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Harris to speak at
Portland lecture series
“TWO THUMBS UP!”
-SISKEl « EBERT
«»ENGAGING AND POIGNANT!
‘Midnight Cowboy' for the '90s."
■ Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"For tk s usual...to unusual“
Let us be*your floral a rtist
"».played by David Arquette with a
taut, understated ferocity that is
absolutely on target.»"
- Stephen Holden, N EW YORK TIMES
Weddings
Special Occasion
mpatby
Occasions
Benue D’s C reations UnJbtdL.
7815 S.E. Pound Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97206-2350
PRIpp
Mentorship Project
Ever wish you knew
an adult who really
had a clue?
The Heritage Series, a program of the Sankofa
Society, presents an evening with author E. Lynn
Harris: the première event of its 1997 season,
“Expressions of Black Life and Culture.” Harris
has written the novels Invisible Life and Just As I
Am. In his third book, And This Too Shall Pass, he
continues to address issues of love, racism, AIDS
ntertainment
and homophobia in contemporary black society.
Harris has come a long way from selling his
self-published first book out of his car: And This
Too Shall Pass is No. 8 on the New York Times
best-seller list, and there’s talk of a movie deal
and plans for a fourth novel.
The Heritage Series, Oregon’s only lecture
series dedicated to the study, understanding and
celebration of black life and culture, was created
by the Sankofa Society and the Black Educational
Center, a nonprofit organization in Northeast
Portland. Other scheduled speakers include
Patricia Reid-Merritt, professor of social work
and African American studies and author of Sister
Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Ris-
For M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty g a y , le sb ia n ,
b ise x u a l, tr a n s o r q u e s tio n in g y o u th
STARTS FRI., MAR. 21 st
ONE WEEK ONLY!
Swooning to music
The Seattle-based contemporary dance duo
33 Fainting Spells wheeled into the international
spotlight at 1995’s X-Change Festival in
Düsseldorf, Germany, capturing critics’ gazes
and earning top honors at the event with its short
work “Tsigane.” Dayna Hanson and Gaelen
Hanson (no relation) have now expanded that
piece into the first evening-length performance
by 33 Fainting Spells, “The Uninvited.” A sophis
ticated exploration of the psychological interplay
that comes from an encounter with an unwelcome
visitor, “The Uninvited” sets intensely charged
physical movements against a backdrop of simple
household objects and an eclectic score of 20th-
century com positions (Ravel, W ebern,
Ustvolskaya) to reveal the absurd ambivalence of
human relationships.
The show, brought to you by the Portland
Institute for Contemporary Art, begins at 8 pm
March 20 through 22 at the Scottish Rite Center,
709 SW 15th Ave. Tickets are $14 and may be
reserved by calling PICA at 242-1419, or pur
chased at the door.
Still smokin’
after all these years
Portland’s Embers Avenue, 110 NW Broad
way, is celebrating its silver anniversary this
month—25 years of cavorting, communing and
conviviality!
Festivities to be held March 20-24 include
drink specials all weekend, a complimentary buf
fet brunch from noon to 3 pm Sunday, and at 4 pm
a special commemorative show, “On the Av
enue,” hosted by His Imperial Majesty IV Frank.
For m ore inform ation contact:
Phoenix Rising Foundation
V anessa A. Usui a t (503) 244-2292,
or (503) 223-8299, pager 527-7665
nightly 7:00, 9:00/late Fri-Sat 10:45
plus Sat-Sun (1:00), 3:00, 5:00
Jefferson St., in Portland. Tickets can be pur
chased at Gai-Pied and Jelly Bean in Portland and
A Gentle Strength Bookstore in Vancouver, or by
calling PGMC at 699-8586.
Resurrection of
a fallen angel
E. Lynn Harris
ing to the Top, and high-profile businessman
Clifton Taulbert, who wrote the pre-integration
memoir Once Upon a Time When We Were Col
ored, which was made into a film this year.
Harris will speak on Monday, March 24, at
7:30 pm. The lectures are held at Portland Com
munity College’s Cascade Campus, 705 N
Killingsworth St., in Cascade Hall. Tickets are
$13 in advance from R eflections, 446 N
Killingsworth St., or Powell’s on Hawthorne,
3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., or $ 15 at the door. For
more information, call 286-7957.
PGMC sings of pain
and redemption
T he Tuskegee Study'
1932
-
1972
In Alabama, hundreds of black men were deceived, betrayed
and denied treatment for syphilis by the U S. Government.
Should medical research take precedence over human lives?
MISS EVERS' BOYS
SEE YOU AT
THE
REP
BY DAVID FELDSHUH
February 22 - March 29
Tickets & Showtimes Call: 224-4491
PORTLAND REPLRTORY THEATRF • 2 WORLD TRADE CENTER • 25 SW SALMON
Prayers fo r Bobby is a book, a play and now a
musical performance by the Portland Gay Men’s
Chorus, featuring soloist Margie Boulé. It is the
true story of a life destroyed by prejudice and
another healed by love: It is the story of mother
whose moral beliefs prevented her from accept
ing her son’s homosexuality until after he com
mitted suicide, and how she became a nationally
known crusader for gay and lesbian youth. And it
all happened in Oregon.
Leroy Aarons’ powerful play based on the
diaries of Bobby Griffith has been scripted and set
to music and will be performed with a variety of
other compositions by the Portland Gay Men’s
Chorus at 8 pm March 22 at the Washington
School for the Deaf in Vancouver, 611 Grand
Blvd., and at 8 pm March 21 and 7 pm March 23
at the First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW
Comedic crooner Melinda E. Pittman is plan
ning an active retirement: After 11 years with the
recently wrapped up Fallen Angel Choir, she is
rolling out a new show featuring original musical
numbers. Her cabaret, titled Paradise Flossed,
follows the baby boom generation’s search for
nirvana over the last half-century— its triumphs,
mistakes and embarrassments—all with a light
hearted approach and tunes that may make you
forget you’re laughing at yourself. The show
features guest appearances by Bill and Hillary,
Newt Gingrich, Bill Gates and Mae West, accom
panied by the Birds of Paradise band.
Catch a special preview of Paradise Flossed
on April 3, or see it any Thursday, Friday or
Saturday, April 4 through 25. Show time is 7:30
pm, with additional 10 pm shows on April 4, 11
and 25. Performances are at Hawthorne Rhap
sody, 3862 SE Hawthorne Blvd., on April 12 and
19, and at the Crown Ballroom, Fifth Floor, 918
SW Yamhill St., all other nights. Tickets are
$13.50 Thursdays, $14 Fridays and $15 Satur
days; the preview is $ 11.50. Call the box office at
288-5181 to reserve tickets or charge by phone
from Fastixx, 224-8499.
Stars come out for Ellen
Melissa Etheridge and k.d. lang will make
cameo appearances in the April 30 coming out
episode of Ellen, the sitcom starring Ellen
DeGeneres that has made media waves with the
blossoming of its lead character’s sexuality.
Sources at Disney, which owns the show’s pro
duction company, revealed that Etheridge will
perform the theme song during the opening cred
its and lang will play the role of a singing waitress
at a dyke coffee bar. Several other celebrities are
pitching in to make it a memorable and successful
episode, including Laura Dem and Oprah Winfrey.
Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone