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by John Colombo
Another World
AIDS Day was commemorated in Pittsburgh on Dec. 1. Opening with a
press conference at the City County Building,
Mayor Ravenstahl spoke,
as did Sara Oliver-Carter,
vice president of diversity and inclusion at Highmark. Later in the
day a flash mob appeared in Market Square to remind people about
AIDS, and then the annual candle light vigil began at CMU and moved
toward Heinz Chapel for a memorial service. Also that evening,
Educating Teens About HIV/AIDS sponsored the
7th annual Red Ribbon Gala at the Omni William Penn. The project was
developed by
Kezia L. Ellison
while in high school as a project for the PA Governor’s School for
Excellence in Health Care.
The next evening the play
Looking for Magic premiered at the University of Pittsburgh’s
Henry Heymann Theater, with support from the Pitt Men’s Study, the
LAMBDA Foundation and the Actor’s Co-Op. Based on playwright Beverly
Pollock’s loss of her two sons to AIDS, the play was a moving
tribute to their memory and surprisingly filled with humor.
Also that night, Sheppard Wellness Community held its annual Friends
of Wellness dinner with help from the Delta Foundation. A sumptuous
holiday meal was served, headed up by
Gary Van Horn—he cooks
and teaches cooking, who knew? The meal, which put my family holiday
dinner to shame, was one of the best meals I’ve enjoyed in a long
time. The Friends of Wellness dinner was started by
Herb Beatty, Donny Thinnes
and Bill Kaelin 27
years ago when all they had to feed was about 32 people. This year
the room was packed.
Seen at the
press conference were Richard
Smith, Ted Hover, Jim Sheppard and
Judy Sylvester. At
the Red Ribbon Gala: Ruthie
King, Charles Christen, Harry Blackwell, Sabrina Clark, Allen Brown
and Vince Simms.
And at
Looking for Magic: Brian
Rohleder, Dory Perry, Buzz Puzateri, Hugh McGough, Rick Allison, Ed
Motznik and Jim, Marc Wagner and his partner Brian, Jan Carlino,
Joseph Plummer and Sarah
Mohr.
On Dec. 3,
Three Rivers Leather Club held its annual toy drive at Leather
Central for Allegheny Youth Services. The toy drive is led by an
enthusiastic Ky Eaton who was spotted at several other bars and
clubs trying to raise funds for the kids. A leather flea market and
raffle were held the night I stopped by. Seen at the fund raiser:
Jessi Strucaly, Jim McGoldric, Matthew Bronson, Doc and Rege Maloney.
Also that night, the annual SPARK party, a fundraiser for the Deta
Foundation, was held at Bill Chisnell Productions Studio on Penn
Avenue downtown. It was at this moment that I realized I was no
longer being stalked by Chris Bryan—my new stalker is Gary Van Horne.
RAJA, the 3rd season winner of
RuPaul’s Drag Race was the featured performer. Gorgeous,
talented and low maintenance, she posed for the cameras with
everyone on the street. Miss
Marsha Monster Mellow was even getting chummy with her—and
Raja’s just as tall as Marsha. Seen at Spark:
Tom Freggens, Tony Grecco,
Lola Laquoix, Jessica Levine and
John McMarland.
On Dec. 10 the 35th annual Miss Gay Pittsburgh Contest was held at
There Ultra Lounge on Liberty Ave. Hosted by the ever so lovely
Kierra Darshall, it was
standing room only as Geogia
B. Cummings, Ann Fu Yung, Miraha Black Dickerson, Lady Diamond
and Celine Dashawn
competed for the crown. The gowns were gorgeous, the hairdos as high
as the contestants’ hopes. A bevy of Pittsburgh’s finest drag
performers were on hand, watching and participating in the show. Mr.
Leather Fetish 2011 Matthew
Bronson along with last year’s
Mr. Leather Fetish
“Dean” were brought on stage to speak. After the judges tallied
their votes, the new Miss Gay Pittsburgh is: Celine Dashawn.
Congratulations to all the contestants and thanks for a fun evening.
The Renaissance City Choirs
held their annual holiday performance on Dec. 10 at the Carnegie
Music Hall in Oakland. Titled “Don we now our gay apparel,” the
concert featured fan favorites like the “12 Days of Christmas” with
audience participation and with past choir members joining the
current members on stage to sing, which I always find touching and
usually start crying. I cried a lot that night, more on that in a
minute.
In Act 2, which has also become a tradition, the
Edgewood Symphony Orchestra
joins the choir and it is truly a magical experience.
Which means more tears.
And, of course, the choir performed their signature comedic
numbers, including this year’s “Veronica” featuring soloist Cookie
Gibbs singing about all she wanted for Hanukah was Veronica; “Shalom
Santa” with soloist Chad Elder, who is very charming in a boyish
way, singing about his Catholic and Jewish upbringing and the
foibles of celebrating two holidays; and what may have been the
Men’s Choir’s best piece ever, “Thriller Christmas,” complete with
Michal Jackson moves and words adapted for the holiday season to the
famous Jackson song.
I
was not the only one crying that night. An important announcement
was made, Artistic
Director Andres Cladera
and
his partner George Kacenga
are in the process of leaving Pittsburgh and heading off for new
adventures in Denver, Colorado. Cladera’s talents and personality
will be missed. It was so very painful to watch him say goodbye. I’m
a big fan and friend. He
bid his farewell and told how the RCC helped him become more open
about his sexuality to his friends and family, and he has become
empowered enough to tell his father that it’s OK to be gay. I have
never had that conversation with my father, and I applaud you
Andres. He then addressed the children in the audience, telling them
if you ever hear anyone talk bad about a gay person, “You tell them
to stop.” A very moving moment—OK, I’m crying again as I write this.
Thank you Andres for your soulful and playful contributions and
George for your kindness and friendship over the years. We all wish
you well.
And I have
to mention some of the events that took place back in November,
which we couldn’t include in our last issue because of our earlier
deadline.
Nov. 17 kicked off the opening of Microscopic
Opera’s newest production,
Three Decembers. Written by Jake Heggie, this chamber opera is
about a “typical” dysfunctional family in San Francisco, spanning
three decades of their lives. Performed at the Pittsburgh Opera, the
show was directed by Lisa Ann Goldsmith and features Mary Gold as
celebrated actress and matriarch Madeline Mitchell. The daughter
Beatrice (played by Eric Olden) is in an unsatisfying marriage and
has taken to the bottle. Son Charlie (played by Daniel Teadt), whose
lover is dying from AIDS, is coming to terms with his homosexuality.
Consisting of three vignettes, each one ends in utter sadness
and despair. Sounds like Christmas with the family.
Microscopic Opera was founded by
Erica Olden and
Andres Cladera to create innovative, moving and intimate productions
of contemporary chamber opera. I’ve found their productions to be
good primers for those who would like to learn more about opera.
On Nov. 26,
Sharon Needles and troupe performed in another outrageous drag show
at the Blue Moon—they
performs there on a regular basis. This time up their take off
Sister Act, repurposed as
Sister Axe, a satanic musical comedy featured Needles,
Alaska Thvnderfvck Amy Vodkahaus, Veruca la’Piranha and
Cherri Baum; the show was
a sellout. The
show was hilarious. Thanks to Blue Moon for doubling as a
performance venue for the “girls.”
And on Nov.
30, the Pittsburgh nude male yoga group held their annual holiday
party “Bare as You Dare” at their studio space in Millville. The
group which usually has practice in the space each Wednesday opted
to socialize that evening.
I took this opportunity to ask many questions about nude yoga
and nude gatherings in general, as Pittsburgh has become such a
hotbed of nude parties and bar outings (private).
The party was fun, the men were in various states of dress
and undress, and after a while you don’t even notice the nakedness.
(OK so the eyes still tend to look down at times.) I took the
opportunity to talk with yoga instructors
Gene Evangelist and Ian Price to remind me what why yoga and nudity go together. Two
years ago I tried nude yoga myself but wasn’t sure if it was for me.
The yoga classes run 90 minutes with a small social gather at the
end, and you can burn up
to 500- 600 calories, depending on how hard you work during a
session. The nudity helps you break through the ego and become more
comfortable with yourself.
Personally I was comfortable in my Armani Jacket, but that’s
just my level of comfort. At the party:
Chris Shelton, Scott Smith, Dave Marshall, Craig Melichar and
Pittsburgh’s former Survivor
celebrity, Chett Welch.
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Email
invites, social events and rumors, or just say hi:
john@outonline.com