established true hero status Pacific Islanders experience unemployment, twice the U.S. at any time inInthe past few decades.

1668, John Turner built a house destined to become one

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national average. of the most famous structures in America. Join us as we [Source: The Williams Institute] But Bonauto rates.

Beginning Charmingly, eschews the celebrate more than 340 years of Americanshe architecture, with her groundbreaking workhistory, and praise.

“Iand seeliterary powerlegacy as the Salem’s maritime the life of ability Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The changes, Scarlet Letter to pass the nation’s first civil to make and that means RE and The House of the Sevenpower Gables.lies far more in the hands unions law, in Vermont, in 1999, Tommy and Kyle PHOTO KATE MCELWEE to her role as leadDiscover counsel in the of the larger LGBT commuPO the secret staircase. groundbreaking case Goodridge nity than with any individual,” Stroll the three seasons garden. v. Department ofShop Public Health, she says, never forgetting to C for unique gifts and books. which made Massachusetts the credit her colleagues at GLAD. 617.80 first state where same-sex cou“Together, and with allies, we ples could legally marry in 2004, have accomplished so much over Celebrate Holiday Happenings in Salem.

Bonauto established a cadence these many years.” of success. More recently, she led And, she says, there’s much more GLAD’s federal court challenges to do to help those who continue to DOMA in Gill and Pedersen, to be vulnerable—elders, young million dollars of foundation leading to the first District Court people, families, those who funding were provided forlive and Court of Appeals victories in rural areas.

“New England LGBT Asian American can against DOMA—and the state Fall Restaurant Weeks – November 8-12, 13-19 continue leading the way[x]of what and Pacific Islanders.

Salem Lit Fest – Novemberlaws 12 - 14against gay marriage have equality and justice look like.”

Christmas in Salem private home tours – December 4-6 come tumbling down. At press Festive Fridays throughout December This issue’s focus on LGBT time, 35 states now allow gays Just 16 Miles North of Boston. to marry, thanks in large part to Asian American and Pacific 5 stops on the CommuterBonauto.

Rail.

MARY BONAUTO Islanders was provided from 115 Derby Street | Salem, 01970 materials provided

by Mass AAPIP 978-744-0991 | www.7gables.org @DestSalem #SalemMA and Funders for LGBTQ Issues.

40 Ed TomLearn and Jimmymore about Salem, Massachusetts at Salem.org Audio and written translations of the tour are available in Brazilian Portuguese, Cantonese,

STORIES

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I see power as the ability to make changes, and that means ower lies far more in the hands f the larger LGBT community than with any individual

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April and Pepper 38 | BOSTON SPIRIT

NOV|DEC 2015 | 29

Tony and Miro

Anyone whose work appears in Slate, the New York Times Book educators by GLSEN Review, McSweeney’s, Granta, and The New Yorker must beLGBT a person founder Kevin Jennings. of note, right? Such is the case of Alison Bechdel whose comicJennings, strip a Harvard grad, Dykes To Watch Out has become a counter cultural institution.

For the country’s very founded According to Alix Ritchie, first of Gay-Straight Alliance 25 years, from 1983 to 2008, the strip was syndicated in dozens former owner of the at Concord Academy in Provincetown Banner, who newspapers (including Boston’s in newsweekly), translated into Massachusetts in 1988. co-hosted the event with several languages and collected in a series of award-winning books.

This latest installment of

5 25 ties, added more than $502,000 to Clinton’s campaign.

party planner Bryan Rafanelli:

“One Teacher in Ten” pays prime example of why graphic particular novels “Clinton used every second Utne magazine has listed DTWOF as attention to voices “one of the greatest hits of the twentieth have taken over the conversation about of her address not just that were less represented century.” And Comics Journal says, American literature.” It was the first and to electrify the crowd, in the earlier installments, “Bechdel’s art distills the pleasures of only work of its kind to be a finalist for but also to impress upon Friends and The Nation; we recognize our the National Book Critics Circle including award. those of them the depth of her Pat and Piper world in it, with its sorrows and ironies.” transgender people, people And the book became an Off-Broadway emotional assessment of In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel of color, and teachers from musical that opened in 2013. the actual process that had has also done exclusive work for a slew rural school districts. More: LGBT Asian American Described by The of New Yorker as “an of publications, including Ms., Slate, The J ultimately brought her here beacon.org. and Pacific Islanders The hunky string quartet Well Strung performed at Clinton’s July fundraiser intellectual populist and a pioneer, as Advocate, and many other newspapers, to Provincetown. … In a in Provincetown, where the gay group is a summertime fixture. same-sex couples are a woman, in a genre that is not only websites, comic books, and ‘zines. rtoonist androusing graphicand at times moving Car raising Bechdel children.is[Source: largely male but macho,” a true In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her moirist mem speech, Clinton spoke of LGBT cultural phenom. The Living near Burlington, Williams Institute] graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Vermont, she told the magazineUS thatNavy equality — both celebrating Tragicomic. The bestselling coming-of“Glasses are my only jewelry, soReevaluates I splurge the recent Supreme Court age tale has been called a “mesmerizing on them.” The power of simplicity. feat of familial resurrection” and a “rare, transgender decision and talking about the plight of so many LGBT discharge policy TOAS individuals who still face TOGE Transgender personnel crushing discrimination serving in the US Navy may — which drew sustained soon see a significant boost applause from the crowd.

When Mary Bonauto was awarded a 2014inMacArthur job security. The news She urged everyone to think Foundation Fellowship, otherwise known as “the came in Genius an early June official about all the people who statement that announced a Award, ” the GLBT community heaved a collective “duh!” cannot be here, and the reevaluation exactly who struggle these people face Not since Harvey Milk has one individualgets made such of an to decide when and for every day. She got a huge il Rights Project Civi enduring impact on the community, nor have there been what reason a transgender of LGBT Asian American and ector at Gayhand.” & Dire serviceperson may be many individuals who have established true hero status Pacific Islanders experience bian Advocates & Lesb discharged. unemployment, twice the U.S. at any time in the past few decades. ender Defe Police Academy national average.

A Stars and Stripes article Graduates First [Source: The Williams Institute] reported that: But Bonauto rates. Beginning Charmingly, she eschews the “[T]he Navy Gay Couple is looking elevate the with her groundbreaking work praise. “I see power as theto ability administrative separation to pass the nation’s first civil to make changes, and that means This summer, Shawn MacIver REC unions law, in Vermont, in 1999, power lies far more in the hands authority for transgendered and James Moccia became Tommy and Kyle PHOTO KATE MCELWEE R to her role as lead counsel in the of the larger LGBT commupersonnel to ensure that this POS the first gay couple in the groundbreaking case Goodridge nity than with any individual,” important issue receives the country to graduate from US Navy to reevaluate discharge policy for transgender people. she says, never forgetting to v. Department of Publicservice Health, right level of review,” Navy Co a police academy together.

(Retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck, born Christopher T. Beck, receives a which made Massachusetts the credit her colleagues at GLAD. spokesman Lt. Cmdr.

Ed Early plaque from DIA Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn following a Pride Month MacIver and Moccia, whose 617.806 state where same-sex cou“Together, andsaid within allies, we courtesy US Defense Intelligence Agency event at the agency. PHOTOfirst a statement Tuesday. father and brother are also ples could legally marry in 2004, have accomplished so much over “Any proposed changes cops, graduated from the Bonauto established a cadence these many years.” see power asBoston the ability to I andshe resources designed would not affect the level of was awarded theof“Seal same Police Academy success. More tools recently, led And, she says, there’s much more discharge authority for other to embrace LGBT students of Excellence” by the class in June. “At the Boston GLAD’s federal court challenges to do to help those who continue ake changes, that means ma instances of administrative andPedersen, families and combat Human Rights Campaign Policeand Department, there’s to DOMA in Gill and to be vulnerable—elders, young million dollars of foundation separation.”

There is no Foundation, givenleading to to the firstgendersexuality-based Districtand Court a seat at the table for people, families, those who funding were provided forlive timeline for a decision, Early wer lies far more in pow and Court of Appeals victories shown bullying. everybody.

Thethe morehands diverse schools that “have in rural areas.

“New England can LGBT Asian American added. against DOMA—and the state an exemplary commitment we are, the stronger we can continue leading the way[x]of what and Pacific Islanders. against gay marriage have he largerbe,” LGBT community of t ensuring safe andlaws accepting” said BPD commissioner If thelook Navylike.” takes such a step, equality and justice One Teacher come tumbling down. At press to William Evans in a statement. classrooms, according it would leave the Marine inallow Tengays This issue’s focus on LGBT 35 states now than with any individual t a statement. The time, Boston Corps as the only service to to marry, thanks in large part to Asian American and Pacific Educators beefed up on public elementary school not change its policy.

“The MARY BONAUTO Study Up Bonauto. provided from their summer reading Islanders with was implements the Welcoming Marine Corps is not currently Over the summer, Jamaica provided

by AAPIP “One Teacher in Ten inmaterials the Schools Approach, an reviewing changes to the Plain’s John F. Kennedy New Millennium” the and latest HRC-developed, suite of Fundersdecision-making for LGBTQ Issues.authorities 40 Edw Tom and Jimmy STEM Innovation School edition of the series about professional development

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April and Pepper

Tony and Miro

5

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 Revelers at the 2015 Men’s Event. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries world in it, with its sorrows and ironies.”

In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel hasSmith also done exclusivethe work for a slew for the involuntary Jr., entered Rowan of publications, including Ms., Slate, The separation of any of our County clerk’s office and Advocate, and many other newspapers, Marines,’ according to a received a marriage license, websites, comic books, and ‘zines. rtoonist andstatement graphic in response to a ending a standoff that has In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her moirist Stars and Stripes query. captured theFun attention graphic memoir, Home: A Family of a country comingcoming-ofTragicomic.

The still bestselling The military formerly age tale has been called a “mesmerizing to grips with a Supreme mandated administrative feat of familial resurrection” and a “rare, Court decision establishing

LLISON ECHDEL

25 separation for servicemembers known to be transgender, until changes to Pentagon personnel regulations in 2014 granted the services leeway.

ARY ONAUTOKentucky Courthouse

il Rights Project ector at GayResumes & bian Advocates & Issuing ender Marriage

Licenses for All

The Rowan County, Kentucky courthouse began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Thursday, Sept. 4, after a federal judge order jailed its county clerk for contempt of court for refusing to issue them on personal moral I see power as the ability to grounds.

According a Sept.means 5 New ake changes, andtothat York Times article: wer lies far more inatthe hands Deputy clerks the county clerk’s office ... issued a to samethe largermarriage LGBTlicense community sex couple on Friday, a day after theirindividual boss was jailed for than with any

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refusing to do so.

MARY BONAUTO

Trailed by supporters and the news media, a couple, James Yates and William

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.

landryandarcari.com/moroccans

a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

On Thursday, the county clerk, Kim Davis, who When has become a symbol of Mary Bonauto was awarded a 2014 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, otherwise known as “the Genius religious opposition to same-sex marriage, was Award,” the GLBT community heaved a collective “duh!” jailed for contempt of court Not since Harvey Milk has one individual made such an after defying a federal court enduring impact on the community, nor have there been order to issue licenses to gay couples. Shemany later individuals who have established true hero status rejected a proposalattoany allow time in the past few decades. her deputies to grant the licenses, which could have Charmingly, she eschews the led to her release. But Bonauto rates. Beginning with her groundbreaking work

After one of Ms. Davis’s to pass the nation’s first civil lawyers told a federal court unions law, in Vermont, in 1999, to her role as lead counsel in the on Thursday that she would groundbreaking case Goodridge not retreat from her stand, v. Department of Public Health, Judge David L. Bunning whichfrom made Massachusetts the secured commitments first state five of Ms. Davis’s deputies where same-sex couto begin providingples thecould legally marry in 2004, Bonauto established a cadence licenses.

of success. More recently, she led

It was one of the first GLAD’s federal court challenges to DOMA in Gill and Pedersen, national media-grabbing leading to the first District Court challenges to the SCOTUS and Court of Appeals victories ruling in favor of marriage against DOMA—and the state equality and it popped against gay marriage have [x] without much of alaws fizzle. come tumbling down. At press time, 35 states now allow gays to marry, thanks in large part to Bonauto.

Boston

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.”

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FEATURE Missing STORY Mark Krone PHOTOS Courtesy of Steve Johnson

Dubious Death Down Under

Third inquest in 1988 Australian homicide case could force nation to reexamine tragic time when ‘poofter bashings’ were routine and frequently fatal Since the late 1970s, up to 80 men have died or disappeared in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, mostly in the coastal suburbs of Sydney. Groups of roving male teenagers (and some girls) made “poofter bashing” a rite of passage for several decades, especially in the beach towns of Manly, Tamarama, and Bondi. These were not youthful pranks. After robbing and beating them, some of the men begged for their lives before being sent over the cliffs to their deaths on craggy rocks.

Just a few miles from downtown Sydney, these communities have long attracted gay men who cruised each other for casual sex high atop cliff-side walkways with dramatic views of beaches below. Some sunbathed in the nude, others walked the winding paths seeking company in more private settings. Many chose to cruise only at night. Called “beats” by Australians,

32 | BOSTON SPIRIT

these areas were well known to the Sydney gay community.

Thirty possible murders in and around these towns sit unsolved in cold case files.

Many deaths were automatically ruled suicides prior to any sort of investigation by local police, who took little interest in the fate of the gay men.

The death of Scott Johnson at 27, brother of Boston Internet pioneer, Steve Johnson, is among the unsolved. Scott’s naked body was found near one of these “beats” at the bottom of a cliff in Manly on December 10, 1988. His clothes were found folded neatly and his wallet was missing and has never been recovered.

The 1980s were a dark time for gay men in Sydney. Until 1984, it was illegal to be gay in Australia. AIDS ravaged the community. For those it didn’t kill, it made pariahs. A public service commercial widely seen in Australia at the

time warned about AIDS featuring a grim reaper that many associated with gay men, increasing their marginalization. “That commercial has a lot to answer for,” said former NSW Police Detective Sergeant Steven Page years later.

In this climate, authorities assumed Scott’s family would accept the hasty findings of Manly police and go home. But they were wrong.

Scott‘s brother, Steve Johnson made his fortune by inventing a way to compress Internet images, reducing loading times from minutes to seconds. He is currently Founder and Board Chairman of ChoiceStream, a digital advertising firm on the waterfront in Boston.

Steve was a Harvard graduate student when he got a message that his younger brother (by two years) Scott, was found dead on a cliff above Manly Beach in Australia.

“I flew there immediately. When I got there, one of the police officers immediately told me where they found Scott was ‘where blokes go to jump, especially homosexuals.’ They had no interest in investigating it. It was ruled a suicide and the coroner closed the case.”

For the next 17 years, the case remained closed and the family was left to wonder if Scott really did take his own life.

Growing up in California, Steve, Scott and their sister Terry, were smart and good-looking. On the surface they seemed to have it all, but things were not easy at home. When their mother divorced, the family was forced to go on welfare. When their mother re-married, it was to an alcoholic man who did not approve of Scott’s “sissyness.”

Sometimes, tough childhoods forge unusually strong relationships among siblings. “Scott and I were very close,” says Johnson. Scott had always been shy and quiet. His sister remembers him as “a gentle, intelligent and loving man.”

To say that Scott was a math whiz is an understatement. He may have been one of the best math minds of his generation.

He graduated at the top of his class at Cal Tech, studied at Cambridge University in the U.K., the University of California at Berkeley, and did research at Harvard, before entering a PhD program in mathematics at the Australian National University. Three of the papers he worked

Matterhorn, Zermatt Switzerland 1984 (Steve left, Scott right) on while at Harvard were published after his death, one winning an award.

In the early 1980s, Scott and Steve lived in Cambridge. Steve was a graduate student at the Kennedy School of

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Government at Harvard while Scott worked as a researcher there. Harvard Professor John Donahue described Scott as the stereotypical math genius with

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Rainbow over Manley Beach, Sydney, Australia, where Scott Johnson's body was found “deep levels of sweetness that don’t go with the stereotype.”

Scott was happy but he missed the Australian man he’d fallen in love with while at Cambridge University. In 1986, he decided to move to Sydney, to be with him. He’d been accepted to a Math PhD program at the Australian National University. Two years later, he was dead.

Steve always doubted his brother’s death was a suicide. In 2013, he told the TV news program, Australian Story, “The day he died, Scott had just finished the final proof for his math PhD. He had just gotten off the phone with his professor who had congratulated him.”

On the same program, a Sydney author Garry Wotherspoon, who writes on LGBT history, asked hypothetically, “Why would a man who was going to commit suicide, who had a wonderful morning, solved a (mathematical) problem, take off his clothes, leave them in a neat pile and jump off the cliff?” According to Steve, none of the police officers he’s spoken to has ever known of a person removing all of their clothes before committing suicide.

The last person to see him alive was the sister of Scott’s boyfriend, since Scott and the sister were both staying at her parents’ house in Sydney. She was a psychiatric nurse and saw no signs of depression in

34 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Scott. Neither did Scott’s friends who were interviewed by police.

The case moldered until a break came in 2005, when a new inquest was opened into the disappearance of three other gay men. NSW Detective Sergeant Page began looking into the cold cases of gay men found dead on the cliffs, after reading a letter from the mother of a victim, who pleaded for answers. His investigation of gay-hate murders in the region called Operation Taradale, was the first time anyone in officialdom took the matter seriously. Page was able to connect several gangs of youths who were known to prey upon gay men.

When Steve Johnson heard about the new investigation, “his world turned upside down.” He flew to Sydney. Again, the police ignored him. But this time, he was more determined than ever to get answers.

In 2007, Steve used his own money to hire journalist Daniel Glick to conduct a thorough investigation. Entering the investigation with an open mind, Glick now thinks murder is at least a 95% likelihood. Glick found answers that had eluded local police for years (mostly because they hadn’t tried). Among the findings: five loose-knit gangs worked the beach walkways, robbing, beating, and sometimes

killing, their gay victims. Dozens of people were involved. Over 50 persons of interest were named.

Johnson turned these findings over to the police and in 2012, and a new inquest was ordered.

Mounting evidence and pressure from the Sydney gay community also resulted in a $100,000 reward offered by the police for information leading to an arrest of the killer(s). But still the police refused to investigate. Frustrated but still determined, Steve pressed on, “A reward means nothing if the police won’t investigate.”

In late 2012, the inquest found that Scott’s death was due to “misadventure, accident or murder.” In short, they issued no finding and left it as an open case. On the plus side for the family, the suicide finding was overturned, providing some solace.

In 2013, The Australian Story, a TV news magazine show, similar to 60 Minutes in the U.S., focused on Scott’s death, before a nation-wide audience. According to Johnson, “After that program aired, we finally got the attention of the police.”

Then a major break came this past spring. In April 2015, NSW Coroner Michael Barnes ordered a very rare third inquest into the death of Scott Johnson. Barnes issued a statement, saying,

Steve Johnson with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, marching in Sydney Gay Mardi Gras Parade, 2013 “New witnesses had been located and interviewed …”

NSW Detective Chief Inspector Pamela Young remains unconvinced.

She continues to back the initial ruling of suicide made in 1989, despite the heavy criticism of that investigation by some former police officers, the press, and the Johnson family. In Steve Johnson, she

sees a wealthy American exerting undue pressure, pushing his brother’s case ahead of others. Young believes suicide was a possibility, pointing to the statements of Scott’s partner to police. He said Scott talked about a suicide attempt years before in California, though this is discounted by the family, who say Scott was at a high point in his life on the day

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he died. In a rare public rebuke of an elected official, Inspector Young went on Australian TV to denounce an Australian MP, Michael Gallacher, who had been enlisted by the Johnson family to plead for the new inquest. Inspector Young accused Gallagher of “kowtowing to the Johnson family.”

On April 22, 2015, Coroner Michael Barnes announced that Inspector Young had been removed from the Scott Johnson investigation saying that she “undermined public confidence” by making public statements. Barnes is expected to issue a statement any day now on the scope of the case and how long the investigation will last.

Speaking from his office in Dock Square on a recent afternoon, Steve Johnson is careful to say that he does not know how Scott died. He could have jumped or fallen.

Or been murdered. But he is sure of one thing: there has never been a full, fair, professional investigation into the death of his brother. “We really look at this as the first real inquest. We’re hopeful.” [x]

FEATURE Elders COLUMN Brenda Cole

Senior Spirit Aging Gracefully

With this issue, Boston Spirit introduces a new regular section for one of New England’s fastest growing populations: LGBT Seniors. Each issue, we plan to feature areas of importance to this vibrant community. Enjoy!

First-in-nation commission on LGBT Aging recommends sweeping reforms in Massachusetts The state’s Special Legislative Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Aging released a ground-breaking report at the State House September 17 that recommends sweeping reforms to lessen the likelihood that LGBT people who endured discrimination as they came of age will not have to go through it again at the hands of caregivers during their final years.

“We have long known that LGBT older adults face unique challenges as they age.

Few of them have the family connections

36 | BOSTON SPIRIT

such as partners or spouses; children; and extended family who can provide the care that much of the general population relies on from their families as they age,” said state Sen. Pat Jehlen, co-chair of the Commission. “This first-in-the-nation state commission will provide a roadmap for giving our state’s LGBT older adults the care that they deserve, and it is one that other states can follow.”

Approximately 50 people, including Senate President Stan Rosenberg, attended the briefing.

The Commission was formed in 2013 when then-Gov. Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Legislature convened the country’s first statewide LGBT Aging Commission to assess the needs of the state’s elderly and aging LGBT population.

In 2015, the legislature voted to make the Commission permanent.

The Commission has 26 members, including representatives from the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs; Executive Office of Elder Affairs; Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development; Massachusetts Department for Public Health; LGBT Aging Project; Fenway Health; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; New England Association of HIV Over Fifty; MassEquality; Mass Home Care; AARP of Massachusetts; Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging; Massachusetts Senior Care Association; and Home Care Aide Council.

“Many older LGBT people have faced numerous incidents of discrimination throughout their lives,” said Rep. James O’Day, co-chair of the Commission. “They have every right to a future of dignity and

“ Many older LGBT people have faced numerous incidents of discrimination throughout their lives. They have every right to a future of dignity and safety, and the LGBT Aging Commission is working to facilitate that process” Rep. James O’Day co-chair of the Mass. Special Legislative Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Aging

safety, and the LGBT Aging Commission is working to facilitate that process.”

To learn about the needs of the elderly and aging LGBT population in Massachusetts, the Commission held hearings in Boston, Orleans, Worcester, and Holyoke to collect testimony from LGBT older adults, and the community groups that serve them. The Commission also solicited written comments from the public.

“Polling data indicate that older adults are more likely to morally disapprove of homosexuality. At the same time LGBT elders may be more in need of senior services, including formal caregiving support,” said Sean Cahill, Director of Health

Policy Research at The Fenway Institute of Fenway Health, and a member of the Commission. “We recommend cultural competency training of elder service providers to ensure that LGBT elders can fully access the supports they need in retirement.”

In addition to training, the Commission issued recommendations in five major areas: long-term support services; housing; public health; senior centers and community engagement; and legal considerations.

Specifically, the Commission recommended: 1. Training for all providers on the elder care continuum—from health care professionals to Probate Court personnel—in the provision of nondiscriminatory, affirming care for LGBT older adults; 2. Collection of data on sexual orientation and gender identity to quantify, understand and address any disparities that LGBT older adults experience compared with their heterosexual and non-transgender peers; 3. Increased outreach targeting LGBT older adults to ensure they are accessing services to which they are entitled, such as Veteran’s Administration services; and 4. Designating an LGBT ombudsperson within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to ensure the integration of LGBT concerns into the Commonwealth’s aging and human services networks and to advocate for LGBT older adults experiencing barriers to services.

“This comprehensive report addresses the ways in which state government and its funded entities can ensure that LGBT older adults are treated with dignity and respect,” said Lisa Krinsky, Executive Director of The Aging Project and a member of the Commission. [x]

SEASONAL Icon STORY Scott Kearnan Sandra Bernhard PHOTO Kevin Thomas Garcia

38 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Feel the Bernhard The pioneering performer headlines Winder Rendezvous, New England’s annual gay ski weekend She’s brash. She’s bold. She’s Sandra Bernhard, bitch.

For the last forty years, Bernhard has been blazing trails. She was early among female comedians to work the type of bombastic, expletive-laden sets more associated with men. She was among the first modern mainstream entertainers to publicly acknowledge her bisexuality.

And she has inhabited some revolutionary roles: As Nancy Bartlett on “Roseanne,” she portrayed the first series-regular lesbian character in sitcom history.

But this winter she’ll be blazing ski trails.

Bernhard (currently touring her new onewoman show “#Blessed”) will headline Winter Rendezvous—an annual gay ski week taking over Stowe, Vermont from January 20—24, 2016. Expect “#Blessed” to feature her usual mix of storytelling, observational humor, incisive cultural critique—and of course, music.

On that note (pun intended), don’t expect Bernhard to turn down the volume on her outspoken nature. Sure, the New Yorker is now a mom, raising a teenage daughter with her longtime girlfriend. But she’s still working hard: She recently wrapped a recurring role on the hit sitcom “2 Broke Girls,” and was just recruited for her own radio show, “Sandyland,” on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM channel Radio Andy. And she’s still ruffling a few feathers. (For instance, Bernhard’s critique of Caitlyn Jenner on a recent episode of Cohen’s Bravo show, “Watch What Happens Live,” earned backlash from some corners of the trans community.)

Naturally, Bernhard didn’t hold back during a chat with “Boston Spirit.” We

picked her brain on everything from celebrity culture to social media, antigay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis to gay icon (and former bestie) Madonna. And her perspectives—love them or leave them—remain as ribald, sophisticated and nuanced as ever.

Speak, Sandy.

This summer you were the grand marshal at Provincetown’s Carnival parade.

As someone who has been working the circuit for years: when you visit gay destinations like P-Town now, how have they most changed compared to the earlier days of your career?

Well, every place is much more mixed than it used to be. With the whole advent of gay marriage and people quote-unquote “settling down,” you see less of the party atmosphere. The free spirited nature of the gay scene is still there, but with recognition and acceptance comes a little less edge. And that to me, of course, is bittersweet. That made it fun! It made it exclusive.

And now you’re back in New England for Winter Rendezvous. Will we see you on the slopes?

I actually don’t even ski! I tried it once many years ago. I had a bad cold and I was not having it. Maybe I’d try again under the right circumstances. But I do love the beauty of Vermont. It’s spectacular.

Tell us about the name of your new show, “#Blessed.” That hashtag has certainly been a popular one on social media. Why did you name it that?

It was in response to everyone using that hashtag. There’s been this ridiculous thing in the past year and a half of people listing

all the things they’re grateful for and then putting that hashtag in front of it. What does that even mean? Are you going to be trending now because you’re grateful? Do the twenty people who follow you really care? Are they going to run around yelling, “Oh my god, Joey is so hashtaggrateful and hashtag-blessed!” Everyone is running around hoping that everyone notices how excited and happy and sad and sincere they are. You know, you could just go call your friend and say, “Hi, I feel really good today.” You know, like we used to. All this acknowledgment of strangers is bad enough for people who have to have it, for people like me: You have to make people aware of yourself by saying “Hey, please spend fifty dollars on a ticket for my show.” But for normal people? If I wasn’t in the business I wouldn’t be on social media. I’d call my friends like I always do.

Do I need to announce to 500 people that I don’t know that I just watched “Empire”?

Who fucking cares?

And it’s so different than how fame used to be. It used to be that famous people felt inaccessible—now they have to share their every Starbucks order.

Exactly. I try to maintain a healthy distance. It’s too exhausting. It’s too much.

There are too many layers of talk. When you dig down into the tweets, it’s like archaeological digs of cities built upon cities. That’s how the conversations all feel: like a dig.

[SB] What does make you feel #blessed?

[SPIRIT] Just coming home at the end of a day of work, back to my family and my life. Cooking a fabulous meal. Having friends over. Going for a walk when the weather is changing. The really simple things bring the most satisfaction.

NOV|DEC 2015 | 39

[SPIRIT] What kind of ground do you cover in the show?

[SB] Mostly my show is about personal relationships and the people I meet along the way: these crazy little stories. It’s small, it’s layered, and it’s fun things that people want to hear about from someone they like. It’s all about weaving stories in and out in a compelling way. And of course it’s musical. I sing with a band—to Vermont I may just bring up someone on piano—as I grew up on musicals and variety shows like “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Sonny & Cher.” There’s always some musical element to me.

[SPIRIT] With so much going on in the political

realm, I have to get your take on that too.

What do you think about Donald Trump?

[SB] He’s a narcissist. He’s someone who knows how to get endless amounts of attention. The Republican Party has gotten itself so mired into this message of “we’re not giving in, we’re going to combat reproductive rights, and we’re going to go down as the righteous ones.”

And he’s coming in and shaking the whole thing up, which is fantastic. It’s brilliant. We’ll see how far he goes with it.

“ It’s hard to believe that suddenly one day you can go from being this hard ass Republican white man and then the next day it’s “I’m sensitive!”

Sandra Bernhard In reference to Caitlyn Jenner

[SPIRIT] He’s outspoken, unapologetic and politically incorrect. Reminds me of someone else I know! So—what would a Sandra Bernhard presidency look like?

[SB] I’d raise taxes on the wealthy. I’d

initiate programs for the poor around education and housing. I’d work on legislation to change the pharmaceutical industry and enhance alternative energy.

I’d fully fund Planned Parenthood and ensure reproductive rights and equal pay for women. I’d be reaching out

where

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across the globe, educating myself and enhancing international diplomacy.

I’d do a million other things.

[SPIRIT] It just occurred to me: Roseanne ran for president in 2012. Are you still in touch?

What did you think of her campaign?

[SB] We are! I went to see a screening

of a documentary that she did about the whole presidential race. It was very good. I think Roseanne is brilliant, and if she was serious about it and had the wherewithal to stick to it, she could be president. But I don’t think she wants to really do that.

[SPIRIT] What is it like doing your “Sandyland” radio show on SiriusXM? I imagine it must be a very different experience to not have the energy of an audience right in front of you.

[SB] It’s very difficult! You’re working

in a vacuum and you don’t know what the audience is thinking. I mean I don’t even know how many people listen to Sirius Radio. I don’t have Sirius Radio.

They gave it to me on this app, but it’s not something I would subscribe to. I think the Andy Cohen channel is great because people know Andy and they love him—and me—and I think it’s fun. But other than a few people whose names you know, how many other people do you want to listen to? I like local radio. I want to know what’s going on. Something like NPR is more my headspace. But I’m trying it out. I’m signed for a year and we’ll see how it goes!

that we live in. I can’t second-guess myself. People know where I’ve stood for the last forty years as a feminist, as a gay rights activist, as a woman and as a mother. It’s sort of like, I don’t feel like I need to defend myself. I walk the walk, I’m not just talking the talk.

[SPIRIT] But there was some backlash after you were on “Watch What Happens Live,” when you were critical of Caitlyn Jenner. How do you respond to that?

[Note: When Cohen asked Bernhard if she was “Team Caitlyn,” she responded that “Bruce Jenner was a sexist, golf-playing bore. Suddenly he becomes a woman and everybody’s like, ‘Oh he’s so moving and he’s so emotional.’ It’s like, ‘Sorry, no.’ You have to earn your right to be a woman.”]

[SB] It’s not a reflection on the transgender movement. I was talking about a specific person. And when you talk about Caitlyn Jenner—six months ago he was [SPIRIT] On one hand, you don’t know what your audience is thinking in that moment. But with Bruce Jenner. For a long time he was social media, people can offer their opinions— a Republican. He was a white man, a and criticisms—directly and with the tap of a privileged white man, an athlete and on screen. Does that change the way you work?

TV as part of this circus side show. Then [SB] That’s the chance you take, that somehow overnight he transformed into you could be misconstrued in this overly this sensitive woman? I don’t believe it. sensitive, politically correct world It’s not as if this was someone who was Gardner12-10-12R2_Gardnr_Dec2012R2 12/11/12 2:15 PM Page 1

working their way through this who was a liberal person, a thinking person, which is someone I equate with gender fluidity: someone who says, “we want the best for everyone, we want freedom for everyone—for women, for the poor.” You know, all the things liberal people think about. It’s hard to believe that suddenly one day you can go from being this hard ass Republican white man and then the next day it’s “I’m sensitive!” Look, I’m just posing this as a question, and everyone should be able to have that conversation.

[SPIRIT] When people come out as gay or trans, something you often hear them say to others is, “I’m still the same person inside that I was before.” I suppose that cuts both ways.

[SB] Right. I didn’t like Bruce Jenner, and I don’t particularly like Caitlyn that much. Man, woman, or intergalactic space queen, I don’t care. That’s not the type of person I like and respect.

[SPIRIT] As trans issues become more widely discussed, there’s also an academic conversation about whether certain aspects of transitioning

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reinforce gender roles and binaries that the LGBT community has long worked to challenge. What are your thoughts on that?

[SB] I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this active volcano that is the transgender issue. I can’t say that I’m completely clear about it and I’m not sure what I want to say to people about it except that it’s everyone’s personal decision. When I was first in the gay scene there were butch women, drag queens, butch guys, feminine guys, feminine lesbians, and so on. It’s still like that, and now if you want to take it all the way you can do that. It’s an issue that is very political. It’s very highly charged.

It’s something that I noticed now you can’t

have a casual conversation about. It’s not something I fully understand, honestly, and I don’t fully relate to it—therefore I’m not a spokesperson for it. I can’t put myself in the middle of this super-sensitive issue so I’m choosing to not comment on it other than to say that I’ve always been a spokesperson for people being who they are. I’ve always stood up and said, “I don’t care who you are: if you’re groovy and on my vibe and we can talk and have fun, you’re alright with me. If you’re serious and a bummer, then I don’t give a fuck if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, I’m not interested.” That’s my criteria.

I don’t want to be part of this didactic

Winter Rendezvous 2016 Ready to hit the slopes with your nearest and queerest? Annual gay ski week Winter Rendezvous is coming up from January 20—24, 2016. Besides carving up the mountains at Stowe Mountain Resort—alongside other outdoor activities like snow shoeing and sleigh rides—you’ll find plenty of fun that non-skiers will enjoy just as much.

Highlights of course include headline performer Sandra Bernhard, who will bring her show “#Blessed” to the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe, Vermont. (Tickets are included in a full pass.) But you’ll also find après ski dance parties at area bars: from the opening party featuring Girls On Girls, a tribute band performing hits from fierce females from Debbie Harry to Katie Perry, to a Pool Party with DJ Harrison. Plus there’s a champagne-soaked bonfire night, ice carving competition and more.

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42 | BOSTON SPIRIT

conversation. I already got dragged into that whole fucking thing in the late ‘80s when everyone was coming out and everyone had to come out, and I was like, “I don’t need to come out. Sometimes I’m liking a man and sometimes I’m liking a woman. I’m whatever, man. Call me bisexual.” I was branded and tortured by that whole young gay scene of the late ‘80s.

“Out” magazine shunned me. So this has been happening to me since the beginning of my fucking career because I’ve never jumped on the fucking bandwagon. I’ve been an individual. I like people who I like.

And I highly recommend being who you

are, but don’t expect everyone to jump on your fucking bandwagon to make you feel okay about it. That’s bullshit. [x] [SPIRIT] It seems like, especially in this social media age, it’s becoming harder to have casual conversations about a lot of issues. There’s a mentality of “you’re with us or against us” on many fronts. If a person doesn’t share a certain opinion on one particular thing, then—depending on the issue at hand—they’re immediately branded as sexist, or racist, or homophobic, or transphobic. We’ve gotten away from nuance.

[SB] Yes. Nuance is a word we need to get back into the lexicon. If you can’t have a measured, intelligent and nuanced conversation, then don’t start one up. And if you’re absolutely, 100-percent sure of your point of view, go have at it. But don’t engage with people who are interested in variables. And get off my fucking back.

[SPIRIT] And now, a lightning round: I typed the

word “gay” into Google News and grabbed for your feedback the first three issues to pop up.

Number one: the movie “Stonewall.” What do you think about the feedback that it doesn’t reflect the historic roles of trans people of color?

[SB] Well if they whitewashed it and it doesn’t really reflect what happens, then people should be upset about it.

With Stonewall you can look at the pictures, you can read about it, and it was a very specific situation. Why make the movie about a fictionalized person?

[SPIRIT] Number two: Kim Davis just switched her registered political affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Thoughts?

[SB]I’m curious now why she was a Democrat to begin with. She must have embraced these issues that Republicans don’t. But if she wants to turn her back now on all the things that benefit her as a woman, like reproductive rights, then so be it. By all means, go to the party that will make sure you don’t make the same amount of money or won’t let you control your own destiny. Congratulations.

[SPIRIT] Number three: Madonna. She’s now on

tour, and there has been a lot of conversation about whether she gets flack as a result of ageism and sexism. What do you think about how we view sexual female entertainers as they age?

[SPIRIT] I think it depends on what you’re

putting out there. If people love you, they love you. If you want to continue to be a quote-unquote “sex symbol,” that may change along the way. As a performer and

as a woman your body changes, your face changes, you get a little less interested in hiking up the tits. I don’t know, I still think I’m sexy and I think a lot of older women are sexy—but I don’t think I’m hanging my hat on that, and I don’t think that anybody should. Look at someone like Chrissie Hynde. She’s 64 years old. She’s real and tough and talented, as she always was, but she’s not selling sex—she’s selling her voice. And at whatever juncture I’m at in my life, I’m selling my point of view, my comedy, my sense of fun. It’s your decision.

[SB] It seems like people always still want

to talk about your very public friendship with Madonna. Why is that?

[SPIRIT] Because it was fun and it was

real! And it happened during a time when people weren’t becoming friends because it was good for their career.

Yes, there’s always that element and all through the years celebrities have hammed it up around each other. But it’s fun to see celebrities show they’re smart and fun and cutting edge, cutting it up and sharing these crazy things. It’s electrifying. And so of course people still talk about it. It’s too bad it changed. [x]

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EXPECT THE

UNEXPECTED Insurance company ads remind us daily that at any moment a piano may be poised above our heads, ready to fall.

LISA CUKIER, Partner JORDAN BOWNE, Associate While animated characters bounce right back from falling off a cliff, in real life catastrophic events or unexpected health issues can result in what’s called a “loss of capacity,” an inability to receive and evaluate information or to make and communicate your personal medical and financial decisions. A loss of capacity can be suddren or gradual, temporary or permanent.

Everything from a traumatic brain injury to an untreated mental or physical illness can result in a person becoming temporarily or permanently incapacitated in the eyes of the law.

This can be just as traumatic for your family and loved ones if basic planning steps have not been taken in advance.

Two simple documents can help prepare for the unforeseen.

PLAN WHILE YOU CAN A Health Care Proxy (HCP) and Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) can provide personal protection and peace of mind if you were ever to become incapacitated.

A HCP provides for the appointment of a trusted health care agent to make medical decisions on your behalf.

You can name a spouse, partner or family member as your agent. Be sure this is someone who is levelheaded, trustworthy and knows you

well, because your they will make healthcare decisions based on what they think you would choose.

Make this easier by taking the time to write down your preferences about major medical decisions. If that piano really does fall on your head, your agent may have to, for example, decide whether to give consent for an invasive surgical procedure. No matter how well you think they know you, it is best to put your preferences in writing.

While your health is being taken care of by your health care agent, a DPOA allows you to nominate an “attorney in fact” or agent to manage and protect your money, property and business affairs. This person can make financial and legal decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity.

Although this agent is termed “attorney in fact,” your chosen DPOA does not need to be an attorney, and does not have to be the same person you nominate in the HCP. A DPOA can provide general or limited powers to the attorney in fact based on your preferences. As with your HCP, nominate a trusted spouse, partner or family member.

For both HCPs and DPOAs, consider nominating a successor agent in case the primary agent is unwilling

or unable to fill their role. Between now and when you may need them to make decisions on your behalf, they may have experienced their own unexpected personal or physical challenge. So, as always, plan for the unforeseen.

TURF WARS BETWEEN YOUR NOMINEES AND COURT APPOINTEES Under normal circumstances, a validly executed HCP and DPOA can take effect without court intervention.

Every once in a while the court may become involved with issues that arise after your incapacity and could result in the court appointment of a guardian and/or conservator. A guardian is appointed by the Probate and Family Court to make personal and medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person while a conservator is appointed to make financial and legal decisions. Here are a few examples of when court intervention may occur despite a HCP and DPOA: • An individual or entity, including a treatment facility, is seeking to challenge the validity of the HCP or DPOA or the suitability of the nominated agent.

Massachusetts is known for being on the cutting edge when it comes to p

• There is a need for additional authority above what is provided to the HCP or DPOA. • The agents under the HCP and DPOA are different people, and one (or both) is looking to consolidate decision-making authority in one person.

Guardianship and conservatorship can be costly, both financially and emotionally. A well-drafted HCP and DPOA can diminish the need for a guardian and conservator, but there are situations in which the court may still need to appoint a guardian or conservator. It’s important to know who trumps whom in decisionmaking authority.

Based on their respective responsibilities, the guardian and health care agent under a HCP are interconnected, as are the conservator and attorney in fact under a DPOA. The law in Massachusetts regarding the relationship of the guardian and health care agent changed recently.

The HCP now trumps the guardian so long as the court decree for guardianship does not expressly revoke the HCP’s authority. In that case, the health care agent controls the health care-related decisions and the guardian controls all other personal decisions.

With respect to financial decisionmaking authority, a conservator can trump the attorney in fact appointed under a DPOA. Although the attorney in fact is accountable to the conservator, the conservator bears ultimate responsibility for the protected person’s assets. Given this

Packing your trusty Heath Care Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney won’t weigh down your suitcase, but it will give you peace of mind. interplay between the two roles, a conservator would be wise to revoke any and all outstanding DPOAs or else he or she may risk exposure to liability for failing to safeguard assets to which the attorney in fact has access.

The new law also provides some insight into tips for drafting DPOAs. The relevant statute says that if a competent individual signs a DPOA nominating a person as guardian, said nomination shall control and the court shall appoint the nominated person as guardian unless there is a reason for disqualification. Meanwhile, a nomination of a conservator in a valid DPOA is accorded some weight, though the court is still required to make an independent decision for the appointment of conservator.

attorney in fact, and pack a copy of the documents to bring with you on your adventures.

While there’s no guarantee that another jurisdiction would honor your HCP and DPOA, these documents can help to establish the framework of your wishes in the event you become incapacitated while away from home.

In many jurisdictions, the default to priority on these issues is your family, however defined. Without documents in hand, it is possible that a longtime partner nominated in your HCP and DPOA may lose out on priority to a family member to make decisions on your behalf. Unfortunately, that relative may not have the same understanding of your wishes.

TRAVEL TIPS

Despite what the insurance companies

Cliff jumping may sound like a terrific idea after a few fruity drinks, but there’s always a chance it might not end the way you expect. Considering the ever-changing landscape of LGBT legal status within the United States and abroad, it is important to always be prepared. If you were to become incapacitated outside of Massachusetts, you would still want your wishes to be honored. Keep your original HCP and DCOA in a safe place that you have disclosed to your would-be health care agent and

a piano above your head. An attorney

say, you do not have to live in fear of with knowledge of these issues can assist in drafting your legal documents to reflect your relationship to your nominees in a HCP and DPOA. This way, there is a better chance that the nominee will have priority as your decision-making agent in the event of your incapacity outside of Massachusetts. Be sure to address these potential issues with an attorney when discussing your HCP and DPOA needs.

This communication provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney advertising.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. © 2015 Burns & Levinson LLP. All rights reserved.

Burns & Levinson is a Boston-based law firm with more than 125 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.

burnslev.com l 617.345.3000 MASSACHUSETTS l NEW YORK l RHODE ISLAND

protecting employees,

Our LGBT Group: Lisa Cukier l Scott Moskol l Deborah Peckham l Laura Studen l Donald Vaughan l Ellen Zucker

SEASONAL Fashion PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART DIRECTION Joel Benjamin

Holiday,

Celebrate It would be so nice

[ABOVE-LEFT] Red silk jacket “Sana” by designer NIRVA $500, black dress “Victoria Beckham” from Barney’s $2650, earrings from J.Crew, black shoes and ring from stylist.

[ABOVE-RIGHT] White wave top “Alessa” by designer Graciela Rivas $231, white skirt by designer Graciela Rivas (price upon request) gold necklaces “Kenneth Cole” from Lord & Taylor

$42 & $52, Gold shoes by Jimmy Choo.

[O PPOSITE] Red dress “Knzma” by designer NIRVA $825, antique hair accessory from stylist.

[ABOVE] Burgundy sweater from Urban Outfitters $69, grey shirt from Urban Outfitters $49, plaid hat from Macy’s $50.

[OPPOSITE-LEFT] Black peacoat "Vince" from Nordstrom $ 795, grey plaid pants UniQlo $39.90, black boots "St. Laurent" from TJMaxx $350.

[OPPOSITE-MIDDLE] Crop burgundy sweater From Urban outfitters $59, black pleated leather skirt from JCrew $128, sparkle flat shoes from JCrew $148, ear muffs from Brooks Brothers $168, scarf wrapped around hand from Brooks Brothers $48,

[OPPOSITE-RIGHT] Grey vest from Macy’s $59, grey sweater “Ralph Lauren” from Macy’s $165, pants “Dries Van Noten” from Barney’s $650.

[ABOVE] Navy blazer by “Giorgio Armani” from Nordstrom $1095, white shirt by “Bugatchi” from Nordstrom $149, burgundy pants by “Adriano Goldschmied” from Nordstrom $168, pocket square and belt (stylist owned), microphone prop by Mari Quir.

[LEFT-TOP] White top “Camilla” by designer Graciela Rivas $230, necklace “Kate Spade” from TJMaxx $150, ring from TJMaxx $50.

[LEFT-MIDDLE] Black boots with crystal detail on

heel by "Dior" from Nordstrom $1770, crystal clutch by "Edie Parker" from Neiman Marcus $995.

[LEFT-BOTTOM] Burgundy shoes by "Manolo Blahnik" from Barney's $965.

[OPPOSITE] Cream cape "Arman" by designer NIRVA $620, bustier from Victoria Secret $98, cream pants from White House/Black Market $98, shoes from WH/BM $130, belt from WH/BM $48.

[ABOVE-LEFT] Grey plaid jacket “Kenneth Cole” from Macy’s $295, dark grey vest from Macy’s $59, dress shirt from Macy’s $69.50, cream corduroy pants from Macy’s $39.50, shoes from Lord and Taylor $135.

[ABOVE-RIGHT] Grey coat from Express $278, black scarf from Banana Republic $59.50, red plaid shirt “Saint Laurent” from Barney’s $690, black leather pants from TJMaxx $150, boots from Lord & Taylor $62.99.

[OPPOSITE] Grey coat by “Moncler” from Nordstrom $1595, grey sweater Banana Republic $ 98.50, dress shirt Lord & Taylor $59.50, grey pants Banana Republic $120.

[ABOVE] Coat by "Balenciaga" from Barney's $2225, gold tank "Alekana" by designer NIRVA $160, gold skirt from Nordstrom $198, gold purse by "Valentino" from Barney's $ 3795, ring from stylist.

[OPPOSITE] Grey coat from Free The People $268, Victoria Secret slip $49.50, scarf from Free The People $49.90, boots by Michael Kors $300, necklace from Anthropologie $64.

[ABOVE] “Elava” dress by designer NIRVA $924, crystal cuff earring from Lord & Taylor $18, stainless steal martini glass sets from Target $20 [OPPOSITE] Dress by "Herve Leger" from Nordstrom $2090, shoes by "Jimmy Choo" from Nordstrom $1550, earrings by "Melanie Auld" from Nordstrom $98.

[SOURCES] Nordstrom, Natick Mall, Natick, MA

| Barneys, Copley Place, Boston | Neiman Marcus, Natick Mall, Natick, MA | Anthropologie, Natick Mall,Natick, MA | J.Crew, Copley Place, Boston | TJMaxx, Boston | Victoria Secret, Burlington Mall, Burlington, MA | Lord and Taylor, Burlington Mall, Burlington, MA | Macy’s, Burlington Mall, Burlington, MA | Designer Graciela Rivas available at www.nineteenthamendment.com | Designer NIRVA available at www.nirva.com

[STYLING] Rina Patsiokostas and Tina Patsiokostas, for Team, Inc. [HAIR] Yojanse Jimenez, for Team, Inc. [MAKEUP] Mariolga using Define: Beauty Cosmetics,

www.db-cosmetics.com or www.mariolga.com

[PROPS] Mari Quirk, [ASSISTANT] Dan Norman [MODELS] Fanta, Jacqueline Cassidy, Riana,

Miles Whelan, Nicholas Blenis, for Maggie, Inc.

[ANIMAL MODELS] Bella and Logan

CULTURE Musical STORY Loren King

You can create a legacy for a world without cancer.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is proud to be recognized again as a 2014 Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Include Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund in your estate plans and support cutting-edge research and compassionate care for all patients.

Holiday in Maine Qgunquit Playhouse and Music Hall team up for ‘White Christmas’

Dana-Farber patient Meg and her nurse practitioner, Jennifer McKenna, RN, MS, AOCNP

INVEST IN TOMORROW’S CURES TODAY Learn more: Alice Tobin Zaff, Assistant Vice President, Gift Planning 800-535-5577 • alice_zaff@dfci.harvard.edu

Dana-Farber.org/spirit

58 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Ogunquit, that summer playground, is known for its venerable summer theater which for decades has drawn audiences from far and wide.

2015 marked both the 83rd season of the Ogunquit Playhouse and executive artistic director Bradford Kenney’s 10th anniversary season. Fittingly, the Playhouse’s season, under Kenney’s tenure, has extended further into the fall year after year, making it a true regional theatre and providing off-season entertainment for eager audiences.

Last year, the Playhouse season extended to the end of October, then offered an added bonus: “Mary Poppins,” staged by the Ogunquit Playhouse, at Portsmouth New Hampshire’s historic Music Hall in December. 2014

Those two iconic institutions—the Music Hall, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, and the Ogunquit Playhouse which has been producing full-scale musicals since the early ‘30s—will partner for the second time when the Playhouse presents Irving Berlin’s classic “White Christmas,” based on the 1954 film, at the Music Hall December 9 to 20.

The Ogunquit Playhouse has pursued the rights to “White Christmas” for six or seven years, says Kenney. But with a three-season building (although upgrades are on the horizon), staging the elaborate show at the Music Hall, a 900 seat jewel in historic Portsmouth, made the most sense especially after the “Mary Poppins” collaboration

Provincetown

went so well, drawing crowds to the “Dickensian” cobblestone streets and quaint shops of the seaside town that’s approximately 30 minutes from Boston.

For the benefit of anyone not familiar with the film, “White Christmas” was directed by Hollywood great Michael Curtiz and based on the 1942 film “Holiday Inn” that produced the famous tune, winner of the 1942 Oscar for best original song. “White Christmas” features Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as a pair of song-and-dance men and Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen as singing sisters.

The men follow the gals to a Vermont ski lodge where, stuck there for the holidays, they decide to put on a show.

The musical, with a book by David Ives and Paul Blake, departs from that plot a bit but all the songs that made the movie such a heartwarmer are intact: not just “White Christmas” (already a major hit, it was reprised in the movie) but also “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” “Sisters” and “Count Your Blessings.”

Kenney has already secured the Broadway costumes and elaborate scenery and cast the show out of New York.

Ogunquit Playhouse favorite Joey Sorge, who starred in this past summer’s hit “Nice Work if You Can Get It” leads the cast in the Bing Crosby role. Sorge’s Broadway credits include “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying,” “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and Young Buddy in the 2001 revival of “Follies.”

Besides “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Sorge performed at the Ogunquit Playhouse in “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

Kenney expects the show to have broad appeal and that includes LGBT audiences.

After all, it’s based on a classic musical, boasts gorgeous costumes, and features 17 Irving Berlin songs, many now part of the American songbook. Randy Skinner (“42nd Street”) will recreate his choreography from the original Broadway production including a large scale tap dancing number set to “I Love a Piano.” Kenney adds that the show isn’t just stopping into the Music Hall on a tour; it’s being staged specifically for this production. It will also be a very different experience to see “White Christmas” in an intimate, historical venue rather than, say, the 2000-seat Wang Center where the show has played many times since 2005 when it premiered there prior to opening on Broadway.

Collaborating on “Mary Poppins” may sealed a successful partnership, but it wasn’t the first time that the Music Hall and the Ogunquit Playhouse teamed up, notes Kenney.

When Playhouse founder Walter Hartwig died in 1941, his widow Maude stepped in to carry on his legacy. As America entered World War II, many summer theaters shuttered. Maude elected to produce shows at the Music Hall during the winter of 1942 so that audiences could see Ogunquit Playhouse productions despite the gas rationing that restricted travel. If you go high into the rafters at the Music Hall, says Kenney, there’s a dated notation about the series on a wall.

History has a way of repeating, especially when people just want to put on a good show. [x]

www.ogunquitplayhouse.org

Provincetown, America’s First Destination… for the Holidays!

Thanksgiving Weekend November 25-29 Pilgrim Monument Lighting November 25 Lobster Pot Tree Lighting November 28 Holly Folly December 4-6 First Light Provincetown, NYE Weekend December 30-January 3

First Light Provincetown “A first annual festival surrounding new Year’s weekend.”

Polar Bear Plunge new Years Day. Fireworks at dusk January 2nd. Join the fun!

Provincetown, America’s First Destination

iPtown

Ptown.org/new-years-in-Provincetown

SEASONAL Getaways COMPILED Rob Phelps PHOTOS courtesy Provincetown Business Guild

SEASON’S GREETINGS

from Provincetown

Pilgrim Monument & Lobster Trap Lightings 105th Annual Lighting of the Pilgrim Monument: Wednesday, November 25, 5 to 7 p.m., on the grounds of the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum.

The whole town comes out to throw the switch and light up the winter sky with more than 3,100 lights rising 350 feet above the harbor.

11th Annual Lighting of the Lobster Pot Tree: Saturday, November 28, 6 p.m., at Lopes Square. Local Created by Provincetown artist Julian Popko, more than 100 lobster traps are lit with more than 1,000 lights.

Holly Folly A great place to start once you pull into town is Holly Folly Headquarters, located at the Way Downtown Restaurant, 265 Commercial Street (across from Town Hall). Pick up your Holly Folly program with its list of participating Holly Folly Shop Hop merchants and restaurants. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Snuggling up beside a guesthouse fireplace after a seaside stroll has got to be one of the most romantic wintertime pleasures New England has to offer From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, Provincetown dusts the frost off its welcome mats and bids day-trippers and weekenders to come celebrate the season by the shore—and not just for cozy getaways.

The Provincetown Business Guild helped Boston Spirit magazine put together a list of the town’s holiday happenings. Be sure to check out their website (ptown.org) to find out where to book your accommodations and make reservations at your favorite restaurants.

Here’s what’s to do:

Shop Hop: Friday, December 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get your holiday shopping done with a chance to win one of five prize baskets.

Save receipts from the participating stores, galleries, and restaurants and take them to Holly Folly Headquarters, where your receipts get tallied and entered into a raffle to win a prize basket.

Sing-A-Long with Billy Hough: Friday, December 4, 11 a.m. to 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Porchside Bar, Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street.

“Another Christmas with the Calamari Sister”: Friday, December 4, 8 p.m., at Sage Inn & Lounge, 336 Commercial Street.

“Tis the Season for Giving,”: Friday, December 4, 9 p.m., at the Paramount in

60 | BOSTON SPIRIT

the Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street. A benefit for the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, this years’ event boasts more raffle items than ever and amazing performances from some of Provincetown’s most talented entertainers. A suggested donation of $10 is taken at the door.

Official Welcome Party For Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: Friday, December 4, 9 p.m. to closing, at the Shipwreck Lounge at The Brass Key, 8 Carver Street. Complimentary Snacks.

Retro Dance Party: Friday, December 4, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (dancing starts at 10:30 p.m.), at Club Purgatory, Gifford House, 9 Carver Street.

Trampolina is Provincetown Holly Folly’s hostess with the mostest.

The Snow Ball at the A House: Friday, December 4, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., at 4-6 Masonic Place. Hosted by Provincetown’s queen of drag Thirsty Burlington and featuring music by resident deejay David LaSalle.

Shop Hop: Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Jingle Bell Run and Barefoot Champagne Brunch: Saturday, December 5, 9:30-11:30 a.m., from Fanizzi’s Restaurant, 539 Commercial Street, to the Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street. Proceeds go to the Cape Cod EMS and Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund. Bathing suits are required (excluding thongs) with holiday colors preferred. Register in advance at (508) 487-2313 or ptown.org. A minimum of $200 is the suggested pledge and the entry fee is $55.

Non-runners can join in the fun at the Barefoot Champagne Brunch, following the main event, at the Crown & Anchor.

Gingerbread House Decorating Competition: Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Way Downtown 265 Commercial Street. Six teams of two decorators register at Holly Folly Headquarters. On decoration day, each team gets a prebuilt gingerbread house, icing, and a piping bag. The winner receives a holiday gift basket valued at over $150.

Provincetown’s annual Jingle Bell Run raises funds for the Cape Cod EMS and Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund. Formerly called the Santa Speedo fun run, bathing suits are still required to be worn by all runners.

The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus is always the centerpiece event at Provincetown’s annual Holly Folly weekend.

Souper Saturday: Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Tin Pan Alley 290 Commercial Street. A variety of soups will be available from many local restaurants at $5 a bowl. Proceeds go to the Soup Kitchen In Provincetown.

NOV|DEC 2015 | 61

Holly Folly Food Boutique: Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sage Inn at 336 Commercial Street. The second annual Food Fair event featuring local producers of specialty food.

Provincetown Art Association & Museum Open House: Saturday, December 5, 1-3 p.m., at the Museum, 460 Commercial Street.

You’ll find unusual and creative gifts for the art-lovers in your life, as well as reasonably priced original artwork by art association members.

Also on view: “A Story About Flying,” an exhibition created by Chatham Elementary School students, and “Painting a Building, Building a Painting: The Art of Susan Baker.”

The Pilgrim Monument celebrates its 105th annual lighting. Made of more than 100 lobster traps donated from local lobstermen, Provincetown’s lobster pot tree, celebrates its 11th annual lighting Thanksgiving Weekend. PHOTO Courtesy Provincetown Banner

There’s something fun to do every which way at Provincetown’s Holly Folly.

Holly Folly Inn Stroll: Saturday, December 5, 2-4 p.m. Enjoy light refreshments and fabulous decorations as the following inns open their doors for some holiday cheer. Participating inns include Aerie House & Beach Club, Anchor Inn Beach House, Crowne Pointe Historic Inn & Spa, Gifford House, Lands End Inn, Roux Inn, Sage Inn & Lounge, Somerset House Inn, Watership Inn and White Wind Inn. Holiday Drag Bingo: Saturday, December 5, 3:30-5 p.m., at the Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street. Proceeds benefit the Cape and Islands division of PFLAG and the Provincetown Business Guild.

“Another Christmas with the Calamari Sisters”: Saturday, December 5, 6 and 9 p.m., at the Sage Inn & Lounge, 336 Commercial St. Sing-A-Long with Billy Hough: Saturday, December 5, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Porchside Bar, Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street.

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: Saturday, December 5, 8:30 p.m., at Town Hall, 260 Commercial Street.

Tickets are $27. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Provincetown AIDS Memorial.

Retro Dance Party: Saturday, December 5, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (dancing starts at 10:30 p.m.), at Club Purgatory at The Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street.

Holiday Moet Chandon Champagne Drag Brunch: Sunday, December 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Bayside Betsy’s, 177 Commercial Street. A $10 reservation fee benefits the Provincetown AIDS Memorial.

Shop Hop: Sunday, December 6, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Another Christmas with the Calamari Sisters”: Sunday, December 6, 2 p.m., at the Sage Inn & Lounge, 336 Commercial St. Gregg’s Cookie Party: Sunday, December 6, 5-8 p.m., at the Porchside Bar, Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street. Complimentary cookies and sweets, fabulous holiday decorations, fireplace, and cash bar.

Legendary local tradition to bring in the season.

Leather Dance Party: Sunday, December 6, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (dancing starts at 10:30 p.m.), Club Purgatory at The Gifford House Inn, 9 Carver Street.

Provincetown First Light For the first time in over 15 years, fireworks usher in the New Year with a bang on Saturday, January 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. Clubs and restaurants are open from Wednesday, Dec. 30, through Sunday, January. 3, with special performances by Miss Richfield 1981 and Dina Martina at Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street. For details, go to ptown.org and onlyatthecrown.com. [x]

CULTURE Theater STORY Loren King

The Clothes Make the Man Harvey Fierstein’s ‘Casa Valentina’ premieres at Speakeasy Stage Company The sensitive, often humorous portrait of a transgender woman on the Emmywinning cable series “Transparent”; the highly-anticipated period sheen of Eddie Redmayne as “The Danish Girl”; the tabloid voyeurism of “I Am Cait” —it might seem that contemporary entertainment has provided audiences with plenty of exposure to the nuances of gender nonconformity.

But alongside these big and small screen stories is a play that captures the heart and humanity of a subculture within a

subculture: “Case Valentina” by Harvey Fierstein. A 2014 Tony nominee for best play, “Casa Valentina” is having its New England premiere at Speakeasy Stage Company now to Nov. 28. Set at a resort in the Catskills circa 1962, “Casa Valentina” is about a place where transvestites, men who are mostly straight but like to dress as women, found family and a safe haven to express their feminine sides. It’s a return to the powerful and poignant playwriting of Fierstein’s groundbreaking “Torch Song Trilogy,” and a departure from his glitzy

Thomas Derrah in the leading role of George/Valentina in ‘Casa Valentina’

gay-themed musicals “La Cage aux Folles” and “Kinky Boots” as well as his own Tony Award-winning drag role in “Hairspray.”

“It’s a misunderstood community trying to find acceptance by the mainstream,” says Scott Edmiston who directs the Speakeasy production. “I saw ‘Casa Valentina’ in New York and expected more camp humor, but in structure it’s closer to [William] Inge and [Tennessee] Williams.

The topic itself is original and unexpected; I’ve never seen this story or these characters before. It’s fresh. It mixes politics with comedy and manages to find a relevance to issues we are confronting today but from the perspective of 1962.”

NOV|DEC 2015 | 63

“Casa Valentina” is based on an actual place: Chevalier d’Eon resort. also known as Casa Susanna, a remote bungalow camp in Hunter, N.Y. that was owned by Tito “Susanna” Valenti and Valenti’s wife, Marie, who ran a wig store on Fifth Avenue. It attracted scores of mostly straight men (sometimes accompanied by their wives) who sought a friendly place where they could escape the gender restrictions of the era and release the ordinary “girl within.” Since most of the men are straight and married, Fierstein’s play mines the ample comedy and drama in our attitudes about masculinity and femininity.

Edmiston says the play’s exploration of gender expression versus gender identity offers fertile ground for the actors and the audience. “Casa Valentina” is set in the “Mad Men” era of hyper-femininity when role models, besides the men’s mothers and wives, were First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Liz Taylor, Connie Francis or Doris Day. These men in their drag personas didn’t aim for the flamboyance of drag queens. “They wanted to dress as ordinary women and play Scrabble and have dinner in a normal environment,” says Edmiston.

Harvey Fierstein PHOTO Bruce Glikas Still, at that time, such a desire was transgressive and considered abnormal by nearly every strata of society. Open crossdressing could cost these men their jobs, marriages, friendships and social respectability.

The blurring of gender roles is one of the most intriguing aspects of the show; most of the actors will play both male characters and their female alter-egos.

“Casa Valentina” features the cream of the Boston acting crop. It is a solid ensemble piece, but the production is anchored by the renowned, award-winning Thomas Derrah in the leading role of George/Valentina, who presides over Casa Valentina with his wife, Rita, played by another Speakeasy favorite, Kerry A. Dowling.

The rest of the cast, playing guests at the resort, includes veteran actors Will McGarrahan, Sean McGuirk, Robert Saoud and newcomer Greg Maraio who plays Jonathon/Miranda, the “innocent” who arrives at Casa Valentina for the first time. In some ways, Maraio mirrors the young man eager to be accepted by the family of Casa Valentina.

“I loved the play. You expect it to be campy since it’s about men dressed as women in the ‘60s. But in the end, it’s not about men in dresses; it’s such a human experience,” he says. “Everyone has secrets and the play examines these characters and how they become this family.

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I understood Jonathon; it’s a cliche, but the character spoke to me. He’s the character the audience goes through the play with—and he gets some of the play’s best lines.”

Maraio does have history with Speakeasy: he appeared in last season’s hit “Necessary Monsters” by John Kuntz, appearing in the cast with Derrah who, says Maraio, became his mentor and close friend. Still, Maraio says he knew he was an underdog seeking a meaty role for a young man in a major play at Speakeasy. He prepared for his audition thoroughly and gave it his best shot.

“It’s intimidating to audition for a director like Scott Edmiston who’s so well respected. But Scott was so welcoming and inviting. [Speakeasy Artistic Director] Paul Daigneault was at the audition too, and they’re both such wonderful people.

“I just wanted to get my foot in the door so they could see me. I knew all I could do want my very best. Scott could not have been warmer and it went just the way I’d hoped,” he says.

A Boston native who lives with his husband Jared in Revere, Maraio is also

“ It’s intimidating to audition for a director like Scott Edmiston who’s so well respected. But Scott was so welcoming and inviting. Paul Daigneault was at the audition too, and they’re both such wonderful people.”

Greg Maraio known on the theater scene for his “day job” in costume design —he calls himself more of a “replicator”—a skill that he says allows him to pursue acting. He designed a lizard costume featured in an episode of “The New Girl” and a contributed pieces to a Star Trek costume exhibit. His sartorial smarts give him a unique perspective on the clothing that plays such an critical role in “Casa Valentina.”

Women of the Camelot era were restrained, metaphorically and literally,

by girdles and too-tight shoes and tons of hairspray. “It was a whole different aesthetic,” he says. [“Casa Valentina” costumer designer] Gail Astrid Buckley is brilliant and has worked on many period pieces but she’ll have her work cut out for her since many of the actors are too big to simply wear clothes off the rack.”

“Casa Valentina” pulls back the curtain on a fascinating and timely subject but, at its core, the play is “really about the characters who are vivid and larger than life,” says Edmiston.

The director’s long list of credits includes his recent acclaimed production of “My Fair Lady” at the Lyric Stage.

He’s adept at presenting other worlds, present and past. “As a theater artist, I want to take on iconic projects but I also like works that address something of the moment,” he says. “‘Casa Valentina’ was an opportunity to work on a new play by someone I admire and give the audience the opportunity to think about something that’s current. It’s about public and private identity.” [x]

CULTURE Theater STORY Loren King

Boston Public Works Playwrights; Jim Dalgish, Jess Foster, and Kevin Mullins.

The Play’s the Thing Boston Public Works Theater Company puts the writer in charge It was the ultimate DIY project. Two Boston playwrights, frustrated by the lack of opportunities to get their work produced, took matters into their own hands and—with Mickey and Judy gusto— decided to simply put on a show.

Fast forward two years and Boston Public Works Theater Company (BPW) has expanded to a loosely-knit group of dedicated and accomplished local playwrights committed to bringing their best work to audiences. Most have MFAs in theater; their plays have been produced in festivals and at colleges; and many have won prestigious awards and fellowships.

66 | BOSTON SPIRIT

But commercial success in the theater, as in all artistic venues, is elusive. “Theaters are reluctant to take a risk on an unknown playwright. You send out a script and wait and wait. I just got tired of hearing, ‘We love it but it’s not right for us,” says John Greiner-Ferris, BPW co-founder. “With the number of playwrights in Boston, you should be seeing a lot more new, fulllength plays by local playwrights.”

Greiner-Ferris’s “Turtles” was among the three full-length plays that BPW staged in its first season in 2014 at the BCA, along with “In the Deep” by Cassie

M. Seinuk and “Three” by Emily Kaye Lazzaro.

In giving playwrights the opportunity to exercise more control over their work, BPW is also addressing gender inequality in commercial theater. The June production of “Three,” for example, boasted a female writer (Lazzaro), director (A. Nora Long), producer (Amy Spalletta) and starred three women. “I got a little sick of seeing so many talented young women at auditions without enough roles,” said Lazzaro. So, thanks to BPW, she was able to do something proactive.

BPW modeled itself on New York’s 13P, 13 playwrights who were concerned about “...what the trend of endless readings and new play development programs was doing to the texture and ambition of new American plays.” But Greiner-Ferris points out that the world has changed dramatically just in a few years, thanks to social media. Now all artists are taking a

more active and entrepreneurial approach to getting their work into the world, often bypassing traditional methods completely. But BPW is still one of only three playwright-based production companies in the nation.

For each BPW show, the writer is his/ her own artistic director, in charge of casting, hiring crew, etc. “What this does is put the power of the production into the playwright’s hands,” says GreinerFerris. The collaborative effort means not just championing each other’s creativity but assisting in the practical demands of producing a show. Various BPW members take on the tasks of budgeting, marketing and publicity.

The new BPW season kicks off Nov. 20 at the BCA and showcases the work of three local LGBT playwrights (it just happened to work out that way; not all of them have gay themes in their work).

Running Nov. 20- Dec. 5 at the BCA’s Calderwood Pavilion is Jess Foster’s “Hard and Fast: a love story,” directed by Dawn M. Simmons. It’s about Roger, a struggling mechanic with a passion for restoring classics. He’s finally found his

For each BPW show, the writer is his/her own artistic director, in charge of casting, hiring crew, etc. dream car, “Audra”, a 1958 Austin Healey.

When a wealthy lawyer wants the car for his 16-year old son Parker, the offer’s too good for Roger to refuse. He makes one stipulation: Parker must help finish the car’s restoration to understand its true value.

“I grew up around car guys,” says Foster, adding that her play “explores the sacred and complex relationships men have with their cars. This fascination, which at times can be overtly sexual, represents freedom, independence and masculinity. It is also the story of how three men’s desire can take a dangerous turn.”

Running January 8-23, 2016 at the Calderwood is “Citizens of the Empire”

by BPW co-founder Kevin Mullins. Set 800 years in the future, “Citizens of the Empire,” which will be directed by

Lindsay Eagle, represents the kind of work that deserves to be seen but that most commercial theaters resist.

“All of my plays are based in genre. I write big science fiction plays for the stage. … I don’t want to write 90-minute intermission-less plays about white middle-class people and their problems. I’m interested in telling stories that are epic in nature,” says Mullins who describes his play as “a space opera with noblemen turned revolutionaries, union organizing robots, inter-galactic garbagemen, and a madam of a space brothel. Against a backdrop of Imperial balls, space stations, and border planets, a plucky band of rebels risk everything to take on an Empire and change the course of the galaxy forever.”

Jim Dalglish’s two-act psychological thriller “Unsafe” comes to the Boston

at symphony hall december 2–31

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December 2–24 Join the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart, celebrating his 20th anniversary with the orchestra, in a performance filled with holiday music favorites, the traditional Pops sing-a-long, and even a visit from jolly old Santa Claus.

The special kids’ matinee performances include post-concert photos with Santa and special treats.

December 31 New Year’s Eve Dance the night away with the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra and bandleader Bo Winiker! Cash bar and several dining options available.

Doors open at 8pm. Concert at 10pm.

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season sponsor

All of my plays are based in genre.

I write big science fiction plays for the stage. … I don’t want to write 90-minute intermission-less plays about white middle-class people and their problems. I’m interested in telling stories that are epic in nature

Kevin Mullins

Boston Public Works Playwrights; Kevin Mullins, Jim Dalgish, and Jess Foster.

Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre from Cotuit Center for the Arts, where it will run March 31 – April 10. The BCA production runs April 14 – 30, co-produced by BPW and CCftA. “Unsafe,” which Dalglish also directs, is the story of a New York family trying to pick up the pieces of their lives two years after 9-11.

A semifinalist at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in 2008, “Unsafe,” says Dalglish, “is an apocalyptic drama about one family’s refusal to wake up to the frightening realities of a post 9-11 world. It’s a play about the flimsy barricades we all build and the fantasies we fabricate to keep this terrifying new world at bay – a world that through our arrogance, neglect

68 | BOSTON SPIRIT

and self-deception we helped create.”

“Unsafe” is a multi-character play that features a gay character, Will, a street hustler who survives by befriending successful men online and taking advantage of their generosity. One of the subtexts of the play is the “devastating wave of crystal meth addiction that swept through gay society in the early 2000s,” notes Dalglish, “a wave that has parallels to US society in general during the years that followed 9-11.”

By providing a showcase for these playwrights to present their unique voices in multiple genres, BPW is proof that taking matters into one’s own hands pays off—for both the artist and the theater-going public. [x]

bostonpublicworks.org/

CULTURE Film STORY Loren King

A scene from Joey Kuhn’s Those People, which screens during the Boston Jewish Film Festival PHOTO courtesy of the BJFF.

Coming of Age, Coming Out Well-crafted ‘Those People’ hits the Boston Film fest screen As part of the 27th annual Boston Jewish Film Festival (running Nov 4-16 at various venues), Joey Kuhn’s gaythemed debut feature Those People will have its Boston premiere Nov 8 at 9 pm at the ICA with writer-director Kuhn in attendance for a postscreening discussion.

Those People screened to positive response at the 2015 Provincetown International Film Festival. Kuhn takes on classism and elitism in his well-crafted coming-of-age tale about Charlie (Jonathan Gordon), a young painter on Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side. Charlie’s finally met the man of his dreams, Tim (Haaz Sleiman), an older concert pianist from across the globe who’s kicking back playing show tunes in a West Village club.

But Charlie is secretly in love with his childhood best friend,

the fabulously wealthy Sebastian (Jason Ralph), the son of a disgraced Wall Street criminal (Daniel Gerroll) who’s been less-than-accepting of his son’s sexuality. In the wake of Sebastian’s notoriety, the small circle of privileged, pampered friends must confront the new realities of adulthood — and Charlie must face feelings he’s repressed for years.

Born and raised in New York City, Kuhn’s short films Thinly Veiled (2010) and Now Here (2011) screened festivals around the world after premiering at Outfest and Palm Springs International ShortFest, respectively. He graduated from Brown University in 2007 with a B.A. in Art-Semiotics and graduated with an M.F.A. from NYU’s Graduate Film Program in May 2014. [x] Boston Jewsih Film Festival

www.bjff.org

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CULTURE Books STORY Loren King

A ‘Room’ All Her Own

“ Room isn’t set in the normal world. In the first half, I thought of it like historical fiction: people often had fewer things, fewer resources.

Room’s got that outof-time feel.”

Emma Donoghue makes the leap to the big screen Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue not only wrote the best-selling novel Room, now a major motion picture, she’s also the rare novelist who penned film’s screenplay—and her acclaimed adaptation just might earn her an Oscar nomination.

So who’s Emma Donoghue? Readers of LGBT literature have claimed the Irelandborn writer since the 1990s. Her first novel Stir-Fry, which Donoghue wrote when she was 25, is the coming-of-age story of a young woman who leaves rural Ireland for college in Dublin and shares living quarters with a lesbian couple. Her second book, Hood, is about the romantic relationship between two female students in a repressive Dublin convent school in the late 1970s.

A five-time finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards, the prolific Donoghue has also written nonfiction (Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature and Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801); biography (We Are Michael Field, the story of Katherine Bradley and Edith Cooper, aunt and niece as well as lovers, who wrote under the pseudonym Michael Field in the Victorian

70 | BOSTON SPIRIT

era); historical novels (Slammerkin, Life Mask, The Sealed Letter, Frog Music); short stories; plays; and edited fiction and nonfiction anthologies. She’s currently writing her first novel for middle-grade readers (8-12) The Lotterys Plus One, slated for release in 2017.

The Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Room (2010), told from the point of view of Jack who’s spent all of his five years locked in a single room with his beloved Ma, was her biggest success but it hardly came out of nowhere.

“It really helped that I’d written a lot of historical fiction because with historical fiction you’re saying to the reader, ‘you don’t know Bilbao in the 1320s but come with me. Let me introduce you.’ Similarly, Jack is saying ‘this is my world,’” said Donoghue in an interview at the recent Toronto International Film Festival where Room premiered and went on to win the Grolsch People’s Choice Award.

“Room isn’t set in the normal world. In the first half, I thought of it like historical fiction: people often had fewer things, fewer resources. Room’s got that out-oftime feel, also it had both a fairy tale feel

and a bit of science fiction. So that was my world.”

Through the Jack’s eyes and distinctive voice. we learn that Ma has for seven years been held hostage by the man Jack knows as Old Nick and that Jack was born in Room, the only world he’s ever known and the only light in Ma’s otherwise harrowing existence. The film version, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, stars Brie Larson as Ma; Joan Allen and Grandma; and newcomer Jacob Tremblay as Jack.

Although the plot may sound depressing and disturbing—and some of it is, of course—critics and audiences have hailed the film’s life-affirming qualities since its release in late October.

Donoghue says Room sprang from becoming a mother herself—she has two children with her partner of 22 years, Chris Roulston, a professor of women’s studies at the University of Western Ontario. Donoghue had left Ireland for England to pursue her PhD in 18th-century literature at Cambridge University.

She “fell for a Canadian” and has since become a citizen of Canada.

“Even though I totally chose to become a parent—in fact, I nagged my partner for seven years— I found parenting a shock to my system. Here I’d been this carefree writer … and motherhood revealed an angry side to me,” says Donoghue. “I’d lose my temper, I’d never seen that side of me before; what a life change motherhood was. Then I heard about the [Josef ] Fritzl case in Austria when the kids were 4 and 1.”

Donoghue is referring to a notorious kidnapping/hostage situation like the one in Room; it could just as easily be Jaycee Lee Dugard or the Cleveland “house of horrors” or other nightmarish cases of sexual predators holding young women captive.

“It was the fastest book I’ve ever written.

I instantly thought of this story of a child growing up in a locked room. That’s so rich because motherhood often feels like a locked room, childhood often feels like a locked room, especially now, we’ve make parenthood this intense thing; we worry so much,” she says. “It can be a tight little bond but we also worry over that relationship far more than our parents did. So the novel clicked for me and came very fast. I

knew it would be called ‘Room’; it would start on [Jack’s] birthday; the escape would be in the middle; and it would be entirely from the child’s point of view. All that was clear to me and I never questioned any of it. I wasn’t looking for how to tell the story of a raped or captive girl.

That wasn’t the point for me.”

Donoghue wrote the screenplay right after she finished Room. “I knew there was going to be a lot of fuss once it was published because the publishers already paid a lot and were putting a huge amount into publicity. So, I thought, before anyone starts telling me what to do, I’m just going to have a go. Have a bash. Why not?

“Also, film is such a male-dominated industry. Women are powerful in fiction but in film the numbers on women are still appalling so it was quite important to me to see if I can manage this myself. I don’t think women who write best-selling novels should always hand them over to the industry especially since this story was so important for me to write and not have it become some creepy rape movie.

Voyeurism is more risky in film than in a novel. I didn’t want creepy and I didn’t

want sentimental. So I wanted to guard this one,” she says.

Fortunately, her screenplay was judged to be terrific as it distilled the novel into powerful images and key moments. Still, it takes a lot of confidence for a novelist to make the leap. Donoghue credits the fact that she’s hardly an overnight success.

“I think it helped that I’ve been writing so long and because I started out classified as a minority writer. If you get people saying, ‘I wouldn’t read her books because they’ve got lesbian storylines’ then it leaves you relaxed about whether you’ll ever get an audience. But no way was I going to closet my plots to get a bigger audience,” she says. “It is a fact that my books that don’t have queer storylines sell way better. I can’t do anything about that. I’m not going to whine about it but nor am I going to try to change my books to chase that audience. And you can never tell which books are going to sell anyway.

It’s so sad when young writers ask ‘how do I get a bestseller?’ It’s the worst attitude.

I don’t think you’ll ever write anything original that way.” [x]

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GLAD Spirit of Justice Award Dinner Boston Marriott Copley Place | Boston | October 16, 2015

The Spirit of Justice Award Dinner looks back on past triumphs, and celebrates this year’s victories, envisioning a future of true justice for all.

This year’s honor was awarded to Jennifer Finney Boylan.

Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto 72 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Janson Wu presents the Spirit of Justice Award to Jennifer Finney Boylan

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NOV|DEC 2015 | 73

SCENE Awards PHOTOS Ray Rodriguez

The HistoryProject’s 2015 Historymaker Awards Club Café | Boston | October 8, 2015 Carlos Aguilar, THP

The History Project celebrated Boston’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) history and recognized community members and organizations who make history every day. This year’s honor went to Abe Rybeck.

2015 HistoryMaker Abe Rybeck

THP Board Chair Neal Kane

Emcee Robert B. Dimmick and Lavender Rhino honoree Christine M. Hurley

Grace Sterling Stowell, Craig Bailey, Shawn Mahoney

Lavender Rhino honoree Christine M. Hurley, THP Board Chair Neal Kane

Carlos Aguilar, Michael Leclerc, THP Board Chair Neal Kane

Robbie Samuels, Christine M. Hurley, Jess Samuels

2015 HistoryMaker Abe Rybeck, THP Board member ORlando del Valle, Richard Schneider 74 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Lavender Rhino honorees Sandi Hammond [RIGHT] and members of the Butterfly Music Transgender Chorus

Christine M. Hurley, Kristen Porter

SCENE Anniversary Celebration PHOTOS Marilyn Humphries

Boston Community Capital’s 30th Anniversary Celebration Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama | Boston | October 5

A VIP-studded event celebrated Boston Community Capital’s (BCC) 30th Anniversary. BCC is a city institution, having begun in 1985 by a group of individuals from Old South Church with $3,500 in start-up funds. Since then it’s invested more than $1 billion to create housing, jobs, and opportunities for low-income individuals. As a result of BCC’s programs, more than 500 Massachusetts families at risk of being foreclosed upon are able to remain in their homes, more than 15,000 students and youth receive crucial funding for schools, and more that 17,000 fiscally-sustainable solar panel have been installed.

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Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS Plus Fri. Eve. Program presented by The Provincetown Film Society and special guest speakers all weekend!

Produced by Fusco & Four/Ventures, LLC 617-363-0405 www.BostonArtFairs.com

NOV|DEC 2015 | 75

SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Courtesy Out MetroWest

Out MetroWest Gala Marriott | Newton | October 8

Sen. Edward J. Markey was recognized for his work on behalf of the LGBT community at the Out MetroWest gala this year.

76 | BOSTON SPIRIT

NOV|DEC 2015 | 77

SCENE Conference PHOTOS Courtesy PridePlanners

PridePlanner Conference Westin Waterfront | Boston | September 25

Financial planning professionals from all over the US gathered to hear the latest in planning strategies for LGBT and unmarried couples and families at the biennial PridePlanners Conference.

Speakers included the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg, named plaintiff in the historic Massachusetts marriage equality court decision, Julie Goodridge, as well as topical experts on a range of planning subjects such as estate and elder planning, taxes, planning for HIV+, the psychology of guiding LGBT clients, the ACLU and more. Boston area speakers also included Scott Squillace, Lillian Gonzalez, and Michelle LaPointe. The Conference was chaired by local financial planners and PridePlanners Board members, Sharon Rich and Stuart Armstrong and other Boston area planners and Board members who assisted were Deb Neiman, Susan Moore, and Sue Burns. PridePlanners operates its conferences as official preconference events to the Financial Planning Association’s annual national conference. FPA is the United States’ largest member association of financial planners with a dedicated commitment to communities of diversity. For more info and to join, go to PridePlanners.org.

78 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SCENE Benefit PHOTOS Courtesy of Harbor to the Bay and Brenda Cole

Harbor to the Bay Boston | Provincetown | September 19

The annual ride to support HIV services raised nearly $400,000 from 266 riders and supported by 2018 crew members.

NOV|DEC 2015 | 79

SCENE Conference PHOTOS Courtesy Victory Programs

Victory Programs’ Prevention Summit Federal Reserve Bank of Boston | Boston | September 18 Victory Programs hosted its third annual Prevention Summit. Originally titled the Condom Summit, the event has evolved, recognizing that prevention is much more than condom education. The work of prevention falls into many fields: HIV prevention, STI prevention, pregnancy prevention, Hepatitis C prevention, and more. The Keynote Speaker was Douglas Brooks, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House. Brooks is a national leader in the fields of HIV/AIDS and prevention. Before being appointed by President Obama to his current position, Mr. Brooks served as Senior Vice President for Community, Health, and Public Policy at the Justice Resource Institute (JRI) in Boston. More than 100 area professionals attended two Panel Discussions, as well as the Keynote Address. The Prevention Summit was supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of HIV/ AIDS, along with the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. For more information on Victory Programs, please visit www.vpi.org.

80 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SCENE Fundraiser PHOTOS Courtesy Victory Programs 1

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Victory Programs’ Dinnerfest Party + Auction Red Lantern | Boston | April 26

Victory Programs held its Dinnerfest RED Party + Auction on Sunday, April 26 at the Red Lantern in Boston. Red was the theme of the day in honor of the agency’s 40th ruby anniversary. Dinnerfest raised nearly $88,000 for the nonprofit that provides housing and health programs for people struggling with homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS. [1] [2]

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The Imperial Court of Massachusetts Representatives from Presenting Sponsor, Eastern Bank, with Victory Programs President & CEO Jonathan Scott and the Hat Sisters

[3] [4]

Jim Seligman, Joe Castellana, David Brown and Benjamin Perkins The Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

[5] [6] [7] [8]

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Larry Kessler, Rose and Phylee Michaelson Team Victory Boston Marathon Runners with Jonathan Scott Reyes Coll-Tellechea and Pam Nicholas Stan Leven and Mary Richardson

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Jarrett Hanley and Kelly Lynch of the Red Lantern restaurant [10] Nellie Carreno, Sister KrisTall Mighty, Laura Baldini and Scott Galinsky [11] Victory Programs’ Sarah Porter and Jonathan Scott with Michael Goldrosen Captions

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º

CALENDAR

One Big Event

HBGC Annual Gala: Rooted In Resistance Social movements rely on bucking the status quo. For its sixth annual gala, the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HGBC) has chosen the theme “Rooted in Resistance,” a nod to the past and present work of civil rights champions who fight for the liberation of LGBTQ people of color. Tonight’s soiree features a pre-reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, and awards presentation to this year’s honorees Darnell L. Moore, prominent writer and activist, and Cambridge city council member Denise E. Simmons, who in her former role as the city’s mayor was both Massachusetts’ first black female mayor and the first black, openly lesbian mayor in America. Stick around for a beat-bumping after-party with DJ BEGBICK. WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Wednesday, November 18

Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, Boston

Tickets $50-$100 via rootedinresistance. eventbrite.com

The name says it all. Don your finest and fiercest to attend this major annual event supporting the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective, founded in 1983 and now Connecticut’s largest organization offering medical services, health education, and advocacy work on behalf of the state’s LGBT population. The 13th annual “One Big Event” gala will be a chance to dine, dance and drink — and maybe score some awesome auction items — alongside the cream of the Constitution State crop.

Not to sounds like size queens, but — sometimes big really is better.

WHEN

Saturday, November 21 WHERE

Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford HOW

Tickets are $150 via onebigevent.org

Celebration Of Life Thanksgiving Dinner If you’re looking for a way to serve the community this holiday season, here’s a great (and very literal) opportunity. The Boston Living Center’s Celebration of Life, which this year coincides with parent organization Victory Program’s 40th anniversary, is an annual event that serves Thanksgiving dinner to those with HIV/ AIDS and their loved ones. It brings a warm meal – and a true sense of warmth – to those who may otherwise be hungry and alone. The dinner is staffed by dozens of volunteers, both servers (who agree to fundraise at least $250 in “TIPS”) and non-servers (no minimum required). It’s a heartfelt way to give back — and a major support for the BLC that has garnered as much as $130,000 annually. Mark it down, and sign up.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Tuesday, November 10

Hynes Convention Center, Boston

vpi.org

Circa: Opus Somewhere at the intersection of dance and circus is Circa, an Australian-based troupe of cirque performers who are bringing to Boston “Opus”: a stunning live interpretation of the music of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. A string quartet provides the music, while a group of 14 acrobats bring the choreography and body-bending art that will have you stretching your jaw — to the floor. And you thought your yoga teacher was flexible.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

November 13-15

Citi Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont Street, Boston

celebrityseries.org

Holly Folly

HRC New England Gala Dinner + Auction The HRC bills its annual gala as the largest LGBT fundraising event in New England, drawing over 750 guests to celebrate the work of the HRC and contribute to its next steps in fighting for full equality. The night kicks off with a cocktail reception and silent auction, then the ballroom fills for dinner and, eventually, for dancing at the after-party. (Last year’s gala featured a performance from Niki Haris, the dance diva best known as Madonna’s decades-spanning backup singer, touring partner and “Truth or Dare” costar.) If you want to hob knob with high-powered gays while raising money for a good cause, HRC-yourself over to this.

Sure, you may mainly think of Provincetown as a gay summer resort town — but do you honestly think that it wouldn’t also be a magical place to spend the merriest, gayest time of year?

Before the Christmas rush hits, head down to for Holly Folly, an annual multi-day marvel featuring piano sing-a-longs, dance parties like the “Snow Ball,” drag brunches, and even a “Santa Speedo Run” to benefit local organizations. Plus innkeepers will break out their wickedest wreaths to upstage each other in the fiercest and most festive winter holiday decorations. It’s a fantastic way to get into the season’s spirit — and score some truly unique gifts from P-town boutiques while you’re at it.

WHEN

December 4 6 WHERE

Throughout Provincetown

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

HOW

Saturday, November 7

Westin Copley Place, Boston

hrcboston.org

ptown.org/holly-folly

Boston Home Décor Show Need creative inspiration for designing your dwelling? The inaugural Boston Home Décor Show will have everything you need: demonstrations, guest speakers (including Boston’s own HGTV personality Taniya Nayak), panels—and of course, the opportunity to browse dozens of exhibitors offering everthing from furniture to fine art, and reflecting styles that range from antique to contemporary. Even better, Thursday night’s gala preview will be a benefit for DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. You’ll find food, wine, music, a chance to check out the space well ahead of weekend crowds— and you’ll know that you’re contributing to a great cause in the process.

WHEN

November 19 – 22 WHERE

Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts HOW

diffaboston.eventbrite.com

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: “Ho Ho Ho” Who you calling a ho? Earlier this year the BGMC made history as the first gay chorus to tour the Middle East. Now they’ll wrap up their history-making 2015 with a special winter concert that offers unique takes on yuletide favorites via “Forbidden Holiday” (from the writers of the off-Broadway hit “Forbidden Broadway”), plus traditional classics, Santa dancers, and much more glorious seasonal spirit that will warm even the most Grinch-like gay hearts.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

December 13 and 19 – 21

New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall 3, Boston

bgmc.org

Vanessa Carlton Bisexual singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton, the cooing voice behind piano-rock pop hits like “A Thousand Miles,” “Ordinary Day,” and “White Houses” just released her latest album, “Liberman.” It’s the 35-year old artist’s first since becoming a wife a mother, and you can expect a healthy dose of introspection on the LP, which she’s supporting with a national tour that includes several New England stops. Prepare for tinkling piano keys and several sing-a-longs. You know, we’d walk a thousand miles if we could just … see her … tonight.

WHEN

WHERE

December 4,5,7,8

Northampton, MA; Portland, ME, Boston; Fairfield, CT

Paula Poundstone The self-avowed asexual has long been popular in gay comedy clubs: maybe for her conservative-spearing standup, maybe for an assortment of pantsuits that is second only to Ellen’s.

Poundstone grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts and cut her teeth at Boston comedy clubs. She returns to her native New England to tickle funny bones and, most likely, roast some politicos and pop culture figures in the process.

WHEN

November 13, 14 WHERE

Boston, Ogunquit

HOW

HOW

vanessacarlton.com

paulapoundstone.com

Creating and Supporting your Healthy, Beautiful Smile

Your Source for Equalityminded People, Places, Services and Adventures in New England and beyond.

Where personalized care & healthy, beautiful smiles meet.

For information on including your business, e-mail sales@BostonSpiritMagazine.com

 BEAUTY | BODY

Beauty Medicine Boston

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 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 make-up 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

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We offer exceptional dentistry in a caring, non-judgmental environment.

Our LGBTQ supportive dentists and staff will ensure your comfort. 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

Friendly, personalized dental care

State of the Art Technology

James R. Seligman, DMD

“Best of the South End” — SOUTH END NEWS

SouthEndDental.com

1180 Washington Street Boston, MA 02118 617.451.0011

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

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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

 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

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Portside at East Pier

Looking for a beautiful apartment with stunning views of the Boston Harbor, a building full of first-class amenities and a vibrant community to live in? Get it all at Portside at East Pier. Whether you want to relax in comfort at home, walk the waterfront, explore the outdoors or find some of the best food in Boston, there’s plenty of action to be had here.

Plus, with convenient access to the T at Maverick Station, the rest of the city is just a short train ride away. Come experience a place where discovery lies around every corner. It’s East Boston. But when you live at Portside at East Pier, you’ll just call it home.

GoEastPier.com

Dover Rug

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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 (RT-9) As the “Best of Boston Home 2011” recipient, their larger showroom has something for every budget. Dover Rug & Home is headquartered at 721 Worcester Road (Route 9), Natick, MA 508-651-3500. Dover-Boston is located at 390 Stuart Street in the Back Bay, Boston 617-266-3600.

721 Worcester Street (Route 9) Natick, MA 508-651-3500 www.doverrug.com

Gardner Mattress

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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. www.GardnerMattress.com

Lucia Lighting

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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, lucía lighting & design is the answer.

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

 PROFESSIONAL | SERVICES Burns & Levinson, LLP

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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

 TRAVEL | ADVENTURE Marriott Copley Place

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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 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/

 WEDDING | EVENTS Accent Limousine

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. www.accentlimo.com/spirit

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Burns & Levinson LLP, a leading mid-size law firm with a client-centric 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

Harvard University

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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.

ha c o M DJ

GourmetCaterers.com

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

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

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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.

HAPPY PRIDE! www.mochadj.com

Boston, Braintree, Burlington, Natick, and Peabody, MA 877-845-6647 www.longsjewelers.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!

RELAX | RENEW | REFLECT

World-Class Luxury Guesthouse and Spa

508-487-6450 Ptownparties.com

Your Source for Equalityminded People, Places, Services and Adventures in New England and beyond.

14 Johnson Street, Provincetown | 800.487.0132

www.carpediemguesthouse.com NOV|DEC 2015 | 87

CODA Entertainment STORY Scott Kearnan [SPIRIT] Besides raising your visibility, how did winning “Top Chef” most help you as a chef?

[SPIRIT] Do you feel added pressure in representing the LGBT community as a TV personality?

[KRISTEN] TV can go one of two ways: It can make you better, or it can make a fool out of you.

[Laughs] At that point in my life, “Top Chef” was exactly what I was looking for without knowing that I was looking for it. The visibility kind of forced me to find confidence when I didn’t have it, and forced me to get a handle on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go.

[KRISTEN] No, I don’t. It’s who I am, but I don’t think of myself as within any specific box: whether I’m a female chef or a gay chef or an AsianAmerican chef or an adoptee chef, I’m first a chef. And I happen to sometimes be on TV. I cook food. That’s exactly who I am, no more than that.

What I didn’t expect was the outpouring of respect and comments and adoration and care. It was amazing. It ranged from “Well, we already knew” to “Oh my God, you broke my heart” from guys.

And even “If it doesn’t work out with your girlfriend, I’m here!” [Laughs] But overall the reaction was really “Good for you, I’m so happy that you can be yourself.”

[SPIRIT] What was your coming-out like?

Cook Time ‘Top Chef’ winner Kristen Kish takes on the Travel Channel with “36 Hours” Kristen Kish could use a few more hours in a day.

The Boston-based chef has been in high demand since winning season 10 of the Bravo reality series “Top Chef,” a competition she entered at the urging of her culinary mentor, the badass James Beard award-winning restaurateur Barbara Lynch.

(At the time Kish was chef de cuisine at Menton, Lynch’s ultra high-end restaurant in Fort Point.) She’s already parlayed her victory into globetrotting chef gigs plus work outside the kitchen, starring in ad campaigns for big brands like Uniqlo and Rembrandt.

And now Kish, born in South Korea but raised in Michigan,

cohosts a brand new Travel Channel show, “36 Hours,” in which she and former pro soccer player Kyle Martino travel the world to give time-pressed tourists a taste of mustexplore destinations.

“36 Hours” is based on a regular “New York Times” column of the same name.

Coincidentally, it was “New York Times Magazine” that last year nonchalantly broke the news Kish had a girlfriend.

(Which broke a few fans’ disappointed hearts in the process.) We talked to Kish about life as a star chef, her casual coming out, and her recipe for success.

[KRISTEN] I never thought it was that big a deal! It’s just who I am. That being said, I will say that I have dated both men and women and I believe that there is a sliding spectrum for some people: they love who they want to love and gender doesn’t matter. But I can confidently say I am a gay woman. I was kind of figuring it out and testing the waters and seeing who I connected to—and that happens to be a woman. From a young age I knew that I was more attracted to women, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to have a certain life: marry, have kids, have the perfect house and car. I met [my girlfriend] Jackie through a “Food & Wine” event; she was working at the magazine, and we kept it a secret for quite some time—not only because I wasn’t ready to come out, but because of the nature of what I did. I posted an Instagram to celebrate our one-year anniversary, and about the same time “New York Times Magazine” ran its story and that made it into the piece. It all happened at once—double whammy! I started getting all these messages, and I didn’t think people cared that much. I didn’t intend to come out in a grand way.

[SPIRIT] You mentioned a spectrum of sexuality, and it seems like younger generations are becoming more comfortable with acknowledging that idea.

[KRISTEN] You can be whatever you want to be. The fact of the matter is I don’t want to be labeled as anything— other than as a good person.

Quite frankly, I think it is bullshit that people care so much about labels in everything. It’s like high school: are you wearing the right labels? Do you have the right accessories? Fuck it! Find out what you like.

[SPIRIT] If you were to take Jackie on a romantic foodie getaway anywhere in the world, where would it be?

[KRISTEN] In my selfish way, I’d say Berlin because I love the art scene, and how urban and liberal and studious and gritty it is. But since I’m choosing for her: I’d say Barcelona. She’s a fan of the beach, so she’d love being able to get in a bathing suit, sunbathe and eat! [x]

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March 19, 2016

April 9, 2016

Boston Marriott Copley Place

Boston Marriott Copley Place

Please join us for a fun-filled evening out on the town and support the health of all in our community.

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