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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2004)
jn *d u a.2Q Q l'JllÄ M t| 43 DIVERSIONS ! are outlandish.” Stroh himself will sing the quaintly titled “Blow Me.” W ilf’s is located at 800 N.W. Sixth Avenue. Price is $10, and you’ll need reservations at 503-223-0070. Our Big Fat Church Wedding j f some of you were feeling a bit rushed (or not sufficiently decked out) getting married recently, here’s your chance at the pomp and circumstance. The Portland Gay M en’s Chorus is team ing up with other local organizations to con duct T he Wedding Celebration: A Service of Recommitment for All Couples and All Com munities 2 p.m. March 21 at First Congrega tional Church, 1126 S.W. Park Ave. The 40-minute event follows a traditional wedding format in which couples— queer or straight— will stand and recommit their vows. The chorus sings, Basic Rights Oregon execu tive director Roey Thorpe speaks, and clergy from various faiths collaborate on the ceremo ny. Wedding cake follows, served by no less than County Commissioners Maria Rojo de Stef fey and Serena Cruz. “It will be upbeat and fun,” says Bob Mensel, PGMC artistic director. “We felt we have the right to celebrate.” A surprise song will honor county commis sioners and their legal counsel. Mayor Vera Katz, County Chair Diane Linn and other notables have been invited. And if couples show up with licenses wanti ng to get married? “With all the clergy there, I think there will be someone to marry them,” says Mensel. “And won’t that be splendid!” I C'mon people now have always felt it prudent to steer clear of straight-up politics in this column, based on it not being in the news section and because terms like “Article 1, Section 20” make me want to run away. Legal injunction? Is White Bird presenting that? But since The Oregonian has announced we are in a “culture war,” 1 guess it’s OK, this being the arts and culture section and all, to talk about the gay marriage debate. Which brings me right to my first subject, which is, hello, people, this is not a debate. Nobody gets to debate about my right to be in love with someone. And nobody gets to debate whether I and thousands of other Oregonians are allowed equal rights under the law. When citizens speak of debate or of “public input” in regards to same-sex marriage, what they really mean is: “I don’t want gays to he able to get married.” But we should not waste our time worrying about what straight people who have all the marriage rights “want” or “think.” Frankly, why the fuck should I care? Abolishing unconstitutional systemic discrimi nation is a responsibility of elected leaders, regardless of what a majority of the public chooses to approve of. 1 mean, duh. What is nearly as maddening is all this mewling over the “process.” Those sneaky commissioners secretly began treating people equal under the law! Baaaad commissioners. You might expect this from right-wingers and/or homophobes, but it’s extremely dis heartening to hear this from Democrats and queers. History lesson in 25 words or less: Progres sive change is rarely gifted, it is taken. Radical action is how progress is made.- We do not question Rosa Parks’ “process" when she sat at the front of the bus. We did not Hxi the kid in China who, protesting an oppressive regime, stfxxl in front of a tank. We don’t kxik hack on Stonewall and conclude that the mistreated patrons of the gay bar should have simply filed a complaint with the city. Four Multnomah County commissioners have actually gifted us with equal rights. They didn’t suggest it or ask permission from the fifth commissioner or try to get it on the next bal lot. They simply acknowledged we were being treated unfairly and began rectifying that. Because of that action, the issue of our right to marry is going to be shuttled as quickly as possible to the Oregon Supreme Court. How long might that have taken had they opened this up to public debate? How many Defense of Marriage Acts would have been filed? How much fighting and residual pain would the queer community have had to go through— much like during Kith Measure 9s? Four women politicians put their asses on the line for your civil rights. How many times has that happened to you? Let’s not vilify the county commissioners because they used an unorthcxlox approach nor chastise them for continuing it. History Icxiks kindly on civil rights heroes— such it will he with these. We shcxild be build ing temples in their honor. The Nancy Boys and one girl hat better venue for a campy trio to make its debut than historic W ilf’s Restaurant and Piano Bar? That’s where T he Nancy Boy Tenors perform at 7:30 p.m. March 23 and 30. The group’s name could be a wee mislead ing, unless we consider a self-proclaimed “fag hag extraordinaire” to be one of the Kiys (which we do). First Christian Church musical director Darcy White accompanies Tony Stroh and Derek Becker for evenings of swanky, spiri tual, beatniky, classic and naughty song. Stroh, former executive director of the Portland Gay M en’s Chorus, says he has “spent the past 20 years performing in all dark, seedy pockets of the country." He’s an aficionado o f musical theater, and that’s how he met W hite— singing together in a concert version of Falsettos. Becker also hails from PGM C and has per formed with the Portland Opera. Stroh says the cabaret-style show contains “some real sentimental pieces...and some that W Art for tarts s if throngs of tarted-up women weren’t enough, now lesbian club Tart mastermind Shoshanah Oppenheim is looking for art inspired by Tart. Oppenheim is accepting photog raphy and short films for showing at Tart in April and May. Bois in ties, babes shaking their booties, thirsty women clamoring for a spot at the bar, a smoke-filled room full of innu endo— the possibilities are endless. Photographs will hang during the April 11 club at Holocene, 1001 S.E. Morrison St. For the silent short film show in May, submissions must be in VHS but can be screened in other formats. For more information contact Oppenheim at twist@hust.com. A The artist formerly known as Misha gathering of one of the most eclectic groups of queer folks you ever did see will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. April 1 for the opening of Michael Kennedy’s Urban Elements at Sylvie Day Spa, 1706 N.W. Glisan St. This latest show from the artist (aka drag queen Misha) is aK>ut the many diverse elements that make up Portland’s urban night life, as well as the many elements that make up the queer artist himself, who is: • A classically trained oil and acrylics painter whose work was recently featured in a New York show of the Andy Warhol Foundation and whose portrait of Elizabeth Taylor was snatched up by Liz herself to hang in her Los Angeles home. • A professional HIV preven tion educator and (XJtreach work er for Cascade AIDS Project. • A drag queen who is semi- retiring after 17 years of perfor mance and activism in Portland (to concen trate on the aNive). Kennedy’s paintings are complex, fascinat ing and fun— as sophisticated and beautiful as A T he Nancy Boy Tenors ham it up March 23 and 30 at Wilf’s an impressionist-inspired landscape (“Sunset at Sauvie’s”), as sexy and delightful as a mixed- media urban portrait (“Through Rose City Eyes”), as quirky and outrageous as a study of a cocktail (“Ode to a Lemon Drop”). With inspirations like Sauvie Island, Port land’s beloved Union Station and the fabulous ly diverse denizens of downtown, Kennedy’s works are homegrown emblems of this wonder fully wacky town we call home. More gays on TV he past few weeks saw the premiere of two new reality shows featuring gays— both having simply flipped around premises of already-aired gay shows. Straight Plan for the Qay M an, Comedy Central’s spoofy take on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, casts four straight comedians (“The Flab Four") helping one hopeless flamer be straight for a day— refit his spiffy wardrobe at Goodwill, take away his hygiene products, introduce him to the world of the hot dog stand. Like many a Comedy Central show, it can be riotous ly funny, particularly as the straight guys spend most of the time making fun o f straight guy culture. And at the end of the first episode it’s reassuring to hear the gay guy announce he’s had a great time but is “happy with my lifestyle.” The real trouble with Straight Plan is that it veers into boredom very quickly; it’s hard to imag ine tuning in to watch a perfectly well-adjusted gay man get his apartment messed up every week. The next entry, yet another dating show, has way more promise in hooking viewers. Bor rowing from the ultimately disappointing Boy Meets Boy, Fox’s Playing It Straight plops 14 hunks and one young woman on a ranch in Nevada. Arriving on the scene, N>th parties are informed that some of the guys are actually gay. In the end, if our heroine chooses a gay guy, he walks away with $1 million. If she chooses a straight guy, they split the dough (and, presumably, like each other). The downside: The gays are immediately vilified as “being in it for the money," and the air is ripe for homophobic comments. Also, they have to pretend to be straight— back into the closet, Kiys! The upside: Stereotypes are already being smashed. At the end of the first episode, the wide-eyed Midwesterner simply chose to evict the two guys she thtxight were most gay— and they Kith turned out to be straight. JTH T Com piled by L isa B radshaw , B ar t C hurch and M eg D aly
