JUNE 02 2017 VOLUME 01 ISSUE 06 A M E R I C A S LGBTQ NEWS SOURCE LOSANGELESBLADE.

COM

PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT

LGBT Angelenos talk Pride and politics, PAGES 04-18

Roundup of Pride events Brandy, Chromeo to perform AIDS/LifeCycle ready to ride

PAGE 20 PAGE 24 PAGE 26

0 4 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM P RI D E

LA Pride and the #ResistMarch arrive the weekend of June

10. As part of our special coverage, the Los Angeles Blade
interviewed a range of local advocates working in their own
unique ways for change. Their profiles are featured on Pages
4-18 of this Pride edition of the Blade.

Rev. Troy Perry on pain and joy of resistance and Pride

LA CELEBRATION RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD

By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com

ABOUT THE COVER

Rev. Troy Perry was anxious. What
if LAPD Police Chief Ed Davis was right The Los Angeles Blade assembled some of LAs
leading activists and allies to talk about what
and a mob of hardhats was waiting to resistance means to them. Watch the video at
descend on parade-goers just as they LosAngelesBlade.com.

turned the corner from McCadden Place
onto Hollywood Boulevard? Experience
told him police would not protect the gays
and may even arrest them for malicious
interference with the downward-progress
of a hardhats valuable baseball bat.
Thats just the way it was in Los Angeles on
June 28, 1970. But unlike New York, which was
commemorating the one-year anniversary of
the Stonewall Riots and the new movement
for gay liberation with a protest march, Perry
and his Christopher Street West co-founders
Morris Kight and Rev. Bob Humphries,
decided to throw a celebratory parade. There
should be joy in liberation, relief from the
constant fuel of rage.
But it hadnt been easy. Perry had
appeared before the Los Angeles Police
Commission to secure a parade permit and
Davis, who publically called gays faeries,
told him: As far as Im concerned, granting
a permit to a group of homosexuals to
parade down Hollywood Boulevard would
be the same as giving a permit to a group
of thieves and robbers.
The Police Commission granted the
permitif CSW paid a $1.5 million bond.
American Civil Liberties Union attorney
Herbert E. Selwyn stepped up, forcing the
commission to drop the excessive fee.
Selwyn also won a court order to have the
$1,500 police protection fee dropped, with
the California Superior Court judge declaring
that homosexuals were citizens, too.
Metropolitan Community Church founder Reverend TROY PERRY is a founder of Christopher Street
West. Here he kicks o the rst LA Pride in 1970 on Hollywood Boulevard, where he will be when the
event returns there with 2017s #ResistMarch.
At 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1970,
an estimated 1,165 people showed up on
McCadden Place, ready to come out and
party down Hollywood Boulevard. One Gay
Liberation Front oat featured a gay man
nailed to a black and white cross with a sign
reading: In Memory of Those Killed by the
Pigs. Street performers dressed as fairies
with wings pretended they were being
chased by police brandishing nightsticks.
The political theater masked the deep
anxiety and courage it took to participate
in the parade; for some, it was also brave
PHOTO COURTESY OF PERRY
just to stand on the curb and applaud.
No one knew if violence would erupt
whether from hardhats or the police or an
ordinary citizen outraged at homosexuals
proudly on parade.
Anti-gay violence had already seared
Troy Perrys soul. On Oct. 28, 1968, the
Tallahassee, Fla., native started his own
church with 12 gay worshippers in his
Huntington Park living room. It was an
act of spiritual resistance against the
Pentecostal church that defrocked him
because of his homosexuality, a pain
Bottom left to right: David Farah, activist and
husband, Alexei Romano, husband and grand
marshal 2017 LA Pride; Jenny Pizer, Senior
Counsel and Director, Project on Law & Policy
at Lambda Legal
Top left to right: Arturo Jimenez, a naturalized
U.S. Citizen from Costa Rica; Doreena Wong,
Project Director for Advancing Justice - LAs
Health Access Project; Angela Thompson,
#ResistMarch organizer and ally; Hazel Jade
Prejean, trans youth activist; Brian Pendleton,
founder of #ResistMarch and leading LGBT
philanthropist; Rory Hunter, #ResistMarch
organizer and immigrant; Jerey King, longtime
LGBT Black community AIDS/wellness leader;
Peter Cruz, Asian Pacic Islander LGBT
community leader.
deepened by the end of a romance. Then,
an epiphany: Rev. Troy Perry attempted
suicide but was shaken out of his dark
stupor by an unidentied black woman
who stood in his hospital room and said,
Some of us care about you. She threw the
switch that reconnected him to God. He
came to realize that a ministry awaited him.
In 1969, with signs declaring were not
afraid anymore, Perry led a nighttime
march down Hollywood Boulevard
calling for the end to sodomy laws and
a small picket protesting anti-gay job
discrimination, where he met Mattachine
Society founder Harry Hay and his lover
John Burnside and had no idea who
they were. In January 1970, he sat in at
the counter of Barneys Beanery in West
Hollywood, demanding that the owner
take down his Fagots Stay Out sign above
CONTINUES ON PAGE 29
0 6 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Forging a path for generations to come
Longtime Human Rights Campaign
board member and community activist
Gwen Baba was honored by the Gay
Mens Chorus of Los Angeles, under the
leadership of new executive director
Jonathan Weedman, at the 6th annual
Voice Awards Celebration on May 20 at the
J.W. Marriot at L.A. Live.
Some longtime politicos think its about
damn time.
Gwen has been a longtime advocate
for celebrating womens contributions and
their impact on causes that matter, says
R. Christine Hershey, co-founder of Access
Now for Lesbian and Gay Equality (ANGLE)
and the Victory Fund, L.A. County Small
Business commissioner and of Hershey
Cause Communications. She was a key
voice and my partner-in-crime during the
ANGLE years during which we saw a huge
consolidation of LGBTQ political power.
She was one of a very small group of
women doing this work.
Hershey notes that Baba helped bring
women back to the L.A. Gay and Lesbian
Community Services Center, where she
served as a board member. It was the mid-
late 1980s, during the horric AIDS years.
That was a really dicult time in the
community, recalls Baba, who was then in her
late 20s. A lot of our board members were
dying and passing away; sta was dying and
passing away. And it really felt like a war zone.
For those of us who came out in the
late 70s-early 80s, we had to handle some
really dicult stu, said West Hollywood
Mayor Pro Tem John Duran, ANGLE co-
founder, former chair of the LIFE AIDS
Lobby and GMCLA Board Chair. Back
then, in the late 70s, LGBT people were
still criminalized. We were considered
criminals; we were considered mentally ill.
A lot of us began to tire. And in through
the door walked this woman, Gwen Baba.
And she had such a presence of grace and
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
GWEN BABA HONORED BY GAY MENS CHORUS
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
GWEN BABA is pictured here with Prop 8 plaintis LAWRENCE and GREGORY ZARIAN.
we looked at her and there was such a big
sigh, like, Ahhh! New leadership!
Though the gay environment was
originally unwelcoming to women,
women were much needed and became
powerhouseswomen such as Torie
Osborn, who became executive director;
the late politico Jean OLeary, who moved
her nationally-recognized, must-attend
Womens Night to the Center; and current
L.A. LGBT Center CEO, Lorri Jean. Baba,
a commercial and residential real estate
investor, also helped lead the Centers
historic rst capital campaign to raise money
for their new headquarters in Hollywood.
I grew up with the message that I
could do anything but that didnt mean I
still didnt feel discrimination, either as a
woman, or as a lesbian, says Baba.
Baba served on the Centers board, with
a term as co-chair, from 1986 to 1997.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GMCLA
She joined the board of the Human
Rights Campaign in 1996, serving two-
terms as board co-chair from 2002 to
2005. There, too, she served on the
capital campaign for HRCs headquarters
in Washington DC and sat on several
committees. Baba has also been an
anchor for HRCs L.A. chapter, a steadfast
presence during changing times.
Gwen Baba helped build the Human
Rights Campaign into the organization
we are today, said HRC President Chad
Grin on a tribute video.
Gwen was president of HRC from
2002-2005, said attorney Diane Abbitt,
ANGLE co-founder who headed HRCs
political action committee and serves on
the GMCLA board. Those were very, very
hard times. She led HRC during the time
that [President George W.] Bush was in
oce and Karl Rove was running things.
P RI D E
Thats leadership.
Gwen speaks for everybody. Her voice
carries a lot of weight, said David Bohnett, head
of the David Bohnett Foundation upon whose
board Baba sits. She also sits on the board of
the California Community Foundation.
During her acceptance speech, Baba
noted that her daughter Gabrielle turned
17 on May 22nd, a birthday she proudly
shares with Harvey Milk. Gabrielle was at
her high school prom so she missed the
festivities, including meeting composer
Stephen Schwartz, who was also honored,
along with Logo.
LGBT organizations have long made a
huge dierence in Gabrielles life, Baba
said, and she was happy when GMCLA
came to her school as part of the Alive
Music Project.
Right now, Baba said, the world feels
pretty crazy to her, as it does to all of us.
Like we walked into a Living Salvador Dali
painting. Were sinking under the weight
of alternative facts and outright lies.
But struggle is familiar. Fighting
alternative facts is nothing new for the
LGBTQ community, Baba said. Weve been
doing it for decades. No, we cant be cured,
we cant pray the gay away, were not crazy
or sick or perverse or unt to be parents.
For LGBTQ people, alternative facts
arent just ridiculous diversions. Theyre
designed to control us, to demean us, to
deny us our joy and our freedom, she
said. Theyre promoted by people who
demand we think and behave as they do.
But that we will never do. Because we are
inherently creative, in our activism and
our art, in our satire and our song.
Baba brought it home to the artistic
audience. So when politicians want to
defund the arts, they really hope to silence
our dissent. They choose not to accept that
LGBT people are woven into every corner of
this planet. And we will not be quiet.
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Some help in getting to zero new HIV infections

PREP ACTIVIST REMOVES BARRIERS TO GETTING, PAYING FOR ANTI-HIV DRUG

By MICHAEL JORTNER

Lets say youre a gay man in Utah, or
even Riverside, and you want to get on
PrEP (preventative prophylaxis) to protect
yourself from contracting HIV.
Now lets say your doctor doesnt know
what Truvada is, which tests to run, or how
to prescribe it.
What do you do?
If it were up to West Hollywood resident
and entrepreneur Tristan Schukraft, 38,
you contact him at his new nonprot
organization 7Zero1.
Why? Because Schukraft believes he can
improve the PrEP access and maintenance
model. Thats essentially what I am
doing, he said.
In the past few months hes helped
about a hundred men start on PrEP,
including four within the last week who
felt they were shamed just for seeking the
medicine.
The name 7Zero1 is many things: a play
on words, a public health goal, even an
admonition.
Its the number on the pill, Schukraft
said, referring to the 701 engraved onto
every Truvada tablet. The emphasis is on
the zero, he added. If we ultimately utilize
PrEP, eventually we get to zero infections.
Its proven eective, [has] nominal side
eects, if any.
So theres zero excuses not to be on it,
Schukraft summarized.
A former fashion model, Schukraft
likes to improve things, making them
better, faster and easier. He led his own
online travel company (ID90 Technologies)
employing more than one hundred
people, attempted to save legacy Los
Angeles LGBT publishing brand Frontiers
from extinction, and ran for a seat on
WeHos city council in 2013 (he didnt win).
Now his goal is to get every person who
wants to be on PrEP anywhere in the
country taking the drug.
I never thought I would be a PrEP
TRISTAN SCHUKRAFT believes PrEP can end HIV transmission.
advocate, Schukraft told me, but I had so
many friends that wanted to get on [it]. He
would send them to the LGBT Center in Los
Angeles or to a doctor only to hear that the
person ran into one roadblock or another.
The great challenge is the doctor visit,
Schukraft said. Although Truvada can be
obtained free of charge, to get a prescription
requires seeing a doctor. And that visit can
be costly, especially for the uninsured.
For those without insurance [and in
LA], weve negotiated cash pricing as low
as $210 with partners like Sunset Walk-
In Healthcare in West Hollywood, said
Schukraft. Acknowledging thats still a lot
of money, or a reason to procrastinate,
he added that the clinic oers walk-in
appointments and Saturday hours.
Sometimes clients have to go to a
doctor that is not conveniently located
or to a community clinic, Schukraft
explained. Both of which can result in
hours-long commitments, an example of
ineciencies in the system, he says.
He may be right. In June 2016 the
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCHUKRAFT
Hungton Post reported, 18% of [PrEP
survey] respondents never lled their
prescription and only 57% were still using
[the drug] after six months.
The newly minted social activist would
say that patient inconvenience is basically
the reason.
In contrast to other nonprot
organizations, Schukraft sees 7Zero1
helping clients dierently. Rather than
sitting down with a caseworker, which eats
up time, 7Zero1 will focus on convenience.
You wanna get on prep?, Schukraft
asked. Ask them the basic questions,
he continued. Applying for the various
programs oered by the drugmaker,
or getting approval for their insurance,
should all be done over the phone.
Schukraft admits that what hes doing
sounds too good to be true.
I introduce them to a doctor, Schukraft
said. The doctors oce calls to make
an appointment. Youre in and out in 45
minutes. The prescription is then received
by the pharmacy and the medicine often
mailed to the client. For free.
Its this last point that Schukraft
emphasized. People are busy, he said.
They dont want to call, or receive a call,
but rather a text. 7Zero1 works with
Premier Pharmacy as they oer free
delivery in all 50 states and dedicated
agents you can text or call.
Schukraft sees the requirement for
patients to get checkups every three
months also as problematic. We can
increase the number of people [taking
PrEP], said Schukraft. A lot of the doctors
that I work with only require a follow up
every six months.
Theres just drop o, Schukraft
explained. People sign up, get on PrEP
and they dont go back for that three-
month appointment.
To get free help from 7Zero1:
Message them via their Facebook
page (or use the email or web address
below)
They will determine your insurance
coverage. If you dont have insurance,
7Zero1 will seek out cash pricing or
alternative access options.
You complete some forms
An appointment is made with a
knowledgeable doctor in your area
Your prescription is sent to a
pharmacy
You pick up your medicine, or have it
mailed to you
As for 7Zero1 getting funded, does
Schukraft have a timeline or gure in mind?
My goal is to basically see what the
challenges are for somebody working
through [the PrEP process], said
Schukraft. He estimates that within 90
days his organization will start accepting
donations. Schukraft intends for 7Zero1s
services to remain free after they are
funded. Learn more about 7Zero1 by
visiting 7ZERO1.ORG or their Facebook
page at facebook.com/7ZERO1/.
 JOIN THE RESISTANCE
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1 0 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Fresno State honors gay foster dad
Eric Calderon-Phangrath does not
see himself as an LGBT activist or as a
guy whose goal it is to promote an LGBT
equality agenda. But on May 19, in front of
4,305 people gathered on the Fresno State
University Campus for a commencement
ceremony of the Universitys school of
education, he symbolized LGBT Pride,
inclusion, and equality.
Standing onstage, an openly gay, rst
generation Laotian-American foster dad,
Calderon-Phangrath, 28, was bestowed
the prestigious Deans Medal. The program
notes indicate that he was selected
because he is the perfect embodiment of
someone who is dedicated to transforming
the lives of others.
Sporting an impressive gold medal
around his neck, Calderon-Phangraths
trembling hands gave way to poise and
grace as he explained his long, 12-year
road to graduation to a rapt crowd.
In 2005, the then-17-year-old enrolled
at Fresno State, only to leave months into
his freshman year to move to Seattle to
care for his older brother, who was injured
while serving in Iraq. Several years later,
Calderon-Phangrath said, I came back to
Fresno and married my best friend and
biggest cheerleader, my husband, Carlos. We
became foster parents and have adopted
some amazing boys with unique abilities, due
to their medical histories and their trauma.
My boys have taught me to be a better parent
and to put their needs before my own.
Gay marriage. Same-Sex parenting. It
was astounding and important to see
how inclusive Fresno State, in the middle
of Californias ultra-conservative San
Joaquin Valley, was in selecting an openly
gay candidate for this award and how
eusively embracing the audience was of
his recognition.
Eric Calderon-Phangrath is a highly that I was going to be able to tell my story,
ethical, gifted, and compassionate
personwho has and will make an impact
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
LAOTIAN-AMERICAN PARENT TRANSFORMING LIVES OF OTHERS
By BRAD BESSEY
ERIC CALDERON-PHANGRATH
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRESNO STATE UNIVERSITY
on others. He has the heart and skills to
become a superb special educator. He
has thrivedin our universitysetting where
we value and support students from all
walks of life, says Prof.Cheryl McDonald,
coordinator of the Special Education
Credential Program.
I feel like this achievement, this
recognition, has allowed me to show
people that just because Im gay, it doesnt
make me any dierent than anyone else,
Calderon-Phangrath told the Los Angeles
Blade by phone two days after the event.
I let go of all the nervousness, knowing
My mom and dad were extremely proud,
he continued. More than anything, I was
able to speak to my family.
There are many layers to Calderon-
Phangrath family. First, there are his
parents, who havent always been
accepting. His mother is from Cambodia,
and his father is from Laos; they both ed
to the United States to escape horrors of
the expanding Vietnam War. The family
lived in poverty and worked in the elds
around Fresno to give Calderon-Phangrath
and his four siblings a better life.
English was not Calderon-Phangraths
rst language, but he succeeded in school.
Growing up, I always felt the need to
overcompensate in everything I did so that
my achievements could outshine the fact that
I was attracted to other boys, he explains.
Being gay was something Calderon-
Phangrath was determined to hide. I
always felt that my sexuality was shameful
and disgraceful to my family. So, I stayed
closeted, and put on a show to prove how
straight I was.
Eventually, while living in Seattle,
Calderon-Phangrath came out to his
family. After an acrimonious this is my
truth phone call with his mother and
father, Calderon-Phangrath considered
ending his life.
Fortunately, in his darkest moment,
his older brother unexpectedly dropped
by his apartment and, in a life-altering
conversation, Calderon-Phangrath was told
he was loved and accepted for who he was.
Calderon-Phangrath soon returned to
Fresno, and, with the support of his sisters
and brothers, his parents eventually
learned to accept their gay son. Once they
saw me living my life to the fullest, without
any barriers, feeling like I wasnt hiding a
secret, they saw that I was happy, he says.
And, on the night that Calderon-
Phangrath received one of Fresno States
top honors, his parents were beaming.
Calderon-Phangrath, says, beaming
over the phone. Though they still dont
P RI D E
fully understand everything I was saying
(because English is their second language),
they got pieces of it. It went full circle.
For Calderon-Phangraths husband,
Carlos, and their sons Paul, 6, Xavier,
who turns 3 in July, and Andre, almost 2
it was a moment they will not soon forget.
Married on Aug. 31, 2013, Calderon-
Phangrath always wanted a large family.
Carlos, 36, also a graduate of Fresno State,
needed a little convincing. But in 2015,
they began the process of becoming foster
parents. Now they have three beautiful
boys, who have various degrees of special
needs. They are the main inspiration for
Calderon-Phangraths decision to go into
special education.
Special Ed was something I was afraid
of doing because I didnt understand it,
Calderon-Phangrath recalls. Now that
Im living it and going through it from the
parents perspective, I feel like I can be a
greater resource to a parent who has a
special needs child because I can relate.
Calderon-Phangrath will continue at
Fresno State to earn his Special Education
teaching credential this fall and already
has two job oers. Whats more, he knows
he is a proud gay male, modeling for his
children and the community how powerful
self-acceptance and openness can be.
The most important piece was for my
children to hear their papa tell his story
and acknowledge them and my husband,
he says, pausing, lling up with emotion.
After it was all over, my oldest son said,
when I grow up, I want to be just like you.
I had a moment, Calderon-Phangrath
says. When the university selected me
for this honor, they said, you know there
are no awards or prizes that come with
it. But, that moment with my son is the
biggest reward I could ever imagine.
BRAD BESSEY is an Emmy-Award winning
television producer, husband and father.
1 2 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM P RI D E

Meet Bamby Salcedo, trans immigrant activist

WORKING DEEP INTO THE GRASSROOTS AND MAKING A BIG IMPACT

By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com

BAMBY SALECDO and JONATHAN PEREZ

LOS ANGELES BLADE PHOTO BY KAREN OCAMB

In some ways, Bamby Salcedo is
the quintessential symbol of the old-
fashioned American Dream the dream
that promises second chances and a life
rewarded for service and authenticity.
Salcedo survived a poor childhood with
a working single mother and abusive
stepfather in Guadalajara, Mexico,
juggling school, crime, gangs, drugs and
LGBT friends. The cycle didnt change
when she immigrated to America, where
she endured homelessness and a crystal
meth addiction, surviving as a sex worker.
But those experiences served Salcedo
when she got clean and sober and started
doing HIV prevention and education
for Latina transgender sex workers and
others at Bienestar, under the mentorship
of Maria Roman. She could share her
pain and the knowledge she gleaned as a
survivor. Steadily, Salcedo expanded her
experience and service, including running
a transgender youth program at Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles and holding trac-
stopping protests around the murders of
trans women of color.
More recently, Salcedo has been
helping and mentoring the Immigration
Youth Coalition, an LGBT-inclusive
organization of undocumented youth
ghting for immigrants rights and against
criminalization.
The broader LGBT movement doesnt
really understand the issues, needs
and policies of LGBT immigrants and
undocumented individuals, Salcedo, who
also survived as a trans woman in an ICE
detention facility.
In addition to fending o the unchecked
and sometimes violent homophobia and
transphobia of the ICE arresting ocers,
the detention guards and other inmates,
LGBT immigrants and undocumented
individuals dont have money to post bail.
Were not powerful monetarily, she
says. We have to keep tapping our own
community when many of us are struggling
ourselves to meet our own basic needs.
The activists struggle to raise money
to get people out on bail whove been
caught up in ICE sweepsor targeted like
Claudia Rueda, a erce DACA-eligible
college student and immigrant rights
activist who, the Immigration Youth
Coalition (IYC) says, was kidnapped by
Border Patrol days after they conducted a
raid on her apartment complex. First ICE
took her mother, but upon her release,
the youth claim ICE came back for Claudia
as retaliation.
IYCs Jonathan Perez has been
organizing to put pressure on ICE in San
Diego to exercise prosecutorial discretion
and release Claudia to her family. (Call
619-557-6117 and ask for ICE eld oce
director Gregory Archambeault.)
It is also important for supporters of
undocumented LGBT immigrants to pack
the court whenever there is a court date.
If there is community support, a judge
could do the better thing, like giving
lower bail bonds, Salcedo says. The
LGBT and immigrant communities need
to understand that queer immigrants are
being criminalized and arrested and put in
detention for who we are.
1 4 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
JEFFREY KING
PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT
JEFFREY KING, EMPOWERING HIS OWN COMMUNITY
August 1997. To the ineable exhilaration of LGBT America, the combination drug
cocktail was working and the dying and devastation of HIV/AIDS was subsiding. As Black
Gay Pride hung in the air, Jerey King stopped, realizing that AIDS wasnt over, even if the
epidemic wasnt unmercifully snatching lives every moment.
We came out of the dying and found ourselves living, King says. But how do we move
forward? And what are we doing with our lives in the meantime?
King brought together an informal collective of black gay men to wrestle with the
dilemma. They realized they could not wait or expect to rely on someone else to save
themthey had to act on their own behalf. And they had to broaden the focus beyond
HIV/AIDS to the health and wellness of black gay/bi/same-gender-loving men, many of
whom bore scars from the homophobia within the black community while also not being
fully embraced by the LGBT community.
The homophobia, bigotry, racism and elitism was a lot more overt then than it is now,
says King. So In The Meantime started as a center or space where black men didnt have
to be invited to the table. We set the table.
Kings circle of gay/bi men included doctors and people with legal backgrounds who
began grappling with how the organization should progress. By 1999, In The Meantime
Men (ITMTM) had non-prot status, which they used to secure funding for leased oce
space, sta, and program development targeted to their own community in South Los
Angeles. Over the past 20 years, some of those programs have served as models for
similar programs nationwide.
We were very intentional in remaining a grassroots organization. We never had any
desire to emulate or mirror other organizations, says King, enabling them to create
links to other services without duplication and design and develop programs specically
tailored for black men by black men.
I have always believed that the community has the answer to our problems, King says.
The arrogance and dismissiveness of some in the public healthcare system omits the
voice of the people.
King is grateful for critical funding from sources such as AIDS Healthcare Foundation
that helped the organization purchase a mobile HIV testing unit that goes where the gay/
bi black men are and create unique outreach messages.
AHFs support allowed us to do a lot of programs and interventions and testing in a way
that could reach men who are resistant to testing, King says. Funding from AHF, Macys
Passport and the Weingart Foundation allowed us to develop programs and grassroots
P RI D E
PJ ANDREWS
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREWS
community mobilization eorts that the government would not fund us for. Having that
support is of great importance in our community.
ITMTM is participating in the #ResistMarch and is hosting two upcoming events: June
24, Pre-Pride Celebration at the Redline; August 27: celebrating its 20th anniversary as We
Are Family with reception and awards. See Jerey King on Facebook for more.
KAREN OCAMB
PJ ANDREWS IS GLITTERING LA TO THE CORE,
DESPITE HIS BOSTON ACCENT
PJ (Patrick Joseph) Andrews artwork is so popular that he cannot keep up with the
demand. Andrews, a native of Massachusetts, does not have the prole of a stereotypical
artist or a gay man in Los Angeles. At 52, he is a self-taught artist, father of a 28-year-old
son and speaks with a thick Boston accent. In fact, you might be pleasantly surprised by
his cheerful and amboyant paintings.
Although his immediate inuences are Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, Andrews
animated work is inspired by cartoons and cartoon characters. He is self-taught in the
folk-art tradition, where his sensibilities blend the world of contemporary pop and folk art
with exuberance and air. Andrews diamond dust technique oers a new dimension
never realized within animation art. He uses glitter to create three-dimensional characters
that seem to rise from the canvas.
His exhibit at the Hollywood Arclight a few years ago was so popular that he was asked to
produce another one. This time, he dazzled them with Icons, a collection of paintings paying
homage to music and lm legends such as Marilyn Monroe, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Tupac
Shakur and the crown jewel, Cher. Almost all the paintings were sold a few days into the show.
He recently opened two shows simultaneously at the Mar Vista Art Walk and Book Soup
in West Hollywood. He zigzags the globe opening shows in Switzerland, France, Belgium,
Chicago, New York and San Francisco, all without representation. He wont get a publicist
simply because he doesnt need one. Last year, a Mighty Mouse painting was snatched at
an auction by celebrity restaurateur Craig Susser, who paid an undisclosed amount for it.
If the saying, People buy you, not your product is true, then Andrews is a perfect
example. Despite his enormous success, he is extremely humble, modest and generously
gives to many causes in the community.
VIC GERAMI
CONTINUES ON PAGE 16
1 6 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
HANY HADDAD
PHOTO COURTESY OF HADDAD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14
HANY HADDAD SHOWS
LOVE TO LGBT ORGANIZATIONS IN LA
Few people in LA are as well-respected, admired and loved as Hany Haddad. Thats
a bold statement in a city that is lled with great humanitarians, activists and people of
inuence. Hany is not your typical banker; he possesses a rare combination of stately
presence, exuding charisma and charming humility.
He is the Vice President and District Manager of US Bank, an organization hes been
with for more than 13 years. Were sure you know his work; in fact, you have likely been a
beneciary if you have attended an event Sponsored by US Bank. That would be Hany.
He directs more than six gures of US Bank donations to various LGBTQ non-prots and
causes in the greater Los Angeles area annually.
As a result, in Los Angeles LGBT fundraising circuit, US Bank is a ubiquitous sponsor.
Haddad has been advocating for LGBTQ organizations and important causes for years,
contributing both corporate cash as well as his own personal time and resources. He
recently held a reception at the West Hollywood branch of US Bank, honoring ve local
non-prot organizations for their work in the community, including the Los Angeles
LGBT Center, Gay Mens Chorus Los Angeles, the West Hollywood Community Housing
Corporation, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the West
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Haddad is a busy man, serving on the board of several non-prots, including LA Opera,
The Music Center, LACER Afterschool Programs, Beverly Hills Bar Foundation, Los Angeles
Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
VIC GERAMI
HAL BASTIAN, A UBIQUITOUS FORCE IN THE DTLA RENAISSANCE
Aectionately called Mr. Downtown and Mayor of Downtown, Hal Bastian is a
celebrity in Bunker Hill. From Mayor Eric Garcetti and Eli Broad to retail clerks and janitors,
everyone knows Hal and his dog, Scooter.
P RI D E
HAL BASTIAN is Mr. Downtown Los Angeles
PHOTO COURTESY OF BASTIAN
If you live or work in downtown, have a business there or simply fascinated in its
evolution but dont know Hal, youre simply missing the point. As a thirty-three year,
commercial real estate veteran, Bastian was instrumental in the renaissance of downtown
LA and its redevelopment into the metropolitan Mecca we now love. His network is as
vast, diverse and priceless - and as gay - as a world-class art collection, admired and
sought-after by many.
For thirteen years, Bastian was the Executive Vice President & Director of Economic
Development for the Los Angeles Downtown Center Business Improvement District.
He created housing tours for downtown that have been going on for over a decade. He
helped to recruit more than 300 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and retailers including the
Daily Grill, Bottega Louie, Ralphs Fresh Fare and Urban Outtters. He produced three
special events in New York City targeting the investment bank community to encourage
investment in DTLA developments, including both residential and commercial projects.
In October 2014, he founded Hal Bastian Inc., his own consulting rm dedicated to
building an even better DTLA and helping other downtowners to use the best practices
he has developed for DTLA in their city centers. It is a downtown revitalization consulting
company based in and focusing on downtown Los Angeles.
In 2015, Hal created Whats Up Downtown?, a web based show about all the great
things going on in DTLA, including residential and commercial developments, new
restaurants, bars and nightclubs, old favorites and most importantly, the people.
Whats Up Downtowns popularity has attracted an impressive list of corporate sponsors
and can be seen at Halbastian.com.
VIC GERAMI
JULIANNA BRUDEKS RESPONSE TO PULSE SHOOTING
BECAME A DOCUMENTARY
Since before Prop 8, Los Angeles has been at the forefront of LGBTQ activism as perhaps the
most dynamic city in the country, inspiring and inspired by artists and activists like Julianna Brudek.
Born in 1979 in Detroit, rst generation Polish American, Brudek has a degree in
lm from Columbia College in Chicago. Upon graduation, she was one of nine students
selected to participate in the prestigious Semester in LA program held on the CBS studio
lot. There, she won best short screenplay for her lm entitled Ransom Family.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 18
1 8 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
JULIANA BRUDEK
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRUDEK
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
Although she has a diverse resume, Brudek excels in horror lms and has produced three
features, including The Bizarre Art of Samantha, Flesh and Blood a Go! Go! and In Furs.
From lm to the stage, Brudek is a storyteller and can do it all. She has produced and
directed shows for charities such as Broadway to the Rescue and Hope of the Valley.
In 2011, she wrote and directed a musical, The Goodship Fellowship, for a LGBTQ
community fundraiser.
However, Brudeks biggest and most ambitious project took place last year. Following
the Pulse massacre in Orlando, she picked nine members of the Los Angeles LGBTQ
community to go across country for an anti-gun violence rally in Washington, D.C. She
rented a bus, hired a camera crew and lmed the entire trip as a documentary. She
combined her passion for lmmaking and activism to produce a powerful lm that will
inspire generations of activists.
Look for Disarm Hate: The Documentary and the horror lm, The Gardener, to be
released soon, as well as several other projects currently in post-production.
VIC GERAMI
ALEXEI ROMANOFF, AN LGBT IMMIGRANT
WHO SPARKED A REVOLUTION
Alexei Romano could be called the Gloria Steinem of the LGBTQ movement. His
pioneering work and uncompromising insistence on full equality for LGBTQ people - and
the rights of people with AIDS - has been almost unparalleled.
The United States is an immigrant nation, successful because of its diversity and
Romano exemplies the American dream. Born in Ukraine, Romano immigrated to the
United States during WWII and, by February of 1958, he had found his way to his forever
home, Los Angeles. He became a pioneering local activist and a community organizer and
an instrumental force behind the nations rst large-scale LGBTQ protest.
Even before the Stonewall Riots, a vibrant gay rights movement - a resistance movement
- had been born in Silver Lake. Following a New Years Eve celebration at a Silver Lake
gay bar, undercover cops arrested fourteen people and cited them for lewd conduct,
simply because they were kissing. On that night, Dec. 31, 1966, about a dozen undercover
LAPD ocers inltrated The Black Cat and at the stroke of midnight, when people kissed -
P RI D E
ALEXEI ROMANOFF is grand marshal of #ResistMarch.
PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT
including a woman who dressed as a woman kissed her brother who was dressed in drag
- patrons were arrested and their resulting resistance was met with a wild, bloody beating
that injured dozens of people.
Weeks later, in February 1967, Romano helped organize protests outside the bar
that drew dozens of people and inadvertently helping launch a more deant gay rights
movement that would spread across the United States. There had been protests before
but this was much larger and the energy was very dierent. The resistance was born.
Romano drew an unprecedented number of protesters one of the rst mass
protests in the United States to address police harassment of LGBTQ people at the
corner of Sunset and Hyperion. Romanos eorts helped spark a revolution that made
Los Angeles a haven for LGBTQ people. A direct line can be drawn from that protest to the
the formation of Christopher Street West and Los Angeles rst Gay Pride Parade.
In the 1970s, Romano co-founded the Santa Monica Bay Coalition for Human Rights in
response to the Anita Bryant/Briggs push for discrimination. The failed initiative would have
banned gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights, from working in
Californias public schools. The Briggs Initiative was the rst failure in a national movement
to repeal gay rights ordinances, a movement that gained momentum after a successful
campaign headed by Bryant and her organization Save Our Children in Dade County, Florida.
In 1983, Romano co-found Avatar Club Los Angeles, an organization that educates
about safer-sex practices. As an AIDS activist, Romano, in the early 1980s, fought for
research funding and for the civil rights of people with AIDS. He has marched in every
Christopher Street West Pride Parade since the rst one, and has twice been the recipient
of LA Prides Founding Father award (in 2008 and 2014). Romano has also been honored
by the Mayor and the Los Angeles City Council for his pioneering civil rights work.
He is, without a doubt, the perfect choice for this years LA Pride Grand Marshal.
Christopher Street West, organizer of LA Pride, is going back to its roots with well-timed
and appropriate changes and Romanos selection is the emblematic of those changes.
#ResistMarch replaces the traditional parade and will start where LA Pride was born in 1970, at
the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. It is an intersectional
solidarity march in support of our hard-won human rights, both here at home and abroad.
Romano, 80, will be front and center at the #ResistMarch on Sunday, June 11. He joins
a growing and impressive coalition of organizations and government bodies that kick o
the march at 9 a.m. in Hollywood and walk to West Hollywood Park.
VIC GERAMI
2 0 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
What are you doing for Pride?
JUNE 2
Lesbians to Watch Out For: 90s L.A.
Activism, Jun 2 - @ 7pm 9 PM. Opening
reception for on view through June 30. (
Plummer Park, Long Hall, 7377 Santa Monica
Blvd. ). It also features The Lesbian Avengers:
25th Anniversary traveling exhibition. Free
admission. www.weho.org/pride
JUNE 3
One City One Pride Day of History,
June 3 -30: As in years past, One City One
Pride provides an entire day of history on
the Saturday prior to Christopher Street
Wests LA Pride Festival.
Drag Queen Story Time, Sat Jun 3 @ 11
AM. (West Hollywood Library Community
Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.)
Free.
Stuart Timmons LGBTQ History Tour,
Sat Jun 3 @ 11 AM to 1 PM. (Shuttles
depart every 15 minutes from 11am
to 1pm. from the West Hollywood City
Council Chambers, 625. N. San Vicente
Blvd.) Go West (Hollywood) and join us for
the adventure! (Tours last between 90-120
minutes).
Reel In The Closet, Sat Jun 3 @ 5 PM
(West Hollywood City Council Chambers,
625 N. San Vicente Blvd.) Free admission.
JUNE 4
Vox Femina: Woman Rising, A
Taste of Season 20, Sun Jun 4 @ 3 PM
(Congregation Kol Ami, 1200 N. La Brea
Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038.) Free
admission.
#LastDance, Sun Jun 4 @ 7 PM
(McCadden Place Theatre, 1157 N.
McCadden Pl.) Show dates: Sun, June 4th
@7pm (press preview); Sun, June 11th
@10:30pm; Sun, June 18th @1pm; Fri, June
23rd @7:30pm; Sat, June 24th @8:30pm.
Tickets required.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
LA Pride grand marshal and #ResistMarch founder and organizer BRIAN PENDLETON (right)
discusses plans for the June 11 march that begins at 8 a.m. near the intersection of Hollywood and
Highland.
JUNE 6
Los Angeles Sparks Pride Night, in
sponsorship with LA Prides Womens
party, Jun 6 @ 7:30 PM (Staples Center,
1111 S Figueroa St). Tickets range in price
for $10 to $50. Must be 21 years or older.
JUNE 7
Outfest WeHo Screening of Pride
Under Fire Wed Jun 7 @ 7:30 PM (West
Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N.
San Vicente Blvd) Tickets required.
JUNE 8
Hollywood Fringe / One City One Pride,
Jun 8 - 25 (at various times and venues) Visit
www.hollywoodfringe.org/weho_2017 to
nd shows taking place in WeHo.
LAAA Out There, Fri Jun 9 - Jun 16
@ 10 AM - 5 PM (Gallery 825, 825 N. La
Cienega Blvd.). Opening Reception on
PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT
Friday, June 9, 6-9 pm. Gallery hours 10am-
5pm every day except Monday through
June 18. Free admission.
Migration of the Monarchs: Everything
in life...transforms , Fri Jun 3 - Jun 10 @ 7
PM - 9 PM (Santa Monica Boulevard between
Robertson and San Vicente) A three part
conceptual art project involving wearable
art that transforms over the month by Trans
artist Yozmit. She is the rst artist to receive
a Trans Art grant from the City of West
Hollywood: JUN 3 @ 11 AM - 3 PM, Yozmit will
collect prayers and stitch a ribbon or bead
onto a TOTEM (wearable art costume) as a
symbol of exchange; Jun 9 @ 7 PM - 9 PM,
WALK will be performed as live ambient art
on Santa Monica Blvd; Jun 10 @10 PM, Jun
18 @ 1pm and Jun 24 @ 5:30 PM, Burlesque
and Cabaret merge with Victorian esthetics,
Butoh, Kabuki, and Pansori (traditional
Korean singing) to create a cathartic act of
experiential research into the psyche of the
performer during the Hollywood Fringe.
Intentions and prayers in part 1 will be used
during the performance.
P RI D E
JUNE 9
Dyke March, Fri Jun 9 @ 6 PM (Sal
Guariello Veterans Memorial, 8447 Santa
Monica Blvd.) The annual Dyke March
begins with a program at 7 PM, followed by
a march down Santa Monica Blvd. at 8pm.
Trans Party and #SIZZLE, Fri Jun 9 @
Time TBD. (West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San
Vicente Blvd.) This event is free to attend.
Pride is Universal, Fri. Jun 9 @ 9:00 PM
- 1 PM. (Universal Studios Hollywood, 100
Universal City Plz) All day access passes
begin at $95. Event tickets, $48.
LA Dodgers LGBT Night, Fri. Jun 9 @
5:30 PM. (Dodger Stadium, 1000 Vin Scully
Ave) Tickets on sale at dodgers.com
JUNE 10
LA Pride Festival, Jun 10 - 11 @ all day
(West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente
Blvd.). The LA Pride Festival has been
organized by Christopher Street West (CSW)
since the 1970s. Entertainment includes
Chromeo and Brandy. Visit www.lapride.
org for a full line-up of entertainment and
to purchase tickets ($20-$30).
JUNE 11
#ResistMarch, Sun Jun 11 @ 8 AM - 1PM
(Hollywood and Highland to West Hollywood
Park.) This year a march will take place from
Hollywood (where LA Pride was born in 1970)
to West Hollywood, where LA Pride grew
up. Instead of a parade celebrating our past
progress, the LGBTQ+ community and its
allies will march in solidarity with and on the
same day as the National Equality March for
Unity and Pride in Washington DC. Speakers
include U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi, U.S. Congressman Adam Schi, U.S.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, West
Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, Activist
Bamby Salcedo, HRC President Chad Grin,
activist musicians Haim, Adam Lambert and
Margaret Cho. Free.
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2 2 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Queery
MARQUITA THOMAS
THE LA GAY AND LESBIAN
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LEADER ANSWERS 20 GAY
QUESTIONS
By TROY MASTERS
tmasters@losangelesblade.com
My rst encounter with Marquita
Thomas was at a Los Angeles Gay and
Lesbian Chamber of Commerce meeting
that was held at Tortilla Republic. I think
it was the way she passed the salsa, but it
was instantly apparent to me (being new
to Los Angeles at the time) that if I was
going to achieve anything in this town, I
needed to go through Marquita.
She commanded the room and knew
everyone. She is executive director of the
Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of
Commerce, co-chair of the West Hollywood
Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board, board
member of Christopher Street West,
founder of Out and About Events for
Women, a writer who has written for both TV
and lm, an organizer of womens festivals,
workshops and retreats around the USA,
like Serafemme, the Queer women of color
music festival. She achieved major success
as a promoter of Dinah Shore Lesbian
Weekend in Palm Springs.
The South Carolina native is in love with
SoCal and it has loved her back. Shes
opinionated yet charming, has an acerbic
and sometimes caustic wit and shes
diplomatically confrontational when she
feels she needs to be. She has a distinct
and strong point of view. She is not shy
about making sure people of color issues
are front and center, as they should be.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
MARQUITA THOMAS is one of Los Angeles
busiest LGBT leaders.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THOMAS
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
I had no idea I was gay until 2001, the
hardest person to tell was my father
because he was so ensconced in the
church, I really didnt know how he was
going to take it. I panicked for weeks
before telling him but he was shockingly
blase about it.
Whos your LGBT hero?
I dont know that I have one but someone
I admire immensely who just happens
to be LGBT is Diana Nyad, a woman who
at age 64 and after 5 tries became the
rst person to swim from Cuba to Florida
without the aid of a shark tank.
Whats Los Angeles best nightspot,
past or present?
I have lived in West Hollywood for two
decades and The Abbey continues to be
the go to spot for a quick round of drinks,
lunch or birthday shenanigans. I have seen
several incarnations of the Abbey and while
its not perfect, theres no better place to
start o a Sunday Funday.
Describe your dream wedding.
What makes a wedding a dream wedding
for me is the setting, I would love to get
married in a space with a gorgeous scenic
background - green pastures or water in
the background, surrounded by loved ones.
What non-LGBT issue are you most
passionate about?
I am very concerned and vocal about
the racial and religious divisiveness of
this country. The fusion of nationalities,
cultures and ethnicities in America is no
longer seen as a strength but rather as
a scapegoat for all its problems - from
economic to public safety.
What historical outcome would you change?
Thats a hard one. I think there have been
many times religions and nations have been
on the wrong side of history but I think all
of history rights itself. To change a historical
outcome would change whatever legislative
and emotional shift that needed to happen to
create progress, a shift that likely inuenced
change in another area so Id have to say that
I would not change any historical outcome
because all progress is intertwined.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
Prince. Everything Prince. From
Controversy to Purple Rain to every
album after. The talent and spectacle of
that man, the passion of his lyrics, his
artistry - he continues to be a pop culture
moment in and of himself.
On what do you insist?
Basic respect.
What was your last Facebook post or
Tweet?
I re-tweeted something from the Twitter
account @trumpregrets, an account that
either re-tweets or posts videos from
people who regret voting for Donald Trump
If your life were a book, what would
the title be?
The Joys of Trying Everything
If science discovered a way to change
sexual orientation, what would you do?
No, not at all, absolutely not. We are all
made exactly as we should be and while
P RI D E
there are those who do not celebrate our
dierences, we should and I do. The world
is made so much more interesting by having
people who are dierent in some way.
What do you believe in beyond the
physical world?
I was raised Catholic and went to
parochial school but I also believe in
burning sage and sound healing.
Whats your advice for LGBT movement
leaders?
There is a distinct lack of diversity in the
LGBT movement, there is not enough
age diversity, racial diversity or gender
diversity and we are too quick to reward
the same handful of allies whose only
activism is being present at our galas
instead of recognizing the eorts of
people who do the work daily.
What would you walk across hot coals for?
The end to bigotry. We cannot cultivate a
healthy and productive society if we are
constantly telling millions of people that
they are terrorists, thugs, the product of
unt parents, lazy and/or morally bankrupt.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?
That all gay people are white and look like
Neal Patrick Harris.
Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Aimee & Jaguar
Whats the most overrated social
custom?
Social custom? Small talk. I abhor small talk
What trophy or prize do you most covet?
The KCET LGBT Local Hero Award I won a
few years ago
What do you wish youd known at 18?
There are no wrong answers.
Why Los Angeles?
I came to Los Angeles from South
Carolina to go to Occidental College.
After graduation, I stayed. Who trades in
Los Angeles weather, opportunities and
nightlife to go back to wheat elds?
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Brandy, Chromeo lead star-studded Pride lineup

FESTIVAL SET FOR JUNE 10-11 IN WEST HOLLYWOOD

By DAN ALLEN

LA Pride will shine with a stellar line-up of musical stars

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRIDE

LAs Pride Parade may be kicking o in
Hollywood and transforming into a human
rights-focused Resist March for 2017, but
make no mistake the star-studded LA
Pride Festival will go on as usual this year,
with a diverse slate of popular artists
performing across three stages in West
Hollywood Park on Saturday and Sunday,
June 10 and 11.
The festivals main stage, renamed the
Park Stage this year, will be headlined
by Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo
on June 10, and LAs own homegrown
superstar Brandy on June 11. Park Stage
will also feature a broad array of other
LGBTQ and friendly artists, including gay-
beloved diva and reality star Erika Jayne,
rapper Brooke Candy, singer and former
teen idol Aaron Carter, rapper Young M.A,
rapper Kat Dahlia, rapper iLoveMakonnen,
singer and trumpeter Spencer Ludwig,
Australian singer Starley, singer/rapper
Tish Hyman, singer Leon Else, singer
Connell Cruise, and singer Jesse Mntana.
This is our eighth year producing LA
Prides celebration, and I have to say that
this is one of my favorite lineups of talent
for the festival, says Park Stage organizer
Je Consoletti. This lineup is edgy, yet
balanced with established hit-makers and,
much like the community itself, is very
progressive. I think people will love how this
years lineup will make for a fun weekend-
long celebration of our community.
Hip hop and R&B will be showcased
on the Boulevard Stage, with June 10th
headlined by singer-songwriter Sevyn
Streeter, and June 11th by Missy Elliott
protge Lil Mo. Other Boulevard Stage
artists will include DJ Paulo, Kristii, DJ
WZRD, Richie Skye, Rob.B, Kadie, DJ Bad,
Bre-Z, and DJ Sedrick on June 10; and DJ
Lala, Hym the Rapper, Keviyon, DJ Crystal
Ellis, Micahblu, DJ B. Walker, Georgia Reign,
DJ Ben Sharaya J, and DJ Wizz Kidd on June
11. The Boulevard Stage will be produced
by B.A.S.H. LA.
Latin artists will be the focus of the
Plaza Stage, produced by Club Papi. Stage
headliners, Mexican superstar singer
Ninel Conde and gorgeous hometown
queen Valentina (from RuPauls Drag
Race season 9), will be joined by Graciela
Beltran, Ana Victoria, Carmen Jara, LGBTQ
mariachi band Mariachi Arcoiris, a Selena
tribute band, DJ Oscar, and DJ Edgar
Velazquez.
Tickets for this years LA Pride Festival
are $25 per day or $35 for both days, and
can be purchased via www.lapride.org
 NEVER SILENT.
NEVER FINISHED.

THIS IS PRIDE.

City of West Hollywood

#resist #pride
weho.org/pride | @wehocity
City of West Hollywood
California 1984
2 6 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM LO CA L N E W S

Why we ride: The stories behind AIDS/LifeCycle

Worlds largest AIDS
fundraiser a reminder
epidemic isnt over
By REBEKAH SAGER
Until he started training, Eddie Martinez
hadnt ridden a bike since he was a kid. He
admits sheepishly to being afraid to ride
on the street alongside cars. He says hes
facing his fears and doing the 545-mile epic
ride in honor of two friends who both died
of HIV/AIDS.
Martinez, 48, will join the close to 2,800
people (including cyclists and volunteer
roadies) participating in the 2017 AIDS/
LifeCycle. The ride is a seven-day, 545-mile
bicycle ride June 4-10 from San Francisco
to Los Angeles to raise money for the San
Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/
AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles
LGBT Center. AIDS/LifeCycle has raised
more than $236 million since its rst ride
in 2002, making it the largest fundraiser for
HIV and AIDS in the world.
An East L.A. native whose parents
emigrated from Mexico, Martinez is the
executive director of Latino Quality Alliance,
a non-prot organization that does outreach
in the Latino community for LGBTQ youth and
their parents. Hes been involved in this kind of
work for more than two decades.
I was a club promoter in the 90s, I met a
guy who wanted to build an AIDS monument
in Lincoln Park [The Wall: Las Memorias],
I started helping him, and that was my
introduction into fundraising and activism
for Latino and LGBTQ issues, particularly
HIV/AIDS, he says. While working on the
monument I learned about the generation
before me who lost huge circles of friends, like
50 to 70 people. Its unimaginable.
Around that same time, I met this guy
and we became close friends. We came out
at the same time. But, he got caught up in
addiction and was [HIV] positive, and his body
just couldnt hold on anymore and he passed
away. His name is on that AIDS monument.
Im riding because of him.
Cedric Terrell, 31, is a Marine veteran and
professional photographer. Hes riding for
his ex-boyfriend who is HIV positive, and to
shut down HIVs racial disparities Terrell is
African American.
African Americans make up about 12
percent of the total U.S. population, yet
account for an estimated 45 percent of new
HIV infections nationally. African Americans
also account for 40 percent of everyone
living with HIV in the U.S., and 53 percent
of AIDS-related deaths According to the
Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 2 gay
and bi black men will become HIV positive
sometime in their lives. In L.A. County,
African Americans continue to account for
the majority of new infections.
Ive lost more friends to HIV than Id like
to count. Ive been involved in activism since
high school. I wanted to do something, Terrell
says.
When he and his ex were dating, Terrell
entered a drug trial at Whitman-Walker Health
Center in Washington, D.C. He volunteered to
be a test subject for a trial drug similar to PrEP
(Pre-exposure prophylaxis), a drug that people
at higher risk of exposure take daily to lower
their chances of getting infected with HIV.
Terrell is also riding in honor of continued
HIV/AIDS research.
Although rst discovered in 1981, the AIDS
epidemic is far from over.
In the seven days it takes the riders to reach
Los Angeles, more than 500 people in the
U.S. will become infected with HIV. One out of
every eight people living with HIV nationwide
is not aware of their status. Currently there are
1.2 million people living with HIV nationwide
and an estimated 39,000 will become infected
this year.
The Los Angeles LGBT Centers HIV
research is aligned with the National HIV/
AIDS strategy focusing on intervening at
every stage of HIV infection, from testing
high risk populations, to linking newly
diagnosed people to HIV care, starting them
on HIV medications as soon as possible,
supporting and increasing adherence
to their antiretroviral medications, and
ultimately reducing their HIV viral load to
undetectable levels. The comprehensive
approach is a complex but promising
strategy for reducing community viral
load and ultimately ending HIV/AIDS as an
epidemic in the U.S.
In early 2000, Martinez was at a softball
tournament in Palm Springs. He was pitching.
The score was tied, and bases loaded. The
batter stepped up, Martinez pitched, the
batter hit, and before he could get his glove
up, he blacked out. Martinez was hit in the
face by the ball. His jaw was crushed and he
lost teeth. His coach was there to hold his
hand through it all.
I loved him. He was there to care for
me in that moment and Ill never forget it,
Martinez says.
Martinezs coach was HIV positive, and died
of complications from AIDS. Martinez says
hell be thinking about him on the long ride.
Martinezs father lives in Sacramento, and
although he knows his son is gay, theyve never
talked about it. Theres a cultural barrier in the
Latino community. Theres machismo. You
just dont talk about that, he says.
One of six children, Martinez says his mother
accepts and loves him unconditionally, but he
has not yet told her that he was diagnosed HIV
positive in 2003.
Im not public about my status. Its not easy
to let the world know. But, also I dont want my
mother to worry about me. Im good. I take my
meds. Im healthy, he says.
I want to come out, but I dont want to be
the poster child. I dont want it [AIDS/Lifecycle]
to be about me. I want it to be about the
people we lost. I want it to be about a tool to
educate the next generation.
Martinezs team, the Psychopaths,
has already raised over $70,000. The
money will fund programs such as the Los
Angeles LGBT Centers Jerey Goodman
Special Care Clinic, which oers people
living with HIV comprehensive free or low-
cost primary and specialty medical care.
About 2,900 people receive care at the
clinic each year -- 42% of them identify as
Hispanic or Latino.
Despite the environment were in, you have
to learn to be inspired. As we raise money for
HIV/AIDS and other social issues, if we stay
active, change can happen. You only have one
life. If theres an opportunity, take it, he says.
This year will be Esther Kims fth AIDS/
Lifecycle ride. Kim doesnt t the stereotype of
someone who is HIV positive.
Kim, 31, was diagnosed in 2001, just after
graduating from her graduate program. She
was a single mother, Korean American, whose
father is a Christian pastor.
I couldnt tell anyone because I wasnt in
a community where it was talked about,
Kim says.
The shame and fear of being rejected.
For me it was so shameful. I felt like I failed
my son. I allowed this to happen to me. On
top of that, I was afraid I would jeopardize
my dads position as a pastor. In the Korean
community we never talked about this,
and its not talked about in the Christian
community either. It left me isolated. I chose
to be isolated, suering silently.
My rst ride was an eye opener for me. I
met so many people who were HIV positive;
people who were doing something for the
cause. They were being proactive. They had a
voice and they were sharing their stories. They
looked happy, she says.
Kim says she rides for several reasons. In
part to give back.
When I was rst diagnosed I was so lost
and scared, these organizations were there
to help me. If they werent there, I dont know
where Id be. Now Im in a place where Im
more nancial stable, I can train, and raise
awareness, and ask friends and families
for donations. I want to help overcome the
stigma, she says.
This years ride is especially momentous
for Kim. Its her rst publically coming out
HIV positive.
If I can help just one person who looks like
me and is HIV positive, Im willing to speak up
and share my story. Maybe, they wont feel so
alone and they will nd the courage to get the
help they need.
28 JU NE 02, 2017
Astraea Lesbian Foundation
honors frontline activism
Intersectionality is key
to organizations mission
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
How many people here have been
tear gassed, out ESPN/CNN contributor
LZ Granderson asked the audience
at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation
for Justices fourth annual Fueling the
Frontlines Awards. The question might
have seemed jarring at any other LGBT
fundraiser. But this May 25 event at the
NeueHouse in Hollywood was lled with
frontline activists who instantly knew he
was describing the demonstrations in
Ferguson, Missouri after a white cop shot
unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown
in August 2014.
Granderson noted that many asked
what happens next? The audience
knew that, too: a movement propelled
by activists such as performance artist,
freedom ghter and Fulbright scholar
Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black
Lives Matter, one of the most important
organizations in the past 25-30 years,
Granderson said.
#BlackLivesMatter was founded as
a social media call to action by queer
black women Cullors, Alicia Garza and
Opal Tometi in July 2013 after George
Zimmerman was acquitted of killing
17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. BLM
helped organize the protests in Ferguson.
Cullors accepted her Astraea award with
a call-and-response by the late African-
American poet Lucille Clifton, ending with:
Come celebrate with me that every day
something has tried to kill me and has failed.
An Angelino, Cullors called out the
LAPD and the L.A. Sheris Department
for destroying black and brown families
and then brought up ve Immigrant Youth
W W W .LOS ANG E LE SB L A D E . C O M
Out Black Lives Matter co-founder PATRISSE CULLORS (right) with JONATHAN PEREZ and
Immigrant Youth Coalition members.
Coalition activists to issue an immediate
call to action. Jonathan Perez choked up
talking about how ICE came after their
friend Claudia Ruedas mother, who they
got out of detention. Then in retaliation,
ICE came for Claudia, a beloved DACA-
eligible college student. Nudged by Cullors
and TransLatina Coalition founder Bamby
Salcedo, the youth asked everyone to call
619-557-6117 and ask ICE San Diego eld
director Gregory Archambeault to grant
Claudia Sarahi Rueda (A# 213-081-680)
prosecutorial discretion and immediately
release her to her family.
Astraea has always understood that the
ght for LGBTQI equality is intersectional
it requires ghting for black and brown
rights, for migrant rights, economic rights
and more, said Cullors. Im proud to
be part of the resistance and ready to
continue the ght.
Astraea also honored transgender
activist/organizer Jennicet Gutierrez, co-
founder of Familia: Trans Queer Liberation
Movement; critically acclaimed Univision
News anchor and journalist Jorge Ramos
and his queer daughter Paola Ramos,
former Deputy Director of Hispanic Media
for Hillary for America; and out Oscar-
winning producer Bruce Cohen, a major
marriage equality advocate and Executive
LO CA L N E W S
LOS ANGELES BLADE PHOTO BY KAREN OCAMB
Producer of ABCs historical LGBT series
When We Rise.
As a journalist ghting for LGBTQI equality,
immigrant rights and human rights, it is not
enough to just report on what is happening,
we need to inform the public about whats
happening and present reality as it is and not
the way we want it to be, said Jorge Ramos,
who came to the attention of non-Latino
America when he stood up to presidential
candidate Donald Trump and was forcefully
removed from a news conference (he was
eventually allowed back in).
And the reality is that discrimination is
still very present in this country, Ramos
continued. As individuals we must
take an aggressive stand against those
violating the rights of others and we need
organizations like Astraea to ensure that
the rights of everyone are being protected.
Neutrality only helps the oppressor.
Introduced by famous trans model Isis
King, Gutierrez talked about the violence
faced by her trans sisters, reading o
the names of ten trans women who have
died since January. Rest in Power, she
said, adding, even if you dont invest (in
the trans community), trust the trans
leadership of trans women of color.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
PRIDE
Rev. Perry reects on heartbreak,
triumph of LGBT movement
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 04
the bar. He also led hundreds of marchers
demanding police reform.
On March 9, 1970, Perry led 120 marchers
to rally behind the pre-bathhouse Dover
Hotel in downtown LA to commemorate
the one-year anniversary of Howard Eand,
who had been beaten to death by two LAPD
ocers. He attended the inquest and heard
the police explain that one of the ocers
had fallen on Eand, rupturing his spleen brings Perry to tears.
and that the broken bones and cuts were a
result of him having fallen out of the police
car, not being dragged feet rst down three
ights of stairs after having been beaten
up and then kicked. There were two
eyewitnesses, Perry says. The City Attorney
asked the rst one, a drag queen wearing
female clothes, are you a homosexual? She
answered, Yes, and the eyes of the jurors
closed. They didnt want to hear any more.
By May 1970, Perrys Metropolitan
Community Church held packed services
at the 350-plus seat Encore Theatre on
Virgil Avenue in Hollywood.
The rst-ever Pride parade on June 28
went o without a hitch. Until the end.
Perry, Carol Shepard, head of L.A. chapter of
the Daughters of Bilitis, and lesbian activist
Kelly Longman sat down on the corner
of Las Palmas Avenue and Hollywood
Boulevard saying they would not move
until someone from city government came
to discuss gay rights. They were soon
arrested for vicious and malicious blocking
of a sidewalk with intent to do harm, says
Perry, whose mentor was civil rights leader
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The two women
were released but Perry spent the night in
jail. When nally released by a judge, Perry
trekked to the federal building and staged a
sit-in and hunger strike for 10 days. Finally,
City Council member Robert Stevenson
and his wife Peggy came and spoke to him,
WWW.LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
enabling Perry to break his fast.
But societal hatred of gays, which the LAPD
reinforced, constantly threatened to ruin
lives. In 1973, for instance, police arrested
39 gay men in Grith Park as re hazards.
That was in addition to the usual bar and
bathhouse raids. However, 1973 saw a spike
in violence, with MCC as a prime target. On
Jan. 27, the mother church in Los Angeles
was nearly destroyed. A second arson re on
April 6 left only the walls standing. But it was
the June 24, 1973 re in New Orleans that still
There were 36 MCC churches around
the country by 1973, including one in the
French Quarter. After the service, many
members, including straight women with
their children, would go to the UpStairs
Lounge for continued worship and to
socialize. We didnt care, Perry said at the
time. If Jesus could turn water into wine,
hell, we could worship in a bar.
The free beer party had ended and a
doorbell rang, as if someone asked for a
cab. The bartender opened the door and a
reball burst in. The stairs leading out were
already ablaze. Some patrons were able to
get out the back exit, but many were trapped
as ames engulfed the walls and windows
encased with metal bars. Fireghters found
some charred bodies embracing, others
pressed against the windows. MCC leader
Rev. Bill Larsons body was stuck in between
the barshis body left exposed to passersby.
Like others who died there that night, Larson
had not come out to his family and his
mother refused to collect his remains. In all,
32 people died as a result of the re, covered
by the media, but without mentioning the
site was a gay bar. Survivors had to go to
work the next day and not share their grief
for fear of losing their job or housing.
Perry found out in the early morning
of June 25. He had spent the day at the
4th annual Gay Pride parade and later
gathered with around 800 people on
JUNE 02, 2017 29
the beach in Santa Monica, with a police
helicopter overhead. Heartbroken and
in shock, he immediately ew to New
Orleans, only to nd that even in death,
the gays were deled.
Someone said it was just a bunch of
faggots, Perry told a local newspaper. But
we knew them as people, and as brothers
and sisters, and we will never forget them.
No one oered a place to hold
memorial services until the black minister
of a predominately white Methodist
congregation came forward and oered
a July 1 service. No one was arrested,
though the man suspected of the arson
committed suicide the following year.
The arson and violence did not end.
On July 27, 1973, the MCC Church in San
Francisco burned to the ground. But
instead of surrendering to fear, Perry
expanded and by 1985, there were 200
MCC churches in nine countries.
The New Orleans re was the worst mass
gay murder in U.S. history until the terrorist
attack that killed 49 and wounded 53 mostly
gay Latinos at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando,
Fla., in the early morning hours of June 12
last year. The organizers of the Christopher
Street West LGBT Pride parade had to think
twice about whether to go forward or cancel
the parade out of respect for the dead. And
then came word that Santa Monica police
had just arrested a man from Indiana with
scores of guns and bomb-making material
in his caron his way to West Hollywood for
the Pride parade.
Just like rounding the corner of
McCadden Place onto Hollywood
Boulevard in 1970, it took a tremendous
act of courage to resist the fear and go
forward with the Pride parade in 2016. This
years #ResistMarch is a shout out to all the
outrage the LGBT community has endured
over the years.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
3 0 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Bauman makes history
Becomes rst openly
gay chair of California
Democratic Party
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
California Democratsfrom Gov.
Jerry Brown to progressive grassroots
advocates working on LGBT equality,
immigrant rights and climate change
have vowed to ght policies being pushed
by the conservative Trump administration.
Serving as the backbone to that resistance
eort is the California Democratic Party,
now led by openly gay longtime politico
Eric Bauman.
California must remain the bastion of
resistance against Donald Trump, and
the shining beacon of hope, leading the
way, pushing the envelope on progressive
policy for the rest of the nation to follow,
Bauman said after being elected CDP
Chair on May 20.
Indeed, much of the national eort to
hold President Donald Trump accountable
is being led by members of Congress
who hail from California: House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi; ranking House
Intelligence Committee member Adam
Schi and his intelligence colleagues, Eric
Swalwell and Jackie Speier; Trump-Twitter-
troller-in-chief Ted Lieu; and the exciting
#InTrumpsFace queen, Maxine Waters.
Additionally, the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee,
which includes out representatives Jared
Polis, Mark Takano and Mark Pocan, has
targeted six Republican seats (possibly
seven, given Intelligence chair Devin
Nunes controversial actions during their
Russian investigation) to help Democrats
re-take the House in the 2018 elections.
But theres an ugly scratch in this pretty
picture of Democratic unity. Baumans
opponent in the race for chair, Kimberly
Ellis, will not concede until all the ballots
have been validated and an ocial
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
ERIC BAUMANs opponent is contesting the
results of the race for California Democratic
Party chair.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
challenge she led on May 30 has been
resolved. The only way the outcome can be
changed, however, is if Ellis les a lawsuit.
The issue revolves around the shocking
election outcome: Bauman won by 62
votes out of more than 3,000 cast. He had
long been the frontrunner, having spent
decades building up the party and helping
elect Democrats as head of the Stonewall
Democratic Party; the 17-year chair of the
huge Los Angeles Democratic Party; and
Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party.
Ellis, by contrast, is the former
executive director of Emerge California,
an organization that recruits and
trains women for political oce. And
despite her support for establishment
candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, Ellis
got the endorsement of Bernie Sanders
national movement and its vociferous
local Berniecrats, who unabashedly used
outright obfuscation to win.
For instance, Ellis team, led by
the rambunctious California Nurses
Association, suggested that Baumans
support for the universal healthcare bill,
The Healthy California Act (SB 562), was
lacking, despite its prominence as an issue
in his campaign. Additionally, Bauman is
a former registered nurse who met his
husband of more than 30 years, Michael
Andraychak, in 1983 in the ICU ward during
the AIDS crisis that started the demand for
healthcare as a right.
Additionally, Bauman has a long record
of backing a single-payer healthcare law
with then-Insurance Commissioner John
Garamendi, out former State Sens. Sheila
Kuehl and Mark Leno, and more recently,
SB 562 co-authors Ricardo Lara, and Toni
Atkins to make California a healthcare
sanctuary state. Ellis has no such record.
For Ellis and the Berniecrats, having
deep ties to the Democratic Party is
tantamount to being a corporate
Democrat and part of a rigged system.
They conveniently ignored Baumans work
to elect Sanders-backed Keith Ellison as
chair of the Democratic Party.
Ellis protesters also alleged that there
was a lack of transparency and ballot-
stung during the election for chair, even
though the ballots had to be signed and
checked at tables where representatives
from both camps stationed observers. After
being denied a recount, which is not allowed
in the bylaws, Ellis called for the audit.
[Baumans] got a problem on his hands:
This party is divided, Carlos Marroquin,
a Los Angeles resident who organized
young voters in several states as part
of the Bernie Sanders Brigade, told the
San Francisco Chronicle. And if theyre
thinking about (midterm elections in)
2018, forget it. Because theyre not going
to win if theyre divided.
This is our Tea Party moment, one is the rst time in my life Ive ever seen
leading Democratic strategist told Politico.
And its not going away.
But who better represents the
progressive values of the California
LO CA L N E W S
Democratic Party?
One of the things Ive talked about this
entire campaign is getting this party back
to basics, which means being a party that
is truthful, that is democratic, doesnt just
talk about its values, but lives its values,
Ellis said after losing.
And yet it was Ellis supporters who
allegedly launched a homophobic attack
on Bauman, spreading vicious rumors
that he had engaged in inappropriate
behavior with 14- and 16-year-old boys.
What theyre accusing me of is being
a child predator!, Bauman told the Los
Angeles Blade at the time. I lost it. I started
crying uncontrollably, until his husband
helped him regain his composure. Bauman
issued an email to delegates entitled I can
no longer stay silent! In it he fumed: This
is despicable! This is not the Democratic
Party! These are Trumpian tactics and it
has to stop!
The next attacks were anti-Semitic.
Ellis sent her own email: These rumors
are despicable and theres no place in our
politics for such outrageous behavior and I
denounce any such type of cruel maligning
of someones character.
But that was it, as if one statement was
a sucient declaration of her progressive
pro-LGBT values.
Meanwhile, Bauman says he is rmly
in charge as chair and is in the process of
reorganizing, hiring sta and moving forward.
And his progressive values were armed by
reaction to his election, including an especially
meaningful comment on social media.
Somebody left a post on my Facebook
page in response to seeing me and Michael
embracing onstage at the convention after
my speech, Bauman says. He said, Ive
been waiting a lifetime to see that. He
also commented on a campaign mailer I
sent out featuring our relationship. This
an openly gay politician campaign on his
family values.
It is a standard Bauman has now set for
the California Democratic Party.
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3 2 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
LA City Hall honors LGBT trailblazers
Kicking o Pride Month with
new safe spaces initiative
By REBEKAH SAGER
Just as the 2017 LGBT Heritage
Month kicks o June 1, Los Angeles City
Controller Ron Galperin joined Mayor Eric
Garcetti, City Attorney Mike Feuer, Council
members Mitch OFarrell and Mike Bonin
and other members of the City Council at
City Hall to honor four trailblazers in the
LGBTQ community.
Honorees proceeded into the John
Ferraro Council Chamber to a soulful
rendition of This Land is Your Land.
This seventh annual Heritage
Month honored the work of actress
Alexandra Billings, known for her role in
Transparent, Michael Kearns, recognized
as Hollywoods rst openly gay actor in
the 1970s and a longtime advocate of
awareness for those with HIV/AIDS, actress
Sara Ramirez, known for her role on
Greys Anatomy, and 80-year-old Alexei
Romano, a Ukrainian-born immigrant,
heralded for his historic civil rights work.
This years theme is The Art of
Resistance.
Everyone should be free to live their
truth, love who they choose, and nd
acceptance in the place they call home,
Mayor Eric Garcetti said to those gathered.
LGBTQ Heritage Month is a time to reect
on the long march to justice and tolerance,
and to honor those who have devoted
themselves to building a world that is free
from hatred and safe for all no matter
their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Los Angeles takes pride in the activism
and accomplishments of our LGBTQ
community, and we will always stand with
every Angeleno who is ghting for equality,
respect, and dignity for all people.
Council member Mike Bonin talked
about the LGBTQ communitys need for
celebrating its heritage and passing along
the rich history to its young people.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
We dont have a kind of Passover,
where we can get together every year and
share our stories of what our community
has done and how our community has
struggled, and survived. So, our younger
generations dont have the benet of that
built in heritage, so young people today
dont know that our brightest times in
LGBTQ history proceeded the darkest
times WWII. There are young people today
who dont know the horrors and ravages
of the AIDS epidemic or how the lesbian
community banded together to save their
sick and dying brothers, Bonin said.
Singer, actress and activist, Sara
Ramirez, acknowledged the many in the
LGBTQ community those whove inspired
her and help to keep her steadfast in her
ght for equality.
With our current political climate its hard
to maintain hope these days. But, sharing
space in a way that celebrates my community
and all its intersections gives me hope. Im
proud to be a Mexican, Irish American-
immigrant, queer and bi-sexual woman. The
LGBTQ+ community has never been about
just one person, and one experience and
identity. Our struggles are shared and our
resilience unrelenting, Ramirez said.
Michael Kearns speech was about
inclusion, encouraging those in the LGBTQ
community to make sure to shine their
lights into neighborhoods theyve never
gone into, taking paths rarely traversed,
and daring to ruin a pair of shoes.
This honor serves as my marching
papers, Kearns said.
Actress Alexandra Billings made the
suggestion that the crowd assembled
gather their strength and reach across
the aisle and talk to each other.
This room is easy. Whats happening
here is a room lled with great love and
great joy? Its a safe place, but now we
have to go out of the safe place and
go to the unsafe place. Thats the real
meaning of revolution. When we can
gather together and talk to the people
who dont agree with us. Who do want us
dead? Who do want us marginalized? Who
LO CA L N E W S
MICHAEL KEARNS, SARA RAMIREZ,
ALEXANDRA BILLINGS, and ALEXEI
ROMANOFF were among the trailblazers
honored.
LOS ANGELES BLADE PHOTO BY REBEKAH SAGER
dont believe in equal rights. Who believe
we should be rounded up like cattle and
taken to an island and forget about us.
Those are the people whore ill informed
and spiritually bankrupt. We have to
help them the best way we can, with
education with compassion, kindness, and
a revolutionary spirit that bore the LGBTQ
community from the beginning of time
this is who we are. Its in our cells. You
would not have art were not for the queer
community, Billings said.
LAPD Assistant Chief Beatrice M. Girmala,
Director, Oce of Special Operations and
Department LGBTQ Outreach Program
Coordinator talked about bringing a safety
initiative to Los Angeles similar to one
recently launched in Seattle.
The Safe Space Program, will ask
participating businesses, located in
Hollywood and East Los Angeles to place
decals on their windows and doors, as a way
of announcing themselves as a place open
to LGBTQ community members in need
aimed at creating a safer community.
3 4 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Celebrating the Womans Building
The Feminist Mecca for
art and culture in LA
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
Running parallel to the civil rights
and liberation movements of the 1960s
and early 1970s was a counterculture
movement driven by consciousness-
raising, freeing and exploring the
imagination. For womenand lesbians,
in particularshaking o the shackles
of overt and inculcated male oppression
promised the daring, bold, sensuous
thrill of self-expression, stripped of the
boundaries and language of man.
The haven for the feminist art movement
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
in Los Angeles was the Womans Building
at 1727 N. Spring St., founded in 1973
by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer
Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and art
historian Arlene Raven. Until its closing in
1991, the building provided a safe space
for artists and writers such as Judy Baca,
Rachel Rosenthal, Lily Tomlin, Margaret
Atwood, Alice Walker and Ntozake Shange
to shape, workshop and presented their
work. Madre Tierra Press also enable
Chicana artists to give visibility to their
cultural expression.
In the 1970s, lesbians became very
active about promoting and working
together for their own visibility in the
arts, and the Womans Building was an
important center, says lesbian author
Terry Wolverton, noting that the Womans
LO CA L N E W S
Building hosted the rst conference of
lesbian artists in 1975. Two years later,
she became co-director, about which she
wrote in Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the
Womans Building.
Loathed to let the vibrancy of that
historic feminist art movement fade away,
Lauren Bon and the Metabolic Studio
developed a special project in which
fteen emerging Southern California
women artists received fellowships to
create new works using the Womans
Building and its history as a reference.
The exhibitions, performances, readings
and discussions under Animating the
Archives: the Womans Building opened The Naked Lady sculpture by artist Kate Millett
is positioned atop the Womens Building,
on May 13 and will run through June 3 at Dec.13, 1978
Avenue 50 Studio, 131 North Avenue 50,
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY,
Highland Park, CA 90042. HERALD-EXAMINER COLLECTION
3 6 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
7th Circuit affirms bathroom access for trans student
Court unanimously says
Title IX bars discrimination
By CHRIS JOHNSON
In another legal decision arming
federal law ensures bathroom access for
transgender students, a federal appeals
court has determined a transgender
student in Wisconsin must be allowed
access to restrooms at his high school
consistent with his gender identity.
In a 35-page decision, a three-judge
panel the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of
Ashton Whitaker, a 17-year-old who
sued Kenosha Unied School District for
requiring him to use a restroom separate
from one used by all other students.
Writing for the court, U.S. Circuit
Judge Ann Claire Williams, an Obama
appointee, determined Title IX of the
Education Amendment of 1972, which
bars discrimination in schools on the basis
of sex, applies to Ashs situation.
A policy that requires an individual to
use a bathroom that does not conform
with his or her gender identity punishes
that individual for his or her gender non
conformance, which in turn violates Title
IX, Williams writes.
Joining Williams in the decision was U.S.
Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner, an appointee
of George W. Bush, and U.S. Circuit Judge
Diane Wood, a Clinton appointee.
The decision upholds a preliminary
injunction U.S. District Judge Pamela
Pepper, an Obama appointee, issued
in September requiring Kenosha Unied
School District to change its policy.
Ash said in a statement hes thrilled the
Seventh Circuit determined that Peppers
decision should stand as the litigation and
his studies continue.
After facing daily humiliation at school
last year from being threatened with
discipline and being constantly monitored
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
The 7th Circuit has armed bathroom access
for ASHTON WHITAKER, shown here with his
mother.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER
by school sta just to use the bathroom,
the district courts injunction in September
allowed me to be a typical senior in high
school and to focus on my classes, after-
school activities, applying to college, and
building lasting friendships, Ash said.
According to the court decision, Ashs
school informed him after he transitioned
he couldnt use the boys restroom, onlythe
girls restroom or a gender-neutral facility
some distance from his classes. Fearful of
missing class and being punished for being
late, Ash limited his water intake in school so
he wouldnt have to use the restroom, but
suered health consequences as a result.
Ash several times contemplated suicide, the
decision says.
Williams cites as a precedent for
interpreting Title IX to apply to Ash the
U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Price
Waterhouse v. Hopkins in 1989 and
Oncale v. Sundowner Oshore Services in
1998, which instructs schools to construe
sex stereotyping as sex discrimination.
Also cited is the 7th Circuits recent in
decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community
College, which determined anti-gay bias is
sex discrimination under the law.
The School District argues that even
under a sex stereotyping theory,
Ash cannot demonstrate a likelihood
of success on his Title IX claim because
its policy is not based on whether the
student behaves, walks, talks, or dresses
in a manner that is inconsistent with any
preconceived notions of sex stereotypes,
NATIONAL NEWS
Williams writes. Instead, it contends that individual does not conform to the sex
as a matter of law, requiring a biological based stereotypes of the sex that he or
female to use the womens bathroom is she was assigned at birth.
not sex stereotyping. However, this view
is too narrow. By denition, a transgender CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
Cancellation of OutGames
events prompts fraud probe
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. Organizers of the World OutGames Miamis decision to abruptly
cancel almost all of its sporting events has prompted local authorities to launch a fraud
investigation.
Organizers told participants in an email they sent on May 26 that nancial challenges
prompted them to cancel the opening and closing ceremonies and sports programming
with the exception of aquatics, country western dance and soccer.
The opening ceremony was scheduled to take place in Miami Beach on May 27.
LGBT athletes from around the world had already traveled to South Florida to participate
in the games that were scheduled to take place through June 4 when organizers made
their announcement. The World OutGames Miami Human Rights Conference took place
as scheduled at a Miami Beach hotel, although attendance was far lower than expected.
We thank everyone who has supported the eort and apologize to those who will be
impacted by this dicult decision, said the organizers in their email.
The Miami Herald reported the city of Miami Beach spent $200,000 to sponsor the
OutGames and waved permit fees associated with events. The newspaper alsosaidMiami-
Dade County agreed to reimburse $18,000 in expenses.
The Miami HeraldreportedMiami Beach ocials in recent months grew increasingly
concerned that games organizers were unable to meet their fundraising goals. It obtained a
memo from City Manager Jimmy Morales on May 25 that said OutGames ocials had not
paid a $5,000 deposit for event permits and they owed the National Hotel, which was the
games ocial hotel, a substantial amount of money.
The city of Miami Beach is deeply concerned to hear that the World OutGames has
decided to cancel their opening and closing ceremonies and sports programming, with the
exception of soccer, aquatics and country western dance, said the city of Miami Beach on
May 26 in a statement.
City sta has worked consistently for the past several months to assist the event
producers with special events planning and permitting; fundraising eorts; relocating
events to low or no cost venues; assisting with local partners to provide support and access
and providing nancial support to cover police stang costs, it added. As a lead sponsor
of the event, the city also waived all related special event and permitting fees for this event
and provided cash sponsorship to the OutGames.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
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3 8 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S

Macron discusses gay Chechnya Husband of Luxembourgs gay

crackdown with Putin
French President Emmanuel
Macron on Monday said he
discussed the crackdown against
gay Chechens with his Russian
counterpart.
We discussed the situation of
LGBT people in Chechnya, wrote
Macron on his Twitter page after
he met with Russian President
Vladimir Putin at the Palace of
Versailles outside Paris. I very
specically told President Putin
what Frances expectations are.
Macron also noted the
crackdown against gay Chechens
as he spoke at a press conference
PM joins NATO spouse photo
Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourgs prime minister Xavier Bettel, caused
a buzz on social media when he appeared alongsideother spouses ofworld leaders at the
NATO summit in Brussels.
Destenay was notably the only malein the group as he posed for a picture with the rest
of the women smiling from ear to ear.
He and Bettel had been in a civil partnership when Bettel became prime minister in
2013. The pair was married in 2015 when same-sex marriage became legal in Luxembourg.
Destenay appeared next to First Lady Melania Trump, First Lady of France Brigitte
Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Ingrid
Schulerud, Desislava Radeva, Amelie Derbaudrenghien, Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of
Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir.
A White House caption of the photo omitted Destenays name.
Newly elected French President EMMANUEL MICHAEL K. LAVERS
MARCON raised the ongoing crackdown against
gay Chechen men during his meeting with
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Taiwan recognizes same-sex marriage
PHOTO BY OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

with Putin.
Chechnya is a predominantly
Muslim semi-autonomous Russian republic in the North Caucuses.
Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, reported last month that
Chechen authorities have arrested more than 100 gay men since February.
Novaya Gazeta has said some of the men who have been arrested have been
beaten, tortured or even killed. Reports also indicate Chechen authorities have
sent them to secret prisons that have been described as concentration camps.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a close ally of Russian President
Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin have downplayed or even dismissed the reports
that gay men have been arrested. Novaya Gazeta reported last week that the
Russian government has launched an investigation into the crackdown.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month raised Chechnya with Putin
during their meeting that took place in Russia. British Prime Minister Theresa May
and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the other world leaders who have
condemned the crackdown.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in an April 17 statement said the U.S.
remains disturbed by the arrests of the gay Chechen men.
The State Department last month urged the Russian government to investigate
them. President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have neither publicly
commented on the arrests nor urged the Russian government to pressure
Chechen authorities to stop their crackdown.
Macron on May 7 defeated Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front in the
second round of Frances presidential election.
Macron accused Russian hackers of targeting his campaign in the days leading
up to the election. The Russian government has repeatedly denied it sought to
inuence the outcome of the French election, even though Putin met with Le Pen
at the Kremlin on March 24.
The rst round of the French presidential election took place on April 23.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Taiwan on Wednesday became the rst Asian country to legally recognize same-sex
marriage.
The Taiwanese Constitutional Court ruled the provision of the islands civil code that
does not allow two persons of the same sex to create a permanent union of intimate
and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together is
unconstitutional.
The ruling orders lawmakers to amend or enact relevant laws within two years. Same-
sex couples will be able to legally marry if they fail to meet this deadline.
The Associated Press reported same-sex marriage supporters who were gathered
outside the Taiwanese legislature in Taipei, the islands capital, reacted to the ruling with
rapturous applause.
Chi Chia-wei, a prominent gay rights advocate, rst tried to register a marriage to his
partner in 1986.
The Taiwanese Constitutional Court ruled against Chi in 2015. He once again
challenged the constitutionality of the islands same-sex marriage ban and the Taipei City
Governments Department of Civil Aairs joined his case.
The court heard the lawsuit in March.
An amendment to include same-sex marriage in the countrys civil code passed a
preliminary review by the Committee of the Legislative Yuan (Taiwans Parliament) late
last year.
President Tsai Ing-wen is among those who publicly support marriage rights for same-
sex couples. The Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan continues to
oppose eorts to allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot on the island.
After waiting for two months, we nally witness the grand justices marking a new
milestone in the history of gender movements as well as the constitution of Taiwan, said
the Marriage Equality Coalition, a Taiwanese advocacy group, in a statement after the
court announced its ruling. This is the rst time that an interpretation of the constitution
declares the discriminations embedded in Taiwanese laws against the LGBTQ community
unconstitutional, as they violate the fundamental rights of equality and marriage freedom
granted by the constitution.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
4 0 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
#ResistMarch is about
our liberties and our lives
When they come for one of
us, they come for all of us!
By BRIAN PENDLETON
Before we talk about why we resist,
its important to understand who we are.
Because who we are is at the heart of why
we resist, and our understanding of who
we are has morphed over time.
Intersectionality is a foreign word to
many people, but it is the essence of
who we are as a community. Its time we
awaken to the simple fact that we cannot
be reduced to ve or even 10 letters. With
this new understanding, we can see we
are part of a much larger, more diverse
human family than ever before.
We are a beautiful tapestry of concentric
circles. We no longer just belong to the L
or G or B or T or Q; we belong to those and
many other communities. We are people
of color and of faith. We are disabled. We
are immigrants of every status. We are
DREAMers. We are HIV positive. We have
AIDS. We are educators. We are women,
men, allies, friends, and family. We are
teenagers and seniors. We are union
members. We are wounded veterans
and recent West Point graduates. We are
parents and grandparents. Imagine all
the possibilities. No longer do we need
to identify with a singular silo. We are so
much more. We truly are the beauty of
the rainbow.
Why is this important? At #ResistMarch
we say, When they come for one of us,
they come for all of us! Its the pact we are
making with each other as a community.
Even though a law or other action may
not be aimed directly at me, a cisgender
Caucasian gay guy, if its aimed at anyone
in our community, I will rally around them
in support. Its our very own NATO pact.
When 10 transgender people of color are
murdered in the United States since Jan.
1, we must rally around our community.
March in the streets with them. Attend
WWW .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
public forums in support, donate to their
charities and anything else required. We
must resist.
When the United States Congress votes
to repeal the Aordable Care Act, it may
not aect your health insurance, but it will
impact our community disproportionately.
We must be ready to lend a hand. We
must resist.
When the state of Texas or North
Carolina passes bills that marginalize or,
even worse, criminalize our community,
you may not feel that in Hells Kitchen, on
Lake Shore Drive, in South Beach or the
Hills of Los Angeles, but we must stand
with our whole community wherever they
call home. We must resist.
When desperate gay Chechens are
denied visas to enter the United States
despite the obvious human rights abuses
they are suering, we must resist!
When people of the Muslim faith are
proled and detained simply because of
how they worship, we must resist.
We resist because our work is not
complete. We resist because there is a
coordinated eort to criminalize us, roll
back our rights and drive us into the closet.
We resist because some of our lives might
be better, but millions have been left
behind. If we dont lend a hand, who will?
My good friend Alan Uphold says
something all the time, and it bears
repeating: This. Is. Not. Normal. We
must not let the crazy behavior of an
extreme conservative minority set us back
decades with their nefarious dealings
with the Russians or their unholy alliance
with those who would criminalize and
marginalize usor worse. We must not let
Donald Trumps erratic behavior, lack of
discipline with respect to the crown jewels
of our national security and work ethic
become the new normal. We must resist
these things at every turn.
The best way to resist is to vote.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, told me this week that
our community makes up 5 percent of the
VIEWPOINT
U.S. electorate. FIVE percent!
Imagine the greater percentage and
power of the LGBT vote in progressive
cities such as Los Angeles. In elections that
are won by a few hundred votes, we can
make the dierence, and more elections
than you can imagineparticularly on
the front lines of our ght at the state and
local levelare decided by tiny margins.
We must get serious about voting. Like
wearing a seatbelt in a car or wearing a
helmet on a bike, we must protect our
democracy and our lives by voting. It must
be second nature, and the peer pressure
to vote must be overwhelming.
We are sitting where we are, not because
they got more people to vote for them, but
because too many of us did not vote.
We must resist apathy.
You are a member of a colorful and
incredibly diverse family. Like any family,
we may not agree on every approach. I ask
that, in this time of serious political peril,
we spend more time listening to each other
and less time convening the circular ring
squad. My way is NOT the only way. Your
way is not the only way. Every decision is
not a ght to the death. We must gure
out a way to lock arms and move forward
together. Our lives and liberties depend
on it. That is why the rst phrase in our
#ResistMarch mission statement is that
we #Resist the eorts to divide us.
When Sunday, June 11 rolls around, it
is my hope that youll #resist the desire
to stay in bed. I know 8 a.m. on a Sunday
feels early. But your presence is not only
requested; it is required. Our community
is counting on you. Being at Hollywood
and Highland will be the unifying moment
that our community needs.
Join us, our allies, your friends and your
family. Be seen and be heard. Express
your joy and your hopes. We are a proud
people and we will not go back.
BRIAN PENDLETON is the organizing force
behind #ResistMarch and is a leading Los
Angeles philanthropist and entrepreneur.
VOLUME 01 ISSUE 06
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V I E W PO I N T
Resistance is the essence of Pride
Highland and Hollywood,
the intersection of equality
TROY MASTERS is publisher and editor of the
Los Angeles Blade. Reach him at tmasters@
losangelesblade.com.
Last year on Pride morning, Los Angeles
woke up to the horric news that a madman,
using semi-automatic weapons, had opened
re inside an Orlando LGBT nightclub, killing
49 people and wounding 53 others.
Our shock turned to momentary
paralysis when that news was
accompanied by a Santa Monica Police
announcement that they had disrupted
an attack on LA Pride, arresting a man
carrying a large cache of semi-automatic
weapons and explosives. We could have
stayed home, but few did.
Instead, we resisted.
Angelinos poured into the streets of
WeHo, turning their grief into deance
and refusing to cower. We turned our
celebration of LGBT Pride into a show of
force and a jubilant and loving tribute to
the lives lost in Orlando.
At essence, thats who we are.
Over the centuries LGBT people have
been deeply persecuted, brutalized,
burned at the stake and even buried alive
for daring to love. More than a few times
there have been eorts to eradicate us
from society.Even within the span of the
past 75 years there have been several
roundup and torture detentions in
Germany, Spain, Argentina, China, Chile,
Peru, Nicaragua, Uganda, Italy, Eastern
Europe, Russia and Cuba, to name a few.
Even today Chechen gay men face the
brutality of concentration camps. Today, in
Iran, Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim
nations, the death penalty is routinely
imposed for anyone suspected of having
engaged in gay sex.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
The past 100-year arc of LGBT rights
in America and in much of the Western
world has included periods of extreme
persecution and loss of basic dignity. But
modern notions of civil rights evolved and
more thorough democratic governing
principles have given rise to our ability to
demand and eect social change.
Along the way our liberation was
thwarted and our energies sapped by a
devastating plague that killed hundreds
of thousands of us. If you are like me you
lost dozens of friends, spent hundreds of
nights in hospitals caring for loved ones,
you marched in the streets demanding
care, demanding government funding for
research and admonishing your friends
and families to do the same. We lost
careers, jobs, homes, families, fortunes
and even our pride. But we fought. We
kept ghting. We resisted complacency
and were unrelenting, unyielding in our
pursuit of equality and dignity.
And we achieved results too numerous to
list. From progress on HIV and AIDS to marriage
equality, our progress has been breathtaking.
But equally breathtaking has been the
realization that none of it is permanent, that
powerful and very vocal political forces are
determined to push us back.
What they fail to note is that it has never
been possible to defeat us.
Resistance simply means refusing to be
left behind, to be shoved aside. It is not
a dirty word. To criticize use of the word
Resistance and to denounce equating it with
Pride is to deny the essence of our history.
Resistance is the essence of pride.
In this issue you will meet people who
have refused to give up in the pursuit of
justice and equality.
You will meet Alexei Romano, 2017s
LA Pride grand marshal, who battled a
1966 wave of police brutality against gay
people, organizing one of the earliest large-
scale gay rights protests in America. You
will meet Rev. Troy Perry, who has been at
the heart of just about every LGBT battle
of the past 50 years and who created
LA Pride, Americas rst celebratory gay
JUNE 02, 2017 41
TROY MASTERS (right), editor and publisher
of the Los Angeles Blade and his partner of 16
years, ARTURO JIMENEZ, a U.S. citizen who is a
Costa Rican native, and their dogs, 13 year old
Lilly and 9-month-old Cody.
PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT
rights event, in 1970. You will meet Bamby
Salcedo, a Latina trans activist who is
passionate about immigration rights.You
will meet Jonathan, an undocumented gay
man who fears for his life if he is deported
to his violently homophobic country of
origin. You will meet immigrants who
have achieved nancial success and who
share their harvest to further equality. You
will meet Brian Pendleton, a Los Angeles
success story who has poured his heart
and soul into creating #ResistMarch and
who has an extraordinary appreciation
of our intersectional allies. You will meet
many other uncompromising people who
have dared to make a dierence.
What all of them have in common is a love
of their community and a deeply abiding
commitment that we will never go backwards.
Achieving liberation and equality is not easy
and cannot be achieved without a sustained
eort to change things and confront
challenges. It also cannot be preserved
without resistance or without pride.
Love wins.

Marvelous, sad
and blisteringly
funny. A brave and
rewarding drama
that speaks to us
all. - The Guardian

THE WALLIS PRODUCTION OF

FROM THE
TONY-NOMINA
TE
DIRECTOR OF D
SPRING
BY ALEXI KAYE CAMPBELL AWAKENING

DIRECTED BY THE WALLIS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

MICHAEL ARDEN
FEATURING NEAL BLEDSOE, JESSICA COLLINS,
AUGUSTUS PREW, MATTHEW WILKAS JUNE 8 - JULY 9, 2017
310.746.4000
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 Great moments in OutFest history
Direct ors, act ors of the L A LGB T f il m f estiva l reca ll their fav o rite mem o ries
J U N E 0 2 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 0 1 I S S U E 0 6 A me r i c a s L G B T N e w s S ou r c e L O S A N G E L E S B L A D E . C O M 4 3
Next to Pride itself, no other summer
event is as vital to LAs queer fabric as
Outfest, the citys beloved and iconic
LGBTQ film festival. This years edition
marks Outfests milestone 35th birthday,
with an action-packed 11-day slate that
will kick off on July 6 with the Berlin- and
Sundance-winning UK romantic drama
Gods Own Country, and close on July 16
with Freak Show, an adaptation of the
James St. James novel, co-starring Bette
Midler and Laverne Cox.
Outfest Los Angeles will be held July 6-16,
and screens at state-of-the-art venues
including the Directors Guild of America
(DGA), the historic Orpheum Theatre
and Ace Theatre, REDCAT: Roy and Edna
Disney/CalArts Theater, outdoors at the
Ford Theatres, and Harmony Gold Theatre.
With Outfest 2017 just around the corner,
we asked several local film luminaries
to share their personal favorite film or
moment from Outfests storied past.
Drew Droege, actor and comedian
A few years ago, Outfest (as part of their
incredible UCLA Legacy Project) screened
a restored print of the beautiful comedy
Parting Glances. I had heard of this film
all my life, but was embarrassed to admit
that Id never seen it. I sat in a packed
theater at the DGA with gay people of all
ages and was hypnotized by these entirely
human characters, the films hazy 80s
design, and the bravery that it took to
make a comedy that accurately portrayed
our people and our voices in the middle of
the AIDS crisis. I was warned about that
moment in the film in which its impossible
not to choke up, and of course, when we
By DAN ALLEN
Los Angeles Orpheum Theater is one of the citys most iconic theaters and where many memorable
OutFest moments have taken place.
got to that moment, I was a mess. We all
were. Being in that room with my people,
witnessing a classic, sobbing at the truth
of it, experiencing it together for the first
time, I felt beyond lucky and proud to be a
part of Outfest.
Jamie Babbit, director (But Im
a Cheerleader and Itty Bitty Titty
Committee)
My Outfest memory centers on an
awesome summer night in 2003 Richard
Days outrageous comedy Girls Will be
Girls. I saw the film at the packed outdoor
Ford Theatre, and I was blown away by
the jokes, the hilarious and very edgy
comedy, and the awesome cast. A triumph
in comedy that the audience went nuts
for. So did I! Only at Outfest could such a
movie be appreciated for how brilliant it is.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LOS ANGELES ORPHEUM THEATER
Jeffrey Schwartz, director (I Am
Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential, and the
just-released The Fabulous Allan Carr)
Ive been attending Outfest every year
since moving to Los Angeles in 1995. This
festival is a vital part of the queer film
ecosystem, and brings the community
together around our shared love of
movies. At Outfest, weve all laughed,
cried and been turned on together and
thats a beautiful thing! I will never forget
Outfests 30th anniversary opening night,
when my film Vito had its premiere. We
celebrated Vito Russos life together in one
of Los Angeles grand movie palaces, the
Orpheum. Vito Russo was an unapologetic
Judy queen, so the fact that Judy Garland
performed on the Orpheum stage when
she was still little Frances Gumm is
something he would have loved. In the
early days of the movement, Vito Russo
organized movie screenings to bring
the gay community together. To watch a
beloved film with fellow LGBT people was
a unique and empowering experience.
That night at the Orpheum, I felt Vitos
spirit was alive and the seeds he planted
were in full bloom.
Joe Dietl, actor and co-creator of
Where The Bears Are
Throughout my years attending
screenings at Outfest, two films really
stuck with me. Both of them were from
Spain and centered around the bear
community, which has become such a big
part of my life.
The first was 2005s Bear Cub, directed
by Miguel Albaladejo. This was a lovely and
touching movie about a gay bear living in
Madrid with an active sex life who takes
in his nephew for a couple weeks and
then fights to become his legal guardian.
It was exhilarating to see big, hairy, gay
men on screen in lead roles. I had never
experienced that before. It opened up the
idea that I could do something like that.
The other film was Juan Flahns hysterical
film Boystown in 2008. This film was
campy, sexy, ridiculous and a mystery
centered in Madrid with characters right
out of an Almodvar movie. I attended the
screening with Rick Copp, and we were
both just blown away. It was so funny, so
well done and it kept us on the edge of our
seat. Im certain that it had an influence
on our web series, Where The Bears Are,
which just finished filming its sixth season.
n CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
4 4 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Whitney, Bomer and Dahmer head LGBTQ lineup at LA Film Festival
The acclaimed Los Angeles Film Festival
returns to town on June 14, with a broad
nine-day slate that includes a behind-the-
scenes Whitney Houston documentary,
Matt Bomer as a trans sex worker in one of
four LGBTQ-themed world premieres, and
a controversial drama about a teenage
Jerey Dahmer.
Were showing seven LGBTQ-themed
feature lms this year, both narratives
and documentaries, and also have very
strong representation of LGBTQ voices
in our shorts and episodic programs this
year as well, says Jennifer Wilson, LAFFs
senior programmer. I feel really proud
of the LGBTQ lms weve chosen. We
want audiences to the come out and see
themselves and their stories represented on
our screens and feel empowered by that.
Other key titles in the LAFFs LGBTQ
lineup include Abu, a moving rst-person
documentary that traces the relationship
between a father and his gay son as the
family migrates from Pakistan to Canada;
and Becks, the story of a young lesbian
singer-songwriter (Lena Hall) who returns
to her small hometown and strikes up an
unlikely friendship (with Mena Suvari). Ten
short lms, spread across the festivals six
shorts programs, also have LGBTQ themes.
Ive been a programmer at the LA Film
Festival since 2008, and its always been
important to us to showcase both LGBTQ
lmmakers and lms, says Wilson. In a retreats deeper into conservatism in a society
world where LGBTQ people are still being
persecuted every day, the importance of
telling their stories and the importance of
positive representation at public forums
like our festival cant be measured.
The Los Angeles Film Festival runs from
June 14-22, with screenings centered at
the ArcLight Cinemas Culver City, and
spread across several other locations
around the city.
The seven feature-length LGBTQ-
themed titles at this years LAFF are:
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
PERHAPS THE GAYEST MAINSTREAM FESTIVAL ON THE WEST COAST
By DAN ALLEN
WHITNEY HOUSTON in her own words.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LA FILM FESTIVAL
Abu: Director Arshad Khan shares his own Lahti). As she slowly re-acclimates to the
familys very personal story of migration from backward town she once ed, she forges
Pakistan to Canada in this world premiere, an unexpected friendship with Elyse
focusing especially on Arshads loving but (Mena Suvari), the wife of her old nemesis.
tricky relationship with his father (or abu Directed by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and
in Urdu), which grows increasingly strained Daniel Powell, the lm world premieres in
as Arshad becomes more open about his LAFFs US Fiction Competition section.
sexuality in his new homeland, and his father My Friend Dahmer: Fresh from its world
premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, this
that has little use for him. Narrated by Arshad, quirky and creepy but compelling drama
the tender lm deftly uses a combination stars Disney heartthrob Ross Lynch as
of family archives and animation to tell its teenage Jerey Dahmer in 1977, when, as
story, and appears in LAFFs Documentary a high school senior in Milwaukee, he was
Competition section. still just a twisted young gay loner. Based
Becks: Young Brooklyn singer- on a graphic novel of the same name
songwriter Becks (Lena Hall) crosses the created by actual Dahmer classmate John
country to LA to be with her long-distance Backderf, the lm reveals how not just
girlfriend but when things dont go nature, but also nurture (or lack thereof)
quite as planned, shes forced to return helped create the monster that Dahmer
to her small hometown and move in later became.
with her ultra-Catholic mother (Christine Anything: Matt Bomer costars as a trans
O U T & A BO U T
sex worker in this tale of a Mississippi man
who, after the death of his wife, moves
to Los Angeles to be near to his sister
(played by Maura Tierney). When he takes
a low-rent apartment in Hollywood, he
befriends neighbor Freda (Bomer), and
despite their vast dierences, the two help
ll the lonely void in each others lives.
Timothy McNeil directs this adaptation of
his GLAAD-nominated play of the same
name, world premiering at LAFF in the LA
Muse Competition section.
Whitney: Can I Be Me: This deeply
candid documentary looks behind the
scenes at the conicted life of pop
legend Whitney Houston, revealing how
her public life of phenomenal fame and
success masked her private struggles with
addiction and sexuality. Directed by Nick
Broomeld and Rudi Dolezal and utilizing
three decades of interviews and footage,
the moving doc makes its LA premiere as
part of LAFFs Buzz section.
Replace: In this stylish horror-thriller,
gorgeous young Kira is aicted with a
strange disease that makes her skin rapidly
dry to the point of crumbling away, and
she soon realizes that the only possible
salvation is to replace it with the living skin
of others. In her quest to stay young, can
Kiras murderous skin-lust evade detection
by the police and her new lover Sophia? In
its North American premiere, the Norbert
Keil-directed lm appears in LAFFs Nightfall
Competition section.
And Then There Was Eve: When San
Diego photographer Alyssas husband goes
missing, she reaches out to his colleague
Eve, a talented jazz pianist, to help her
nd him. Surprisingly, Alyssa nds herself
captivated by Eves irtatious charm, and
falling in love again even as she mourns
the emptiness left by the husband she
also loves. Directed by Savannah Bloch,
the lm is in its world premiere as part of
LAFFs LA Muse Competition section.
 Imagine running a
marathon in stilettos.
While singing your
heart out.
The New York Times

TAYLOR MAC
A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Thu, Mar 15 - Sat, Mar 24 | The Theatre at Ace Hotel

SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 15

@CAP_UCLA #TaylorMacCAPUCLA
4 6 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Singer LP comes home to play LA
For years, shes had a successful career
penning hit songs for others, including
Rihannas Cheers (Drink To That) and
Christina Aguileras The Beautiful People.
Now, New York native LP (aka Laura
Pergolizzi) has gone from indie darling to
global star in her own right, thanks to her
powerful vocals (and a whistle or two) in
the brilliantly catchy Lost On You a
song thats already hit #1 in eight countries
including France, Greece and Turkey, and
the video for which (with a cameo from her
real-life girlfriend, LA singer/songwriter
Lauren Ruth Ward) has been watched
more than 125 million times on YouTube.
The androgynous, ukulele-playing 36-year-
old nally released her latest album (also
called Lost On You) in the US last month,
and its title track has inevitably begun
rocketing up American charts as well.
We spoke to LP from the East Coast, in
the middle of the world tour that will bring
her back to her adopted hometown of LA
for a show at the El Rey on June 12.
LA Blade: You moved to LA in 2010, is
that right? What brought you here?
LP: I really started coming back and forth
here in 2006 with my rst major label deal.
I was living in New York, but coming to LA
to write. Then in 2009 when the deal didnt
really work out, it got me plugged in as a
songwriter and I was getting bigger hits.
I decided to move here in the summer of
2009, and I love it.
Blade: How do you like living here as
compared to NYC?
LP: Im very happy that Ive lived in NYC,
and Im from there. Its where I learned
to be strong, and I got my foundation of
culture and fashion. But LA speaks to me as
a muse, and theres just something about it
that makes me feel creative and at home.
Blade: What neighborhood do you live
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
WITH GLOBAL MEGAHIT, HER TOUR HITS EL REY JUNE 12
By DAN ALLEN
Lesbian singer LP is the new it girl.
in? Have you lived in any others in LA?
LP: I started out in Beachwood, and
I have to say thats where I would like
to settle, either Beachwood or Bronson
Canyon. I currently live in Los Feliz, and I
love it there. I like when there is a bustle
and an almost urban community, along
with nature, like Grith Park. Not too
sprawling and crazy, but nature.
Blade: What are a few of your favorite
LA hangouts, and why?
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA PERGOLIZZI
LP: I like going on hikes in Grith Park,
and I like going to one of my favorite bars
in Beachwood. Its a small place, Im not
going to say what it is. Hint: its a small
place. For the view, I like to go to Soho
House, the view is incredible. And then
for some day drinking, going to Venice is
always amazing.
Blade: Lost On You is a brilliant
song, and has had a slow build into a
massive global hit. Do you hope that
MU SI C
itll nally chart big at home in the
United States?
LP: That would be fantastic. I
learned long ago not to have too many
expectations, because theyll just bum you
out in the end. Im happy for what I have
in general, and I will continue to do more
of the same and keep trying to connect to
others through song.
Blade: Im sure you get asked this a
lot, but did you have any idea when
you wrote it that Lost On You would
resonate so well with the masses?
LP: No, I didnt. In fact I played it for my
last label and they dropped me rather
quickly after that, so I had no clue.
Blade: How have your crowds
changed in Europe since the song
became so huge?
LP:They just keep getting bigger. Theyve
been just as lovely and just as fun but they
keep getting bigger, which is awesome.
But I want to be able to touch every
persons hand in the audience, which I
cant. But I still strive to touch everybody
in some way.
Blade: The beautiful woman
snuggling up to you at the end of
the Lost On You video is your real
girlfriend, singer/songwriter Lauren
Ruth Ward, is that right? How long have
you been together?
LP: Weve been together two years this July,
and yes, she is beautiful and talented. Go me.
Blade: Youll be performing at the
El Rey on the day after LAs Pride,
which this year will have its parade
transformed into a Resist March. Any
chance youll take part in that?
LP: I have a show in Northern California,
otherwise I would be there with bells on
everything.
W WW .L OS A NG EL ESB LADE .CO M JUNE 02, 2017 47

ROBBIE ROGERS
#14 LA GALAXY DEFENDER

JUNE 24th
vs.
7:30PM

FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFO

CALL 310.630.4647 OR
EMAIL GROUPS@LAGALAXY.COM
The Los Angles Lakers are proud to support
LA PRIDE and the LGBT Community.

OWN YOUR
PRIDE
losangelesblade.com
@LosAngelesBlade
5 0 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM F I LM

Handsome Devil a lively gay romance

BOYS WILL BE BOYS, AFTER ALL

By DAVID EHRENSTEIN

a wiz at sports. Because of his size and

What happens at a British all-boys school if you dont love rugby?
What with If... (1968), Maurice
(1987) and both versions of Brideshead
Revisited (the 1981 TV mini-series and the
2008 theatrical release) it would appear
that British schoolboy romances are a gay
sub-genre unto themselves.
Thats one of the reasons why Handsome
Devil is such a welcome sight. For rather
than go through the usual paces of furtive
glances, clandestine smooches, tremulous
declarations and tears, this Irish-produced
yet British-to-the-core production written
and directed by John Butler centers on a
pair of gay schoolmates who dont hook
up or even connect all that much, save for
a mutual interest in music. In fact, for the
better part of the action they might well be
described as Frenemies.
Right at the start, Ned (Fion OShea)
announces to us that this is a story about his
most embarrassing moment. And by that
he doesnt mean his own outing, but rather
the very public way he outed the classmate
who, at the very least, should have been his
STILL COURTESY OF HANDSOME DEVIL
ally but who instead nearly became his victim.
Enter that very British form of football known
as Rugby. The school the boys attend is
utterly Rugby- besotted.
So much does the game dominate
everything that at one point classes are
cancelled so the entire student body can
go to cheerleading practice. Ned has no
interest in Rugby hes small, non-
athletic and intellectual. His roommate
Conor (Nicholas Galtazine) is an entirely
dierent story, being tall, well-built and
manner hes also able to get into the
local gay bar without even having his
I.D. checked. Not the case for Ned. Had
he done so he would have learned what
Conor already knows that their favorite
teacher, Mr. Sherry (Andrew Scott), is gay.
Sherry has been encouraging the boys
to follow the one pursuit that brings them
together music. He helps them rehearse a
song number, a la Simon and Garfunkel, for
the schools talent show. Needless to say, this
is frowned upon by the Rugby coach and
the other students devoted to the game.
Homophobic taunting and physical
bullying are par for the course. And so,
unable to put up with it any longer, Ned
outs Conor in public to virtually the entire
school. Chaos ensues. Conor runs away.
But Ned nds where hes hiding out and
brings him back in time to win the big
game. And this in turn underscores the
paradoxical nature of Handsome Devil.
For while it wants to criticize bullying and
homophobia attendant upon Rugby, it
also wants grand game-winning nale just
like the ones in Horsefeathers and Good
News. Not fully explored is the role envy
and unfullled desire plays in all of this.
Ned and Conor share a room. But Ned
makes sure to construct an articial wall
to separate them. This serves to indicate
to the other students that hes keeping
his hands o Conor. But hes also doing
it to stave o the temptation of putting
his hands on him. The scene where hes
barred from the bar that allows Conor
entry is, in many ways, a turning point. Yet
Butler downplays it to the lms detriment.
Neds desire for Conor, and
disappointment that he cant fulll this
desire should be made clearer. Still
Handsome Devil is a lively gay romance,
even though it isnt all that romantic.
Nicholas Galtazine is a handsome
devil indeed.
5 2 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
Keep Pride after the festival with The Pride
Pride season is here, and its in full swing.
Naturally most of the excitement and
expectations are focused on the festival,
but its also important to remember that
Pride is much more than a party. Its a
movement, and this is the month in which
we not only celebrate, but renew our
determination to participate.
To help us keep the momentum, its
important to be reminded not only of
where we are in the ght, but also of where
we have been and this June, the Wallis
Annenberg Center for the Performing
Arts is oering an opportunity to do just
that with its presentation of Alexi Kaye
Campbells play, The Pride. Stylish, witty
and aecting, it presents a snapshot of two
very distinct time periods by examining
three characters- Philip, Sylvia, and Oliver-
whose fate is governed by their eras.
The Pride alternates between 1958 and
2008. In the earlier timeline, Philip and
Sylvia are married, but Philip nds himself
secretly smitten with her colleague, Oliver;
Half a century later, Philip and Oliver
are live-in boyfriends, but Olivers sexual
promiscuity threatens their relationship
and he turns to their friend Sylvia for help.
As the play progresses, it becomes clear that
these three characters are echoes of each
other across time, all of them struggling to
make a better life for themselves than the
one they have known before.
All of this sounds like a fascinating
evening of theatre, to be sure, but does
it really have anything to do with Pride?
According to director Michael Arden,
who is wrapping up his year-long stint as
Artist-in-Residence at the Wallis with this
production, the answer is Yes, quite a lot.
Arden, along with the Centers artistic
director, Paul Crewes, wanted to embrace
the spirit of Pride, reaching out to the
LGBTQ community through a project
which would reect the concerns that
aect it. Obviously, thats a tall order;
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
CAN A PLAY TEACH US HOW TO BATTLE PREJUDICE AND FEARS?
By JOHN PAUL KING
Rehearsals of The Wallis production of The Pride, directed by Michael Arden (running June 8 July
9). Pictured (l-r): AUGUSTUS PREW, MATTHEW WILKAS (at table in background: GILES COOPER,
MICHAEL ARDEN).
how do you address such a wide range
of issues in a manner which can also be
entertaining for its audience?
A number of ideas were oated, one of
which was a staged reading of The Pride,
which Arden saw in its original 2008
production at the Royal Court Theatre
in London, and which he felt would be a
perfect match for the Wallis outreach
eort. Crewes agreed; so much so, in
fact, that he decided to go one better and
mount a full production of the show.
Arden couldnt have been more delighted.
The material resonated with me as a gay
man; I connected to the experiences in the
play on a personal, emotional level. I felt
it was a story that hadnt been told before
and about an aspect of gay life that isnt
widely discussed.
As to how it relates specically to Pride,
it comes down to a lot more than just a
coincidentally appropriate title. When
asked how the play reects the spirit and
purpose of the Pride movement, Arden
is eager to answer. By viewing these
characters experiences in two dierent
time periods, we get to see how things
have changed, and also how they havent.
Remember, part of the play is set in London
in 1958; homosexuality was a criminal
oense, and that had a huge impact on the
way gay men and women lived and loved.
PHOTO BY LUBOMIR KOCKA; COURTESY OF THE WALLIS
When we get to scenes set in 2008 New
York, we can see the ways a dierent social
environment has aected gay life- certainly
for the better, but also with deep shadows
still being cast by the less accepting
attitudes of those earlier times.
In other words, there are direct threads
between the obstacles faced by the plays
central trio across fty years. As Arden
points out, there is a third perspective on
The Pride, created by watching it now- a
decade after its original debut- from which
we can see that those threads are still intact.
The play was written before we had
Marriage-Equality, so we can observe the
dierences in our own time from both the
eras we see in the show; but right now we
are very much in the middle of a time when
theres a strong backlash against the progress
that has been made, and there are a lot of
regressive forces at work in the culture that
are directly tied to the same prejudices and
fears that existed in the past.
Can The Pride teach us a way to battle
against those prejudices and fears in
this era of Trump-fueled socio-political
retrogression? Perhaps not; according to
its press release, it is a play which explores
fate, love, delity and forgiveness, and
asks questions about contemporary life
(gay and straight), without presuming to
answer any of them concretely.
THEATER
As Arden sees it, however, it can help
us learn to ght that battle for ourselves.
Just like in any play, these characters
are all ghting for what they want. What
they do to win that ght is shaped by
their environment, by the age they live in.
That can help us recognize the ways our
own struggles are aected by our current
situation. Understanding how progressive
and regressive cultural beliefs are tied to
our history helps us to recognize how the
roots of our current issues reach into past,
and it can lead to change by allowing us
to let go of the burden of shame we may
have inherited and instead embrace the
pride we need to live our lives now. Or to
put it another way, quoting a particularly
colorful line of dialogue from the play, it
can allow us to stop sucking the dick of
our oppressor.
Artistically speaking, you can be sure
that The Pride will be a production created
with integrity. Ardens own Pride story
dates back to when he was a student at
Julliard, and Sir Ian McKellen came to the
school to speak. It was not long after
the actor had famously outed himself to
the public (though his sexuality had long
been known to his friends and associates),
and one of the students asked him if his
announcement had made his career
better or worse. Without hesitation,
McKellen said Better. Much better. By
being honest about who I am, my work
as an actor can also come from a place of
complete honesty.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
TICKETS:
Single tickets: $40 $75 (prices subject to
change)
Online TheWallis.org
By Phone 310.746.4000
Box Oce Wallis Annenberg Center for the
Performing Arts Ticket Service
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA,
90210
W WW .L OS A NG EL ESB LADE .CO M JUNE 02, 2017 53

The
hookup site
TOO HOT
I am profoundly grateful to the #ResistMarch
Organizing Committee. These incredible and for the I am profoundly grateful to the #ResistMarch
Organizing Committee. These incredible and
dedicated humans with families, jobs, and
with other responsibilities, singularly focused
on one mission, to unite our community and
allies. #ResistMarch would be nothing with-
app store dedicated humans with families, jobs, and
with other responsibilities, singularly focused
on one mission, to unite our community and
allies. #ResistMarch would be nothing with-
out you. You are the soul of this movement. out you. You are the soul of this movement.
Brian Pendleton Brian Pendleton

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

RJ Aguiar Ruaraidh Hunter RJ Aguiar Ruaraidh Hunter
Mike Aguilera Jess Jerrick Mike Aguilera Jess Jerrick
Fred Arens Mike Juhasz Fred Arens Mike Juhasz
Jeremy Blacklow Paul Katami Jeremy Blacklow Paul Katami
Craig Bowers Abbe Land Craig Bowers Abbe Land
Jordan Brown Sue LaVaccare Jordan Brown Sue LaVaccare
Melissa Carbone Danny Lockwood Melissa Carbone Danny Lockwood
Craig Charles Nicole Lynn Craig Charles Nicole Lynn
Diggz Cherry Stephen Macias Diggz Cherry Stephen Macias
Marco Colantonio Lulu Malaya Marco Colantonio Lulu Malaya
Je Consoletti Pedro Martinez Je Consoletti Pedro Martinez
Peter Cruz James Duke Mason Peter Cruz James Duke Mason
Lindsey Deaton Michaela Mendelsohn Bringing a 50-year commitment to journalistic excellence to Los Angeles Lindsey Deaton Michaela Mendelsohn
Marna Deitch Estevan Montemayor Marna Deitch Estevan Montemayor
Dominick DeLeone Je Olde Dominick DeLeone Je Olde
Jason Duguay Aithan Peterson Jason Duguay Aithan Peterson
John Erickson Mark Poncher John Erickson Mark Poncher
Joel Fajardo Hazel Jade Prejean Joel Fajardo Hazel Jade Prejean
Jaden Fields Greg Propper Jaden Fields Greg Propper
Chris Fraley Alyson Richards Chris Fraley Alyson Richards
Sue Freitag Shayne Thomas Sue Freitag Shayne Thomas
Robert Gamboa Angela Thompson Robert Gamboa Angela Thompson
Vic Gerami Gary Turner Vic Gerami Gary Turner
John Gile Alan Uphold John Gile Alan Uphold
Chad Goldman Allison Vankuiken Chad Goldman Allison Vankuiken
Jenn Gordon Ronnie Veliz Jenn Gordon Ronnie Veliz
Brian Graden Rob Wilcox Brian Graden Rob Wilcox
Justin Haasis Rex E. Wilde Justin Haasis Rex E. Wilde
Dan Halden Nancy Williams Dan Halden Nancy Williams
Abdullah Hall Jeanie You Abdullah Hall Jeanie You
Julie Holland Greg Zabilski Be part of this exciting Julie Holland Greg Zabilski
Simon Halls Je Zarillo new publication serving Simon Halls Je Zarillo
Steve Houchin Don Zuidema LGBT Los Angeles from Steve Houchin Don Zuidema
the team behind the
Washington Blade,
Meet our committee at Hollywood Meet our committee at Hollywood
& Highland on Sunday, June 11th at 8 AM newspaper. From the & Highland on Sunday, June 11th at 8 AM
ResistMarch.org freeway to the Beltway, ResistMarch.org
weve got you covered.
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5 4 J U NE 0 2 , 2 0 1 7
LAs musical theater scene is upgrade of all things 80s
Actually I had to lose 20-30 pounds
for the movie because nobody was that
big in the 60s, Colt Prattes talks about
preparing for ABCs version of Dirty
Dancing. Three guesses where those 20-
30 pounds ended up.
Lets call this a tale of two shows: The
Bodyguard and Jersey Boys. LA recently
played host to touring companies of both
shows. The Bodyguard is, of course, based
on the Whitney Houston lm of 1992. Alas,
the stage adaptation is short on dialogue -
or plot. The script seems structured to link
together the 20 songs almost solely sung by
the phenomenal Deborah Cox (two songs
are sung by others). Given the fact that
she is virtually carrying the entire musical
and doing six shows a week (no matinee
Cox), its almost understandable that
Deborah holds back somewhat. However,
I wouldnt be overstating things to say that
her performance had all the energy of a
latter-day Sunny von Bulow. Even with
her abilities in check, one cannot deny that
voice. And certainly she dances better than
Whitney. But her comatosed performance
in a show with major structural deciencies
made for a wholly unsatisfying evening. But
I should add two important points. First, Cox
and company let loose for the post-show
mini-concert, which was almost worth the
price of admission. Second, practically every
performance on the tour has been sold out,
and audiences respond enthusiastically.
Then we have Jersey Boys, led by Mark
Ballas from Dancing with the Stars at the
Ahmanson. Unlike The Bodyguard, Jersey
Boys is a well-structured, well-written, and
well-directed show. Like The Bodyguard,
the brunt of the vocal burden falls on the
star - although he was able assistance by
the rest of the Four Seasons. To say Ballas
is not much of a singer or actor would be
an understatement. His strain in trying
to approximate Frankie Vallis unique
sound is evident from the rst note. One
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
A FEW CHOICE WORDS ABOUT DIRTY DANCING AND MORE
By BILLY MASTERS
COLT PRATTES transformation is a sight for sore eyes. But only in LA would his before have been
considered in need of improvement!
wondered how he would get through the
second act - let alone ve shows a week
(like Cox, Ballas doesnt do matinees. He
also has something else to do Saturday
nights). Predictably, Ballas ran into
trouble as the show went on. Unlike Miss
Cox, Ballas pushes what limited resources
he has to extraordinary lengths. While he
is often painful to listen to, one cant deny
that he wants this - and wants it badly.
And, like The Bodyguard, the show is a
crowd-pleaser. And, on opening night,
the real Frankie Valli came onstage to
congratulate Ballas and company.
I was able to go to Seth Rudetsky and
partner James Wesleys Concert For
America. Each month, they do a benet
concert in a dierent city to raise money for
great charities, nurture grassroots activism,
and deliver stellar performances. For May,
it was Los Angeles Royce Hall at UCLA. What
was the highlight? Marissa Jaret Winokur
recreating the opening of Hairspray (and
later joining co-stars Laura Bell Bundy,
Mary Bond Davis, and Paul Vogt)? Chita
Rivera returning to Chicago? Ben Vereen
CREDIT?
recalling Pippin? For me, it was Helen
Reddy belting out I Am Woman and
Melissa Manchester singing Midnight
Blue. Special kudos to my pals Alec Mapa
and Wendy Liebman, who killed. You can
get more details on upcoming events at
ConcertsForAmerica.com. Some clips will
inevitably appear on my website.
And now, Im going to do something
unexpected. I am not going to bash ABCs
Dirty Dancing. But, just to be clear, Im
not going to praise it either. Im going to
say, Eh. I have my usual Billy issues -
like when a string section comes in and
there are no strings on the set, or when
people sometimes sing into a mike and
other times toss it aside and the sound
doesnt change. Ive gotten used to the
fact that nobody cares about those things
except for me. I nd it interesting that a
show called Dirty Dancing had very little Id
call dirty or dancing. My former editor
at the now-defunct Frontiers magazine
reminded me that way back in 2008, he
put Colt Prattes on the cover in some
skimpy swimwear. Colt was in town with
G O SSI P
the touring company of A Chorus Line, so
he was joined by fellow cast mates John
Carroll and Anthony Wayne. You can see
that photo - and several other dirty snaps
of Colts assets - on BillyMasters.com.
Pretty Woman will become a musical for
the 2018-2019 Broadway season, directed
by my beloved Jerry Mitchell. A musical
based on Tootsie is being written by David
Yazbek, also for Broadway. Rumor has
it that a musical based on Soapdish is in
the works for Londons West End starring
Kristin Chenoweth. And maybe its me,
but I cant think of a lm less appropriate
for musicalization than Gorillas in the Mist.
Speaking of gorillas (and how often does
one get to say that), Netix signed a deal
in Cannes for the rights to show Bubbles,
a lm about Michael Jacksons beloved
chimp. Im all in if that chimp can sing!
For our Ask Billy question, we turn to
Henry from Long Beach: I know youll
make fun of me, but I loved Shake It Up
on the Disney Channel. Someone told me
Kenton Duty is gay. Do you know if he is?
I would never make fun of a fan -
especially one who writes me (and is a
member of my website). The truth is, I
had no idea what a Kenton Duty is - but
it sounds like Pepto-Bismol would clear
it right up! Upon a bit of research, I nd
that Duty is a hot blond guy who played
the rather girlie Gunther on Shake It Up
opposite that triple threat, Bella Thorne
(who just broke up with a Kardashian-
in-law, which is neither here nor there).
Whilst I can neither conrm nor deny his
sexual inclinations (I never worked with
him), I dont suppose youd like to see
his penis, would you? Cause he joins
that growing list of young men who have
videos pleasuring themselves. What he
lacks in length he makes up for in girth, as
youll see on BillyMasters.com.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
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