SGN April 7, 2017 - Section 2

Seattle Gay News

Issue 14, Volume 45, April 7, 2017

Arts & Entertainment

Cirque du Soleil presents SMC’s Born This Way Luzia – a beautiful and Spring concert inspiring “waking dream a life-affirming affair of Mexico”

Luzia: A Waking Dream of Mexico – Laurence Labat / Costumes – Photo by Giovanna Buzzi / 2016 Cirque du Soleil

by Sharon Cumberland SGN Contributing Writer LUZIA: A WAKING DREAM OF MEXICO CIRQUE DU SOLEIL MARYMOOR PARK

March 30 & April 4 (through May 21) Cirque du Soleil is justly famous for its spectacular, high-flying performers, its see LUZIA page 6

Seattle Men’s Chorus perform during Born This Way – Photo by John Pai

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS BORN THIS WAY MARION OLIVER MCCAW HALL April 1 & 2

Seattle Men’s Chorus Spring Concert was a life-affirming affair, as it should be with the title Born This Way! Teeing off with Stefani J. Germanotta’s song (aka Lady Gaga) titled “Born This Way,” the see BORN THIS WAY page 4

Oddly progressive Post-war grief gives way Assignment a maddening to newfound hope in disappointment Ozon’s spellbinding Frantz

Michelle Rodriquez stars as Frank Kitchen in Walter Hill’s The Assignment – Photo courtesy of theplaylist.net

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer THE ASSIGNMENT Now playing Professional killer Frank Kitchen (Mi-

chelle Rodriguez) isn’t a nice guy, this scuzzy assassin more than happy to slink around dive bars and sleep in dingy, rundown motels just as long as the job gets done. But after he’s double-crossed by his see THE ASSIGNMENT page 8

Paula Beer and Pierre Niney in Frantz – Photo courtesy of gablescinema.com

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer FRANTZ Now playing World War I has come to its bloody

conclusion, and young Anna (Paula Beer) mourns the loss of her fiancé Frantz (Anton von Lucke), killed fighting the French in a lonely trench on a remote battlefield she will likely never visit. She lives with her see FRANTZ page 8

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April 7, 2017

Celebrating 41 Years!

La La Land in concert on its way to Benaroya Hall, Barry Manilow officially comes out

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer The Academy Award-winning musical La La Land is headed to stages around the world, including two nights early next year in Seattle. Although the film didn’t capture the Best Picture award, it did earn multiple Oscars, including a Best Actress statue for Emma Stone and Best Director honors for Damien Chazelle. The movie, which features music by another Academy Award recipient, Best Original Score winner Justin Hurwitz, has now been adapted into a live experience with full orchestra that will perform the score alongside the film’s vocal recordings. La La Land will be staged February 13 and 14 at Benaroya Hall with the Grammy-winning Seattle Symphony. Tickets go on sale August 5, but are exclusively available to subscribers now. Tickets can be purchased online at seattlesymphony. org, by calling the Seattle Symphony box office at (206) 215-4747 or (866) 833-4747, or in person at the Seattle Symphony box office (3rd and Union). Tickets may also be purchased through the Seattle Symphony’s iPhone and Android apps by searching “Seattle Symphony” or “Listen Boldly” at Apple’s App Store, or Android’s App Store.

Congratulations are in order for Barry Manilow, who officially came out this week about his sexuality and secret marriage to longtime manager Garry Kief. The two have been in a business and personal relationship

“Let’s Hang On” and “I Write the Songs.”

Fleet Foxes have booked another hometown show on their tour itinerary, scheduled to appear September 14 at the Paramount Theatre. This is in addition to the band’s previously announced May 19 concert at The Showbox Market, and both performances are in support of the group’s new album Crack-Up, Fleet Foxes’ first record in six years that lands in record stores on June 16. Tickets for the Paramount Theatre show are available online at Ticketmaster. com, in person at the Paramount box office, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. For more information, visit STGPresents.org.

(r) Barry Manilow with his husband and longtime manager Garry Kief – Photo courtesy of WireImage

for 40 years. “I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything,” Manilow, 73, said in an exclusive interview with People magazine, in response to why he never disclosed being gay to his fans. The music legend is known for writing and singing some of the biggest pop hits of the ’70s and ’80s, including “Copacabana (At The Copa),” “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Mandy,” “Even Now,”

Here are more concerts to tell you about: Digable Planets on May 27 at The Showbox Market, Psychedelic Furs on July 31 at The Showbox Market, Willie Nelson & Family with Kacey Musgraves on August 9 at Marymoor Park, Simple Plan on September 2 at the Neptune Theatre, OK Go on September 9 at the Moore Theatre and Brad Paisley on September 12 at The Gorge Amphitheatre.

Finally, former Seattle resident and Grammy-nominated artist Mary Lambert is releasing a new EP titled Bold on May 5 that she describes as “feel good queer-pop.”

She wrote all seven songs on the recording and self-produced three of the tracks, including the lead-off single “Know Your Name.” An interview with Lambert is in the works. Stay glued.

Clean Bandit gets everybody moving at The Showbox

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer CLEAN BANDIT THE SHOWBOX MARKET March 31 Last weekend’s Clean Bandit performance at The Showbox Market was one of the shortest concerts I’ve been to in recent memory, but also one of the most fun. The Grammy-winning pop-electro act entertained a sold out audience for just over an hour with songs from its 2014 album New Eyes and a few extras.

Clean Bandit is a trio, comprised of string player-vocalist Grace Chatto, keyboardist-guitarist Jack Patterson and percussionist Luke Patterson, although for Friday night’s set they were supported by singers Kirsten Child and Yasmin Green, plus violinist Stephanie Benedetti. They opened the show with “UK Shanty” and continued with a sprightly rendition of “Stronger,” which sounded ten times better in concert than the recorded track. In fact, I was really pleased with the live arrangements of the band’s songs at The Showbox, layered with added instrumentals and vocals for a fuller bodied sound; “Come Over” is a bit flat when you stream it online, but it had so much more energy when it was performed live, almost like listening to a whole different song.

A very jumpy version of “Cologne” got the crowd on the floor bouncing excitedly and featured a brief string solo by Chatto, dressed in toffee-colored tight pants with wide leg and top combo. “Symphony,” the latest single from Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson, who opened for them, was performed beautifully with a series of illu-

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Clean Bandit – Photo courtesy of Olivia Spring

minating blue lights flashing in the background, though oddly Larsson had already left the venue and Child sang the vocals on it instead, and quite well, actually. “Extraordinary” got help from Green, who reminded me of an early Martha Wash with robust, soulful vocals.

Green and Child told the audience that their favorite song was “Should’ve Known Better” before performing it, but it wasn’t mine. It didn’t do anything for me, honestly. On the contrary, I and everybody else in The Showbox got down to “Real Love,” and even though the song’s original featured vocalist Jess Glynne was MIA, Chatto alongside Green and Child did it justice. “Rather Be,” Clean Bandit’s hugely successful international hit, for which they

earned a Grammy two years ago, closed out the main set, leaving the crowd in a feverish state, having danced and bounced the entire song. I was exhausted, but oh so happy.

For an encore, and to no one’s surprise, Clean Bandit returned to the stage and played an electrifying rendition of “Rockabye” that we all sang along to cheerfully like kids at summer camp. It was a fun ending to a short, yet solid performance by this rising pop-dance act.

As expected, Clean Bandit drew a significant number of young Gay men to its Seattle concert, some who attended with a group of friends and others holding hands or linking arms with their boyfriends. It was an awesome way to spend a Friday night, that’s for sure.

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BORN THIS WAY continued from cover

concert provided all kinds of encouragement that “you’re beautiful as you are” and that we should celebrate who we are.

The first song of the event was titled “Gospel-Sermon: ‘God Said.’” As the title suggests, it sounded a bit church-y, though there was plenty of sass and irony in the lyrics. Soloist Chris Hoffman certainly did his bit to sound gloriously gospel-like.

There was plenty of humor, much provided by Captain Smartypants, the nine-person ensemble, and original songs penned by SMC Associate Artistic Director and Captain Smartypants Director Eric Lane Barnes. In the first act, they performed “Miss Twinkleton’s School for Sensitive Boys” (by Barnes) about how sensitive boys wish there were a school they could go to where they could have tea and read Wuthering Heights and not have to play rugged sports.

Another great song by Barnes was “Affirmation.” With a significant solo by Jeffrey Erickson, a favorite Pants singer who is a past-master at humorous songs, this song took on the harassment of Gays on the street and thanked a group of homophobes who accosted them for calling them names, but correcting their address: “Thank you for the affirmation, It’s nice to meet you, too, But if you’re gonna say hello, There’s something you should know: It’s Mr. Faggot to you!”

In the second act, Barnes’ song “Number One Problem” was Pants’ other particularly funny song. This one focused on going “number one” and the problem with gender-specific bathrooms. While it was amusingly performed, it was clearly a strong political statement about the absurdity of this national issue.

A strong and beautiful piece about Gay history, “Glacier” by John Grant, was a moment to remember how just a short time ago the Gay movement was a violent struggle to become who one needs to be.

(NOTE ABOUT THE VIDEOS:

Seattle Men’s Chorus Born This Way – Photo by John Pai

The chorus was accompanied during “Glacier” by a video that Grant created for his musical piece on YouTube. While it works extremely well on your streaming device of choice, the very, very fast pace of the video was extremely distracting to ac-

tually listening to the beauty of the SMC voices. This was unfortunate, since the main attraction should be the Chorus.

Later in the second act, there were a couple of very appropriate talking videos where people spoke about being non-binary and

coming out in ethnic communities. Standalone videos can add a lot to an evening and these worked well, especially on the topic.

There was another use of projections for “True Colors” – known best as sung by Cyndy Lauper – which used much slower visual changes and was far more successful in balancing the singing with the visuals.)

Aside from some beautifully sung choices like “Not While I’m Around,” one of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated songs about protecting a child, there were two other very special pieces in the second act. First was a story-song about a long bestfriendship that could have been love called “Glenda and Lauree” written by Gerald Gurss. This was masterfully sung by special guest soloist Beth Ann Bonnecroy, who sang powerfully and spoke occasionally in the piece, and made it sound completely autobiographical.

Also, the Chorus performed a commissioned piece by Transgender composer Mari Esabel Valverde (Crossing) who also came to conduct the Chorus for that piece.

Valverde chose a deeply personal and moving poem by Amir Rabiyah to compose to.

The lyrics were helpfully displayed above the Chorus as they sang.

This was a well-conceived concert with very on-point song selections and it ended with a rousing encore of “Born This Way.” (A wish for improving the dance accompaniment in future concerts: The vocal soloists in both choruses are invariably topnotch! However, the choreography, perhaps more in this concert than in others, was very complicated and while the dancers executed it well individually, their lack of coordination as a group made it look slightly less than stellar. Perhaps less complicated choreography could be combined with more intensive rehearsal so that any group dancing included in the program will feel as top-notch as all the singing.)

The next SMC concert is June 23 & 24 at McCaw Hall and is titled: Bette, Babs and Beyonce. Can it be any less than fabulous?! In addition to their Pride concert, Seattle Men’s Chorus will perform with the Seattle Symphony on May 19, 20 & 21 in a concert titled Broadway Rocks.

2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Pearl Jam are local rock legends and LGBT allies

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer Grammy Awards, platinum albums and #1 records are one thing, but an opportunity to become a member of music’s most elite club is an accolade reserved for the very legendary of legends. Seattle’s own Pearl Jam will join this exclusive group on April 7 when the band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Getting inducted into this top shelf of artists happens in four stages. First, you become eligible for consideration when your first major recording reaches its 25th anniversary milestone, and then a nominating committee selects a list of about 15 to 20 potential inductees, and then a voting committee comprised of music journalists, scholars and other experts around the world carefully picks the final candidates, and then, of course, each of these artists is officially inducted during a festive ceremony in New York.

Since 1986, when the first class of artists was selected, a who’s who of musicians has been inducted, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Prince, Johnny Cash, U2, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The

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Doors, The Supremes, Ike & Tina Turner, Fleetwood Mac, John Lennon, Roy Orbison, James Brown, Etta James, the Bee Gees, AC/DC, The Police, R.E.M., Metallica, Neil Diamond, Beastie Boys, Donna Summer, Kiss, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chuck Berry, who very recently passed away, just to name a few.

Pearl Jam joins Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez, Journey, Tupac Shakur and Yes as the 2017 class of inductees, and in doing so becomes the fourth Seattle act to earn a rightful spot amongst music’s greatest, behind Jimi Hendrix, Heart and Nirvana.

Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament were members of a grunge group called Green River back in the mid- ‘90s, which also included Mark Arm and Steve Turner, who would later form Mudhoney. When Green River disbanded, Gossard and Ament helped launch Mother Love Bone, another grunge act that enjoyed some success in the late ’90s, before joining forces with Mike McCready and then eventually Eddie Vedder. The group originally went by Mookie Blaylock, but changed its name to Pearl Jam upon releasing its major debut Ten, which to date has sold over 13 million copies worldwide. With international acclaim, the group became pioneers of the grunge

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movement that began in small, sweaty bars in Seattle and went on to dominate the rock scene for several years with high-profile acts, such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Hole, Pixies and The Smashing Pumpkins.

From 1991 to 2013, Pearl Jam has released ten studio albums that produced many chart-topping alternative rock singles, including “Alive,” “Jeremy,” “Daughter,” “Even Flow,” “Who You Are,” “Wishlist,” “Last Kiss” and “Spin the Black Circle,” which earned them a Grammy Award in 1996.

But besides its musical contributions, Pearl Jam is known for its outspoken support of various cultural and social issues, including LGBT rights. As recently as a year ago, lead singer Vedder announced that the group had canceled its appearance in North Carolina due to the controversial HB2 law, which has since been dismantled and rebuffed.

In a written statement posted to social media, Vedder stated “The HB2 law that was recently passed is a despicable piece of legislation that encourages discrimination against an entire group of American citizens. The practical implications are expansive and its negative impact upon basic human rights is profound. We want America to

be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love or fired from their job for who they are.”

In 2015, upon hearing that the Supreme Court had paved the way for Gay marriage to become legal nationwide, Pearl Jam posted a photo of the band standing in front of an illuminated rainbow-colored amphitheatre with the simple message #LoveWins.

The group have also been activists and advocates for women’s reproductive rights, pro-environmental projects and anti-war awareness, while also donating proceeds from their shows to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina and sending $300,000 to assist with the Flint, Michigan water crisis.

So, when Pearl Jam is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend

by David Letterman, who replaces an ill Neil Young, it will primarily be for its music, a catalog of albums and songs that are now classics and are being rediscovered by new generations. But the band is also being celebrated for its longtime charitable efforts and its strong support of human rights, like those of the LGBT community.

For that, we return the favor and wholeheartedly congratulate Pearl Jam on this momentous occasion.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Going all the way: Diamanda Galás

by Jessica Price SGN A&E Writer DIAMANDA GALÁS NEPTUNE THEATRE March 31 Extraordinary avant-garde vocalist/pianist/artist Diamanda Galás launched a rare six-date US tour March 31 at Seattle’s Neptune, marking her first performances outside of New York or Europe in years. At 61 years old Galás’ otherworldly talent burns brighter than ever on a just released pair of new albums as well: All the Way, interpreting jazz and blues standards as only she can, and At Saint Thomas the Apostle Harlem, a blistering live recording of “death songs” from the singer’s May 2016 concert at a church in Harlem.

Performing in places of spiritual significance is not unusual for Diamanda, whose confrontational artistry took root during the conservative Reagan years. The AIDS crisis was raging, ignored by politicians, while the “War On Drugs” became the token cause of the religious right. Talk shows reigned supreme with specials on Satanism and the demise of the American family. It was during this chapter of American hypocrisy that Diamanda’s 1982 debut album The Litanies of Satan was released, and within four years she lost her brother, playwright Philip-Dimitri Galás, to AIDS. Diamanda was an outspoken human rights and AIDS activist before and after his death. As an early member of ACT UP she was arrested during the “Stop The Church” protest at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in 1989 in opposition to the pope’s anti-AIDS education stance. The operatic trilogy of The Masque of the Red Death, The Divine Punishment & Saint of the Pit and You Must Be

Diamanda Galás – Photo by Austin Young

Certain of the Devil chronicled the agony of people suffering from AIDS and quickly gained cult status through her ferocious, blood-curdling delivery and terrifyingly bloody performances. In the intervening years Galás forged a long and uncompromising career, collaborating frequently with filmmakers and like-minded artists on the fringe, her vocals developing to a level and range far beyond the abilities of the world’s most gifted singers. Ear-splitting wails metamorphose into deep, ominous chants in the span of a syllable. Had she chosen a conventional path in opera or rock n’ roll she could have been a household name, but this was never her motivation.

Diamanda has remained an iconoclast: the dark horse of all divas.

Given this illustrious history, Dia-

manda’s Seattle appearance created quite a fervor among her followers, as evidenced by the sold out performance at the Neptune. Diamanda took the stage a few minutes after 9pm with no opener and a simple red spotlight, her waist-length jetblack hair piled high atop her head, befitting the grande dame she is today. Without looking at or addressing the audience she took a seat at her piano and began to play.

What followed was just over an hour of electrifying, bone-chilling, impassioned singing that slipped effortlessly between multiple languages and styles, demonstrating the mature power of her four-octave range. Aside from French and Spanish, at times she sounded as if she was chanting in Arabic or Greek – which she may well have been – as she visited selections from

All the Way and more. A brilliant pianist, Diamanda conjured every bit of sound and texture from her instrument as she prevailed upon it.

At first Diamanda didn’t interact with the audience at all, only nodding curtly a few songs into the set. During each pause she completely turned at the waist to drink water out of view. Gradually, the overwhelmingly positive reaction of the crowd seemed to feed her energy and loosen her up. At one point, she stopped mid-song to fling sheet music to the floor and finally spoke: “Sorry, I’m not doing that one tonight – too dreary,” a comment which elicited giddy laughter from the house. Reaching an unhinged crescendo in “O Death,” she repeatedly bellowed “nothin’ satisfies me but your soul...NOPE!” and then eased into a somewhat tongue-in-cheek delivery of her bluesy new album closer “Pardon Me I’ve Got Someone to Kill.” Without further ado she stood and faced the audience, smiled graciously, and was gone – the entire 60-70 minutes seeming to pass in the blink of an eye.

There’s a lot to digest when listening to Diamanda’s records, some are indeed nearly unlistenable by conventional standards. Her true power is evident in her live performances, where she rips savage emotion and otherworldly sounds from the depths of her soul in a way few artists dare to (or are capable of). It’s an experience like no other. From her experimental beginnings to the present day, the legacy of Diamanda’s singular vision has become clear: it is the most extreme artists that push the boundaries of artistic expression in any medium. Without them, our eyes and ears would be forever asleep.

A Proper Place makes its world premiere at Village Theatre

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer A PROPER PLACE VILLAGE THEATRE Issaquah: through April 23 Everett: April 28-May 21 If you don’t think about the substance of the brand new musical, A Proper Place, making its world premiere at Village Theatre, you can enjoy the peppy songs and (as usual) impeccable cast and have a pretty good time.

The story is based on J.M. Barrie’s 1902 play, The Admirable Crichton. Barrie wrote the much more famous Peter Pan books and plays. An upper crust British family goes on a cruise in their pleasure boat with a skeleton servant crew. They’re blown off course and land on an island with little hope of rescue.

None of the wealthy family knows a thing about survival, so they depend on their butler and a scullery maid/turned resourceful ladies’ maid to manage shelter and food and everything else. How the butler and maid know how to survive is an open question, but again, if you don’t look at it very hard, it’s just a stereotype and can be fun.

It turns out that the butler, Kevin Vortmann, doesn’t just know a little about how to survive, he’s actually a master at devising better housing, better feeding, and even better clothing than anyone can imagine. It’s a bit of magical stagework.

(Vortmann had to step in at the last minute due to injury, but carries the entire show as if cast originally! He’s got a strong, clear

The cast of A Proper Place. A Proper Place Production photo – © 2017 Tracy Martin Property of Village Theatre.

voice and leading man carriage. It’s great to be introduced to him and we hope to see him again in Seattle!)

So, the idea is that it pits the butler’s own training of the rightness of society being bifurcated into “upper crust” and “servant class” against the realization that on the island, he’s really in charge. The “proper place” of society depends, then, on circumstance.

If this musical were adapted in the mid1930s, it would by now be a cute classic, perhaps. However, even though writers Leslie Becker and Curtis Rhodes try to infuse 2017 sentiments into the script, giving the characters a wake-up call about their own

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prejudices, it doesn’t go nearly far enough in that direction to deserve the hoped-for kudos of a brand new musical that covers a properly updated sensibility.

Those who have been steeped in “Downton Abbey” and their butler’s insistence on the proper way to run an aristocratic household will recognize a similarity. But “Downton Abbey” was actually focused on meticulously recreating how that world was, not on commenting on what it could change.

The island segments of the musical could have been filled with what it took to learn to exist in this new environment, rather than a pseudo-power struggle with the

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“lord of the manor” and the butler. There’s plenty of potential humor to be had there.

Ultimately, what is the likeliest reason for this lack of updating is a too-faithful rendering of the book’s story. Instead, the writers could revamp the story by focusing on the humor of having early 19th Century characters take on 21st Century values, perhaps. I would bet the book is out of copyright protection by now.

There are three daughters: Chelsea LeValley, Sara Bordenet and Krista Curry, with LeValley getting to shine in her first lead role on Village’s main stage. Lord Loam is the always steady Hugh Hastings. Randy Scholz plays a foppish cousin who gets some of the humor load. David Caldwell is a compassionate clergyman. Sophia Franzella stands out as the scullery-maid-withthe-mostest, making the most of the plucky character and the laughs. The talented ensemble gets to go back and forth between servants and society gabsters.

They’ve made an engaging production here, and if that’s what you’re looking for, then have fun. If you’re concerned about stereotypes being reaffirmed or the awkwardness of a butler justifying his attraction to the eldest daughter “because on the island” he is “king,” and that makes you feel queasy about men thinking women owe them by virtue of position, you might want to skip it.

For more information, go to www.villagetheatre.org or call 425-392-2202.

Discuss your opinion with SGNcritic@ gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/ SeattleTheaterWriters. More articles can be found at MiryamsTheaterMusings. blogspot.com.

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Murder for Two – slays

by Eric Andrews-Katz SGN A&E Writer MURDER FOR TWO ACT THEATRE Through June 11 Murder For Two is a new musical comedy presented by the 5th Avenue Theatre in collaboration with ACT Theatre. The production is more reminiscent of an English Music Hall than of a Broadway show, but it is an enjoyable production regardless. It is a fun show with quick timing and talented actors, plus there’s a piano.

The storyline is very typical of English productions. There’s a gathering of characters united in their dislike for the Guest of Honor at an elaborate birthday party. As the lights are turned off for the surprise entry, a gun goes off and the main character is shot dead. Two police officers (one desperately trying to make Detective) appear on the scene and have “an hour” to solve the crime before the official detective shows up. In that hour, the audience is introduced to 12 characters (including women, children and the elderly) that are all suspects and are played by two men (Richard Gray and Chris DiStefano) – who also play the piano.

The characters are easy to tell apart despite the little costuming and differences in appearances. The actors use subtle nuances to present the different characters, such as using glasses, an accent, hats and of course, their unique talents to bring the characters to life. The changes are lightning fast and mostly under the credit of Richard Gray.

Mr. Gray has been seen on the 5th Avenue stage in several incarnations from The Music Man to Spamalot to A Room With A View, among others and brings his comedic talents along with his strong stage presence to this production. He plays over 10 characters (including three members of a 12 boy-

(c) Chris DiStefano plays Marcus and Richard Gray plays The Suspects in Murder for Two, a co-production between The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT - A Contemporary Theatre – Photo by Jeff Carpenter

choir) and does so with comic precision.

Mr. Gray’s counterpart is Chris DiStefano. Mr. DiStefano takes on his own challenges by playing three characters including Marcus Moscowicz, the police officer desperate to become Detective. His conversation flies as fast as the character changes, all so he can solve the murder within the show’s remaining hour frame. The enthusiasm of Moscowicz comes through easily, despite some simple shtick, and the audience quickly finds itself siding along and cheering for the policeman to make his goal.

The real star of this show, however, is

the piano that stands prominently center stage. It is utilized by both men so readily that it seems there are a host of piano players standing by, waiting for their opportunity to play. There are times the two men overlap each other on the piano bench, cross each other’s hands, mix and mingle with the other’s playing all while assisting and never missing a note. While the songs (written by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair) are not particularly memorable, they do add to the moment of presentation and make the simple (almost cliché) storyline enjoyable.

The show is fun and enjoyable. It runs

roughly 90 minutes with no intermission, so as not to interrupt the tension of the “whodunit.” While the architecture of the show is not original, nor the Music Hall styling of several characters played by one or two actors, these two men pull it off with great ease and seem to be having a fun time on stage.

Murder for Two made its world premier in late spring of 2011. The show ran for over six months and was extended on several occasions. The national tour was launched in late November 2014.

LUZIA

continued from cover elaborate narratives, and its fabulous costumes, all seamlessly knitted together into two astonishing hours. I had only been once before – to last year’s “Kurios” – which was something of a steam-punky hodge-podge (what else can you expect from a cabinet of curiosities?) but memorable, nevertheless.

Yet I confess to feeling some skepticism about this year’s Mexican theme. I went on a social justice trip to Cuernavaca and Mexico City last year and came away with a new understanding of Mexican politics, corruption, drug cartels, and exploitation of the poor. How could Cirque du Soleil present anything cheerful about a nation in such dire straits? It would either recreate the tourist’s bubble of sunny indifference to Mexico’s dangers, or it would be another dark, scary world populated with acrobatic bad guys. I’m glad to report that it was neither, though on opening night there was an accident that brought the audience to a sudden awareness of the physical dangers involved in the Cirque du Soleil brand of heart-stopping gymnastics.

“Luzia” – “light” in English – has the double meaning of being bright and funny at the same time. Its light-hearted theme was less about Mexico than about what Mexico would be like in Paradise, where everyone loves and respects each other and everyone is young, strong, and goodlooking. Mexico’s traditional arts – the bright turquoise, red, purple and white of the fabrics, the flower and bird motifs, the banderollas of cut-out paper, the music that makes you want to dance in the aisles – all of it offered up a guilt-free vision, a “waking dream” of Mexico as a place of beauty and culture. Who wouldn’t want to go to that Mexico?

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A performer dances in the rain with her life-sized hula-hoop (called a “cyr-wheel”) – Laurence Labat / Costumes – Photo by Giovanna Buzzi / 2016 Cirque du Soleil

The show cleverly emphasized the inaccessibility of dream-Mexico by parachuting its narrator, a silent-but very-expressive clown, into its garden of birds and marigolds (watered by adorable little robots).

The clown, played by the aptly-named Eric Fool Koller, is our surrogate, stumbling his way through one sweet or dangerous delight after another. And what delights they are! In addition to the musical transitions

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with gorgeous singing and dancing, there are a dozen acts that take your breath away, each in a different genre of grace, strength or daring.

The hallmark of Cirque performances is that each scene of derring-do is contextualized with a group of other performers strolling, dancing, wearing animal costumes, or otherwise enriching the environment so that you hardly know where to

look. The huge revolving stage has what must be the world’s largest treadmill, supporting an array of hoop-jumping, airtumbling acrobats and parading puppets. I was especially entranced by the “Running Woman” – a young lady dressed in a butterfly dress whose fabulous wings are manipulated on rods by other actors as she races in place on the treadmill. While this is happening, a silver stallion – a very realistic

Celebrating 41 Years!

life-sized puppet inhabited by three puppeteers – begins galloping along with her to thrilling Mexican percussion and trumpets.

If you could ever be made to believe in a dream, this would be the moment.

Another scene that captured my heart was a trapeze act in which a single orangeclad woman flyer described fantastic hieroglyphs in the air as two other young women in airy dresses revolved around the stage below in life-sized hula-hoops (called “cyrwheels” – who knew?). A massive backdrop reminiscent of the Aztec calendar stone changed colors and projections throughout – for this scene it was covered with ants, and the three women had ants printed on their beautiful costumes. A theme of birds, insects and animals continued throughout the show, a strategy that keeps you situated in the sunny desert of dream-Mexico, along with a trio of life-sized saguaro cacti – one with a hilariously placed, upward-bending arm at crotch level – who remind you that we’re not in Seattle anymore.

There are lots of good-natured, jolly performances, like that of Ugo, the bodybuilder lifeguard who, surrounded by bathing beauties in sunglasses and mirrored bathing suits, stands on higher and higher swaying rods performing impossible feats of strength and balance, like a gymnast on rings but without the rings. Two soccer-ball Einsteins, Laura and Abou, play the fanciest game of keepie-uppie you can imagine, a juggler flings multiple silver bowling pins into the air to live marimba and tuba music, and a handsome fellow with long locks climbs, twirls, and falls through the air on straps while flinging his long hair into the water and creating designs in the air with water drops.

“Water?” you say. “What water?” Water, in this dream-desert, is the most spectacular part of the whole evening. At strategic moments a water wall falls from the two-story top of the tent to add drama and surprise to the show – to tease the clown, to drench performers who incorporate sparkling water into their arts, and to create a pallet of water-pictures so surprising and beautiful that it got me all choked up, as did many other moments in this beautiful, thrilling show.

I was lucky enough to go to “Luzia” twice, once as a reviewer for SGN on opening night (free sodas! free popcorn! free cactus-shaped cookies!) and once again on a family trip with a very generous niece and nephew. I’m glad, not only to have seen the show twice – it merits multiple viewings for those who can afford it – but because I got to see the show a second time without the real-world scary part.

As widely reported in other media, on opening night there was a terrifying moment that caused the audience of more than 1,600 to sit in stunned and anxious silence. The grand finale of “Luzia” features the Russian swings, apparatus consisting of two gigantic curved platforms on metal frames, each of which is pumped by a strong man standing on the back of the swing so that lighter-weight acrobats can stand on the front and leap from one platform to another, turning multiple somersaults and twirls in the air as the big swings fling them toward the top of the tent. Not only do the guys pumping have to get the timing exactly right so that the jumpers have a platform to land on, but the jumpers have to time their air-born twirls so that they unfold and land on the opposite platform as it rises to meet them. It’s a hairraising act that has your mouth gaping, your hands wringing, and your heart thumping – but in a good way.

Good, that is, until something bad happens, which happened on opening night.

A young lady in the troupe was flung high into the air, performed a twirl, but then lost her footing on a backward-facing landing and fell flat on the platform, which was rising at such a rate that it whacked the entire back of her body. I was sitting three rows away as this happened and heard the sickening sound of the fall. Her fellow performers stopped the swing almost instantly,

Ugo, the bodybuilder lifeguard, balances above the stage – Laurence Labat / Costumes – Photo by Giovanna Buzzi / 2016 Cirque du Soleil

though the music continued on, weirdly, as the message that an accident had happened seeped through the system to the sound engineers. The injured girl lay flat on the platform, but her eyes were blinking and her chest was heaving. A manager, then a

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dozen medics, materialized as if by magic.

It took fifteen minutes to immobilize the performer with inflatable stabilizers, to move her to a stretcher and to carry her out.

During that time I’m sure some tears were shed and some prayers were sent up from

the audience. As the performer was carried out to applause, there was a palpable concern that we had all witnessed a disaster.

The show went on, of course, to the big Fiesta finale. I was impressed by the bravery of the cast, who were determined to smile and be cheerful so that the audience would not leave dream-Mexico in sorrow.

So fast-forward to April 4th, when I got to see the show a second time. Imagine my delight, at the grand finale, when I saw this same young lady on the Russian swings again, flying through the air, turning somersaults, and landing backward on the platform as lightly as a bird. What I hadn’t realized was how much of the show had been cut short on opening night – a good ten minutes of additional aerial acrobatics performed by the men in the troupe, who were performing such feats of tumbling in the air and flying high that they were snapping their suspenders (literally) with pride instead of struggling to hold up their heads and hold back their tears as they did at the finale on opening night.

Though several reviewers who witnessed the accident on opening night reflected on the morality of audiences demanding ever more dangerous acts to satisfy their thirst for danger, I doubt that this is the motivation for these performers. I would have been just as thrilled to see the girl jump forwards instead of backwards, or the men to do one somersault instead of three. What do I know about their standards? I think these people are real competitors, recruited from the ranks of elite and Olympic gymnasts. They will always want to go bigger, higher, more dramatic, more dangerous, no matter what the audience thinks. They know the risks and they know how to perform safely. Accidents happen to all of us. It’s as likely (even more likely) that I could get killed in an accident going home from Cirque du Soleil as that an acrobat could get killed doing their highly perfected performance. So it was a rare, sad moment on opening night that ended happily, and hopefully, for the rest of the run, which continues through May 21st.

I highly recommend this “waking dream of Mexico” because it honors all that is beautiful, musical, and traditional about a wonderful country whose people deserve better than they’re getting. It’s an image of hopefulness that we might all bear in mind, like a light – a “Luzia” – at the end of the tunnel.

The Russian swings highlight the Luzia’s grand finale – Laurence Labat / Costumes – Photo by Giovanna Buzzi / 2016 Cirque du Soleil

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 7

THE ASSIGNMENT continued from cover

most recent employer Honest John Hartunian (Anthony LaPaglia), the hitman is all but certain he’s about to go down for the long dirt nap.

So imagine Frank’s surprise when he wakes up in a new hotel room, clothes in the dresser drawer, some pills at his bedside and a couple hundred dollars to pay for various incidentals like food. But something else has also changed. Frank has had full sexual reassignment surgery, a mysterious voice on a recorder letting him know in no uncertain terms she’s done this to him both for revenge and as a scientific experiment. She wants to know if he will change his ways if given a fresh new start, that he’ll give up killing and embrace the femininity she’s surgically gifted him. But all Frank wants is revenge, and as soon he can acquire a gun he intends on hunting down all who did this, especially the secretive doctor who altered his body so significantly.

Writer and director Walter Hill’s latest violent noir thriller The Assignment fits comfortably alongside Johnny Handsome and Extreme Prejudice as far the veteran filmmaker’s extensive filmography is concerned. It is a tough, brooding piece of pulp fiction where bodies fall freely, blood is spilled and revenge – not justice – is on the mind of the two primary characters. Its hotbutton, admittedly exploitive central premise notwithstanding, this is a fairly typical effort for the 48hrs. and The Warriors auteur, playing with themes and concepts that anyone familiar with even a small handful of any of his previous features would recognize instantaneously.

The worry going in, understandably so, was that Hill was going to deliver something insultingly transphobic, that he was using the sensationalism of the concept to drive things in a way that would marginalize the Transgender experience in ways that would be regressively offensive.

What’s odd is that, even with this exploitation element front and center, the script is actually quite profound as it discusses gender and gender identity issues, a long

FRANTZ

continued from cover slain beloved’s parents Doktor Hans Hoffmeister (Ernst Stötzner) and his devoted wife Magda (Marie Gruber), each of them attempting to grieve in their own way each and every day.

On one of her frequent trips to the church graveyard, Anna stumbles upon a shy Frenchman also there to pay his respects. After some dogged determination to learn who he is, turns out the young man, Adrien (Pierre Niney), himself a military veteran, knew Frantz back in Paris before the war. Initially worried as to how they’ll respond to him, Anna brings Adrien to meet Doktor Hoffmeister and Magda, and while the group’s early conversations are justifiably stilted, after awhile the longing for information and the need to have a concrete connection to their son takes hold of the parents. Much to the bewilderment to the town at large, this strange quartet forms a strong friendship, all of it built on each individual’s memories as they pertain to Frantz.

French auteur François Ozon (In the House, Swimming Pool), working in collaboration with Philippe Piazzo, presents Frantz, an adaptation of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 classic Broken Lullaby, and in the process crafts a distinctly feminine version of the story that is beautifully refined and intimately profound. Telling things from Anna’s point-of-view, allowing cinematographer Pascal Marti (The New Girlfriend)

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Sigourney Weaver plays Dr. Rachel Kay in Walter Hill’s The Assignment – Photo courtesy of seattletimes.com

monologue delivered by the brilliantly evil Dr. Rachel Kay (Sigourney Weaver) around the film’s midpoint astoundingly insightful. More than that, Hill never labels Frank Kitchen as being anything other than who he is, a man who has been surgically mangled and not any sort of blasphemous examination of the maleto-female Transgender experience. The movie believes in science and, if anything, praises Trans individuals for their courage and tenacity, a moderately unexpected turn of events as far as I was concerned.

All of which makes the narrative laziness of everything else happening inside The Assignment all the more frustrating.

Hill, working with co-writer Denis Hamill (Critical Condition, Turk 182!), is going through the motions as far as the main revenge storyline is concerned. Worse, the pair do the film no favors in regards to the framing device they’ve concocted, an incarcerated Dr. Kay talking about what

she did to Frank Kitchen and why she did it to an incredulous penal psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Galen (Tony Shalhoub), in hopes of being let out of the psych ward in order to stand trial for a variety of crimes she wants publicized. By doing things this way, the movie ends up having nothing in the way of tension or mystery, the whole thing ending up being more of a pretentious talk-a-thon character study than the violent, bullet-riddled revenge thriller hinted at early on.

Not that there isn’t plenty of blood and guts. Once Frank gets things in some semblance of order, he goes on the requisite killing spree, hunting down oneby-one all those who physically mangled him. But there’s such a matter-of-fact tediousness to these sequences that suspense is all but nonexistent. More, because of the framing device, there’s also little tension, the idea that Frank is going to get seriously harmed by any of the underworld thugs he encounters in his quest

to paint with both vibrant, electrifying color and shrouded, passionately melancholic black and white, this gorgeous stunner held me spellbound first frame to last, the film a piece of pure cinematic wonderment audiences eager for something substantive should make the effort to see.

For those new to the story, and considering Lubitsch’s film isn’t exactly easy to find or see that’s going to be just about everyone, things regarding Anna, Adrien and the Hoffmeisters are never what they appear to be. But there is nothing untoward going on, no one involved in this emotional mélange wanting to cause undue heartache or trauma to anyone else they are conversing with. Truth becomes lie, fiction becomes fact, grief is assuaged and forgiveness is sought. Through it all, Anna must discover who she is, what she wants from life and what she is willing to do to carry on now that Frantz is no longer physically with her, where she is willing to go to find answers to these questions the palpitating heart beating at the center of Ozon and Piazzo’s moving adaptation.

I’m being coy for a reason. The journey Anna takes is delicately nuanced, and while it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize Adrien isn’t who he proclaims to be, his knowledge of Frantz is so richly extensive it’s easy to miss all the hints Ozon craftily drops as to what is going. Even so, the revelations, when they come, happen with a matter-of-fact certainty that’s startling, the beauty of the truth being laid bare no matter what the consequences a breathless summation to the film’s first hour. The two actors, Beer and Niney, are extraordinary

during this moment, the way both communicate on a wavelength brimming with guilt, recrimination, fear, heartache and understanding something hauntingly special.

What’s amazing is that this is only the film’s halfway point, Ozon dropping the hammer on what’s going on but doing so in a way that allows the remainder of the story to naturalistically flow from there. Anna, for reasons having to do with her crippling affection for Frantz as well as her selfless love for the Hoffmeisters, becomes the mirror image of the stranger who came from France and helped ease the pain of two parents who never imagined their grief could be assuaged. She continues a lie because she knows it gives them comfort, goings so far to journey to Paris herself in order to learn more about Adrien and to find out how he’s doing after unburdening himself of such a catastrophic secret.

Newcomer Beer is astonishing. Ozon keeps her front and center in practically every scene. Her transformation is key. The way Anna comes to understand the repercussions of this war, the singular human destruction that has taken place on such an unimaginable scale unlike anything the world had ever seen up to that point, it forces her out of that personal bubble of grief, the young woman’s eyes opening more clearly than they ever have before. Beer travels between a number of different emotional layers with graceful majesty, each second a revolving door that helps increase understanding of the woman’s pain as well as the ways she might hopefully be able to deal with it.

Ozon takes no sides and also doesn’t

April 7, 2017

to discover the truth close to nonexistent.

Weaver, given so much preciously conceited psycho-babble dialogue the sheer volume of it is honestly impressive, still makes an aggressively unsettling villain, the veteran actress having something of a jovial, free-spirited field day as she gleefully plays up Dr. Kay’s vain self-important madness. She and Shalhoub have terrific rapport, both making what they can of their scenes together, helping give the movie an urgent agency it otherwise lacks. It’s also nice to see veteran character actor LaPaglia back in action, and while he’s underutilized, the key moment where his low-level Mafioso helps Frank Kitchen put things in perspective is still rather excellent all things considered.

Then there is Rodriguez. While I think putting a Trans actor in the role would have given the story more heft, that doesn’t make the popular action actress’ performance any less brave. Rodriguez does a fine job overall, never playing Frank as anything other than the man he is, even post his forced transformation, while the sequence where the hitman discovers what’s been done to him while staring into a mirror is heartbreakingly raw and viscerally startling. But once that’s accomplished there’s precious little for the actress to do, and as such maintaining interest in Frank’s endeavors grows more and more difficult as the film progresses towards its inevitable conclusion.

For Hill, The Assignment is a return to his low budget roots. Yet the film is light years from the assertively macho masterworks like The Driver, Hard Times or Southern Comfort, while on an action front there’s little to talk about, so even secondtier efforts from the director like Red Heat, Last Man Standing or Bullet to the Head look like masterpieces in comparison. As it is, The Assignment isn’t close to the offensive abomination the controversy surrounding its making and release has led some to believe. But while I’m happy Hill has such progressive beliefs as they pertain to gender identity, I’d have been even happier had he and Hamill written a thriller worthy of such open-mindedness, his latest feature nothing more than a maddening grindhouse disappointment.

pull punches. There are no easy answers as everyone has been dealt a heavy blow by the war and all of them are having trouble figuring out how to cope now that it has come to an end. Peace proves to be every bit as contentious and belligerent as the conflict was, and even with bombs no longer dropping from the sky and with no more bullets whizzing through the air, none of that means people are able to go back to the lives they knew before having survived events as earth-shattering as these.

But what does that journey feel like?

What are the difficulties, for soldier and civilian alike, to find a way to carry on and look at life again as if it is full of possibility and wonder and not walk under a cloud of despair, grief and regret? This is the road Anna is on, Ozon tracking her as she deals with so many conflicting emotions and desires, all of them augmented to varying degrees by the loss of Frantz, her relationship with his parents and the introduction of Adrien into her life.

It’s miraculous, there’s no other word for it. The emotions Ozon deftly has his characters transition through are amplified by precise bursts of color, these transitions signifying the softening of grief and the remembrance that life’s promise still exists even in the petrifying crucible of post-war reconstruction. By the time it comes to an end, Frantz has made a permanent imprint, the hope for a better tomorrow after a cataclysmic yesterday striking chords of promise that make even the harshest of injuries feel as if they someday can be healed.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Reinforcing Transgender theory Revered director Walter Hill courts controversy with gender-bending noir thriller The Assignment

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer I am a Transgender woman. It’s not something I talk about in great detail, mainly because I’m a reasonably private person and I feel like my work as a writer and a film critic should speak for itself devoid of labels or preconceptions. I just like to keep my personal life somewhat separate from my professional one, and while I’m not against talking about who I am and the

Southern Comfort, The Long Riders and 48hrs., the director seemed to be seemingly as excited to talk to me as I was to chat with him. “I’m so happy you called!” he exclaimed with hearty exuberance. “I haven’t had the chance to talk about the movie with a Transgender viewer. This is very exciting; I hope that’s all right to say.”

As I didn’t see any other way to have this conversation with the filmmaker other than to be totally open and upfront as to where I was coming from, I had no prob-

have said all along to anybody who would walk into the bar and have a drink with me that the movie actually reinforces Transgender theory, at least as I understand it, which is we are who we are inside our head.

That’s the determining factor.

“Frank Kitchen, he’s Frank Kitchen.

That does not change. You start the movie, and I do realize it’s very much in comic book shorthand, but he’s a guy and he loves being a guy, and then he goes through a forced genital alteration which is very dif-

they’re being said by a man set in his ways and unable to understand why some would take offense at the narrative scenario his newest film toys with. But the key is that they should still see The Assignment in order to enter the discussion, not doing so adds nothing to the debate but clueless angry noise not worth paying attention to.

What I discovered is that, by and large Hill is spot-on in regards to his assertion how positively his story portrays the Transgender experience. Dr. Kay might be a psy-

Walter Hill – Photo courtesy of latimes.com

journey I’m on, I just don’t think it should be the primary element making up how the world views either me or my work.

When dealing with a film like Walter Hill’s The Assignment, maintaining that distinction is unavoidably impossible.

The movie is a dark, dingy noir thriller about a professional killer, Frank Kitchen (Michelle Rodriguez), abducted by a brilliant if psychologically unstable scientist, Dr. Rachel Kay (Sigourney Weaver), and then given a forced gender reassignment surgery as punishment for assassinating her brother years earlier. It’s a seedy, obviously exploitive premise, and one that could also be viewed as dangerously transphobic, and as such watching the film devoid of my own personal experiences was pretty much hopeless.

Gifted the opportunity to speak briefly with the legendary filmmaker on the telephone, Hill the driving force behind such unabashedly pugnacious and masculine classics like The Driver, The Warriors,

lem whatsoever discussing The Assignment with him coming from that base of knowledge and mutual respect. Additionally, I had to admit to Hill how initially nervous I was to watch the movie considering the uncomforting nature of the major plot elements, my affinity for his filmography and fondness for down and dirty grindhouse cinema notwithstanding. All of which added to my being quite surprised just how progressive and openminded his and co-writer Denis Hamill’s script proved to be as it related to issues of gender identity, a laudable trait I never could have anticipated before watching.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” he admits, referring to my initial nervousness to view his film. “Before the movie was even made, it immediately came under attack, as if I would make a film that was exploitive or negative about the Transgender situation.

We live in gender fluid times. Especially compared to the world and the country I grew up in, and I think that’s terrific, and I

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ferent than going through a traditional gender reassignment process. After, he remains a guy. Because that’s who he is.

“As far as I understand it, that perfectly reinforces Transgender theory, which I whole-heartedly support. And, really, that’s another thing. And I don’t know how you could watch any of my films, as dark as some of them might be, and ever think I’d want to go out and hurt people who have gone through a difficult process in their lives and have hopefully gone on to a happier state. I would never want to exploit that, and that isn’t the movie that I feel like I made. It’s a little disheartening to think some people would think that without even taking a look at the film.”

That, in my opinion, is the crucial point.

While some of what he says is admirably progressive and ahead of the societal curve, especially for a grizzled, 75-year-old filmmaker known for tough guy thrillers like Extreme Prejudice, Wild Bill and Trespass, other aspects of his statement do feel as if

chopath, but she still cares for her patients with a level of understanding and commitment that’s startling. Halfway through the movie, she delivers a speech (one that’s admittedly rather pretentious in its psychobabble obnoxiousness, it must be said) where she explains the psychological and physical aspects of the Transgender journey in exhausting minutia. This is a blunt discussion that adds an unforeseen layer to the film, and as such paints a clear picture as to why Frank Kitchen responds to his traumatic disfigurement as he does, the killer holding on to his masculinity even as his external physical gender has been permanently altered.

“I admit I got on the Internet so I could sound literate as far as that aspect of the film was concerned,” admits Hill. “I honestly did not do a lot of research. I went with my gut. The movie posits a doctor who has lost her license who is also an intellectual,

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 9

see WALTER HILL page 10

WALTER HILL continued from page 9

is narcissistic and is a rather uber-mensch type personality. I always said her personality was modeled in Gore Vidal, who I knew a bit, and I think he’d be amused by that statement. But, this woman has been discriminated against, blocked and had her ambitions forcibly held in check for no other reason than she’s a woman. She takes that personally. She’s also obviously insane.

But she still cares for her patients. She still understands them. She has done her homework, she knows the research and she continues to be at the forefront of her chosen field, even without a license. I needed that to come through when she’s talking about her Transgender patients and why Frank Kitchen is not Transgender even after what she’s done to him.

“This allows [Dr. Kay] to be juxtaposed against this criminal person who is from the bottom of the underclass, a Darwinian survivor from the streets, and the movie becomes this saga of twin avenues of revenge both characters see before them. The movie, I think, doesn’t turn either one of them into a saint, but I also think the audience gets a sense of sympathy towards both characters to some degree. They’re both chastened by the process of going against one another. What’s the old phrase? They’re both sadder but wiser. She comes to grips with her principles and she’s going to live her life, even in the remarkably constrained circumstances she finds herself in because of her criminal acts, staying true to her intellectual beliefs. He’s going to move on and still use his lethal skills as he moves forward in his life, in effect also staying true to his personality even if his body has been changed against his will.

“That was always the idea. Making a statement about the Transgender experience, that honestly never entered my mind.

To go back to what you were saying at the start, I never wanted to get into answering any of the questions people were asking as we were making the movie. I felt that the movie would be my answer.”

All of which allows the film to explore a form of duality anyone familiar with Hill’s work will find instantly recognizable, he’s just put a type of spin on it this time around that’s guaranteed to raise a few eyebrows. “In general media, I realize that I’m not page one material,” he says with a friendly laugh. “And I imagine there are many wanting to speak with me more

because of the film’s subject matter more than they do for any other reason. But in the modest corner that I am in as a filmmaker, I’ve always been pleased to be referred to as a genre director or as an action director. I like action director thing because I think it sounds so cool, action director Walter Hill, but the truth is I’ve always tried to make these things a little more complicated than straight-ahead genre films. I don’t think I’ve always succeeded at that, I have had my missteps, but I always make the attempt, especially as it concerns the complexity and duality of the characters.

“Most genre films, characters respond to narrative. I think in most of my films, the narrative deals with the characters first. They push the narrative. They’re the driving force. I like characters and I want them to be interesting and complex. It’s their story. They should be worth spending time with.”

It’s at this point where our interview goes off the rails a little, Hill justifiably curious to know how I felt about the internal elements inside his movie, eager to know if there was anything I found objectionable or tone-deaf. Unlike so many who ask questions of a Transgender person, he isn’t interested in the ins and out of my transition, doesn’t ask objectionable questions as to my present physical status or where I’m at in my journey. Instead, he was interested in the psychology of the transition, wanting to know how my personal perspective influenced my watching of the film.

“There’s a lot of irony in the movie,” he attempts to explain. “But I don’t think there’s anything mean-spirited. At least, that was not the intent. But, you’re a part of this. You know more about the subject than I ever will. As I mentioned, you’re the first Transgender person I’ve talked to about the film. I’d really like to know your thoughts.”

It’s weird being put on the spot like that.

I didn’t want to admit I was disappointed in The Assignment, that I sadly found it lacking as a thriller and that many of its components didn’t work nearly as well as I hoped they would. But I was still excited by the movie, happily inspired by the way it spoke so clearly and urgently about the Transgender experience. While certain elements made me uncomfortable, while what happens to Frank Kitchen is abhorrent, that did not diminish the authenticity driving the conversation as it pertained to gender identity, reassignment surgery and the social and medical obstacles that face male and female Transgender persons alike. In other words, Sleepaway Camp or Dressed to Kill Hill’s film most decidedly is not, at

least as far as how it understands Trans issues, and while entertainment value was a different discussion entirely, this was still a major plus to my way of thinking.

But while I was never offended by the film, I also couldn’t help but wonder what might have been possible had the filmmaker cast a Transgender actor in the role of Frank Kitchen. As terrifically brave as Rodriguez’s performance proved to be, as great as the actress is as the character, the idea of a female-to-male or male-to-female actor challenging themselves in order to portray him was an idea I could not get out of my head.

“First, I’m so glad you mentioned how brave Michelle’s performance is,” says Hill.

“It’s so true. I asked a lot of her, asked her to go places she wasn’t sure she could get to. I think she’s gutsy as hell and delivers a terrific performance.

“To answer your question, I have to confess the answer to whether or not we thought about hiring a Trans actor is sadly no. It never entered our mind. The pressure to get the movie financed was so great, and the only way to get the money was to have name casting. It was that simple. This was still, which I’m sure you noticed, a very moderately budgeted film, and we shot it in a little over 20 days. This was not a big Hollywood production in any respects whatsoever.

“But even then, I had to make sure I had names above the title or else we’d never get the money to make the movie. These aren’t huge stars, but Michelle and Sigourney are obviously very well known, and having them involved ensured we’d be able to get financing. To have open casting I would have had to have made the movie for a fraction of the cost and shot it in something like six days, and considering the complexities of the script that would have been impossible. I couldn’t have done it.

“So did I think about it? No. I did not.

Would I have loved to have had open casting? Would it have been interesting to see if a Transgender actor would have auditioned for the role? Yes. It would have been. But it just wasn’t in the cards. The movie never would have been made.”

“We did talk about Frank being played by a male actor,” adds the filmmaker after a moment or two of introspection and thought. “That was something we pondered. The thing was, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the performance would be more about the makeup and the prosthetics than it would be about the performance.

That didn’t sit right in my head.”

As disappointing, if equally unsurprising, as this answer proved to be, that did not mean Hill didn’t think outside of the box he and Hamill had initially written for themselves. “In the original version of the script, Dr. Kay was a man,” he proclaims.

“When I made the decision to flip that over, the film really became clear in my head. I just thought that was more interesting, and as soon as I made the switch Sigourney was the first person I sent [the script] to. Thankfully, she saw in it what I’d hoped we’d written, that it went beyond the usual mad doctor stereotypes, even found in comic book form, and I was very happy when she decided to come aboard. We have a long history together, of course, having made Alien [Hill was one of that film’s producers and has been a vital member of the franchise’s creative team ever since], and she to my mind was perfect for this particular character.”

With our time running out, I realized I could keep talking to Hill for much longer than our allotted 15 minutes, this conversation proving to be a fascinating and insightful back-and-forth I didn’t want to end. While I wanted The Assignment to be better than it was, the fact it led to such a dynamic, complicated discussion brought a gigantic smile to my face. I was glad I watched the movie and even happier I’d been given the opportunity to speak so candidly with its director, this open dialogue a refreshing revelation that had me looking at my own journey in ways I hadn’t in quite some time.

As for Hill, he has his own ideas as to what he hopes general audiences take away from the experience of watching The Assignment. “I think in our gender fluid time this is a piece of entertainment that could possibly contain more for audiences to ponder than initially meets the eye,” he states plainly. “It’s an entertaining revenge story in a gender fluid environment, and I also think the acting is very good. Michelle, Sigourney, Tony [Shalhoub] and so many of the others all did a great job for me, and did so under not very easy circumstances.

“And, Michelle in particular, again I agree with you. I think this a very brave performance. She understood the character and his relationship to the narrative has so much to do with his body. Michelle unhesitatingly stepped forward and really went for broke. She’s a very vibrant personality, and I loved working with her. I love her.

She and I slugged it out, and I respected her right away. If audiences were to look at Michelle in a new light after seeing her performance here, that would be great, too.”

Imagination and ingenuity can’t stop Baby from being awful

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer THE BOSS BABY Now playing Unknown to all humanity, babies aren’t always what they appear to be. Some of them, like seven-year-old Tim’s (voiced

by Miles Bakshi) brand new baby brother (Alec Baldwin), are actually employees of Baby Corp, working hard to make sure infants remain beloved and adored the world over no matter what cute obstacle may arise. Normally sticking to their heavenly corporate offices high up in the clouds, this Boss Baby has been sent to Earth to investigate the goings on at Puppy Co., the threat their furry four-legged product presents not to be underestimated.

The Boss Baby, loosely based on the best-selling picture book by Marla Frazee, boasts an admittedly wacky premise, the whole conceit a Tex Avery meets Chuck

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Jones flight of fancy that’s as silly as it is nonsensical. Directed by DreamWorks veteran Tom McGrath (Madagascar, Megamind) and with a script by Michael McCullers (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), there’s a little more crazed ingenuity here than I anticipated, some of the concepts and ideas, while still insane, sparkling with an upside down whimsical ingenuity that’s unexpected. The whole thing is a giddy, energetic throwback to cartoon showcases of the 1940s and ’50s, all of it presented with an enthusiastic glee bordering on impressive.

Even so, this movie was not made for me. In fact, I’m fairly certain I hated it. Other than an inspired early sequence where Tim and his new sibling are waging kidpowered war, the latter figure assisted by a number of additional fellow Baby Corp employees also clandestinely hiding amongst the clueless suburban parental units, there wasn’t a lot that captured my attention.

While the visual style of the film was im-

April 7, 2017

pressively crafted, the majority of the jokes just kept falling continually flat. Worse, some of them were just plain out of touch with reality, the fact the filmmakers still think it’s humorous to make fun of little boys for having gender neutral, femininesounding names just plain idiotic. I couldn’t stand this stuff, and the more McGrath and McCullers crammed tone-deaf jokes and gags like this into their story the angrier I got, my growing fury making it increasingly difficult to enjoy the creative sequences they did manage to come up with, the rancid taste of the abhorrent bits overpowering all they touched.

Baldwin is funny, and while not exactly a surprising choice to play this character he still does what he can to enliven and elevate the material wherever he can. But much of the remaining members of the supporting cast, most notably Steve Buscemi as the conniving Puppy Co. CEO and Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow as Tim’s oblivious parents, are given precious little to

work with and have a heck of a time trying to make gold out of any of it, a lot of their verbal jokes and jabs falling hopelessly flat.

As for Tobey Maguire, if this were Stand by Me or some similar sort of coming of age remembrance piece his voiceover narration would be more than adequate. As this isn’t that type of movie, as good a job as he does, it still feels anachronistically out of place, and while I get the idea of what McGrath and McCullers were going for, frankly I just don’t feel like it works.

It’s somewhat weird. The Boss Baby is hardly terrible. It has moments of wit and ingenuity that are undeniably impressive, and with Baldwin reveling in playing a character so obviously in his wheelhouse I can’t say the picture is entirely devoid of laughs. That being so, I still did not enjoy watching this motion picture and, more to the point, I can’t imagine many others doing enthusiastic backflips over it either. It just isn’t all that good, and honestly I don’t have anything additional I feel like adding.

Celebrating 41 Years!

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April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 11

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April 7, 2017

Celebrating 41 Years!

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Celebrating 41 Years!

Visually stunning Ghost a perplexing, insensitive failure

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer GHOST IN THE SHELL Now playing Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of the landmark Japanese Manga Ghost in the Shell, itself already transformed into a classic animated feature in 1995, has been the subject of great debate and discussion since the moment the Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directed feature went into official production. The main reason for this was the casting of international superstar Scarlett Johansson in the lead role, claims of the Hollywood whitewashing of another Asian property reverberating just about everywhere.

It is interesting in many ways that the movie itself tackles that controversy headon, most notably in a way that is both daring as well as a significant change from the source material, screenwriters Jamie Moss (Street Kings), William Wheeler (Queen of Katwe) and Ehren Kruger (The Ring) taking a major risk by doing so. It’s a fascinating what-if scenario, one I don’t want to go into in any sort of great detail as those who choose to buy a ticket should discover the ins and outs of this particular revelation without my spoiling it for them. Problem is, what is posited is also never discussed or debated, this major plot revelation treated as an excuse to tug at the heart strings, bring strangers together and instigate a gigantic action sequence that takes up the crux of the story’s fiery climax.

I almost can’t fathom why they all decided to go there. It’s almost as if, in the pursuit of showing they were more culturally sensitive than the skeptics decrying the remake wanted to believe, Sanders and his gaggle of writers concocted a scenario that could potentially take the wind out of their critics’ sails. But by not really diving

Scarlett Johansson stars as Major in Ghost in the Shell – Photo courtesy of time.com

might have been caring for this new interpretation of the material to the point it practically no longer existed at all.

Making matters worse? There is an additional attempt to make this argument moot by also offering up a rich and culturally distinctive ensemble featuring a cadre of character actors from around the globe.

Even then, however, save one notable, and important, exception, none of them get to do very much, folks like Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo, Adwoa Aboah and Kaori Momoi around more to provide racially sensitive window dressing than they are anything substantive. It’s a headscratching turn of events, and for the life of me I can’t quite figure out what anyone involved was thinking, all of it leaving such a bad taste in my mouth I’m finding it difficult to talk about the movie at all even though there was quite a bit about it I did

a horrific terrorist attack one year prior.

While her body is synthetic, her soul, or her “ghost,” as the woman who saved her, Hanka Corporation scientist Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche), calls it, still remains, each day a burst of seemingly new sensations Major can’t be certain she’s experiencing for the first time.

Even so, she’s the perfect cop, Section 9 head honcho Daisuke Aramaki (“Beat” Takeshi Kitano) treating her as an equal in every respect, allowing her to take charge of his elite unit no questions asked. But when the group comes up against their most dangerous opponent yet, a terrorist calling himself Kuze (Michael Carmen Pit) currently waging war against the Hanka Corporation and their most valued scientific minds, everything Major thought she knew about who she is as well as the reasons for her creation all come into question. Truth and lies mix into one, while the illusions

terial, which honestly isn’t as bad a thing as it could have been. The screenwriters have streamlined the proceedings considerably, wiping away many of the more esoteric and ephemeral themes that made, for me at least, the original 1995 animated feature such a richly rewarding science fiction discovery. But this reworking into noirdrenched buddy cop mystery, Major spending the majority of the movie attempting to discover the truth alongside her second-incommand Batou (Pilou Asbæk), isn’t that terrible an idea, the intricacies of the case relatively intriguing.

It isn’t enough. As spectacular as some of the imagery might be, as magnificent a visualist as Sanders undeniably is, there are still long stretches where the whole thing plays more like a psychedelic music video for composers Clint Mansell (Noah) and Lorne Balfe’s (13 Hours) stirring score more than it does anything else. There’s little in the way of character development for any of the supporting players, while Kuze is far from the pitiable villainous figure born of incomprehensible misfortune as he by all rights should be. There’s a lot of sound and one heck of a lot of fury, all of it impressively composed and staged, yet it all frustratingly builds to little that’s interesting, the climax itself signifying nothing substantial as it plods its way to the inevitable setup for a sequel the studio would likely love to see someday come to fruition if this film proves to be a hit.

Johansson is admittedly solid as Major, her chemistry with Danish actor Asbæk superb. Sanders also uses Japanese icon Kitano magnificently, those longing for the celebrated writer, director, comedian, painter, composer and actor to strut his violently kinetic stuff likely won’t walk away from the film disappointed as far as that item is concerned. But there are so many boneheaded creative mistakes watching them smack one into the other with such ghastly con-

A vision of an ancient-inspired future seen in Ghost in the Shell – Photo courtesy of inverse.com

into the complexity of the issue, not talking about how this cultural erasure could affect an individual to such an insidiously terrifying degree, they instead augment the very critique they were striving to circumvent. It’s a damning turn of events, one that showcases a level of cluelessness that’s close to alarming, erasing any good will I

find worthy of complimenting.

Taking place sometime in a future Tokyo where the line between human and robot begins to grow slimmer by the second, the core plot revolves around Section 9 operative Major (Johansson), a cybernetic crime fighter powered by the human brain of a young woman who was the victim of

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that helped make her into a lethal enforcer for justice suddenly start to fade into the background. Soon, Major finds herself at an unfathomable crossroad, all the choices open to her appearing to lead directly to her destruction and nowhere else.

Only the barest bones of that plot have anything to do with the actual source ma-

sistency frankly boggles the mind. Ghost in the Shell is a stupefying failure that’s close to unforgivable, its apparent inability to understand what it gets wrong and why a perplexing mystery even Major herself wouldn’t be able to solve.

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 15

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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Introducing Gay hip-hop artist Cakes Da Killa

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Over the past few years, several hip-hop artists have come out as Gay or Bisexual.

Frank Ocean started the trend, and in a musical genre once plagued by homophobic lyrics and misogyny, new artists like openly Gay Cakes Da Killa have arrived on the scene to challenge the status quo.

According to NBC Out, Cakes (born Rashard Bradshaw) started in hip-hop by making raps to mock the heteronormative boys he attended school with. He found success by developing a fan base online and putting on popular live performances.

Cakes uses bold lyrics with the theme of glamour, luxury, and lust. In October 2016, Cakes released his first album, “Hedonism.”

“I was in a very hedonistic place in my life,” the rapper told NBC Out at a recent concert at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom. “I had just gotten out of a relationship, and I was on the market.”

“Hedonism” received positive attention and good reviews from many leading hiphop news outlets. Still, Cakes has not been without his critics.

Ebro Darden, a radio personality on popular hip-hop station HOT 97, has questioned Cakes’ place in the world of rap music. In a 2014 interview, Darden lauded the musician’s cadence and striking sound but questioned his sexuality and speculated that his lyrics are not relatable to the majority of hip-hop fans.

However, despite this experience, the young performer considers his appearance on the station a defining moment in his career.

“The interview was iconic. I wasn’t annoyed by the interview. A lot of those interactions are not annoying to me, because I have those conversations with my uncles,” he said. “A lot of people are not necessarily homophobic, they’re just not aware of the

Gay hip-hop artist Cakes Da Killa – Photo courtesy of vimeo.com

lifestyle, so then you just have to educate them. There are a lot of times when I am forced to learn a new thing. People should stop being so tense.”

Cakes coins himself a “gold star Gay” (a term used to describe someone who has never had sex with opposite sex). The rapper told NBC Out that he came out of the closet in the third grade, and that this revelation at such a young and vulnerable age helped make him the unapologetically Queer performer he is today.

“For the most part, I have always been unapologetically myself, and that comes from me having a strong foundation. I have a mom who did not want to throw me out of the house because I was gay. If you have

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that type of foundation, who cares about what people say?” Cakes said, adding that his mother currently fully accepts him and is proud of his success.

Cakes told NBC Out that while growing up he idolized entertainers who were glamorous and ostentatious, and he listed Missy Elliot, Ludacris, Diana Ross, and Cher among his inspirations.

Currently, he said he dreams of collaborating with performers such as Nicki Minaj, Jadakiss, Sza, and Rihanna.

Cakes’ charisma and refusal to compromise himself has helped to cultivate a passionate LGBTQ fan base.

“I don’t make music trying to gain acceptance from straight people. The gay dol-

lar makes a lot of pop stars,” he said, stressing the importance of those in the community supporting each other.

While he does have a big LGBTQ fan base, Cakes also believe there’s a subset of the population that rejects his music due to internalized homophobia.

“There is a lot of self-hate in the gay community,” he speculated. “So when gays see other boys wearing heels or wigs, sometimes they give that person the side eye, because some people are not comfortable with themselves.”

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 17

Meetings Events Activities

TO GET A CALENDAR LISTING: To have your meeting or event considered for the Community Calendar, please mail, fax, or drop off details to: SGN, Attn: Community Calendar, 1707 23rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98122. SGN phone: 324-4297. E-mail: sgn2@sgn.org. INCLUDE: Date, time, location, contact phone # for publication (if possible), brief description of event & sponsoring organization. DEADLINE: Tuesday 5pm.

ACCESSIBILITY: Is your event accessible to LGBTQ people with visible or hidden disabilities? See Jean’s List webpage www.scn.org/activism/calendar/disabilities. html for Marla Nonken’s disabilities accommodations lists.

NOTE: Phone numbers accompanying listings are within area code (206) & locations of meetings/ events are in Seattle unless otherwise noted.

community calendar

Integrity/Puget Sound. 7pm-Worship & Fellowship. St. Mark’s Cathedral, Thomson Chapel, 1245 10th Ave E. Integrity is an international ministry of Gay & Lesbian Episcopalians, their friends & families, dedicated to education, support & service within the Church & the GLBT community. (425) 226-2746.

Noche Latina - Latino Night. 10pm. Neighbours, 1509 Broadway. Every Sunday.

MONDAY - April 10

SATURDAY - April 8

Northwest Bears Spring Thaw XXII (4/6-4/9). Register at nwbears.com Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 9am. Greenlake (outside Evans Pool). Every Saturday. GLBT running & walking club sponsors weekly runs, monthly potlucks, track & field activity, annual Run With Pride. 448-8518. www.seattlefrontrunners.org.

Arboretum “Early Bloomers” Spring Plant Sale.

10am-2pm. Washington Park Arboretum, Graham Visitors Center and Pat Calvert Greenhouse, 2300 Arboretum Dr E. Crystal Meth Anonymous. 10:30am. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon @ 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: crystalmeth.org.

UW Pow Wow and Inclusion of the Two-Spirit Community. 12 noon (arrive earlier). Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmondson Pavilion, 3870 Montlake Blvd NE. The UW Pow Wow Committee has invited the Two-Spirit Community to this year’s Pow Wow. We will have an offering of prayer by our Two-Spirit elder Loe Walace, with speakers Tyson Elliott Johnson and Hiram CalfLooking board members of the Northwest Two-Spirit Society. There will be a dance where the UW Pow Wow Committee will bring the Two-Spirit Community in the to Pow Wow floor/circle. We will also have an information table at the Pow Wow. We are inviting all Two-Spirit people and allies to come join us as we enter the UW Pow Wow floor for this historic event. All who would love to join us please be there before the Pow Wow Grand Entry starts. The information table will be our meeting place unless otherwise posted.

Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 6pm-12 midnight. Call for location & details. Every Saturday. (253) 671-2838. www.oasisyouthcenter.org.

Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 6pm. Bus-accessible Central Area location. Every Saturday. Games also on Tuesdays & Thursdays. $4 fee includes coffee & snacks. www.rainbowbridgeclub.org.

“That’s All Folk!” 7pm. 410 4th Ave N, Edmonds. Rainbow City Band’s final concert of the 2016-2017 season features favorite folk-inspired band music. Tickets: general admission $23, students & seniors $18, children 12 & under $8. ec4arts.org “Legendary Children.” 8-11pm. Seattle Art Museum, 1st Ave & Union St. Join Gay City, the Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Art Museum to celebrate a night of high style that celebrates Queer and Trans people of color in the central spotlight. “Legendary Children” is luxe and transgressive. The evening is where the arts and social justice meet, with QTPOC voices ringing loud and clear. Enjoy live performances, hot DJs and the artistry of some of the Pacific Northwest’s most talented performers. Come for the art, stay for the public runway.

The “Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series” exhibit will be on full display during the event.

Cabaret Gloria - BOWIE! Doors 8pm, Show 9pm.

Skylark West Seattle, 3803 Delridge Way SW. From the ashes of the now defunct Somewhat Queer Variety Show “West Side Glory” rises the Phoenix that is “The Gay Uncle Presents Cabaret Gloria - BOWIE!” Featuring Burlesque, Comedy, Drag, Music and Assorted Whatnots you have come to love. Our first show will be a salute to the Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Space Creature and Gendernaut David Bowie. Featured performers: Ian Schuelka, Mercury Divine, Maggie Bloodstone, Mike Kuhn, Michael Perkins, Illusionist Aaron Wheeler, Claire Michelle, Americano, Meagan Albright, Julie Hall, Ana Belle, and Mizz Honey Bucket! And yes, there will be Go Go (or shouild we say Can Can) Bears! Tickets: $10 adv, $15 door - www.tickettailor.com

Seattle Soto Zen. 9:15am-Zazen Instruction, 9:30amZazen. 101 Nickerson St, Lower Level. Follow the traditional forms of the Soto school of Zen in a spirit of warmth & inclusion. Anyone interested in meditation, whether new or experienced in Zen practice or other traditions, is welcome. 323-1659, www.seattlesotozen.org Gay Men’s Bowling in Lynnwood. 9:30am. Brunswick Majestics Lane, Lynnwood. 9:30am Every Sunday.

Spectators welcome. Join us for lunch afterwards!

Sponsored by the Snohomish County Gay Men’s Task Force. For info email John at johndmarsh@mac.com; www.gaysnohomish.org Tacoma First United Methodist Church. 9:30amWorship, 11am-Adult Education. 423 Martin Luther King Way, Tacoma. This reconciling congregation welcomes with warm hands, warm hearts & open minds GLBT persons seeking a spiritual home. (253) 627-0129, www. fumctacoma.org Central Lutheran Church. 10am-Worship. 1710 11th Ave (just north of E Pine St). An open & affirming church, which in Lutheran churches is called “Reconciled in Christ.” “We seek to share God’s love with all people regardless of race, age, gender or sexual orientation.”

All are welcome. 322-7500.

Gethsemane Lutheran Church. 10am-Worship. 911 Stewart St. A downtown faith community centered in justice. An open & affirming congregation. 682-3620.

University Congregational United Church of Christ.

All ages education 9am, Worship 10am. 4515 16th Ave NE. UCUCC is an open & affirming congregation. 5242322; www.universityucc.org.

Wallingford United Methodist Church. 10am-Worship.

2115 N 42nd St. A progressive congregation. In 1984 Wallingford UMC became the 9th reconciling Methodist SUNDAY - April 9 church in the U.S. 547-6945 (office); 285-5077 (George).

Northwest Bears Spring Thaw XXII (4/6-4/9). Register All Pilgrims Christian Church. 10:30am-Worship. at nwbears.com 500 Broadway E. Come as you are. All are welcome.

Center for Spiritual Living. Services 8:25, 9:45, A congregation of the Disciples of Christ & the United 11:30am. 5801 Sand Point Way NE. Blessings & we Church of Christ. 322-0487, www.allpilgrims.org hope to see you soon! Info 527-8801 ext 203, www. Seattle Sunday Bowling. 10:30am. West Seattle Bowl, cslseattle.org 4505 39th Ave SW (at SW Oregon St). Open bowl every Ravenna United Methodist Church. 5751 33rd Ave Sunday for the GLBT community & friends. You don’t NE. 8:30am “Seattle’s most dangerous Sunday school;” have to worry about how you bowl! $6.50 + $3 shoe 9:45am worship. A reconciling congregation, fully inclu- rental. (425) 785-4729. sive and affirming of LGBTQ persons. 525-7988.

Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle Unity Church. 9am & 11am-Sunday Services. Seattle. 11am-Worship. Chapel at University Temple 200 8th Ave N. “Come join our Gay & Lesbian-friendly, United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St. MCC is spiritual family. Our mission is to bring love, miracles & Seattle’s oldest Gay-friendly church. 325-2421, www. spiritual awakening into everyday life!” 622-8475; www. mccseattle.org. seattleunity.org.

18 Seattle Gay News

April 8 thru April 16

April 7, 2017

SOBER - On Meds. 1-2pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. 12-step group open to anyone in recovery & living on a medicine regimen. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Strength Over Speed. 2-3:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. For information visit www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org LCS Foster Care Monthly Information Meeting.

6-8pm. 433 Minor Ave N. Meets 2nd Monday each month. LCS is a non-profit foster care program in King & Snohomish counties. LCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. Couples & singles encouraged to apply. RSVP to April at 694-5713.

Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: crystalmeth.org.

Freely Speaking Toastmasters. 7pm. Seattle Unity Church, 200 8th Ave N. Every Monday (except holidays & the last Mondays in August & December). Seattle’s only LGBT speaking club. www.FreelySpeaking.or Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday listing.)

PFLAG/Seattle Monthly Meeting. 7-9pm. Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. Meets 2nd Monday each month. 206-325-7724 or info@pflagseattle.org; www.pflagseattle.org. PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality.

PFLAG/Skagit County Monthly Meeting. 7pm. Skagit Valley Food Co-op Bldg, Room 309, 202 South 1st St., Mt. Vernon. Meets 2nd Monday each month. Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays is a national support organization for parents, spouses, & families of GLBT persons, as well as those minorities. PFLAG/Puget Sound: 325-7724.

Trans Youth Group. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. A chance for youth to talk with others about their experiences & concerns related to identifying as Transgender. www.lamberthouse.org Lambert House Art Night. 7:30-9:30pm. 1818 15th Ave. Every Monday. Bring your ideas & let’s have some fun.

322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org Lotus Sisters Guided Meditation. 11am-1:30pm. Unity Gay Men’s AA Group in Tacoma. 7:30pm. New SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets 2nd Sunday Heart MCC, 759 S 45th St. Tacoma. Every Monday. each month. Senior students lead the meditation, pro- (253) 474-8897. vide dharma talks or reflections & lead discussion. 329- Washington Gender Alliance Support Group Meet5908; www.LotusSisters.org; www.sasgcc.org (Meets in ing in Shoreline. 7:30pm. Center for Human Services, 2nd floor meeting room; no elevator.)

17018 15th Ave NE, Shoreline. Meets every Monday. For Meditation for GBT Men. 11am-1pm. Cal Anderson information email info@washingtongender alliance.com House, 400 Broadway. Suitable for beginning & expe- Queers, Crackpots & Fallen Women AA. 8-9pm. rienced meditators. Sponsored by Dharma Buddies. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Monday. Open Contact Forrest Rode, 920-6117, Mike Chin (509) women only AA group. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org.

990-0007, or Doug Allison, doug.l.allison@gmail.com. www.dharmabuddies.org. (Women may wish to contact TUESDAY - April 11 our sister meditation group at www.LotusSisters.org.).

LGBTQ Questioning & Allied Youth Drop-in Group in Just for Today. 12-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Renton. 6-8pm. Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS), Suite 201. Every Sunday. Drop-in 12-step (Narcotics 1025 S 3rd St, Renton. Meets every Tuesday. ConfiAnonymous) group open to anyone in recovery. 322- dential. Snacks provided. Bring friends or come alone 2437; www.sasgcc.org - anyone 12-18 is welcome. Questions? Call Sarah HarPaths to Recovery Al-Anon Family Group. 12-1:30pm. din, 425-271-5600 ext 155, or email sarahh@rays.org Seattle University Student Center, 901 12th Ave, Room Strength Over Speed. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave 122. Every Sunday. LGBTQ supported. The Al-Anon E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12 step) Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. For alcoholics who share their experience, strength & hope information visit www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG in order to solve their common problems. We believe 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org alcoholism is a family illness & that changed attitudes can aid recovery. Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number Alzheimer’s Association’s LGBT Caregivers’ Support Group. 6:30-8pm. Elderhealth Northwest, 6555 625-0000; www.seattle-al-anon.org Ravenna Ave NE (entrance on NE 68th St). Meets 2nd Rain City Soccer Club - Ripple Effect. Sunday Tuesday each month. A free information and support afternoon. Location varies. Ripple Effect soccer team group for care partners, family members and friends of plays an almost weekly recreational scrimmage game individuals with dementia. For more information, contact for LGBTQ players in Seattle. To sign up visit www. group facilitator Caila Nickerson, 781-248-3524 (cell) or raincitysoccer.org email: cailanickerson@gmail.com Orca Swim Team Workout. Sun: Afternoon; Mon/Weds/ Diverse Harmony. 6:30-9pm. Seattle First Baptist Fri: Evenings. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Cen- Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. Every Tuesday. Diverse ter, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. Every Sun, Mon, Wed & Fri. Harmony is the nation’s first Gay/Straight Alliance Youth Pre-registration required. Orca Swim Team workouts Chorus. Youths ages 13-22 are welcome regardless of are for both competitive & recreational swimmers. www. sexual orientation. www.diverseharmony.org orcaswimteam.org LGBTQ MS Connection/National MS Society. 6:30Shame to Grace Sunday SAA. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 8pm. Swedish Conference Center, Cherry Hill Campus, 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Sunday. SAA is a fellowship James Tower, 550 17th Avenue, Room E, 1st Floor. of men & women who share their experience, strength & Meets the 2nd & 4th Tuesday each month. MS Connechope with each other so they may overcome their sexual tion is a support group with the goal of providing a safe addiction & help others recover from sexual addiction environment for the LGBT community to express their or dependency. Seattle SAA helpline 237-8828, SAA experiences and the impact of MS on their lives and International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191. the lives of their loved ones, as well as provide support SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org for one another. Contact Shelly at 206-250-5002 or Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Pres- LGBTMSConnection@gmail.com. byterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon @ Queer Young Females Group - For Female-Identified 6:30pm, Thurs @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am. More info: Youth, Ages 22 & Under. 6:30-7:30pm. Lambert House, crystalmeth.org.

1818 15th Ave. Every Tuesday. Topics range from family issues to school happenings to like/lust/love relation

Celebrating 41 Years!

ships. All Queer females welcome. Come discuss how smart. strong Queer women live their lives. 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org Over 40’s Group - For Lesbian Women 40 & Older.

7-8:30pm. University Congregational Church, 4515 16th Ave NE, Pilgrim Room. Every Tuesday. Open group for Lesbian women, 40 & older, in every stage of coming out or being out. Lots of social activities in addition to Tuesday meetings. 545-3521.

Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 7pm. Bus-accessible Central Area location. Every Tuesday. (See Saturday listing at 6pm.)

Tuesday Night Sex Addicts Anonymous (GLBTQI).

7-8:30pm. All Pilgrims Christian Church, 500 Broadway E (enter at 509 10th Ave E; buzz in, Dickson room). Every Tuesday. SAA is a fellowship of men & women whose primary purpose is to stop addictive sexual behavior & help others recover from sexual addiction. Seattle SAA helpline 237-8828. SAA International Service Organization 1-800-477-8191.

Different Drummers. 7:15-8:30pm. Every Tuesday.

Hand drumming classes for Gay men. It’s easy, it’s fun & anyone can do it! Learn traditional African & AfroCaribbean rhythms & basic hand drumming techniques.

Dennis at 363-4500 or www.outdrum.com What About Me? 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Tuesday. Drop-in social, support & discussion group for Gay & Bi men of all ages. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Here & Now Gay & Lesbian AA Meeting in Tacoma.

7:30pm. Christ Episcopal Church, 310 N “K” St, Tacoma.

Every Tuesday.

Spiritual Empowerment. 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. A group for all LGBT & friends of any spiritual belief to explore how spiritual practice can enrich their life. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Seattle Otters Water Polo Team. 8-9:30pm. Medgar Evers Pool, 500 23rd Ave E (at E Cherry St). Every Tuesday & Thursday. GLBT & GLBT-friendly co-ed water polo team is open to all who want to play. Beginners & experienced players welcome. Check our website for up to the minute details, or call the Otter Hotline 414-8797. www.otterpolo.com. [Summer Break June 19-Sept 2] Seattle Poetry Slam. Doors 8pm, Show 8:30pm. Rebar, 1114 Howell St. Every Tuesday. A spoken word poetry event that features a weekly open mic, feature poet, and slam (poetry competition). Come out and express yourself. LGBTQ- & QTPOC-friendly; all genders welcome. $5. 21+. seattlepoetryslam.org

community calendar

FRIDAY - April 14

WEDNESDAY - April 12

Mature Friends Morning Exercise/Health & Fitness Get-Together. 10am. Ballard Odd Fellows Hall Bldg, 1706 NW Market St. Every Wednesday. An hour of health-related activities, followed by a walk around Greenlake & lunch at a local restaurant. MF is a social group for Gay men & women, 40 years & over. www. maturefriends.org Mature Friends Dining Out Luncheon. 12 noon. Call for details, location & to RSVP. Meets 2nd & 4th Wednesday most months. MF is a social organization for Gay men & women, 40 years & over. www.maturefriends.org True Colors: Connecting LGBTQ Teens in Shoreline.

4-5pm. Every Wednesday. Discussing your important issues, building a supportive community. For information, location & to REGISTER call Lindsay Bagley 362-7282 x 8018 or email lbagley@chs-nw.org GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): A Support Group & HIV/STD Prevention for Youth (14-20) in Everett. 6-8pm. CCA Building, 3331 Broadway - Bottom Floor, Everett. Every Wednesday.

Sponsored by PFLAG Everett chapter. David/Brenda, (425) 263-2908. globeleaders@hotmail.com The Rowing Team Peer Recovery Group. 6-7:30pm.

All Pilgrims Church, 500 Broadway E. Meets every Wednesday. This peer recovery group provides a safe & supportive faith community to share your recovery journey with, God answers our prayers & sends us a boat.

Sometimes rowing furiously for yourself & sometimes for others. All are welcome.

Lotus Sisters Meditation & Dharma Discussion North. 6:15-8pm. Ravenna Bryant neighborhood. Meets every Wednesday. Call 525-7295 for location. www.

LotusSisters.org.

Center for Spiritual Living. 6:30pm-Meditation, 7pmService. 5801 Sand Point Way NE. Blessings & we hope to see you soon! Info 527-8801 ext 203, www. cslseattle.org Seattle Frontrunners Fun Run. 6:30pm. Volunteer Park (in front of Black Sun across for museum). Every Wednesday. (See Saturday at 9am.)

Entre Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born Support Group. 7pm. Entre Hermanos, 1105 23rd Ave. Bilingual (Spanish/English) Transsexual support group meets 2nd & 4th Wednesday each month to provide information, counseling, healthcare, sisterhood & social activities for Latino & foreign-born people in their transition. For more information contact Abby 322-7700, www. entrehermanos.org Ingersoll All-Trans Drop-In Support Group. 7-9pm.

Seattle Counseling Services, 1216 Pine St, Suite 300.

All Transgender, Gender Variant, Gender Queer, Gender Questioning, allies, family & friends are welcome. This is a drop in group to get & give support, social interaction & information for the whole Gender community. No fee, donations welcome. www.ingersollcenter.org Mature Friends Weekly Bridge Group. 7:30pm. Call for location. Every Wednesday. All levels welcome. MF is a social organization for Gay men & women, 40 years & over. www.maturefriends.org Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday listing.)

group. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Gay Fathers Association of Seattle. 7:30-9pm. Group Health, 201 16th Ave E, Central Bldg, Lower Atrium.

Every Thursday. Support meetings for Gay fathers & Gay men who are currently or previously married. Safe, anonymous, non-judgmental environment of caring fathers & friends. You are not alone. For information, community events & “questioning” visit www.gfas.org or our message board at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/ gayfathersseattle Gay Male Sexuality & Relationships. 7:30-9pm.

SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Every Thursday. A discussion group that is strictly focused on sexual topics and relationship issues related to being a Gay male.

322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Seattle Otters Water Polo Team. 8-9:30pm. Medgar Evers Pool, 500 23rd Ave E (at E Cherry St). Every Tuesday & Thursday. (See Tuesday listing at 8pm.) [summer break June 19-Sept 2]

Washington Gender Alliance Open Support Meeting in Everett. 7:30-9pm. Everett United Church of Christ, 2624 Rockefeller Ave, Everett. Every Wednesday.

Trained peer facilitators lead a structured support meeting helping people deal with issues of gender identity & expression. All adults are welcomed, including those who are questioning, allies, or identify as FTM, MTF, Transgender, Queer, or Intersex, among others. (360) 445-2411; www.washingtongenderalliance.com.

Border Riders Motorcycle Club Meet & Greet. 8-9pm.

The Cuff Complex, 1533 13th Ave (at E Pine St). Meets the Wednesday before the 3rd Saturday each month.

BRMC provides a social & educational fraternity for individuals interested in recreational motorcycle touring. www.borderriders.com

THURSDAY - April 13

Alcoholics Anonymous “Safe & Sober Group.”

12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Open meeting of AA. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org.

BABES Women’s Support Group/Lunch Meeting.

12 noon-2pm. Call for location. Every Thursday. The BABES Network is a peer led agency; a sisterhood of women facing HIV together. 720-5566 or 888-292-1912; www.babesnetwork.org.

Seattle Prime Timers Card Games. 2pm. Ballard Northwest Senior Center, 5429 32nd Ave NW - 2nd floor Arts & Crafts Room. We will play Hearts, Bridge, and/ or Cribbage depending on who shows up and walk to dinner afterwards at Red Mill Totem House. Beginners are welcome. www.seattleprimetimers.org Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 4-10pm. Call for location & details. Every Thursday. (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter.org Capitol Hill Arts Walk. 5-8pm. Participating shops & galleries in the Pike/Pine corridor. 2nd Thursday each month. Keep your eyes out for curbside A-boards that mark each participating venue. Pick up a walking map from any location & you’re on your way. Enjoy refreshments & meet the featured artists as you stroll the Hill. www.caphillchamber.org Queer Parent Networking Dinner. 6-8pm. NW Network’s Community Engagement Space. Meets 2nd Thursday thru July Open to all LGBT, Two-Spirit, Queer & Questioning families - including parents, co-parents & other people who have a significant role in the life of a child. RSVP requested to facilitate planning for dinner and childcare. 568-7777 or theryn@nwnetwork.org.

Shifting Gears. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E,

Visit us online www.sgn.org

AA Ageless in Recovery. 12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. A drop in AA group for older & wiser people 55+. www.sasgcc.org Re-Parenting Ourselves. 12noon-1pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. A peer support group for adult children of any addiction. www. sasgcc.org SLAA Road to Recovery. 12noon-1:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. Meets every Friday. Ongoing 12 step group for sex & love addicts. www.sasgcc.org Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma - For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Youth, Ages 14-25. 4-10pm. Call for location & details. Every Friday.

(253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter.org (Also Thursdays 4-10pm & Saturdays 6pm-12 midnight.)

Strength Over Speed. 6-7:30pm. SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201. FREE drop-in support group (not a 12-step) for Gay & Bi men who desire recovery from meth. www.strengthoverspeed.org. SASG 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org “Deep Space Lez” (April 13-16 & 20-23). 7pm. Calamus Auditorium at Gay City, 517 E Pike St. See Thursday listing for details or visit www.gaycity.org/arts-season Lambert House Queer Movie Night. 7-9:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Friday. Lambert House is a nationally-recognized activities & resource center for GLBT & questioning youth, ages 14-22. 322-2515, www.lamberthouse.org Rain Country Dance Night. 7-11pm, lessons at 7:15pm.

The Cuff, 1533 13th Ave. An evening of country-western dancing for the LGBTQ community. FREE. www.raincountrydance.org.

Destiny Gay AA Group in Tacoma. 7:30pm. New Heart MCC, 759 S 45th St, Tacoma. Every Friday.

(253) 474-8897.

Orca Swim Team Workout. Evening. Seattle University, Connolly Athletic Center, 14th Ave & E Cherry St. (See Sunday listing.)

LGBT Friday Night Al-Anon Family Group. 8pm.

SASG, 115 15th Ave E, Suite 201 - in the O’Neill Room.

Every Friday. The Al-Anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives & friends of alcoholics who share Suite 201. Every Thursday. Drop-in support group their experience, strength & hope in order to solve their (non 12-step) for anyone of any orientation or gender common problems. We believe alcoholism is a famwho desires recovery from drugs or alcohol. 322-2437; ily illness & that changed attitudes can aid recovery.

Greater Seattle AIS 24-hour number 625-0000; www. www.sasgcc.org B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Question- seattle-al-anon.org ing Adolescent Drop-In Group). 6:30-8pm. Call for SATURDAY - April 15 location. Every Thursday. Sponsored by Youth Eastside (See previous Saturday for ongoing activities.)

Services, which offers many programs for GLBT youth.

(425) 747-4937.

Lambert House Queer Rec. 1pm. 1818 15th Ave. 3rd Crystal Meth Anonymous. 6:30pm. Capitol Hill Pres- Saturday each month. Outdoor & indoor adventures for byterian Church, 1729 Harvard Ave. Also meets Mon youth ages 22 & under. www.lamberthouse.org @ 6:30pm, Sat @ 10:30am, Sun @ 6:30pm. More info: Black Lives Matter March on Seattle 2.0. 2-6pm. crystalmeth.org.

Westlake Park, 4th Ave & Pine St. Boys’ Group - For Male-Identified Youth, Ages 14- PNW G/B/Q Longhaired Men. 2pm. Locations vary.

22. 7-8:30pm. Lambert House, 1818 15th Ave. Every Check the website or call for details. An informal social Thursday. Youth take the opportunity to talk about issues group for longhairs, growers, longhair admirers & their that relate to their everyday lives, with the facilitation of a friends. We gather for brunch on the 3rd Saturday each male volunteer. 322-2515 ext 16. www.lamberthouse.org month to socialize, chat & often go out afterwards for “Deep Space Lez” (April 13-16 & 20-23). 7pm (Sunday coffee or some activity. Please join us! For information 5pm). Calamus Auditorium at Gay City, 517 E Pike St. & to RSVP: www.longhair.shorturl.com Set in the not so distant future, a trio of Lesbians hell-bent “Deep Space Lez” (April 13-16 & 20-23). 7pm. Calaon communal living have entered a galaxy-wide Space mus Auditorium at Gay City, 517 E Pike St. See Thursday Race with the intent on nabbing First Prize: a small, listing for details or visit www.gaycity.org/arts-season untouched planet. Enroute they respond to a distress call SUNDAY - April 16 from two Lesbians who were stranded on Venus. These reluctant crew members soon become integral players (See previous Sunday for ongoing activities.) as the ship finds itself in an all out crusade to save a cluster of nearby planets from untimely destruction. Baha’i Prayer & Fellowship Circle. 10am. Pearl WarThrough feminist wisdom, guidance from the goddess, ren Bldg, 606 12th Ave S. Meets the 3rd Sunday each and a lot of processing over loose leaf tea, the crew month. Share prayers, readings, thoughts & music. All must bridge generational gaps and diverging galactic backgrounds, all faiths welcome. 391-2188. views, navigate interplanetary romantic relationships, Imperial Court of Seattle - “Sixth Annual Easter and settle on whose turn it is to buy bulk nutritional Bonnet Contest.” 3pm. CC Attle’s, 1701 E Olive Way yeast, with the ultimate goal of making Space into Safe at Boylston Ave E. Get out your glue guns, your glitter Space for all. Tickets: $15-$20 general admission, $12 and your Easter grass. It’s time for the “Sixth Annual students & seniors. Presented by Gay City Arts. www. Easter Bonnet Contest.” 1st place: $100; 2nd place: $50 CC gift certificate. gaycity.org/arts-season PFLAG/Whatcom County-Bellingham Monthly Meet- “Deep Space Lez” (April 13-16 & 20-23). Sun: 5pm. ing. 7pm. First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwall Calamus Auditorium at Gay City, 517 E Pike St. See Ave., Bellingham. Meets 2nd Thursday each month. Thursday listing or visit www.gaycity.org/arts-season Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays is a national COMMUNITY RESOURCES support organization for parents, spouses, & families of GLBT persons, as well as those minorities. 360-733- Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting 1500; www.whatcompflag.com; PFLAG/Puget Sound: for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship.

325-7724. org, allyship@yahoo.com, 279-8169.

Rainbow Duplicate Bridge. 7pm. Bus-accessible American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Central Area location. Every Thursday. (See Saturday Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/Anotherlisting at 6pm.)

Gay-Social-Club/ Buddhism & Recovery. 7:30-9pm. SASG, 115 15th Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane.

Ave E, Suite 201. Every Thursday. A meditation/recovery com/guide.html

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 19

BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest.org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network - support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025.

In an emergency call 911. Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - 324-2570; www.equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - 3639188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - 322-2515; www.lamberthouse.org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - 250-5002; LGBTMSConnection@gmail.com. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers. Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org MEN: Gay City: 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www.nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians.net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.org; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks.org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www.seattle primetimers.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony.org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band.com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: 388-1408, 323-0750. www.flyinghouse. org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County: www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: 568-7777, info@ nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: 206-325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and

20 Seattle Gay News

community calendar

www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: 425483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington state: www. pflagwsc.org.

PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), 850-2070, www. aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, 461-6910, www.multi-culturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, 322-7700, www. entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, 781-3565, iya@ilelailai. org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@ gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; Seattle Two Spirit, SeattleTwoSpirit@hotmail.com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, 322-7061, 2558951; Sistah Sinema, www.sistahsinema.com, info@ sistahsinema.com; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle.

Pride Foundation - 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - 682-6711; www.q-law.org; Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - 235-7235.

Safe Schools Coalition - www.safeschoolscoalition. org; 451-SAFE (451-7233).

SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. 905-9941, www.seamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences. 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org Seattle LGBTQ Commission - 684-4503.

April 7, 2017

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. 323-1768.

Seattle Out & Proud - 206-322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Seattle Treatment Education Project (STEP) E-zine is an electronic resource distributed to people affected

by HIV/AIDS, case managers, front line workers & other health professionals. Now a part of Lifelong AIDS Alliance, 328-8979, www.thebody.com/step/steppage.html Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) - www.facebook.com/ socialoutreachseattle South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Different Spokes Bicycling Club: www.differentspokes.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby. com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball.org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www. puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LG-

BTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance. org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@ gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www.seattlegaybasketballassociation. com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam. org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www.seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@ aol.com, www.teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www. theprideleague.com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, 367-4064, www. teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www. genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & ForeignBorn Support Group: 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www. washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS): Fai, 722-0729, alissquestions@gmail.com; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. 720-5566, 1-888-2921912; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes. com; Lesbians Over 40: 722-0729; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc. org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www. pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol.com; Seattle Girls of Leather: www.sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www. tacomalesbianconcern.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot. com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks.org, 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students.

WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools.

330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, in Seattle, 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcen ter.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/Puget Sound: 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS): 726-8500; www.psks.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch.org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup - Cherise.

Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook.com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, 206-326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - 360-698-3335; www.kchaf. org; Renton Area Youth Services (RAYS): LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth drop-in group, ages 12-18 Sarah Hardin, 425-271-5600, ext 155; sarahh@rays.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; 451-SAFE (451-7233) (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFESAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): 8609606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): 524-7301 ext 111; www.streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, 509-396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter. org; YouthCare/Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): 522-8412; YouthCare/Orion Center: 622-5555; Youth in Focus: 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

Celebrating 41 Years!

Volunteer Park

• BACON MANSION

E. PROSPECT ST. • SHAFER MANSION E. ALOHA ST.

12TH AVE. E.

E. ROY ST.

16TH AVE. E.

15TH AVE. E.

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• B&B ON BROADWAY E. ROY ST. • UNDER U 4 MEN

E. VALLEY ST. 14TH AVE. E.

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10TH AVE. E.

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E. DENNY WAY

E AV

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• CLUB Z BATHS

• THE STRANGER

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• CASTLE SUPER STORE

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• NEUMOʼS

NAGLE PL.

Cal Anderson Park

• LAMBERT HOUSE

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HARVARD AVE. E.

C.C. ATTLEʼS• BOYLSTON AVE.

Seattle Central Community College • NEIGHBOURS

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• GLOʼS

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NEW YORK EXCHANGE • STUDIO 229 • PANACHE • LAUGHING BUDDHA TATTOO •

BELLEVUE AVE.

• SEATTLE COUNSELING SERVICE FOR SEXUAL MINORITIES MELROSE AVE.

• JULIAʼS

DENNY WAY

BATHS

CLUB Z - (men) 1117 Pike near Boren - 622-9958 HOT HOUSE SPA & SAUNA - (women) SW corner of Pike & 11th (stairs behind Wildrose) - 568-3240 STEAM WORKS - (men) 1520 Summit - 388-4818

RESTAURANTS & BARS

88 KEYS - 315 2nd Ave. S. - 839-1300 BALTIC ROOM - 1207 Pine St. - 625-4444 THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE 2328 E. Madison St. - 323-1098 C.C. ATTLE’S BAR & GRILLE 1701 E. Olive Way - 726-0565

THE CANTERBURY - 534 15th Ave. E. - 322-3130 CHANGES IN WALLINGFORD 2103 N. 45th - 545-8363 THE CRESCENT - 1413 E. Olive Way - 720-8188 THE CUFF COMPLEX 1533 13th Ave. - 323-1525 DIESEL BAR - 1413 14th Ave. - 322-1080 GLO’S - 1621 E. Olive Way - 324-2577 GNOCCHI BAR - 1542 12th Ave - 328-4285 HOT MAMA’S PIZZA - 700 E. Pine St. - 322-6444 JAZZ ALLEY - 2033 6th Ave. E. - 441-9729 JULIA’S - 300 Broadway Ave. E. - 860-1818 KREMWERK - 1809 Minor Ave. #10 - 682-2935 MAE’S CAFE 6412 Phinney Ave. N. - 782-1222 MADISON PUB - 1315 E. Madison - 325-6537 NEIGHBOURS - 1509 Broadway - 324-5358 OUT WEST - 5401California Ave. SW THE PINE BOX - 1600 Melrose Ave - 588-0375 POCO WINE ROOM 1408 E. Pine St. - 322-9463

GLSEN ONYX LEATHER • SEAMEC • STOUT • PURR

• POCO WINE ROOM

• THE CUFF COMPLEX • GNOCCHI BAR

• UNICORN • POST OPTIONS •WILDROSE • HOT HOUSE

E. PINE ST.

ON

E.

PONY - 1221 E. Madison St. - 324-2854 PURR - 1518 11th Ave. - 325-3112 R PLACE - 619 E. Pine - 322-8828 RE-BAR - 1114 Howell at Boren - 233-9873 SEATTLE EAGLE - 314 E. Pike - 621-7591 SHORTY’S 2222 2nd Ave - 441-5449 SPINNAKER BAY BREWING 5718 Rainier Ave S - 725-BEER(2337) STOUT -1530 11th Ave - 397-3825 TOULOUSE PETIT 601 Queen Anne Ave N - 432-9069 UNICORN - 1118 E Pike - 325-6492 WILDROSE - 1021 E. Pike - 324-9210 ZIPPY’S GIANT BURGERS 5633 Airport Way S - 466-5954 9614 14th Ave SW - 763-1347

RETAIL SHOPS

CASTLE SUPERSTORE #17 1017 E. Pike St - 204-0126 DOGHOUSE LEATHERS 1312 E. Pike St. - 257-0231 EMERSON SALON - 909 E. Pike St. - 323-7437 NEW YORK EXCHANGE 231 Broadway Ave E - 726-7978 ONYX LEATHER - 1605 12th Ave. #8 - 328-1965 PANACHE - 225 Broadway E. - 726-3300 RUCKUS 1465 E Republican St. - 257-4805 STAN’S ADULT SUPERSTORE 9630 16th Ave. SW - 762-3299 TOYS IN BABELAND - 707 E. Pike St. - 328-2914 UNDER U 4 MEN 709 Broadway Ave. E. - 324-6446 WILD AT HEART 1111 NW Leary Way - 782-5538 YOUR CHOICE VIDEO 9811 16TH AVE SW - 768-0711

LOVER’S 193 Telegraph Road - (360) 752-1862 RUMORS CABARET 1119 Railroad - (306) 671-1849

EVERETT

BAR MYX - 1212 California St. - 425-610-4071 LOVER’S - 112 SE Everett - (425) 353-3607 LOVER’S - 3402 Broadway - (425) 252-8754

KENT

LOVER’S 25801 104th Ave. S.E. - (253) 852-1720 THE FANTASY SHOP 604 Central Ave. S. - (253) 850-8428 NASHVILLE’S SPORTS BAR (Drag Shows) 114 - Railroad Ave. N. - (253) 852 - 0909

April 7, 2017

IS AD

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• DOGHOUSE LEATHERS

E. PIKE ST. • CHOP SUEY • MADISON PUB • DIESEL BAR • PONY

BELLINGHAM

Visit us online www.sgn.org

• THE GASLIGHT INN

E. OLIVE ST.

E. UNION ST.

SEATTLE

• RUCKUS

E. UNION ST.

LA CONNER

THE HERON INN & WATERGRASS DAY SPA 117 Maple Ave. - (877) 883-8899 info@theheron.com

OLYMPIA

DARBY’S CAFE 211 5th Ave. S.E. - (360) 357-6229 LOVER’S 3959 Martin Way E. Suite D - (360) 456-7300 JAKES - 311 4th Ave. E. - (360) 956-3247 URBAN ONION 116 Legion Way - (360) 943-9242

PORT ANGELES MAPLE ROSE INN 112 Reservoir Rd - (800) 570-2007

SPOKANE

ANDY’S 1401 W. 1st Ave. - (509) 747 - 0304 IRV’S (Drag Shows) 415 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 624 - 4450 NYNE BAR AND BISTRO 232 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 474 -1621 SPOTLIGHT LOUNGE 321 W. Sprague Ave. - (509) 624 - 0722

TACOMA

CASTLE SUPERSTORE 6015 Tacoma Mall Blvd. - (253) 471-0391 CLUB SILVERSTONE 739½ St. Helens Ave. - (253) 404-0273 THE FANTASY SHOP 2301 6th Ave. - (253) 272-6640 LOVER’S 7002 Tacoma Mall Blvd., #F - (253) 475-2271 THE MIX - 635 St. Helens Ave. - (253) 383-4327 RAINBOW CENTER 2215 Pacific Ave. - (253) 383-2318 SHAKABRAH JAVA CAFE 2618 6th Ave. - (253) 572-2787 TANDEM FOR GEAR, CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES 3019 6th Ave, Ste. B - (253) 301-3026

TUKWILA

LOVER’S 530 Southcenter Blvd. - (206) 248-5085

WENATCHEE

THE CELLAR CAFE 240 N. Mission St. - (509) 662-1722

Seattle Gay News 21

22 Seattle Gay News

April 7, 2017

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 7, 2017

Seattle Gay News 23

24 Seattle Gay News

April 7, 2017

Celebrating 41 Years!