I S S U E 17
C E L E B R AT I N G
VOLUME 51
49 YEARS
F R I D AY
NI A N L E SI B V IP SR I BI N I LTI T Y WEEK
APRIL 28, 2023 S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q I A + N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY S I N C E 19 74
NO SHORTAGE OF CHOICES IN RACE FOR SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Voters will have no shortage of choices in Seattle City Council District 3 this year. Ten candidates are running for the seat now held by Kshama Sawant, who is leaving the council to build a new organization, Workers Strike Back.
District 3 includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, and parts of First Hill — all neighborhoods that voted solidly for Sawant in the past — as well as wealthier areas in Montlake and along Lake Washington.
see D3 page 6
(from l-r) Shobhit Agarwal, Andrew Ashiofu, Ry Armstrong, Joy Hollingsworth
Unforgettables: Cinematic milestones with Sara Michelle
Can Can’s Noir a sultry shadowy sojourn
House of Wax: Eternal beauty comes with a price — Vincent Price — in the timeless, gothic, 3-D horror masterpiece celebrating its 70th anniversary
Noir – Photos by Nate Watters
Vincent Price in House of Wax – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Get ready to step into the night with Can Can’s latest hit show, Noir, a 1930s mystery that’s a trippy nocturnal delight. While Noir is full of sexy Can Can staples, such as musical covers, tantalizing dancers, and lots of spinning, it departs from the theater’s usual style. “It’s a total change of pace for us,” producer and star Jonathan Betchtel said. “We’ve been running pretty strong narrative shows …and this one is a strange, sexy, psychedelic trip. There’s a little bit of a storyline if you want there to be, but if not, it’s just beautiful to look at and a lot of fun.”
Noir is pure vibes. The costumes are gorgeous, the dancing is impressive, and the special effects go far beyond anything the theater has done before. The show starts with Betchtel in a pin-striped suit, reading aloud from a notebook, akin to a detective in a black-and-white mystery. He poses many theoretical questions and ultimately finds his answers in the mesmerizing performances of co-stars Shadou Mintrone, Jasmine Jean Sim, Sasha Voyt, Travis Guerin, and newcomer Rey Rodriguez. While Betchtel finds his answers, patrons leave with more questions than they started with.
see CAN CAN page 8
by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer There is something inherently terrifying yet also uncomfortably beguiling about tales involving petrification. Medusa is one of Greek mythology’s most powerful (and most memorable) characters for good reason. Midas and his golden touch is a fable guaranteed to send chills down the spine even as it enthralls the imagination. The Twilight Zone episode “The After Hours” starring Anne Francis and Elizabeth Allen is one of the iconic television show’s finest, and most spine-tingling, 25 minutes. With the 3-D craze of the 1950s in its infancy, Warner Bros. reached into its vault
and tasked hard-boiled filmmaker André De Toth, known for disquieting noirs like Pitfall and rough-and-tumble westerns like Springfield Rifle, to remake Michael Curtiz’s 1933 classic Mystery of the Wax Museum utilizing the new technology. The result was 1953’s landmark House of Wax, and it is justifiably considered a bona fide classic. My first encounter with House of Wax came shortly after I was shown 1958’s The Fly by my parents. I quickly became obsessed with its star Vincent Price, gobbling up all of the vaunted actor’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations directed by Roger Corman along with his fabulous collaborations with
see UNFORGETTABLES page 13