PGN April 27-May 3, 2018 by The Philadelphia Gay News

pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Vol. 42 No. 17 April 27 - May 3, 2018

Family Portrait: Bryan Hoffman is all about art that’s hot PAGE 23

Delaware Valley Legacy Fund celebrates LGBT heroes

PAGE 6

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM

Philly Pride announces 2018 grand marshals

The coda on a life full of music

PAGE 9

PAGE 5

Will PPD ever implement commission’s recommendations? By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

OPENING LINEUP: The City of Brotherly Love Softball League concluded opening-day festivities April 22 with ceremonial first pitches by Mayor Jim Kenney (left), Kenney’s Director of LGBT Affairs Amber Hikes and Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) 2017 hall-of-fame inductees Jennifer Brown and Chrissy Hunsberger. This is the 35th season of Philadelphia LGBT softball. Information on the organization and how to play on a team is at cblsl.org. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Philadelphians join Penn scientist in search for HIV cure By Timothy Roberts PGN Contributor Dr. Louis Montaner of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wistar Institute did not set out to debunk the work of some top European HIV researchers who claimed they had found a way to identify elusive HIV-infected blood cells. But he did. In an article published earlier this month, Montaner and other collaborators from around the world found that the blood cell identified in the study did not expose the hiding places of latent HIV-infected cells. The discovery of those latent cells is what Montaner calls “the holy grail.” The research at Wistar may have saved millions of dollars from being wasted chasing clues down a dead end. That’s especially important to Montaner because his organization is about to embark on a major trial that will combine established therapies

to see whether, together, they will be more effective. The study, part of a $26-million effort funded by the National Institutes of Health, will focus on 33 Philadelphians to be recruited by another local HIV/ AIDS organization, Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers. The subjects of the trials could have an impact on HIV research worldwide, Montaner said. Philadelphia FIGHT has attracted HIV research to Philadelphia since it was founded in 1990, said Karam Mounzer, chief medical officer and medical director at FIGHT’s PAGE 2 Jonathan Lax Treatment

Five years after the city’s Police Advisory Commission issued a series of recommendations to the Philadelphia Police Department arising from the Nizah Morris homicide, the department still hasn’t implemented any of them. The PAC is a city-funded watchdog agency that investigates complaints of police misconduct and recommends policy changes when deemed necessary. It has 13 commissioners, six staffers and an annual budget of about $750,000. Morris was a trans woman of color who was found with a fatal head injury shortly after receiving a Center City “courtesy ride” from police. The December 2002 homicide remains unsolved. The advocates continue to call for state and federal probes. In 2003, the police department stated that it had misplaced its entire Morris homicide file. Eight years later, some of those records were located in the city Archives Unit. But many records remain missing, including a complete set of 911 recordings relating to the incident. Police officers who handled the incident communicated via cell phone, making it even more difficult for investigators to reconstruct their movements. On-duty offi-

cers typically communicate via a police-radio system. A recording of their conversations is preserved for future review, if necessary. The PAC’s 2013 report on the Morris incident concluded that a joint investigation conducted by police and Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office was “appalling.” The report contains four recommendations to the police department, including a directive regulating courtesy rides; a directive regulating the use of private cell phones by on-duty police officers; and a revised “hospital-cases” directive stating that an officer following up on a 911 call for medical assistance shouldn’t unilaterally cancel medics en route to assess the situation. A police-department spokesperson had no comment on the lack of implementation of the PAC’s Morris recommendations other than to provide a link to Philadelphia police directives posted online. A review of the online directives — along with information gathered from other sources — reveals that none of the four PAC recommendations has been implemented. However, LGBT-bias training for cadets increased in May 2017 from one hour to two hours. The fourth PAC recommendation calls for mandatory 12-hour LGBT-bias training for police recruits and PAGE 15

Judge orders Social Security to recognize PA same-sex common-law marriages By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com In a sharply worded ruling this week, U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller ordered the Social Security Administration to recognize same-sex common-law marriages in Pennsylvania if the marriages have already been recognized by a state court. Last year, John D. Roberts, a gay Philadelphia man, sued the SSA, claiming the agency was unfairly denying him monthly widower’s benefits after the December 2015 death of his spouse, Bernard O. Wilkerson. In his lawsuit, Roberts, 65, noted that a state court in 2016 recognized his common-law marriage to Wilkerson dating back to 1990. The SSA, however, maintained it needed more “clear and convincing” evidence that a common-law marriage existed. On April 23, in an 11-page ruling, Schiller said a state court’s recognition of a couple’s marriage should be enough evidence for the federal agency. Schiller also ordered SSA to pay about $28,000 in legal fees and costs incurred by Roberts. “We hope this ruling will convince Social Security to follow the law in the future,” said M. Patrick Yingling, an attorney for Roberts. A spokesperson for the SSA couldn’t be reached for comment. n

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Resource listings Legal resources • ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215-592-1513; aclupa.org • AIDS Law Project of PA: 215-587-9377; aidslawpa.org • AIDS Law Project of South Jersey: 856-784-8532; aidslawsnj.org/ • Equality PA: equalitypa. org; 215-731-1447

• Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations — Rue Landau: 215-686-4670 • Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-7603686; ppd.lgbt@gmail.com • SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-920-9537

• Office of LGBT Affairs — Amber Hikes: 215-686-0330; amber.hikes@phila.gov

Community centers • The Attic Youth Center; 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. • LGBT Center at the University of Pennsylvania; 3907 Spruce

St.; 215-898-5044, center@dolphin.upenn.edu.

• Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center

Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org.

• William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org.

Health and HIV testing • Action Wellness: 1216 Arch St.; 215981-0088, actionwellness.org

• AIDS Library:

1233 Locust St.; aidslibrary.org/

• AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800-6626080

• Bebashi-Transition to Hope: 1235 Spring Garden St.; 215769-3561; bebashi.org

• COLOURS: coloursorganization.org, 215832-0100 • Congreso de Latinos Unidos;

216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870

• GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, galaei.org. Spanish/ English

• Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad

St.; 215-685-1821

• Mazzoni Center:

1348 Bainbridge St.; 215-563-0652, mazzonicenter.org

• Philadelphia FIGHT: 1233 Locust St.; 215-985-4448, fight.org

• Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center:

1201 Locust St.; 215985-9206

• Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207

Other • Independence Branch Library Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection: 215-685-1633 • Independence Business Alliance; 215-557-0190, IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com

• LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK • PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 • Philly Pride Presents: 215-875-9288

HIV from page 1

Center. Researchers such as those at Wistar have to go after, it would make strategies a lot more been working with FIGHT for more than 20 efficient and focused,” the doctor said. The new discovery outlined in the Nature artiyears to recruit participants for studies and trials. “Our research team is very experienced at cle promised a guide to the reservoirs of latent identifying the right patients,” he said. “We can HIV. “It was going to make a big difference in find those individuals who are a good fit and willing to be part of this quest to conquer the our ability to find and study” the latent cells, Montaner said. disease.” But once they started to incorporate the proCollaborations between research institutes and local communities are not uncommon, but cess in the Nature report, something didn’t seem Wistar and Philly FIGHT are especially close, right. “We thought we must be wrong,” Montaner allowing researchers to move ahead quickly, said. “So we decided to recruit multiple teams Montaner said. And so, when a study appeared last April to look at this.” Montaner assembled teams in Barcelona, in the prestigious journal Nature saying that a cell known as CD32 was a biomarker for the Utah, Atlanta, Nebraska and at home at the latent cells that medicine can’t seem to reach, University of Pennsylvania. Their findings, pubresearchers led by Wistar decided to incorporate lished earlier this month in a journal called that finding in their new trials to help them target Science Translational Medicine, found that the CD32 cells that were supposed to have been the their research better. The big question in HIV research today marker telling scientists where the latent HIV is why the virus goes quiet after therapy yet cells were hiding don’t find them after all. The cells are still usepersists. When therapy is stopped “The big question in HIV research ful, concluded the researchers. They after the virus is no today is why the virus goes quiet help identify where longer detectable, cells that are reprothe virus comes after therapy but persists. When roaring back. therapy is stopped after the virus ducing the virus may be. The hope in the The next step upcoming study is is no longer detectable, the virus for the study is to to find a clue that comes roaring back.” undertake trials that will lead researchcombine Interferon, ers to those cells containing the latent virus. This a protein than can stop a virus from reproducing, cell would be called a biomarker. “If you had such a marker, you could potentially with antibodies, said Montaner. Each has been go in and find HIV and try to get it out,” he said. used in the past to some effect. The question is, This concept is called shock and kill. The Will the effect be exponentially better if they are therapy would shock the virus out of hiding, combined? There will also be a trial of a gene allowing the immune system kill it, explained therapy. Those trials are expected to begin in the fall. Montaner. “I don’t know if the people who walk around But there’s a problem. The shock-and-kill therapies are not very specific. Like cancer Philadelphia at 12th Street have a realization that they are having an impact on the entire field of drugs, they affect a patient’s entire system. “If you had a biomarker that could surgically HIV research across the globe,” Montaner said. go for that small number of cells that you need But, he added, they are. n

Delaware police investigate alleged hate crime By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Newark police this week are investigating a suspected hate crime against a gay man while he was leaving a fraternity party near the University of Delaware. Rancel Valdez, 23, of Dover, Del., was assaulted by multiple people attending an off-campus party hosted by Phi Gamma Delta on North Chapel Street in Newark. Valdez sustained a fractured leg and other injuries during the April 13 incident. He was hospitalized for two days and will be unable to return to work for about a month, according to published reports. A video of the alleged assault was posted online, showing multiple people punching Valdez as he is laying on the ground. A woman can be seen trying to stop others from punching or kicking Valdez. An anti-LGBT slur was hurled at Valdez during the incident, police said. “The Newark police are actively investigating this assault and the elements of it,

which may lead to a charge of a hate crime in addition to the assault,” poilce said in a statement. University of Delaware president Dennis Assanis said any students who participated in the assault will be “held accountable for their actions.” “The offensive language reportedly used in the incident stands in stark contrast to UD’s core values of diversity and inclusion,” said Assanis in a statement. “Our community is better than this, and I encourage you to join me in our ongoing commitment to cultivate a culture of inclusion and respect at the University of Delaware.” Newark police confirmed the incident will also be reviewed by the Delaware Department of Justice. A department spokesperson declined to comment about specific details of the incident, noting the matter is “an active investigation.” Anyone with information about the incident should contact Newark Police Officer A. Maiura at AMaiura@newark.de.us or call 302-366-7100 ext. 3495. n

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The 30th anniversary Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival is June 10.

PHILLY PR IDE !

How How will will you you show show your your Pride? Pride?

News & Opinion

10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Mark My Words Street Talk Transmissions

Columns

12 — On Being Well: Grieving a loved one 13 — Gettin’ On: Endof-life decisions 14 — Mombian: A 25th anniversary reflection

“My work uplifting the LGBTQ community, especially our LGBTQ youth, has been so important to me, which is why being honored as a DVLF hero means so much.” ~ Councilwoman Helen Gym, on being the DVLF Heroes straight Ally recipient, page 6

Arts & Culture

19 — Feature: A fresh take on “Carmen” 21 — Scene in Philly 23 — Family Portrait 26 — Out & About 28 — Q Puzzle

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TOASTING LIFE: Philadelphia FIGHT was one of several nonprofit organizations that joined Action Wellness at the Dining Out For Life April 19 at this year’s host restaurant, Parc. Toasting the event are FIGHT Chief Operating Officer Barbara Bungy (from left), board president Scott Wilds and CEO Jane Shull. More than 150 Philadelphiaarea restaurants pledged 33 percent of every diner’s food bill from that night to Action Wellness. Dining Out For Life started in Philadelphia more than 25 years ago and has spread to about 50 cities across North America. For information on joining the year-round discounted Tuesday-night dinner club or to find information on other DOFL topics, go to diningoutforlife.com. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Philly Pride grand-marshal list includes first Pride Couple By Scott A. Drake scott@epgn.com Where there’s a parade, there’s usually a big float carrying a grand marshal. Philly Pride Presents names several grand marshals each year. In fact, PPP was the first organization in the country to include youth grand marshals. This year, along with the usual contingent on the Philly Pride Grand Marshals float, a couple will be recognized with the new category of Grand Marshal Couple. The inaugural Pride couple is Dante Austin, the LGBT liaison to the Sheriff’s Office, and Robert “Tito” Valdez, an assistant city solicitor in the Child Welfare Department.

VALDEZ (LEFT) AND AUSTIN

Austin and Valdez met when they were attending the “Future of the Movement” panel discussion during the Democratic National Convention in 2016. As they mingled, they talked about criminal-justice reform and other topics of interest to both of them. Before parting, they exchanged information, and the rest is history. As you might imagine, the couple stays pretty busy with their jobs, which may require more than just the 40 hours per week most people are used to. They agree that quality time and discussion are keys to supporting one another. “Being in a relationship is work,” said Valdez. “It requires the capacity to prioritize another person’s feelings and needs as a key component of your decision-making. It requires you to be compassionate, to understand that not every day will be sunshine and flowers, and be able to count on your partner to love you.” Austin agreed. “I like to think of it like most things in life — you get out of it what you put into it,” said Austin. “Tito and I live pretty busy lives but we make sure to always make time for one another. It may sound cliché, but he really is my best friend and so much more. Life certainly throws challenges our way, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we can tackle anything.” As the first couple tapped for the new marshal category, Austin acknowledged the opportunity to show the PAGE 7

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

LOCAL PGN

Meet this year’s DVLF Heroes By Gary L. Day PGN Contributor

The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund’s Heroes Awards is honoring seven individuals, organizations and companies for exceptional work on behalf of the Philadelphia-area LGBTQ community. “The DVLF has always been about promoting LGBTQ philanthropy,” said Mark Beyerle, chair of the awards committee. The awards take the form of grants to deserving individuals and organizations that, Beyerle said, “support the emerging needs of the community. It’s a way of planning for the future.” Here, we profile the honorees. Dante Austin, individual Austin is the LGBTQ liaison to the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department and the first officer to serve as liaison to a Pennsylvania law-enforcement agency. “I take a lot of pride in representing our community in a profession where we’re significantly underrepresented. Some days are definitely more challenging than others, but in the end, it’s always worth it. Sure, it would be nice to live in a world where we didn’t have to educate people about our identities, but we’re not quite there yet. I know a few people who have previously won this award, and it’s an honor to know people hold me in that same regard.”

Councilwoman Helen Gym, straight ally. “I came into office in 2016 with a justice-driven agenda to fight for everyone in our city,” said Gym. “In a city like Philadelphia, we have the opportunity to lead the way in affirming the rights of all our LGBTQ neighbors. My work uplifting the LGBTQ community, especially our LGBTQ youth, has been so important to me, which is why being honored as a DVLF hero means so much.” Jerome Pipes of the Camden Area Health Education Center, nonprofit work Pipes is the lead health educator and psychosocial support-services coordinator at the center. “I provide individualized, intensive adherence counseling, one-on-one education and group education for people living with HIV/AIDS to increase accessible, comprehensive, quality HIV medical care and support services.” On the award, Pipes said: “The work I do isn’t for me; my heart and soul pours into someone else so deeply that it often consumes me. Working in nonprofit, social and civil service for others has always been my passion. One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou: ‘I come as one but stand as 10,000.’ [The moment I heard that], I asked God to use me also to become a beacon of hope for someone else.” Ayyden Edwards, 16, youth work Edwards is a member of the Justice

League, an after-school internship program that addresses social-justice issues impacting queer and trans youth, as well as The Attic Youth Center’s Thrive Project. “Through his outreach and advocacy, Edwards has pushed for LGBTQ youth housing security, mentalhealth support services, disability rights, and more,” DVLF said in a statement. Geno Vento, local business Vento is the “Geno” in popular South Philly cheesesteak emporium, Geno’s Steaks, owned and operated by the second-generation entrepreneur. “Giving back to Philadelphia has always been really important to me. I was nominated for this award specifically for my partnership with the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, and my support for their community and youth-outreach initiatives. I love being able to lend my voice and support to make a positive impact, especially within the LGBTQ community. Receiving this award means a lot to me, and inspires me to continue the great work we are doing.” American Reading Company, national business American Reading Company provides curricula and children’s literature to more than 5,000 schools, placing literacy and agency at the heart of school transformation. Matt Reher, director of academic

design, is accepting the award on the organization’s behalf. “I grew up in Louisiana, and I was subjected to the heteronormative social culture that persists to this day. I was made to study the contributions of straight white men to our country’s history. American Reading Company builds curricula and libraries that promote LGBTQ authors and characters, and puts these libraries in classrooms from coast to coast.” About the Hero Award, Reher said: “American Reading Company’s roots are in Philadelphia, and since the company began taking shape in a North Philly middle-school classroom 20 years ago, the mission to support every student has never wavered. It is truly thrilling to work for a company being honored by DVLF.” A special Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to the DVLF Legacy Society, comprised of generous leaders who have made bequests or estate gifts to help meet the needs of Greater Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community for years to come. The group has more than 50 members and a pipeline of more than $14 million in planned gifts through wills, IRAs, 401Ks, life insurance, real estate, valuables, trusts, annuities and more. n The 2018 Delaware Valley Legacy Fund brunch and awards ceremony will be held April 29 at 12:30 pm at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco, 433 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. For more information, visit dvlf.org/heroes.

PGN PRIDE from page 5

LGBT and non-LGBT community how love between two people, regardless of gender, ethnicity or other dividing labels, can ease some of the discrimination in the world. “One of the common reasons members of our community are discriminated against is rooted in who we love,” he said. “So for us to be able to ride on the grand-marshal float as a proud, openly gay couple is a great feeling. I think that moment will only add to our pretty gay love story.” The other grand marshals in this year’s Pride parade include John James, a Philadelphia elder who marched in the Annual Reminder Days at Independence Hall in the mid-1960s; Heshie Zinman, cofounder of the AIDS Library; David Fair, part of the Elder Initiative; Barbara McLean, known for her work in health, especially with trans people, through Philadelphia FIGHT and The Philadelphia

AIDS Consortium; and Deborah Johnson, visitor-services director at the African American Museum of Philadelphia. McLean said she’s especially proud to have been chosen for the 30th anniversary Pride, and to be part of the “varied relevance in the LGBTQ community.” “My presence in this/my community has been orchestrated by love, need, pride, resistance, fear and fight,” McLean said. “And I continue to rise up!” This year’s youth grand marshals will be Paige Aiken and CiCi Griffin. The two were chosen because, as Alyssa Mutrin of The Attic said, “they are both committed to developing their own leadership skills and making positive contributions to the LGBTQ community in Philadelphia.” The 2018 Friend of Pride honor is bestowed upon Councilman Derek Green, a longtime advocate for LGBT rights and protections. The 30th annual Pride parade and festival will be held June 10. n

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LOCAL PGN

Obituary Stephen Wade Elkins, an LGBT pioneer in Rehoboth Beach Stephen Wade Elkins, who spent a quarter-century working to make Rehoboth Beach, Del. a more open and positive place, died March 15 from lymphoma. He was 67. Steve approached his illness as he did his life: with a sense of humor and resolve. But it was cancer. And it was determined. Steve was a Southern boy by birth, and he never lost a taste for barbecue and sweet tea. He grew up in Atlanta — an Eagle Scout — with a drive to succeed. He graduated from the University of Georgia and soon went to work in the White House of President Jimmy Carter. It was in that White House in 1978 that Steve met Murray Archibald, the man who would become his life partner and, finally, after people like he and Murray opened the eyes of the world and the courts, his husband. On leaving the White House, Steve excelled in business. He worked in computers before they were household tools, climbing the ladder in cities like Syracuse and Norfolk. He was at the top of his game in New York City, enjoying his success, his partner and his friends and family when all the sparkle of the Big Apple began to dim. AIDS came to America, and he watched friends die. Far too many, with far too much promise. He saw people who needed a hand and a hug and place to feel safe, and to learn how to be safe. Rehoboth was that place. Steve and Murray, who is my brother, founded the non-profit CAMP (Create a More Positive) Rehoboth in 1991 to open doors and hearts to all people in the community, whether gay or straight. They were, in the early days, met with resistance. Steve, with a mind for politics and business and the humor to cut through the coldest heart, took on city-hall and zoning laws that would discriminate. He took on closed minds in the city who warned this CAMP would bring the wrong element to Delaware. He began to preach his gospel of “room for all.” That was 25 years ago, before CAMP Rehoboth became one of the most respected and successful nonprofits of its kind. As Last month, as Steve lay in his deathbed surrounded by family and friends, the governor called to give his respects. So did a senator and a congresswoman, and people of goodwill from across the eastern seaboard.

Steve did what Steve always did. He shattered stereotypes and opened hearts with his example, his humor, his attention to detail and his sheer will. And of course his singing voice, which he found later in life. He was a showman — a “bossy showman,” as his sister Judy would put it. He was never happier than belting out an old Methodist hymn, and was as likely to burst into song in an Alabama Walmart as he was in church. But he never sang more sweetly or beamed more brightly than he did from the choir loft at Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth. Steve loved his family back home in Georgia, and he visited his mother and sister every Christmas of his life. He loved Murray’s family too. He was brother, uncle, backbone, shoulder-to-lean-on and friend. He could cite law or scripture, and follow it up with a bawdy joke and a tittering laugh. He could do to any room what he did in his professional life. He could surprise, and change minds, and comfort, and fill the space with laughter and love. He could make it better because he had been there. He loved. And he was loved. Steve leaves his husband, Murray, who carries on his work and his light. He leaves his mother, Lucille Elkins, and sister Judy Buchanan. He leaves nieces and nephews who remember him both as clown and voice of clarity. He leaves too many friends to count. A Celebration of Life was held at Epworth United Methodist Church on Holland Glade Road in Rehoboth Beach on April 9. He would also ask that donations be made to CAMP Rehoboth. And that you treat each other well. And to remember there is “room for all.” n John Archibald, brother of Murray Archibald, writes for Alabama’s Birmingham News and just won a 2017 Pulitzer Prize for lyrical and courageous commentary that is rooted in Alabama but has a national resonance in scrutinizing corrupt politicians, championing the rights of women and calling out hypocrisy.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Obituary Ghosha D’Aguanno, By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor On an early Sunday evening, with the sun still shining brightly outside her door, a small crowd gathers around mixologist Ashley Coleman’s bar at Tavern at Camac. As people wander into the Tavern’s dark glow, the bar’s sleekly shined piano and stool — one of TOC’s most famous elements — sit empty. For the Tavern’s true habitués, these Sunday evenings (along with Wednesday Night at the Drive-In) belonged to Patricia “Ghosha” D’Aguanno, the Gayborhood pianist/singer and longtime musical presence who passed away April 17 from the complications of cancer. “Everything moved so quickly with her illness that it was shocking,” said Coleman. Barman Amede Bennett said he expected the “strong and emotional reaction” to come flooding in as the Sunday progressed. He wasn’t wrong. “The loss is just devastating. I feel it already,” said Louis Serafine,

a 10-year veteran of D’Aguanno’s Sundays at TOC. Holding back tears, Serafine, dressed in black, brought long-stemmed roses that he set upon the piano near a makeshift memorial of a single candle and stones next to TOC’s glass, top-hat tip jar. Another decade-long fan of the late pianist, Andrew Mars from the band Settled Arrows, said, “Her soul always shone through in her music.” Though she carried on with Thursday nights playing gigs at North Philly’s SawTown Tavern, the piano at Tavern on Camac was the center of her universe — and that of the Gayborhood — as far as most patrons were concerned. Jeffrey Beiter, D’Aguanno’s fellow Sunday TOC pianist, had only just set up a YouCaring crowd-funding site for D’Aguanno’s medical care. “The community is really hurting,” wrote Beiter on his Facebook page. Musicians who worked with or around D’Aguanno over the years were quick to react to her passing with amusing stories. Michael Richard Kelly-Cataldi, co-owner of Glenside’s Dino’s Backstage, said that the pair both sang at the cab-

Your invited to join the celebration...

aret The Club Above 247 on South 17th Street in the ’80s. “Even when we performed on different nights, we would each come in and support the other,” he said. Vocalist John Charles recalled many of D’Aguanno’s past showcases within the last 20 years: nights at the Bike Stop, Cibo on Walnut St., “where the waiters and waitresses got up and sang with her,” New Hope’s Cub Room and Key West. “I even saw her at a bed-and-breakfast in Switzerland,” said Charles. D’Aguanno’s brother Frank D’Aguanno, a local musician who famously played in bands such as Meaningless Tag in the 1990s,

filled in his sister’s biography. “While there was a 21-year difference between us, we led very similar, oddly mirrored lives,” said D’Aguanno of his 67-yearold sister. She was born and raised at 33rd and Allegheny until the family moved to Bucks County. She attended Bucks County Community College and Temple University before getting involved in local music through studio advertising jingle work in the early 1970s. D’Aguanno eventually met her musical partner (“maybe beyond that too,” said her brother), Leslie Cao Mowatt. Together the pair moved to the West Coast in a quest for higher learning, “a very important spiritual part of her life.” Once she returned to Philly from that sabbatical, D’Aguanno formed a keyboard-based rock band called The Square Roots. “It was around this same time too that she began connecting to the Philly gay community with showcases at the Bike Stop and 247,” said her brother. What people may not have known about Ghosha D’Aguanno

is that she held countless diverse jobs, from rose delivery and candle-making to working with horses in veterinarian clinics. Ghosha and Frank also began taking care of the children of their other sister, Lisa D’Aguanno, when she passed away in 2004. Around the D’Aguanno home in Feasterville, Frank says there are at least 60 boxes of Ghosha’s original music recordings and sheet music around their house. “She just wanted to make music.” Stephen Carlino, owner of Tavern on Camac since 2004, noted that D’Aguanno was different from any other entertainer he had witnessed. “She played pop from the past to the present and could do so for five hours, nonstop, without a break and without sheet music. Beyond that, however, she was family. We thought that her having to take off work was the beginning of the fight.” That she died so quickly is devastating to Carlino, her brother and everyone around her, Carlino said. “She was a comet that had to flame out immediately, rather than dissipate slowly,” said her brother. n

New Hope Celebrates 15 Years of Community Pride • “The United Colors Of Love”

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Special Events & Dances Friday, May 18th Pride Parade & Fair Saturday, May 19th Pool Party at The Raven & Ladies Party at Havana Sunday, May 20th

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"Showbiz Spitfire" Paige Turner

Stephanie Chin

Leonardo Martinez

DJ Krk

Josh Zuckerman

Christine Martucci

Chris Weaver as "Nedra Belle"

As seen on The Voice Finale

Stephanies Child

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

MassResistance

Editorial

Getting informed about HIV If someone already has an STD, s/he has an increased chance of getting HIV over someone who is STD-free, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s because the behaviors that put someone at risk for an STD (not using condoms, multiple/anonymous partners) can elevate the risk for HIV. An STDrelated sore or break in the skin also facilitates HIV entering the body. This week, we report on a possible breakthrough in HIV research that may help researchers pinpoint elusive, infected cells. Thirty-three Philadelphians are going to participate in a $26-million study led by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wistar Institute that could impact HIV research globally. The question for HIV researchers these days is why the virus returns after therapy is stopped. The new study will look for clues to find those latent cells that roar back after therapy. If the cells could be pinpointed, it would allow medical professionals to go down and target a specific area, rather than the scorched-earth treatments that affect the entire body. What all this means is that, while people with HIV live longer and better, it remains a deadly and unpredictable virus. Younger people who did not live through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s did not see the effect a rampant virus had on a generation. That does not make HIV/AIDS any less dangerous today. Hence the need for more and better information for the public, not only the risks but what it means to be diagnosed. In a recent interview with PGN, Antar Bush, the education coordinator for the Department of Health in Philadelphia working on STD prevention, recounted a story while doing testing in a mobile clinic: “We were parked by one of the clubs trying to convince people to get tested. There was one young guy visiting from Ohio, he’d just come here to visit his friends and have a good time, and I really pressured him to get tested before he went into the club. He tested positive, and I felt so terrible having to give him the news. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I told him. He was only 21, and so young and carefree.” Carefree no more. More education, more testing and more of a presence in the community are needed to stop HIV before it starts. n

restrooms, and you have to get gay-married On April 9, John Bolton started as to own property or vote. Only straight peoTrump’s national security advisor. Bolton, who was ambassador to the United Nations ple pay taxes. It’s a real shame (that Bolton under President George W. Bush, really will lead us into a war and untold numbers wants to go to war with North Korea and of people will die). Iran. Like, bad. And now we’ve got him On the MassResistance web page, they whispering into the ear of the dangerously brag that they’ve been described as a impulsive and ignorant man we have as a “hardcore pro-family group.” They are very leader. Which should make all of us fear clear that they aren’t like those mainstream that we won’t make it to our next birthdays. pro-family groups. And yet, in the face of potential annihi“In contrast, rather than being truthful and lation, there are still people who think that confrontational, too many pro-family groups men kissing men is much worse than men are more interested in being viewed as ‘reakilling men. Spoiler alert: It isn’t. sonable’ and ‘not extreme,’” it says on their Such are the concerns of website. So, clearly, MassResistance should MassResistance. be seen as unreasonable and extreme (just No, MassResistance isn’t when you like Bolton). Got it. pretend you’re sleeping and cannot hear So extreme are they that they managed your mom hollering that it’s time to go to get blocked from participating at the to church (something I spent much of my Conservative Political Action Convention formative years doing, which is probably this year — even though CPAC is a notowhy I’m gay). Rather, MassResistance is rious den of hateful filth — after 2015 a group battling the so-called homosexual remarks Camenker made about LGBTQ agenda. Because, priorities. people came to light. He said it was totally It’s all the same fine to be “insultstuff, and many ing and degrading” On the MassResistance of the same faces, toward LGBTQ web page, they brag that we’ve been subpeople because this jected to for a “war,” not a they’ve been described as a was decades. In fact, “church service” — MassResistance just “hardcore pro-family group.” not to be confused with the literal war/ added notorious They are very clear that wars Bolton wants homophobe Peter LaBarbera to their they aren’t like those main- to start. MassResistance staff. stream pro-family groups. “MassResistance was super pissed has been expanding that the Log Cabin and we have needed someone of his caliber Republicans were allowed at CPAC and for a while,” MassResistance President Brian they weren’t. LCR, a group that continCamenker said April 8. ues to bewilder me, is probably the most And what caliber is LaBarbera? Well, milquetoast gay organization in existence. he’s the president of Americans for Truth So MassResistance’s hysterical characteriAbout Homosexuality, an organization zation of LCR as a group that “pushes hard that does everything but tell the truth about to homosexualize the Republican Party” is, LGBTQ people. well, hysterical. “It goes without saying that Pete is So be on the lookout for MassResistance despised and vilified by the LGBT movecreeps as they pop up in places like pubment,” Camenker added. Which is true! lic libraries in Texas to fight God’s war Here I am, vilifying him now: Peter against LGBTQ book displays. And Jesus LaBarbera is a villain. wept (after the earth was destroyed by MassResistance prides — not in the nukes because Trump wanted to distract gay way — itself for being different from from his incompetence and his insanely other anti-LGBTQ groups. For one thing, corrupt administration). n they’re based in Massachusetts, a den of D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian sin and hellfire ever since they were the living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been first state in the country to make marriage writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow equality the law. There are no signs on the her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

Tell us what you think Send letters and opinion column submissions to: pgn@epgn.com; PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147; fax: 215-925-6437.

Please include a daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space considerations.

OP-ED PGN

The battle for legitimacy We’re in a time of change, and most of pants, but what was a joy was when memthat is frustrating, but at times you see the bers of SPJ’s leadership began to talk about glimmer of success from what this comthe first few times that PGN won awards munity has had to endure and build upon, from them. especially when you see it through someSPJ leaders described how some of their one else’s eyes. members were shocked to see an award Last Sunday, I had the going to an LGBT newspaper, honor to speak at the Society or just in shock to hear the of Professional Journalists’ word “gay.” It was so heartfelt regional conference in for me to witness the pride they Philadelphia. What a great time felt for just accepting us as felto be gathering with fellow jourlow professional journalists, nalists. Like me, many at that the same as them. It was a long conference believe we’re in a way from the days we had to golden age of journalism, espefight simply to join such orgacially with the #MeToo movenizations. And if you believe ment, the lack of corporate-bias it was just us in LGBT media, training and, of course, the train no, it was out LGBT doctors, wreck that is the Trump adminlawyers, those in elected or istration. appointed positions and corOn a side note, here’s an porate leaders. Yes, my young readers, there was a time when eye-opener on that subject: YouTube the statement that Mark Segal the majority of our community had to fight to simply be out. So Stormy Daniels gave outside the many of us take a moment of joy when we Manhattan federal court last week. After see our battle is winning out. On Sunday, watching it, I never thought I’d utter such a phrase: The porn star is more respectable I got to meet student journalists, who can be out and accepted in their profession. than the president of the United States. Back to SPJ: The organization has a spe- With all the frustration around us, that’s a cial place in my heart, since it was among success. n the first mainstream journalism organiMark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s mostzations to appreciate the work of LGBT award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You media. My talk was entitled “Covering can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ LGBT Issues: From Stonewall to Trump.” MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ PhilaGayNews. I enjoyed the questions from the partici-

Mark My Words

Transmissions

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Secrets and truths I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Trans people — and I am using the term in its broadest sense, inclusive of gender fluidity and non-binary identities — tend to have a pretty short list of wants. Really, I can boil it down to one simple statement: We just want to live our lives. Of course, I mean that pretty literally: The rates of anti-trans violence and murder are sky-high, and many of us simply don’t get a chance to live our lives to their natural end. That’s even more common for those of us who are parts of other marginalized communities, and who are dealing with multiple, intersecting layers of oppression. It’s more than simply a matter of life and death, even though that is the clearest example. One can live a life without being able to live it to its fullest, and this is what trans people face most often in this world. Indeed, much like those fighting against “reparative therapy” and for abortion rights, many of us also just want the right

to do with our bodies what we want. We’re not interested in telling others what to do with theirs without their consent. For a lot of us, we want to be accepted for who we are, how we present, and how we identify. We want to be heard when we tell you who we are, a right most people enjoy without question. We want the right to simply be recognized for who we are. It’s a simple question of equality, and an understanding that we truly are who we say we are. Understand, trans people don’t come to their identities easily. While it may seem an instantaneous event for those who are not transgender, understand that you simply haven’t known the soul-searching and occasional torment your trans siblings have faced for years, sometimes decades. If you listen to the voice of anti-transgender activists from all stripes, you’ll hear stories about how we’re going to assault women in bathrooms, or are trying to force people to sleep with us, or

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Street Talk What's your feeling about trans people serving in the military? "Trans people have the same rights as anyone else to do whatever they want. I think Trump is Jessica Anelli misdirected marketing director in most of Northeast his decisions, Philadelphia especially this one. I fully support the LGBT community, especially transgender people. They've been persecuted long enough."

“I don’t see why trans people should be banned from the military. We need as many good people as we can get. We’re Veronica facing terror- Middleton ism threats provider analyst throughout New Brunswick, N.J. the world. If they can do the job, it makes no sense to turn them down.”

"Everyone willing to defend our country should have an opportunity to do so. It's ridiculous to ban trans Victor Pinho people from student the military. Northeast Philadelphia There's no logical reason for that. If they want to fight for our country, they should be allowed to."

"I have a lot of friends in the LGBT community. And they're wonderful people. They add so much life and color to the world. Paige Taylor Of course jeweler trans people Plainfield, N.J. should be allowed to serve our country. Trump is a buffoon. He never served in the military. How dare he deny trans people a chance to serve?"

are even attempting to force children to undergo hormone treatment and surgery. You should recognize each of those arguments. They are the same ones that were made up to use against the gay and lesbian community back in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s that same tired notion of “recruitment” that was discredited so many decades ago, with “transgender” freshly scribbled in the place “homosexual” was before. To be transgender today is to navigate in a world that can be openly hostile to you. We are targets of harassment and violence at epidemic levels. We are openly mocked, and despised by people on the right and left. We face an administration that is now adding a rollback of transgender healthcare standards to go along with their attempts to shut trans people out of the military, out of schools and out of housing. We are facing a constant erosion of our rights at the federal level. This is, of course, a state that is not unique to transgender people, especially

in these retrogressive times, where racism, xenophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism and so many other horrors have bubbled up to the surface once more. What does make transgender people somewhat different is that we also often face the same ill will from other minority groups. Some days I feel a bit like a broken record, or whatever analogy applies in a post-LP world. You see, I have been a transgender activist now for nearly 25 years, and a lot of the ways I explain being transgender were used for decades before I came around. None of this is new, and yet so much still has to be explained, over and over. I wonder if maybe the trans community hasn’t stated clearly enough who we are and what we want. Nothing I’ve said above is unique to me, nor is any of it markedly different from what I and other activists have articulated before. I find myself also pondering whether no amount of explanation PAGE 15

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

2017 Keystone Press Best News Photo scottdrakephotos@gmail.com

HEALTH PGN

On Being Well

Larry Benjamin

On grief: A son copes with his father’s death On Nov. 8, 2017, my dad died. We had known he was dying — had had weeks to prepare for his death. What I was not prepared for was the sense of irrevocable loss. My dad was gone. He wasn’t just my dad. He was my hero. He was my friend. All of this came back to me recently, as I sat in a memorial service at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, where my dad, who’d served in the Korean War, had been treated and died. The VA describes it as a last roll-call ceremony of remembrance. It’s meant to celebrate the veterans who have passed on and bring a measure of closure to those they left behind. On arrival, each family received a single rose. During the memorial service, families were invited to share stories of the departed veteran, after which they placed the rose in a vase forming a “bouquet of remembrance.” The stories were warm, funny, touching and uniting in a way I hadn’t quite expected. Other fathers had died. Other children had loved and looked up to their fathers. Other children, spouses and grandchildren were hurting. I was not alone. As I listened to those stories, I looked around that crowded room. There was such diversity there — a slender well-spoken white woman spoke elegantly about her tennis-playing husband; a half-Sicilian, half-Cherokee woman spoke about how she would kiss her father all over his face. “He’d giggle like a little girl,” she said. A Latinx man talked about his father’s history of abuse, a history that had not precluded love; a black family spoke about their stern father who’d brought them up well; a young girl talked about her rage and inability to process her grandfather’s death. She had, she confessed, remained confused and angry at God until she sat down and wrote a poem about her grandfather. I understood the release her poetry had given her. As a writer, as a communicator, I believe in words, and I use them to release everything I have pent up in myself. It is through words that I process my lived experience. We were all so different. Yet we’d been brought together by a single facility — the James J. Peters VA Medical Center

— which had cared for ours in a way we couldn’t ourselves, and who had done so with honesty, compassion and respect. We were strangers, yet we were united in our grief. Some people had lost their loved one months before, as I had; for others, the loss was relatively new, just weeks old. They were all looking for a way out of grief. I got up to share my story. One night, I told them, I dreamt of my dad. I was in Grand Central Station walking and carrying a heavy box. I had no idea what was in it, but it was so heavy. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I had to keep walking. Then I saw my dad walking towards me. I stopped. Daddy! He smiled at me. I started to turn to follow him. “No, Lawrence,” he said, “I have to go this way to continue my journey. You can’t come with me. You have to go on your way. I’m OK.” He started walking again, and I started to walk in the opposite direction, as I had been before seeing him. I looked down and realized the heavy box was gone. I was surprised by how many people came up to me after to thank me for sharing that story. I asked my colleague, Judy Morrissey, LCSW, who is the director of Behavioral Health at Mazzoni Center, about grief. “The most important thing,” she said, “is to acknowledge what you’re going through is grief. Be kind to yourself. Know you may need extra support, or time. It doesn’t mean you’re weak if you’re sad, or lonely or missing that person. It’s healthy to talk about that person — talking about them can take the form of sharing a favorite memory or simply going to a place that was special to both of you.” For some people, Morrissey said, grief is a linear process. “For others, it jumps around and for still others, it goes back and forth. Just as individuals, we express ourselves differently, so too do we express our grief.” n Larry Benjamin is director of communications at Mazzoni Center. He is also the author of three novels, a collection of short stories, an allegorical novella and the blog “This Writer’s Life.”

We want to know! If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.

AGING PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

The importance of end-of-life decision-making While most of us know we will have to die someday, we may practice denial or avoid thinking about the prospect all together. Medical advances can prolong life and create situations where treatments are given when not chosen by the patient, resulting in unnecessary suffering. Without proper planning, having your say at the end of your life is not guaranteed. Taking the time now to plan for the end of life helps ensure that your wishes are carried out. The first step is to decide the level of treatment you may want if you are critically ill with little chance of recovDr. Don ery. How aggressive do you want the doctors to be in prolonging your life under such circumstances, particularly if you are experienci4g pain and suffering? It is essential to have a conversation with family members or friends and make your wishes known to them. The next step is to designate a medical proxy who has the legal authority to make treatment decisions for you if you become physically or mentally unable to make those decisions for yourself. A medical proxy can be a family member or a close friend who

knows what you would want done under different medical circumstances. Preparing an advanced directive is another important part of end-of-life planning. This is a legal document that outlines the treatments you do or don’t want when you are terminally or critically ill with little chance of recovery. Should something happen to your health that limits your capacity to communicate with your medical providers, your advanced directive outlines exactly how you wish to be cared for. These advanced directives should be given to your proxy, your doctor, your lawyer, and added to your medical records. Thorough end-of-life planning Friedman should also consider options around palliative care and hospice. Palliative care is a specialty in medicine dealing with pain control and patient comfort on multiple levels. It can relieve suffering at the end of life or for people with a chronic illness. Hospice involves palliative care of a terminally ill patient that focuses on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the patient. The aim of hospice is to provide a comfortable death for the patient, while also supporting one’s family and friends. Asking for palliative care and hospice, when indicated, can be part of an advanced directive.

Gettin’ On

For members of the LGBT community, certain factors work against planning for a good death. Many LGBT people have no children or family and often live alone. This situation lessens the incentive to have the conversation about end-of-life choices. But it also makes it even more important to have a medical proxy. Additionally, if one is partnered but not married, having the partner become that legal medical proxy is essential. One should have a lawyer to make these arrangements and document the choices of the advanced directives. Finally, there may be a certain distrust of the medical establishment by LGBT people because of past discriminatory experiences. This situation can contribute to the avoidance of end-of-life decision-making. On May 19 from 12:30-3 p.m. at the William Way Community Center, the LGBT Elder Initiative is hosting a free workshop entitled “Empowered End of Life Decision Making: How to Have Your Own Voice When It Really Counts.” These issues will be discussed in an open forum with participants guided to begin thinking about their own priorities and end-of-life wishes. For more information or to RSVP, contact the LGBT Elder Initiative at 215-720-9415 or info@ lgbtei.org. n

Out Law

Angela Giampolo What special challenges does the LGBT community face when it comes to the law? Whether it’s adoption, co-habitation agreements or a will, Angela Giampolo shares legal advice for our community each month.

Only in

Donald M. Friedman, M.D., is an adjunct professor at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. He is a volunteer on the Program Committee of the LGBT Elder Initiative.

MEET YOUR

FAMILY!

Online and in print every first Friday.

Mother’s Day May 13, 2018

In their 22 years as a couple, Kelly McCrea and Janet Kollman have lived through their fair share of challenges, as well as revolutionary progress that enables them today to proudly wear the designation of partners in marriage—and breast cancer survivors! The Susan G. Komen® Philadelphia family is honored to have helped Kelly and Janet find the breast-health resources they need to live full, confident and healthy lives. Their fight belongs to all of us! Every dollar we raise together helps women like Kelly and Janet, as well as the people you work, interact and share your life with every day.

WE ARE FAMILY. LET’S END BREAST CANCER TOGETHER.

Since our first Race, Komen Philadelphia has invested more than $500,000 to support breast health programs developed to meet the specific challenges and needs of the LGBT community.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

FAMILY PGN

Reflections on a 25th anniversary My spouse Helen and I recently celebrated our 25th and sore points and how to communicate more effectively anniversary (though our time as legal spouses is obviously when one of us does get upset about something. We’ve shorter). Reaching a quarter-century together been willing to adapt our roles and routines as — just about half of my life — feels significant needed around both outside employment and in a way that previous anniversaries, even milehousehold tasks. We’ve offered each other supstone ones at the decade marks, have not. Here port and sympathy, and remembered that inefare a few reflections on the occasion. fable something that drew us to each other in We’ve been through a lot together, including the first place. six interstate moves as a couple and signifiSince becoming parents, too, and especially cant career changes. We met as struggling grad as our son gets older, I’ve become more aware students and now have a son in high school of needing to set an example for him of what a who will soon be looking at colleges himself. healthy relationship looks like. Not that Helen For us, retirement is now closer than college. and I never disagree — it’s also important for We’ve dealt with births and deaths in each of our son to see that two people can argue and our families. We’ve disagreed and argued but still love each other, and for him to learn how also supported and encouraged each other. can apologize and reach resolution after Dana Rudolph people How have we made this work? I don’t think an argument. But I’ve come to realize it’s often we have any secret except that we’ve both not worth sweating the small stuff. managed — with difficulty sometimes — to change and We’ve also always believed that it’s important for us grow over the years. We’ve learned each other’s peeves each to have time apart as well as together. Marriage,

Mombian

Wedding Services Directory

legal or otherwise, doesn’t mean being joined at the hip. (Except sometimes. Ahem.) Giving each other alone time, or time for other interests and friends, is critical for a balanced life and makes us appreciate each other anew when we’re reunited. It’s equally important for us to spend time as a couple without our son (and not just in the hip-bumping way). When our son was an infant, my parents would sometimes watch him while we went out for a quiet dinner. He even stayed with them overnight for several days once while we took a real vacation. We came back truly rested and ready for the next phase of his ever-changing development; my parents loved spending time with their only grandchild, and our son gained exposure to new experiences and people. He’s grown into a pretty adaptable teenager who loves to travel with us, and I put a lot of that down to his early “travel” to Grandma and Grandpa’s. He’s old enough now that we can pretty much take him any place we go to (except for bars, which aren’t really our thing anyway), but it’s still sometimes nice for us moms to get away on our own. Having said that, one of the great joys of parenthood for me is doing things as an entire family. That includes rediscovering things I liked to do as a child — visiting children’s museums, sledding in the winter, making cookies on a rainy afternoon. It also means being introduced to things by our 21st-century son, like VR games, ziplining and Harry Potter amusement parks. Kids don’t make a marriage; there are plenty of happy and child-free married (and otherwise committed) folks out there. But for those marriages that do include them, children can expand horizons and give us extra motivation to work on our parental relationships (or conversely, to realize that things are so bad that one needs to get out for the sake of the children). Raising children brings new concerns and responsibilities to the adults involved. Passing the marker of midlife, children or no, carries yet another wave of issues and decisions (and occasional backaches). But with responsibilities come also joys, and a good marriage carries love at its core, despite laundry, bills and other duties of adulthood. Somehow, Helen and I have made it all work for 25 years now. We have a similar set of values yet complement each other well where we differ. (She loves hoppy beers, whereas I’m all about the dark and malty, so we never fight over the last bottle.) When I think about all the things in each of our lives that led us to meet 25 years ago, it seems a moment of impossible odds. I’m not the kind to put this down to some mystical move of God or fate. Call it luck, perhaps; luck with a lot of work that followed. Marriage, of course, can be a fraught subject for LGBTQ folks and other marginalized people for whom it has been unfortunately mired in politics. At the personal level, however, it remains about love, no matter what politicians and pundits say. Happy anniversary, then, to the woman I love. I’m looking forward to our next 25 years and beyond. n Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian. com), a GLAAD Media Award-winning blog and resource directory for LGBTQ parents.

PGN

implementation of the PAC recommendations that existing police personnel. Currently, mandatory [the Philadelphia Police Department] accepted.” In her email, Yeung also said the committee is LGBT-bias training is limited to police cadets who must attend a two-hour LGBT training after they developing a process to update the public about graduate from the Police Academy. The PPD cur- implementation of the Morris recommendations, along with other suggestions made to the police rently has 6,000 uniformed officers. In a July 2013 letter to department. Chuck Volz, a former PAC commissioner who PAC, the police department said it would imple- was instrumental in formulating the four Morris ment the first three rec- recommendations to police, told PGN they should ommendations “as soon have been promptly implemented. “How hard is it to make a 12-hour LGBT as practical.” In the letter, the department stated training part of police recruits’ curriculum and a it couldn’t implement requirement for in-service training of veteran offiPAC’s enhanced-training cers?” Volz said. “In this day and age, you’d think recommendations without they’d be glad to do it. I just don’t see the political involvement from the state will on the part of the Kenney administration.” Volz added: “Everything else we recommended NIZAH MORRIS Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training was logical and rational. We suggested things that Commission because “mandatory recruit train- should have existed and should have been impleing … is beyond the scope and authority of the mented immediately. Failure to do so not only shows a lack of respect for the memory of Nizah Philadelphia Police Department.” But last week, a MPOETC spokesperson told Morris — it really is a lack of respect for the conPGN the PPD could implement additional LGBT- cept of citizen review of the police department.” Volz expressed doubt that Philadelphia police bias training for recruits and existing personnel would implement the recommendations unless without involvement from MPOETC. Local police departments “may add training or Mayor Jim Kenney directs it to do so. “The police are really a paramilitary organimandate training where needed,” said Cpl. Adam zation. They won’t implement these kinds of Reed in an April 20 email. Hans Menos, PAC executive director, said the things. It falls on the shoulders of the Kenney administration to do somecommission will reach out thing. And the administrato the police department We suggested things that tion doesn’t appear to want regarding implementation to do it.” of the Morris recommenda- should have existed and A spokesperson for tions. Kenney had no comment “[We] generally agree should have been implefor this story. that there is some lack of mented immediately. Julie Chovanes, a movement on our recomPhiladelphia-based trans mendations,” Menos said in Failure to do so not only attorney, echoed Volz’s an April 19 email. “We are shows a lack of respect for concerns about the lack of not prepared to call them a failure but do wish to find the memory of Nizah Morris implementation of PAC’s recommendations. out more about the progress — it really is a lack of “As counsel for that we may not be able to the Justice for Nizah appreciate — and to under- respect for the concept of Committee and as a trans stand how we can move for- citizen review of the police woman, I’d like to have ward on the recommendadepartment. seen more progress made tions we have made.” regarding the recommenSarah Yeung, chair of PAC’s policy and practices committee, said the dations contained in the PAC’s Morris report” Chovanes said, in an April 22 email. “I’d also like body is reviewing the matter. “We are reviewing the extent of the implemen- to see more progress on the issue of transparency tation of [the four recommendations],” Yeung said, that we keep asking for. It’s been 15 years since in an April 23 email. “We will follow up on the Nizah’s death. We’ve waited long enough.” n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

MORRIS from page 1

TRANSMISSIONS from page 11

will help. I know there are many on the extremes who will never be won over, who have taken a supposedly radical stance against the rights of other human beings, but I also feel that there are some who may harbor less-severe opinions on trans people, yet feel no need to evolve in their opinions. If you, dear reader, are one of these people: Now is the time to change. I want you to take a moment and reread the beginning of this article. You’ll find nothing in there that is especially farfetched. The goals of transgender people are, quite frankly, not that unusual and — I suspect — are desires you share. Here’s one more secret: that trans people are welcome to live our lives doesn’t take anything away from you. Our existence, and our right to be,

doesn’t stop you from being able to be the person you are — with one exception: We only ask that you understand that we are not here for your scorn. Of course, I hope that you don’t have any derision for trans people, and that we can help you see where we’re coming from. The thing is, we’re living in challenging times, and we’re all going to have to rely on each other. We don’t have the luxury of ignorance, and we need to have each others’ backs more than ever. Those who wish to roll back trans rights are counting on your silence and acquiescence, and desire our inability to work together most of all. Let’s not give it to them. n Gwen Smith lacks any really juicy secrets, except for that one time. You can find her at www.gwensmith.com.

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No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,

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the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed its own brief, disagreeing with the DOJ. Meanwhile, a move by Congressmember Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) to ban health care for transgender military personnel and their families failed to pass in the House of Representatives, in spite of a pair of odd speeches in support by Congressmembers Steve King (R-Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). King conflated transgender troops to slaves forcibly conscripted and castrated in the Ottoman Empire and suggested that trans folks would join to somehow “game the system” for surgical care. Gohmert tried to draw a comparison between money spent for transgender care and that used to defeat “radical Islam,” as if one would take away from the other. While the Hartzler amendment failed, it apparently was not unnoticed by President Donald Trump, who took to Twitter for one of his now-infamous tweetstorm-cum-policy statements. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to

serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” This is all nonsense. Military leaders responded with surprise, having apparently not been consulted on this policy. What’s more, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford has stood in opposition, stating in a memo that there are “no modifications to the current policy until the president’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidelines.” To date, no such implementation guidelines have arrived. Trump seems somehow unaware that there are already transgender troops in our military. While reported numbers have varied from as little as 250 to as many as 50,000, a study by the Rand Corporation in June 2016 estimated somewhere between 1,320 to 6,630 active-duty trans service members out of a total pool of 1.3-million service members. What’s more, this same

Column: “Mark My Words: Obama made us cool; Conversion therapy is child torture; Glass half full of progress”

study noted that trans-related health care for these troops would cost somewhere between $2.4-$8.4 million per year. This is a drop in the bucket compared to current military spending. It is also a fifth of spending that the military currently doles out for erectile dysfunction medications to all troops, trans or otherwise. So we have a scattershot policy, dictated via social media without adequate consultation and not tethered in fact. Transgender troops are in no way bankrupting our armed forces, nor is there any evidence of them disrupting the service. Now, plenty have said that Trump’s tweets were nothing more than a distraction, something to steal the spotlight from news of the health-care bill and its failure, the increasingly dysfunctional administration or the continuing Russia probe. Maybe there is some truth to that, but I find myself considering that a distraction ceases to be a distraction when it is harming people. Trump’s insistence on attacking transgender soldiers, while his Department of PAGE 15 Justice and others attack

Editorial

Fluidity of freedom

Editorial: “Yes we can; Fluidity of freedom; pgn Philadelphia Gay News One year later, what have we learned?” Vol. 41 No. 8

Feb. 24 - March 2, 2017

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Morris dispute gets a call for a public hearing

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Guilty plea in Maya Young murder

As Pride Month comes to a close and Independence Day approaches, freedom has been a hot topic. While the word itself often signifies a fundamental, innate tenet upon which this nation was born, recent times have shown just how fluid of a concept freedom is. Two years ago, the LGBT community was celebrating marriage equality becoming the law of the land. Freedom to many at that time meant the ability to finally wed their partners, to join their names on legal documents, to create a family with fewer burdens. But just one year later, 49 people were gunned down at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando. The LGBT community was forced to re-examine the basic freedoms the incident threatened: the ability to be oneself, and associate as a community, without fear of violence or death. Weddings and legal paperwork took an immediate backseat. That back-and-forth seems to have been a recurring theme throughout LGBT history; when one hard-fought victory is won, another can cripple the community. Harvey Milk was elected in a historic move for LGBT representation in government, only to be gunned down. AIDS funding would be boosted in one part of the country and lost in another. A trans woman of color would grace the cover of a national magazine

as record numbers of trans women of color become victims of violence. And LGBT rights flourish under a progressive president only to be quickly yanked back by his successor. Freedom is a contextual concept, one that evolves with our progress and our pitfalls. In times of community successes, freedom may seem to be a finite, attainable goal, while in times of extreme crisis, the freedoms we once coveted may seem luxurious. What that dichotomy shows is that, while little is out of reach, little should be taken for granted. Our country and community are at interesting pinnacles right now; we’ve experienced tremendous gains but also seen the work that has fallen by the wayside. As a country, we’ve rebounded from a crippling recession but many blue-collar workers are suffering the impacts of globalization. As a community, we’ve won marriage equality and many other rights, but our most marginalized — trans individuals, elders, youth — continue to face serious hardships. Embracing our potential should be tempered by acknowledging the many gaps that need to be bridged — and the many more that need to be traversed as the concept of freedom continues its evolution. n

If you’re a school administrator, teacher was doing? Well, or even a whole school district and you under Obama, want to assert your right to discrimithe Education nate against some of your students FOR Department took REASONS, you’re in luck! The Education students’ comDepartment under Betsy DeVos ain’t plaints about gonna stop you. (Unless you’re against serious issues, white Christians probably.) well, seriously, This is especially true if you want to dis- and investigated criminate against transgender students. The whether such Education Department recently dropped complaints were cases in Ohio and elsewhere involving “symptomatic of transgender students being harassed and a broader problem, in part by examining at denied bathroom access, basically saying, least three years of past complaint data.” “This isn’t our problem.” In other words, if a student complains You’ll recall that under Obama, the that he or she was sexually assaulted at Education Department issued guidelines to school, the Education Department felt like schools about how to handle transgender they should probably find out if this was students so that their dignity is respected an isolated incident or a pattern of wider and their right to an education is not tramabuse. pled. But under Trump and DeVos, the Under DeVos’ leadership, however, Education Department ain’t care. they’re so busy trying to find ways to make Needless to say, those who support trans education into a for-profit enterprise that students are alarmed by the department’s they can’t be bothered with systemic civshrugging off the issue. Shannon Minter of il-rights abuses at school. Ugh. Civil rights the National Center for Lesbian Rights told don’t make anybody rich. the Washington Post, “They have just sent Of course, the department claims that a message to schools that it’s open season this whole “don’t-look-into-civil-rightson transgender students.” complaints-too-deeply” policy is to alleIn other words, it’s a pretty clear signal viate a troublesome backlog of cases. And that the Trump administration has zero while it’s true that a backlog of cases is a interest in hearing problem, their solusome transgender tion isn’t to hire the But it’s not just trans kid bitching about personnel needed having to pee in a to get these cases students DeVos wants bucket in the janiexamined. Their tor’s closet or some- to abandon. Civil rights solution is to simply thing. Suck it up, are such a drag, after all. stopIn looking. buttercup, as Trump a press release, supporters like to What do they do besides Sherrilyn Ifill, pressay right before they ident of the NAACP get in the way of privatiz- Legal Defense and head out to protest against Shakespeare. ing America’s education Educational Fund, But it’s not just said the Education trans students system so that rich ass- Department was DeVos wants to abdicating its holes can get richer? abandon. Civil “responsibility to rights are such a protect the rights drag, after all. What do they do besides get and dignity of our nation’s vulnerable chilin the way of privatizing America’s edudren during the most crucial years of their cation system so that rich assholes can get lives, threatening not only to stall progress richer? The Education Department’s Office on racial, gender and sexual-orientation of Civil Rights is so over crybaby civequality in schools, but to undo it altoil-rights wanters. gether.” According to the Washington Post, the As is the plan, of course. MAGA ’til you head of the civil-rights office “has directed puke. n lawyers to narrow the scope of investigations into sexual assault and discriminatory D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian school-discipline policies.” living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow What does this mean and how does it differ from what the Obama administration her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.

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First place

In light of National March, organizers reschedule Philly Pride

Trial for alleged murderer of trans woman postponed until December

Scott Drake

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com A jury trial for the alleged murderer of trans woman Diamond Williams has been postponed until December. Charles N. Sargent stands accused of stabbing Williams to death with a screwdriver, then dismembering her with an ax, depositing her body parts in a vacant lot in Strawberry Mansion in July 2013. Sargent told police he acted in self-defense after Williams became violent during a sexual encounter. Advocates for Williams dispute that claim. Sargent’s trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 27, but his standby attorney, J. Michael Farrell, recently was convicted of multiPAGE 13 ple felonies in

D’Anne Witkowski

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What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

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To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.

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Conversion therapy is child torture

By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

Photo Story/Essay: “2017 Philadelphia Women’s March”

NOT THEIR PRESIDENT: Hundreds protested in Center City Monday against restrictive policies and positions coming from the new Trump administration. The “Not My Presidents’ Day” march and rally, planned to coincide with the annual federal holiday celebrating American presidents, included remarks from speakers about LGBT rights, health care, immigration, racial justice, women’s rights and more. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Philly Pride Presents confirmed to PGN the organization will reschedule its annual Pride Parade and Festival for the first time in its 29 years. Pride will now be held June 18 at Penn’s Landing so it does not conflict with the Washington D.C. National Pride March on June 11, the local event’s original date. “It’s a decision that had to be made because even some people who work with us are going to go to D.C.,” said the organization’s executive director, Franny Price. “It was a decision that we never wanted to make but it was a decision to save the Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival and OutFest. We did not want to cause a conflict [with] the community [members] who would want to go to the march.” The National Pride March began as a Facebook event that grew to more than 31,000 confirmed guests and more than 109,000 guests designated as “interested.” Price said out of the previous 28 Philadelphia Pride PAGE 13 events, 25 have been held during

News Photo: “Not their president”

Philly gears up for LGBT conferences

Second place By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

Two LGBT organizations planning conventions in Philadelphia were represented at a local business luncheon Tuesday. PHL Diversity hosted its 11th-annual Business Opportunity Luncheon for professionals to network and learn about new business initiatives for the city. Kim Reed of Reed Development Group moderated a panel with representatives from Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), and the True Colors Fund. GLMA Executive Director Hector Vargas and True Colors Fund Executive Director Gregory Lewis answered questions from Reed about their organizations. GLMA will bring its 35th Annual Conference on LGBT Health Sept. 13-16 to the Doubletree Philadelphia City Center, 237 S. Broad St. During this conference,

Jeremy Rodriguez

GLMA will educate health providers and others on the health needs of LGBT people and their families. Additionally, GLMA will report the latest research impacting LGBT health. Vargas noted this is the first time the organization will host its conference here. “Philadelphia is a great place for us,” he said. “There’s a very vibrant LGBT community here. There’s a health center that focuses on LGBT health — Mazzoni. There’s a lot going on in the political and advocacy sphere around LGBT health both in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania.” Meanwhile, the True Colors Fund will bring its 40 to None Summit to the city in October. No location or exact dates had been finalized by presstime. During this two-day event, individuals addressing LGBT-youth homelessness across the country will meet up for sessions, performances, action-planning breakouts and networking opportunities. PAGE 13 “For us at the True

Investigative Reporting: “Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation”

NORTHERN NETWORKING: City Fitness hosted ConnX Feb. 21 at WeWork at Schmidt’s Commons. The traveling monthly social brings together members and supporters of the Independence Business Alliance, the region’s LGBT chamber of commerce. Guests enjoyed beer and wine and food from SNAP Kitchen while they networked and explored the co-working space at WeWork. Photo: Courtesy of Independence Business Alliance OP-ED PGN

Conversion therapy is child torture To the entire LGBT community: psychiatry put its hand in with aversion Let’s begin as a community to state the therapy, which uses the Pavlovian dog-like truth without putting lipstick on a pig. training to force us to be heterosexual with Personally, it sickens me when I see somea handful of horrific tortures. There’s the one from GLAAD or HRC on television electric-shock system, some connected to calling conversion therapy genetics, water treatment — “praying the gay away.” That hey, they had it before President is downright as truthful as a Bush — and then there were Donald Trump tweet, and might drugs of various types, some show how we attempt to soften of which stopped people from our message for consumption breathing before an antidote by the mainstream. Or, it might was administered. They lost a hide something very sad: our few on that one, but hey, better own attempt to not accept what dead than a fag. has been done to us as a collecNow comes conversion tive community for years — and therapy. But this one targets that, my friends, is torture. mostly children whose parents We use terms like hate are now trying to “save” them. crimes, pray away the gay … Almost all the types of torture but much that has been done to I’ve listed above have been “cure” LGBT is sheer torture. used in some of these converMark Segal sion camps … and others. ABC And yes, I’m even talking about the water torture. So once again, News investigative reporter let’s go back in recent history to make the Brian Roberts did one of the best onepoints and hopefully get us back on the hour reports on this practice on “20/20.” right track, as we are literally fighting to It showed corporal punishment, imprisonsave children’s lives. ment and lots more. For years, going back even before there I think you get the idea. It’s time to were lobotomies — oh yes, many lobotspeak out strongly. Say it loud, say it omies were performed on LGBT peoclearly: Conversion therapy is child torture. ple — society attempted to try and find n a way to “change” us, making us holy Mark Segal is the nation’s most-award-winning comheterosexuals. When threat of religion mentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then and criminal justice began to fail, medical I Danced,” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & science showed up with lobotomies. Then, Noble or at your favorite bookseller.

Mark My Words

Transmissions

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Aug. 4-10, 2017

Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury

PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws

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HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride

Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8

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State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints

Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Under proposed guidance posted on its website April 28, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will investigate LGBTQ-related antibias complaints, despite the lack of an LGBTQ-inclusive statewide antibias law. The guidance notes that Pennsylvania’s antibias law covers sex discrimination, and multiple courts have ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination. However, neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Pennsylvania Supreme PAGE 28

FINAL BOW: At the April 29 “Shut Up & Dance” performance, longtime producing director Ian Hussey announced he was passing the baton for next year’s show to Alexandra Hughes. The annual Pennsylvania Ballet production raised more than $161,000 for MANNA, which provides nutritional meals to the ill. Nearly 1,400 people packed Forrest Theatre for the 25th-anniversary performance. Photo: Scott A. Drake

D.A. candidates address crime, corruption, community By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The race for Philadelphia’s next district attorney is wide open. Seven Democratic contenders will vie for the nomination May 16, with one Republican running unopposed. The primary comes just weeks after current District Attorney Seth Williams was federally indicted on corruption and bribery charges. PGN spoke with all of the candidates about their vision for the District Attorney’s Office, and how the local LGBT community can be incorporated into those plans.

Larry Krasner Throughout his candidacy for district attorney, Larry Krasner has spoken about resisting the Trump administration, ending mass incarceration and standing up for civil-rights. During his 30 years as an attorney, he stood up for organizations such as ACT UP, Black Lives Matter and other organizations relating to LGBT rights, disabled people and immigrants.

PGN: There have already been nine transgender women of color murdered across the nation this year. If elected, what will your office do to combat violence against transgender individuals in Philadelphia, specifically women of color? LK: If and when there are incidents, I will have my supervisors and my prosecutors take those charges incredibly seriously. When I see violence involving a trans victim, to me, a red flag goes up immediately to see if this is a hate crime. I have been there when this Philadelphia Police Department wouldn’t take hate crimes seriously and, to me, that’s unacceptable. You have to have a police department that treats everybody equally and cares about everybody’s issues and that doesn’t consider certain people to be less than human. I think by using the office as a bully pulpit, being as serious as possible about properly prosecuting these cases, working with the police commissioner to

According to documents PGN exclusively obtained, a state commission is investigating Rep. Brian Sims following scrutiny about his travel reimbursements and speaking fees. PGN obtained a copy of an Ethics Complaint Form from a source whose identity we are withholding. The individual filed the complaint with the State Ethics Commission, contending Sims, the first LGBT person elected to the state legislature, violated the state Ethics Act. According to the Ethics Act, “No public official or public employee shall accept an honorarium.” A March 31 letter from the Ethics Commission, signed by Executive Director Robert P. Caruso, that was given to PGN states: “The Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission has initiated a full investigation in relation to the complaint” that the individual filed. Caruso told PGN he was not permitted to comment on the investigation or the complaint. PAGE 28

do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people.

Endorsements

District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz

PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.

Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy

Street Talk What foreign land would you like to visit this summer? "Calcutta, India. There's such an amazing culture of spirituality there. I would find that very inspirational. The symbols Ennis Carter and art that executive director I would see Gayborhood in that city would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Transition the battlefield No matter how I put this, it feels like an understatement: We are living in increasingly frightening and dangerous times. This is especially true for those of us who are transgender. Sitting in a subcommittee right now in our House of Representatives is HR 2796, aka the Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2017. I’ve written about this before. It would do nothing less than void protections for transgender people under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and “any federal civil-rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” Not apparently interested in waiting for HR 2796 to pass or fail, the Department of Justice — under “beleaguered” Attorney General Jeff Sessions — has filed a legal brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express claiming that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation. While the brief doesn’t mention gender identity specifically, we can guess where Sessions’ DOJ might side. Oddly enough,

pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Second place Jen Colletta

General News/Weeklies: “Lesbian couple turned away from PA bridal shop” pgn Philadelphia Gay News

LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Vol. 41 No. 18 May 5-11, 2017 Family Portrait: Spotlight on Samy el-Noury

PA Supreme Court says SEPTA not bound by Philly antidiscrimination laws

PAGE 37

PAGE 2

Honorable Mention Jeremy Rodriguez

General News/Weeklies: “City releases Gayborhood racism ﬁndings, recommends training”

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Celebrations of Philly Black Pride

Fellowship awarded to GALAEI youth-program leader PAGE 8

PAGE 13

State agency: We’ll accept LGBT antibias complaints

Exclusive: Brian Sims target of state ethics investigation By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com

do police trainings around this issue or to make sure the trainings are adequate, I believe we could make a difference and make the situation better for trans people. PGN: If elected, will you assist PGN in our ongoing efforts to settle all open-records litigation for access to Nizah Morris records? LK: The short answer is yes. I am a great believer in providing information to the press. However, when you ask a candidate what will you do when you are in office and that candidate doesn’t have all of the information, you’re basically inviting a candidate to make promises that may or may not be appropriate. Every bit of my instincts favors transparency but if I were to find something in the file that the mother or the father of Nizah Morris didn’t want revealed, then that is something I would have to look at. Assuming that the family of Nizah Morris wanted the information revealed and assuming the law permitted it, I would like there to be the maximum amount of transparency and I would like to assist in getting all information out PAGE 19 about that incident.

Endorsements

District Attorney: Larry Krasner City Controller: Alan Butkovitz Superior Court Maria McLaughlin Carolyn Nichols H. Geoffrey Moulton, Jr. Commonwealth Court Ellen Ceisler Todd Eagan

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Lucretia Clemons Mark Cohen Leon Goodman Shanese Johnson Vikki Kristiansson Zac Shaffer Henry Sias Dan Sulman Stella Tsai Philadelphia Municipal Court Marissa Brumbach George Twardy

AC ul t ure rts

FEATURE PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Dining Out Family Portrait Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly

Page Page Page Page Page

24 23 26 28 21

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A director brings his vision of “Carmen” to Opera Philadelphia By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor As far as innovative opera directors go, Glasgow-born, out opera director Paul Curran is so ahead of the pack, he can hardly see behind him. Along with famed, star-making turns as a wee young general manager of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and as artistic consultant for the Central City Opera of Denver, Curran brought a bold and lively look to Opera Philadelphia’s plush 2015 “La traviata” at a time when Opera Philadelphia boss David B. Devan’s company was just gaining acclaim. Now, Curran returns to Opera Philadelphia with Bizet’s torrid “Carmen” at the Academy of Music April 27. Curran caught up with PGN on a rare day to himself in Philadelphia. PGN: Why “Carmen” in 2018? What is relevant and necessary about Bizet’s bullfighting and his dangerous love triangle? PC: My job is simply telling a story. Theater is subjective; everybody has a slightly different experience and I love that. I never could expect 2,500 people to see the show exactly the same

way. I love the idea someone will leave full of big questions, someone else will leave wondering what they just saw, another might leave furious because they were provoked. That’s the theater I love. It should certainly be entertaining, but it can also be so many other experiences. Carmen is an outsider. She is told she’s not welcome by “normal” society because of what she was born as: a gypsy. I think that is an idea any LGBTQ person can relate to in some ways. Younger gay people today benefit from my generation’s stance and protests — I did a lot of marches in the ’80s — just as I did from the generation before me. But the “you’re different and not welcome” bigotry is far from over. We read about it all the time: whether it be sexual preference, color, race or creed. Carmen is us — everybody who was told they just don’t fit in. PGN: You have played with or directed through Opera Philadelphia in the past with “La traviata.” At that time and throughout that process, what most impressed you about its trajectory? PC: Opera Philadelphia blew me away when I first met with them: visionary and forward-thinking and totally committed to the theatrical and musical performances they were presenting. Everybody in the company seems to be working to the PAGE 20

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

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CARMEN from page 19

same end: a great night out. The company’s energy is infectious, and their commitment absolutely real. PGN: So, considering that, and since that time, Opera Philadelphia has become a world-renowned entity for its inventiveness in terms of staging, programming, marketing and outreach. What is your take on that? PC: That is exactly as it should be, and as all opera companies should be. But Opera Philadelphia is clearly taking the lead in bold and inventive programming. It is ahead of the rest of the U.S. and a lot of Europe. PGN: You seem to be a forward-looking chap. Why did you wish to direct with Opera Philadelphia again? Why “Carmen”? PC: I had turned down “Carmen” seven times in the past. I only said yes this time as all the stars aligned: the right company and ethos, right conductor (the fantastic Yves Abel) and the right youthful, world-class cast. Taking on something that comes with so many preconceived ideas is not easy. You have to clear your mind and make your own path. Now I’m in my 50s, I feel it’s the right time for me to tell this story. I had to interpret this story through my own eyes, and not as prescribed by anyone else. How to make a blue-collar drama come alive and not make it feel like it was under glass in a museum? That’s the challenge. PGN: Let’s shift to a personal question: you grew up Catholic near Glasgow. I can guess your surroundings. How did being Catholic and gay in that area affect you aesthetically going forward? PC: I parted company with the church a long time ago due to the constant hypocrisy I saw. Seems as if God created us all in his vision, just not me. I never understood what I’d done wrong. It wasn’t me who created me. Being lectured by priests on “sexual perversion” the day after seeing them cruising teenagers at a bus station left me sickened. Then again, a tough upbringing really does help prepare you for a life in theater.

You get used to hearing the word no and you get used to picking yourself up and moving on. As for being gay, like Carmen, being different and told you are a lesser human, only ever made me fight harder. She constantly cries out the same line, “Freedom!” That was me as a kid, desperately telling myself I had to get out of there and live my own life. PGN: Your first U.S. gigs were the Santa Fe Opera production of Britten’s “Peter Grimes” in 2005 and “Billy Budd” in 2010. How does America see opera differently than Europe? Was there more freedom in the U.S. to innovate technologically, as you did with “Budd”? PC: Opera in America is essentially very conservative. It’s often reproducing something rather than reinterpreting it here. That’s why Opera Philadelphia is so important right now, with its huge vision and dedication to new works and reviewing existing ones. As for innovating with technology, unfortunately the U.S. usually lags very far behind in that area. Most European houses are government funded, so more able to experiment with their finances in building new theatres and using new technology. But last season at Santa Fe for “The Golden Cockerel” we pushed the envelope by doing an ambitious video production in a theatre we’d been told it would never work in. It did. PGN: Yes, and your tech is delicate and filled with subtle visual tricks. That’s your signature. How does that fit “Carmen”? PC: Thanks for noticing that. I’m very proud of how my team and I use technology in our shows. Technology is a tool to be used. It’s not an end in itself. This “Carmen,” though, is not actually technology-based. The design, however, is hugely impactful. Gary McCann, who also designed “Traviata,” is one of the design world’s fast-rising stars. We make a great team, as we both push each other forward. Imagination costs nothing; building it is what is expensive. So we think big and start to edit. n

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

PGN

Drag performer returns with comedy, cabaret

VARLA JEAN MERMEN By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Veteran international drag performer and entertainer Varla Jean Mermen will bring female empowerment to Philadelphia in a new comedic cabaret show. “Wonder Merman” pays tribute to women, both real and fictional, who have inspired the iconic performer. “It’s all about female role models and empowerment,” said actor Jeffrey Roberson, who inhabits the role of Merman. “The first half of the show is all real people: I talk about Josephine Baker. Melania is in there. I talk about Amelia Earheart and Harriet Tubman ... ” Hold up. Wait a minute. Pump the brakes! Did Roberson really just utter Melania Trump and Harriet Tubman in the same breath? We had to circle back for that one. “Well, I can’t say that I find Melania Trump inspirational, but I examine her,” he said. “I compare her to other First Ladies throughout our history. I just threw her name out there because there’s a song called ‘Melania’ that I wrote, where every word in the song rhymes with Melania, which is a feat in itself.” We’re so glad he cleared that up. Roberson started performing in drag in 1993. In a time when there’s a drag performer on practically every channel, and drag events regularly popping up, he said he doesn’t mind that the medium has saturated pop culture, even if the newer crop of drag stars seems to be in it for different

reasons than previous generations. “I really love ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ but I don’t think performing is their main reason for being on the show,” he said. “Performers from my day became famous because of the performance. Fame is probably more a motivator for the performance. My main goal is not to become famous; my goal is to create and perform. I was an actor and this is just an extension of that.” That’s right, kids: Roberson was a multimedia drag performer traveling the world long before laptops, iPhones and YouTube made putting on a show as easy as throwing a few gadgets into a messenger bag. “I first started in drag on video,” he said. “We’d film video that we’d give to the bars back in the ’90s; for example, a video of me in drag getting chased by a plastic rat around the streets of New Orleans. They’d play these videos underneath dance music.” Out of costume, Roberson comes across more like a regular at The Bike Stop than some glamazon songbird who dons drag for a living. But lighting and costuming go a long way to camouflaging his imposing figure. “I’m 6-foot-2” and 240 pounds. If no one else is on stage, people have no idea how tall you are. You just put everything into proportion. The bigger I get muscularly, I just make my butt and hair look bigger. No one ever really knows until you get off stage and they take a picture with you.” n Pink Stallion Events presents Varla Jean Merman in “Wonder Merman,” 7:30 p.m. May 3 at The Ruba Club, 416 Green St. For more information or tickets, call 215-627-9831 or visit www.varlaonline.com.

PROFILE PGN

Family Portrait

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Suzi Nash

Bryan Hoffman: Earthy minimalist takes visitors on a sensory ride HOT•BED: (noun) A place or situation where a lot of particular activity is happening or might happen.

landscapers, caterers: All the things that I am, they were. No one had a typical 9-5 job working for a big corporation.

Bryan Hoffman is the co-owner of new hot spot, HOT•BED Philadelphia, a gallery and event space he runs with owner James Oliver.

PGN: Wow, that nature-vs.-nurture aspect. BH: Exactly. I was so blown away. Everything made sense to me once I met them; where I got the independent qualities that are so different from my mother and my sister. My sister is their natural child. We had a great childhood and we’re very close, but different. Then to see yourself reflected in people you’ve never really met before, that you never even knew existed, was wild. I found my mother’s brother owns an art gallery and also has a plant nursery. That’s what I’m doing! I’ve met a lot of my birth family now and one makes wine, the other has a charter-fishing business. I still haven’t completely wrapped my mind around it. And on the other side, growing up, my [adopted] father had a Ph.D. in chemistry and worked for DuPont for 40 years. But my parents always let me be my own free spirit. Even when I found a passion for gardening and plants, they encouraged it.

PGN: You have a variety of shows coming through HOT•BED. What’s here right now? BH: We have an exhibit called “International Variety.” It’s all works on paper from 50 different artists. It’s the first time we do a show that was a collaboration between the James Oliver Gallery and HOT•BED. Our next, and third show is going to be called “Wild Americana.” It’s one artist, Emily White, who lives in Northern Liberties. She paints work that relates back to the Wild West and the Great Plains, and the huge impact that man has had on the animals and plants that were there before we were. PGN: Are you from here? BH: I was born in Newark, Del., and stayed there through school. I’m a University of Delaware graduate. I’ve only lived in Philadelphia proper for about eight years but my business, Hoffman Design Group (HDG), has always been Philadelphia-based. PGN: My brother went to U of D; the Fighting Blue Hens, correct? BH: Yes! I graduated in 1984 and started my company in 1991. We provide all sorts of horticultural services for companies all over the tristate area, including the University of D. They’re one of our accounts. PGN: I remember their football cheer: “Wump ’em upside the head!” BH: [Laughing] Oh yeah, I was in marching band, so I went to all the games. PGN: What did you play? BH: Trombone. PGN: Did you have siblings? BH: Yes, I have a younger sister, Susan. She’s a music teacher 10 months younger than I am. I was adopted. PGN: How old were you when you found out? BH: I always knew. It was never kept secret. I did meet my birth mother and it was a very positive experience. My parents always encouraged me to seek and get any answers I needed. It was a closed adoption, but I put some feelers out and got a response. I found that everyone in my birth family were all entrepreneurs who worked for themselves — artists and

PGN: How long ago did you find your birth family? BH: It was a while back, when I was in my 30s. My birth mother has since passed, but for a while I had two mothers at once. I have so much confidence knowing where this non-traditional side came from and that it’s OK. PGN: [in gallery]: Tell me more about what this is. BH: HOT•BED is a contemporary art gallery that explores the relationship between contemporary art, the artists who make it and horticulture; exploring biophilia, man’s innate love for humanity and nature, independence and freedom. How we can infuse an environment with plants and living things that give us oxygen so we can survive and do it with an artistic bent. I met James and we wanted to do something together. When this space became available, we jumped on it. We have room for galleries as well as a performance area complete with a small stage. I say that he’s the sky and this is the earth. His gallery upstairs is all white and very minimal, and this space is more focused towards the environment and artists who work with more earthy materials. Recently we’ve been doing a lot of cool vertical-wall projects. Moss walls are really hot right now. But my favorite project is the living wall I built here at HOT•BED. PGN: How did you get involved with Lemon Hill, the historic house in Fairmount Park?

BH: When I first moved to Philadelphia, my friend Mark was living there as the caretaker and he invited me to stay with him. I think I paid $150 a month to live there. It was gorgeous, and in a full-circle moment when I started HDG, I got to go back and design their holiday showcase. That place is like Philadelphia’s White House — a beautiful Federal-style building. We donated our services that year. PGN: What was something that, looking back, pointed to signs that you might be gay? BH: I tease my mother because she was in charge of the entertainment for the mother-daughter banquet at our church. She thought it would be fun to dress all the men in drag and do a surprise fashion show. They put me in two outfits for the show, a swimsuit with a big straw hat and an Easter dress, so of course I tell my mother that’s what made me gay. I was 10 at the time. I didn’t officially come out until about 21 or 22. I think we all knew

PGN: Do you have a partner now? BH: Yes, we’ve been together for 18 years. He’s a partner in a software consulting company. I like smart men. PGN: I forgot to mention how eclectic this spot is. I noticed two large komodo dragons in the other room. BH: Yes! Glad you mentioned that. As I mentioned, we have a new exhibit opening up and we always want to keep things fresh. The horticulture, the seating, the decor will change for every exhibition. For the Wild America show, I have a life-sized bison that I’m bringing in. I want to have new surprises each time. PGN: Speaking of surprises, which genre of music would people be surprised to find on your music list? BH: I like Patsy Cline, but I don’t know if that’s surprising. I’m really into bossa nova and samba. PGN: How about a word that starts with B that describes you? BH: Oh, um, I don’t know. Any ideas, make an offer. [Person in gallery]: Brave! BH: That works. Thank you. Yes, you have to be brave to take chances and follow your dreams and I think I’ve done that.

PGN: Describe the benefits of plants in the home or office. BH: On the most basic level, they make oxygen for us to breathe. It’s in our DNA to want to be part of nature. Plants are known to decrease toxins and bacteria in the air by 50-60 percent. But I don’t think you need a study to know that the smell of soil and the fragrance of flowers have an effect on you. And for those who are afraid and say, “I can’t Photo: Suzi Nash — I used to arrange flowers for godsakes do plants, they just die.” — but there were not any role models or Well, guess what, we’re even anyone that I knew was gay, so there all dying slowly anyway, including was nothing to guide me in coming out. I plants. To leave people and their enviremember seeing two gay guys on Time ronments in a better place than when we magazine and thinking, What’s that? When found them is both the company motto I finally did come out, it was in college and my personal goal. and I had a girlfriend. I told her first, and she told my parents. They were not happy PGN: Sounds like you’re succeeding. n about it, to say the least, and it took them a minute to get over it, but now of course To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@aol.com. they’re fine.

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Food and Drink Directory

Casino gastropub menu has many safe bets By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Parx Casino in Bensalem has stepped up its dining and entertainment game in the last few months with a new live-music venue and upscale restaurants to lure people to the bright lights and games of chance. Among the dining additions is Liberty Bell Gastropub, 2999 Street Road, a culinary oasis in which to sit down and enjoy relatively fine dining away from the controlled sensory chaos of the casino floor. The menu is split between traditional pub comfort dishes and more inspired and visually creative selections. While we were tempted to play it safe with surefire dishes like the smoke-house burger ($15), the bangers and

mash ($15) or the chicken pot pie ($16), the more exotic-sounding items were calling out. So we put all of our bets on the seafood side of the menu and it paid off. The seafood chowder ($10) was a great way to shake off the windy chill of an unseasonably cold spring. It was seasoned perfectly, hearty and heaping with scallops, mussels and salmon. Warm, toasted flatbread took the place of oyster crackers to round out the dish. Another hot and inviting dish was the clay-pot Spanish shrimp ($13), a bright and complex assemblage of flavors and textures that complemented the perfectly done shrimp. Smoked bacon offered a nice balance to the assertive notes of garlic and roasted tomatoes, and thick portions of grilled focaccia were the

perfect vessel to soak up the rich broth. After two dishes that served as culinary warm blankets, it was time to switch things up with the relatively cool and herbaceous seared ginger-marinated tuna steak ($21). Ordered rare and with a lot of pink showing, the lightly grilled tuna was sliced perfectly and rested on a bed of refreshingly cool and potent green-tea noodle salad, cilantro and ginger, bolstered by the crunch of shredded cucumber. The result was a light but effective dish that excited all the senses. Bensalem may lack the bigcity lights of Atlantic City or Philadelphia, but a willingness to double down on entertainment and fine dining at Liberty Bell Gastropub keeps Parx in the regional casino scene. n

If you go The Center City IHOP located at 1320 Walnut St. is now open 24 Hrs on FRIDAY and SATURDAY

Liberty Bell Gastropub at Parx Casino 2999 Street Road, Bensalem 267-525-7566 www.parxcasino.com/ libertybell

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Guide to the Gayborhood

The Philadelphia Gayborhood is roughly centered at Locust and Camac streets. Look for the rainbow street signs at intersections and remember to be aware of your surroundings wherever you go. Boxers

1330 Walnut St. facebook.com/ boxersphl Sports bar with a dozen huge TVs, pool table, brick pizza oven, sports teams specials

Toasted Walnut

Tabu

Woody’s

1316 Walnut St. 215.546.8888 Festively lit women-owned bar complete with a “beer” pong table

❍

❍ <— Juniper St.

Chancellor St.

❍

St. James St.

❍ Locust St.

Manning St.

❍

11th St.

❒

❍

Quince St.

<—

Latimer St.

12th St.

13th St.

Camac St.

❍

❒

206 S Quince St. 215.627.1662 Levi/leather men’s bar; pool tables, big-screen sports action; basement dress code Walnut St.

❍

The Bike Stop

200 S. 12th St. 215.964.9675 tabuphilly.com Sports bar with food and shows upstairs

202 S. 13th St. 215.545.1893 woodysbar.com Mixed crowd Attatched to Walnut St. bars Rosewood and GloBar

❍ Spruce St.

❍

Cypress St.

William Way LGBT Community Writer’s Block Rehab Center 1342 Cypress St. 267.603.6960 A cozy, comfortable bar and lounge perfect for escaping the norm

1315 Spruce St. 215.732.2220 waygay.org A resource for all things LGBT

<— <— West of Broad Street Stir Lounge

1705 Chancellor St. 215.732.2700 stirphilly.com Fun two-bar lounge, DJ in the back, regular poker games and specials

The Attic Youth Center

255 S. 16th St. 215.545.4331 atticyouthcenter.org Safe space and programs for LGBTs age 16-23 weekday afternoons and evenings

Voyeur

Knock

U Bar

ICandy

1221 St. James St. 215.735.5772 voyeurnightclub.com After-hours private club; membership required

1220 Locust St. 215.546.6660 Relaxing corner bar, easy-going crowd, popular for happy hour and window watching

225 S. 12th St. 215.925.1166 knockphilly.com Fine-dining restaurant and bar, outdoor seating (weather permitting), piano in back room

254 S. 12th St. 267.324.3500 clubicandy.com Three floors with a total of six bars; dance floor, lounge and rootop deck.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS

Pianist, vocalist goes gender-free in love songs

I’LL GET YOU, MY PRETTY!: Life’s a witch and then you fly when the cinematic classic “The Wizard of Oz” is screened, with yellow-brick roads, flying monkeys and all, 1:30 p.m. April 28 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville. For more information or tickets, call 610-917-1228.

By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor Few interpretive theater singers and players have the integrity and innovative wiles of Mark Nadler. Along with juggling the pioneering tradition and often-coded lyricism of the greats, the pianist and vocalist finds modern twists and elegant nuance in every song he performs. Don’t believe me? See Nadler at Dino’s Backstage April 27-28 (as a music historian, he’s unparalleled, plus he does a mean Jimmy Durante impression). “Different songwriters ‘coded’ in different ways; certainly the gay songwriters, such as Cole Porter and Larry Hart,” said Nadler. “Of course, I relate strongly to the work of both of those guys. But, also, Irving Berlin claimed that he wrote but one autobiographical song: that being ‘When I Lost You,’ which he wrote when his first wife died just after they wed.” Ever the historian, Nadler goes on to include little-known background about Berlin’s most famous song: He and his second wife, Ellin Mackay, lost their first son to crib death on Christmas morning. “Every Christmas morning, Irving and Ellin would sneak out of the house, while their three daughters slept, and went to visit their son’s grave,” said Nadler. Because Berlin went to work in Hollywood, then, this makes the verse to “White Christmas” unmistakably autobiographical: “The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway. There’s never been such a day in Beverly Hills, L.A. But it’s December the 24th and I’m longing to be up North …” Nadler’s reverence for the greats doesn’t preclude a soft spot for the classicists of theater and cabaret. Along with crafting an album dedicated to 1961, the year he was born, the singer is performing a potpourri of newer standards at an improvisational

monthly night in Manhattan. No, he’s not singing Rihanna stuff, but rather the likes of David Yazbek and Pasek and Paul, whose melodic display is radically different from theater songs of yore. How is it that Nadler has merely toyed with the sort-of standard-bearing success of Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Bublé? Once upon a time, word came down from the on-high of showbiz that Nadler was set to be the next big thing. There may be an edge — or at least sharp angles — that keep him from the mainstream. How does he resist the temptation to dance with Ellen or judge a singing contest? “That’s an easy one to answer: I’ve never been asked to dance with Ellen or judge a singing contest. That said, I’m sure if I did do one of those things, I would figure out a way to be fired,” Nadler said, adding that he doesn’t see himself as having an edge. “I just do my level best to sing the songs as honestly as I can. If I’m telling the absolute truth, without glossing over the ugly or uncomfortable or embarrassing, then I feel that I’m best serving the song.” Edge or no edge, where Nadler belongs is in the pantheon of entertainers who have stirred the sonic senses and tickled all bones, funny and otherwise (think Danny Kaye and Bette Midler), as well as loving the fact that he can talk openly on stage about being gay and “not worry that I’m going to be beat up after the show.” It is important, though, to let the audience have their experience, he said. “When it comes time to choose a pronoun in a love song, I’ll choose something neutral. I almost never sing ‘I love him’ or ‘I love her.’ I’ll generally opt for ‘I love you,’ and ‘you’ can be whomever the audience wants to imagine.” n Mark Nadler, 7:30 p.m. April 27-28, at The Celebrity Room at Dino’s Backstage, 287 North Keswick Avenue. For more information and tickets, call 215884-2000, or visit dinosbackstage.com.

Theater & Arts Beth Stelling The comedian seen on “Chelsea Lately” and “Conan” performs May 3-5 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001. Bound The crime thriller is screened 8 p.m. April 30 at The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. Carmen Opera Philadelphia presents the classic story about the irresistible titular Spanish gypsy, April 27-May 6 at Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215893-1999. Catch-22 Curio Theatre Company presents Joseph Heller’s stage adaptation of his 1961 satirical novel that asks what it means to be sane while surrounded by madness, through May 19, 4740 Baltimore Ave.; 215-921-8243.

Design in Revolution: A 1960s Odyssey Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of pop art and psychedelia from the civilrights and anti-war movements, through Sept. 9, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Inner Sun Koresh Dance Company presents a world premiere with original compositions by John Levis and Karl Mullen, through April 29 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215985-0420. Jean Shin: Collections Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition by contemporary artist Shin (American, born in South Korea in 1971) in which she transforms everyday objects into dynamic works about connection and belonging, through July 15, 26th Street

and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Keith Smith at Home Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition spanning five decades of the Rochester-based artist’s mixedmedia photographs, prints and books, through July 8, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Magical & Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, A Retrospective The Michener Art Museum presents an exhibition of works by Hurd (1904-84) and Wyeth (190797), important contributors to the arts of both the Philadelphia region and the Southwest, through May 6,

138 S. Pine St., Doylestown; 215340- 9800. Noises Off Walnut Street Theatre presents the hit Broadway comedy about an ill-prepared theater cast trying to pull things together for opening night, through April 29, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. The Pines of Rome The Philadelphia Orchestra performs the sonic equivalent of a Roman carnival, through April 28 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Rachel Rose: Wil-o-Wisp/The Future Fields Commission Philadelphia Museum of

Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.

PGN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LISTINGS

9 p.m. April 28 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011.

Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215606-6555.

Tricky The electronic artist performs 8 p.m. April 30 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011.

Outta Town

Steel Panther The campy glamrock band performs 8 p.m. May 1 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011. A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES: Out folk/ pop singer and songwriter Rachel Sage celebrates the release of her 13th album, “Myopia,” with a performance 8 p.m. May 4 at Burlap and Bean, 204 S. Newtown Street Road, Newton Square. For more information or tickets, call 484-4274547 or visit rachaelsage.com.

Art presents an exhibition of contemporary video installations that ruminate on our imagesaturated culture and histories of the past, May 2-Aug. 19, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. The Sound of Music A brand-new production of the beloved story of Maria and the von Trapp family, through April 29 at Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-893-1999. Tell Me on a Sunday Walnut Street Theatre presents the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical where it’s the 1980s and a young English girl, full of energy and optimism, arrives in New York ready to find success and love, through June 10 at the Walnut’s Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St.; 215574-3550.

Music POPS Rocks: Queen, Stones, Zeppelin, and More The Philly POPS turn it up with a set of classic rock tunes April 2729 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215893-1999. Always & Forever: An Evening of Luther Vandross starring Ruben Studdard The “American Idol” winner performs the music of the late R&B icon 8 p.m. April 28 at Keswick Theater, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-5727650. The Legwarmers The ’80s tribute band performs 9 p.m. April 30 at The Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. They Might Be Giants The alternativerock band performs

The Sword The hard-rock band performs 9 p.m. May 2 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-9221011. Bon Jovi The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers perform 7:30 p.m. May 3 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215389-9543.

Nightlife Queerality Wedding Show An intimate wedding-planning experience for the LGBTQIA community featuring local professionals, 6-9 p.m. April 27, 1042 Pine St.; 215309-2355. Bowling with the Divas Donna Ria presents an evening of pins and queens featuring performances by FiFi DuBois, GiGi Cutina and Sapphira Cristal, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. April 27 at Lucky Strikes, 1336 Chestnut St.; 215545-2471. Mimi Imfurst Presents Drag Diva Brunch Mimi Imfurst, Bev, Vinchelle, Sutton Fearce and special guests perform 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 28 at Punch

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

Amazon’s new series takes on love and loss

Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid Media Theatre presents a new musical version of the classic children’s tale, through May 20, 104 E. State St., Media; 610891-0100. Reba McEntire The country superstar performs 8 p.m. April 27-28 at Xcite Center, 2999 Street Road, Bensalem; 888588-7279. Dennis DeYoung The former Styx lead singer and songwriter performs 9 p.m. April 27 at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Bart Shatto The Broadway actor and singer performs 8 p.m. April 28 at The Rrazz Room in The Clarion Hotel & Suites, 6426 Lower York Road, New Hope; 888596-1027. Suede The sassy pop/ jazz/blues singer performs 7 p.m. April 29 at The Rrazz Room in The Clarion Hotel & Suites, 6426 Lower York Rd., New Hope; 888596-1027 Motel Hell The horror film is screened 9:45 p.m. May 4 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n

MITCHELL ANDERSON AND KEVIN SPIRTAS IN “AFTER FOREVER” By Raymond Simon PGN Contributor Discerning viewers seeking a short but satisfying streaming option might consider “After Forever.” The Amazon original series examines love, loss, and dating from the perspective of a 50-something gay man. “After Forever” revolves around Brian, a handsome, successful Manhattanite played by Kevin Spirtas. The out actor has appeared in everything from B-movies to Broadway musicals, but he’s probably best known for his role as Dr. Craig Wesley on the long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” “After Forever” is a personal project for Spirtas, who got the idea shortly after turning 50. He teamed up with television writer Michael Slade to produce the series. In the first of eight episodes, Brian’s life seems perfect. He’s a successful PR exec and happily married to Jason, played by Doogie Howser’s Mitchell Anderson, also an out actor. The couple has a coterie of devoted friends, a great apartment and a healthy love life. Then Jason is diagnosed with stage-four cancer. With death inevitable, he declines radical treatment. When Brian protests his husband’s decision, Jason is firm: “It’s got to be my way.” Jason’s death gives the show its initial dramatic impetus, but it’s really about what happens afterward. Flash-forward one year, and Brian’s friends believe it’s time for him to move on. Brenda, his black lesbian “work wife,” suggests that he remove reminders of Jason from his desk. “You want me to erase him? No, I can’t. I won’t,” Brian snaps, before admitting she’s right. At other times, his friends’ influence is more oblique. While out bicycling with the son of two gay friends, Brian bumps

into a hunky guy who flirts with him. “That guy is into you,” the boy emphatically informs Brian, who is otherwise oblivious. There’s another presence looking out for Brian: Jason’s ghost. He acts as a kind-of guardian angel, comforting Brian in his sadness and gently nudging him to confront the future. Jason’s ghost is also a reminder of the presence of the past; just one of many ways that “After Forever” toys with time. Another technique is flashback, which the show employs liberally. At first, such scenes are disorienting, as they’re no doubt meant to be. However, as Brian works through his grief, these shifts in time become less jarring. The flashbacks often introduce a seemingly trivial object or phrase that returns as a leitmotif, uniting past and present. The show’s format is another way it tinkers with temporality. The entire first season of “After Forever” consists of eight episodes lasting roughly 11 minutes each. So binge-watching this series doesn’t require an enormous investment of time. That brevity isn’t a gimmick. What’s remarkable about “After Forever” is how rich and layered the episodes are, despite being so compressed. The effect of shorter episodes amplifies the events that viewers see, such as the way that Jason’s cancer ruthlessly obliterates a loving 15-year relationship in a matter of months. What eventually happens to Brian? That remains to be seen. As Spirtas told me via email, “It’s always the fans that determine the life of a project. Hopefully, we will touch enough hearts and lives that there would be multiple seasons that allow this story to continue to be told.” n To learn more about “After Forever,” visit www. afterforevertheseries.com.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

FILM PGN

LGBTQ shorts reflect sexual diversity in Mexico By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor On May 3, as part of a Mexican Week celebration, Lightbox Film Center is hosting an outstanding program of short films featuring sexual diversity. The eight films, which consist of live-action, animation and documentary shorts by, for and about LGBTQ Mexicans, will screen at 7 p.m., followed by a panel discussion, a Q&A and a Cinco de Mayo celebration. The first selection, “Which Animal Would You Like to Be,” is a minute-long short about sexual tolerance in school. It is followed by “Two Whales,” a poignant drama about two teenage brothers, Nicolás (Sebastían Aguirre) and Emilio (Alejo Contreras), whose mother is being treated in a hospital. While they struggle to get along, one reflects on a classmate he loves. It is a sweet, sensitive film. The program shifts gears with the fabulous documentary “dragTHEqueen,” in which a handful of drag queens talk about their lives and drag personas while preparing their makeup. They discuss transforming into their characters and seeking respect and acceptance from society, as well as the art of their work. It is a revealing doc that treats its subjects with dignity. In contrast, the narrative film, “In a Land of Macho Men, the Queer is King” has Neto (Carlos Montes de Oca), a luchador, confronting both internalized and external homophobia and his current profession as an exotic wrestler. It’s a tough film, but one that grapples with Latin maschimo culture. On the lighter side, the wordless animated short “In a Heartbeat,” co-directed by Mexican Esteban Bravo and Beth David, has a young man’s heart literally popping out of his chest when he pines for another boy. Scared of rejection, he tries to control his emotions in this sweet fable. The program’s lesbian entry, “Pleiade” by David Muñoz Velasco, has Marianna (Marianna Burelli) coping with — and haunted by — the death of her lover (Emilia Duclaud). Velasco’s hypnotic film is beautifully shot and unfolds almost entirely without dialogue. There is also an inspiring documentary, “I’m Alex (Soy Alex),” about a trans man who reflects on learning to love himself. Alex talks about his love for Lady Gaga and is seen working out at the gym, recording videos for his followers and interacting with family members at home. But when he talks about visibility and normality for the trans community, the personal and political sides of his life come into bold relief. Arguably the highlight of the program is the wild and irreverent “Julkita,” directed and cowritten by Humberto Busto. The title character (Haydee Leyva) becomes

empowered like a superhero when she experiences her monthly period. This outrageous and entertaining film is a commentary on the hypocrisy of Mexican patriarchy, from how Julkita handles her obnoxious, sex-crazed brother (cowriter Alberto Wolf) to her hopes of combating corrupt politicians. In a recent Skype session, Busto explained that his film stemmed from his belief that “Mexico is in a real big political crisis right now, and it hurts a lot. There is a gap between intentions and real political action.” Busto described how women are being killed in Mexico. The violence is accepted “because it’s Mexico,” he said. “There are people like me who want to change that and make people more conscious of this.

Q Puzzle Trendsetting Lips Across “JULKITA” There is anger and fear around it, and we don’t have a political figure who can help women.” Busto developed “Julkita” after meeting with actress Haydee Leyva in New York City. Leyva was feeling angry because she was having her period, he said. “She hated having all these emotions and couldn’t control them.” They conjured up a female character using her emotions and power not to destroy herself, but to make the world better. (“Julkita” is a play on “Hulk,” or “julk” in Spanish. Julkita means “little Julk.”) While the filmmaker acknowledged women may take issue with a man making a film about menstruation, Busto said he’s receptive to reactions — pro and con — towards his fantastical genre piece. He created a short with images as vivid, beautiful and powerful as anything in a comic book. “It is necessary for us to put new points of view on the table. Maybe ‘Julkita’ is too strong, but no one is indifferent to the film.” The point of “Julkita” is to reflect on that dichotomy, he added. “Most of the people in Mexico are trying to think differently about gender and sexual identity, but we think we are [more evolved] than we are. We need to destroy the idea of the macho man.” n

1. Low-quality meat 5. Biweekly tide 9. Langston Hughes’ “The Weary ___” 14. Disneyland feature 15. Biblical trial word 16. Title character for Barbra 17. Zipper problem 18. Larry Kramer and peers 19. “Couldn’t get out of it” 20. She played CJ Lamb on Stephen Bochco’s _LA Law_ 23. “___ Hai” 24. Suffix with deposit 25. _LA Law_ lawyer 30. Fag follower 33. Cheers like an athletic supporter? 34. Homeopathic plant 35. Great service from Mauresmo 36. Nathan of _The Producers_ 37. Place for nonbreeder fertilization 39. Old Italian coin 40. Poet’s before 41. Cry after getting the shaft 42. _The Wild Bunch_, for one

43. ‘60s radical org. 44. The two characters in this puzzle shared this groundbreaking event 47. OR workers 48. Riviera resort 49. She played 25-Across 55. Roo’s mom 56. _Chloe_ director Egoyan 57. Queens do this 59. Actor Merlin 60. Peter Krause in _Six Feet Under_ 61. Makes tats 62. Placed in position 63. The A in GLARP (abbr.) 64. Canadian oil company

Down

1. AARP members 2. Part of a fruity drink 3. Figure skater Rippon 4. “___ my shorts!” (online taunt?) 5. Tool for making tats 6. Dessert that can cream in your mouth 7. LSD, e.g. 8. Coin for Kahlo 9. How mail was once delivered 10. Patrick of Vermont 11. Disengage, as a bra hook

12. Suffix with leather 13. Road warning 21. Breaks for Heather’s mommies 22. Pairs for Nanette? 25. Inspiring city for Van Gogh 26. Come on a ship 27. They’re crossed on a pirate’s flag 28. Meat that gets stuck 29. Suffix with project 30. Cole Porter’s “Katie Went to ___” 31. Eva Gabor’s green areas 32. Engaging parts 37. “One of ___ days ...” 38. Us, to Rilke 39. Place for Ohio

ferries 41. Experienced masturbator? 42. Years ago 45. Nongay bars 46. Earhart’s male counterparts 47. Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby ___” 49. Neighbor of Senegal 50. Kinsey’s org. 51. Star Turner 52. JFK predictions 53. Women who don’t have sex with men 54. Some lodge members 55. Cold-cocks 58. Anka’s “___ Beso”

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com April 27-May 3, 2018

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Classifieds All real-estate advertising is subject to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability). PGN will not knowingly accept any realestate advertising that is in violation of any applicable law.

CityofofPhiladelphia Philadelphia City

PGN does not accept advertising that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, invasive of another’s privacy, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful or racially or otherwise objectionable, including without limitation material of any kind or nature that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, provincial, national or international law or regulation, or encourage the use of controlled substances.

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April 17, 2018

April 17,hold 2018a Public City of Philadelphia will

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Monday, April 30, 2018, at 1:00 PM, in Room 400, City Hall, to hear testimony on the following items: The Committee on Education of the Council of the City of Philadelphia will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, April 30, 2018, at 1:00 PM, in Room 400, City Hall, to hear testimony on the following items:

Resolution authorizing the Committee on Education to hold hearings regarding Campus Philly and their efforts towards fueling the economic growth in Philadelphia and their efforts towards ratestoofhold college students. Resolution authorizing theincreasing Committeetheonretention Education hearings regarding

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Graduate! Philadelphia, a non-profit that supports adults who have some college credit and no degree to go back to school to get their diploma. The adults who return Immediately following the public hearing, a meeting of the Committee on Education, open to the public, back schoolto tobestart finish their college education have come to be known as will be held to consider thetoaction takenoron the above listed items. "Comebackers". Copies of the foregoing items are available in the Office of the Chief Clerk of the Council, Room 402, City

Hall. Immediately following the public hearing, a meeting of the Committee on Education, open to the public, will be held to consider the action to be taken on the above listed items.

Michael Decker

Clerk Room 402, City Copies of the foregoing items are available in the Office of the Chief Clerk Chief of the Council, Hall.

Michael Decker Chief Clerk

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3 PC Occasional Table Sets

NOW ONLY $69.99

Available in Black or Oak!

(Cocktail Table + 2 End Tables)

starting at...

99.99

starting at...

5-PIECE DINETTE SETS

299.99

SOFA & LOVESEAT SETS

(Table + 4 Chairs)

Visit Your Local AFR ® Clearance Center & Start Saving Today!

Pennsauken, NJ

New Castle, DE

720 Hylton Road Pennsauken, NJ 08110

490 West Basin Road New Castle, DE 19720

856.488.5101

302.323.1682

Mon-Thu 11AM-8PM Fri 9AM-8PM Sat 10AM-6PM Sun 11AM-5PM

Mon-Fri 9AM-8PM Sat 10AM-6PM Sun 11AM-5PM

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DELIVERY SERVICES

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PREMIUM STYLES

UNBEATABLE PRICES

New & Previously Rented Furniture *Photos are for advertising purposes only and may not match the condition of current sale merchandise. Prices reflect previously rented merchandise. Other exclusions may apply. See store for details.

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