Holy Dykes! Batwoman's a Lesbian
DC Comics has brought back Batwoman, as well as her alter ego Kathy Kane, but there's something different about her. Kane is now a lesbian.
According to CNN.com, DC Comics is saying that the character, who was brought in originally in 1956 as Batman's love interest ( and killed off in 1979 ) , will be reintroduced as a lesbian in order to diversify its superhero roster. Kane is out to her friends, but has not come out to her family.
Batwoman/Kane is a five-foot-ten superhero with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels and a tight black outfit, the Associated Press noted. The original Batwoman was started in 1956 and killed off in 1979.
WTTW-11 to Show More LGBT Programs in June
To mark Gay Pride Month, local television station WTTW-11 will unveil programs in addition to its showings of the In the Life program.
The Power of Harmony, which airs June 13 at 9 p.m., takes a look at the Turtle Creek Chorale, a gay group that exists in Dallas—the heart of the Bible Belt. Various controversial issues are examined, including coming out, same-sex marriage and gay adoption.
The movie Brother to Brother will air June 13 at 10:30 p.m. The film tells the story of Perry, a young Black artist kicked out of his family home for being gay, by weaving contemporary perspectives with those from the Harlem Renaissance.
On June 16 at 10 p.m., the station will air The Amasong Chorus Coming Out, a documentary that tells the story of the title organization, a lesbian/feminist vocal group founded in 1991 by Kristina Boerger. The chorus' performances gradually win the acceptance of the conservative community in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Chicago Playwright Wins Irish Festival Award
Chicago playwright Nicholas A. Patricca received the Oscar Wilde Award for Outstanding Achievement in New Writing for the Theater at the 3rd International Dublin Gay Theater Festival award ceremony that was held May 15.
Patricca received the award for the new version of his play Oh, Holy Allen Ginsberg, which premiered earlier this spring at the Bailiwick Repertory immediately before its Dublin run. The play featured, among others, Danne W. Taylor, Michael Driscoll and Jason Matthew Palmer, who was nominated for Best Actor in the festival.
Patricca is an artistic associate of Bailiwick Repertory and a founding member of the Playwrights Ensemble at Victory Gardens Theater. His plays have been developed and produced by Victory Gardens, Bailiwick Repertory, Lionheart Theater and the Organic Theater, among others.
Meth Movie to be Shown at Bailiwick
Reflecting the increasing use of the drug crystal meth in the LGBT community, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, 1229 W. Belmont, will be the site of the showing of Todd Ahlberg's new movie documentary, Meth. The presentations, sponsored by Test Positive Aware Network, will take place June 21 and June 22 at 7 p.m.
The documentary takes an unflinching, provocative look at past and present gay users. Ahlberg gained remarkable access to their lives, their drug use, and even a 'party and play' sex event popular among users. The result is a candid, judge-for-yourself take on the topic that—rather than just being shocking—is sad.
Public health and substance abuse experts agree that meth use has not only increased its grip on gay men, but is now considered a leading culprit behind an upswing in new infections of HIV and hepatitis C.
'Something sinister has descended over our culture in the last few years,' said Ahlberg, who is openly gay. 'I've seen friends shift, falter, and disappear. Meth use has created this shadow over gay men and you see it plainly in a harder-edged nightlife and in risky sexual behavior. I felt compelled to turn up the lights and take a hard look at this.'
A panel discussion will follow the screening. Panelists slated to attend include Dan Berger, M.D.; Dan Bigg, Chicago Recovery Alliance and Jim Pickett, AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
See www.methmovie.com .
Test Positive Aware Network empowers people living with HIV through peer-led programming, support services, information dissemination, and advocacy. Additional support has been provided by AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, the Chicago Crystal Meth Task Force, Chicago Recovery Alliance and Northstar Medical Group.
Verraros Film
Spawns Sequel
Michael J. Shoel, president of Ariztical Entertainment, is executive producing and financing the gay sequel Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. Because the first film, simply entitled Eating Out, was financially successful, a sequel was set in motion. Eating Out 2, which is in production, is set to play in several festivals.
Eating Out 2 stars Jim Verraros, the first-season American Idol finalist who was in the original Eating Out. The second film also stars Mink Stole ( But I'm a Cheerleader ) , Brett Chukerman ( MTV's Undressed ) and Scott Vickaryous ( Boston Public and Cold Case ) .
The film is being directed by Q. Allan Brocka, and was written by Brocka and Phillip J. Bartell.
Reality TV Stars Party on Halsted
Prior to leaving in the morning for their honeymoon in Tahiti, Christopher Knight ( Peter Brady in The Brady Brunch ) and Adrianne Curry ( the First Winner of American's Next Top Model ) celebrated the conclusion of filming and festivities related to their wedding last week with dinner at X/O Chicago hosted by their wedding planner Joe Monastero.
After dinner the party left the restaurant with X/O owner Mark Liberson to head to Liberson's popular gay club Hydrate..
Etheridge Will
Try to Bear It
First, Elton John provided songs for The Lion King. Now another queer musical icon has been tapped to create songs for an animated Disney venture. Brother Bear 2, a sequel to 2003's $85 million-grossing feature, Brother Bear, will feature several compositions from rocker Melissa Etheridge. After viewing a rough cut with her own children, the singer/songwriter filled in the silences with songs to fit the movie's themes. Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas will once again provide voice talent along with new voice-cast members Wanda Sykes, Patrick Dempsey, Mandy Moore, Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara. The film will be released directly to DVD in late August—finally, a movie that lesbian moms can enjoy just as much as their little ones.
Oscar-Winning Film Spotlights Gay Animator/Filmmaker
Openly gay animator and filmmaker John Canemaker interviewed his elderly father, John Cannizzaro, shortly before the latter's death in 1995 in order to better understand their turbulent relationship—one that was often marked by violence.
The result of their last encounter, The Moon and the Sun: An Imagined Conversation, received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film earlier this year. The intensely personal work debuts, fittingly, on Father's Day, June 18, at 7 p.m. on Cinemax. ( Other airdates are June 22 and June 30. ) The feature showcases the voices of Eli Wallach and John Turturro as father and son, respectively.
In a statement, Canemaker said, 'I made this film to resolve long-standing emotional issues I have with my late father. I wanted to find answers to our difficult relationship, to understand the reasons he was always a feared figure in my childhood, why he was always angry and defensive, verbally and physically abusive, and often in trouble with the law.'