tanuai* 22 . 2ÛQ4 • J n t « * , 4 3
DIVERSIONS
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The Goodfellas
of Portland
he week of Jan. 26 history will be made in Portland. No Fish! G o Fish!—
that casual little dining establishment on Southeast Hawthorne Boule­
vard— will premiere the first locally produced commercial starring a drag
queen. (Not that I have to tell you, but it’s Poison Waters.)
“It’s a takeoff on a shot from Goodfellas,” co-owner Sean Brown tells me. “Do
you know the movie?”
Do 1 know the movie! It’s my favorite mob film; I’ve seen it three times.
It’s the scene, Brown continues, “where Ray Liotta takes his girlfriend
from the car, and they cross the street, and they go into the restaurant
through the back way, through the back kitchen and then the front kitchen
and then into
the dining
room. It’s a
pretty famous
shot.”
That it is.
It’s a scene film
students will
study for
decades and all
that, but, more
importantly,
it’s so cool
looking.
The com­
mercial is, too.
Granted, I’ve
only seen the
rough draft,
No Fish! G o Fish! owners Sean Brown (far left) and John
but it already
Doyle flank Poison Waters in the first Portland commercial
kicks ass all
starring a drag queen
over Mattress
World. The production company, Funland Pictures, “did a fantastic job, very
professional.... I think we have a good shot at winning the Rosie Award this
year,” Brown says, referencing Portland’s top honor for local advertising.
Sean’s partner, John Doyle, sees Poison (well, the guy version, whose name is
Kevin Cook) pretty regularly at the No Fish! G o Fish! cart downtown on
Southwest Fifth Avenue and Yamhill Street when he strolls by for lunch.
Doyle’s ages-long dream of a drag queen commercial finally came to fruition,
although at that special diva price.
“I knew it was going to take long, but I didn’t think it was going to take that
long,” meows Poison. Seems a six-hour shoot can cause a wee bit of impatience
for some girls. “The commercial’s like 30 seconds! 1 was just like, ‘I’m sitting
here growing a heard— we gotta go!” ’
And the problems got worse from there.
“I was totally distracted by the director and producer guy ’cause he’s totally
hot,” notes Poison. (Coincidentally, Brown pointed this out, as well.) “But his wife
was there the whole time, and she’s totally adorable, too, so I couldn’t hate her."
Well, that’s good.
“But you know what really irritated me?” Poison continues.
No, what?
“Everyone was eating all around me, and I hadn’t eaten. I was starving! I’m
in this restaurant, they’re cooking all this great food, the extras are eating
because that’s what they’re supposed to he doing, the crew, every time they took
a break, they go to dive into some stuff. Well, you know, I’m totally in drag...so
I wasn’t going to get all messed up, and I’m like, ‘Damn it!’ ”
Wow, you should really sue.
“Yeah, I had to go to Taco Bell.”
No!
“I was like, ‘This is so anti-climactic.’ ”
But aren’t you the star?
“So you would thin k” she sniffs.
As for Matt Zodrow of Funland Pictures (who I communicated with via
e-mail, so I couldn’t really tell if he was hot), he notes this is the company’s
“first drag queen— but hopefully not our last.”
As for the No Fish! G o Fish! owners, they want the spot, which they plan to
air during Q ueer Eye for the Straight G uy, The Simpsons and That '70s Show, to
bring “more gay people in here,” says Brown. “John and I have always been very
open about who we are, and our restaurant has always reflected that,” but, he
continues, “we don’t have a big gay following.
"It’s definitely a gay commercial,” he laughs. “It’ll be kind of interesting to
see what the response is.” JF I
T
Wild Abandon owner Michael Cox celebrates the
restaurant’s ninth anniversary by donating 5 0 percent
of proceeds to Our House of Portland
Celebrate with Wild Abandon
n Feb. 2, one of Portland’s most esteemed gay-
owned restaurants will celebrate nine years of fabu­
lous dining by donating 50 percent of proceeds to
Our House of Portland.
Known for its savory gourmet meals and lush décor,
the Southeast Belmont eatery is a favorite among cou­
ples and now is generously providing an opportunity for
people to share their love with the community. Our
House of Portland is a residential care facility for people
with AIDS, and the restaurant has donated to it on
every anniversary night.
“Our House is a cause that I believe in,” says Wild
Abandon owner Michael Cox. The benefit is “an
opportunity to acknowledge their priceless contribu­
tions and to give back to the universe.”
The birthday celebration is also a way for Cox to
appreciate his customers. “I thank the restaurant gods and
loyal patrons for sticking with us year after year,” he says.
“Maybe we’ll get to stick around for another decade."
Make reservations at 503-232-4458.
O
Gay ski weekend
proceeds despite tragedy
| Jf| ay ski week is on, as strong as ever," Lee Berg-
iw jeron, the new president of Out on the Slopes,
told PlanetOut.com on Jan. 20. The company
produces one of the world’s largest queer ski weeks,
Altitude 12, which takes place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9 in
Whistler, British Columbia.
Out on the Slope founder and director B ren t
Benaschak died suddenly o f undisclosed causes last
month at the age of 41, creating turmoil and confu­
sion in the company. Finally, his
family appointed the new presi­
dent, and the ski week is going on
as scheduled.
“I think it would be really tragic if
it didn’t continue, says Gareth Kirk-
by, managing editor of Vancouver’s
queer newspaper, Xtra! West, calling
the event “an institution.”
opportunities to play the roles he wants. If Klonsky “had
happened in New York City,” he notes, “I would not
have had this opportunity."
Mendelson wasn’t kidding about his prolific work in
Portland’s queer theater scene in the ’80s and ’90s—
playing twin brothers John and James in Love! Valour!
Compassion!, Tony in Comfort and Joy, Max in Bent and
Sterling in Jeffrey, the latter two earning him Portland
Drama Critic Circle awards.
His newest role is based on the real lives of Milton
Klonsky and Delmore Schwartz, struggling writer and
mentor, respectively. Mendelson plays Klonsky opposite
Ted Roisum (recently seen in Portland Center Stage’s
A Fine Mess) as Schwartz.
The play follows the last few days of Schwartz’s life
as seen through the eyes of Klonsky. “The story is about
the relationship these two amazingly gifted men have,"
explains Mendelson. “These two men love one another.
It’s a story we don’t see too often— two very heterosexu­
al men who care for one another beyond explanation.”
Profile Theatre is located in the Theater! Theatre!
building at 3430 S.E. Belmont St. Tickets are $12-$25
from 503-242-0080. Look for Mendelson again in the
upcoming triangle productions! play Edward II.
This is your Escape
he City. The Evolution. The Rage. Misfits. Klub Z.
The underage queer club scene in Portland has been
a little, uh, erratic.
“It’s not worked," says new club owner Doug
McLeod, otherwise known as D J Scooter. McLeod and
his brother, Robby Glover, bought the queer youth
Venue formerly known as Klub Z, 333 S.W. Park Ave.,
last month after it closed (again suddenly and amid
rumor). “It’s so important that it be handled very deli­
cately and very professionally.”
McLeod has been in the Portland youth club scene
for 15 years, since he was a teen-ager working at The
City as hand stamper, janitor, light changer, backup
DJ— anything that would teach him the tricks of the
trade. Finally, he can put it all to good use as owner of
the newly dubbed T he Escape.
It was tough for him and Glover to risk the financial
venture, but he isn’t looking back. “It has to be the best.
It can’t be a cheesy, hokey little club anymore.... These
kids deserve the best, and I don’t care if I have to eat
Top Ramen for the rest of my life, they’re going to have
nothing but the best. They deserve it.”
McLeod says since reopening the club on New Year’s
Eve, he’s noticed an “unprecedented amount of people
showing up.”
The Escape is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
and plans to begin a Thursday Lesbian Night in February.
They also will continue the club’s signature Rosebud and
Thom Pageant, which will take place March 20. JT1
T
C om piled by
L isa B radshaw and M eg D aly
Baby, I'm back
111 was the Wade McCollum of
I Portland 10 years ago,” explains
Michael Mendelson in
announcing he’s back in town and
giving a nod to Portland’s reigning
gay king of theater. Mendelson stars
in Profile Theatre Project’s play
Klonsky and Schwartz through
Feb. 15.
The gay actor just moved back
from New York City “because it was
time,” he shares. Although he says
he “loved the time 1 spent there, "
Portland actually offers him more
I
Michael Mendelson (left) plays Milton Klonsky in Profile Theatre’s
Klonsky and Schw artz