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LGBTQ
NEWSPAPER
DEC. 22, 2010 - JAN. 4, 2011
VOLUME NINE, ISSUE 26
S E R V I N G G A Y, L E S B I A N , B I A N D T R A N S G E N D E R E D N E W Y O R K • W W W . G A Y C I T Y N E W S . C O M

WHITEHOUSE.GOV

DEAN WRZESZCZ
Barack Obama, as president-elect, Liutenant Dan Choi (Ret.) at the October 2009
in Grant Park, Chicago, November 4, 2008. National Equality March in Washington.

Done! P. 8

COURTESY: MIKE ALMY

Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy

addressing a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network dinner. Major Mike Almy (Ret.) on duty in Iraq.
SLDN

© GAY CITY NEWS 2010 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

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22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

Civil Rights /3
Familiar Pattern in Newark Park Slay
Cop’s story on DeFarra Gaymon’s killing fits dubious New Jersey “aggressive cruiser” theme
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE And there are some good reasons to In a 2005 complaint concerning an
doubt them. arrest in South Mountain Reserva-

A
s Edward Esposito, a detective in
the Essex County Sheriff’s Office,
tells the story, he made an arrest
in Newark’s Branch Brook Park last
July 16 and went back into the park to
find his lost handcuffs while his partner
secured the suspect.
Esposito was bending down to get
the handcuffs when DeFarra Gaymon,
the chief executive of an Atlanta bank,
approached him. Gaymon, 48, “was
engaged in a sex act at the time,” accord-
ing to a statement by the Essex County
prosecutor’s office.
Esposito, then 29, identified himself
and attempted to arrest Gaymon, who
fled. A chase ensued. At its end, Esposito
claimed, Gaymon threatened to kill him
and lunged for him. Esposito shot and
killed Gaymon.
This tale of aggressive men who are
cruising in New Jersey parks grabbing
undercover officers is one that detectives
in the Essex County Sheriff’s Office have
told many times before.
Following the killing, Garden State
Equality, New Jersey’s statewide gay
lobbying group, made an open records
request to the sheriff’s office seeking doc-
uments that alleged “sexual conduct” in
Essex County parks from 2005 to mid-
2010.
The Sheriff’s Office released records on
167 arrests or investigations in 14 parks,
with 148 of those arrests or investiga-
tions occurring in Branch Brook Park or
South Mountain Reservation, which is
located in West Orange, Maplewood, and
Millburn. Of those 148, 130 were arrests
for lewdness or criminal sexual contact of
men who may have been cruising for sex
or, in some cases, were observed having
sex with other men.
A consistent theme in the 130 reports
by plainclothes officers involved in what
were clearly organized stings was that
they were walking through a park when
a man, without any prompting from the
officer, exposed himself or grabbed the
officer’s crotch.
tion, the officer wrote that the sus-
pect “approached the undersigned and
engaged in small conversation. The sus-
pect then grabbed the undersigned’s
crotch area, then began to walk away
stating to undersigned ‘Come On.’”
A 2007 record on an arrest in that
park reads, “Then with out warning or
saying a single word, [the defendant]
leaned back and grabbed the under-
signed groin area, causing pain and dis-
comfort.”
A report on a 2010 arrest in Branch
Br ook Park states the defendant
“stopped in front of me less than a foot
away (facing me). [The defendant] asked
‘Do you have a big dick?’ As [the defen-
dant] was speaking he grabbed my penis
with his right hand and squeezed it.”
A 2007 report on a arrest in Branch
Brook Park has the defendant asking
in Spanish, “Do You Want Me To Suck In the official account of the killing of Atlanta bank execu-
Your Dick?,” and continues, “At the time tive DeFarra Gaymon in a Newark park, the dead man is
cast as an aggressive man caught in a sexual act who
䉴 NEWARK PARK, continued on p.31 threatened to kill a Sheriff’s Office detective.

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4 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

INDICATION: REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines

to treat people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ has
been studied in a 48-week trial in patients who have taken anti-HIV medicines and a 96-week
trial in patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines.
On REYATAZ,
REYATAZ does not cure HIV or lower your chance of passing HIV to others.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:
Do not take REYATAZ if you are taking the following medicines due to potential for Wedn
serious, life-threatening side effects or death: Versed® (midazolam) when taken by mouth, esda y
Halcion® (triazolam), ergot medicines (dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, ergotamine, and
methylergonovine such as Cafergot®, Migranal®, D.H.E. 45®, ergotrate maleate, Methergine®, Ma ry
birthd ’s
and others), Propulsid® (cisapride), or Orap® (pimozide).
Do not take REYATAZ with the following medicines due to potential for serious
side effects: Camptosar® (irinotecan), Crixivan® (indinavir), Mevacor® (lovastatin),
ay
Zocor® (simvastatin), Uroxatral® (alfuzosin), or Revatio® (sildenafil).
Do not take REYATAZ with the following medicines as they may lower the amount of
REYATAZ in your blood, which may lead to increased HIV viral load and resistance to
pa rty
REYATAZ or other anti-HIV medicines: rifampin (also known as Rimactane®, Rifadin®,
Rifater®, or Rifamate®), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)-containing products, or
Viramune® (nevirapine).
Serevent Diskus® (salmeterol) and Advair® (salmeterol with fluticasone) are not recommended

Thursda y
with REYATAZ.
Do not take Vfend® (voriconazole) if you are taking REYATAZ and Norvir® (ritonavir).
The above lists of medicines are not complete. Taking REYATAZ with some other medicines
may require your therapy to be monitored more closely or may require a change in dose
or dose schedule of REYATAZ or the other medicine. Discuss with your healthcare provider all 5:30
C h oi r e
prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamin and herbal supplements, or other health
preparations you are taking or plan to take.

practic
Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant, breast-feeding, planning to become
pregnant or breast-feed, or if you have end-stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis
or severe liver dysfunction.
Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any side effects, symptoms, or conditions,
including the following:
• Mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs in patients taking
REYATAZ, most often in the first few weeks after the medicine is started, and usually goes away
within 2 weeks with no change in treatment. Bu y new
• Severe rash has occurred in a small number of patients taking REYATAZ. This type of rash is
associated with other symptoms that could be serious and potentially cause death. If you
develop a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop using REYATAZ and call
shoes
your healthcare provider right away:
for Latish
– Shortness of breath
– General ill-feeling or “flu-like”
– Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes,
like “pink-eye”) a
symptoms – Blisters
– Fever – Mouth sores
– Muscle or joint aches – Swelling of your face
• Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes may occur due to increases in bilirubin levels
in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver).
• A change in the way your heart beats may occur. You may feel
dizzy or lightheaded. These could be symptoms of a heart problem.
• Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking
protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ. Some patients
may need changes in their diabetes medicine.
• If you have liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, it may
get worse when you take anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.
• Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ.
Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in your side,
blood in your urine, and pain when you urinate.
• Some patients with hemophilia have increased bleeding problems
with protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
• Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking anti-HIV medicines.
Fight HIV your way.
The cause and long-term effects are not known at this time.
• Gallbladder disorders (including gallstones and gallbladder inflammation) have been
reported in patients taking REYATAZ.
Other common side effects of REYATAZ taken with other anti-HIV medicines include: nausea;
headache; stomach pain; vomiting; diarrhea; depression; fever; dizziness; trouble sleeping;
numbness, tingling, or burning of hands or feet; and muscle pain.
You should take REYATAZ once daily with food (a meal or snack). Swallow the capsules whole; do
not open the capsules. You should take REYATAZ and your other anti-HIV medicines exactly as
instructed by your healthcare provider.
Please see Important Patient Information
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. about REYATAZ on the adjacent pages.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 5

how you spend your time is up to you.

Individual results may vary.

Once-daily REYATAZ can help fight your HIV.

REYATAZ, a protease inhibitor (PI), in HIV combination therapy:
◆ Can help lower your viral load and raise your T-cell (CD4+ cell) count
Find out if you can save on REYATAZ.
◆ Has a low chance of diarrhea (shown in clinical trials)
Call 1-888-281-8981 or visit
— REYATAZ in combination therapy had a 1%-3% rate of moderate-to-severe diarrhea in adults
ReyatazSavings.com for details.
◆ Is taken once a day with a snack or meal
Subject to terms and conditions. Restrictions apply.
REYATAZ is one of several treatment options your doctor may consider.
Do not take REYATAZ if you are allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.
Ask your healthcare team about REYATAZ www.REYATAZ.com
REYATAZ does not cure HIV and has not been shown to reduce the risk of passing HIV to others.

REYATAZ is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners
and not of Bristol-Myers Squibb.
© 2010 Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ 08543 U.S.A.
687US10AB06412 06/10
6 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011
FDA-Approved Patient Labeling
Patient Information
REYATAZ® (RAY-ah-taz)
(generic name = atazanavir sulfate)
Capsules

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ALERT: Find out about medicines that should NOT be taken with REYATAZ.
Read the section “What important information should I know about taking REYATAZ
with other medicines?”
Read the Patient Information that comes with REYATAZ before you start using it
and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This leaflet provides

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a summary about REYATAZ and does not include everything there is to know
about your medicine. This information does not take the place of talking with your
healthcare provider about your medical condition or treatment.
What is REYATAZ?
REYATAZ is a prescription medicine used with other anti-HIV medicines to treat
people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is the
virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). REYATAZ is a
type of anti-HIV medicine called a protease inhibitor. HIV infection destroys CD4+
(T) cells, which are important to the immune system. The immune system helps
fight infection. After a large number of (T) cells are destroyed, AIDS develops.
REYATAZ helps to block HIV protease, an enzyme that is needed for the HIV
virus to multiply. REYATAZ may lower the amount of HIV in your blood, help your
body keep its supply of CD4+ (T) cells, and reduce the risk of death and illness
associated with HIV.
Does REYATAZ cure HIV or AIDS?
REYATAZ does not cure HIV infection or AIDS. At present there is no cure for
HIV infection. People taking REYATAZ may still get opportunistic infections or other
conditions that happen with HIV infection. Opportunistic infections are infections
that develop because the immune system is weak. Some of these conditions are
pneumonia, herpes virus infections, and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC)
infections. It is very important that you see your healthcare provider regularly
while taking REYATAZ.
REYATAZ does not lower your chance of passing HIV to other people through
sexual contact, sharing needles, or being exposed to your blood. For your
health and the health of others, it is important to always practice safer sex by
using a latex or polyurethane condom or other barrier to lower the chance of sexual
contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood. Never use or share dirty needles.
Who should not take REYATAZ?
Do not take REYATAZ if you:
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re taking certain medicines. (See “What important information should I
know about taking REYATAZ with other medicines?”) Serious life-threatening
side effects or death may happen. Before you take REYATAZ, tell your
healthcare provider about all medicines you are taking or planning to take.
These include other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins,
and herbal supplements.
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re allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients. The active ingredient
is atazanavir sulfate. See the end of this leaflet for a complete list of
ingredients in REYATAZ. Tell your healthcare provider if you think you have
had an allergic reaction to any of these ingredients.
What should I tell my healthcare provider before I take REYATAZ?
Tell your healthcare provider:
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I
f you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if
REYATAZ can harm your unborn baby. Pregnant women have experienced
serious side effects when taking REYATAZ with other HIV medicines called
nucleoside analogues. You and your healthcare provider will need to decide
if REYATAZ is right for you. If you use REYATAZ while you are pregnant, talk
to your healthcare provider about the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry.
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f you are breast-feeding. You should not breast-feed if you are HIV-positive
because of the chance of passing HIV to your baby. Also, it is not known if
REYATAZ can pass into your breast milk and if it can harm your baby. If you
are a woman who has or will have a baby, talk with your healthcare provider
about the best way to feed your baby.
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If you have liver problems or are infected with the hepatitis B or C virus.
See “What are the possible side effects of REYATAZ?”
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If you have end stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis.
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If you have diabetes. See “What are the possible side effects of REYATAZ?”

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If you have hemophilia. See “What are the possible side effects of
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bout all the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription
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medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Keep a list of your medicines
with you to show your healthcare provider. For more information, see “What
important information should I know about taking REYATAZ with other
medicines?” and “Who should not take REYATAZ?” Some medicines can
cause serious side effects if taken with REYATAZ.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate)
How should I take REYATAZ?
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Take REYATAZ once every day exactly as instructed by your healthcare
provider. Your healthcare provider will prescribe the amount of REYATAZ
that is right for you.

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is 300 mg once daily with 100 mg of NORVIR® (ritonavir) once daily
taken with food. For adults who are unable to tolerate ritonavir, 400 mg
(two 200-mg capsules) once daily (without NORVIR®) taken with food
is recommended.

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medicines that you are taking. REYATAZ is always used with other anti-HIV
medicines. If you are taking REYATAZ with SUSTIVA® (efavirenz) or with
VIREAD® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), you should also be taking NORVIR®
(ritonavir).
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Always take REYATAZ with food (a meal or snack) to help it work better.
Swallow the capsules whole. Do not open the capsules. Take REYATAZ at
the same time each day.
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If you are taking antacids or didanosine (VIDEX® or VIDEX® EC), take
REYATAZ 2 hours before or 1 hour after these medicines.
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f you are taking medicines for indigestion, heartburn, or ulcers
such as AXID® (nizatidine), PEPCID AC® (famotidine), TAGAMET®
(cimetidine), ZANTAC® (ranitidine), AcipHex® (rabeprazole), NEXIUM®
(esomeprazole), PREVACID® (lansoprazole), PRILOSEC® (omeprazole),
or PROTONIX® (pantoprazole), talk to your healthcare provider.
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o not change your dose or stop taking REYATAZ without first talking
with your healthcare provider. It is important to stay under a healthcare
provider’s care while taking REYATAZ.
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hen your supply of REYATAZ starts to run low, get more from your
healthcare provider or pharmacy. It is important not to run out of REYATAZ.
The amount of HIV in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for
even a short time.
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If you miss a dose of REYATAZ, take it as soon as possible and then take
your next scheduled dose at its regular time. If, however, it is within 6 hours
of your next dose, do not take the missed dose. Wait and take the next dose
at the regular time. Do not double the next dose. It is important that you
do not miss any doses of REYATAZ or your other anti-HIV medicines.
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If you take more than the prescribed dose of REYATAZ, call your
healthcare provider or poison control center right away.
Can children take REYATAZ?
Dosing recommendations are available for children 6 years of age and older for
REYATAZ Capsules. Dosing recommendations are not available for children from
3 months to less than 6 years of age. REYATAZ should not be used in babies under
the age of 3 months.
What are the possible side effects of REYATAZ?
The following list of side effects is not complete. Report any new or continuing
symptoms to your healthcare provider. If you have questions about side effects,
ask your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider may be able to help you
manage these side effects.
The following side effects have been reported with REYATAZ:
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mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs
in patients taking REYATAZ, most often in the first few weeks after the
medicine is started. Rashes usually go away within 2 weeks with no change
in treatment. Tell your healthcare provider if rash occurs.
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evere rash: In a small number of patients, a rash can develop that is
associated with other symptoms which could be serious and potentially
cause death.
If you develop a rash with any of the following symptoms stop using
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ellowing of the skin or eyes. These effects may be due to increases
in bilirubin levels in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver). Call your
healthcare provider if your skin or the white part of your eyes turn yellow.
Although these effects may not be damaging to your liver, skin, or eyes, it is
important to tell your healthcare provider promptly if they occur.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 7

REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate)

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8/ Politics
Repeal Signing Wednesday
Dramatic lame duck Senate action sends bill ending DADT to Obama
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
B
y a 65-31 vote, the US
Senate on the afternoon
of Saturday, December
18 voted to repeal the military’s
17-year-old Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell policy barring open service
by gay men and lesbians.
Eight Republicans joined 57
Democrats in approving the
measure.
As Gay City News went to
press, the bill, passed by the
House on December 15 by a
250-175 vote, was due for Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s signature
before a large gathering in an
elaborate Interior Department
ceremony December 22.
The decisive vote actually
came late Saturday morning,
when the Senate, by a 63-33
margin, approved a cloture
motion to block efforts led by Ari-
zona Republican John McCain
to keep the Senate from bring-
ing the bill to a floor debate.
During a cloture debate that
lasted less than two hours and
also included discussion of the
Dream Act immigration mea-
sure, McCain sounded more
weary and resigned than angry
as he declared it was “a sad
day.” The Arizonan, however,
went on to repeat an extraordi-
nary warning made earlier in the
week by General James Amos,
the Marine Corps commandant,
who remained opposed to repeal
action up to the end.
“Mistakes and inattention or
distractions cost Marines lives,”
Amos told Stars and Stripes,
the independent military news
outlet, in an interview published
on December 14. “I don’t want
to lose any Marines to the dis-
traction. I don’t want to have
any Marines that I’m visiting at
Bethesda [National Naval Medi-
cal Center, in Maryland] with no
legs be the result of any type of
distraction.”
Under Senate rules, after the
Democrats achieved cloture,
the repeal measure could have
faced a debate running up to 30
hours, but that would merely
have been a prelude to inevi-
table passage. In fact, the final
vote took place at 3 p.m., less
than four hours after opponents
had their hopes of filibustering
the bill shut down.
President Barack Obama,
undoubtedly buoyed by the
chance to deliver a big victory for
the LGBT community, issued a
statement saying, “Today, the
Senate has taken an historic
step toward ending a policy
that undermines our national
security while violating the very
ideals that our brave men and
women in uniform risk their
lives to defend…. As command-
er-in-chief, I am also absolutely
convinced that making this
change will only underscore the
professionalism of our troops
as the best led and best trained
fighting force the world has ever
known.”
The president added, “It is
time to recognize that sacrifice,
valor, and integrity are no more
defined by sexual orientation
than they are by race or gender,
religion or creed.”
Obama singled out for praise
the efforts of Majority Leader
Harry Reid of Nevada as well as
Connecticut Independent Dem-
ocrat Joe Lieberman and Maine
Republican Susan Collins, who
introduced a stand-alone repeal
bill after efforts to open debate
on the annual Pentagon spend-
ing bill, with language ending
the policy, failed for the second
time on December 9.
Aubrey Sarvis, executive
director of the Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network (SLDN),
a leading repeal advocacy group,
hailed the Senate’s action, but
also noted that the repeal pro-
visions approved include a
requirement that the president,
defense secretary, and chair of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff all certi-
fy that military readiness, effec-
tiveness, morale, and retention
will not be compromised before
the policy comes to an end. In
addition, Congress then has 60
days to review the new proce-
dures, though it has no author-
ity under the repeal law to over-
rule them.
“Gay, lesbian and bisexual
service members posted around
the world are standing a little
taller today, but they’re still very
much at risk because repeal is
not final,” Sarvis said. “I respect-
fully ask Defense Secretary Rob-
ert Gates to use his authority to
President Barack Obama made calls to members of the Senate in advance of the final vote on
repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
suspend all Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
investigations during this inter-
im period. Until the president
signs the bill, until there is cer-
tification, and until the 60-day
congressional period is over, no
one should be investigated or
discharged under this discrimi-
natory law.”
The White House referred a
question on that issue to the
Department of Defense. Major
Monica Bland, a Pentagon
spokeswoman, responded, “Until
60 days after certification, the
law commonly known as Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell remains in effect,
and the Department of Defense
will continue to apply the law as
it is obligated to do.”
Since the language for DADT
was hammered out by the White
House and Democratic congres-
sional leaders in May, SLDN has
argued that the exhaustive study
undertaken by a special Penta-
gon Working Group — and deliv-
ered on November 30 — lays the
groundwork for completing the
needed certifications rescinding
the policy in a matter of two or
three months.
In Senate Armed Services
Committee hearings on Decem-
ber 2 and 3, however, Gates and
Admiral Michael Mullen, the
Joint Chiefs chair, emphasized
that their certification would
reflect a deliberate approach
toward planning the policy
change. Their comments sug-
gested that Sarvis’ caveats are
well-placed.
Robin McGehee of GetEQUAL,
a direct action group harshly
critical of the legislative language
in the repeal measure — for the
conditions requiring certification
before repeal is implemented —
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
THU.DEC.23
PERFORMANCE
Take a Chance on
OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO/ PETE SOUZA
Mummenschanz
The internationally renowned Swiss
performance troupe Mummenschanz,
which for four decades has captivated
audiences worldwide with its ground-
breaking visuals and transformative,
non-verbal theater that makes inventive
use of forms, shadow and light, and cre-
ative manipulation of sculptural, expres-
sive masks, appears in a limited engage-
ment at NYU’s Skirball Center for the
also noted that activism must Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Pl. at
continue to hasten that day. Washington Sq. S. Dec. 20-22, 26, 31
“We’re one step closer to & Jan. 2, 7-8, 7 p.m.; Dec. 23, 28-30 &
repealing the ban on open and Jan. 4-6, 8 p.m.; Dec. 22, 24, 26 & Jan.
honest service for lesbian, gay, 2, 8, 2 p.m.; Dec. 31, 4 p.m.; Jan. 7, 10
and bisexual Americans,” she p.m. Tickets are $45-$75 at skirballcen-
said. “Make no mistake — DADT ter.nyu.edu.
is not yet repealed. There is still ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
work to do. There is still a long
process ahead, but we vow to CABARET
keep the pressure up until the Feinstein at Home
policy is fully and completely for the Holidays
repealed.” Michael Feinstein, who has long car-
Other advocates led with an ried the torch for the Great American
unambiguously celebratory Songbook, presents “Swing in the Holi-
tone. days,” a collection of seasonal favorites,
“Today, America lived up classic standards, and songs that pay
to its highest ideals of free- tribute to Broadway legend Jerry Her-
dom and equality,” said Joe man, who celebrates his 80th birthday in
Solmonese, president of the 2011. Feinstein’s longtime musical direc-
Human Rights Campaign, the tor John Oddo leads a 12-piece band.
Washington-based LGBT lobby Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540
group. “Today, our federal gov- Park Ave. at 61st St. Dec. 23 & 30, 8
ernment recognized that ALL & 10:30 p.m.; Dec. 24-25, 8 p.m., Dec.
men and women have the right 27-29, 8:30 p.m.; Dec. 31, 7 & 10:45
to openly serve the country p.m. The cover charge is $95-$250, with
they believe in.” a $40 food and drink minimum (a small
Former Army National number of seats are available with a
Guard Lieutenant Dan Choi, $40 cover, and no minimum). For reser-
who participated in numerous vations, visit Feinsteinsatloewsregency.
GetEQUAL civil disobedience com or call 212-339-4095.
actions and was also critical ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
of the conditions incorporated
into the legislation, told CNN, NIGHTLIFE
“They’re saying finally, the gov- Christmas Ain’t
ernment is saying that we’re Sacred
taking steps closer for you Daniel Nardicio describes his
to access your integrity, and “Sh*tShow” as a raunchy, riotous, and
that’s why it’s amazing.” sometimes inspirational performance
In his repeal activism over that is part talk show, part variety show,
the past 21 months, Choi part nightclub hijinks, and all kinds of
consistently emphasized that crazy! For this Christmas edition, DN
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell forces gay presents Bianca Del Rio, Robbyne Kaam-
and lesbian services members il, Times Square’s Naked Cowgirl sandy
to lie in violation of their obli- kane, Moisty the Snowman, a very filthy
gation to serve with honesty Santa, and the Boys of Playgirl-a-Go
and integrity. Go. Johnny Dynell decks the halls with
䉴 REPEAL, continued on p.28 䉴 DEC 23, continued on p.10
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

Politics /9
Equality ‘War Room’ at Media Matters
Ex-Clinton aide Socarides joined by Advocate’s Eleveld in new strategic communications drive
BY PAUL SCHINDLER in the media, for companies includ- ed by progressive advocacy and policy Media Matters’ expansion into LBGT-
ing Time Warner. In the years since he pieces written by contributors outside specific policy work, he said, would

M
edia Matters, the web-based
non-profit progressive research
and advocacy group that in
its six years of existence has become an
influential watchdog on right-wing media
outlets, politicians, and activists, has
launched an affiliate, Equality Matters
(equalitymatters.org), which will focus on
LGBT policy, legal, and legislative goals.
According to Richard Socarides, a New
York-based attorney who will spearhead
the operation with an initial full-time
staff of six, the goal is to create a “com-
munications war room” to counter the
negative messages spawned by anti-gay
forces in politics and the media. Empha-
sizing the congruence between his
group’s work and that produced by its
Media Matters parent, Socarides stated
that another key mission “is to enhance
and enable progressive voices on LGBT
issues.”
Socarides served in the Clinton White
House as the president’s liaison to the
LGBT community and has also worked
returned to New York from Washington,
he has remained active in Democratic
politics but was also a leading gay sup-
porter of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s
reelection last year.
The website launched by the group on
December 20 will look familiar to follow-
ers of Media Matters, with a wide array
of article and blog postings, video clips,
and a section devoted to policy research
the group will carry out.
The editor of the website and the orga-
nization will be Kerry Eleveld, recruited
from her perch as the Advocate’s Wash-
ington correspondent for the past two
years. In that post, Eleveld frequently
raised questions about Obama adminis-
tration actions regarding the LGBT com-
munity — particularly on the issue of
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — during press sec-
retary Robert Gibbs’ regular briefings.
The editorial content developed by
Equality Matters will largely consist
of research and opposition research,
Socarides said, and will be supplement-
the group’s full-time staff.
Another focus of the groups will be
providing training in what Socarides
described as “strategic communications”
to other LGBT organizations “to help
them fulfill their missions.” He said he
expected Equality Matters to work with
national groups such as the Human
Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbi-
an Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
and state-level lobbying groups, but also
with small grassroots and ad hoc efforts.
“We could provide video communica-
tions assistance to a group of LGBT col-
lege students,” Socarides explained.
Asked to distinguish his group’s
goals from GLAAD’s traditional turf,
he responded, “I think that our efforts
will be complementary and not overlap-
ping. Our efforts will be around news,
around policy, and more Washington-
focused.”
He also said, “Our resources will not
be unlimited, but we will have substan-
tial resources and new resources.”
draw additional funding into the orga-
nization, both from gay philanthropists
and other donors interested in advanc-
ing full equality for the gay community.
Socarides noted that Media Matters
already enjoys substantial support from
gay money, but he also said that across
the board the group’s funders voiced
enthusiasm for the new effort.
David Brock, a journalist who traveled
a curious ideological path from his days
as a conservative writer who authored
hit pieces on Anita Hill and Bill Clinton
during 1990s to his founding of Media
Matters in 2004, is himself gay.
No independent fundraising has yet
been undertaken for Equality Matters,
whose operations for the present time
will be covered out of the Media Matters
budget. Last year, that group raised $23
million and had an operating budget of
$13 million. Socarides said the portion of
the parent organization’s budget that will
䉴 WAR ROOM, continued on p.26

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10/ Human Rights
A Rude Shock at Christmas
NJ civil union provides no protection for Peruvian man abruptly deported
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
J
air Izquierdo, a 33-year-
old, Peruvian-born gay
man, first came to the
United States a decade ago.
Having traveled to America on a
tourist visa with his boyfriend,
who was also from Peru, Izqui-
erdo stayed on, first working in
retail and, more recently, as a
hair and make-up stylist.
In May of 2005, he began dat-
ing Richard Dennis, an informa-
tion systems specialist raised in
Connecticut, who attended col-
lege in New Orleans and works
for a European bank in Manhat-
tan. In January 2006, Dennis,
who is 47, and Izquierdo moved
into in an apartment together in
Fort Lee, New Jersey. Two years
later, the couple entered into a
New Jersey civil union, and in
2009 they moved to a new home
in Jersey City.
Building a life together for
more than five years — even
with the marriage-like legal
protections of their civil union
— did nothing to cushion the
trauma the two men have
endured since October 20.
From that date until December
17, Izquierdo was incarcerated
in an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) detention
facility in Elizabeth — and bar-
ring a reversal of legal fortunes,
those will turn out to be his last
days in America for at least a
decade.
On December 17, with two
separate applications pend-
ing for a reconsideration of his
deportation order — one person-
ally endorsed two days earlier by
US Senator Robert Menendez —
Izquierdo was put on a plane at
Newark Airport and returned to
Peru.
That plane took off at 2:20
p.m. Four hours earlier, Izquier-
do had no hint he would not be
spending another night in the
dorm-like setting of the Eliza-
beth facility as he spoke to his
husband, who had just come
from a meeting with members
of Menendez’s staff. The couple
talked hopefully about the ener-
gy the senator’s office was put-
ting into their case.
But, at 11:15 a.m., less than
an hour after Izquierdo and
Richard Dennis and Jair Izquierdo during their 2008 New Jersey civil union ceremony.
Dennis hung up, the Peruvian
man was summoned by officials
at the detention facility, told to
gather the few possessions he
had, and put on a bus for the
airport.
Paul O’Dwyer, an immigra-
tion rights attorney who repre-
sents Izquierdo and had run up
against brick walls and official
silence repeatedly during his
client’s two months of deten-
tion, scrambled to get some-
body at Elizabeth to reverse the
decision. Meanwhile, Menendez
got on the phone with Home-
land Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano, pleading Izquierdo’s
case on the “deferred action”
grounds he had earlier written
to ICE about and asking that he
be taken off the plane.
But the wheels were literally
in motion, and the efforts came
too late. By midnight, Izquierdo
arrived at his aunt’s home in
Peru, the first time he was back
in his country of birth since
2001.
Sadly, the circumstances
Izquierdo and Dennis find
themselves in are unremark-
able among binational same-
sex couples who live in the US.
Immigration law takes no notice
of any relationship, informal
or legally recognized, between
two men or two women. Even
had the couple married in Con-
necticut or Massachusetts, the
Defense of Marriage Act would
have denied them any protec-
tions under federal law. Unlike
every single American man or
woman with a foreign-born
spouse, Richard Dennis has no
legal right to the companionship
of the person he loves in his
home country.
According to statistics from
the UCLA School of Law’s Wil-
liams Institute, which studies
legal and public policy issues
related to sexual orientation,
there are approximately 36,000
couples in the US in which the
immigrant partner lacks per-
manent residency. Steve Ralls,
a spokesman for Immigration
Equality — an advocacy group
working for legislation giving
foreign same-sex partners equal
footing with different-sex spous-
es and to protect those currently
caught in the snare of an unjust
system — stated that the per-
centage of those couples where
one partner faces immediate
removal is difficult to estimate,
but the number is climbing as
temporary visas expire. Nearly
half of the 36,000 couples have
small children, many of whom
are American citizens but are
unable to sponsor their parent
for permanent residency until
they are 21.
Many couples and families
facing the same problems as
Dennis and Izquierdo lack the
resources the couple have been
able to marshal — the two men
have incurred tens of thousands
of dollars in legal and other
expenses to date.
The only offense Izquierdo
committed under US law was
that he overstayed a tourist
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
䉴 DEC 23, from p.8
visa. In 2005, he applied for asy-
lum on the basis of persecution
he would face if returned to his
home country. It was the stabil-
ity and strength of his relation-
ship with Dennis that prompted
him to proceed with the asylum
claim.
“He always wanted to regular-
ize his status,” Dennis recalled.
“It weighed on his mind.”
Izquierdo’s appeals were
heard by an Immigration Judge,
who is an employee of the Jus-
tice Department, by the Board
of Immigration Appeals, and
by a federal appeals court. At
each venue, he was unsuccess-
ful — his application was filed
too late; the judges focused on
what Dennis described as minor
inconsistencies in his account
of a cousin blackmailing him,
with the complicity of the police,
over his sexual orientation; and
the evidence O’Dwyer presented
about the conditions facing gay
people in Peru did not meet a
high enough standard.
Memories of those legal pro-
ceedings haunt Dennis; what
he witnessed there made him
feel “embarrassed as an Ameri-
can — not just the way Jair was
treated, but the way everyone
is.”
“They try to trip you up,” he
recalled of the questioning Izqui-
erdo faced about his testimony
of harassment in Peru. “They
caught him in a small contra-
diction, and then the prosecutor
䉴 DEPORTED, continued on p.11
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
his sounds, and BD Poppins presents a
video production. Dixon Place, 161A
Chrystie St., btwn. Delancey & Riv-
ington Sts., Dec. 23, 9-11 p.m. Admis-
sion is $5 and the first drink is free. If you
really can’t bear to leave your apartment,
tune in for a live simulcast at Dworld.us.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
PERFORMANCE
FRI.DEC.24
Jackie-50
B r o a d w a y ’s J a c k i e H o f f m a n ,
acclaimed for her hysterical scene-
stealing performances in “ Hairspray,”
“Xanadu,” and currently as Grandma
in “The Addams Family,” presents her
all-new solo show “Jackie Five-Oh!: A
Celebration of Jackie Hoffman’s First
50th Birthday” at Joe’s Pub, inside
the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St.,
btwn. E. Fourth St. & Astor Pl. Dec.
24, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 31, 7 p.m. Tickets
are $30 ($40 on Dec. 31) at joespub.com
or 212-967-7555. For table reservations,
guaranteeing a seat, call 212-539-8778.
Table service includes a two-drink or $12
food minimum
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMEDY
SUN.DEC.26
No Rest for the
Funny
Brad Loekle continues the unending
War on Christmas with this Boxer Day
edition of “The Electro Shock Therapy
Comedy Hour.” Loekle’s guests for this
Baby Jesus Birthday Bash are Ronn Vigh
(San Francisco’s Punchline), Frank Liotti
(Gotham Comedy Club), and Yamaneika
(BET, TruTV). Therapy, 348 W. 52nd St.,
10 p.m. No cover charge, and $7 cosmos
all night long.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
PERFORMANCE
MON.DEC.27
The Worst of
Times, The Best of
Times
Pamela Murphy’s “The C Word” is the
playwright’s journey through breast can-
cer, during which she capitalizes on the
worst thing that’s ever happened to her.
䉴 DEC 27, continued on p.24
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

Crime /11
Chi Chiz Throws in the Towel
Owners say city, Liquor Authority, Christopher Street Patrol opposition ruined business
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE from July of 2009 to January of Authority held four hearings complained about the bar were News. “I’m not happy about it,
2010. and heard from 11 witnesses not going to stop. but I think they are getting what

A
West Village bar that
caters to a gay and
transgender African-
American clientele and was
sued this year by the city and
by the State Liquor Authority
will close on January 3.
“Obviously, the economic
impact of what’s been going on
this year — we went over those
numbers — it’s highly problem-
atic,” said Thomas D. Shanah-
an, an attorney for Chi Chiz.
New York City brought a
nuisance abatement lawsuit
against Chi Chiz in March,
charging that the bar allowed
four drug sales on its premises
Chi Chiz’ owners and its law-
yers said that police steered the
drug dealers into the bar. The
first three buys were from the
same dealer, with those sales
occurring over three months.
“We never had notice of that,”
said Shanahan, referring to the
first sale. “It was a set-up.”
The fourth sale was from two
dealers who met an undercover
police officer at a Starbucks
near Seventh A venue and
Grove Street. Police said one of
the dealers insisted that they
walk two-and-a-half blocks to
make the sale in Chi Chiz.
Beginning in September, the
offered by the Authority or Chi
Chiz. The administrative law
judge in that proceeding found
for the agency, saying the bar
allowed the drug sales and
other “disorderly conduct.”
We r e t h e t h r e e - m e m b e r
Authority board that issues
final rulings on cases to later
sustain that finding, it could
cost the bar its liquor license,
effectively closing the establish-
ment.
Shanahan said that even if
Chi Chiz were able to keep its
license and settle with the city,
it appeared that the police and
West Village residents who have
“This is the private sector,”
Shanahan said. “These are
small business people, but if
you continue to be the target,
you reach a point where you
can’t continue... We can’t sus-
tain this on a continuing basis,
and we have no confidence that
these officers or people like
David Poster are going to go
away.”
Poster, the president of the
Christopher Street Patrol, was
one of two West Village residents
who testified for the Authority at
the hearings there.
“l just think that it was prob-
lem bar,” Poster told Gay City
they deserve.”
Three senior officers in the
Sixth Precinct, which patrols
the West Village, testified about
rowdy behavior on the sidewalk
near Chi Chiz at the Authority
hearings.
On December 16, Chi Chiz
was scheduled for a final hear-
ing in the city’s nuisance abate-
ment lawsuit and tried to reach
a settlement with the city.
“The terms that they wanted
were too onerous,” Shanahan
said.
The bar will close and surren-
der its liquor license on January
3.

䉴 DEPORTED, from p.10
blew a gasket and starting yelling, ‘He’s
a liar.’”
By November 2009, Izquierdo’s
options had run their course; he was
given a final order of removal.
Official policy at ICE is to prioritize
removal orders for those immigrants
with criminal records, a category that
does not include Izquierdo. For the next
11 months, nothing happened, and he
and Dennis continued their lives in Jer-
sey City as best they could, even with
the ever-present risk of being separated
hanging over their heads.
“It was always there,” Dennis said.
“It was always the other person in the
room. People would ask me, ‘Are you
happy?’ And I would say, ‘Yes.’ But, there
was always a shadow. It was something I
didn’t verbalize, but I was happy with an
asterisk.”
On October 20, Izquierdo received a call
from a purported client asking to sched-
ule a make-up consultation. When he
arrived at work for the appointment, he
was met by ICE officials, who took him
into custody.
O’Dwyer started down several legal
avenues on Izquierdo’s behalf. He filed
a motion to reopen his client’s case
before the Board of Immigration Appeals,
based on what he said was “a significant
amount of evidence that conditions for
gay people in Peru had gotten worse”
since Izquierdo’s case had originally been
heard. While that motion was pending,
he simultaneously asked the Board and
ICE for stays of deportation; both appli-
cations were denied. Izquierdo’s motion
to reopen his case had not been acted on
at the time he was sent back to Peru.
The attorney also pursued what is to deny the deferred action motion. The acknowledged that, and added, “I under-
known as “deferred action,” a discretion- official had received the paperwork the stand that his friend is very upset.” Dwyer
ary administrative status under which day before. shot back, “That’s not his friend. That’s
ICE essentially opts not to enforce a “Well, he’s on the way to the air -
removal order. O’Dwyer argued that any port,” O’Dwyer told the ICE official, who 䉴 DEPORTED, continued on p.28
fair “weighing of the equities” involved in
Izquierdo’s case should have led govern-
ment officials to pursue this course. The
immigrant had lived in the US for rough-
ly ten years, had obeyed the law, found
St. Peter’s Chelsea
work, and established a life partnership
with another man. He posed no threat to
the civil order or the nation’s security.
Episcopal Church
Those equities, however, were never
fairly weighed, O’Dwyer argued.
346 West 20th Street
“They have the discretion,” he charged. (between 8th & 9th Avenues)
“They made the discretionary decision not 212.929.2390
to pay attention to a gay relationship. Gay
relationships are not viewed as real rela- www.stpeterschelsea.com
tionships.”
The attorney said that whatever the
deportation priorities the Department of
Homeland Security has established, local
Christmas at St. Peter’s
detention facilities and ICE offices feel an Timothy Brumfield, Director of music /organist
incentive to process as many removals as David Ossenfort, renowned tenor
quickly as they can. Laurel Masse, Manhattan Transfer's founding member
The paperwork supporting the deferred
action appeal arrived at ICE on December
The Uptown Brass
13, and was followed up two days later by
Menendez’s letter of support. Meanwhile, DECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve
officials at the detention facility were pro- 10:00 PM Christmas music
ceeding with their plans to carry out the 10:30 PM Blessing of the Christmas
final order of removal issued last Novem-
ber, with both the deferred action applica-
Crèche and Festival Choral Eucharist
tion and the motion for a rehearing before
the Board of Immigration Appeals in the DECEMBER 25 Christmas Day
works. 10:00 AM Sung Eucharist
In what felt like a clear afterthought,
as Izquierdo’s bus was traveling the short
route from Elizabeth to Newark, O’Dwyer
DECEMBER 26
received a call from a top official at the Sunday after Christmas
detention facility telling him that after 10:00 AM Sung Eucharist
“thorough consideration” he had decided
12
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22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
■ BOOKS
Dykes Outside
the Box
Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman lead
a fantasy life
BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL
O
ne of the best-kept secrets in
Lesbolandia is power couple
Ellen Kushner and Delia Sher-
man, doyennes of fantasy fiction. We
sat down earlier this month and talked
about writing, relationships, and the vir-
tues of operating outside the box.
Kushner and Sherman met at a Bos-
ton science fiction conference in 1985,
when Delia was living in Boston and
shopping a novella that would turn into
her first book. One of the people to whom
she was directed was Ellen, who was liv-
ing in New York but had, unfortunately,
just left her editing job. She gave Delia
a hand anyway, and when Ellen moved
to Boston a few years later, they became
friends. In 1992, they finally began dat-
ing.
SARAH SMITH
It was a natural match. They both
belonged to a new generation of writ-
ers that drew from a variety of sources
including pre-Raphaelite painters, Victo- Ellen Kushner (l.) and Delia Sherman, seen at their 2004
rian novelists, and “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” wedding in Massachusetts, have gained renown for their
— in addition to fantasy icons C.S. Lewis individual works as well as their frequent collaborations,
and J.R.R. Tolkien. Where they broke in writing and speaking.
from those old masters was in their rec-
ognition that “we did not have in us what for the New York Review of Science Fic-
they had in them,” Kushner explained. tion’s December “Family Reading.” This
“We’re not English. We don’t go for long year’s event was held December 14 at
country walks. We all kind of grew up in the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art.
the suburbs and were living in our 20s The gallery featured digital renderings
in bad neighborhoods in the cities.” of their book jackets, story illustrations,
Many mainstream readers won’t approach
books in the fantasy section because
they have fantasy cooties.
The result was what one reviewer and wedding photos, including one of an
dubbed “fantasy of manners,” later also enormous wedding cake. They’ve actu-
called “mannerpunk.” The setting is ally been married twice — to each other.
The second time was at Delia’s instiga-
saws between high society and the crimi- tion in 2004, so they could “become part
DPRXQWRUXSWR nal class. Books may have swordfights,
‡1RSRLQWV but the plots more often hinge on social
‡1RILQDQFLQJDGGRQV intrigue. The wry witty tone owes a lot to
Jane Austen. Kushner’s novel “Sword-
spoint” has become a classic of the sub-
genre.
For more information, call Associated with the movement and
with each other, Ellen and Delia are
1-800-382-HOME (4663) much sought after to appear as a team
or visit www.nyshcr.org at conferences and workshops. They’ve
become the traditional featured writers
of the problem” if Massachusetts tried to
repeal its high court’s decision and dis-
solve queer marriages.
The crowd at the gallery seemed non-
plussed by the whole lesbian thing.
There was a mix of ages, races, sexual
orientations, the conventional, the chic,
and the ultra geeky. The diversity was
remarkable for segregated New York,
䉴 OUTSIDE THE BOX, continued on p.13
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 13

© 2010 C.B. Fleet Company, Inc.

䉴 OUTSIDE THE BOX, from p.12

but not necessarily for the science fiction

and fantasy world. One of their fans told
me he’d been attracted to fantasy in the
first place because it was all about “the
Other,” and that’s what he was — young,
queer, black. As Sherman put it, specu-
lative fiction is mostly about exploring
“the fluidity of human identity and what
it means to be a human being, and not
necessarily just a man. Or a woman.”
Gender is central to their work. After
writing her cult novel “Swordspoint,”
focusing on two gay male characters in
their 20s, Kushner began writing “The
Privilege of the Sword,” a sequel set 20
years later, exploring the same society,
but this time through the eyes of a teen-
age girl. The description of what it’s like
for Katherine when she puts on pants
for the first time is pretty extraordinary. KEEP IT CLEAN. NATURALLY.
Delia’s young adult novel “Changeling”
sends a young girl on a quest through
a folkloric version of New York that borders and help writers present them-
includes mythical figures like the Mer- selves to the marketers. The point is not
maid Queen of New York Harbor, who just to sell books, but also to publish
could just as easily be a biker dyke with good writers who have read widely and
spiky orange hair, black vest, and nose- bring everything that they have expe-
to-tail tattoos. rienced to what they’re writing. “That’s
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literature, publishers are not so crazy ing something new of it.” and fresh—without the drugs found in laxative enemas.
about books that blur the genre bound- Sherman could as easily have been
aries. If you do fantasy fiction, stick to making an argument for diversity in biol- Drug Free | Safe For Daily Use | Hygienic
the conventions. Ditto for other genres ogy or music or even politics. The idea
like historical novels. At the same time, filters into their joint “Swordspoint”-set
too many mainstream readers won’t novel, “The Fall of the Kings,” which is
approach books in the fantasy section partly a critique of a political class guard-
at all because, as Kushner explained, ing its homogeneity and the lengths the
they have fantasy cooties. But label the powerful will go to preserve their privi-
same books magical realism and stock lege. If magic had been called religion in
them elsewhere, they’ll gobble them up. the book, and it had been set in contem-
Putting stuff into boxes keeps readers — porary America, this portrait of a society
and books — from crossing over. engaged in censorship, spying, torture,
Delia, Ellen, and some of their friends and intrigue wouldn’t have been catego-
have founded the Interstitial Arts Foun- rized as fantasy at all, but instead pure
dation to promote art that crosses genre realism.
 22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

14/ Legal
Mixed Signals Persist in Family Law
North Carolina closes door on second-parent adoptions, while Minnesota equivocates
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD when the women broke child, it ordered joint pretation spelled out in their initials, adopted the agreed that sanctions
up in 2006. The couple, custody. Justice Paul M. Newby’s same view as the North were appropriate because

T
he battle for LGBT
family equality
unfolds in uneven
fashion from state to
state, and in some juris-
dictions even seems to go
backwards at times. The
latest chapter in second-
parent adoption litiga-
tion — with two appel-
late decisions issued in
recent days — certainly
bears this out.
The North Carolina
Supreme Court overruled
both a trial and an inter-
mediate appellate court
to find that a second-par-
ent adoption approved
five years ago was “void
ab initio” — invalid from
the start. Meanwhile,
Minnesota’s intermedi-
ate appellate court did
not rule on the merits of
a challenged second-par-
ent adoption but found
that a trial judge erred by
sanctioning an attorney
for raising an argument
about whether such pro-
cedures were allowed
under state law.
The North Carolina
decision, released on
December 20, came in a
high profile case, involv-
ing openly lesbian State
Senator Julia Bose-
man, who was seeking
joint custody over the
child she had been rais-
ing with Melissa Jarrell,
the child’s birth mother,
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who began their relation-
ship in 1998 and moved
to North Carolina the fol-
lowing year, decided in
2000 that Jarrell would
bear their child. In 2004,
after hearing that a Dur-
ham County judge had
granted a second-parent
adoption, they decided
they would apply to have
Boseman adopt the child
while preserving Jarrell’s
parental status.
By statute, an adop-
tion in North Carolina
can only follow the termi-
nation of existing paren-
tal rights, but the Dur -
ham County judge, in
2005, waived this provi-
sion, allowing Jarrell
to give what was legally
considered “limited con-
sent” to the adoption
and thereby maintain
her full parental rights.
H o w e v e r, w h e n t h e
couple br oke up less
than a year later, Jarrell
began limiting Boseman’s
access to their child.
Boseman went to court,
this time in Hanover
County, seeking custody
of the child. In custody
disputes between two
legal parents, courts give
sole consideration to the
best interest of the child.
When the court found
that both women were fit
mothers who had good
relationships with the
The judge rejected
Jarrell’s argument that
the 2005 adoption was
void, finding that it
could not question an
adoption decree from
another court and that
by encouraging Bose-
man’s parental relation-
ship with the child, the
biological mother was
acting inconsistently
with her claim to have
sole rights as a par -
ent. The ruling was in
line with other North
Carolina decisions that
had granted custody to
same-sex partners who
had formed parental
relationships with chil-
dren in the absence of
adoption decrees.
An intermediate appel-
late court upheld the
ruling by the Hanover
County judge.
Five justices on the
State Supreme Court,
however, found that the
Durham County trial
judge who granted the
2005 adoption lacked
jurisdiction to do so.
Adoptions are legal, they
found, only as specifi-
cally authorized in state
law — either after birth
parents have surren-
dered their rights or by
a step-parent legally wed
to a birth parent who
gives consent.
The literalistic inter -
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majority opinion was
sharply criticized by
Justice Robin E. Hud-
son, who pointed out
in her dissent that the
Legislature had also
made clear, in no uncer-
tain ter ms, that there
is a strict time limit
for challenging adop-
tion decrees, long since
elapsed when Jarr ell
mounted her argument.
Nothing in North Caro-
lina law, she said, limit-
ed either the birth or the
adoptive parent’s right
to waive the provision
regarding termination
of parental rights, while
it did expressly call for
“liberal interpretation”
to protect the best inter-
est of children in need of
adoption.
Even though the high
court majority voided
Boseman’s adoption, it
did weigh the child’s best
interest, since it agreed
that Jarrell had encour-
aged her ex-partner’s
parental relationship
with their child. In the
end, Boseman will main-
tain her joint custody
with her ex-partner, but
she is no longer a legal
parent.
In the Minnesota case,
a unanimous three-judge
court of appeals panel, in
a case in which the par-
ties are identified only by
Carolina dissenters in
holding that a birth par-
ent was time-barred
fr om challenging her
former partner’s second-
parent adoption. The
two women, J.M.J. and
L.A.M., began their rela-
tionship in 1995, and five
years later J.M.J. con-
ceived a child with the
assistance of a former
boyfriend. A month after
twins wer e bor n, the
birth mother consented
to her partner’s second-
parent adoption, with
the birth father agreeing
to terminate his rights.
In 2002, the couple
split up, with J.M.J.
moving to Arizona, and
years of legal squabbling
ensued between the
two mothers. Finally, in
2009, the birth mother
filed a motion to vacate
the adoptions, contend-
ing that Minnesota law
does not allow for sec-
ond-parent adoptions.
J.M.J. also claimed that
the 2000 adoptions were
fraudulent since the
paperwork stated that
the twins were conceived
through insemination
with sperm from an
anonymous donor, when
in fact she had sexual
intercourse with her for-
mer boyfriend.
The trial court reject-
ed J.M.J.’s arguments,
finding that the statu-
tory time limit for chal-
lenging an adoption was
long past, and that both
of her legal arguments
were invalid and improp-
erly raised by her attor-
ney. The judge not only
granted L.A.M.’s motion
to dismiss the case, it
also imposed a sanction
the time-bar was obvious
and the fraud claim was
spurious — the question
of how the twins were
conceived was not rel-
evant to the adoption.
Significantly, however,
the court disagreed that
J.M.J. and her attor -
ney could be penalized
for raising the issue of
whether Minnesota law
allows second-parent
adoptions because, the
court concluded, that
was an open question
not yet resolved on the
appellate level.
Looking at the state’s
adoption law, Judge
Kevin G. Ross wrote, it
was plausible to inter -
pret it to allow such
adoptions, but it was
also possible to read the
statute to forbid them
— or, at least, to not
authorize them. The trial
court abused its discre-
tion by imposing a finan-
cial sanction for having
raised that issue.
The appellate court
was careful to note that
the untimely nature of
J.M.J.’s motion made it
unnecessary to deter -
mine whether in fact
Minnesota law allows
second-parent adop-
tions. The court was very
careful in its discussion
to refrain from signaling
any view on that matter,
leaving this important
question in doubt in Min-
nesota.
While these cases
show that trial judges
in both Minnesota and
North Carolina have
granted second-parent
adoptions for same-sex
couples, the high court
ruling in North Carolina

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WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 15

HUNDREDS DECRY CENSORSHIP

In a December 19 march up Fifth
Avenue from the Metropolitan Museum
of Art on 82nd Street to the Cooper-
Hewitt Museum eight blocks north,
hundreds of New Yorkers protested the
removal of a video created by the late
David Wojnarowicz from an exhibition
at the Smithsonian Institution’s Nation-
al Portrait Gallery in Washington. The
Cooper-Hewitt is the Smithsonian’s
design museum.
The Wojnarowicz video, “A Fire in
My Belly,” used an image of ants crawl-
ing over a crucifix to convey the suffer-
ing of somebody dying of AIDS, which
claimed his life in 1992. The video was
part of the exhibition “Hide/ Seek: Dif-
ference and Desire in American Por-

HERMAN COSTA

traiture,” an exhibition promoted as the
first by a major art museum focused on
LGBT themes.
“Hide/ Seek” opened to critical
praise in late October, but in early
December, the Wojnarowicz video was
removed after complaints surfaced
from members of Congress as well
as the Catholic League, a right-wing
group based in New York. The Catholic
League’s Bill Donohue told the New
York Times that the video constituted
hate speech, while Eric Cantor, the
number two Republican in the House
of Representatives, called the display
of Wojnarowicz’s video “an outrageous
use of taxpayer money and an obvious
attempt to offend Christians during the
Christmas season.”
In response to immediate criticism
of the decision to remove the video, the
Portrait Gallery’s director, Martin Sul-
livan, said, “Some of the accounts of
this got out so virally and so vehemently
that people were leaping to a conclu-
sion that we were intentionally trying
to provoke Christians.” Sullivan, speak-
ing to the Times, praised the video for
“vivid, colorful imagery and sometimes
shocking metaphors” that represented
“the reality of the suffering of the AIDS
epidemic in Latin American culture,”
but said he wished to put critics’ “mis-
perceptions” to rest.
According to ARTPOSITIVE, a direct
action group organized to protest the
censorship of Wojnarowicz’s work,
“scores of galleries and museums”
around the world are exhibiting the
video to counter “the Smithsonian’s
JAMES WENTZY
capitulation to bigotry.” The group said
that artist AA Bronson has demanded
that his photograph “Felix, June 5,
1994,” depicting his lover at the time of
his death from AIDS, be removed from
“Hide/Seek.” The Andy Warhol, Robert
Mapplethorpe, and Calder Foundations
pledged to boycott Smithsonian shows,
the group said. — Paul Schindler

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to learn will impact his
or her life forever.
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16/ Dance
Baring Their Souls
Aszure Barton’s buskers seek the limelight and their humanity
BY GUS SOLOMONS JR
W
hat makes Canadian choreog-
rapher Aszure Barton’s work
so appealing?
In four sold-out performances of her
new “Busk,” presented at the Barysh-
nikov Arts Center (December 17-19),
the choreographer explored the conflict
between performers’ needs to put them-
selves on display and their simultane-
ous wish to remain private. That concept
has major over-indulgence potential,
but Barton deftly avoids the pitfall. She
translates feeling into vivid, passion-
ate kinetic imagery that challenges her
dancers’ abundant skills as movers and
actors, in the process taking us on a pro-
foundly engaging journey.
Barton’s sterling troupe of nine,
dressed in black sweat clothes and hood-
ies (by Michele Jank), devour space like
fleet gazelles one moment and huddle
together like frightened baby chicks the
next. She persuades her dancers to strip
naked psychologically; their physical
commitment to her work is boundless.
And the movement she creates in collab-
oration with them has uniquely inventive
personality.
In the new Jerome Robbins Theater
■ THEATER
Off Key
Fanciful Schubert tribute strikes a few sour notes
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
Y
our enjoyment of “Three Pianos,”
a frenetic ode to Franz Schubert,
will largely hinge on two factors:
your affinity for the 19th century Vien-
nese composer, specifically his lugubri-
ous “Winterreise” song cycle, and your
tolerance for robust red wine, courtesy
of Terra Fossil Wines (it’s imported from
Argentina not Austria, but never mind).
That’s because the evening is loosely
structured as a modern-day “Schuber-
tiad,” inspired by the raucous parties
once hosted by the troubled composer,
where he and some buds would play
his compositions, debate the nature of
music, love, and loneliness, and drink,
drink, drink. A tiny plastic glass is hand-
ed to you when you pick up your ticket;
there’s more than one occasion during
the course of the evening when you’re
encouraged to fill it.
By my calculations, however, it would
require an entire bottle per theatergoer
Aszure Barton translates feeling into vivid, passionate kinetic imagery that challenges the abundant skills of her dancers
(including Cynthia Salgado, seen here) as movers and actors.
— a large, black box space — a curtain
made of black feather boas (by creative
design consultant Jon Morris) conceals
the stage as the audience enters, and
mist permeates the theater. A distant
drumbeat, like that from a street show,
rises and subsides, as if coming from
THREE PIANOS
New York Theatre Workshop
79 E. 4th Street
Through January 9
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Sat. at 3 p.m.; Sun. at 2 & 7 p.m.
$65; ticketcentral.com
Or 212-279-4200
to fully appreciate the antics onstage.
There are actually multiple parties
intermittently going on. The primary
one, set in the present-day, is comprised
of the show’s creators, a trio of somewhat
nerdy dudes in need of good haircuts
and wearing ill-fitting sweaters. Dave
Malloy is despondent over a breakup
with his girlfriend. Rick Burkhardt and
Alec Duffy try to diagnose his depression
— when they’re not riffing on Schubert
and his circle, that is.
Another party features Schubert (Bur-
khardt), presiding over a motley crew of
䉴 OFF KEY, continued on p.23
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
darkened space, Beauchesne becomes
the street performer, doing his tricks and
soliciting approval from us onlookers.
His body folds into deep knee bends and
stretches into long lunges; he occasion-
ally grunts, as his white-gloved hands
swirl and clap. He dons his hat, which
sits on the floor in its own spotlight, by
doing a headstand into it.
Similarly throughout, amazing solos
are at once presentational and intimate,
virtuosic and confessional. For hers,
Cynthia Salgado doffs her baggy hoodie
to reveal her lithe torso in a halter leo-
tard; she ends her piece by crawling off
on hands and knees, like the pet of the
dark figure beside her. In his, African-
JULIETA CERVANTES
American Jonathan Emanuell Alsberry
bares his muscularly defined torso and
inserts a little tap and hip hop.
Emily Oldak wears only a nude bikini
as she arches into deep backbends and
wraps her leg behind her neck like a con-
tortionist, while her black-clad mates lie
somewhere outside. prostrate, hands outstretched, along the
When the house lights dim, Eric edges of her illuminated square. Char-
Beauchesne emerges from the front laine Katsuyoshi creeps onstage inside
row and walks through a gap in the boa a black garbage bag for her solo, which
drapery, and the whole curtain imme- includes her wrapping herself in the boa
diately plummets to the ground. In a
square of light that pierces the otherwise 䉴 ASZURE BARTON, continued on p.29
JOAN MARCUS
Dave Malloy, Alec Duffy, and Rick Burkhardt provide an evening of antics aimed at recapturing the inebriated discovery of
Franz Schubert’s “Winterreise” song cycle.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 17

Holiday
Your Home for

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Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25th:
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Kwanzaa Sunday, December 26th:
Celebrations at all three services

a church of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people - open to all

The Reverend Pat Bumgardner, Pastor
Weekly Sunday Services: 9 am (Traditional), 11 am (Celebration),
3 pm (Mandarin 2nd & 4th Sundays) and 7 pm (Praise & Worship)
11 am features ASL interpreter (1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday of each month and holidays)
446 West 36th St. bet. 9th & 10th Ave. NY, NY 10018 212-629-7440
website: www.mccny.org email: info@mccny.org
CHECK OUT www.MCCNY.org for information about our programs, services, and events, including CHURCH LADY BINGO and MCCNY'S JACKSON HALL ART GALLERY.
18
■ IN THE NOH
Holidays — and the Aggies — Again
Best of 2010, Edna O’Brien’s “Haunted,” and Lubitsch’s last laughs
BY DAVID NOH
T
ime again for our annual Aggies,
the Agnes Moorehead Awards for
the ten best live performances of
2010, given in honor of that actress who
enlivened everything, even dross like the
movies “The Revolt of Mamie Stover,” in
which she played a platinum blonde,
possibly lesbian, Honolulu bordello
madam who makes a bundle off Jane
Russell’s copious assets, or “Jeanne
Eagels,” in which she is called upon to
teach Kim Novak (!) acting lessons, in an
attempt to make that most somnambu-
listic sexpot into a semblance of the real-
life titular character, possibly the most
electrifying actress ever to grace a New
York stage.
In no particular order, the Aggies go
to:
“Dodsworth”: Metropolitan Play-
house’s spectacular production of the
Sinclair Lewis/ Sidney Howard classic
actually equalled the sublime 1936 Wil-
liam Wyler film version. Due to various
estate legalities, the show wasn’t adver-
tised or formally reviewed, but those
lucky enough to catch it thrilled to its
impeccable ensemble acting and Yvonne
Opffer Conybeare’s superb direction,
which created entire rich worlds upon
the tiny Metropolitan stage.
“Brief Encounter”: In both its St.
Ann’s Warehouse and Broadway incar-
nations, Emma Rice’s floridly imagina-
tive rethinking of Noel Coward’s war-
horse gave you a wondrously complete
Coward immersion of romance, wit, per-
formance, and song. (And fie on Stephen
Sondheim’s snarky Coward putdowns in
his book, “Finishing the Hat,” where he
said, among other things, that Coward
was too self-consciously clever and he’s
never laughed at one of his lyrics. Ain’t
that the pot calling the kettle black! And
when did the Dark Master ever produce
a real guffaw anyway?) The after-show
spontaneous sing-song performances
by the adorable, melodious cast were an
added generously warm-hearted treat.
Martha Plimpton at Lincoln Cen-
ter: This protean talent gave the wittiest
cabaret show of the year, filled with dar-
ing, real hipness, and awesome musical
versatility.
Leslie Uggams at Lincoln Center/
Cafe Carlyle: Her voice was uncannily
fresh and more powerful than ever, as
lavishly backed up by her band. Soignee
to die for, appearance-wise, she demon-
22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011
MICHELLE PHILIPPIN
With “How My Mother Died of Cancer and Other Bedtime Stories,” Chris Kelly managed to make the most morbid of subjects both laugh-out-loud hilarious and inspiring, earn-
ing a 2010 Aggie.
strated a true old pro’s utter confidence
in delivering unalloyed audience joy.
“Fyvush Finkel Live!”: Seemingly,
the entire, rich history of New York’s
Yiddish theater trouped onto the stage
at Baruch College, where the 88-year-
old comedic master held forth, his side-
splitting facial expressions and timing
miraculously intact. A full band, headed
by Finkel’s sons, lent musical richness,
while astonishingly versatile vet actors
Merwin Goldsmith and too-little-seen
June Gable both convulsed you and
broke your heart.
Joni Paladin at Julius: There’s no
more gorgeous voice around than this
astonishingly versatile singer, who pulled
people in off the street with the waft-
ing sound of her spine-chillingly angelic
tones. I’ve heard this musical genius do
everything from jazz to samba to a bril-
liant, impromptu “Billie Jean” that was
the most exciting cover I’ve ever heard.
Four Fringe Festival productions were
a bracing riposte to the condescending
attitude this annual summer theater
orgy traditionally invites from the igno-
rant and the lazy:
“Just in Time: The Judy Holliday
Story”: Bob Sloan’s theatrically clever,
deeply moving portrait of this immortal
was the loveliest tribute imaginable. A
wonderful cast was headed by Marina
Squerciati — who not only nailed Hol-
liday’s tremulously distinctive voice,
but also her formidable intelligence and
melting vulnerability — in the year’s
most impressive acting performance.
“How My Mother Died of Cancer
and Other Bedtime Stories”: Unbeliev-
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
HUGH MACKEY
ably young playwright Chris Kelly, with “12 Incompetent Men (and Women”):
a terrifically in-synch cast, uncannily If ever the perfect guilty-pleasure Fringe
managed to make this seemingly most show existed, then Ian McWethy’s jury
morbid of subjects both laugh-out-loud duty parody certainly fit the bill, and
hilarious and — without a hint of bathos I’d see it a third time, gladly. For once,
— really inspiring. His passage about snarky young irony worked gorgeous-
nighttime tales remains the most haunt- ly, with this assortment of wacked-out
ingly beautiful stage writing of the year. archetypes perfectly played by a dozen
crack farceurs.
“The Twentieth Century Way”: Tom
T
Jacobson’s expose of gay police entrap- he best holiday present you can
ment in 1914 California was a dizzyingly give yourself is a ticket to Edna
astute Pirandellian two-hander, with O’Brien’s thrilling, magnificently
Robert Mammana and Will Bradley giv- acted play, “Haunted,” at 59E59th The-
ing performances filled with perfectly aters (59 E. 59 St., Tue., Wed., Sun., 7
timed courage and complexity. It was p.m.; Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.;
also, with its fraught, suggestive atmo- Sun., 3 p.m., through Jan. 2; $45-$65 at
sphere and bold nudity, 2010’s undoubt- britsoffbroadway.com or 212-279-4200).
edly sexiest play. “For those who love words, darling, for
those who love words,” was Noel Cow-
ard’s famous comment at the opening
night of Enid Bagnold’s “The Chalk Gar-
den,” and I felt the same way at O’Brien’s
premiere, attended by Alan Rickman,
Kim Cattrall, and Margaret Colin.
As with most O’Brien works, it’s
about love and its inevitable messi-
ness, expressed in language so ineffa-
bly rich you find certain lines buzzing
in your head days afterwards. Brenda
Blethyn, in her strongest role since the
film “Secrets and Lies,” and Niall Buggy
play Mrs. and Mr. Berry, a long-married
couple whose relationship survives on an
intense fantasy life and essential dollops
of self-deception. Into their lives comes
Hazel (luminous Beth Cook), an inno-
cent young girl who sparks a fire in Mr.
Berry, dangerously upsetting his already
JONATHAN KEENAN
precarious marital apple cart.
I recently met with the actors and the
remarkable O’Brien, bristling with fury
at Charles Isherwood’s typically clueless
Brenda Blethyn, in richest role since the film “Secrets and
Lies,” stars in Edna O’Brien’s “Haunted.” 䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.19
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.18
New York Times review.
“He’s a cultural thug!” she exclaimed.
“To call this play ‘slight!’ It may be not
his choice of material, but ‘slight’ is a
slight. I could kill him! Someone read the
first three lines of his review to me, and
I told them to stop. I took such relish in
going to the maid in my hotel with the
Times and asking her, ‘Could you burn
this?’ But you know what’s so marvelous
about serious actors like these? They
went up there the next night and did it
better than ever!”
I told O’Brien that, often, one would
do well to see what Isherwood pans and
avoid what he likes (“Passing Strange,”
“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,”
“American Idiot”), and she said, “A lot of
my friends have told me that. But with
this play, I think I get ideas in my sleep.
I’m very interested in people who live on
the edge of the buzz and glamour of Lon-
don. I chose the name Blackheath for the
residence of Mr. and Mrs. Berry because
it was the nearest I could get to ‘Wuther-
ing Heights.’ I usually set my novels and
stories in Ireland, but I felt I knew these
people and that this was a play, and not
a novel or short story, in which the light
and spirit and conflict of these people
would happen on the stage. I wrote a
television play years ago with the same
names for the characters, and, like a
child with a dog, you cling to a name.
“I’ve been with these actors for three
years now. I saw Brenda Blethyn in
‘’Night Mother,’ and she gave me a ride
home in her car. I said, ‘I might have
something for you. Would you read it?’
She was courteous beyond words and
said she would, although she’d never
read a word of me, of course. Niall and
I have been friends for longer than we
care to admit, and this beautiful wood-
land creature, Beth, I knew her mother
and grandmother. So, between a New
York taxi, Buggy being a blood brother in
many ways to me, and Beth being from
my past, I got three actors any writer
in the world would die to get, because
they’re flawless!”
Buggy observed, “It’s so beautifully
written. Every day we come in to per-
form, and sometimes you’re feeling up or
down, but when you have words like this
that support and take you along for the
journey... We’ve had a great time doing
this play and our relationships on and
offstage have only developed.”
I quoted my favorite line, which was
when Blethyn cries, “I could be lissome
again!,” and the actress laughed, “In
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22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 19
this world of texting and emailing and
OMG’ing, this script with such beauti-
ful language is such a pleasure. Every-
one’s ordering things online and instead
of conversation, there’s texting, so much
less tactility with people than there used
to be.”
O’Brien added, “Lissome is an uncom-
mon word, yet everyone knows it and
they always laugh there. There’s an
emotional charge in words, even if they
haven’t heard them before. Each word
has to be like a bullet, what they mean.
Mrs. Berry’s character is slightly more
unpredictable — one minute she’s laugh-
ing, then has to become fierce, and for
an actress like Brenda to turn on a mere
line, they’re all poets in this play.
“Unlike most modern plays, my lan-
guage isn’t minimal or stripped. Look at
Samuel Beckett, the best model to read.
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Buggy added, “I have never been in a 1.877.523.9849
play where people have listened in such
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strongly and not a lot of plays do that
at the moment. It’s about love and loss,
which is a fierce thing.”
Blethyn commented on the audience’s  1HZIURP%UHDWKOHVV3UHVV
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commitment to the play as well, saying,
“And the standing ovations we’ve been
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Beth Cooke, who is related to the
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we were basically off book after only a
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20 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011
• EPZICOM, in combination with other antiretroviral agents, is
indicated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.
• EPZICOM is one of 3 medicines containing abacavir. Before
starting EPZICOM, your healthcare provider will review your
medical history in order to avoid the use of abacavir if you have
experienced an allergic reaction to abacavir in the past.
• In one study, more patients had a severe hypersensitivity
reaction in the abacavir once-daily group than in the abacavir
twice-daily group.
• EPZICOM should not be used as part of a triple-nucleoside
regimen.
• EPZICOM does not cure HIV infection/AIDS or prevent passing
HIV to others.
Important Safety Information
EPZICOM contains abacavir, which is also contained in ZIAGEN® (abacavir
sulfate) and TRIZIVIR® (abacavir sulfate, lamivudine, and zidovudine). Patients
taking abacavir may have a serious allergic reaction (hypersensitivity
reaction) that can cause death. Your risk of this allergic reaction is much
higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701 than if you do not. Your
healthcare provider can determine with a blood test if you have this gene
variation. If you get a symptom from 2 or more of the following groups
while taking EPZICOM, call your doctor right away to determine if you
should stop taking this medicine.
1. Fever
2. Rash
3. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal (stomach area) pain
4. Generally ill feeling, extreme tiredness, or achiness
5. Shortness of breath, cough, or sore throat
Carefully read the Warning Card that your pharmacist gives you and carry
it with you at all times.
If you stop EPZICOM because of an allergic reaction, NEVER take
EPZICOM or any other abacavir-containing medicine (ZIAGEN,
TRIZIVIR) again. If you take EPZICOM or any other abacavir-containing
medicine again after you have had an allergic reaction, WITHIN
HOURS you may get life-threatening symptoms that may include
very low blood pressure or death.
I’ve got the fight in me.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
If you stop EPZICOM for any other reason, even for a few days, and
you are not allergic to EPZICOM, talk with your healthcare provider
before taking it again. Taking EPZICOM again can cause a serious
allergic or life-threatening reaction, even if you never had an
allergic reaction to it before. If your healthcare provider tells you that
you can take EPZICOM again, start taking it when you are around
medical help or people who can call a healthcare provider if you
need one.
A buildup of lactic acid in the blood and an enlarged liver, including fatal
cases, have been reported.
Do not take EPZICOM if your liver does not function normally.
Some patients infected with both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV have
worsening of hepatitis after stopping lamivudine (a component of
EPZICOM). Discuss any change in treatment with your healthcare provider.
If you have both HBV and HIV and stop treatment with EPZICOM, you
should be closely monitored by your healthcare provider for at least
several months.
Worsening of liver disease (sometimes resulting in death) has occurred in
patients infected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus who are taking anti-
HIV medicines and are also being treated for hepatitis C with interferon with
or without ribavirin. If you are taking EPZICOM as well as interferon with or
without ribavirin and you experience side effects, be sure to tell your
healthcare provider.
When you start taking HIV medicines, your immune system may get stronger
and could begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body, such as
pneumonia, herpes virus, or tuberculosis. If you have new symptoms after
starting your HIV medicines, be sure to tell your healthcare provider.
Changes in body fat may occur in some patients taking antiretroviral
therapy. These changes may include an increased amount of fat in the
upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the trunk. Loss
of fat from the legs, arms, and face may also occur. The cause and long-
term health effects of these conditions are not known at this time.
Some HIV medicines, including those containing abacavir (ZIAGEN,
EPZICOM, and TRIZIVIR), may increase your risk of heart attack. If you
have heart problems, smoke, or suffer from diseases that increase your
risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or
diabetes, tell your healthcare provider.
The most common side effects seen with the drugs in EPZICOM dosed
once daily were allergic reaction, trouble sleeping, depression, headache,
tiredness, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, rash, fever, stomach pain, abnormal
dreams, and anxiety. Most of the side effects do not cause people to stop
taking EPZICOM.
By prescription only.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of
prescription drugs to the FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see additional important information about EPZICOM, including
boxed warnings, on the adjacent pages.
Save on your medication!
Ask your doctor about the Patient Savings Card
or visit www.mysupportcard.com to learn how
to save on your out-of-pocket expenses.
Subject to eligibility. Restrictions apply.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 21

“ EVEN WITH HIV,

I NEVER
STOP FIGHTING.”

“When I was first diagnosed with HIV, I didn’t know what each day would
bring or how the virus would affect my body over time. But at some point,
I realized I had to take control. So I worked on my body. My mind. And my
attitude. Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to fighting HIV with everything
in me.
My meds help a lot. About a year ago, my doctor told me about EPZICOM.
In combination with other medications, it’s been shown to help keep HIV
from making more copies of itself and infecting healthy cells. 68% of
patients taking a regimen with EPZICOM had their viral load become
undetectable in less than one year. Plus, patients saw a 93% increase in
their T-cell counts.* So I started taking it as part of my combination therapy.
Turns out that was a good thing. My viral load is undetectable. And me?
I just keep fighting on.” †

†
Not an actual patient testimonial. Based on collection of real patient
experiences. Individual results may vary.
* HEAT study of 688 patients defines undetectable as a viral load less than
50 copies/mL. Baseline median T-cell count for patients receiving
EPZICOM was 214 cells/mm3 and at 48 weeks, patients saw a median
increase of 201 cells/mm3 in their T-cell count.

Ask your healthcare provider if EPZICOM is right for you.

Learn more at www.EpzicomForYou.com
22 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011
EPZICOM® (abacavir sulfate and lamivudine) Tablets
MEDICATION GUIDE
EPZICOM® (ep′ zih com) Tablets
Generic name: abacavir (uH-BACK-ah-veer) sulfate and lamivudine (la-MIV-yoo-deen)
Read the Medication Guide that comes with EPZICOM before you start taking it and each time you get a refill because there may
be new information. This information does not take the place of talking to your doctor about your medical condition or your
treatment. Be sure to carry your EPZICOM Warning Card with you at all times.
What is the most important information I should know about EPZICOM?
• Serious Allergic Reaction to Abacavir. EPZICOM contains abacavir (also contained in ZIAGEN® and TRIZIVIR®). Patients
taking EPZICOM may have a serious allergic reaction (hypersensitivity reaction) that can cause death. Your risk of this
allergic reaction is much higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701 than if you do not. Your doctor can
determine with a blood test if you have this gene variation. If you get a symptom from 2 or more of the following
groups while taking EPZICOM, call your doctor right away to determine if you should stop taking this medicine.
Symptom(s)
Group 1 Fever
Group 2 Rash
Group 3 Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal (stomach area) pain
Group 4 Generally ill feeling, extreme tiredness, or achiness
Group 5 Shortness of breath, cough, sore throat
A list of these symptoms is on the Warning Card your pharmacist gives you. Carry this Warning Card with you.
If you stop EPZICOM because of an allergic reaction, NEVER take EPZICOM (abacavir sulfate and lamivudine)
or any other abacavir-containing medicine (ZIAGEN and TRIZIVIR) again. If you take EPZICOM or any other
abacavir-containing medicine again after you have had an allergic reaction, WITHIN HOURS you may get life-
threatening symptoms that may include very low blood pressure or death.
If you stop EPZICOM for any other reason, even for a few days, and you are not allergic to EPZICOM, talk with
your doctor before taking it again. Taking EPZICOM again can cause a serious allergic or life-threatening
reaction, even if you never had an allergic reaction to it before. If your doctor tells you that you can take EPZICOM
again, start taking it when you are around medical help or people who can call a doctor if you need one.
• Lactic Acidosis. Some human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medicines, including EPZICOM, can cause a rare but
serious condition called lactic acidosis with liver enlargement (hepatomegaly). Nausea and tiredness that don’t get
better may be symptoms of lactic acidosis. In some cases this condition can cause death. Women, overweight people, and
people who have taken HIV medicines like EPZICOM for a long time have a higher chance of getting lactic acidosis and liver
enlargement. Lactic acidosis is a medical emergency and must be treated in the hospital.
• Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Patients with HBV infection, who take EPZICOM and then stop it, may get
“flare-ups” of their hepatitis. “Flare-up” is when the disease suddenly returns in a worse way than before. If you have HBV
infection, your doctor should closely monitor your liver function for several months after stopping EPZICOM. You may need
to take anti-HBV medicines.
• Use with interferon- and ribavirin-based regimens. Worsening of liver disease (sometimes resulting in death) has
occurred in patients infected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus who are taking anti-HIV medicines and are also being treated
for hepatitis C with interferon with or without ribavirin. If you are taking EPZICOM as well as interferon with or without ribavirin
and you experience side effects, be sure to tell your doctor.
EPZICOM can have other serious side effects. Be sure to read the section below entitled “What are the possible side effects
of EPZICOM?”
What is EPZICOM?
EPZICOM is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV infection. EPZICOM includes 2 medicines: abacavir (ZIAGEN) and lamivudine
or 3TC (EPIVIR®). See the end of this Medication Guide for a complete list of ingredients in EPZICOM. Both of these medicines
are called nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). When used together, they help lower the amount of HIV
in your blood. This helps to keep your immune system as healthy as possible so that it can help fight infection.
Different combinations of medicines are used to treat HIV infection. You and your doctor should discuss which combination of
medicines is best for you.
• EPZICOM does not cure HIV infection or AIDS. We do not know if EPZICOM will help you live longer or have fewer of the medical
problems that people get with HIV or AIDS. It is very important that you see your doctor regularly while you are taking EPZICOM.
• EPZICOM does not lower the risk of passing HIV to other people through sexual contact, sharing needles, or being
exposed to your blood. For your health and the health of others, it is important to always practice safe sex by using a latex
or polyurethane condom or other barrier method to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or
blood. Never use or share dirty needles.
Who should not take EPZICOM?
Do not take EPZICOM if you:
• have ever had a serious allergic reaction (a hypersensitivity reaction) to EPZICOM or any other medicine that has
abacavir as one of its ingredients (TRIZIVIR and ZIAGEN). See the end of this Medication Guide for a complete list
of ingredients in EPZICOM.
• have a liver that does not function properly.
• are less than 18 years of age.
Before starting EPZICOM tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
• have been tested and know whether or not you have a particular gene variation called HLA-B*5701.
• are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. We do not know if EPZICOM will harm your unborn child.
You and your doctor will need to decide if EPZICOM is right for you. If you use EPZICOM while you are pregnant, talk to your
doctor about how you can be on the Antiviral Pregnancy Registry for EPZICOM.
• are breastfeeding. Some of the ingredients in EPZICOM can be passed to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if
they could harm your baby. Also, mothers with HIV should not breastfeed because HIV can be passed to the baby in the
breast milk.
• have liver problems including hepatitis B virus infection.
• have kidney problems.
• have heart problems, smoke, or suffer from diseases that increase your risk of heart disease such as high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and
herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take any of the following medicines*:
• methadone
• HIVID® (zalcitabine, ddC)
• EPIVIR or EPIVIR-HBV® (lamivudine, 3TC), ZIAGEN (abacavir sulfate), COMBIVIR® (lamivudine and zidovudine), or
TRIZIVIR (abacavir sulfate, lamivudine, and zidovudine).
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
How should I take EPZICOM?
• Take EPZICOM by mouth exactly as your doctor prescribes it. The usual dose is 1 tablet once a day. Do not skip
doses.
• You can take EPZICOM with or without food.
• If you miss a dose of EPZICOM, take the missed dose right away. Then, take the next dose at the usual time.
• Do not let your EPZICOM run out.
• Starting EPZICOM again can cause a serious allergic or life-threatening reaction, even if you never had an allergic
reaction to it before. If you run out of EPZICOM even for a few days, you must ask your doctor if you can start EPZICOM
again. If your doctor tells you that you can take EPZICOM again, start taking it when you are around medical help or people
who can call a doctor if you need one.
• If you stop your anti-HIV drugs, even for a short time, the amount of virus in your blood may increase and the virus
may become harder to treat.
• If you take too much EPZICOM, call your doctor or poison control center right away.
What should I avoid while taking EPZICOM?
• Do not take EPIVIR (lamivudine, 3TC), COMBIVIR (lamivudine and zidovudine), ZIAGEN (abacavir sulfate), or TRIZIVIR
(abacavir sulfate, lamivudine, and zidovudine) while taking EPZICOM. Some of these medicines are already in
EPZICOM.
• Do not take zalcitabine (HIVID, ddC) while taking EPZICOM.
Avoid doing things that can spread HIV infection, as EPZICOM does not stop you from passing the HIV infection to others.
• Do not share needles or other injection equipment.
• Do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades.
• Do not have any kind of sex without protection. Always practice safe sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom or
other barrier method to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.
• Do not breastfeed. EPZICOM can be passed to babies in breast milk and could harm the baby. Also, mothers with HIV should
not breastfeed because HIV can be passed to the baby in the breast milk.
What are the possible side effects of EPZICOM?
EPZICOM can cause the following serious side effects:
• Serious allergic reaction that can cause death. (See “What is the most important information I should know about
EPZICOM?” at the beginning of this Medication Guide.)
• Lactic acidosis with liver enlargement (hepatomegaly) that can cause death. (See “What is the most important
information I should know about EPZICOM?” at the beginning of this Medication Guide.)
• Worsening of HBV infection. (See “What is the most important information I should know about EPZICOM?” at the beginning
of this Medication Guide.)
• Changes in immune system. When you start taking HIV medicines, your immune system may get stronger and could begin
to fight infections that have been hidden in your body, such as pneumonia, herpes virus, or tuberculosis. If you have new
symptoms after starting your HIV medicines, be sure to tell your doctor.
• Changes in body fat. These changes have happened in patients taking antiretroviral medicines like EPZICOM. The changes
may include an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the back, chest,
and stomach area. Loss of fat from the legs, arms, and face may also happen. The cause and long-term health effects of
these conditions are not known.
Some HIV medicines including EPZICOM may increase your risk of heart attack. If you have heart problems, smoke, or suffer from
diseases that increase your risk of heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, tell your doctor.
The most common side effects with EPZICOM are trouble sleeping, depression, headache, tiredness, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea,
rash, fever, stomach pain, abnormal dreams, and anxiety. Most of these side effects did not cause people to stop taking EPZICOM.
This list of side effects is not complete. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA
at 1-800-FDA-1088.
How should I store EPZICOM?
• Store EPZICOM at room temperature between 59º to 86ºF (15º to 30ºC).
• Keep EPZICOM and all medicines out of the reach of children.
General information for safe and effective use of EPZICOM
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for conditions that are not mentioned in Medication Guides. Do not use EPZICOM for a
condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give EPZICOM to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you
have. It may harm them.
This Medication Guide summarizes the most important information about EPZICOM. If you would like more information, talk with
your doctor. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for the information that is written for healthcare professionals or call
1-888-825-5249.
What are the ingredients in EPZICOM?
Active ingredients: abacavir sulfate and lamivudine
Inactive ingredients: Each film-coated EPZICOM Tablet contains the inactive ingredients magnesium stearate, microcrystalline
cellulose, and sodium starch glycolate. The tablets are coated with a film (OPADRY® orange YS-1-13065-A) that is made of FD&C
Yellow No. 6, hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400, polysorbate 80, and titanium dioxide.
COMBIVIR, EPIVIR, EPZICOM, TRIZIVIR, and ZIAGEN are registered trademarks of GlaxoSmithKline.
*The brands listed are trademarks of their respective owners and are not trademarks of GlaxoSmithKline. The makers of these
brands are not affiliated with and do not endorse GlaxoSmithKline or its products.
This Medication Guide has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Lamivudine is manufactured under agreement from Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc, Basingstoke, UK
©2009, GlaxoSmithKline. All rights reserved.
March 2009 EPZ:2MG
©2010 ViiV Healthcare Group of Companies
All rights reserved. Printed in USA. ECM527R0 June 2010
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

Theater /23
Color Blind
John Guare’s new play wants to make history cool, but it’s a hot mess
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE A FREE MAN OF COLOR
Vivian Beaumont Theater

T
heater, like so many industries,
has its fashions, which generally
strut and fret for their hour until
they exhaust themselves and the tide
turns. One can almost hear producers
say, for instance, “Musicals based on
Shakespeare sell. Get me one of those.”
And so we’ve been through AIDS plays,
biblically-inspired musicals, and any-
thing big and British. But for every major
150 W. 65th St.
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed., Sat. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m.
$70-$115; telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
by the desire to show just how smart
the playwright is. Guare has borrowed
heavily from the Restoration comedy

hit or artistic accomplishment, there are
lesser works that audiences must simply
endure. What starts as the breakthrough
“Two Gentlemen of Verona” eventu-
ally devolves into the tepid “Your Own
Thing.”
The current vogue for being oh-so-clev-
er with history is showing the unmistak-
able signs of fatigue with John Guare’s
new play, “A Free Man of Color.” When
the idea works, as with “Bloody Bloody
Andrew Jackson” or “The Scottsboro
Boys,” the result can be sublime. Set to
contemporary music, “Andrew Jackson”
recast a relatively obscure, dark, and vio-
lent period of American history to skewer
the shallow emotionalism and anti-in-
tellectualism of our own time. For all its
seeming chaos, it is both theatrically and
intellectually accomplished. “Scottsboro
Boys” took a racially motivated miscar-
riage of justice and set it up as a minstrel
show. Not the subtlest concept, but it has
a powerful score, brilliant performances,
and lands with a visceral impact.
Guare’s play has none of the imme-
diacy or resonance of either of those
two pieces; it seems motivated mostly
“The Country Wife,” which itself was
more than a century old in 1801, the
time Guare’s piece is set. It is the rare
audience member who will even get the
allusions, and the conventions of Resto-
ration theater — one of many missteps
in George C. Wolfe’s leaden direction,
which largely confuses frenzy with com-
edy — are completely alien to modern
audiences.
The story sprawls over decades and
concerns the politics and international
maneuvering of the Louisiana Purchase,
the state of slavery in the newly expand-
ing United States leading up to the Civil
War, and the life of one Jacques Cornet,
the eponymous free man of color.
While the storytelling is largely linear,
Guare jumps from place to place and has
such variations of tone — from Cornet’s
satyr-like sexual conquests to Napo-
leon shtick to commentary on slavery’s
expansion — that it becomes impossible
to follow. Inevitably, the play distances
the audience.
The first act is broad and littered with
incident, acting styles, and inexplica-
ble accents, but the characters are not
The charismatic Jeffrey Wright does the best he can with the role of Cornet in John Guare’s “A Free Man of Color.”
developed, making it impossible to know
what’s at stake for any of them. The sec-
ond act is more sedate and a bit more
coherent, but has its own problems. A
long meeting between Cornet and Thom-
as Jefferson, in which we see how Ameri-
can control of New Orleans undermines
the advanced racial sensibilities achieved
under French rule, is an occasion for
Guare’s preaching rather than true dra-
matization. Jefferson’s hypocrisy and
political expedience might have made
for an interesting play. Guare’s writing,
however, is so heavy handed that the
ultimate analogy to Hurricane Katrina is
labored — and not worth the two-and-a-
half hours it took to get to.
The charismatic Jeffrey Wright does
the best he can with the role of Cornet.
At least he’s always fun to watch, even
when what he’s doing makes no sense.
T. CHARLES ERICKSON
Mos Def plays his servant Murmur
with wonderful focus and intensity. The
rest of the cast mostly goes through the
paces; they have no other choice.
The production is stunning to look
at, however. David Rockwell’s sets are
inspired and wonderfully conceived, and
Ann Hould-Ward’s sumptuous costumes
are extraordinary.
The sweep of history is fascinating,
and epics can work. The spare “Andrew
Jackson” makes its points and moves on
in 90 minutes. Tom Stoppard’s brilliant
“The Coast of Utopia” unfolded over nine
riveting hours. But what made each of
these work was the human element and
the fact that audiences were drawn into
fully realized worlds. Guare and the pro-
ducers have missed that point in their
desire to catch a trend. Unfortunately,
their reach exceeded their grasp.

䉴 OFF KEY, from p.16
admirers with “funny German
names.” It’s this co-mingling of
timeframes, stumbling upon bits
of commonality, which lends
“Three Pianos” its curious appeal.
Apparently, the production
grew out of an impromptu, whis-
key-soaked soiree at Judson
Church a couple of years back,
when the musicians discovered
a trove of old sheet music, the
“Winterreise” (translation: “Win-
ter’s Journey”) cycle of two dozen
songs based on plaintive poems
by Wilhelm Müller that Schubert
set to music in 1827, just one
year before he died from syphilis
at age 31.
The men had such a jolly
time — Burkhardt reportedly
described the evening as the
“best party ever” — they wanted
to recreate that experience for
others. The fiercely committed
trio strenuously tries to recap-
ture the magic of that night
in story and song, but I had a
nagging feeling that it was one
of those you-had-to-be-there
events.
The narrative structure relies
solely on the song cycle, about
a lovelorn wanderer through a
snowy landscape, often sung
in German and translated into
English on a large video screen.
There is no discernible dramat-
ic arc, the only tension being
whether the men can finish the
play without passing out. The
riot of anachronisms quickly
grows tedious.
The characterizations are
passable, though it’s clear Mal-
loy, Burkhardt, and Duffy are
musicians first, and actors more
by accident. Alas, the ersatz
booze in their glasses is only
juice, and their attempts to con-
vey inebriation are not wholly
convincing. Although Rachel
Chavkin is credited as director,
the way the actors run rampant
onstage suggests she spent more
effort securing a wine sponsor
than actually guiding the pro-
duction.
That’s not to say that “Three
Pianos” doesn’t achieve some
engaging moments. I found the
historical parts intriguing, as
well as the insights about fiery
depression, which Schubert
harnessed to make art, ver -
sus numbing depression. The
final song, “Der Leiermann,”
performed without antics, is a
knockout. The play is at its best
when it lets the music speak
for itself, and I’d have preferred
more music and less banter.
The men spend more time push-
ing the pianos around the stage
than actually playing them.
If you’re wondering if the
piece dares to broach the ques-
tion of Schubert’s homosexual-
ity, it does go there, depicting
the “Schubertiads” as breeding
grounds for lusty male bond-
ing. Both Johann Mayrhofer,
who wrote lyrics to many of
Schubert’s songs, and 17-year
old Schwind von Moritz, who
declares he “hates women,” lived
with the composer and shared
his bed. When asked if he was
ever arrested for “subversive
activities,” Schubert replies, “It
depends on which biography of
me you read.”
The piece takes pains to eluci-
date how ordinary verse can be
supercharged when put to music.
If nothing else, “Three Pianos”
proves that the marriage of Mül-
ler’s doleful words and Schubert’s
intense notes was sublime.
Unfortunately, the same can-
not be said about the marriage
of the venue and this play, which
runs well over two hours without
intermission. A cabaret setting
would be much better, to allow
less intrusive distribution of the
wine — and quicker bathroom
access — than the extra long rows
at the New York Theater Work-
shop. It would also offer a hasty
escape from the theater, which a
few patrons loudly attempted in
the middle of the performance I
attended.

24/ Opera
Something About Minnie
In “La Fanciulla” at 100, more than a girl, less than golden
BY ELI JACOBSON
I
t is hard to fathom today,
but there was a time when
Puccini operas were new.
Two of them had their world
premieres at the Metropolitan
Opera — “Il Trittico” and 100
years ago (on December 10,
1910), “La Fanciulla del West”
(“The Girl of the Golden West”).
Starring Caruso in the tenor
lead with Toscanini in the pit,
the original “spaghetti western”
rode high in the saddle before
Sergio Leone, Terence Hill,
or Clint Eastwood were even
born. Puccini crafted one of his
most sophisticated scores, in
which thematic complexity and
orchestral subtleties trump
overt melodic and emotional
gestures.
For “La Fanciulla”’s centena-
ry year, the Metropolitan wisely
passed on putting together a
new production, since Giancar-
lo Del Monaco’s 1991 produc-
tion played less than 20 per-
formances in two seasons and
has held up well. Luxuriantly
detailed and cinematically real-
istic, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary
Cooper, and John Wayne would
feel right at home in these set-
tings. Probably more at home
than the trio headlining this his-
toric revival, a cast that seemed
the best available on paper five
years ago but proved problem-
atic in the here and now.
Best of the bunch is Marcello
Giordani stepping into Caruso’s
Stetson boots as the outlaw
Dick Johnson (behave yourself
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.19
that he had no idea how this
play was going to end.
Writing that ending took a
few good many months and a
few tears. Everything is crucial
— the beginning and the mid-
dle, but the ending is in a way
the most crucial because you
want to give your audience gold
of some sort, even if it’s pain-
ful, something that feels for a
moment like the smell of the not
yet ripe tomato that fills people
emotionally.
“I feel that if we lose our emo-
tion in our society as we are
ladies!). The Sicilian tenor has
the right vocal color and weight,
though the tone can turn husky
just below the upper register
break. His only dynamic is loud
but the top notes are ringing
and the phrasing is idiomatic.
Giordani is a giving, generous
artist — so passing flaws can be
forgiven.
The dearth of top rank Italian
dramatic baritones is a more
pressing problem than it was
100 years ago. Lucio Gallo, an
experienced Jack Rance, has
native diction and is a good
actor, but the voice is hollow
and snarly with shouted tops.
The biggest problem is the
“Girl” herself — erstwhile Strauss
and Wagner soprano Debo-
rah Voigt. Minnie is a tall order
vocally and dramatically, requir-
ing equal parts winsome charm
and cowgirl toughness. The
vocal writing is all over the place
— incisive declamation, out of
nowhere high climaxes, and low
chesty utterances all projected
over a heavy orchestration.
Voigt has never looked pret-
tier or thinner and was acting
with sincerity. Working dili-
gently at the Italian text, her
sunny smile and cool integrity
are a good fit for Minnie, but
the voice wasn’t up to the job.
Voigt’s tone is now lean, hol-
low, and metallic in the mid-
dle, making her sound like a
tough, aging lyric soprano.
The upper register still can
glow with a golden sheen (the
climactic C in “Laggiu nel
Soledad” was a winner) but
beginning to, it will make life
lonelier, harder and bleaker.
Emotion is everything — I don’t
mean bathos or sentimentality,
but the emotional urgency by
which people live.
“Someone asked me, ‘Why
couldn’t Mr. and Mrs. Berry
have ended happily?’ I told him
drama should not reflect every-
day life, but it should reflect the
extraordinary, that heightening
of emotion, going as far to the
edge of life and pain. I don’t like
neat little plays — there are a lot
of them, and they’re very her-
alded and very boring.”
I told O’Brien that I saw her
Keith Miller) under the direction
of Del Monaco, who recreated
his original production. Nicola
Luisotti in the pit took overly
leisurely tempos for the action
scenes but relished the delicate
orchestral harmonies that have
echoes of Debussy and Strauss.
But without a blazing diva cen-
ter stage, the whole thing was
like watching “Gone with the
Wind” with Joanne Dru or Eve-
lyn Ankers standing in for Vivi-
KEN HOWARD/ METROPOLITAN OPERA
en Leigh.
DVD and Blu-ray formats
have replaced the compact disc
as the dominant operatic record-
ing medium, and HD transmis-
sions are becoming more and
more popular. (“Fanciulla” hits
Deborah Voigt’s problems came to the fore in the screen in high def on Janu-
Minnie’s marathon sing in Act II. ary 8.) It is now more important
how a singer looks on camera
tires easily. than how they sound. The stage
Minnie has a marathon sing director’s primacy in operatic
in Act II, and here Voigt’s prob-
lems came to the fore — she
could not sustain vocal energy
production — at the expense of
even the conductor — has con-
tributed to this as well.
or consistent tone and pitch. Voigt resorted to gastric
The end of the poker fell flat bypass surgery after the notori-
vocally and dramatically; the ous “little black dress” incident
“tre assi e un paio” (three aces because a costume was more
and a pair) exclamation was important than the vocal abili-
matter of fact rather than tri- ties of the star. Andrea Gruber
umphant. Some of this can and Measha Brueggergosman
be attributed to Del Monaco’s have reportedly also gone the
stage direction — Voigt was fac- bariatric surgery route, losing
ing upstage for too much of the significant vocal core and qual-
card game, and her gun-toting ity along with the avoirdupois.
Act I entrance found her lost in Gruber is now a missing per-
the crowd. son in the operatic world. I hope
Dwayne Croft as Sonora led a Voigt does not join her in limbo
sterling group of miners (includ- after taking on all three Brun-
ing such fine artists as Richard nhildes. In operatic poker, the
Bernstein, Oren Gradus, and voice is the ace in the hand.
play ‘Virginia’, about Woolf, at
the Public Theater years ago
and sat behind Jacqueline
I said, ‘I’m free most evenings,
starting tomorrow.’
“She came to the play and
Onassis. She said, “Jackie was loved it. Norman Mailer was
a friend of mine, and apparently also there opening night and
used to do an imitation of me. I said, ‘I don’t like this play, too
could do a fairly good imitation interior!’ I said, ‘Oh, come on,
of her, too. Maggie Smith had Norman! YOU write a play!’
done the play in London, and But Jackie was a very worldly
Kate Nelligan, who was wonder- and clever woman who under-
ful, did it here. I was in rehears- stood power, believe you me.
als when someone said, ‘There’s And it is true that she did love
a call for you from Jackie Onas- literature. She was not a light-
sis.’ I thought it was probably a weight, although she sometimes
hoax, but I took it and heard, gave that impression with that
‘Edna? This is Jackie! I would breathless aura. Her last letter
absolutely love to see you. Do
you have any time at all for me?’ 䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.25
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 DEC 27, from p.10
Murphy creates a series of characters,
including several versions of herself.
Rebecca Drysdale directs. Upright Citi-
zens Brigade Theatre, 307 W. 26th St.
Dec. 27, 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 at 212-
366-9176 or newyork.ucbtheatre.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Good Dirty Fun
The Horse Trade Theater Group and Gigi
La Femme & Doc Wasabassco present four
nights of the hottest risqué fun in New York
with a special holiday “Burlesque Blitz,”
starring Bastard Keith, Meaner Harder
Leather, “The Sweet & Nasty Burlesque
Mystery Hour,” and a special seasonal
edition of “Revealed!” The Kraine, 85 E.
Fourth St., btwn. Bowery & Second
Ave. Dec. 27-30, 10 & 11:30 p.m. Tickets
are $15 at smarttix.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
TUE. DEC.28
The Gospel of Dolly
Our Lady J presents her fourth annual
performance of the most beloved gospel
music of Dolly Parton. Accompanied by
the Train-To-Kill Gospel Choir, Our Lady J
and guests shed new meaning and light
on Dolly’s greatest hits, as well as her
lesser known spiritual songs in this cel-
ebration of the Queen of Country. Joe’s
Pub, inside the Public Theater, 425
Lafayette St., btwn. E. Fourth St. &
Astor Pl. Dec. 28, 9:30 p.m. Tickets are
$20 at joespub.com or 212-967-7555. For
table reservations, guaranteeing a seat,
call 212-539-8778. Table service includes
a two-drink or $12 food minimum.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
WED.DEC.29
Surly Sandra
Sandra Bernhard is priming her hys-
terical insight, outspoken views, and
outrageous mouth in the service of help-
ing New Yorkers ring in the New Year.
The combination of her hilarious dia-
tribes on the state of modern culture and
her classic rock attitude burns smart. Her
new show is fresh, crazy, and real. Joe’s
Pub, inside the Public Theater, 425
Lafayette St., btwn. E. Fourth St. &
Astor Pl. Dec. 29-30, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m;
Dec. 31, 9 & 11 p.m. Tickets are $50 for
䉴 DEC 29, continued on p.25
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
14 DAYS No House of Mirth
14 NIGHTS The unhappiness too often forced in Mike Leigh’s latest
䉴 DEC 29, from p.24
Dec. 29-30 and $100-$150 for Dec. 31 at
joespub.com or 212-967-7555. For table
reservations, guaranteeing a seat, call
212-539-8778. Table service includes a
two-drink or $12 food minimum.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ mance. The similarities don’t
COMEDY
That’s So Swine
Okay, let’s be clear here. It’s Adam
Sank that is calling Adam Sank Hell’s
Kitchen’s Auld Lang Swine (anything to
get customers in the door mid-Christmas
week, we suppose). Tonight, the swine’s
“That Sank Show” welcomes Father
Time himself, headliner Rick Crom, win-
ner of Drama Desk, MAC, and Backstage
awards and, unofficially, New York’s old-
est living gay comedian. Also seeing out
the old year will be Sapphic sweetheart
Cara Kilduff (Here-TV’s “Hot Gay Com-
ics”) and pint-sized pansy Chris Douc-
ette (warm-up comic for Logo’s “One
Night Stand-up.”) If all that ain’t enough,
Sank will also present the final “Are You
Smarter Than a Homo?” challenge of
2010. It would be so last-year to miss
this. Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge, 642 Tenth
Ave., btwn. 45th & 46th Sts., 8 p.m.
There’s no cover and no drink minium,
but that’s not saying that a cocktail won’t
get the laughs moving.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ cue, where she flirts with Gerri’s
PERFORMANCE
Light Opera’s Best
The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Play-
ers, America’s foremost G&S ensemble,
continues its season with “The Mikado,”
set in a fictitious Japanese town full of
colorful characters — three little maids
from school, a wandering minstrel, a hilar-
iously corrupt public official, and a Lord
High Executioner who may have a list of
potential victims but is too tenderhearted
to perform his duties. Symphony Space,
2537 Broadway at 95th St., Dec. 29,
Jan. 1-2, 3 p.m.; Dec. 30, 8 p.m.; Dec.
31, 7 p.m. Tickets are $60-$80 (half price
for children under 12) at nygasp.org. The
remainder of the season includes “Trial
By Jury,” an over-the-top send-up of the
legal system, with a lecherous judge, an
all-male jury, a gold digging plaintiff, a
self professed cad of a defendant, and
a sleazy lawyer turning the courtroom
upside down (presented with a “G&S à
la Carte” program of favorites, Mar. 20,
5p.m.); and “G&S Sing-Along,” which
gives the audience to join in with the cast
and orchestra (May 22, 5 p.m.).
䉴 14 DAYS, continued on p.28
BY STEVE ERICKSON
L
ike Mike Leigh’s last
film, 2008’s “Happy-Go-
Lucky,” “Another Year”
centers on a charismatic, criti-
cally acclaimed female perfor-
end there.
Indeed, the two films are mir-
ror images, investigating the
mysteries of personality from
opposite perspectives.
“Happy-Go-Lucky” tracked
a woman whose joviality com-
pared favorably with her driving
instructor’s raging misanthro-
py. “Another Year” establishes
the happiness of a married
couple in their 60s as a contrast
to the desperation of almost
everyone around them. While
“Happy-Go-Lucky” accented the
contentedness, “Another Year”
is interested in those unable to
find joy.
“Another Year” takes place
Leigh seems simultaneously
attracted and repulsed
by melodrama.
over the course of a year, as
its title suggests. It’s divided
into four sections, each rep-
resenting one of the seasons.
In spring, Gerri (Ruth Sheen),
a medical counselor, and her
husband Tom (Jim Broadbent),
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.24
to me — always written by hand
on her deep, not quite mid-
night, blue paper — to me was
so touching, almost like a line
in a play. She was very sick but
knew I was coming to New York,
and she wrote, ‘I’ll be waiting for
you. The spring is coming,’ and,
of course, it wasn’t, for her.”
Turning to her London stage
star, O’Brien said, “What is
Maggie Smith like? I see her,
but I don’t see her often. Mag-
gie is a perfectionist and a very
nervous person, and sometimes
those nerves... I was in rehears-
al for ‘Virginia’ with her for three
months in a room with no win-
Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent play a married couple whose contentedness is contrasted with
the desperation of almost everyone around them, in Mike Leigh’s “Another Year.”
a geologist, have dinner with
Mary (Lesley Manville). Mary,
who works as a secretary in the
same office as Gerri, gets drunk
and complains about her unsat-
isfying love life.
In summer, Tom’s friend Ken
dows. She’s such a fine actress,
but quite a daunting person.
I would say that if she was sit-
ting here. But then there’s
Brenda here, who is a star and
an actress with whom I have a
most affectionate relationship,
without fear or competitiveness.
We don’t always get that as a
writer, or with directors. They
love dead authors and would
usually much prefer that.”
On December 24-30, Film
Forum is joyously reviving
Er nst Lubitsch’s final film
“Cluny Brown” (1946), which,
simply put, defines charm (209
W. Houston St., filmforum.org).
Has any movie, besides this
Film /25
ANOTHER YEAR
Directed by Mike Leigh
Sony Pictures Classics
Opens Dec. 29
Angelika Film Center
18 W. Houston St. at Mercer St.
angelikafilmcenter.com
Lincoln Plaza. Cinemas
1886 Broadway at 63rd St.
lincolnplazacinema.com
the wife of Tom’s older brother.
Leigh’s work has often been
compared to John Cassavetes’
films, but “Another Year” sug-
gests he’s drawn the wrong les-
sons from the American direc-
tor. Both directors’ films have
been mistaken for off-the-cuff
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
improvisations. With Cas-
savetes, hyper-naturalistic per-
formances concealed the artifice
of his scripts and his ambivalent
attraction to a genre approach
to filmmaking.
Leigh, who writes his scripts
after extensive rehearsals with
(Peter Wight) takes the train his cast, seems simultaneously
down from Hull to visit the attracted and repulsed by melo-
couple. He’s unhappy with his drama. At his best, these war-
obese, aging body and his job, ring impulses create a produc-
yet unwilling to retire. The next tive tension, but in “Another
day, Mary arrives for a barbe- Year,” they produce a flat script
that mechanically sets up a
son Joe (Oliver Maltman), even series of conversations, usu-
though he is much younger ally taking place over meals,
than she. as if they were action movie set
In autumn, Mary, Joe, Gerri, pieces.
and Tom have a contentious The film feels like a succes-
dinner with Joe’s girlfriend Katie sion of acting-class exercises
(Karina Fernandez). In winter,
the family attends the funeral of 䉴 ANOTHER YEAR, continued on p.29
romantic comedy set against an and garden-obsessed lady of
irresistibly amusing Brit back- the manor, Reginald Gardiner
ground of varying class notions, as the silliest cocktail party-
ever contained as many endear- throwing London ass imagin-
ingly hilarious performances? able, and Billy Bevan as Jones’
Not only are there Charles stoically class-conscious uncle.
Boyer, as the suavest of mooch- And that’s not even counting
ers, and Jennifer Jones, deliri- Peter Lawford, Helen Walker, C.
ously radiant as a maid whose Aubrey Smith, Rex Evans, and
urge to fix plumbing is like a Florence Bates, each of whom
compulsive sexual itch, but could also have had an entire
there are also Richard Haydn as funny film made around them.
Jones’ insufferably prissy suitor, Go and meet them all, espe-
Una O’Connor as his eternally cially the Hon. Betty Cream,
hacking Mum, Ernest Cossart who “doesn’t go everywhere.”
and Sara Allgood as two partic-
ularly congenial, ultra-obsequi- Contact David Noh at Inthe-
ous servants, Reginald Owen noh@aol.com and check out his
and Margaret Bannerman as an new blog at http://nohway.
archetypal idiot country squire wordpress.com/.
 22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011

26/ Editorial
■ LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER

A Critical Step Toward Full Citizenship

JOHN W. SUTTER
JWSutter@communitymediallc.com
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER
TROY MASTERS BY PAUL SCHINDLER
troy@gaycitynews.com

P
robably no LGBT rights Union speech to firmly reiterate ing sense that the administration major forms of affirmative govern-
EDITOR IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER
PAUL SCHINDLER
promise made by President his 2008 commitment. Though and the Democrats generally did ment antipathy toward the LGBT
editor@gaycitynews.com Barack Obama during the his words in front of Congress not have the requisite fire in their community that existed until
ASSOCIATE EDITOR 2008 campaign elicited louder that evening won him many plau- belly to overturn the outdated 2003, when the US Supreme
Duncan Osborne and more frequent expressions of dits, news out of a closed-door and irrational anti-gay ban. Court struck down the nation’s
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS frustration within our community meeting with advocates just days It is all the more surprising, remaining sodomy laws that
Christopher Byrne (Theater), Susie Day, than his pledge to end the Don’t later raised widespread cynicism then, that when Senate action criminalized the sexual conduct
Doug Ireland (International), Brian McCormick Ask, Don’t Tell military policy. about his interest in following up came this past weekend, it was of gay and lesbian Americans.
(Dance), Dean P. Wrzeszcz
During 2009, a number of with deeds. on a straight up or down repeal Soon, the nation will no longer
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Betsy Andrews, Seth J. Bookey,
respected advocates for repeal- And when the White House, vote. After finding only 57 votes to be allowed to deny gay men and
Anthony M.Brown, Kelly Jean Cogswell, ing the 17-year-old policy argued, under intensifying pressure to beat back a filibuster of the mili- lesbians the right to defend their
Dean Daderko, Tate Dougherty, Andres Duque, with considerable force and detail, act, agreed in May to legisla- tary spending bill a week before, country while being honest about
Michael Ehrhardt, Steve Erickson, Nick Feitel,
Jim Fouratt, Joe Fyfe, Deborah Garwood, that as commander-in-chief, tive language that was originally the Senate’s Democrats were their lives.
Erasmo Guerra, Emily Harney, Andrey Henkin, the president could unilaterally incorporated into the massive joined by eight Republicans in The third barrier, of course, is
Frank Holiday, Andy Humm, James Jorden, Brendan end the policy through his “stop- annual Pentagon appropriations approving repeal by a lopsided the federal government’s refusal
Keane, David Kennerley, Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S.
Leonard, Rachael Liberman, loss” authority, by which exist- bill, the compromise hammered 65-31 margin. Coming several to recognize the marriage rights
Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass, ing enlistment regulations can out was faulted by the most weeks after a special Pentagon of gay and lesbian couples,
Winnie McCroy, Eileen McDermott,
Gregory Montreuil, Ioannis Mookas, Carrie Moyer,
be relaxed in order to cure short- aggressive repeal proponents for report provided ample evidence a complex battleground that
Stephen Mueller, Christopher Murray, ages. As the argument went, once being conditional — on post-en- that the military can and should encompasses state legislatures
David Noh, Wayne Northcross, Lori Ortiz, Congress saw that such a change actment certification by the presi- end the policy, the decision to and courts and, increasingly, the
Pauline Park, Sheila Pepe, John Reed,
Nathan Riley, Andrew Robinson, Gerard Robinson, created no meaningful problems dent, the defense secretary, and go back for a third bite of the federal judiciary as well. As with
Chris Schmidt, Sarah D. Schulman, or threats to military readiness, the Joint Chiefs chair that the apple was smart — opponents of sodomy and military service, the
Jason Victor Serinus, Linda Shapiro, the drive toward a permanent leg- military was in fact fully prepared repeal were increasingly strained key issue here is not whether the
David Shengold, Gus Solomons Jr., David Spiher,
Drew B. Straub, Stefen Styrsky, Jerry Tallmer, islative solution would be inevi- to make the change — and for its to make any logical or compelling government will do something for
Stefanos Tsigrimanis, Kathleen Warnock, table and swift. Administration lack of specific non-discrimina- case against the change. John gay and lesbian Americans, but
Benjamin Weinthal, Lee Ann Westover,
James Withers, Kai Wright, Susan Yung
arguments that the president’s tion protections for gay and les- McCain, whose years in a North rather whether it will stop doing
maneuverability through stop- bian service members who would Vietnamese prison had given something to us.
ART DIRECTOR
Mark Hasselberger
loss was severely constrained subsequently be free to serve. him quite nearly a Teflon shield Perhaps when people and
were greeted by many as politi- The Senate’s failure — in late against criticism on military politicians understand that we
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen cally feckless foot-dragging. September and on December 9 — questions, on Saturday simply can and will fight and die for this
Critics also noted that the pres- to advance debate on the Penta- seemed cranky, desperate, and country, they will better appre-
SENIOR VP OF ADVERTISING/MARKETING
FRANCESCO REGINI ident largely ignored the issue of gon funding bill, a measure that sadly out of step with the times. ciate that it makes no sense to
francesco@gaycitynews.com DADT during his entire first year, had been approved 42 years in The victory on Don’t Ask, Don’t continue barring us from making
waiting until the 2010 State of the a row, only added to the gnaw- Tell removes the second of three whole our love and our families.
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
COLIN GREGORY
colin@gaycitynews.com
ALLISON GREAKER
䉴 WAR ROOM, from p.9 ful fight against the Don’t Ask, historic Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell vic- ers. And creating and shaping a
allison@gaycitynews.com Don’t Tell policy. tory, for which I think President narrative that will advance the
JASON SHERWOOD
be invested in his group has not “People who know me know Obama deserves a lot of credit,” acceptance of equality.”
jsherwood@gaycitynews.com yet been determined. He noted, that I have definitely been some- he said. “The people involved in Socarides noted that the key
MICHAEL SLAGLE however, that Media Matters has one who has aggressively tried crafting that legislation deserve battleground in LGBT rights is
michael@gaycitynews.com a full-time staff of 95, and that to hold people’s feet to the fire,” a lot of credit. I am the first one likely to shift squarely toward
JULIO TUMBACO their efforts across a broad range he said. “I don’t plan on chang- to give credit where credit is due. the issue of marriage equality at
julio@gaycitynews.com of functions will help the much ing that in any way.” This is not the end, to be sure. the federal level — an issue cur-
smaller affiliate quickly grow its In fact, during the past two But it is the end of the begin- rently being waged most aggres-
Please call (212) 229-1890 for
advertising rates and availability. reach. years, Socarides might well ning.” sively and successfully in the
As with most other journalism have been the most prominently With the Republicans due courts. The Ninth Circuit Court
BUSINESS MANAGER / CONTROLLER
VERA MUSA and web voices on the left, Media mentioned critic of the adminis- to take charge in the House in of Appeals has heard oral argu-
vera@gaycitynews.com Matters has not simply waged tration’s slow pace on keeping January, of course, it is doubt- ment in the lawsuit challenging
NATIONAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING battle with the right, but has its 2008 promises to the LGBT ful that the next LGBT rights California’s Proposition 8, which
Rivendell Media / 212.242.6863 also kept pressure on moder- community. That posture has victory on Capitol Hill will come was successful at the district
Web master ates, liberals, and progressives, not been without risks for him, any time soon. Despite the sup- level earlier this year. The state
Arturo Jimenez
Arturo@gaycitynews.com in both the media and politics, with some activists loudly point- port of 15 GOP House members of Massachusetts and same-sex
Gay City News, The Newspaper Serving Gay and Lesbian NYC, is
to expand the possibilities cre- ing out that he is a veteran of the and eight senators for repeal, plaintiff couples who married
publishedby Community Media, LLC. Send all inquiries to: Gay City News, ated when the Democrats cap- administration during which Socarides was unwilling to make there also scored a first-round
145 Sixth Ave., First Fl., NYC 10013 Phone: 646.452.2500 Written
permission of the publisher must be obtained before any of the contents tured control of Congress in both Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and any predictions about whether victory in their challenge to the
of this paper, in part or whole, can be reproduced or redistributed. All
contents (c) 2010 Gay City News. 2006 and the White House in the Defense of Marriage Act were the political dynamics on gay federal government’s refusal,
2008. For many progressives, enacted. issues have turned a corner that under DOMA, to recognize legal
Gay City News is a registered trademark
of Community Media, LLC.
the Obama administration has Two days after the DADT vic- would make more wins possible marriages there.
John W. Sutter, President fallen well short of expectations, tory in the Senate, speaking to in 2011 and 2012. “There is lots of communica-
Fax: 646.452.2501;
E-mail: JWSutter@communitymediallc.com and Socarides voiced deter - Gay City News, Socarides struck “We still want to bring folks tions work to do around these
Subscriptions: mination to give a platform for a more positive tone about the from both parties into the equal- court cases,” Socarides said. “I
26 issues, $90.00 those in the community insist- president. ity movement,” he said. “A lot in hope to bring a passion to that
(c)2010 Gay City News. ing that the president not rest “The dynamics have shifted the next two years will be played effort. And I hope to create some
All rights reserved.
on his laurels from the success- somewhat in the wake of this out in meetings with policy mak- change.”
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
Alone & Sleeping on the Street: Happy Holidays
I
want you to close your eyes. Pic-
ture a 15-year-old child, out on the
streets of New York City, late at night
with no place to go. Some horrible situa-
tion has made living at home impossible.
Unable to go home, the child finds what-
ever comfort one can possibly find in a
bus shelter. Hungry and needing food
and a place to stay, this young tender
creature considers the options — couch
surfing, sex work, an act of criminal des-
peration, or starvation and exposure.
Now, before you open your eyes, pre-
tend that it’s your child.
As melodramatic as all of that may
sound, that is the story for approximate-
ly 3,800 runaway and homeless youth
in our city on the average night. That’s a
shocking number, especially in this day
and age in a city that prides itself as one
of the world’s most civilized places.
Yet this Thanksgiving, in one of
the cruelest actions imaginable, the
Bloomberg administration cut funding
for our youth shelter bed programs by
$1.5 million. Ho ho ho and happy holi-
days.
Over my nine years chairing the New
York Council’s Youth Services Commit-
tee, we have held 18 hearings on issues
related to runaway and homeless chil-
dren. Partnering with the Department
for Youth and Community Development,
we have increased the number of shelter
beds and their diversity. For me, the goal
is a moral imperative — to find a hospita-
ble and appropriate shelter bed for every
child who needs one.
■ A DYKE ABROAD
Do Ask, Do Tell — About Torture
D
on’t Ask, Don’t Tell is finally over
and done with, so get out the
champagne, point it away from
your lover’s face, and pop the plastic
cork.
Eventually, the Defense of Marriage
Act will be overturned. A couple more
laws will be passed against homo-dis-
crimination. And with full legal equal-
ity, we can dissolve into our country like
the other lazy liberal slobs America plays
host to, with mediocre marriages and
crappy jobs and crappy health care —
and not the faintest idea of what it means
to be a citizen saddled with responsibili-
ties along with rights in this behemoth
of a nation that tramples its own ideals
as thoughtlessly as peanut shells on the
floor of a bar.
Better open two bottles. Or go straight
for the scotch.
I’m thinking of how this military we are
BY CITY COUNCILMAN LEW FIDLER
programs have 100 or more kids on their
waiting list, kids who have come in from
the cold in the hope of getting their lives
together, returning to school, or getting
some vocational training, only to be told
that there is no room at the inn.
Who are these kids? Many are fleeing
a home environment where they have
been physically, sexually, or emotionally
abused. Some have a parent or parents
who are drug abusers. Many have “aged
out” of the foster care system. They come
from diverse ethnic backgrounds. One-
third to forty percent identify as LGBTQ.
Some are pregnant. Hard times? No
doubt. Bad choices? Sometimes.
Still, each is a child, a child almost
always without proper parental guid-
ance, love, and support… and every one
of them is one of God’s children.
NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON FAMILIES AND YOUTH
As a parent, I cannot fathom anyone
who cannot feel the pain of a child who
has been denied love and support in the
one place that every child should be enti-
tled to it — in their family home.
But if you can’t wrap your mind
around the sheer human tragedy and
find compassion in your heart, then as
a taxpayer, look at your wallet. Left on
the street, every one of these kids is more
3,800 runaway and homeless youths are without shelter likely to develop a mental disability,
every night in New York City. become HIV-positive, or end up a bur-
den to the criminal justice system. And
We are miles and miles from that end. the cost of dealing with any one of those
Today, despite having added capacity things is more than the cost of a shelter
to the program, there are still far too few bed program.
shelter programs. There are a scant 114 I am not one of those elected officials
emergency or “crisis” shelter beds. Most who think we can spend money we don’t
BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL
now so thrilled to be a part of aids and foreigners are now able make persuasive
abets torture, and how much more easi- arguments to fight their extradition into
ly it goes down under Obama than under American hands.
Bush. Surely you remember the demos All they have to do is point to Bradley
after Abu Ghraib? They weren’t particu- Manning. For the last seven months,
The brig’s medical personnel now administer
regular doses of anti-depressants to Manning
to prevent his brain from snapping.
larly well attended, but they were there. the 22-year-old soldier has been held in
There was certainly a hue and cry when military jails under conditions of long-
the first orange jumpsuited prisoners term isolation that most countries agree
were installed in cages in Guantánamo. constitute torture. A model prisoner and
But despite all promises to the con- convicted of nothing whatsoever, he’s
trary, Guantánamo remains open, and nevertheless been kept in solitary con-
new victims are tortured so frequently finement for 23 out of 24 hours every
in military jails and black op sites that day, forbidden even to exercise in his
Perspective /27
have. Nor am I willing to raise the only
tax over which the Council has control
— the property tax — and drive more
families into home foreclosure. So, cut-
ting spending is a must.
But doing it on the backs of our very
most vulnerable population — children
who are without their families, sleeping
on subway grates at night — is morally
wrong.
In a budget of more than $60 billion,
there’s got to be a better choice to make.
Feel the pain of a child. Multiply it by
3,800. Then go home and hug your child.
But first, let City Hall know that in the
most civilized city in the most civilized
country in the year 2010, letting 3,800
children sleep on the streets every night
is just not acceptable.
Call it the holiday spirit. Call it simple
human decency. Just call City Hall.
Lew Fidler, Brooklyn Democrat, is the
City Council’s assistant majority leader
and has been the chair of the Council’s
Youth Services Committee since January
2002. He has held 18 hearings on the
subject of runaway and homeless youth
(RHY) and has championed the cause of
expanding the capacity and diversity of
the RHY shelter bed system in New York.
His work in this area has been honored
by RHY organizations such as the Ali For-
ney Center, Rachel’s Place, and Inwood
House.
For further information, contact Fidler’s
City Hall office at 22-788-2182 or his
Brooklyn district office at718-241-9330.
cell, and deprived of basic amenities like
sheets for his bed.
Salon’s Glenn Greenwald recently
reported that “as is true of many prison-
ers subjected to warped treatment of this
sort, the brig’s medical personnel now
administer regular doses of anti-depres-
sants to Manning to prevent his brain
from snapping from the effects of this
isolation.”
That’s us. That’s America, still tor-
turing kids, even if we’ve refined our
methods since José Padilla, who totally
cracked while awaiting trial.
The question is why. Manning’s no
dangerous criminal that’s killed 27 men
with his bare hands, or a terrorist gray-
beard encouraging young things to blow
themselves up in public places. He’s a
young soldier that either heroically or
䉴 DO ASK, DO TELL, continued on p.31

28/ Human Rights
䉴 DEPORTED, from p.11
his husband.”
Asked to comment on Izquier-
do’s case, Harold Ort, a spokes-
man for ICE stated simply, “Jair
Izquierdo was removed from the
United States on Friday.”
With the assistance of Immi-
gration Equality, O’Dwyer will
continue his efforts to reopen
Izquierdo’s asylum claim
before the Board of Immigra-
tion Appeals and also pur -
sue another discretionary
administrative remedy know
as “humanitarian parole,”
which would allow the Peru-
vian to return to New Jersey,
again with the removal order
essentially kept in abey-
ance. Immigration Equal-
ity’s Ralls emphasized that
such parole is limited to one
year, but of fers the couple
the best short-term solution.
He cited the precedent of a
Massachusetts couple where
the foreign-born partner was
granted the humanitarian
relief based on the dangers he
faced in his home country.
Dennis said Menendez’s
office has pledged to assist
to the extent it can in making
the case for that alternative.
Three days after his hus-
band’s deportation, Dennis
sounded subdued but deter -
mined, even while describing
the events of December 17 as
a “death punch.” The couple
䉴 REPEAL, from p.8
Richard Socarides, a former
aide to President Bill Clinton
who has frequently criticized
the current administration
for not moving aggressive-
ly on LGBT issues, told Gay
City News, “I think President
Obama deserves a lot of cred-
it.” Socarides, who on Decem-
ber 20 announced the forma-
tion of Equality Matters, an
LGBT communications war
room affiliated with Media Mat-
ters (see story, page 9), added
that he hopes and expects the
president will extend the exist-
ing sexual orientation nondis-
crimination policy that covers
civilian employees of the federal
government to the military.
The November 30 report
from the Pentagon Working
Group that examined repeal
recommended no specific anti-
bias protections based on sex-
have spoken several times
by telephone, and Dennis
described Izquierdo as “feel-
ing abandoned and scared
and alone,” but also wel-
comed by his aunt, mother,
and cousin.
On December 24, Dennis
will fly to Peru for a six-day
Christmas visit and bring
Izquierdo some personal pos-
sessions he went without for
two months in Elizabeth.
Dennis hopes to retur n to
Peru for a longer visit in Feb-
ruary, when the couple cele-
brate the three-year anniver-
sary of their civil union.
When Dennis sees Izquier-
do in Peru on Christmas Eve,
it will be the first time they
have spent time alone togeth-
er since October 20. When the
couple first spoke after Izqui-
erdo’s arrival in Peru, Dennis
told him to remember that
they had done everything they
could have to date and that “at
least you’re out of detention.”
Dennis said his husband
didn’t have too many com-
plaints about conditions in
Elizabeth, except to say that
it was often very cold there at
night. The men detained there
sleep in one of several gymna-
sium-like bunk facilities. In
the first one where Izquierdo
was assigned, he experienced
harassment from several of
the other inmates because of
his sexual orientation, one of
ual orientation, and neither the
White House nor the Defense
Department offered any view
on that question.
The Log Cabin Republicans,
which earlier this year won an
important court victory against
the anti-gay policy in a federal
district court in California,
noted the role of GOP senators
in the victory, praising Col-
lins for her sponsorship of the
measure and the other seven
Republicans who voted yes —
Olympia Snowe of Maine, Scott
Brown of Massachusetts, Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, John
Ensign of Nevada, Richard
Burr of North Carolina, George
Voinovich who is retiring from
his Ohio seat at the end of this
year, and Mark Kirk, the newly
seated senator from Illinois.
Ensign and Burr voted
against the cloture motion, but
then joined the majority on the
up-or-down vote.
them grabbing his rear end.
Izquierdo responded by pub-
licly coming out to his fellow
dorm detainees, telling them
he was proud to be gay. Most
of the other men supported
him against the harassers.
A week before Izquierdo
was deported, Dennis con-
ceded that had he known how
trying the asylum applica-
tion route would prove for his
husband, he might have ear-
lier suggested they leave the
United States together. Izqui-
erdo, he said, always insisted
Dennis should not have to
give up his home country and
his career.
“It’s not even a question in
my mind but that I would do
it,” Dennis said.
In fact, he is fortunate
to have more options than
many Americans in his situa-
tion. The bank where he has
worked for 15 years has offic-
es around the world, includ-
ing South America — though
he was quick to point out he
can’t speak Spanish. Dennis’
mother is a citizen of Sweden,
where she currently lives,
and because of that, he has
dual citizenship. If he were
to move to Sweden, Izquierdo
could legally immigrate there,
and living in Sweden would
afford them opportunities for
moving to another European
Union country. If they stay in
Sweden, Dennis would have
R. Clarke Cooper, the group’s
executive director, said, “Log
Cabin Republicans are proud
of our Senate allies who have
voted to make our military
stronger.”
New York Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand — who played a criti-
cal role in pressing for the Feb-
ruary Armed Services Commit-
tee hearing where both Gates
and Mullen acknowledged that
DADT was neither a necessary
nor a defensible policy — said,
“We’ve lost more than 13,000
of our best and brightest to this
unjust and discriminatory poli-
cy. By repealing this policy, we
will increase America’s strength
— both militarily and morally.“
As the Senate prepared for its
final vote in the wake of the suc-
cessful cloture motion, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a
statement saying, “After a bipar-
tisan vote in the House, the
Senate is now primed to honor
to find a new job; that coun-
try is not one of the 25 where
his employer has offices.
In the 72 hours after his
husband was abruptly thrown
out of the United States, Den-
nis, of course, hadn’t been
able to focus specifically on
long-ter m solutions to the
dilemma he and Izquierdo
face. For now, his concern is
to assure his husband of his
love, support, and commit-
ment, and to find time for the
two of them to be together.
Dennis said he has the
support of his family and
friends, as well as O’Dwyer
and Immigration Equality,
but explained he finds him-
self in an uncomfortable posi-
tion relying on the efforts of
others.
“I don’t want to force the
issue on people,” he said.
“That’s my personality. I’ve
always been a bit of a loner.
I’m not that good at asking
people for help.”
Even as advocates, elected
officials, and other binational
couples continue their push
to change the laws that have
punished Dennis and Izqui-
erdo in such demeaning fash-
ion, the two men can’t help
but often feel alienated from
the world around them, that
their struggle is a lonely one.
“I almost feel as though
it’s me and Jair against the
world,” Richard Dennis said.
the American ideal of equality,
recognizing the contributions all
Americans have to make to the
defense of our nation.”
Pelosi of fered particular
praise for Pennsylvania Demo-
crat Patrick Murphy, a two-term
Iraq War veteran who was the
legislation’s key advocate in the
House. Murphy lost his bid for
reelection last month.
Approval of the bill in the
lame duck session was essen-
tial since the Republicans
take control of the House in
January.
All but one of the Democrats
voted yes. West Virginia’s Joe
Manchin, who was elected to
the seat vacated by the death of
Robert Byrd, a repeal support-
er, did not vote.
The other three senators who
did not vote were Judd Gregg of
New Hampshire, Jim Bunning
of Kentucky, and Orrin Hatch
of Utah.
22 DEC 2010 - 4 JAN 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 14 DAYS, from p.25
CELEBRATE
FRI.DEC.31
Singing With
Jomama
A New Year dawns. A soul superstar
returns. Jomama Jones lifts you to the
stratosphere and beyond in this once in
a lifetime performance that offers audi-
ence members the chance to perform
live with Jones and her band on the
stage of the Soho Rep. Jones is joined
by musicians Bobby Halvorson, Ted Cruz,
Sean Dixon, Michael O’ Brien, and Kelly
Rossum. The evening includes an open
beer and wine bar and a midnight cham-
pagne toast. Soho Rep. 46 Walker St.,
btwn. Broadway & Church Sts., two
blocks below Canal St. Tickets are
$50 at sohorep.org or 212-352-3101.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Lucky Snake Eyes
“Get Lucky: An Ars Nova New Year’s
Eve” is a return to the bygone days of
flashy Vegas, in a New Year’s Eve full
of bawdy entertainment, a dance party,
casino games, an open bar, and the gen-
eral brand of festive rowdiness for which
Ars Nova is justly famous. 54th St. Strip,
aka Ars Nova, 511 W. 54th St., 9 p.m.-2
a.m. Tickets are available at three levels
of action. A $50 Dabbler Ticket includes
admission to the show and dance party,
access to the gaming area, a champagne
toast at midnight, and snacks all night
long. The $100 Player Ticket includes
all of that plus an open bar, delicious
appetizers and desserts, and 250 dollars
of Nova Cash to play for exciting prizes.
Finally, the $250 High Roller Ticket offers
all that plus reserved seating to the show,
500 dollars of Nova Cash, and other VIP
perks all night. Tickets, at any level of
action, can be purchased at arsnovanyc.
com or 212-352-3101.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MUSIC
SUN.JAN.2
A New Year’s
Prayer
Last year’s extraordinary New Year’s
concert experience, the recreation of
Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610” returns,
when the Green Mountain Project again
brings this masterpiece to a New York
audience. Claudio Monteverdi’s monu-
䉴 JAN 2, continued on p.31
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 29

䉴 ASZURE BARTON, from p.16
like a fur coat and shimmying.
Barton’s exhilarating movement com-
bines subtle gesture and extreme physi-
cality, and Stephan Laks would seem to
be her quintessential muse. With almost
supernatural suppleness, he spirals
his long torso in opposition to his legs,
slides into wide splits, flips, and rolls. He
begins his solo like a street mime, gloved
hands swiping the air as if talking with
his fingers; then he takes off in a physi-
cal barrage that leaves you breathless.
Barton integrates theatrical elements
with an assured hand. Near the begin-
ning, she puts the hooded dancers on a
four-step riser; we see only their faces,
darting in all directions, separately and
in unison like a polyphonic choir.
Later, a mirror ball scatters speckles
of light all around, while in the dimness
a quartet tussles; they bark like trained
seals. Nicole Pearce’s imaginatively the-
atrical lighting illuminates bodies in the
Amazing solos are at once presentational and
intimate, virtuosic and confessional.
darkness or floods the stage with warm
washes or harsh front light that throws
spooky shadows on the rear wall.
The wonderful musical score compris-
es recorded bits of choral music, a snatch
of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” and electronic
rumblings, but mostly comes from Ljova
+ the Kontraband, whose members are
stationed in the rigging above the stage
— Patrick Farrell on accordion; Mike
Savino on double bass and banjo; and
Mathais Kunzil on percussion. The direc-
tor, violist Lev Zhurbin, plays along the
sidelines or onstage. Their lively gypsy
melodies reinforce the atmosphere of a
traveling show. At one point, Inna Bar-
nash stands up from a front row seat
and sings a Yiddish song.
In the final scene, five dancers strip
down to their bikini “skins,” symboli-
cally baring their souls, while the others
remain swathed in their blacks. Salgado,
stripped, and Laks, clothed, alternate
roles as master and pet as they slowly
exit.
Even though the title and the action
put you in mind of busking — street
performing — Barton is also referring to
the Spanish verb buscar, “to seek,” from
which the term derives. The dancers
are searching to resolve the dichotomy
between public and private identities.
As Barton contemplates the need felt by
performers to make themselves public
objects, her divine buskers thrill us with
their dancing and enthrall us with their
humanity.

䉴 ANOTHER YEAR, from p.25
in which, for instance, a couple comes
home to find that a friend has invited
herself into their house for a conver-
sation with a grieving relative.
Manville’s performance has been
widely praised, but it oversells the
desperation of Mary’s life. At her first
conversation with Gerri, Mary talks
about valuing her garden, apartment,
and independence. One doesn’t have
to be a radical feminist to see that
Leigh’s setting her up for a fall, espe-
cially when he keeps cutting to shots,
taken from Mary’s point-of-view, of a
handsome, middle-aged man sitting
across the restaurant. Her hopes are
dashed when a woman joins him. It
won’t be the first time something like
this happens to her.
Mary’s desires are always directed
toward the wrong person, and a used
car she buys turns into a disaster. The
film rests on the borderline of dark com-
edy; one never feels really comfortable
laughing at Mary, but Leigh is clearly
encouraging the audience to do so.
In the current awards season, act-
ing like you’re on crack, literally or
figuratively, seems to be valued over
more subtle work. Manville’s perfor -
mance fails to bring out any nuances
missing from the script or direction.
In fact, she constantly twitches as
though she’s just chugged a quadru-
ple espresso or two. No wonder the
National Board of Review gave her a
prize as 2010’s best actress.
I was ready to dismiss “Another
Year” entirely until “winter” rolled
around. Suddenly, the film had a look
that perfectly matched its mood. Leigh
and cinematographer Dick Pope cre-
ate a somber, funereal atmosphere.
The tone is closer to Ingmar Bergman
than Todd Solondz.
Manville dials down the histrion-
ics considerably, finally granting
her character a modicum of dignity.
“Another Year” no longer feels so cruel
or condescending.
This turnaround isn’t enough to
completely salvage it, but it turns it
from Leigh’s worst film into an inter-
esting, honorable failure.

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30 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

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14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 JAN 2, from p.28
mental spiritual work for choir and chamber
orchestra was published 400 years ago in
Venice, when the composer was the court
musician for the Duke of Mantua. In a con-
tinuing celebration of the work’s anniversary,
the Green Mountain Project — named for
the English translation of Monteverdi —-
reprises its stunning, highly praised, and his-
torically informed performance of this great
work. An all-star cast of more than 30 sing-
ers and instrumentalists take of the work’s
varied musical forms— sonata, motet,
hymn, and psalm — building intimate,
prayerful interludes within the work’s grand
scale. Scott Metcalfe is music director, and
Jolle Greenleaf is artistic director. Church
of St. Mary the Virgin,145 W. 46th St.
Jan. 2, 7 p.m. Admission is free, put dona-
tions are appreciated, and for a contribution
of $50 front row seats can be reserved at
www.GreenMountainVespers.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 䉴
CABARET
TUE.JAN.4
Judy’s Girl
Born to legendary entertainer Judy
Garland and producer Sid Luft, Lorna
Luft has performed on stage, in film, and
on televsion, and also had success as a
recording artist and best-selling author.
This week, she presents “Songs My
Mother Taught Me: The Judy Garland
Songbook,” which won two Los Angeles
Theatre Alliance Ovation Awards. The LA
Times called the show “heart-stopping
and thrilling. An incandescent revelation
not to be missed.” Feinstein’s at Loews
Regency Ballroom, the Loews Regen-
cy Hotel, 540 Park Avenue at 61st St.
Jan. 4-9, 8:30 p.m. Performances have a
$40-$60 cover, with a $25 food and drink
minimum. Reservations at Feinsteinsat-
loewsregency.com or 212-339-4095.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ Interstate Park, which is not
COMEDY
WED.JAN.5
New Year, New
Laughs
“Homo Comicus,” in the kick-off to its
2011 season, warms the cockles of the
heart on a mid-winter night with piping
hot gay and gayish comics, including Jim
David, Lisa Kaplan, Vidur Kapur, and Veron-
ica Mosey. Long time host Bob Montgom-
ery will there to take up his emcee duties.
Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St.
Jan. 5, 8:30 p.m. The cover charge is $20,
with a two-drink minimum. For reserva-
䉴 JUMP, continued on p.31
tions, call 212-367-9000.
䉴 DO ASK, DO TELL, from p.27
foolishly may have been the
source of leaked materials in
possession of WikiLeaks, includ-
ing the “Afghan War Diaries”
and a video documenting what
looked like a war crime, in which
Feinstein wants to criminalize people
like me if we dare re-post these leaks
in our newspapers or blogs.
a US Apache helicopter attacked
and killed unarmed civilians.
As he wrote in an online chat
with hacker Adrian Lamo prior
to his arrest, he only wanted to
give people an opportunity “to
see the truth... regardless of
who they are... because without
information, you cannot make
informed decisions as a public.”
NEWARK PARK, from p.3
Detective advised him that he
was not into that. The sus-
pect then grabbed Detective
hand and asked him to walk
with him. Detective pulled his
hand back, and the suspect
then became aggressive by
grabbing for the crotch area of
Detective causing Detective to
jump back.”
To believe these assertions,
one would have to believe
that nearly every time a man
made an unwelcome advance
by exposing himself or grop-
ing another man in these two
parks, that man just hap-
pened to do it in front of or to
a plainclothes officer. That is
unlikely at best, and that same
issue arose in a 2004 lewdness
arrest of a gay man in the New
Jersey section of the Palisades
patrolled by the Essex County
Sheriff’s Office.
In the Palisades case, the
plainclothes officer, Thomas
Rossi, testified that he had
busted roughly 100 men for
lewdness in the park since
2002. Rossi claimed the men
exposed themselves without
any prompting. The man tes-
tified that Rossi repeatedly
urged him to expose himself.
A number of other men who
were busted in the park also
told Gay City News they were
urged to expose themselves by
police.
After a conviction in the
22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011
He went on to write that if there
was no outcry, and it didn’t
change anything, “we’re doomed
— as a species — I will officially
give up on the society we have if
nothing happens.”
An investigation is probably
appropriate. Not torture. Never
torture. Especially when it’s so
clearly designed not to punish,
but destroy him, both to deter
other whistle-blowers and to
persuade a desperate Manning
to implicate our new favorite
enemy, Julian bin Assange.
For Americans these days,
anything can justify torture.
First it was the “War on Terror
Palisades case, an appellate
court reversed the decision,
writing that the “Defendant
presented a persuasive attack
on Rossi’s credibility, raising
serious doubts about whether
it was believable that a police
officer could have had almost
a hundred men approach him,
pull out their genitals and
start masturbating without
any enticement by the officer
at all.”
A number of men who were busted
in the park also told Gay City
News they were urged to expose
themselves by police.
The Essex County Sheriff’s
Office appears to have a simi-
lar problem. Officers may be
urging men in cruising spots
to expose themselves or touch
the officers and arresting them
when they do so. That trick
may explain why Gaymon
fought with Esposito, assum-
ing that part of the detective’s
story is true.
The gay man Rossi arrested
testified that he told the police
officer, “You entrapped me,
you entrapped me” when the
detective displayed his badge.
While he did not resist, his
anger was palpable during the
trial and when discussing the
and the Folks Who Should Real-
ly Give Us Our Oil For Free.”
Now it’s our “War on Sources
of Annoyance, Embarrassment,
and Defective Condoms.”
While queers were celebrat-
ing their new inclusion in the
military, our vice president,
Joseph Biden, was telling
NBC that WikiLeaks publisher
Assange was a “high-tech ter-
rorist.” Before that, that Demo-
cratic ass-wipe Senator Dianne
Feinstein called for the US gov-
ernment to prosecute Assange
under the 1917 Espionage Act,
a precedent that would pretty
much destroy American jour-
nalism, even entities like the
New York Times.
Feinstein also wants to crimi-
nalize people like me if we dare
re-post these leaks in our news-
papers or blogs. And the US gov-
ernment has apparently been
warning federal employees that
even reading classified State
Department documents pub-
case with Gay City News.
Edel Gambe, another gay
man arrested by Rossi in
2004, told Gay City News in
2005 that he initially thought
Rossi and his partner, Wayne
Zelna, were police, but then
doubted that as they became
more forceful. Gambe tried to
protect himself.
“I thought they might be try-
ing to gay-bash me,” Gambe
said. “They started punch-
ing and kicking... I started
screaming for help right
away.”
Gambe was charged with
two counts of aggravated
assault on a police of ficer,
two counts of resisting arrest,
lewdness, and attempted
escape. He pleaded guilty to
lewdness and resisting arrest,
and received a lighter sentence
than most of the men arrested
in that park.
“When you’re innocent, it’s
not a good deal,” said Gambe,
who remained very angry
about the case months after
it ended. “I got this better deal
because I’m innocent, and the
31
lished anywhere via WikiLeaks
shall be considered a crime.
Let me take this opportunity
to formally announce that in
future national elections I will
no longer vote for Democrats.
You had your chance to stand
for liberty and justice, and you
flushed it down the toilet along
with a constitution that guar-
antees free speech, fair trials,
and equal treatment under the
law. And for me, those are the
only “gay” issues that count.
Every right we have or hope
to win and all the methods we
have to gain them stem from
those basic ideals.
If queers forget that, we are
lost.
For baby dykes, activists, and
anybody who’s ever wanted to
save the world, visit the Lesbian
Avenger Documentary Project at
lesbianavengers.com. Check out
Kelly Sans Culotte at http://kel-
lyatlarge.blogspot.com/.
prosecutor knows that.”
Eleven arrest reports had
aggravated assault or resisting
arrest charges among the 96
lewdness or criminal sexual
contact reports over the five-
year period in South Mountain
Reservation. Five lewdness
or criminal sexual contact
reports out of 34 in Branch
Brook Park over that time had
aggravated assault or resisting
arrest charges.
The men who were charged
with resisting arrest typically
fled or flailed their arms to
avoid being handcuffed, while
the men charged with aggra-
vated assault fought with
police.
Ultimately, the records do
not support any firm conclu-
sions about what took place
between Esposito and Gay-
mon, but they raise questions
and suggest some answers.
“There are some very sus-
picious patterns in these
arrests, and they also height-
en concerns about DeFarra
Gaymon’s encounter with
the Essex County sheriff that
ended in his death,” said Wil-
liam K. Dobbs, an attorney
and a longtime gay activist.
The Essex County Sheriff’s
Office and the Essex County
prosecutor’s of fice did not
respond to a detailed email
seeking comment. Garden
State Equality also did not
respond to multiple phone
calls or emails seeking com-
ment.
32 22 DEC 2010 – 4 JAN 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM