Montrose Star July 11, 2018

Community

Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo A conversation with Houston playwright Gwen Flager

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MONTROSE STAR .COM

THE GAY-ETY STARTS HERE! WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2018 e VOL. IX, 8

» Houston Rainbow Herald

6 » Foodie Diaries

13 » What a World

Trans singer

moved prisoners with her music 20 INDEX Editorial Crossword Guide to the Clubs

5 29 30

while in jail.

Now, the world.

—p16

PAGE 2 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

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BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about BIKTARVY? BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects: } Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking BIKTARVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse.

Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take BIKTARVY? Do not take BIKTARVY if you take: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1 What are the other possible side effects of BIKTARVY? Serious side effects of BIKTARVY may also include: } Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. } Kidney problems, including kidney failure.

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Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. } Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

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Get HIV support by downloading a free app at MyDailyCharge.com

KEEP EMPOWERING. Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

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PAGE 4 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(bik-TAR-vee) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: • dofetilide • rifampin • any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider all your medical conditions, including if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-thecounter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY BIKTARVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.

• Changes in your immune system.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

• The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%).

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

• Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5.

• If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

Version date: February 2018 © 2018 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0027 05/18

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MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 5

OP-ED

Creep of the Week: Sarah Huckabee Sanders e By

D’Anne Witkowski

T

here’s been a lot of talk about “civility” lately which was women just because they haven’t met the right one yet. triggered by the owner of a restaurant asking a woman This stuff comes from deeply rooted hate and who is known worldwide for lying on the behalf of a white fear. Ain’t no amount of nice gonna cure that. supremacist administration headed by a man who is trying I’ve heard white people saying that Sarah Huckabee to, and succeeding in, turning America into a dictatorship.

Sanders and her father Mike Huckabee used to be good So, if the story about Sarah Huckabee Sanders being Christian people with values and whatever happened to them? refused service at the Red Hen in Virginia has you more Not surprisingly, the people who I’ve heard say this worried about Sanders getting her feelings hurt than are straight white guys. Of course they can look back on about the fact that the government Sanders works for is Mike Huckabee’s long career in the public eye and see putting babies in cages, then you don’t deserve civility. a nice guy who plays bass guitar and tells corny jokes In other words, fuck you. but who is maybe is a little too Now, I know that some people will conservative for their tastes. read my “fuck you” as “sinking to their I’ve heard white people As a woman married to a woman, level,” but fuck that. Americans have I have no fond memories of Mike saying that Sarah Huckabee Huckabee. His entire career he normalized this descent into fascism from day one, and I’m not having it.

Sanders and her father has sought to deny me the right And when I say “Americans,” to be married and the right to Mike Huckabee used I’m talking about white people, make the most basic decisions primarily cisgender heterosexual to be good Christian people about my reproductive health. Now men. And, wouldn’t you know he’s posting openly racist stuff with values and whatever it, this particular demographic on Twitter in defense of Trump’s happens to also be the one that is happened to them take-your-baby-at-the-border either: 1) Totes that they are OK policy and people are surprised? with Trump and that they are not worried or 2) tells the It’s all part of the same package, folks. rest of us that we need to fight fascism with civility.

So, yeah, I don’t owe him or his daughter any kindness.

That is not how it works, folks. Being nice doesn’t They have shown none to the most vulnerable populations in save lives. It doesn’t change hearts and minds. And this country. They have used their power to perpetuate hate. it sure as hell isn’t going to save our democracy.

So yeah, fuck them.

According to an interview with the owner in the Of course, incivility is not the answer. We can’t Washington Post, some of the employees at the Red “go-fuck-yourselves” out of this mess. Yes, we must keep Hen were gay. I’ve heard the argument that throwing speaking out against the hate and evil we are seeing.

Sanders out of a restaurant was a missed opportunity We must never stop that. But words only go so far. for gays to show Sanders, and the world I guess, how Two of the most powerful words are “I voted.” The they “are capable and people worthy of respect.” people leading our country are evil. They have no moral Um, no. It is not the job of the oppressed to compass. And, yes, there are valid complaints to make prove their humanity to the oppressors. about the Democratic Party. But they are not the party cool Racists aren’t racist just because they haven’t encountered with snatching brown babies from asylum seekers and enough nice black and brown people. Homophobes putting them in cages. Let’s make this blue wave happen. don’t hate gays because they just haven’t had the right And then hold them Democrats fucking accountable one wait on them in a restaurant. Misogynists don’t hate like our lives depend on it, because they do. e

TOC JULY 11, 2018 | VOL. IX, 8

“

COOKING WITH PAULA DREAM Sweet and savory summer recipes

”

D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

CELEBRITY FEATURE Sean Hayes Talks ‘Will & Grace’

12

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OP-ED.................................................................. 5 HRH Report........................................................ 6 Out at the Theater............................................ 8 Community...................................................... 10 Cooking with Paula Dream.......................... 12 Foodie Diaries.................................................. 13 What a World.................................................. 20 Across the Causeway..................................... 23 Star Buds.......................................................... 28 Crossword Queeries...................................... 29 Corrections Amplifications Jan2018_Layout 1 10/9/17 12:50 PM Page 1 ©2018 MONTROSE STAR All Rights Reserved.

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July 11, 2018: None as of press time.

PAGE 6 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

HRH Report

‘Mama Mia’, singer comes out and other top stories e By

Johnny Trlica

I

s it too early to start thinking about another World Series title? As we enter the dog days of summer, our Astros are just one of two teams (as of this writing) with 60 or more wins. The boys of summer are primed to bring H-Town back-to-back championships.

Here is a sampling of what we’ve been reading on the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook Page.

Latin American countries, including Ecuador, as all of the countries agreed to abide by that court’s rulings,” wrote the report.

With legal help the couples took their case to court. The lack of a procedure “cannot serve as an excuse to violate a right,” said Catalina Mendoza, the couples’ lawyer. The court agreed, ruling in favor of the couples, saying the Civil Registry should

T H E S TA R C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S JIM AYRES by day is an employee benefits and human resources writer. By night he turns his creativity toward the local food and restaurant scene. Do you know of a restaurant that needs a review? Info@montrose-star.com JOHN BUCHANAN is originally from Florida but now calls Houston home for 20+ years. “Proud to be Gay and part of the Community – Your Gay Realtor of Choice!” johnwb214@aol.com

NANCY FORD has enjoyed a front row seat to the most remarkable and sparkly Cultural Revolution in the history of mankind. “What a world!” She reflects appropriately. After moving to Houston from Ohio in 1981, Ford became a highly visible player in Texas’ LGBT publishing circles as an editor and contributor to myriad other local and statewide LGBT magazines and newspapers.

RANDALL JOBE has been a fixture in the Houston LGBT Community for several decades in marketing and promotions for top nightclubs, as an actor/director/writer for dozens of theatrical productions, and is also known for his whimsical art pieces. He is the author of the 12-part series “This Old Queen”, which summarized his many experiences living in the gay Mecca, Montrose.

MARK KARIEL is from Marshall, Texas, but has called Houston home for almost 40 years. An accounting supervisor by day, he can be found working most Saturday nights at South Beach’s RuPaul’s Drag Race events. His RuPaul obsession began 6 years ago in Palm Springs. It will all be in his book, plus much more. Stay tuned! mark@sobehouston.com FOREST RIGGS is no stranger to the adventures of life, he bills himself as a “raconteur with a gypsy spirit.” A former educator, public speaker, hospital administrator, counselor and gay B&B owner, he was instrumental in the formation of OutSmart Magazine in the early 1990s. He has written for several newspapers, magazines and other publications.

Recently he completed a collection of short stories about his beloved Galveston and is working on a novel. He currently resides on the island where he can be found wasting bait and searching for the meaning of life.

JOHNNY TRLICA has called the Houston area home all of his life. Four years ago he founded and still edits the Houston Rainbow Herald and has worked in the apartment leasing industry for the past two years. His passion is keeping the battle for LGBT rights at the forefront of today’s headlines and fighting omplacency in the LGBT community.

Here we go again. The sequel to Mama Mia! is ready for the silver screen. Mama Mia! Here We Go Again is set to open on July 20, reports SmoothRadio.com.

Original cast members Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski and Dominic Cooper are all back.

Downton Abbey star Lily James plays a young version of Meryl Streep’s character Donna in flashbacks, while Jeremy Irvine plays a young Sam, Alexa Davies is young Rosie, Josh Dylan is young Bill, Hugh Skinner is young Harry and Jessica Keenan Wynn is young Tanya. Cher plays Donna’s (Meryl Streep) mother. Yes, her mother!

“Without giving too many spoilers away, it has been reported by Deadline that the sequel “goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present,” and so will be a halfprequel, half-sequel,” reads the report. “The story will flash between past and present after Sophie struggles to tell her mother Donna that she’s having issues over being pregnant. Donna comforts her by telling the story of her own pregnancy.”

No need to panic

Coming out can be stressful; some of us even panic over it. Brendon Urie of the band Panic! At the Disco came out as pansexual in an interview with Paper.com.

“I’m married to a woman and I’m very much in love with her but I’m not opposed to a man because to me, I like a person,” he said. “Yeah, I guess you could qualify me as pansexual because I really don’t care. If a person is great, then a person is great. I just like good people, if your heart’s in the right place.

I’m definitely attracted to men. It’s just people that I am attracted to. I guess this is me coming out as pansexual,” he added.

Urie said that people already thought he was bi because of his 2013 song “Girls, Girls, Boys,” which he said was about his first threesome.

Equator equality

Marriage equality continues its slow spread across the Western Hemisphere. Ecuador is the latest nation to legalize same sex marriage reports LGBTQNation.com.

“Two same-sex couples, whose identities have not been made public, tried to get married at the Civil Registry after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of marriage equality in January.

That ruling was binding on twenty Caribbean and +1 Google+ Find us on P vFacebook.com, tTwitter & P

Photo via Universal Pictures

‘Mama Mia!’ sequel opens

‘Mama Mia! Here We Go Again’.

“immediately” allow the women to wed.

Right wing congressman under fire Ever notice that the most anti-gay politicians usually end up in the crosshairs of a gay scandal?

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has been accused by as many as seven former Ohio State University wrestlers of knowing about sexual abuse of male wrestlers that allegedly took place in the school’s athletic department three decades ago, reports WashingtonPost.com Michael Alf, who joined the team in the late 1980s, said the environment in the Ohio State locker room was “definitely disturbing,” with non-team members using the showers to ogle the wrestlers. “There was definitely inappropriate things that in my opinion were pretty disgusting going on all around us. You just took your shower and got out,” he said.

“Jordan definitely knew that these things were happening — yes, most definitely,” David Range, a former wrestler, told the Washington Post. “It was there. He knew about it because it was an everyday occurrence.”

In June of 2015 following the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, Jordan wrote, “In today’s ruling, five judges overturned the sound public policy that was democratically enacted by millions of Americans in states across the country, including Ohio. This ruling follows what seems to be a recent trend on the Supreme Court: rulings based on the desires of the justices, and not the letter of the law and the framework of the Constitution. I am also concerned that this ruling opens the door for discrimination against those who believe in traditional marriage, and I believe Congress must work to ensure that no American is forced to violate their beliefs on this important issue, to ensure that all Americans, regardless of their beliefs, can co-exist peacefully.” e Johnny Trlica is the manager of the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook page, your source for the latest LGBTQ news and information. Contact him at HRHeditor@gmail.com.

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 7

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PAGE 8 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Out at the Theater

Sherlock Holmes, Johnny Cash and The Almighty e By

B

Randall Jobe

ayou City Theatre Company presents Kill Move Paradise, an interactive theatrical experience set in Purgatory. Four black men prematurely ripped from Earth by police brutality are imbued with strict instructions from God and must share their stories in order to ascend into Heaven. It is an innovative theatrical love letter for those innocent lives unjustly slain. Through July 14.

Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m.

Chelsea Market Theatre, 4617 Montrose Boulevard.

Tickets: BayouCityTheatre.org or 832-513-3626.

Obsidian Theater presents The Last 5 Years, in special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown and directed by Kelsey McMillan, it’s an emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. Through July 14. Thursday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Sunday matinee, 3 p.m. 3522 White Oak Drive. Tickets: ObsidianTheater.org or 832-889-7637.

The Alley Theatre presents Holmes and Watkins by Jeffrey Hatcher. Three years after the death of beloved detective Sherlock Holmes off Reichenbach Falls, Dr. John H. Watson receives a telegram that suggests his old friend may still be alive. The mysterious wire was sent from a doctor who states that three patients in his asylum’s care each claim to be the late Sherlock Holmes. Watson embarks on a journey to disprove these claims. From the author of Sherlock Holmes and the Adventures of the Suicide Club and the award winning film Mr. Holmes. Through July 22. Tuesday through Thursday, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. 500 Texas Avenue. AlleyTheatre.org or 713-220-5700.

Stages’ The Great Trailer Park Musical, one of the most requested (and repeated!) musicals in Stages’ history, continues celebrating the theater’s 40th anniversary season. There is a new tenant at Armadillo Acres, and she’s wreaking havoc all over Florida’s most exclusive trailer park. The doublewide divas of this fine housing establishment have survived everything from kidnapping to no-good men to bad perms. But when Pippi, a “stripper-onthe-run” comes between agoraphobic housewife Jeanine and her tollbooth collector husband, a storm begins to brew that will shake these manufactured

homes to their foundations! Through July 22.

Wednesday through Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

Stages also presents Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, directed by Katie Barton with music Direction by Ben Hope. The iconic songbook of Johnny Cash comes to life in this unique musical about struggle and success, love and faith, rowdiness and redemption and home and family. It features more than two dozen classis hits including “I Walk The Line”, “A Boy Named Sue”, “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Ring of Fire.” It’s a foot-stompin’, crowdpleasin’ musical portrait of The Man in Black. July 11 through September 2. 3201Allen Parkway. Tickets: StagesTheatre.com or 713-527-0123.

A.D. Players presents Neil Simon’s God’s Favorite. The jokes and tests of faith fly fast and furious in this contemporary morality tale of business tycoon Joe Benjamin, a modern-day “Job” with troubles aplenty thanks to the Almighty. Joe and his family live a comfortable life on Long Island until they receive a visit from Sidney Lipton who claims to be a Messenger of God. July 12 through August 5, 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. A.D. Players’ The George Theater, 5420 Westheimer Road. Tickets: 713-526 2721 or boxoffice@ADPlayers.org.

Main Street Theater presents Doug Atkins in Jonathan Tolins’s Buyer & Cellar. A struggling actor in Los Angeles, Alex More has a story to tell.

He takes a day job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved megastar (a-hem, Barbra Streisand!).

One day the lady herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like real bonding in the basement, but will their connection ever make it upstairs in the real world?

An outrageous comedy about the price of fame, the love-hate relationship between gay men and divas, and the oddest of odd jobs. July 12 and 13, 7:30 p.m. previews. July 14 through August 12 Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 3 p.m. 2540 Times Boulevard. Tickets: 713-524-6706.

Queensbury Theatre presents Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo, written by Gwen Flager and directed

by Claire Hart-Palumbo. Five former sorority sisters, who once ran naked across a golf course, ate a lot of greasy fries chicken, survived multiple sorority scandals and somehow graduated from college, reunite to plan the first LGBT prom for local high

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school students in the Deep South. Should be easy, right? Thirty years of life since college has not dulled the jealousy and unrequited love of a few of the women. As prom night arrives plans unravel, infidelities are revealed and these friends learn that there is always more than one secret. Let the laughter begin! July 13 through 22. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. 12777 Queensbury Lane. Tickets: QueensburyTheatre.org.

University of Houston School of Theatre presents Houston Shakespeare Festival.

Since 1975, HSF has brought together local and nationally acclaimed artists to deliver free performances of the Bard’s greatest (and occasionally lesser known) plays. This year, the festival presents quite the difference in tone with arguably literature’s greatest tragedy, Hamlet, and one of Shakespeare’s broadest, yet timeless comedies, The Comedy of Errors, featuring not one but two sets of identical twins for the height in hysterical hijinks. July 27 through August 5.

Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park Drive. Tickets: Free; available for pickup at box office behind theatre, 10:30 a.m. ’til 1 p.m. day of performance, while they last. Maximum four tickets per person (over 16) for covered seating. e

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 9

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PAGE 10 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo A conversation with Houston playwright Gwen Flager e By

T

Randall Jobe

his summer, Queensbury Theatre presents Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo, written by Gwen Flager and directed by Claire Hart-Palumbo.

In it, five former sorority sisters, who once ran naked across a golf course, ate a lot of greasy fries chicken, survived multiple sorority scandals and somehow graduated from college, reunite to plan the first LGBT prom for local high school students in the Deep South. Should be easy, right? Thirty years of life since college has not dulled the jealousy and unrequited love of a few of the women.

As prom night arrives plans unravel, infidelities are revealed and these friends learn that there is always more than one secret. Let the laughter begin!

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Community Recently, playwright Gwen Flager discussed her inspiration for the play, and more, with MONTROSE STAR. MONTROSE STAR: Gwen, your play, Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo, produced this month by Queensbury Theatre, deals with LGBTQ issues and takes place in the Deep South. Did you consider that scenario an obvious conflict?

GWEN FLAGER: I didn’t. I was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attended college in Mobile, Alabama. It doesn’t get much more “Deep South” than Mobile. Most of my plays are set in the South. It is the locale I know.

STAR: What message do you want the audience to take with them after seeing Shakin’?

GF: I want the audience to love these seven lovely, flawed women, to ache for them, to be angry with them and, if necessary, to forgive them. I hope the audience talks about Shakin’ all the way home.

STAR: How did you begin in playwriting?

GF: Yes. Bits and pieces are. I can tell you I had my heart broken by an “older” woman who lived in Fowl River, Alabama.

I also nearly broke every bone in my body when I skied into her boat dock on Fowl River (not, however, on the same day).

GF: I have always enjoyed writing — making up stories, as it were. I took several writing courses at Rice. I tried my hand at short stories and a novel. I found I was long on dialogue and short on descriptions. Playwriting seemed the logical format for my work. I submitted my first play to the 2009 New Play Reading Series at Country Playhouse (now Queensbury Theatre). I was surprised and grateful that my play was selected as one of the six to be read in that series.

STAR: Are the women based on people you actually knew?

STAR: Are there currently other plays in the works?

STAR: You were raised in the South, is any of the play autobiographical?

GF: The characters are composites of women I’ve known. Actually, we all know these women. They are a funloving, heart-breaking mix of female energy that drives the best in life.

STAR: Were there any reservations by Queensbury, or any other theatres, about producing a LGBTQ-themed work?

GF: L. Robert “Lonnie” Westeen was the Playwright-in-Residence and New Works Coordinator for Queensbury Theatre when this play was selected in 2017 to be developed and produced in

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 11

GF: I have two other full-length plays that are floating out and about the theatre universe. I, like other playwrights, am waiting to “hear back.”

The development of Shakin’ has been my primary focus for the past eight months.

The re-writes became more intense and time-consuming than I imagined.

STAR: Are there playwrights you are inspired by?

GF: I am inspired by Diana Howie, Nancy Geyer, Diana Weeks — Houston playwrights. I admire their talent,

WHEN:

WHAT:

Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo

by Gwen Flager

July 13 through 22. Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.

WHERE:

Queensbury Theatre’s Black Box, 12777 Queensbury Lane, Houston 77024

TICKETS: 713-467-4497 or QueensburyTheatre.org 2018. Lonnie and Queensbury Theatre had absolutely no reservations about this play. I do believe that some theatres are still uncomfortable with lesbian characters.

STAR: Shakin’ the Blue Flamingo deals with jealousy and unrequited love of a few of the women yet promises tears and laughter.

How do you juggle the mix?

GF: I hope well. I try to find the humor in life. I generally don’t have to look very far to find something to smile or laugh about. And, we’ve all known heartache and the tears that go with it.

One size does fit all.

courage and persistence. I am grateful to these women who have encouraged me and my work.

STAR: There are currently LGBTQ-themed plays being produced at Houston’s Main Street Theatre and at The Alley. Is that encouraging to you and your writing?

GF: It is. I believe that we all want to see plays about people like “us.”

Whatever that “us” may be. I am grateful that Queensbury Theatre is portraying seven of “us” this summer on its Houston stage.

STAR: Is there a project working for after “Shakin’…” closes?

GF: A producer has reached out to me and submitted Shakin’ to out-of-state theatres. I hope Shakin’ is well received in Houston and the “buzz” starts here.

Wouldn’t it be something to see Shakin’ at The Alley some day? e +1 Google+ Find us on P vFacebook.com, tTwitter & P

PAGE 12 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Cooking with Paula Dream

Sweet and savory summer recipes e By

Paula Dream (A K A K AL E HAYGO O D)

W

ell, STAR readers. Paula was quite the talk of the block recently. The neighbors got to see something they obviously had never seen before. (No, not my fat a**.) Eight men hoisting concert grand piano to the second floor over a balcony because the couldn’t get it up the front or back stairs.

Quite a nail biting event. I almost set up a refreshment stand out front.

But on to cooking. First, a great summer refreshment adult beverage.

The roll recipe is fun and well worth the time. Have some butter and jelly handy when they come from the oven. Now don’t turn your nose up at the sausage patty recipe until you try it!

Well, that’s it for now. Remember our advertisers who help bring the STAR to you.

Keep cool!

CRANBERRY SLUSH

1 quart cranberry juice 1 small can frozen lemonade Bourbon

Fill the same lemonade can with bourbon. Mix together and place in freezer. Serve in a glass as a cocktail.

Put shortening in scalded milk to melt, add potatoes and let cool. Mix sugar, flour, yeast and salt together.

When milk and potatoes and water are mostly cooled, mix all ingredients together. Let stand 1/2 hour, then work down and let rise about three hours. This can be put in refrigerator covered. You may use from it each day or you can put it in muffin pans or shape into rolls and place in a 9”x13” pan of rolls. Be sure to spray muffin pans or baking dish. If refrigerated, they take four to five hours to rise before baking. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until browned. Very easy and fun to make.

SAUSAGE PATTIES IN FRUIT SAUCE ON TOAST

1 pound bulk pork sausage 1 can (16 ounces) fruit cocktail 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1-1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon cold water Buttered toast slices

2 7 10 Montrose Blvd.

Houston, T X 7 7 006

713.526.0202 Order Online www.pepperonis.net

NANNY’S HOT POTATO ROLLS

3/4 cup sugar 6 cups flour plus a tad more 1 package dry yeast 3 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup Crisco 1 cup mashed potatoes 1 cup potato water 1 cup milk, scalded

Shape sausage into eight finger shaped patties, 1/2” thick. Brown patties in skillet and pour of drippings.

Add fruit cocktail, brown sugar, lemon juice and ginger. Cover and simmer for ten minutes. Remove patties from skillet. Pour in smooth paste made of cornstarch and cold water. Stir and simmer until thick.

Place patties back in skillet into sauce. Now you are ready to serve, placing two patties on each buttered toast and top with fruit sauce. e Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood) owns Beyond Service, a Montrose-based, home-cooking catering company. For more information, call 713-805-4106 or email barrykale@yahoo.com.

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Foodie Diaries

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 13

Postino’s soup, panini and salad

POSTINO:

An instant success story e By Jim Ayres

S

o many people have told me how much they love Postino, a new wine café in the Heights Mercantile development on Yale, just north of 6th Street.

They appreciate the light menu of antipasto, panini and bruschetta.

They applaud the convenient location (my well cultured friend Brian found it perfect for “a fabulous pre-show dinner”). They talk of reasonable prices and tell me about the great service.

Who am I to argue? Even during a weekday lunch, the vibe at Postino is infectious.

Jazzy and upbeat, the soundtrack is raucous Sunday brunch any time of day. Lemonhead yellow signage and umbrellas punch up an overcast exterior, while inside the browns and grays are lifted by tile-like Kodachrome collages.

Staff is dressed in up-to-theminute urban chic; our server was giving us serious Aphrodite that day. And the service is fast!

Not unlike the way postal carriers (postino)…ahem…used to be.

Technically, Postino is a wine café.

Its Texas Wine Program (there are locations in Arizona and Colorado) consists of about 25 enjoyable vintages from California, South America and Southern Europe priced at $9 to $13 a glass ($5 before 5 o’clock). You can buy a bottle as well, but this list is ideal for sampling.

At our lunch, we chose a fruity $5 before 5 o’clock pitcher of Sierra Nevada IPA. I was worried about bitterness, but this beer had citrus and spicy flavors (think cardamom) that held the tartness at bay.

You can’t go wrong with 99 percent of Postino’s food choices. A Brussels Sprouts Salad with kale was an unexpected mix of manchego

cheese, spiced almonds, bacon, dried cherries and a lemon dressing.

As part of my Select Two combo, I loved Hannah’s Field Salad, healthyish with kale, quinoa, apple, apricot and pecorino cheese. The apple cidermustard vinaigrette was irresistible.

Panini was the second part of my combo, and I chose Roast Beef with aged Port Salut cheese, red onion, pickles, Sierra Nevada mustard and mayo. The ingredients couldn’t have been fresher (true of everything at Postino) and the sandwich was superb.

Well, maybe the freshness wasn’t as evident in a listless Tomato Bisque, a Soup of the Moment doctored with a few bits of whatever here and there. A neighboring table conspicuously pushed theirs aside.

But my friend’s Autostrada was a panini inspired by Ferrari.

Sopresatta, Italian ham, cappicola, mortadella, provolone and spicy pepper relish — it’s all there, meaty and spicy enough for the fast lane.

Next time, I’m getting Bruschetta!

The presentations I’ve seen are stunning. You get four big slices of Italian bread topped with your choice of things like Brie and Apples, Smoked Salmon, Burrata, Salami and the list goes on.

Antipasto was equally impressive.

Another table ordered the Butcher’s Block with assorted meats, cheeses, hummus, asparagus, olives, nuts and crostini. They raved over their wine.

Postino is an instant success story. It’s just that kind of rare, on-point place we all hope for.

But don’t wait too long to try it. Word’s getting out fast! e

Postino

642 Yale Street, Houston, Texas 77007

346-223-1111

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PAGE 14 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

The Krewe

of Olympus

presents...

TRASH DISCO 2018 Sunday, August 5 4 - 7 PM Rich’s Houston 2401 San Jacinto

$10 donation at the door Cash Bar • Specials on Well Vodka & Domestic Longneck Beer

Randall Jobe’s art for sale with a portion of proceeds to benefit Krewe of Olympus

venue sponsor

Enjoy dancing to THREE HOURS of NON-STOP CLASSIC DISCO from the 70’s & 80’s with performances by members of the Krewe and other Houston Community Organizations Door donations and performer tips will go to support the Krewe’s 2018-2019 fundraising efforts.

kreweofolympus.org

follow us

The Krewe of Olympus is a 501(c)(3) organization +1 Google+ Find us on P vFacebook.com, tTwitter & P

media sponsor

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 15

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PAGE 16 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

‘The world wasn’t ready for Einstein and his theories either’ e By

Chris Azzopardi

E

ven in prison, Shea Diamond was a star. The concrete floor her stage, the men her audience. And the acoustics? “The best,” Diamond says.

The 40-year-old soul songstress stretched her body over the hard ground, beating it while singing a song she wrote in her cell called “I Am Her.” She was serving a 10-year jail sentence at various men’s correctional facilities in Michigan for committing armed robbery, a desperate attempt to fund her transition, and “instead of just counting the days and wondering what day it is, I put all the energy into music.” The men were transfixed, moved. “These guys were singing it,” she says, “and asking me to sing it again.”

Diamond was released from prison in 2009 with a passel of songs she’d written, moved to New York City, and devoted her new life beyond bars to being on the front lines of transgender activism. In early 2016, out big-name producer Justin Tranter, whom she calls her “fairy godmother,” was blown away by an a cappella performance she gave at a Trans Lives Matter event. Now, Diamond’s empowered jail musings are free at last on her Tranter-produced debut EP, Seen It All, and a forthcoming full-length.

Do you think the world is ready for a major trans artist?

Definitely not, but the world wasn’t ready for Einstein and his theories either.

The world wasn’t ready for equality and wasn’t ready for slaves to be free. So, the world isn’t always ready for change, but change is always going to happen.

How does it feel to know that you are a part of the change?

It feels absolutely amazing to be a part of the change. In this climate, it’s

especially important to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem, so music is able to tap into the areas that we weren’t able to tap into. We were definitely on the frontlines protesting, marching and community organizing, and at the end of the day, if people are jamming to a tune, then we will be able to effect more change.

When did you first become interested in music?

I grew up with a lot of music. My aunties all sang, my mother sings. I grew up with someone always singing.

What role has music played in helping you overcome your hardships?

Music was able to heal me in every moment, including my confinement.

That’s when it was the roughest for me, because I didn’t have any support. So the family and friends that didn’t turn their back on me because of my gender identity, they turned their backs on me because I was a criminal in their eyes.

I had to really reflect and deal with myself. I was left to myself and there was nobody else. I had to reflect and be able to internalize a lot, and so I projected a lot of that energy, both negative and positive, into music and created what at the time seemed to be like poems or just words that started with a story.

With “I Am Her,” I said, “I want to be able to express all my feelings about the church, the rejection from the church, how nobody wanted to accept me for being her,” and it talks about how, at the end of the day, I was by myself and I was all right by myself. Being trans, they wanted to punish me extra, they wanted to discard me of yard or telephone privileges for just being me.

What did your activism entail?

It entailed a lot at different times.

Because there were different roles I played within activism, like survival sex worker activism – a lot of work around that. Because a lot of people wouldn’t care if (trans sex workers) got murdered

because nobody would question, and so that was affecting a large part of our community. Our most marginalized part of the community is the part of our community that is deprived of job opportunities, of other resources, and have to engage in survival sex work, because sometimes it’s our only option.

Survival looks different for different people, and through my journey I’ve learned that.

We were trying to gather clothing for someone who was trapped in another state, so we would have to raise money in order to get a ticket for them to get back to a safe place because they were deprived food and their clothes were taken. So these things were established within a place that was supposed to do it, but it was us doing it. That’s what our activism looked like a lot of the times, doing a lot of things that people don’t wanna do. Our activism was protesting, was going to rallies, was going to march, was going to Washington, was going to all of these places trying to change policies. Our activism just looked completely different throughout the years.

Do you consider your music activism?

I do. In my music I believe that I touch things that people don’t really touch. I talk about what’s happening in our climate, and I believe that the great artists that weren’t so popular were the artists that were talking about what was happening in their times and speaking against those things. So everything from “I Am Her,” which became an anthem, to “Keisha Complexion,” that is reclaiming beauty for the dark-complected woman or person. It’s dealing with sexism, it’s dealing with activism, it’s dealing with self-care. There’s a part of my song that talks about, yes, we’re fighting all these things in life, there will always be oppression, but we have to have one day to just do us. Every element of my music is speaking to your spirit.

Recently, the people (told me they) wanna dance, so I said, “OK, OK. I’m gonna give you good music but something you’ll be able to dance to too.” So I’m making music now. One song is still in the activism world, but you’re still dancing on it. But the latest one I just worked on has nothing to do with activism. It’s just about you literally dancing.

Are you still working with Justin on those songs?

I am working with Justin. I am able to work with other writers and producers as well, so we’ve got a mixture of some really good stuff. We’ve been in the kitchen cookin’, and the result is gonna be really delicious.

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How does working with another queer person, like Justin, affect the collaborative process?

What’s so special about the relationship is, well, I’m working with a friend now. Literally, he’s a person I can confide in, a person I can trust, a person I can call on, a person I do call on a lot, probably to the point that it’s driving him crazy. (Laughs) But he answers every call.

Navigating this already tough music industry, you know, it’s sharks, so to have someone who is legit, to have someone who remotely cares about you, not only you as an artist – the money that you can make or what you can do – but who cares about you as a person and your well being and how you’re gonna endure this.

What was going through your mind when Justin first contacted you after hearing “I Am Her”?

I completely thought it was a joke.

I’ve been having people offer to sign me and to buy my song “I Am Her” since I was incarcerated.

And why did you say no?

Because for me there were other songs that were on the shopping block!

(Laughs) But some songs really were near and dear to me. “I Am Her” was one of them, and the album ones; I wanted to hold onto those. So getting this email from Justin talking about, “Yeah, I wanna fly you on out to LA,” I was like, “Yeah, suuuure.” (Laughs) I just thought this is one more person that is gonna take me along for the ride. I definitely didn’t take it serious. I told him, “Look, I can’t afford to go out to California and to the studio,” and he said, “No, I’m gonna pay for your hotel. I’m gonna pay for your flight, I’m gonna pay for your food.”

So, because we’re in the age of Google, I go on Google and turns out he’s a person.

Our first meeting was at a Cyndi Lauper performance. That was the first meeting and I was already impressed.

Then he flew me and my friend out to California. We were just like queens there. And then going into the studio for the first time – you know, a real studio – to me it was just like magic. Just being able to record “Seen It All” and just the magic of being in that space and in that moment knowing where I came from and knowing where I was in that moment and what I had accomplished despite all those odds. And that song was just perfect, of how I thought I’d seen it all, and I really hadn’t. e Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and on Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 17

Trans Singer

Moved prisoners with her music

while in jail.

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PAGE 18 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

IT’S NOT OVER TILL IT’S OVER:

Sean Hayes talks ‘Will & Grace’ After changing TV for LGBTQ people in 1998, the actor is at it again, as ‘part of the chorus of the movement’ e By

Chris Azzopardi

W

here would our queer world be without Will & Grace? That’s where my head was just before Sean Hayes phoned, recalling my lonely teen years, when gay white men on TV alone – here’s to evolved representation! – was unprecedented and life-changing for people like 15-year-old, closeted me.

It’s not enough to say Hayes, 48 portrays Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom, then, because some roles become legend, upstaging even the actor giving him life. Jack is one such character. And so a call from Hayes is like being a kid and spotting your fifth grade teacher at the grocery store: It doesn’t quite feel real, and yet Hayes is a real man with a real life and even a real husband, music producer Scott Icenogle.

But to the late-’90s TV landscape, it was the actor’s half-fiction as Jack and his exploding-rainbow persona that cut through heteronormative programming with gay jokes even your grandma could get down with.

And then, there’s Karen. You obviously don’t need me to needlessly ramble on about Jack’s best socialite friend (played by Megan Mullally), who never met a martini she didn’t like. You know her, you love her. And together they truly make all of our friends out to be absolute fucking bores.

The sitcom’s recent revival reinstated #friendshipgoals when the snarky pals, along with titular housemates Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing), came swishing back to NBC in September 2017 for a ninth season after ending its initial 1998-2006 run.

Hayes isn’t Jack, exactly, but you could be fooled if he called you, too, his usually-unflashy voice sometimes picking up wind and taking on the kind of rapid-fire cadence his famous Cherworshiping alter ego is known for. With season 10 premiering Oct. 4, and nine now available on DVD and digital, I caught up with Hayes to talk about those who’ve long criticized Jack for being “stereotypically” gay, the history of the legendary Karen-Jack slap fights, and who helped him be OK with being gay.

It’s hard to put into words exactly what it feels like to talk to the man who gave me

such an iconic gay character when I needed it most.

Oh my god. That’s so sweet. I really appreciate that. And you just answered the reason why when people ask me what’s the best part about playing it – that’s the best part.

Is it?

One-hundred percent.

When did you first know that Will & Grace had impacted the LGBTQ community the way it has?

Just a couple of weeks ago!

(Laughs) No, I’m joking. You know what’s so funny – first of all, you have no idea how much that means to me.

You saying how much I mean to you, it means equally as much to me, so thank you.

So when did I know I had an impact?

I think when I was young and doing the show I was so wrapped up in myself, in acting, in getting the part: “Am I going to get fired? Am I gonna learn my lines?” I was just happy to have a job.

It’s such a fascinating thing to discuss, and I’m so glad you asked: I felt normal growing up, so when I got a job, playing a gay character on a television sitcom I just thought, “Oh, I just have to be me, kind of, a heightened version of myself.” I didn’t think it would have that much of an impact because of the bubble I grew up in. I surround myself with people who are accepting of me, so naively I was like, “The rest of the world must be OK with it.” I mean, I knew the stories out there. I grew up and knew it wasn’t accepted, but I just didn’t think on any big level it was any big deal, so that gave me the confidence to play him as outrageously as I could because, again, I’m surrounded by writers and actors – everybody else – who embrace this, so I felt loved, I felt supported and I felt confidence. So, I wasn’t going to work thinking about how this is going to affect anybody.

It was a wonderful byproduct later, and I was like, “Oh, ohh!” And once it started and all the press and blah blah blah, and we never got any backlash for being political in that sense, meaning how they politicized gay people, which is wrong. That’s another interview.

Over the years, people have criticized Jack for being “flamboyant.” How aware were you of that concern when the show returned for its revival season?

Oh, I never heard that. This is the first time hearing it. So you’re saying people were worried, but I was playing him – I call it outrageous because “flamboyant” means a certain type of gay person, I think, and that’s another conversation to have. I was playing him as outrageously as I was before.

So people were concerned that I was playing him a certain way?

People wondered if Jack was too stereotypical for TV in 2018 and expressed some concern over what the straight community might think of us.

I think that’s insider homophobia.

Because I know people like Jack, because one part of me is like Jack, and so if you’re saying people in the gay community were concerned that I was playing Jack a certain way and

people would “worry” that gay people act like that, they do act like that. And there’s people who act like Will. There are people on all spectrums of human behavior in the gay community, just like there are people on all spectrums of human behavior in the straight community, so I nix that and I say “bye” to that – I say, “bye, Felicia!” – because that doesn’t make any sense to me.

Similarly, Cam of Modern Family was criticized for being an over-the-top and exaggerated version of what a gay person is, and I’m like, what exactly is a gay person supposed to be in 1998 or 2018?

Yeah, exactly. What are they supposed to be? And by the way, they are exaggerated, some of them. And so are straight people. Look at Jim Carrey, look at Robin Williams. There are lots of straight people who are exaggerated as well. I hate that argument – no, I’m glad you brought it up. I’m just saying I love talking about it, because it’s ridiculous.

As a kid coming to terms with being gay, who was your person?

If you’re talking about a famous person, Andy Bell (of Erasure). Because I was in college and I was 17, 18, and I was shocked that somebody was out and proud, making a living in the arts or in pop culture by being who they are and not apologizing for it. I thought that was mind-blowing because “A Little Respect” was the No. 1 song on the radio and I was like, “Wait, the guy is gay and everybody is OK with that?” The truth is not a lot of people knew because we didn’t have the internet, but I knew and all my gay friends knew. And I was like, “That’s amazing.” So that was inspiring to me, that you could be gay and make a living by singing, acting, whatever.

But as far as actors go, Marty Short and Steve Martin were my inspirations in comedy, and Marty’s a good friend now and I love him. He is the funniest person, I think, in the business.

What has it been like to be a part of a show that has existed during two very different times, culturally and politically, for the LGBTQ community?

First of all, I feel very fortunate and lucky to be part of the chorus of the movement. I may not be a single voice, but I’m enjoying being a part of the chorus. And I think that we’re lucky to have the voice and the representation for people to talk about it again, because I don’t think it should ever stop being talked about because everything is not OK. There are still gay kids being bullied. And look at that (gay) couple (who was assaulted) in Florida in the bathroom during Pride. It just doesn’t end. The hate doesn’t end overnight.

So we have to keep doing things, and again, my contribution may not be as an activist, because I just don’t feel comfortable doing that, it’s just not who I am. It’s not in my blood, it’s not in my DNA to stand at a podium and speak in sound bites about how we need to prevail over the government and the system. I leave that to people who are good at it – I’m not good at it. What I’m good at is being comfortable in my own skin and showing people that I have a husband and we make stupid Facebook

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videos and try to show people that we’re as normal as any other human, so I try to do my best at that. So I’m happy the show is back because there’s still tons of work to do. The power of comedy is so incredible; that’s why we broke so many boundaries the first time. And hopefully we can continue to do that.

Megan Mullally has said that you’re her “second husband,” after her real husband, Nick Offerman. How does your chemistry with Megan after all these years compare to the first time that you stepped onto set and shot the pilot?

It’s so funny that she calls me her second husband because Nick and I were born on the exact same day, same year, about 30 miles apart from each other. Isn’t that hilarious? But it’s like working with your sister. There’s a shorthand that nobody else would understand, so it’s like, “I’m gonna do this,” and she’s like, “I’m gonna do that,” and then we just do it together and there it is. So, we now know how to cut through all the stuff that you need to in order to get to a comedic moment in a scene, and that’s what’s great about all this time that’s passed. I understand her, she understands me, we understand each other, so the chemistry has only gotten hotter.

Tell me the history of the slap fights between Karen and Jack.

There’s an episode called “Coffee and Commitment” where Jack is trying to get off of coffee and Karen’s trying to quit alcohol, so that episode was the first time we slapped each other. It just, on paper, was “Karen slaps Jack, Jack slaps Karen,” but of course Jimmy Burrows, who is incredible at physical comedy and directing, of course, said, “Let’s make a dance out of this.” So, we rehearsed the rhythm of it, because I think that’s what makes you laugh – that’s what makes me laugh: the pauses and then the slapping again and then the pause and the slap-slap. It’s music, so you have to rehearse the beats and the rhythms in order to get that. (Laughs) It makes me laugh even thinking about it.

What do you envision for Jack’s future?

Well, I don’t want him to change too much because our friends are our friends from high school because they never change, right? Maybe get married, but still remain Jack somehow, or find a long-term relationship. Or maybe – maybe! – there’s someone close in his own life that might be a suitable partner for life. Who knows.

Will?

I have no idea.

Could you see them together?

Could I see Will and Jack together?

Maybe!

You’ve said you want to see him with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Just so you know, I’m here for it.

I think that would be a hilarious episode, and I hope Dwayne comes to his senses and comes to the Will & Grace stage to play and have a good time. e As editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBTQ wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and aon Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).

Photo: NBC

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 19

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PAGE 20 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

What a World

PEOPLE WILL TALK:

The Post-Pride Edition e By

Nancy Ford

For years my fans “have inspired me with their determination and creativity as they have created a safe and inclusive community. I felt the time had come for me to join Netflix offers wholesome them boldly, to bring that energy and power to bear shows like Clifford, the Big Red Dog and even on the huge challenges VeggieTales. But do we facing our whole society. really want our children to sit down to watch a fun new superhero cartoon series here to apologize for the ways “thatWe’re we as Christians have harmed the and instead have them lose LGBT community. I’m sorry for hiding their innocence to sexual behind religion when I was just scared. wickedness? Netflix has I’m sorry I’ve looked at you as a sex act instead of a child of God. I’m sorry taken the skill sets of those I have looked down on you instead of who create wholesome, honoring your humanity. I’m sorry I’ve educational content for rejected and hurt your family in the name of ‘family values.’ I’m sorry for not children and has inserted listening. I’m sorry for judging you. God the homosexual agenda loves you; so do we.

“

”

—Panic! At the Disco front man, Brendon Urie, discussing his pledge of $1 million to help set up Gender & Sexuality/Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in schools across the United States. Urie recently stated he identifies as pansexual. Via Independent.com.uk

”

Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie

into their content. The series is driven by a ‘politically correct’ transvestite agenda and it is chock-full of sexual innuendos that are completely inappropriate for young audiences.

Emboldened by ‘gay pride,’ Netflix is releasing a show geared towards children where homosexuality and cross-dressing are the focal point.

”

—A petition launched by the Christian Film and Television Commission is demanding Netflix cancel plans for Super Drags, an upcoming drag queen superhero cartoon. The show revolves around a trio of harried department store clerks who transform into drag queens Lemon Chiffon, Cran’s Sapphire and Crimson Scarlet “ready to combat shade and rescue the world’s glitter from the evil villains.” Via IntoMore.com

—Banners displayed by Church of Freedom in Christ Ministries in the Philippines. Church members stood on the Manila Pride parade’s sidelines as part of their “I’m Sorry” campaign. Via LGBTQNation.com

are not afraid. Shopkeepers “arePeople not afraid. However, the governorship is afraid, the police are afraid. They think that they can restrain freedom with the barricades they set up and the tear gas.

”

—An activist, responding to Turkish authorities banning Istanbul Pride for the fourth year, but a thousand LGBTQ people and their supporters still gathered on July 1 before police dispersed them and arrested 11. Via AFP.com (Agence France-Presse)

It’s truly devastating to hear that so “many wouldn’t swipe right for or even kiss someone living with HIV who’s on effective treatment. We’ve known for three decades that HIV can’t be passed on through day-to-day contact and that includes kissing.

”

—Ian Green, the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British charity that campaigns on and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. Green was responding to a recent study that found that three out of ten lesbian, gay, or bisexual people will reject HIV positive people on dating apps, even though the people they’re rejecting are on effective treatments. An additional third indicated that they were “unsure” if they would or not. Via PinkNews.co.uk

Pride Month is “overNowandthatwe’veJune’s entered the muggy July heat, we are ready for a different celebration…. Wrath Month is a chance to remember that before our symbol was a rainbow, it was a hurled brick.… Ours is a love that has cost us everything. It has, in living memory, sent us into exterminations, into exorcisms, into daily indignities and compromises.

We cannot hold jobs with certainty nor hands without fear; we cannot be sure when next the ax will fall with the stroke of a pen. Civility be damned, then, along with everything else about us. Let justice be done…. To our people: Let nothing stand which offends your dignity. To our allies: Help us, really help us, or get out of the way. To our enemies: This army of lovers will stamp out your bigotry.

”

—Anthony Oliveira, a pop culture critic. Via WashingtonPost.com

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MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 21

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection

Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?

Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.

Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com.

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

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

What Is Mytesi?

Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include: • Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am:

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NP-390-19

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

PAGE 22 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Please note: Events, dates and times subject to change without notice. More events available at MontroseStar.com

Ġ Wed › July 11

Ġ Sun › July 15

Q Alley Theatre presents Holmes and Watson,

Q 23rd Street Station–Galveston presents a Weekly Comedy Contest every Sunday 7p (Thru 8/19) 23rdstreetstation.com Q Club Houston – Sunday Buffet, 1p, theclubs.com Q Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land presents the 95.7 the SpotFest feat. Boy George and Culture Club, The B-52s and Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, 6:30p, smartfinancialcentre.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

7:30p (Thru 7/22) alleytheatre.org Q Ensemble Theatre presents Sistas, the Musical (Thru 7/29) ensemblehouston.com Q Obsidian Theater presents The Last 5 Years, the musical (Thru 7/14) obsidiantheater.com Q Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land presents Alison Krauss in concert with special guest Dee White 8p, smartfinancialcentre.com Q Stages Repertory Theatre presents the hilarious The Great American Trailer Park Musical, 7:30p (Thru 7/22) stagestheatre.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

Q Rich’s Nightclub presents Dessie’s Drag Race Season 14 – Grand Finale, 10p, richsnightclub.com Ġ Tue › July 17

Q Ensemble Theatre presents Sistas, the

Q Hobby Center for the Performing Arts presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, The Phantom Returns, 7:30p (Thru 7/22) houston.broadway.com Q Rumors Beach Bar - Galveston hosts Tequila Tuesday with Karaoke and Lip Sync Battles, 8p rumorsbeachbar.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket presents Twisted Tuesdays variety show hosted by Amanda, Ashleey and Alexis Nicole, 9p, followed by Amateur Male Dance Contest, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

Q Matchbox 3: The Catastrophic Theatre presents The Tamarie Cooper Show: Field Trip!

(Thru 8/12) catastrophictheatre.com Q Queensbury Theatre presents the World Premiere of Gwen Flager’s Shankin’ the Blue Flamingo, 8p (Thru 7/22) queensbutytheatre.org Q Rumors Beach Bar - Galveston hosts Thirsty Thursdays with Karaoke and Trivia, 8p, rumorsbeachbar.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Ġ Fri › July 13

Q Music Box Theater presents songs from the 60s & 70s in Feelin’ Groovy 4, 7:30p (Thru 7/28) themusicboxtheater.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

Ġ Fri › July 20

Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Ġ Sat › July 21

Ġ Mon › July 16

Ġ Thu › July 12 Musical (Thru 7/29) ensemblehouston.com

Q Rumors Beach Bar - Galveston hosts Thirsty Thursdays with Karaoke and Trivia, 8p, rumorsbeachbar.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

Ġ Wed › July 18

Q Miller Outdoor Theatre presents Summer Symphony Nights’ Star Spangled Salute, 8:30p, fireworks at 10p milleroutdoortheatre.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket hosts a Amateur Dance Contest, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Ġ Thu › July 19

Q Matchbox 4 presents Ed Asner in his one-man show, A Man and His Prostate, 7:30p, matchouston.org

Ġ Sat › July 14

Boy George

Q Club Houston hosts the July Naked Pool Party feat. DJ Melle, 2p, theclubs.com Q Neon Boots hosts Hot As Balls Bingo, a fundraiser for ERSICSS & Krewe of Olympus, 2p+4p Q The Ripcord hosts the 2018 boy of Montrose Contest, 10:30p, applications at The Ripcord and online at firstfamilyofmontrose. org/boyofmontrose.php Q Tony’s Corner Pocket hosts Lillian Devereaux Skinner and TGRA’s presentation of the Annual Bear Auction, 6p, PLUS Tony’s Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Ġ Sun › July 22

Q 23rd Street Station–Galveston hosts a special afternoon of fun feat. guest Male Dancers from Tony’s Corner Pocket, Noon-5p, followed by the Weekly Comedy Contest––every Sunday 7p (Thru 8/19) 23rdstreetstation.com Q Club Houston – Sunday Buffet, 1p, theclubs.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Ġ Mon › July 23

Q Rich’s Nightclub presents Dessie’s Drag Race Season 14 – Reunion Show & Winner Announced, 10p, richsnightclub.com Ġ Tue › July 24

Q Arena Theatre presents Monica & Leela

Q Tony’s Corner Pocket presents Twisted Tuesdays variety show hosted by Amanda, Ashleey and Alexis Nicole, 9p - PLUS - Tony’s Amateur Male Dance Contest, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

James Live, arenahouston.com Q Tony’s Corner Pocket hosts Jody Travis, Mr. TGRA, in his presentation of “Summer Lovin”, 7-9p, PLUS Tony’s features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket Q Warehouse LIVE presents Kiki Maroon’s Burly Q Lounge, a burlesque variety-tease show, doors at 7:30, show at 8p, burlyqlounge.com

Ġ Wed › July 25

Q Tony’s Corner Pocket features Houston’s Hottest Male Dancers 6 Nights A Week, 10p, facebook.com/tonyscornerpocket

The Pride Series Introspection, an Official Pride VIP event

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» Crossword Queeries ..... 23

Sign of the Times

» STAR BUDS ............................................ 28

» Guide To The Clubs.......... 30

Section

Legalize Cannabis — The Whole Plant

MONTROSE STAR .COM

THE GAY-ETY STARTS HERE! WEDNESDAY JULY 11,

B

2018 e VOL.

IX, 8

July: Just when you thought…

I

Across the Causeway

e By

Forest Riggs

f you have ever wanted to test that old saying about it being “hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk,” now is the time.

Hot sidewalks, hot beaches, hot parking lots, hot current affairs — it’s all hot, hot, hot!

July started with a vengeance and, if the Island’s favorite meteorologist Frank Billingsley and others are correct, we are in for even greater heat and stifling humidity as the summer grows long. As Shirley Q. Liquor would say, “Hunneeeee….I sho’ need to get my corn starch!

Galvestonians love to joke that they all have beautiful, smooth skin thanks to the natural “moisturizing” humidity. There may be something to this, but right now others and I would take a few wrinkles to be cooler!

Hot weather is good for a lot of things like going to the beach, working on tans, crabbing, cooking out with friends, sweaty tea dances and even growing okra. It is also good for the HVAC folks that are running to and fro on the island to make repairs, charge systems and install cooling units. Understandably they charge a bit more in the summer months. Who in their right mind wants to climb around in hot attics and under old houses in this heat and horrible humidity. We joke about prostitutes making a living by the “sweat of their loins” however these AC folks are the ones that are really making a living by their sweat.

There are many industries and business that do better in the summer and warmer months, especially on Galveston Island. This little bar island in the Gulf loves tourists and all they bring to the local scene and economy. Beaches draw visitors like flies to honey during the summer. Lines are longer, traffic is a mess and ferry waits can take hours, literally.

And Galveston’s fantastic LGBTQ community welcomes visitors and friends for some memory-making good times. You just can’t go wrong by stepping into any of the three LGBTQ clubs on the island. Robert’s Lafitte, Rumors and 23rd St. Station Piano bar are usually full during the summer months, each offering something unique and special.

Rumors offers fantastic shows, a view to die for and an interior that screams good times. Lafitte’s, a long-time LGBTQ institution, offers a huge party atmosphere in a small package, a tropical patio and an inviting pool, not to mention weekly drag shows performed in the “old school” style. 23rd Street Piano bar has become the live music spot for the LGBTQ community and with its tropical patio bar, friendly staff and new look inside, makes patrons feel like they are part of the neighborhood.

Don’t forget, there are a few “stray” bars around, too. Galveston clubs are pretty laid back and really no one cares who or what you are, as long as you behave and have a good time!

A different storm

Anyone that follows the news knows the LGBTQ community and lifestyle is under attack. It is disheartening to read, listen and see the latest steps the current administration is taking to make “different” people less than second-class citizens. Personally, I don’t like talking politics or religion, but somewhere along the way the two got intertwined and with bastardized version of each.

Health care, science, the environment, education — all have been hijacked by right wing, nut-case ideology. Members of every LGBTQ community must stand together and stand hard, making our wishes and voices known. Write letters, make calls and gather when you can to support worthy issues.

The damages now being dumped on Americans will take years, possibly generations, to correct.

Stuff is happening that runs far deeper than a few “presidential” signed items that make for a great photo op and placate the right-wing masses.

Super conservative, right wing nuthatches are in charge of many programs and institutions where they are making cuts, terminations and bad decisions based on personal bias and twisted theology. The folks that are suffering the most are the ones that Mr. Trump is not going to benefit from in any fashion or form. The time for action is now, not after we have been stripped of our rights.

Be safe, be active and for goodness sake, be an informed voter. e Forest Riggs, a resident of Galveston, is no stranger to the adventures of life. A former educator and business owner, he enjoys Island life and all that comes with it. He says he is a “raconteur with a Quixotic, gypsy spirit.” He has written for several newspapers and magazines as well as other writing pursuits, including a novel and collection of short stories.

PAGE 24 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

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PAGE 28 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Star Buds

Legalize Cannabis — The Whole Plant e By

appy Weedsday everyone! I hope everyone is having an amazing

day!

During the average course of my day, I talk to just about anyone that will converse with me about cannabis.

And I love it! I have some of the most interesting discussions, for sure.

In this issue, I want to talk about the Entourage Effect regarding cannabis.

Since the 1960s when scientists first discovered we humans have an endocannabinoid system in our bodies, there have been tons of discoveries like terpenes, cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors.

But what are cannabinoids, exactly?

To answer that you need to know that endocannabinoids are cannabinoids that are produced naturally by the human body. “Endo” stands for endogenous, which means originating within the body.

In contrast, exogenous cannabinoids come from plants such as cannabis. They are also known as phytocannabinoids. The Greek root “phyto” means plant.

Cannabinoids are the chemicals that give the cannabis plant its medical and recreational properties.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

H

Rena McCain

The CBD molecule.

Most people who are familiar with cannabis know what THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are, but there are so many others. THC and CBD are just the tip of the iceberg!

CBD is known to ease anxiety and depression. It has been instrumental in easing seizures and is also excellent for pain relief and many other problems. It’s safe enough to even use for your pets, as well, in lower doses.

THC combats some serious nausea and vomiting problems, and

many others. THC also combats some situations of pain, as well.

THC has been used in “big pharma” medications such as marinol.

CBC (cannabichromene) is another beneficial cannabinoid that gets overlooked a lot in the discussion of cannabis. CBC does not effect the C1 receptor in the brain so it does not cause the high that THC does, but it’s good for killing pain. CBD also has some antibacterial and possible antifungal properties, as well as possible antidepressant effects. Imagine

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getting rid of acne with cannabis! This would be the cannabinoid to use!

THC cannabinoid compound

So that was a really small explanation of a few cannabinoids off the top of my head to illustrate the Entourage Effect. Now, in my opinion (and mine only, although I happen to agree with Dr. Sanjay Gupta), It seems to me that a combination of all the cannabinoids is the way to go! The whole plant!

I agree that isolating certain cannabinoids and using them for what they are good for can definitely help a person’s health, but I believe in allowing the plant to do its whole work, in concert, if you will.

If you take the drummer out of a really good band and leave only the singer and bass player and the electric guitar, some back up singers, in my opinion it’s not really a good band anymore because its lacking something.

To separate cannabinoids seems like it would take away from its whole helpfulness. Legalize cannabis — the whole plant! e Rena McCain is a co-founder of the Cannabis Open Carry Walks. Find her on Facebook at Rena McCain, or via Twitter @sassikatt24 and Instagram at ganja_grrl420.

Crossword Queeries

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 29

SIGN OF THE TIMES Across

48 Canon camera

24 Actor Jude and family

51 Hangout for Natalie Barney

25 I

5 Dog in The Thin Man

55 End of the message

27 What hangs from a Cuban

9 Recess at St. Peter’s

60 Giant star

28 David Bowie genre

13 Guy embraced by

61 Continent of Margaret

29 Vidal’s

homophiles?

Cho’s parents

from Golgotha

14 Illegal block by Esera Tuaola

62 Catch sight of

30 Biblical garden

15 Cry before claiming

63 Enchanted Disney character

31 Open a crack

immortality

64 Courteous chap

32 Sea bottom captain

16 Maneuver slowly

65 Dick Tracy’s girlfriend

33 In midvoyage, maybe

17 Tru friend?

Trueheart

35 Thornton Wilder’s

19 Start of a message on a

66 .0Circle of life for

The Bridge of San Rey

Denver church’s marquee sign

The Lion King?

36 Chili pot

21 Witherspoon of

67 And so

39 And, to Rilke

Legally Blonde 2

Down

40 Franklin, religiously

22 Dry, to Antoni Porowski

1 Weapon of Caesar’s day

of Queer Eye

2 Show Boat director James

23 Slippery swimmers

3 Way of the theater

26 Name of many gay bars

4 Tickle pink

31 Gasteyer of SNL

5 BenGay target

34 Cross-dressing artist Frida

6 Cabbage salad

37 Used firehouse poles

7 Foursome of drivers

38 More of the message

8 Fruit of Adam and Steve?

41 Sherman Hemsley

9 Big hairdo

religious sitcom

10 Key West tree

42 Subway token taker

11 Barrie buccaneer

43 Queens on a

12 Wide shoe spec

chessboard, ironically

18 Homo leader to toga-wearers?

44 Yellow Brick way and others

20 Offends the olfactories

1

spit (kiss)

46 Travel with your first mate

Andy Warhol

45 Goes out with 47

aux Folles

49 More queer, but not less straight 50 Upright erection 52 Cutting light 53 Rubber-stamping 54 “Faboo!”

55 Home, to Glenn Burke 56 Part of Etheridge’s equipment 57 Elton John’s 88 58 In good shape 59 Like the end of a bacchanal?

60 Shark foe in West Side Storyv

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PAGE 30 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018

Guide to the Clubs HOUSTON

n MONTROSE - MIDTOWN Moon Tower Inn 3004 Canal St, 77003 (832) 969-1934 • damngoodfoodcoldassbeer.com Hot Dogs | Beer Gardens

Crocker Bar 2312 Crocker St, Houston (713) 529-3355 Large Deck | Karaoke George’s Country Sports Bar 617 Fairview Ave, Houston (713) 528-8102 Sports Bar | Pool & Darts | Patio Guava Lamp 570 Waugh Dr, Houston (713) 524-3359 • guavalamphouston.com Video Lounge | Karaoke | Mixed JR’s Bar and Grill & Santa Fe 808 Pacific St, Houston (713) 521-2519 • jrsbarandgrill.com Videos | Patio | Karaoke | Shows

Tout Suite 2001 Commerce, 77002 713-227-8688 • toutsuitetx.com Bakery | Cafe | Pub Voodoo Queen 322 Milby St, 77003 713-555-5666 • damngoodfoodcoldassbeer.com Casual | Po’ Boys | Games

Michael’s Outpost Piano Bar 1419 Richmond Ave, Houston (713) 520-8446 Neighborhood Bar | Pub | Piano

n DOWNTOWN / WARDS 1-4 Tony’s Corner Pocket 817 West Dallas Street, Houston (713) 571-7870 • tonyscornerpocket.com Neighborhood Bar | Pool | Dancers

Rich's Houston 2401 San Jacinto (281) 846-6685 RichsNightclub.com

n HOUSTON - NORTH SIDE Ranch Hill Saloon 24704 Interstate 45, Spring (281) 298-9035 • ranchhill.com Country | Cowgirl | Neighborhood Bar

Barcode Houston 817 Fairview Ave, Houston (713) 526-2625 • facebook.com/barcode77006

Shows | Neighborhood Bar | CD/Trans The Ripcord 715 Fairview St, Houston (713) 521-2792 • facebook.com/ripcordhouston Leather | Uniform | Fetish | Men n DOWNTOWN / EADO Lucky’s Pub - Downtown 801 St Emanuel St, 77003 (713) 522-2010 • Luckyspub.com Sports Bar | Food

Neil’s Bahr 2006 Walker St, 77003 (281) 352-7456 • NeilsBahr.com Premier Nerd | Gamer | Intellectual hangout

The Room Bar 4915 FM 2920 Rd, Spring (281) 907-6866 • roombarspring.com Neighborhood Bar | Shows | Dance | Mixed n NW HOUSTON Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon 11410 Hempstead Highway Houston, TX 77092 (713) 677-0828 • neonbootsclub.com

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Viviana’s Night Club 4624 Dacoma St, Houston (713) 681-4101 • vivianasniteclub.com Latino | Tejano | Dance n HOUSTON - SW Crystal Night Club 6684 SW Fwy, Houston (713) 278- 2582 • crystaltheclub.com Latin Dance | Salsa n HEIGHTS / WASHINGTON CORRIDOR Pearl Lounge 4216 Washington, Houston 832-740-4933 • pearlhouston.com Neighborhood Art Bar | Live Music | Women

GALVESTON

23rd Street Station 1706 23rd St, Galveston (409) 443-5678 • 23rdstreetstation.com Neighborhood Bar | Pub | Shows Robert’s Lafitte 2501 Ave Q, Galveston (409) 765-9092 • galveston.com/robertslafitte Neighborhood Bar | Pub | Cruise | Shows Rumors Beach Bar 3102 Seawall Blvd., Galveston (409) 497-4617 • RumorsBeachBar.com Beach bar | Shows

SOLUTION FROM p29

MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday July 11, 2018 | PAGE 31

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